"Crack!"
High above, a translucent, pale-green spear, infused with Sovereign's Might and focused at a single point, pierced Alfred's battle-axe blade with unerring accuracy. Deflected by the axe, it grazed his head before plunging into his chest and tearing a huge hole through him.
"This madman!"
Feeling the blood running from his chest, Alfred cursed inwardly. He didn't let up for a moment. His whip instantly lengthened, coiling around the green spear in the blink of an eye. At the same time, Sovereign's Might surged through him, hurling the spear in the opposite direction.
The use of Sovereign's Might wasn't rigid. The power drawn upon within the body could be channeled throughout it, enhancing one's defense, recovery, and speed. It could also be infused into an artifact to increase its attack power and speed.
Of course, there was an even more extreme way to infuse an artifact with Sovereign's Might: pour a large amount of it into the weapon and hurl it. This could make the attack so fast and powerful that it was difficult for an opponent to dodge.
But this method consumed Sovereign's Might at a much faster rate. Once it was exhausted, an opponent could turn the tables and kill you. So, aside from a few who had Sovereign's Might to spare, most people didn't use it this way.
Faced with Ren's fighting style, Alfred couldn't make sense of it. All he could do was curse Ren as a madman.
Ren knew perfectly well that using Sovereign's Might this way would make it run out faster. In the battle between Linley and the Eight Great Clans, Elder Chabu of the Edric Clan had used a similar method, channeling all his Sovereign's Might into a binding technique to temporarily suppress Pusluo. But his Sovereign's Might was soon exhausted, and Pusluo killed him with a single strike from a Sovereign Artifact.
Ren knew that after this attack, he had to kill Alfred as quickly as possible. Otherwise, his Sovereign's Might would be gone in no time, and Alfred, who still had some of his own, could immediately turn the tables. So Ren didn't pause for an instant. The moment he threw the spear, a pale-green sword appeared in his hand.
Alfred had flung the spear far away with Sovereign's Might. Ren could summon his bonded artifact back with a single thought, but Sovereign's Might was still suppressing it, and that would take a little time. Ren wasn't about to wait around, so he simply took out another weapon.
"Dimension—Break!"
Pale-green currents flowed into the sword, which began to tremble faintly. A strange melody rang out, and Ren's figure drew closer to Alfred.
"If I can't dodge, then I'll fight!"
Grinding his teeth, Alfred spun his whip at high speed, drawing blue lightning that formed a purple serpent in an instant. He lunged toward Ren with a backhanded strike.
"Whoosh!"
The green sword sliced through the void, cutting the lightning serpent in two as easily as a knife through tofu. Its speed didn't falter, and in the blink of an eye, it was at Alfred's brow.
"You..."
Alfred reflexively tried to say something, but the words died on his lips. An explosion rang out, and a Godhead and Spatial Ring fell. Ren immediately collected them.
A moment later, the green spear flew back with a whistle of air and landed in Ren's other hand. The green glow around his body vanished, too. His Water Sovereign Power was exhausted.
"Drip!"
Ren held out a finger, and a drop of blood fell onto the Spatial Ring before sliding off. Clearly, Alfred had other Divine Clones elsewhere.
"So he really did have another Divine Clone. Then I'll put out a bounty for him at Fiend Castle and have the Prefecture Army take action as well."
After pocketing Alfred's Spatial Ring, Ren didn't linger. He turned into a streak of light and flew toward Liang'an City.
With Ren gone, the million spectators erupted into a frenzy.
"Oh, my god! I actually witnessed the birth of a new Prefect! I'm not dreaming, am I?"
"The Liang'an Prefecture Lord has been replaced! Lord Ren—no, Prefect Ren—is unbelievably powerful. I wonder when my attacks will be even a tenth as strong as his."
"A tenth? Keep dreaming. At your rate, even another million years of cultivation won't get you there."
After witnessing such a thrilling battle, most of the spectators were in high spirits, chattering excitedly. But not everyone felt the same. In the crowd, the bald elder Emmanuel was clearly in a foul mood. He left the scene with his men, his face dark.
"Should I report to the clan that Ren insulted the Four Divine Beasts Clan?"
Emmanuel's mind raced as he considered the consequences. From where he stood, he wanted nothing more than to kill Ren at once. But after seeing Ren's strength, he couldn't make up his mind.
Ren had killed the Liang'an Prefecture Lord, Alfred. Emmanuel had no chance of defeating him on his own. So if he wanted Ren dead, he had only two options. The first was to report him to the clan, claiming that Ren had spoken disrespectfully and insulted the Four Divine Beasts Clan. The clan would certainly send someone to kill him. One Asura wasn't enough to get the clan into trouble.
The problem with doing that was that he wouldn't be able to explain why he hadn't killed Ren himself, if Ren had insulted the clan.
The clan chief and Grand Elder valued the clan's dignity above all else. If Ren insulted the clan, Emmanuel was expected to go kill him. If he failed and was killed instead, the clan would avenge him, remember his contribution, and treat his Divine Clones well.
But if he knew Ren had insulted the clan and didn't act, the clan chief and Grand Elder would see it as a disgrace to the Four Divine Beasts Clan. Their clansmen could die, but they couldn't lose their dignity. That had been the Four Divine Beasts Clan's bottom line for countless years.
Emmanuel knew that even though he was the Grand Elder's grandson, the Grand Elder's nature meant he would never make an exception for him. Most likely, he'd be punished somehow. The Grand Elder might order him back to the Heavenly Sacrifice Mountain Range to cultivate in seclusion, forbidding him to leave until he had cultivated for a hundred million years. Emmanuel naturally had no desire to be imprisoned.
The other option was to bypass the clan chief and Grand Elder, keep the clan from finding out, and hire someone to kill Ren. Within the Four Divine Beasts Clan, aside from the clan chief, the Grand Elder, and the other children of the Overgods, there were several honorary elders at the Asura level. They were all emissaries of the Four Divine Beasts Sovereigns.
As emissaries of the Four Divine Beasts Sovereigns, they each had a Sovereign Artifact, but little Sovereign's Might. The elders of the Four Divine Beasts Clan, on the other hand, had Sovereign's Might. This had led to a system of cooperation: when a clan elder encountered an enemy they couldn't deal with, they could offer Sovereign's Might as payment to hire one of the honorary elders.
Several million years ago, while traveling, Emmanuel had encountered a Seven-Star Demon who had "insulted" him and was extremely fast. Even after using Sovereign's Might, Emmanuel had still let him escape. So, gritting his teeth, he had offered a drop of Sovereign's Might to hire Copperfield, an honorary elder of the Azure Dragon Clan. Copperfield had successfully killed the man who had "insulted" him.
But this time, Emmanuel couldn't decide whether to hire Copperfield. He certainly wasn't worried that Copperfield would lose—after all, Copperfield had an Offensive Sovereign Artifact. He was only worried that Ren still had Sovereign's Might.
If he hired Copperfield, he'd have to pay a drop of Sovereign's Might. Fighting Ren would take another drop, meaning he'd have to spend two drops just to kill Ren and vent his anger. He wasn't willing to do that, and for a while, he couldn't make up his mind.
Before you continue