Gaia Descends

"You—you actually dared!"

Gaia let out a furious roar. The dragon scales covering her body shattered instantly, revealing dozens of savage-looking bloody holes. By grievously wounding herself, she barely managed to break free.

Gaia's mask had shattered, revealing her naturally fair, cool features. But now she stared at Ren with blood-red eyes, as if she might explode at any moment.

Time seemed to freeze for several seconds. Gaia took a deep breath, then her expression returned to calm, and she spoke in an even tone:

"You! You must die!"

As she spoke, Gaia took a piece of parchment covered in magical runes from her Spatial Ring. A strange energy erupted as the parchment burned.

Humm~~

In an instant, a terrifying pressure appeared. A powerful presence emerged from the void, and everyone felt a fear that rose from the depths of their souls.

In midair, streams of blue water gathered in the void. A closer look revealed that they were all Water Sovereign Power.

The streams formed a huge vortex, then gradually coalesced into a single mass and transformed into a giant elemental face. The aura of a Sovereign spread out at once. Everyone nearby felt their souls tremble and quickly fell to their knees.

"A Sovereign, a Sovereign..."

Everyone around them reacted in an instant and dropped to their knees. Those secretly recording Floating Projections were especially drenched in cold sweat.

The only ones present who remained standing were Gaia and the other children of Sovereigns, along with Ren.

"A Sovereign!"

Though Ren did not kneel, he stopped what he was doing and bowed slightly to the elemental face in greeting.

A Paragon High-God did not need to kneel before a Sovereign. This was a privilege granted to Paragons, a mark of respect from the Sovereigns. But they still had to bow in greeting. After all, a Sovereign was still a Sovereign, and a Paragon was still a god.

Given Ren's relationship with the Four Divine Beasts Clan, he and Reding, the Azure Dragon Sovereign, were unlikely to get along. But Ren still showed the Sovereign the basic respect he was due.

The Azure Dragon Sovereign, Reding, quickly surveyed the battlefield. Then anger began to burn deep inside him.

He had sensed his daughter summoning him. Though surprised, he had come immediately. He hadn't expected to find such a scene: his two children were both covered in blood, as were several of his nieces and nephews, while the clan elders' corpses littered the ground.

The Azure Dragon Sovereign, Reding, turned his gaze toward Ren. Even though Ren wasn't currently releasing his Willpower, the fact that he hadn't knelt made it clear that he was a Paragon. He must have been responsible for everything that had happened here.

Reding felt somewhat regretful. As the clan's founding ancestor, he occasionally observed the clan and checked on how its members were doing. He knew the clan had sent a large force to Bifu Continent to surround and attack Ren. He simply hadn't cared.

In the Azure Dragon Sovereign, Reding's eyes, the clan was merely killing a Prefect. It was only natural for the children to send a large force to make an example of him; it was a trivial matter. He hadn't expected it to turn out like this.

Though many thoughts crossed his mind, the elemental face showed no change of expression. It simply maintained its lofty air, giving no hint of what he was thinking.

"Ren, you've reached Paragon. Impressive!"

The Azure Dragon Sovereign spoke evenly, betraying no anger or joy, as if the people who had just been killed had nothing to do with him.

Ren said nothing. He merely looked up at the Azure Dragon Sovereign and waited for him to continue.

Reding didn't mind Ren's "disrespect." A glimmer passed through his eyes, and then a powerful force abruptly surged forth. Energy sealed off the surrounding space, driving away all the outsiders who had been kneeling on the ground. Only Gaia and the other children of Sovereigns remained.

"Father! You absolutely can't let him go!" Tears filled Gaia's eyes. Now that the others were gone, she was the first to demand this of Reding. He might be a Sovereign, but he was also her father. She could afford to be a little impertinent with him.

"Ordinary gods shouldn't have offended a Paragon High-God. But they were still my descendants. You've killed so many people; you've had your fill of vengeance. Let this matter end here."

The Azure Dragon Sovereign glanced at Gaia and then changed tack, speaking with magnanimity, as if he didn't care in the least about what had happened.

Ren couldn't help looking somewhat surprised. Based on what he knew of the Four Divine Beasts Clan, he had expected this matter wouldn't be settled so easily. Was the Azure Dragon Sovereign, Reding, really not going to pursue it at all?

Generally, as long as no one killed a Sovereign's children, the Sovereign wouldn't personally intervene. But the Four Divine Beasts Sovereigns were usually an exception. The four of them were oddities among Sovereigns, domineering and arrogant in their actions, with no friends other than the Bauhinia Sovereign.

"Boom!"

Just as the Azure Dragon Sovereign finished speaking, an explosive sound rang out. Violent white Sovereign's Might gathered into streams of water, then transformed into a cold, impassive giant face.

"Even if someone from my White Tiger Clan did something wrong, it shouldn't be up to an outsider to deal with them. Ren, you may be a Paragon High-God, but you've crossed the line. You will answer for this!"

Anger showed on the White Tiger Sovereign, Lierus's face, as if Ren had done something unforgivable.

"Lierus, you..."

"Big Brother, don't try to talk me out of it. We can't let this go!" The White Tiger Sovereign cut off the Azure Dragon Sovereign, his face furious as he stared at Ren. Killing intent flickered in his icy eyes.

"Ren, no matter what, you've killed so many people from our clan. My younger brother is furious. How about this? We'll each give a little. You can become my envoy and serve as an honorary elder in the Four Divine Beasts Clan for a trillion years. That will count as an apology. How does that sound?"

The Azure Dragon Sovereign, Reding, turned to Ren and proposed a "fair" deal, as if he were the one compromising.

A cold glint flashed in Ren's eyes. The Azure Dragon Sovereign and the White Tiger Sovereign were playing good cop and bad cop, trying to fool him like a child. They actually wanted him to serve as an elder in the Four Divine Beasts Clan to make amends?

"Sorry, Sovereign. I'm already a Sovereign Envoy, and I have a task from my Sovereign to complete. I'm afraid I can't go to the Four Divine Beasts Clan, much less become your envoy!"

Ren's voice was cold. The little respect he'd had just moments ago had vanished. He looked the Azure Dragon Sovereign straight in the eye as he spoke.

"Oh? You're a Sovereign Envoy?" Surprise crept into the Azure Dragon Sovereign's voice. He had tried to pressure Ren alongside the White Tiger Sovereign precisely because he knew Ren wasn't a Sovereign Envoy. After all, a Paragon might be exceptional, but he was still just a god.

Sovereigns respected Paragons, but that didn't mean they feared them. A Paragon had no power to fight back against a Sovereign. So Reding had planned to force Ren to become his envoy. He didn't care whether stepping in after his children had been beaten would make him look bad.

The Four Divine Beasts Sovereigns acted in a way that set them apart from other Sovereigns. Most Sovereigns were conscious of their status and wouldn't casually lower themselves to attack a god. Even if Leisjing were beaten, the Bauhinia Sovereign wouldn't care. Reding and the other three, however, didn't much care about such things.

"You're a Sovereign Envoy? Whose envoy are you?" the White Tiger Sovereign asked, his brows shooting up on the giant face.

Ren took a piece of parchment straight from his Spatial Ring. As the magical runes burned, an aura of authority erupted. An eerie crimson light flashed, and a dark-red glow, exuding the aura of death, began to gather.