Arthur: I'm fighting Great Perfection?

"These two guys, they actually appeared here?" Ren looked toward the two gold and silver figures beside the Nether Fruit Tree with some surprise, his mind racing with a thousand thoughts.

Although this was Ren's first time seeing these two, their identities were not hard to guess; they were the companion Snake Spirits of the Nether Overgod and the Sovereign of Death, Jin and Iwina.

The two great snakes, one gold and one silver, had a close relationship with the two Sovereigns of Nether Mountain. In a sense, they could be considered the Sovereigns' pets, and their strength was at the level of a fledgling Commander.

However, logically speaking, it should have been their daughter appearing in the Gray Mist Zone; these two fellows did not participate in the competition for the Nether Fruit unless the Sovereigns issued them a direct order.

"Could it be that the Sovereign of Death sent them to stop me?" Ren muttered to himself, unable to help but complain about the Sovereign of Death, but he quickly pulled his thoughts back and turned his gaze toward the Nether Fruit on the tree crown.

Although with Ren's current strength, the Nether Fruit probably wouldn't help much in terms of improvement, Ren was still very curious about what exactly the Nether Fruit did. Even with the memories from Blue Star, Ren didn't know much about it.

Rumors only claimed that those who obtained the Nether Fruit could improve their strength and become a Sovereign Envoy. Bolelei, who existed in the Blue Star memories, already possessed the strength of a Seven-Star Fiend, and after obtaining a Nether Fruit, his strength increased by a significant margin, reaching the level of an average Sovereign Envoy, but there was absolutely no clue as to how it actually improved one's power.

"If you want the Nether Fruit, you must be prepared to die!" Asers, who had been sitting for a long time, stepped out with large strides and stood before everyone. His eagle-like gaze swept across the crowd, and a silver curved blade suddenly appeared in his hand, radiating a daunting aura.

"A Sovereign Artifact?" Someone in the crowd exclaimed, their tone filled with shock.

"Are you kidding me? Do we need a Sovereign Envoy to stop us just to snatch a Nether Fruit?" A red-haired, burly man couldn't help but curse.

"If you want the Nether Fruit, you must be mentally prepared for death!" Asers didn't care about the surrounding discussion at all, merely revealing a lazy expression as if waiting for others to make the first move.

"Everyone, let's attack together! No matter how strong they are, they can't stop us all at once!"

In the crowd, someone shouted, and in an instant, dozens of colorful streams of light emerged as various strange attacks rushed toward Asers.

"How boring."

Asers swung his right hand, and the silver battle blade instantly traced a perfect arc. A transparent blade light rose from the ground, passing through the colorful energy attacks in the blink of an eye and continuing to surge toward the crowd.

In an instant, the few people in front who hadn't reacted had their bodies directly shattered, their Godheads falling to the ground without a single chance to resist.

Ren looked at the incoming blade light and merely let out a soft hum. A layer of cyan airflow emerged on his skin, which then suddenly transformed into a mass of light, condensing into a blade that met the attack head-on, instantly neutralizing the energy contained within the Sovereign Artifact.

"Hmm? This attack power?"

Asers narrowed his eyes, his expression becoming much more solemn. Although the material attack of the Wind Law was strong, countering an attack launched with a Sovereign Artifact was no easy feat. Clearly, the opponent's strength was not simple.

"Your strength is not bad, kid. It looks like among this group, you are the most likely to obtain the Nether Fruit, but we don't want you to have it!"

The Golden Great Snake slithered its body, slowly arriving beside Asers. Purple light emerged from its pupils as it stared at Ren with great interest.

"It seems things are about to get interesting." The silver great snake followed behind, its nine heads swaying constantly, a hint of solemnity flashing in its dark eyes.

At some point, everyone else had already stood behind Ren, as if they regarded him as their backbone, including the strongest among them, Bolelei. At this moment, Bolelei had already seen that this appearance of the Nether Fruit was vastly different from the past, and he had no intention of making a move for the time being.

"Your strength is very high. If I let you compete with the others, no one would be able to outmatch you. But this time, for the appearance of the Nether Fruit, your opponent is me!"

Asers also looked at Ren, ignoring everyone else entirely. His body flickered for a moment, turning into a streak of silver light as he charged out.

"Oh?" Ren let out a soft sound of surprise. He didn't directly use his Willpower, but instead, a powerful airflow erupted from his body, forming a ribbon a hundred meters away that bound Asers directly, creating a giant sphere. He then ignored Asers and turned his gaze toward the Nether Fruit.

"What?" Asers was startled, but his movements were not slow. His silver battle blade emitted bursts of sharpness, hacking repeatedly at the cyan ribbon. However, no matter what he did, he remained bound, unable to escape the sphere's range.

"You?"

The moment Asers was blocked, the Golden Great Snake was shocked. However, before it could react, Ren's figure blurred, and he had already arrived less than twenty meters from the tree crown, capable of claiming the Nether Fruit in an instant.

"Not good! Go!"

The Golden Great Snake let out a loud shout. The Nether Fruit Tree seemed to sense something, and the Nether Fruit that had been wrapped within it flew out directly, heading toward the crowd.

"The Nether Fruit! It's mine!" In an instant, everyone went crazy. Various energies erupted as they all flew toward the Nether Fruit in unison.

"Now is the time!"

Bolelei was the first to react. An earthy-yellow ripple spread from beneath his feet, and a massive pulse of energy erupted from the ground, shaking everyone else away for a moment. Then, Bolelei reached out his right hand and grabbed the Nether Fruit.

"Hahaha!"

Bolelei couldn't help but laugh, opening his mouth toward the Nether Fruit. At this very moment, he only needed to eat it to fulfill his long-held wish and become a Sovereign Envoy.

"Swish!"

At this very moment, a terrifying aura suddenly erupted. Bolelei felt an irresistible binding force acting upon him, and before he could even process it, the Nether Fruit in his hand had vanished, leaving only his empty mouth slightly agape.

Willpower—Binding!

"Hmm? This is? Willpower?" The Sovereign of Death, who had been sitting on her throne, suddenly stood up, looking at this scene with an astonished expression.

"Alright, the battle is over!" Ren held the crystal-clear fruit, withdrew the binding, and simultaneously released the light sphere around Asers. Amidst the latter's bewildered expression, Ren tucked the Nether Fruit into his Spatial Ring.

With the Nether Fruit in his hands, it was impossible for anyone else to snatch it. At this moment, the crowd didn't make a move, only staring at Ren with horror, their expressions filled with shock.

"Boom!"

In the void, streams of water suddenly emerged, forming a giant elemental face. A powerful pressure instantly acted upon the entire scene.

"Sovereign!"

Asers was the first to kneel on the ground, and Jin and Iwina also prostrated themselves instantly, speaking in respectful tones.

The crowd of people knelt down in a large wave, everyone's faces filled with fear.

"Sovereign!"

Ren also bowed slightly, signifying his greeting to the Sovereign. Being able to see a Sovereign without kneeling was a privilege reserved for the children of Sovereigns and Paragon Highgods.

Seeing that Ren did not kneel but only bowed slightly, the expressions of Asers and the gold and silver great snakes changed instantly. The pupils of the two snakes dilated significantly, looking somewhat comical, and Asers felt a lingering fear as he cursed inwardly:

"Just now, I attacked a Paragon? Sovereign, what were you doing making me fight a Paragon?"