All That Searching for Nothing

Chapter: Seeking Without Finding

On Nether Mountain, Death Chief Sovereign Hela looked at the awkward-looking Lincoln and teased, "You haven't shown your face in tens of millions of years. Last time you came, you were pestering me about Sovereign Sparks, and this time, you're beating around the bush asking about the whereabouts of Roman. What am I, an intelligence agency?"

"It concerns my children; as a parent, one must be concerned, right?" Lincoln explained.

Hela continued to tease, "I think you want everything—you want strength, and you want children. I've heard that over the last million years, your faith has occupied countless planes, exceeding the total of all the former Darkness-element Sovereigns combined. In my opinion, you should stop trying to reach the Paragon level through Faith Power. Go out and travel more; you might just find your opportunity. Vivian and Uterede both achieved their breakthroughs that way."

This was the first time he had heard this, but since Hela did not know that his Laws of Darkness had already reached the Paragon level, he countered, "Lord Hela, you didn't mention Lord Orf, which means Lord Orf must have achieved his breakthrough through seclusion."

Hela rolled her eyes, looking speechless, "He is a research maniac. Anything related to cultivation or becoming stronger makes him happy. You really shouldn't compare yourself to him!"

Lincoln laughed, "Then I shall become a maniac as well."

Seeing that she couldn't get through to him, Hela stopped trying to persuade him, "The Roman you are looking for can only be contacted by Vivian; no other Sovereign has a way to reach him." Halfway through her sentence, seeing Lincoln hesitate, she continued, "I can help you contact him, but you must owe me this favor."

Lincoln was overjoyed upon hearing this and thanked her repeatedly.

As he was about to leave, Hela suddenly asked, "Are you still looking for that Thunder-element Lesser Sovereign Spark?"

Lincoln's figure suddenly froze, then he realized what she meant, turned, and smiled, "Lord Vivian must have told you. I do have a Thunder-element clone. That's right, who wouldn't want an ownerless, refineable Sovereign Spark?"

Hela's eyes flickered, and she leaned back against her chaise longue, "Between her and me, there is naturally nothing we don't talk about, and with you... naturally, it will be the same. When you have time, come visit me more often and share some interesting stories with me. Perhaps I can tell you more secrets between Sovereigns."

Watching Lincoln's figure enter the Spatial Turbulence, Hela couldn't help but sigh, "This little guy is truly cautious."

In the south of the Life Divine Realm, within the Dawn Prefecture of the Nymph Continent, at the top of a massive tree that pierced the clouds, inside the plant castle of the Life Sovereign, Vivian awoke from her meditation. She looked at the beautiful red-haired girl who appeared by her side, her eyes filled with joy, "Big Sister, do you have more interesting stories to share with me?"

Hela explained the purpose of her visit, and Vivian's smile did not fade, "I thought it was something important. Big Sister, you could have just sent someone to notify me, and I would naturally have asked Roman to help. However, Lincoln was originally my Sovereign Envoy. After becoming a Sovereign, he has become closer to you, Big Sister. He clearly knew about my connection with Roman, yet he refused to come to me personally and instead entrusted you, Big Sister. It is truly sigh-worthy!"

Hearing this, Hela was also a bit puzzled. Although she hadn't asked Lincoln for the reason at the time, she had some speculations, "Vivian, I also find it strange. Could it be that you made some moves over the years that Lincoln discovered? Is that why he is deliberately avoiding you?"

Vivian shook her head, her dark hair flowing, "Many years ago, I did take the opportunity to point out the benefits of refining multiple Sovereign Sparks to him, but I didn't personally intervene, so it hardly counts as a move. Besides, he wasn't moved at the time, and in all these years since, he hasn't hunted any Sovereigns, so perhaps I am just overthinking it."

Hela laughed, "He has focused on two things these years—oh no, three. One is using Faith Power to break through to the Paragon level, another is searching for that Thunder-element Lesser Sovereign Spark, and the last is what we just mentioned: focusing on having children."

Vivian also laughed, "I truly don't understand them. In the Supreme Planes and Divine Planes, life is infinite. After becoming a Deity, there is no need to reproduce. In fact, the Supreme Gods, in order to reduce the number of lives and experts, even created the Plane Wars and used Willpower to lure Sovereigns into sending more Deity-level combatants. Yet, the Augusta Clan, the Four Divine Beasts Clan, and the Valeria Clan—these Sovereigns are all supporting their respective clans from behind the scenes."

Hela laughed heartily, "Vivian, if we could understand it, we wouldn't have been alone since the dawn of the world."

Vivian covered her mouth and chuckled, then suddenly changed the subject, "Big Sister, you just said Lincoln is still searching for the Thunder-element Lesser Sovereign Spark. What are your intentions?"

Hela pursed her lips, her eyes avoiding Vivian's gaze, "Naturally, to let him keep searching."

Not long after, Hela left. Vivian looked at the sky, deep in thought, "Big Sister, you are the one who is truly strange. Why are you so concerned with helping Lincoln? If he didn't have such immense potential, I would be willing to help him. It seems that on this matter, I cannot reach an agreement with Big Sister..."

A short while later, Vivian summoned Vibar and instructed her to contact the Life Paragon, Roman. After explaining the situation, she tore open space and stepped inside.

In the Chainis Plane, Lincoln was waiting for news from Roman when he suddenly sensed a Deity-level expert approaching at the speed of an Asura. After a slight perception, he realized it was Bobo.

Years ago, Pusluo and Bobo had conspired together. Pusluo had temporarily lent his offensive Main God Artifact to Bobo, and Bobo had successfully defeated a Prefecture Lord of the Wind Divine Plane, replacing him and becoming Lincoln's official Sovereign Envoy. The method was a bit opportunistic, but Lincoln only cared about the results, and Bobo had accomplished the task well.

"Greetings, Sovereign." Bobo arrived before Lincoln and knelt to pay his respects.

Lincoln looked down at him and asked with a faint smile, "You aren't properly tending to your duties as the Prefecture Lord of Jingyun Prefecture; what is it, have you made a major discovery?"

"Yes, Sovereign," Bobo's affirmative answer made Lincoln look up and examine him. Bobo had become much more composed and wouldn't speak boastfully, "While we were spreading faith in the Sain Plane, we discovered a Paragon High-God. He killed countless envoys we sent to preach. It wasn't until I went there myself that I was nearly killed by him in battle. He only let me go after realizing I was a Sovereign Envoy, and he told us his name was Palhouse, hoping we would not disturb that plane again."

Generally speaking, when encountering a Paragon High-God who makes such a request, one would naturally try to satisfy it to build a good relationship, as a mere Material Plane is hardly worth a Sovereign's attention. Furthermore, reporting such "petty grievances" would not only offend a Paragon but also leave an impression of incompetence in the eyes of the Sovereign, which was truly not worth the cost. But as luck would have it, Bobo knew that the Sovereign had been searching for this Water-element Paragon, hoping to spar and improve.

Lincoln's face also showed joy, "It really is a case of 'seeking without finding, only to have it appear by chance.' It is time to go and meet this one and only Water-element Paragon."