The Four Divine Beasts

"Come visit Tianqing Island sometime," the Azure Dragon's enormous face said with a smile. "We haven't had a chance to talk properly yet!"

As he spoke, great quantities of Fire Sovereign Power, Wind Sovereign Power, and Earth Sovereign Power gathered, and three more enormous Sovereign faces appeared: Vermilion Bird Nemo, White Tiger Ersi, and Black Tortoise Bowen. The yellow face picked up where Leiding had left off. "That's right, Lincoln. We should keep in touch. It can only do us good."

Athos and the others were stunned. Was this what it meant to be a Paragon? He had actually brought four Sovereigns out in person.

Looking at the four enormous faces, Lincoln feigned surprise. "The three of you are here too?"

The pale green face belonging to the White Tiger Sovereign smiled. "Challenging a Prefecture Lord is a rare sight. We came to watch the excitement, but we didn't expect to find you here too."

"I happened to be traveling through, and there was a Prefecture Lord challenge, so I stayed to watch. I didn't expect to see someone who'd catch my interest." Lincoln looked at Athos.

The Four Divine Beasts turned to look as well. Athos was immediately terrified, but he forced himself to keep it inside and didn't dare show it.

Leiding said, "He used the Mist Illusion Profound Mystery quite well, but he's still a little short on strength." As the only Water Element Divine Beast among the Four Divine Beasts, he was certainly qualified to judge.

"Indeed. He's only just reached Asura level, though he has decent talent," Lincoln assessed. "Your Prefecture Lord, on the other hand, is quite strong."

Kneeling below, Leidolina grew more and more uneasy as she listened. Even if the Sovereigns respected Paragons, did they really need to go this far?

While she was still wondering, the Fire Sovereign in the air suddenly spoke. "You dared to offend a Sovereign. That's a capital crime!" Leidolina hadn't even had time to react when her vision went dark and she collapsed to the ground.

The surroundings had already been quiet, but after Vermilion Bird killed Leidolina, the silence grew even more terrifying.

Lincoln was speechless. Vermilion Bird really had a fiery temper. The person who'd been offended hadn't even said a word, and he'd already killed a Prefecture Lord on his behalf. It also made Lincoln reflect that he had finally taken his place among the Sovereigns. Otherwise, one day he might have "offended" some Sovereign playing at life among mortals and been killed without mercy.

This world was just that cruel. No matter how monstrous your talent or how close you were to becoming a Paragon, it was all worth less than getting lucky enough to refine a Sovereign Spark.

Nemo had killed a subordinate Prefecture Lord, and Leiding naturally didn't mind. Instead, he said, "Athos may be a little weak, but he has Asura-level strength. He can just about manage as Prefecture Lord of Feihong Prefecture."

Lincoln smiled and quickly interrupted him. "I'm afraid I'll have to disappoint the Azure Dragon Sovereign. I intend to take Athos back with me, so I'm afraid he won't be able to serve you."

Vermilion Bird was about to speak when another enormous face formed from Water Sovereign Power. Her voice was clear, and she laughed brightly. "Why is the Water Divine Plane so lively today? You're all guests in my territory, so there's no need to stand on ceremony. Don't worry about disturbing me. Why not come to my place for tea?"

Leiding replied, "Valeria, this is the Azure Dragon Sea Region. I should be the one to host!"

Lincoln was at a loss for words. Host them for what? Sovereigns lacked for neither food nor clothing. He didn't want to get caught up in a dispute between the Four Divine Beasts and the Water Chief Sovereign. Seeing Valeria's expression stiffen, he quickly said, "There's no need to host me, Lady Valeria. I came to the Water Divine Plane with my wife for a visit, and never intended to bother anyone. Besides, this isn't the best place to talk. I'm taking Athos back with me anyway, so we won't stay any longer!"

