The Power of the Sovereign Artifact

"A Sovereign Artifact?"

The moment Conofier drew his weapon, Ren's internal alarm bells rang out. He gripped his longsword tightly, a faint vibration rippling across the surface of the blade.

Ren was certainly no stranger to Sovereign Artifacts. Even though he had never crossed blades with someone wielding one in reality, he never dared to underestimate them. To a god, a Sovereign Artifact was truly the most powerful treasure in existence.

Looking back at Linley's growth, he had never been without the Coiling Dragon Ring. Before Beirut, the greatest cheat of all, officially entered the scene, the Coiling Dragon Ring had saved Linley more than once. At the Temple of Radiance, it prevented Linley from being turned into a pet of the Radiant Sovereign, and in the Chaotic Territory, it stopped him from being killed by Heidens's life-deprivation technique.

Later in Hell, Linley was able to contend with Seven-Star Demons while only a Highgod, and while Resjing's Blackstone Space certainly played a part, there was no denying that the Coiling Dragon Ring had provided immense help, turning danger into safety multiple times during the battles on Miluo Island and against the Eight Great Clans.

After arriving in Hell, Ren had also inquired about intelligence regarding Sovereign Artifacts more than once, gaining a deeper understanding of them. Unlike the two types of defensive Sovereign Artifacts, an offensive Sovereign Artifact provided a terrifying boost to combat power, enhancing everything from attack power and speed to the very methods of assault.

Among powerhouses at the level of an Asura, unless one was a Paragon, an ordinary Asura without a Sovereign Artifact had almost no chance of winning against an Asura who possessed an offensive one, provided there were no special trump cards. Ren was not a super divine beast; at least on the surface, he was no match for Conofier.

However, Ren felt no ripples of panic in his heart. If this had been in the past, he might have been wary, but over these last few decades, his strength had increased significantly. He was only a hair's breadth away from fusing his profound mysteries. Had he not been interrupted, he was confident he could have broken through to become a Paragon within twenty years. Coupled with a new ultimate technique he had been researching, he felt confident in clashing with his opponent.

Conofier did not know what Ren was thinking; he simply gripped his warhammer with both hands, the weapon vibrating and causing the surrounding space to begin to roar.

"Whoosh!"

Conofier moved, instantly transforming into a streak of light. Strange patterns on the warhammer he held emitted an eerie glow, and in an instant, a massive amount of power converged, releasing from the hammerhead as a peculiar ripple expanded toward Ren.

"Sshhh~"

As the sound of tearing space rang out, cracks appeared in the air wherever the ripple passed, revealing the colorful chaotic space within. To tear through space with a casual strike—this was the power of a Sovereign Artifact.

Ren naturally would not meet the Sovereign Artifact head-on. Divine power surged within his body as he retreated rapidly. At the same time, the cyan longsword in his hand hummed, and a cyan dragon soared into the sky, its icy blue eyes emitting a cold light as it charged to meet the ripple of Earth divine power.

"Boom!"

The two energies collided instantly. The earthy-yellow ripple flickered, and a force of pure power acted directly upon the cyan dragon. The dragon let out a roar under the pressure before being shattered from within by the pulse energy. The ripple, now reduced to a tenth of its original size, continued forward, stabbing straight at Ren.

"Whoosh!"

Ren's right hand moved, his longsword tracing a strange arc. A blade of energy formed instantly and collided with the remaining ripple, and both dissipated into nothingness.

"Oh? Interesting!"

Conofier narrowed his eyes. His body was covered in an earthy-yellow power, and then a powerful spatial fluctuation instantly spread out, reaching a range of a thousand miles in the blink of an eye. A binding force began to coil around Ren's body.

"The binding of a gravity space? But I have such methods too!" Ren immediately felt his body being pressed by an invisible force, making it difficult to move for a moment. He then let out a cold snort, and a cyan halo erupted from his body, ripples expanding rapidly toward Conofier a thousand miles away.

Although the profound mysteries of the seven elemental laws were all different, each one had research and applications specifically targeting space. The gravity space of the Earth Law and the Wind Space of the Wind Law were both examples of this. Ren naturally possessed the same means; it was just a matter of whose strength was greater.

In an instant, Conofier felt it—a powerful pressure acting upon his physical body. He couldn't help but narrow his eyes as earthy-yellow divine power emerged on his skin, forming a layer of Pulse Armor that slightly eased the pressure.

"As expected, the defense of the Earth Law is no joke." Ren also narrowed his eyes as he looked at his opponent. The Earth Law was more adept at defense than the Wind Law. Once the Pulse Armor fused multiple profound mysteries, it had a certain resistance to all surrounding attacks, and spatial binding was no exception.

Conofier's expression turned cold. Gripping his warhammer, he transformed into a streak of light and arrived before Ren in an instant. The warhammer was raised high once more and descended toward Ren's head.

"Hm? An afterimage?"

The moment the attack landed, Ren's figure vanished. Conofier's brow furrowed, but the sound of air being torn came from behind him. Conofier turned rapidly, blocking with his warhammer in front of his chest.

"Clang!"

A cyan sword shadow appeared in the void, blocked by the warhammer just before it could strike. Failing to land the blow, Ren immediately retreated to put distance between them.

"The speed of the Wind Law is indeed fast. It seems I need to change my approach."

Conofier stared at Ren, his divine power activating once more. The coverage of his gravity space shrank violently, and in the blink of an eye, it was reduced to only a hundred meters. Ren, who had turned into an afterimage, slowed slightly, his speed hindered.

"In terms of speed alone, the Earth Law cannot compare to the Wind Law, but my binding of space is stronger than yours. Once you enter my space, I will not give you a chance to leave." Conofier's voice echoed in Ren's mind as his figure once again transformed into a streak of light and charged out.

The gravity space of the Earth Law, when fused with Earth Pulse, created a special space with extremely strong binding power. Even a powerhouse of the Wind Law who excelled in speed could not utilize their advantage within it. In Conofier's view, as long as Ren entered his space, there was no way he could escape.

"I am not someone who only relies on speed to dodge!" Ren sneered inwardly. Ignoring Conofier's telepathic message, he began to circulate his divine power. Over a thousand energy clones appeared instantly, and for a moment, Ren was everywhere in the space.

"Do you think this will let you escape my gravity space? Gravity—Shift!" Conofier sneered. The binding force within the space changed instantly, all power shifting downward. The Wind-element energy clones immediately began to fall uncontrollably, while only Ren's true body remained unaffected.

"It's over!" Divine power churned within Conofier's body, and an earthy-yellow ripple expanded from the surface of his warhammer. With one swing, the profound mystery of power fused into the weapon. In an instant, the ripple dispersed, as if shaking the heavens and the earth.