The "Sin" of Beauty

Chapter: The "Sin" of Beauty

"Since the Qingya Army wipes out everyone in their path, how did you manage to escape with your life?" Lincoln asked after a moment of contemplation.

Athos calmed down, his expression somber. "It was Leidolina who helped me."

"Leidolina?" Lincoln countered. "You two were locked in a life-and-death battle today."

"She did indeed save me, but she also plunged me into over a hundred thousand years of agony... She used her authority as a Prefecture Lord to quietly rescue a single ornamental pet, and that was me," Athos continued. "During those years under her control, I wished for death. The only thing that kept me going was the desire for revenge, whether against the Qingya Army or Leidolina herself. So, I endured and cultivated in secret. While I was a Mid-God, I quietly fused the Mysteries. Finally, ten thousand years ago, when I had nearly fused five Mysteries, I discovered an opportunity when she traveled to another Divine Plane. While she was away, I killed the Six-Star Fiend under her command, seized her assets and Metal Lifeform, and after several transfers, I arrived at a Material Plane. Only then did I become a High-God and fully fuse five Mysteries. I felt I finally possessed enough strength, which is why I dared to return to the Water Divine Plane."

Lincoln smiled. "From what I just saw, she was holding back against you at every turn!"

"That was merely to satisfy her twisted, perverted psyche. For all these years, even though I became a Deity-level, she never allowed me to switch my Divine Clones; she treated me purely as a pet. If anything displeased her, it meant soul torture!" Athos's face gradually twisted as well.

Lincoln shook his head. He had encountered another Pusluo; their experiences were far too similar. However, he had no intention of taking Athos in as a Sovereign Envoy. If Leiding hadn't noticed, it would be one thing, but now that it was discovered, if a divine beast like a Milotic were to travel alone, it would inevitably invite a hunt from the Four Divine Beasts clan. While a Sovereign wouldn't care about an ordinary Deity-level, why not use it as a target for clan disciples while simultaneously cleaning up 'remnants'?

A Sovereign Envoy is meant to solve problems, not create them.

"Athos, do you realize that the one truly targeting you is not the Qingya Army?" Lincoln said calmly. "It is the Azure Dragon Sovereign, the first Sovereign you saw earlier. Your enemy is a Sovereign. No matter how hard you cultivate, even if you reach the Paragon level, it is impossible to rescue the Milotic clan from the hands of a Sovereign."

Seeing Athos fall silent, Lincoln did not press him. For Athos, this question was neither a single-choice nor a multiple-choice, but a mandatory one.

The scrawny soldier was about to berate them again to satisfy his ego, but he heard the man in black say, "Wind Shore Path. My luck isn't bad this time; I teleported directly to the Qingya Continent."

"You lot, be obedient. Do you see those divine artifacts all over the cliff? They were left behind by Deity-levels from Material Planes just like you who were killed for being disobedient. Countless years have passed; the inferior artifacts have already eroded and vanished, leaving only a few High-God artifacts."

The scrawny soldier enjoyed this haughty feeling, and seeing these "country bumpkins" look so stunned gave him particular satisfaction.

"You brat, focus on your guard duty and cultivate properly, then you won't have anything to complain about," another High-God, who appeared to be the captain, slapped him hard on the head. "This is a great place to cultivate the mysteries of Wind and Space, and the subsidies for guarding here are high. You're just ungrateful."

"Leidolina has a strange personality. She enjoys the cat-and-mouse game—giving someone hope and then shattering it. I've experienced it too many times. But that is also why I was able to escape death," Athos explained.

"When will it be my turn to rotate out? This Wind Shore Path is truly no place for a Deity to stay!" a scrawny soldier said. He was clad in standard cyan armor, with a diamond-shaped mark on his belt—the mark of the Qingya Army.

The Deity-levels and Saint-levels waiting to be settled widened their eyes. A few? This cliff, which stretched as far as the eye could see, was covered in divine artifacts. You call that a few?

The crowd suddenly realized the truth. The teleportation array lit up again, and a man in black stepped out.

The scrawny soldier, having been reprimanded, dared not argue back, so he took his frustration out on those from the Material Planes.

Lincoln was noncommittal and instead asked, "Since you were controlled by Leidolina, why didn't she demand you sign a master-servant contract or use soul-manipulation methods?" The Rules of Life were inferior to the Death Rules in controlling souls, but at Leidolina's level, controlling a divine beast—whether it was Saint-level, Low-God, or Mid-God—should have been no problem.

Athos fell into instant despair. "Are you unable to do it either? Athos is willing to serve you for the rest of his life!"

"If you dare speak nonsense again, I'll kill you," the scrawny soldier said, feeling a bit anxious upon hearing this, and quickly added, "Legend has it that countless years ago, the great Qingya Sovereign killed a High-God here who refused to follow orders and hung that High-God's artifact on the cliff as a warning. Later generations imitated this, forming this unique landscape. Of course, no one dares to touch the artifacts here."

Lincoln nodded and continued the previous topic. "The Four Divine Beasts Sovereigns are also very powerful among the ranks of Sovereigns. If you follow me and help me research your bloodline, I will naturally protect you. As for the Milotic and Clownfish clans, as long as you cooperate with me, I will find an opportunity to help you rescue them."

Whether he would clash with the Four Divine Beasts, and when, remained unknown regardless of the probability. It was not worth it for the sake of one Athos.

Meanwhile, in the Wind Divine Plane, there was an extremely long and narrow canyon where sharp, blade-like winds blew year-round. The cliffs on both sides were covered in all sorts of divine artifacts, clinking and clanging in the gale.

At the end of the canyon was a Plane Teleportation Array.

The soldiers braced themselves for a super-expert traveling between planes. The captain was even preparing to offer a greeting, but he saw the man in black ignore them entirely, suddenly taking to the sky and disappearing at an incredible speed.

"My lord, why haven't these divine artifacts been picked up? Are even High-God artifacts just trash in the Divine Planes?"

"What kind of speed is that..." The group of soldiers was stunned. The captain blurted out, "It's faster than I was flying back in the Material Plane." He had been fortunate enough to serve as a Plane Warden for tens of thousands of years, back when he was a High-God.

The newcomer was naturally Lincoln. His Dark Sovereign Clone had been bored in the Chines Material Plane. After all, every Sovereign basically had their own faction, and in the last ten thousand years, only a few Sovereigns of Life and Death had come to visit him.

His Laws of Darkness were already at the Paragon level, with nowhere left to advance. Although he knew it would be difficult to reach the Paragon level in other elements through bitter cultivation alone, he still wanted to give it a try.