The Four Divine Beasts had once used their combined divine ability to kill Pontos, an Intermediate Sovereign. But no one had ever reached a definitive conclusion about whether they were stronger or weaker than a Chief Sovereign when they joined forces. Naturally, no Chief Sovereign was willing to risk finding out firsthand.

So the four Law Sovereigns, including the Water Chief Sovereign, had never put on airs as Chief Sovereigns when dealing with the Four Divine Beasts. The situation was rather awkward.

With an excuse to leave, Valeria took the opportunity to say, "All right, Lincoln. Come by next time you're free!" With that, her projected face quickly disappeared.

Seeing Valeria leave, Leiding smiled. "Since you have things to do, we won't keep you. If you make any discoveries in your research, remember to share them with us!" As he said the last sentence, Leiding looked at Athos.

When Leiding finished speaking, his Projection Clone vanished. Vermilion Bird, White Tiger, and Black Tortoise disappeared one after another as well.

Lincoln breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed the conflict between the Water Chief Sovereign and the Azure Dragon had been going on for some time. The Four Divine Beasts Clan really did act with domineering force. Thinking of the Nemo Clan's headquarters in the Life Divine Realm, Lincoln could sympathize.

Everyone around him was kneeling on the ground, not daring to speak. The silence was so complete that a needle could have been heard dropping. Lincoln took out his Metal Lifeform, brought Aier and Athos aboard, and used Sovereign's Might together with his Willpower to control it, leaving the area at top speed.

After a long while, someone finally dared to raise their head and ask, "Have the Sovereigns—and Lord Lincoln—left?"

Someone corrected him. "What do you mean, 'Lord Lincoln'? Didn't you hear? Lord Lincoln was on equal terms with the Sovereigns. He must be a Sovereign too!"

"Wasn't he a Paragon? How could he be a Sovereign?"

"Didn't you hear? One of the Sovereigns said Lady Leidolina had offended a Sovereign, which was why she was killed. Who did she offend? Obviously, Lord Lincoln!"

"That's not all. I just heard one Sovereign address another as 'Lord.' Does that mean there are differences in strength among Sovereigns?"

"I must be going crazy. I saw so many Sovereigns today!" someone said, only just realizing it.

"I didn't even dare raise my head or release my Divine Sense. You dared to look up? Then tell us, how many were there?" someone challenged him.

"Listen, everyone," the powerful Druid from the Life Divine Realm hurriedly said, taking control of the situation. "Don't tell anyone outside what you saw today. Think about it: have you ever heard people talk about Sovereigns like this? If you go around spreading stories, you might end up like Prefecture Lord Leidolina and get killed by a Sovereign!"

Everyone fell silent again. Then someone sighed, "Sovereigns are truly powerful. Lady Leidolina was such a mighty Asura, yet she died so miserably."

Inside the long, snake-shaped Metal Lifeform, Lincoln and Aier were eating fruit native to the Water Divine Plane, while Athos stood to one side, at a loss. After what had just happened, he knew that the man before him wasn't merely the legendary Paragon—he was a mighty and noble Sovereign!

"Lincoln, who were those Sovereigns just now?" Aier asked quietly. When all those Sovereigns had been there, she hadn't dared breathe too loudly for fear of causing trouble. Although she had been with Lincoln for a long time, she still wasn't used to facing so many Sovereigns at once.

"They were the Four Divine Beast Sovereigns and the Water Chief Sovereign," Lincoln replied.

"I've heard the Four Divine Beast Sovereigns each belong to the Water, Fire, Wind, and Earth Elements. Does that mean their headquarters are in the Water Divine Plane?" Aier asked, puzzled.

"Not quite. You should remember that there's a Nemo Clan in the Life Divine Realm too." Lincoln took a bite of fruit and recalled Tianji Mountain Range in Beirut's time. It had originally only been the birthplace of the Azure Dragon; later, Leiding had established the clan there. Fortunately, after becoming a Sovereign, Lincoln had learned a lot about the past from other Sovereigns. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to explain it clearly.