Watching the Battle

Watching the Battle

Underworld, Jiuyou Domain.

On the blood-battle stage of Jinyan Island, two peak Asuras were locked in combat. One was a lean, elderly man with Wind Element divine power surging around him, while the other was a youth with a face full of battle-lust, his long spear radiating an aura of destruction. The incredibly fierce material attacks constantly tore through the surrounding space, forcing the spectators to retreat a great distance.

Far from the blood-battle stage, two men in black were watching the fight with their Divine Sense. One, dressed in black athletic gear, sat on a lounge chair, while the other, a sturdy man with dark skin, stood respectfully behind him.

"Sovereign, that youth is Orlando. He cultivates the Rules of Destruction. If his opponent lacks a Material Defense Sovereign Artifact, they must use Sovereign Power to amplify their defenses just to withstand his strongest material attack. It is said he is a battle-maniac who has challenged Prefecture Lords many times, but he always withdraws and gives up during the fight. With his strength, he should have succeeded in becoming a Prefecture Lord long ago. This time, he is challenging the Jiuyou Overlord, but it is highly likely he will give up halfway again," the sturdy man in black explained.

"My opinion differs from yours, Brock," this Sovereign in black was naturally Lincoln. "Perhaps he truly does not want to delay his cultivation for any reason, which is why he always quits his challenges for Prefecture Lord halfway, but the fact that he can retreat unscathed every time is proof enough of his formidable strength. It also shows you have put genuine effort into your search; you have mapped out all the super-experts of the Underworld."

"Orlando's challenge to the Jiuyou Overlord this time is likely for the sake of the upcoming Plane War. Once one reaches the peak of the Asura realm, it is difficult to improve further. If he can accumulate enough Commander Badges to exchange for a Sovereign Artifact, that would be a significant boost to his strength." Lincoln commented, "His choice is quite interesting. Both the Wind Element and Destruction are the strongest in terms of material attacks; it seems he intends to sustain his growth through battle."

"Yes, Sovereign. Furthermore, this Jinyan Overlord, Kedoni, has sat firmly in the position of Jiuyou Overlord for hundreds of millions of years. He is currently the longest-serving Jiuyou Overlord and is extremely powerful," Brock replied, continuing his introduction. "He is a Wind Element Law Asura. It is speculated that he has fully fused six types of Mysteries and is only a hair's breadth away from fully fusing seven. He also has a Fate divine clone, though it is not very strong; currently, it only displays the strength of an ordinary High-God."

"Hmm, I originally intended to recruit Orlando as a Sovereign Envoy, but I didn't expect him to be challenging the Jiuyou Overlord. That is fine, too; whoever wins shall serve as the Sovereign Envoy." At this point, Lincoln paused. "I sense that this Kedoni should possess a Soul Defense Sovereign Artifact. He isn't an envoy for another Sovereign, is he?"

"Kedoni has participated in the Plane War many times in the past. I estimate he likely exchanged for the Sovereign Artifact through military merit," Brock explained his deduction.

Just then, a surge of Death Sovereign Power appeared, condensing into the form of a beautiful, red-haired young girl.

Brock had never seen the Death Chief Sovereign, but he knew that manipulating Sovereign Power from a distance to form a projection clone was a unique ability of Sovereigns, so he immediately knelt down. "Brock pays respects to the Sovereign!"

Lincoln also stood up and said with a smile, "It seems that any little move I make in the Underworld cannot be hidden from you!"

Hearing this, Brock became even more nervous. To be treated this way by the Bian Sovereign, this person must be an extremely powerful existence even among Sovereigns.

Hela laughed. "You come to my Underworld to poach my talent; if I weren't careful, you'd steal away my entire foundation. Besides, it's been tens of millions of years—why haven't you finished recruiting your Sovereign Envoys yet?"

Lincoln joked, "Didn't you say last time that ten million years is but a blink of an eye? I don't have many affairs, and two Sovereign Envoys are enough. I only had the thought again because I am preparing for the Plane War. Besides, Master Chief Sovereign, you shouldn't be so stingy. You have plenty of Sovereign Envoy slots; would it be possible to leave one of these two Asuras for me?"

Hela looked into the distance, watching the two Asuras fighting for their lives. "You can take the one who loses. After all, I haven't finished recruiting my own Sovereign Envoys either."

Lincoln was speechless, suppressing the urge to roll his eyes. Then why did you just criticize me?

"Haha, I love seeing that expression on your face," Hela laughed heartily. "Alright, it's not like they are Paragons; I don't need to fight you for them. Kedoni is indeed not a Sovereign Envoy. That Sovereign Artifact of his was actually bestowed by me. Let me think... that must have been at least twenty Plane Wars ago."

Twenty Plane Wars—that is twenty trillion years. That is truly a long time.

"His strength back then wasn't as great; he was only slightly stronger than an ordinary Asura. But he was lucky enough to gather enough military merit to exchange for a Sovereign Artifact."

"Luck is also a part of strength," Lincoln said. "Look, he successfully used his luck to obtain a Sovereign Artifact and enhance his power."

"Here it comes, Orlando's strongest move," Hela said with a smile, offering a faint reminder.

Lincoln shifted his focus. He saw the black-clad youth dance his destruction spear in a strange trajectory. Simultaneously, a hazy phantom appeared behind him, and an aura that destroyed everything and annihilated all things imbued the spear, transforming into a black arrow that surged forward along the spear's momentum.

The attack speed was not fast, but under the augmentation of the phantom behind him, Kedoni found it impossible to move.

"So he is a divine beast. It takes the help of an innate divine ability to unleash a move of such immense power," Lincoln laughed. "However, even if he only became strong through an innate divine ability, his inherent strength is quite considerable. He is indeed qualified to serve as a Sovereign Envoy."

Whether one has this qualification is entirely up to the Sovereign. As Hela said, if they aren't a Paragon, the Sovereigns don't really care. Generally speaking, it depends on strength; if one reaches the Asura level and happens to catch a Sovereign's eye, they can become a Sovereign Envoy—this is how most Sovereign Envoys are chosen. Others are chosen for talent, like Hermes, who possessed super-formidable strength thousands of times greater than his peers and was recruited as a Sovereign Envoy while still a Low-God. Some rely on luck, like the Sovereign Envoys of the Linley era who obtained Nether Fruit and were lucky enough to gain Asura-level strength, becoming Sovereign Envoys. Still others are chosen based on relationships, like Lincoln's Sovereign Envoy Bobo; when he became an envoy, Lincoln didn't think much of his strength, but he gave him the opportunity anyway.

In fact, Lincoln had once considered giving a Sovereign Envoy slot to Daniel, but after communicating with Zijing, he learned that even if a Sovereign's child becomes a Sovereign Envoy, they can only be bestowed one Sovereign Artifact. For any Deity-level, if they want to obtain a second Sovereign Artifact, they must either be lucky enough to find the artifact of a fallen Sovereign or accumulate military merit in the Plane War.

Otherwise, if it were possible, Zijing would have long since given Leisijing enough Sovereign Artifacts.

But where would one easily find the Sovereign Artifact of a fallen Sovereign? After a Sovereign unfortunately falls, isn't their entire fortune seized by their enemies?