On Bifu Continent, in Liang'an Prefecture's Nasina Valley, emerald-green forests covered the entire region, radiating a faint vitality that seemed utterly out of place in Hell, a land filled with slaughter.
Deep underground, Ren sat with his eyes closed. A green glow enveloped him, coiling around him again and again until it formed a unique magnetic field. Within it, Ren felt the fusion of the Profound Mysteries. The final bottleneck—the one that had held back countless geniuses across the Divine Planes—had finally been broken. A new power erupted within his divine body.
"Boom!"
The world changed color. At that moment, the Laws of the World descended, heralding the pinnacle of the Divine Domain.
"It's here!"
Ren's eyes snapped open. Divine Power surged within him, and his divine body flew skyward against his will. The power bestowed by the Laws of the World flowed into him, and the energy that let him control the world merged into his Wind Divine Clone.
If an ordinary outsider at the divine level had been there, they would likely have been puzzled. No Godhead appeared above Ren's head. Ordinarily, when the Laws of the World descended, it was because a Godhead was undergoing a transformation: when advancing from the Saint Realm to godhood, one condensed a Godhead suited to one's soul; when advancing from Lowgod to Mid-God, or from Mid-God to Highgod, the Godhead transformed.
But the most powerful experts and Sovereigns would immediately have understood what this meant. At the moment of breakthrough, a Paragon High-God gained Willpower bestowed by the Laws of the World. His Godhead did not need to transform. If Bifu Sovereign had happened to be surveying the continent just then, he could have noticed at once—but he wasn't.
The Laws of the World came and went quickly, vanishing almost as soon as they had appeared.
"At last, I've reached this point—the true pinnacle of cultivation in the Coiling Dragon World!"
Ren slowly extended his right hand. A sense of control over the world welled up within him, as if he could tear the entire world apart at will. He knew this was the Willpower bestowed by the Laws of the World. In the Magic Universe, only a Sovereign Spark, becoming a Paragon, a ten-win streak reward in a Planar War, or a Four-Element Soul Mutation could grant it.
A Paragon High-God was more than just a title. It meant becoming invincible in the Divine Planes. Even the exalted Sovereigns treated one as an equal. It was the true pinnacle of cultivation.
"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!"
Ren turned his fists into palms and gave them a few casual swings. He used no Mysteries to attack, only his physical strength to strike space. In an instant, a massive spatial rift appeared, stretching more than ten meters in the blink of an eye and revealing the seven-colored Spatial Turbulence beyond.
"So this is the power of Willpower—the feeling of controlling the world!"
Feeling the power of his casual strike, Ren smiled faintly. Breaking through into the Spatial Turbulence was nothing special; even a Seven-Star Demon in Hell could do it. But they had to unleash a powerful attack using the Profound Mysteries of their laws. A Paragon could do it with a casual swing. That was the power of Willpower.
Even a Peak Asura who had fused five Profound Mysteries and stood just one step from becoming a Paragon was worlds apart from one, utterly unable to fight back. Leisjing, a super divine beast who had fused five Profound Mysteries and wielded a Sovereign Artifact and Sovereign's Might, had still been like a child before Bayer and Magnus.
"Now the Four Divine Beasts Clan is no longer a threat. No matter how many Asuras they have, they won't be a match for me. But the Four Divine Beasts Sovereigns..." Ren withdrew his Divine Power and merged with the air, hovering as lightly as the wind. For a time, he fell into thought.
Given the Four Divine Beasts Clan's ways, they would never let him off easily. With his current strength, he had nothing to fear, but he couldn't ignore one possibility: the Four Divine Beasts Sovereigns might intervene.
In the eyes of a Paragon High-God, the Four Divine Beasts Clan was nothing. But the clan had Sovereigns behind it. Though the unspoken rule among Sovereigns was that they wouldn't interfere as long as no Sovereign's children were killed—even if one of them was taught a lesson—that was merely an unspoken understanding, not a formal pact among the Sovereigns.
