Watching the Battle

Watching the Battle

The Underworld, Jiuyou Domain.

On the Blood Battle Platform on Jinyan Island, two Peak Asuras were fighting. One was a slender old man, his body surging with Wind Divine Power. The other was a battle-hungry young man, whose Long Spear radiated an aura of destruction. His tremendously powerful material attacks kept tearing apart the space around them, forcing the spectators to retreat a great distance.

Far from the Blood Battle Platform, two men in black watched the fight with their Divine Senses. One wore a fitted black outfit and sat in a reclining chair. The other was a burly, dark-skinned man standing respectfully behind him.

"Chief God, that young man is Orlando. He cultivates the Rules of Destruction. His strongest material attack is so powerful that, unless his opponent has a Material Defense Sovereign Artifact, they have to use Sovereign's Might to withstand it. I've heard he's a battle maniac who has challenged Prefecture Lords many times, only to withdraw and give up during the fight. With his strength, he could have become a Prefecture Lord long ago. This time, he's come to challenge the Jiuyou Overlord again, and he may well give up halfway through once more," the burly man in black explained.

"I don't see it the same way, Brock," said the Chief God in black, who was none other than Lincoln. "Perhaps he really doesn't want anything to interfere with his cultivation, which is why he always abandons his challenges for the Prefecture Lord's position halfway through. But the fact that he's managed to leave unharmed every time is proof of his formidable strength. And I can see that you've put real effort into your search. You've learned all about the Underworld's most powerful experts."

"Orlando is probably challenging the Jiuyou Overlord this time because of the Plane War coming up. Once someone reaches the peak of Asura, it's hard to improve any further. If he can save up enough Commander Badges to exchange for a Sovereign Artifact, that would be a major increase in strength," Lincoln remarked. "His choice is interesting, too. Both the Wind Element and Destruction are among the strongest in material attacks. It seems he intends to improve through fighting."

"That's right, Chief God. And Jinyan Overlord Kedoni has held the position of Jiuyou Overlord for hundreds of billions of years. He's held it longer than anyone else so far, and his strength is formidable," Brock continued. "He's an Asura who cultivates the Laws of Wind. I'd guess he's fully fused several of the Wind Mysteries, and is only a hair's breadth from fusing them all. He also has a Fate Divine Clone, but it isn't very strong. So far, it's only shown the strength of an ordinary Highgod."

"Mm. I originally came looking for Orlando to be my Sovereign Envoy, but I didn't expect him to challenge the Jiuyou Overlord. That works, too. Whoever wins can serve as my Sovereign Envoy." Lincoln paused, then added, "I have a feeling Kedoni has a Soul Defense Sovereign Artifact. He isn't another Chief God's envoy, is he?"

"Kedoni has participated in the Plane War many times before. I'd guess he exchanged his military merits for the Sovereign Artifact," Brock said.

Just then, a surge of Death Sovereign Power appeared and coalesced into the form of a pretty Red-Haired Girl.

Brock had never seen Death Chief Sovereign before, but he knew that remotely controlling Sovereign's Might to form a Projection Clone was a power unique to Chief Gods. He immediately knelt. "Brock pays his respects to the Chief God!"

Lincoln stood up as well and said with a smile, "It seems no little schemes in the Underworld can escape your notice!"

Brock grew even more nervous. If the Bian Sovereign treated her with such respect, she must be one of the most powerful among the Chief Gods.

Hela smiled. "You've come all the way to my Underworld to poach someone. If I didn't keep a close eye on things, you'd steal everything I own. But it's been tens of millions of years. How come you still haven't filled all your Sovereign Envoy positions?"

Lincoln teased her. "Didn't you say last time that ten million years passed in the blink of an eye? I don't have much to deal with, so two Sovereign Envoys are enough for me. I only started looking again to prepare for the Plane War. Besides, Chief Sovereign, surely you aren't that stingy? You have plenty of envoy positions. Could you spare me one of these two Asuras?"

Hela gazed into the distance at the two Asuras fighting for their lives. "You can take the loser. After all, I haven't filled all my Sovereign Envoy positions either."

Lincoln's face went blank. He fought the urge to roll his eyes. Then why had she just criticized him?

"Haha, I love that look on your face. I love seeing you all make that expression," Hela laughed. "All right, he's not a Paragon High-God. I have no reason to fight you over him. Kedoni really isn't another Chief God's envoy. I gave him his Sovereign Artifact myself. Let me think... It must have been at least twenty Plane Wars ago."

Twenty Plane Wars—that was twenty trillion years. It had been a long time.

"His strength wasn't that great back then. He was only a little stronger than an ordinary Asura. But he was lucky enough to accumulate just enough military merits to exchange for a Sovereign Artifact."

"Luck is part of strength," Lincoln said. "Look, he even used his luck to get a Sovereign Artifact and grow stronger."

"Here it comes—Orlando's strongest move," Hela said, reminding him calmly.

Lincoln turned his attention back to the battle. The young man in black swept his Destruction Spear through a strange arc. At the same time, a hazy phantom appeared behind him. An aura that could destroy everything and annihilate all things infused the spear, then followed its thrust, forming a black arrow that shot forward.

The attack wasn't very fast, but with the phantom behind him empowering it, Kedoni could barely move.

"So he's a divine beast. His Innate Divine Ability is what lets him unleash such a powerful move," Lincoln said with a smile. "But even if his strength comes from his Innate Divine Ability, his own abilities are still impressive. He certainly qualifies to be a Sovereign Envoy."

Whether someone qualified was entirely up to the Chief God. As Hela had said, unless someone was a Paragon, the Chief Gods didn't care much. Generally, they looked at strength: if someone reached Asura-level, and happened to catch a Chief God's eye, they could become a Sovereign Envoy. Most Sovereign Envoys were chosen that way. Some were chosen for their talent. Hermes, for example, possessed power a thousand or even ten thousand times greater than that of others at his level, and had been made a Sovereign Envoy while still a Low-God. Others were chosen through luck, like the Sovereign Envoys from Linley's era who obtained Nether Fruits. They were lucky enough to eat the fruits, gain Asura-level strength, and become Sovereign Envoys. And some were chosen because of personal connections. Bobo, for instance, had become Lincoln's Sovereign Envoy even though Lincoln hadn't thought much of his strength at the time. Still, he'd given him a chance.

In fact, Lincoln had once considered giving one of his Sovereign Envoy positions to Daniel. But after speaking with Zijing, he learned that even if Chief Gods' children became Sovereign Envoys, they could only be granted one Sovereign Artifact. All Deity-level beings who wanted a second Sovereign Artifact had to either get lucky and find one belonging to a fallen Chief God, or earn military merits in the Plane War.

Otherwise, Zijing would have given Leisijing enough Sovereign Artifacts long ago.

But how easy was it to find a Sovereign Artifact belonging to a fallen Chief God? When a Chief God fell, wouldn't their entire estate be seized by their enemies?