Lincoln, Paragon?

Lincoln, Paragon?

"Unfortunately, you still don't understand the Life Law well enough—or me," Leidolina continued. "Your iron-tail strike couldn't kill me. And though the Life Law isn't suited to Material Defense, it excels at healing and recovery. On top of that, you made me waste a drop of Sovereign's Might..." The more Leidolina spoke, the more her pent-up fury weighed on everyone.

"Since you won't listen no matter how much I try to reason with you, then die. You couldn't beat me even before, and now that I've used a drop of Sovereign's Might, I'll make sure to send you off properly!" As Leidolina spoke, some of the green aura around her broke away and once again became the green flecks from before. They shot into Athos's body at incredible speed.

"Ahhh!" Unable to defend himself against the Life Sovereign Power attacking his soul, Athos screamed in agony as if a thousand insects were gnawing at him. He immediately fell to the ground, writhing.

"Kill him! Kill him! Kill him!"

"No, wait—that guy is..." Lincoln suddenly realized something and flew straight onto the arena.

"Who are you?! How dare you interfere with the Prefect Competition!" Leidolina shouted angrily, then sent some of the flecks of light toward Lincoln as well.

Lincoln remained calm. He pointed with his left hand, and a surge of blue-green divine power swept the flecks back toward Leidolina. Then he joined his fingers like a sword, ready to strike her off the arena in one blow. Leidolina wasn't about to back down. She was already a powerful Asura, and now she was using Sovereign's Might. Who did she have to fear?

With a roar, she spun and swung her whip at Lincoln.

The whip touched his fingertip, and the force of the rebound sent Leidolina flying.

Lincoln had long been a Peak Asura in the Water Element. His understanding of the Laws was already superior to hers, and even though she had used Sovereign's Might, his Willpower was enough to offset that advantage. He defeated Leidolina in a single blow, though killing her would have required him to use Sovereign's Might as well.

Under normal circumstances, a portion of Willpower could increase one's strength tenfold, while Sovereign's Might of the same element could amplify it several hundred times. But having Willpower and lacking it were two entirely different matters—just as even the most gifted Saint-level expert would be helpless against God's Domain. All of Lincoln's Divine Clones possessed eighty percent of a Paragon's Willpower. Anyone who wasn't a Paragon stood no chance against him.

After being knocked flying, Leidolina was stunned. What kind of expert could defeat her in this state with a single blow?

"A Paragon?" she asked uncertainly as she got to her feet. Everyone around them had been stunned by the sudden turn of events. They stared blankly at the arena, so they all heard Leidolina's muttered words and looked at Lincoln in shock.

"A Paragon? Did I hear that right—a Paragon High-God?" a rare Fate High-God exclaimed.

"A Paragon High-God was standing here watching the arena with us?" a burly Water Element Highgod asked in disbelief.

"Is he really a Paragon?" A few of the gods were skeptical. After all, Paragons were exceptionally rare.

"If I remember right, he's Lincoln, one of the top three experts in the Life Divine Realm. I've seen his Battle Projection. I heard before that he might be a Paragon High-God, but I never thought it was true!" exclaimed a Death Edict Highgod wearing a Druid Badge. A Druid Badge was equivalent to a Fiend Badge—both were marks of the powerful—but the badge alone didn't reveal its rank.

Ignoring Leidolina and the spectators, Lincoln took out a drop of Life Sovereign Power and began healing Athos. In the realm of the soul, none of the Seven Laws could compare to Life, Fate, and Death. They might be comparable in attack or defense, but not in application. So even with Willpower, Lincoln needed Life Sovereign Power to heal a soul.

Green currents burst from Lincoln's body like flames, then quickly drew back inside him like water. He began the treatment.

He really was a Paragon! Only the legendary Paragon High-Gods had souls powerful enough to use Sovereign's Might without letting it disperse. Leidolina's eyes trembled. She stood motionless, not daring to move, and let the entire drop of Life Sovereign Power she had just used dissipate.

Those among the crowd who knew the facts excitedly explained them to the people beside them. "Only a Paragon can bring out the full power of Sovereign's Might and control it perfectly, without letting any disperse or wasting any. Lord Lincoln really is a Paragon!"

"Lord Lincoln! Lord Lincoln! Lord Lincoln!" Cheers rose one after another, deafening the arena.

Unlike Delia's situation, Leidolina had struck Athos with Sovereign's Might, but she had been trying to torment him more than kill him. And since he had only just been injured, Athos soon woke up, though his soul was much weaker. Seeing the waves of voices surging around him, he couldn't help wondering what had happened.

"Athos, come with me," Lincoln said with a smile. "I'll help you!"

Athos was still bewildered. From the snippets of cheering around him, it seemed that the man before him was a Paragon High-God. And he had saved him?

Suddenly, Lincoln looked up. A vast amount of Water Sovereign Power gathered in the air and coalesced into a blue-green face dozens of meters tall. It lowered its gaze toward Lincoln. "Lincoln, when did you come to the Water Divine Plane?"

"Greetings, Sovereign!" Leidolina hurriedly dropped to her knees. The onlookers who had been cheering fell silent at once and knelt too, not daring to speak. They had dared to make a commotion in front of a Paragon, but faced with a Sovereign, they lost all their courage.

"Sovereign, I was just about to kill Athos when this Mr. Lincoln intervened, and I failed!" Leidolina hurriedly explained. She hadn't tried to kill him until she received the Sovereign's message that Feihong Prefecture didn't need a defeated Prefecture Lord. Unfortunately, Lincoln had stopped her. But she didn't dare blame a Paragon, and she knew the Sovereign wouldn't blame one on her behalf. She could only blame her own inadequate strength and hesitation.

But she also didn't dare reveal that the Sovereign had sent her a message; otherwise, she'd damage the Sovereign's reputation and be even less likely to survive. This Paragon had nothing better to do than meddle in other people's business!

Lincoln, of course, knew nothing of these details. He simply looked calmly at the Sovereign before him, the Azure Dragon Sovereign, Leiding.

The Four Divine Beast Sovereigns were inseparable. Since the Azure Dragon was here, the other three were probably nearby as well. After all, together they were Sovereigns; apart, they were Low-Sovereigns. To put it nicely, they were Low-Sovereigns elevated to the position of Chief Sovereigns. To put it bluntly, they were four vulnerabilities that could be exploited one by one.

"I came to travel around. I didn't think to stop by and say hello," Lincoln replied with a smile from the center of the arena. Although he was wary of the Four Divine Beasts, they had no real conflict. The disagreements they had had with the Four Divine Beasts Clan before they became Sovereigns were only minor incidents, not worth mentioning.

Besides, as long as his Sovereign's Clones weren't in danger, nothing else mattered.

Seeing Lincoln treat the Sovereign so casually, Leidolina felt relieved instead. She didn't know how much tolerance the Sovereign had for Paragons, but this certainly wouldn't leave a good impression.