It was said that countless years ago, the Four Divine Beasts Sovereigns had personally stepped in to help their clan deal with a Highgod. It was impossible to know whether the story was true after so long, but if the Four Divine Beasts Sovereigns really did interfere and kill a Paragon High-God, the worst they would suffer was some loss of face in front of the other Sovereigns.
Judging by the Four Divine Beasts Clan's conduct, the Four Divine Beasts Sovereigns probably weren't the sort to listen to reason. Given their temperament, they might not care much about such an unspoken rule.
Ren had no way of knowing whether the Four Divine Beasts Sovereigns would lower themselves to intervene. He didn't dare entrust his life to anyone else, so his only option was to secure the protection of a Rule Overlord. Only a Rule Overlord could openly deter the Four Divine Beasts Sovereigns.
"Looks like I need to visit Nether Mountain." Ren's short black hair fluttered in the wind, and a glint of cold light passed through his eyes. He made up his mind, turned into a streak of light, and sped toward the teleportation array.
The Four Divine Beasts Clan knew nothing of Ren's departure. They continued leading their forces toward Bifu Continent in a grand procession. Even if they had known, they probably wouldn't have changed their plans. Their primary goal this time was to intimidate everyone in the Divine Planes with overwhelming force.
Tia and Gaia had naturally considered whether Ren might hear the news and flee, but they didn't care. Even if he ran, he could only escape for a time. The Four Divine Beasts Clan had influence throughout the Divine Planes. If they truly pursued him, Ren wouldn't be able to get away.
On Blood Peak Continent, deep in the Lianyun Mountain Range, lay a lake a thousand li across. Mist shrouded its surface year-round, and a small island in its center was covered in flower gardens.
At the island's center stood a modest, cone-shaped hall. A man with reddish hair and curved crimson markings between his brows sat quietly at a stone table. Two maids stood silently behind him.
Anyone who saw the scene would have been astonished. The two maids were none other than famous Seven-Star Demons of Blood Peak Continent, yet they now served as ordinary attendants. The identity of the red-haired man was obvious.
Blood Peak Sovereign—Pash, the ruler of Blood Peak Continent and one of the Seven Sovereigns of Hell.
"Hm? What is the Four Divine Beasts Clan up to?" Pash had been polishing a chess piece when he suddenly looked up, furrowing his brows as he muttered in surprise.
As the nominal ruler of Blood Peak Continent, Pash occasionally surveyed the continent to see if anything interesting was happening. After all, the Sovereigns had little to do through the endless years, so they had to find whatever amusement they could.
Just moments ago, Pash had noticed that the Four Divine Beasts Clan had gathered a large force and was heading toward the Star Fog Sea in a grand procession, as if preparing to go to war with someone.
"Strange. With the Four Divine Beasts Clan's strength, who would they need so many people to fight?" Pash set down the chess piece and fell into thought. He rarely interacted with the Four Divine Beasts, but their Ancestral Land was on Blood Peak Continent. After all these years, he had come to know the clan quite well.
The Four Divine Beasts Clan was utterly domineering. No matter who had clashed with one of their people, and for whatever reason, the clan would always take their side without question. Their clansmen were also extremely overbearing, so despite their strength, they often encountered people who would fight them to the death in a fit of rage. As a result, the clan periodically sent out experts to handle such matters.
But the force they had dispatched this time left Pash momentarily dumbfounded. With seven Asuras and thirty Seven-Star Demons leading the way, they could have taken on any squad in the Planar Battlefield except one led by a Paragon High-God. Yet the Planar War wasn't underway, and the Four Divine Beasts Clan never took part in it anyway.
"Could they be going to war with the Augusta Clan? If so, Reding and the others must be behind it. Are the four of them planning to go to war with the Radiant Overlord? Never mind. They can do as they please; it has nothing to do with me."
After thinking it over for a moment, Pash shook his head and lowered his gaze, resuming his polishing. The chess piece was already spotless, but Pash seemed to enjoy polishing it. He always cleaned it again after a while, looking, at first glance, like a little old man from a Material Plane who cared about nothing but playing chess.
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