Probing

Chapter: Probing

Shortly after Lincoln had departed, a projection clone formed from green Divine Life Power descended before Zijing; it was none other than the Life Sovereign, Vivian. She walked over to Zijing, took her hand, and they sat down together. She smiled and said, "Thank you for your hard work."

Zijing smiled back. She was more than happy to have frequent contact with these Sovereigns and maintain good relations with them.

"My Lord, I have just followed your instructions and pointed out the benefits of refining more Main God Sparks to him, but he seemed unmoved." Zijing paused for a moment, then asked, "But I am still a bit curious about your intentions, my Lord. Why specifically tell him these things?"

The Divine Clones that Lincoln displayed to the outside world were Darkness, Light, Water, and Wind. Very few people knew of the existence of his other Divine Clones, and Zijing only knew of these few. She also knew that if Lincoln were to refine three more Main God Sparks, his strength would see an explosive increase. But even so, he would still be unable to face the joint pursuit of the four Rule Sovereigns; it would simply be a case of the losses outweighing the gains.

Moreover, pointing it out so deliberately felt like it was done with ill intent.

Vivian patted Zijing's hand and said gently, "I apologize for bringing up a painful subject. It's nothing, really; I just made a bet with my eldest sister." She changed the subject, "I hope he truly isn't interested."

Vivian had chosen Zijing to probe him after careful consideration. If she had chosen a Law Sovereign, Vivian herself wouldn't have felt at ease, and Lincoln likely wouldn't have been able to sit down calmly with a Law Sovereign. Only by choosing a Rule-type Mid-level Sovereign could she communicate with Lincoln as an equal. If she had chosen Life or Death, it would have seemed a bit too deliberate, and the two Fate Mid-level Sovereigns were staunch supporters of Orf, making them unsuitable for collusion. That left only Zijing and Xingyi, and in terms of friendship, Zijing was closer to her.

After a few more pleasantries, Vivian's projection clone dissipated, and she returned to the Life Divine Realm via the Plane Teleportation Array.

Zijing looked at the Zijing cub in another cave and said affectionately, "Jingjing, Leisijing."

On Lincoln's side, he returned to the Chines Material Plane through the Spatial Turbulence. A thought was swirling in his mind, and after a long time, he sighed, "I must wait. Life is long and boundless; one must wait for the right moment to finally break the shell and soar."

Fortunately, there was a limit to the number of master-servant contracts one could sign. Generally, Deity-level experts would not sign them casually; otherwise, even if these Saint-level Magic Beasts became deities, they would still remain slaves.

"No, it's too dangerous. Our strength isn't that great, and if we encounter danger, we won't be able to protect ourselves..."

"It's truly rare, Lincoln. This is the third island with such lush vegetation we've seen!" Aier said loudly.

"Indeed," Lincoln replied softly, nuzzling against Aier's neck.

After a while, "Look, everyone, ahead! It's Feihong Island!" A young girl's voice rang out. It was other people on the sea beast talking. Lincoln and Aier opened their eyes and looked forward simultaneously. An island emerged on the horizon, and as the distance closed, they could see the lush greenery covering the island.

The Water Divine Plane was an endless ocean with almost no large landmasses. There were only three slightly larger islands and countless small islands floating on the sea. Naturally, only these three islands possessed Plane Teleportation Arrays. If Deity-level experts wanted to travel between islands, besides taking a Metal Lifeform, they could also ride giant sea beasts known as "Sea King Class." Though called sea beasts, they were actually specially selected Saint-level Magic Beasts that were massive in size, comfortable to ride, and very fast. If these Saint-level Magic Beasts went to a Material Plane, they would be overlords, but here in the Divine Plane, they were merely livestock-like transportation.

"Let's leave as soon as we finish our business on Feihong Island. The conflict between the Valeria Clan and the Leiding Clan has become increasingly intense in recent years. Let's not get caught in the crossfire!" the young girl's companion advised.

Ten thousand years passed in the blink of an eye.

"Annoying, you're not being serious." Aier shot Lincoln a glare, but she did not resist.

"You're the one who told me you wanted a child!" Lincoln stopped and stared straight at Aier's stomach. "It's been ten thousand years, and there's still no sign. If I were any more 'serious,' who knows how many tens of thousands of years it would take."

If one cannot become a deity, eternal life is merely eternal slavery.

"Aier, let's settle here for a while, and then we can go watch the Prefecture Lord challenge," Lincoln suggested.

Lincoln turned serious upon hearing this. Before his strength was sufficient, he did not want to visit the Four Divine Beasts. However, how to extend his lineage and the Talent Awakening Pool were both exclusive specialties of the Four Divine Beasts. After thinking about it, he advised, "Let's wait a bit longer. Now is not the time."

Lincoln and Aier were riding on one such sea beast. A two-story small building was strapped to the beast's back, and over a dozen Deity-level experts were on it, viewing the seascape and cultivating on their own. One convenient aspect of using sea beasts for transportation was that they didn't require anyone to steer them, as they possessed sufficient intelligence.

Aier felt a bit dejected upon hearing this. Her talent was average; for these ten thousand years, she had remained at the Six-Star Fiend level, and even though she wanted a child, there were no signs of pregnancy. Suddenly, she thought of something and said excitedly, "I seem to recall you mentioning that the Four Divine Beasts are the only divine beasts of their kind in the world, yet their family is thriving. Do you think we could go and ask for advice?"

"But I heard that the Feihong Prefecture Lord challenge is in a month. I want to stay and watch," the girl said, acting spoiled.

If he had offspring, would his grandchildren eventually be a nest of snakes? Lincoln couldn't help but shudder at the thought.

A Paragon Mid-level Sovereign was only equivalent to an ordinary Sovereign. Even if he had a Main God Artifact body, making him a notch stronger than an ordinary Sovereign, he still lacked the ability to negotiate with the Four Divine Beasts group.

Come to think of it, Beirut, who should not have been born yet, also had a large family. He wondered how he managed that. Unfortunately, the only ones he acknowledged were his three sons, Beibei, and their relatives. As for those Shadow Mice that couldn't even reach the Saint-level, Beirut didn't care about them at all.

Aier held her hat with one hand and stretched out the other, feeling the pleasant, salty sea breeze. The strong wind whipped her sky-blue starry dress, making it snap loudly. Lincoln gently embraced her waist from behind, closed his eyes, turned his head, and kissed her.

The islands of the Water Divine Plane were like cities in other Divine Planes, filled with a dazzling array of goods. The islands were under the protection of a Main God, with an Island Lord and Island Army stationed there year-round, so no one dared to cause trouble.

Of course, there were also many small islands and reefs near these city-islands. The "tribes," a specialty of the Divine Plane, gathered on them, herding special magic beasts in the nearby waters. As for the other specialty of the Divine Plane, the "Deity-level bandits," they mostly hid in the seawater, waiting for opportunities to attack the Sea King Class vessels.

Above the Island Lord, there was the Prefecture Lord. A prefecture covered about a dozen city-islands and was quite vast in territory.