The Four Divine Beasts Clan made quite a spectacle. Their vast procession rode four Metal Lifeforms shaped like the Azure Dragon, White Tiger, Vermilion Bird, and Black Tortoise, speeding toward Bifu Continent. They made no effort to conceal their movements along the way.
Soon, news of their arrival reached Fiend Castle and spread through all of Hell at top speed. For a time, every faction in Hell was on edge.
"What are the Four Divine Beasts Clan up to? What's gotten into Reding and the others this time?" Deep within the Star Fog Sea, inside the ninth story of a nine-story tower spanning a hundred miles, a strange-looking man in a dark golden robe muttered in puzzlement. The ninth story stood five thousand meters tall.
A short purple horn jutted from the man's forehead, and his long, deep-purple hair hung loose around him. His dark golden robe was decorated with numerous stars.
The man's identity was obvious from the fact that he'd called Azure Dragon Sovereign Reding by name: he was the Star Sovereign, Xing Yi.
Unlike Blood Peak Sovereign Pash, Xing Yi, the Destruction Intermediate Sovereign, was second only to the Destruction Overlord among the Seven Sovereigns of Hell. He had a forceful personality and little regard for the Four Divine Beasts. The sudden arrival of so many members of the Four Divine Beasts Clan in the Star Fog Sea made him frown.
But after Xing Yi's Divine Sense swept over the members of the Four Divine Beasts Clan, his furrowed brows relaxed, replaced by a look of puzzlement.
"Prefect of Liang'an? Ren? The one who killed an elder of the Four Divine Beasts Clan?"
Xing Yi muttered in surprise. He hadn't expected the Four Divine Beasts Clan to come to the Star Fog Sea for this reason. He'd long heard of their arrogance, but today's spectacle still surprised him.
"Reding and the other three really did raise a bunch of descendants just like themselves." Xing Yi withdrew his Divine Sense and gave a cold snort. He had little regard for the four.
Among the many Sovereigns, the Four Divine Beasts Sovereigns were known for their arrogance and domineering ways. In some respects, they rivaled the Radiant Overlord Augusta. Over the countless years, they'd clashed with many Sovereigns, but since the four were so powerful, most could only keep their resentment to themselves.
Xing Yi had once had a minor clash with the Four Divine Beasts Sovereigns, and his opinion of them was poor. Though he couldn't defeat them, as the second most powerful among the Seven Sovereigns of Hell, he was one of the first Sovereigns to pledge himself to the Destruction Overlord. He wasn't afraid of a conflict with the Four Divine Beasts.
"Bifu Continent? It's been a long time since I visited Lester. Since I'm here, I might as well go see him." Xing Yi murmured softly, then vanished in an instant. In almost no time, he'd crossed hundreds of millions of miles.
At Latafia Lake on Bifu Continent, golden light shone across the water, bathing the area within a thousand miles in a golden glow.
At the center of the lake sat an island a hundred miles across, surrounded by milky-white mist. It seemed cut off from the world, and no one could enter. Only a few powerful beings knew that this was the home of Bifu Continent's Sovereign, the Bifu Sovereign.
At the center of the island, a young man in a green short robe lounged on a reclining chair, quietly resting with his eyes closed.
His long hair fell in natural curls, its strands gleaming emerald green. A hint of languor showed on his face. Though he was right there, he seemed to blend into the surrounding void, as if he vanished whenever one's Divine Sense passed over him.
"Hm? Xing Yi?"
The next moment, the young man's eyes snapped open, and he looked toward the distance in surprise. It had been a long time since another Sovereign had visited him. After all, he wasn't a sociable Sovereign like Pash.
"Whoosh!"
Sovereign's Might gathered and took shape, dark golden light converging as Xing Yi appeared in his star-patterned robe. He smiled at the Bifu Sovereign.
"Lester, you're still as lazy as ever. If you really have nothing to do, you could go keep Pash company and play chess." A teasing look crossed Xing Yi's face as he sat in the chair beside Lester.
"I'm not going back. That Pash shows no mercy when he plays. I've lost so badly to him more times than I can remember!" The Bifu Sovereign, Lester, sat up, his flowing emerald-green eyebrows spreading apart as he spoke with exasperation.
Blood Peak Sovereign Pash was famous for his love of chess. When Sovereigns went to visit him, they'd often play for decades. But Pash was unbeatable at chess; even the Paragon Destruction Overlord and Theresia couldn't beat him.
"Just don't let Pash hear you say that next time, or he'll make you play for a few thousand years." Xing Yi shrugged. Pash's mild temperament made him popular with many Sovereigns, so Xing Yi didn't mind teasing him behind his back.
"So, what brings you here today?" Lester rolled his eyes, then conjured a table and two cups of tea. He rose and asked in a more serious tone. As a lazy Sovereign who disliked socializing, he couldn't imagine Xing Yi had dropped by out of boredom.
"I came because of someone named Ren. He should be the new Prefect of Liang'an. Have you heard of him?" Xing Yi picked up a cup of tea and took a sip before speaking.
"Prefect of Liang'an? I thought Alfred held that position. Did this Ren become Prefect within the last few centuries? Is he very powerful? Are you even thinking of taking him on as an envoy?"
Lester looked surprised. He knew Xing Yi's personality well. Given his cool and detached manner, the only reason Lester could think of for him to come to Bifu Continent looking for a Prefect was that this Ren was quite unusual and had caught Xing Yi's interest.
"You've misunderstood. I'm not planning to take him on as an envoy. Though he's probably strong enough, he likely won't live much longer. The Four Divine Beasts Clan is hunting him, and they've made quite a show of it. I'm just curious what happened between him and the clan."
Xing Yi sipped his fragrant tea and shook his head as he explained. He wasn't short on Sovereign Envoys and had no plans to recruit more for now. Besides, even if he did want another envoy, he wouldn't choose Ren. Anyone hunted by the Four Divine Beasts Clan was unlikely to live long, and Xing Yi wasn't about to protect an envoy by standing against the clan.
"Oh? The Four Divine Beasts Clan is hunting him? They haven't killed an Asura in a long time. Aside from the Asuras of the Augusta Clan, the others hardly dare pick a fight with the Four Divine Beasts Clan. And this Ren actually dared to?"
Lester raised an eyebrow. As he spoke, he quickly began checking the situation on Bifu Continent and the reports from Fiend Castle. It didn't take long to find all the information.
"Found it. Ren became Prefect of Liang'an over sixty years ago. Then, apparently, because the former Prefect, Alfred, had joined forces with Emmanuel of the Four Divine Beasts Clan, Emmanuel asked Reding's envoy, Conofier, to step in. Ren killed all three of them."
Lester watched the various images from Fiend Castle as he spoke with a sigh. In his eyes, Ren had mostly been unlucky, caught in the crossfire and attacked by the other side. But the Four Divine Beasts Clan wouldn't care about that. They only knew that Ren had killed their people, so he had to die.
"Hm? Ren went to the Netherworld?" Lester checked the teleportation array and suddenly spotted a record showing that Ren had gone to the Netherworld. He couldn't help but freeze.
"The Netherworld? Did he hear about the Four Divine Beasts Clan and decide to flee? Too bad. With the clan's strength, it won't matter where he runs. It's only a matter of time before they find him."
Xing Yi shook his head, passing judgment on Ren's fate: death.
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