Wariness

"Hm?"

Hector Boy looked up at Aier in astonishment.

"Lord Aier, you—you're going to the Heavenly Sacrifice Mountain Range?"

As one of the Seven Divine Planes and four Supreme Planes, it was widely recognized as the foremost clan in the region. Nearly everyone knew that the Heavenly Sacrifice Mountain Range was the Four Divine Beasts Clan's stronghold.

"That's right."

Aier nodded.

"Ninety percent of the Boy Family's wealth belongs to me. The Four Divine Beasts Clan stole it from me. If I don't go get it back, will they really think I'm an easy target?"

Originally, according to Aier's plans, he would wait until he reached perfection in the Wind Element before traveling with his true body to a Material Plane and cultivating his remaining Fire Element Divine Clone and Water Element Divine Clone.

He simply hadn't expected the Four Divine Beasts Clan to rob the Boy Family.

And even after Hector Boy had given them his name, the Four Divine Beasts Clan still hadn't returned the Boy Family's property.

What was that supposed to mean?

Had they shown Aier respect, or not?

Of course, Aier knew that those who had set their sights on the Boy Family might have been no more than low-ranking members of the Four Divine Beasts Clan.

They might not have been especially powerful, but with Overgods as their ancestors, nearly every member of the Four Divine Beasts Clan carried Overgod's Might.

Even an ordinary High God could, by using Overgod's Might, match or even kill a Five-Star Fiend in a short time.

They could exploit the Four Divine Beasts Clan's reputation to rob others, but they wouldn't dare bring trouble down on their clan.

Before attacking the Boy Family, they hadn't known it was under Aier's protection.

After Hector Boy revealed Aier's name, they still couldn't bear to part with the property they'd taken, so they merely released the Boy Family members.

But regardless of what the Four Divine Beasts Clan members who had robbed the Boy Family were thinking, Aier would treat their actions as the actions of the clan's leadership.

Killing those people and reclaiming the Boy Family's property would certainly feel satisfying.

But without a doubt, it would turn Aier and the Four Divine Beasts Clan into irreconcilable enemies.

Since that was the case, Aier might as well head openly to the Heavenly Sacrifice Mountain Range and demonstrate his strength directly.

If the Four Divine Beasts Clan's leaders wanted a fight, Aier didn't mind teaching them a lesson.

At worst, if one of the Four Divine Beasts Overgods tried to attack him, Aier could simply claim to be an Overgod Envoy of Utrede, the Overgod of Destruction.

Even if it were a lie, the Four Divine Beasts Overgods wouldn't risk offending Utrede just to kill a Paragon.

And as long as there was still an opening among Utrede's Overgod Envoys, he wouldn't mind adding another Paragon to his ranks.

Of course, despite saying that, Aier wouldn't actually put all his hopes in Utrede.

His Wind Element Divine Clone and true body gathered up all the godheads and treasures stored in Liang'an Prefecture and headed for the Plane Teleportation Array.

By the time Aier and his companions reached the Heavenly Sacrifice Mountain Range, he expected his true body and Wind Element Divine Clone to have already arrived at a Material Plane.

Then, even if his Earth Element Divine Clone fell, Aier could later have his true body refine a godhead and still possess Divine Clones of all four elements—Earth, Wind, Water, and Fire—with a chance of transcending the Coiling Dragon Universe.

"Damn that Aier! What does he think our Four Divine Beasts Clan is?"

In the Azure Dragon Hall, Gaisresen, the head of the Four Divine Beasts Clan, slammed his palm onto the armrest of his chair and roared.

News that Aier had left Liang'an Prefecture to demand an explanation from the Four Divine Beasts Clan in the Heavenly Sacrifice Mountain Range had become the biggest topic in Hell.

On one side was Aier, a powerhouse who had decisively defeated Daniel Chris, the Prefect of Liang'an Prefecture, and been confirmed by Daniel Chris himself to possess a Material Defense Overgod Artifact.

On the other side was the Four Divine Beasts Clan, whose influence extended across the Seven Divine Planes and four Supreme Planes.

Naturally, the conflict between them drew everyone's attention.

The Boy Family, whose troubles had sparked the conflict, also began to attract the notice of Hell's many factions.

Whatever dealings the Boy Family had with Aier, when trouble struck, Aier had truly stepped in!

Even against the Four Divine Beasts Clan!

That alone earned Aier the goodwill of many divine-level powerhouses.

By contrast, the Four Divine Beasts Clan's reputation suffered another blow.

"Hmph. If you ask me, we haven't acted in a long time, so Hell has forgotten the might of our Four Divine Beasts Clan."

"If this guy wants to make a name for himself by stepping on our clan, then let him become a stepping stone to an even greater reputation for us!"

The White Tiger Clan Leader, Delan Laius, whose forehead bore a marking shaped like the character "王," said in a low voice, "Big brother, we can't let this go on!"

"Otherwise, people will start thinking our Four Divine Beasts Clan is easy to bully."

"Exactly."

Tia Nemo, the Vermilion Bird Clan Leader, nodded. "Whether it's Aier or the Boy Family that brought this on, they must both be punished as they deserve."

The real culprits had been the greedy members of the Four Divine Beasts Clan. Yet in the mouths of Gaisresen and the other clan leaders, all the blame fell on Aier and the Boy Family.

The Four Divine Beasts Clan's arrogance was plain to see.

"Enough. Stop wasting words."

Aaron Bowen, the Black Tortoise Clan Leader, spoke in a low voice. "We can't let anyone who dares to insult our clan's dignity get away with it."

"But Aier, who possesses a Material Defense Overgod Artifact, won't be easy to deal with."

"If only the four of us go, it may not be safe. We could even end up making him more famous."

At Aaron Bowen's words, the Vermilion Bird Clan Leader and White Tiger Clan Leader, who had been furious moments earlier, fell silent.

As children of Overgods who possessed Sovereign Artifacts, they knew just how powerful Sovereign Artifacts were.

With a Material Defense Overgod Artifact, one could practically be called invulnerable among the gods.

Even an Offensive Overgod Artifact couldn't break through the defenses of a Material Defense Overgod Artifact.

To defeat or even kill Aier, they would either have to use a powerful soul attack—

Or join forces and knock Aier into Spatial Turbulence.

But Aier wasn't a fool.

If all four of them attacked together, he would certainly flee.

If they made an enemy of Aier but couldn't kill him, the Four Divine Beasts Clan might not be able to withstand his retaliation.

More than three thousand years had passed. Countless copies of the Projection Stone recording Aier's battle with Daniel Chris had long since been made, and powerhouses from all sides had bought them to watch.

Everyone except those who also possessed Material Defense Overgod Artifacts was deeply wary of that move, the "Black Coffin," which had nearly killed Daniel Chris.