Reding's Helplessness

Blood Peak Continent, Youlan Prefecture, Heavenly Sacrifice Mountain Range, Azure Dragon Palace.

"Whoosh!"

As Sovereign's Might surged, Gaiseresen and the others landed on the tiled floor.

"Big brother? What happened to you?"

A voice rang out, full of uncertainty. Mori, the Black Tortoise Grand Elder, rubbed his eyes and stared at the scene before him in disbelief.

During this time, the family's Asuras had been sent out, leaving Mori as the only one at home. So he had been staying in the Azure Dragon Palace, where the family elders would come to find him whenever they needed something.

Mori had been waiting for his older brothers and sisters to return victorious. Instead, this was what he saw: Gaiseresen and the others were all injured, their blood dripping onto the floor and staining the blue tiles red.

It was obvious that a Sovereign had helped them return just now. It seemed as though his brothers had run into danger and their ancestor had rescued them. Everything he was seeing was shaking Mori's worldview.

"Children, let this matter end here. Take care of the clansmen, and don't provoke that Ren for the time being!"

The voice of Reding, the Azure Dragon Sovereign, sounded in the minds of the six of them. It carried weariness and helplessness, along with a hint of guilt, as if he didn't know how to face his children. After saying those words, Reding left.

"Big brother, what happened? Where are the others? Did they...?"

The Black Tortoise Grand Elder, Mori, shrank his pupils. His eyes instantly reddened as he looked at Gaiseresen, his voice trembling slightly. His only son had joined the mission, too.

The others looked at one another. In the end, the Black Tortoise Patriarch, Morey, forced himself to explain what had happened to his younger brother, despite his grief.

"Bang!"

Mori let out an enraged roar that rang beyond the palace, reaching the clansmen patrolling outside. Quite a few of them were badly frightened, then began whispering and speculating among themselves.

Gaiseresen swept his Divine Sense over the guards outside and was about to say something. But then he thought of the people who had watched the battle in Liang'an Prefecture, and in the end said nothing. There was no way to hide what had happened. Sooner or later, all of Hell—and even every Divine Plane—would hear about it.

"Why did Father and the others give in? What gives the Sovereign of Death the right to be so unreasonable? At worst, Father and the others could ask the Destruction Overlord for help. The Destruction Overlord and our ancestor have such a good relationship..." Mori's eyes were bloodshot. The more he thought about it, the angrier he became. Unable to suppress his fury, he blurted out something deeply disrespectful.

"Mori, enough! You have no right to question Father and the others' decision!" Gaiseresen reacted first and slapped Mori, his voice icy.

Only then did Mori come to his senses. He realized he had said something disrespectful about his father and the others. His face flushed red, but he said no more.

Though Gaiseresen also felt that their ancestor had no need to give in. The Sovereign of Death was a Rule Overlord, but the Destruction Overlord had an excellent relationship with their ancestor. Their ancestor had always remained in Hell and could be considered part of the Destruction Overlord's faction. He might not have needed to fear the Sovereign of Death.

But Gaiseresen knew they couldn't disobey their father and the others' decision. Though they were children, they were also descendants of their ancestor's clan. They couldn't go against the ancestor's decision.

Meanwhile, after the Azure Dragon Sovereign left.

Blood Peak Continent, Laluojilin Canyon. Dim moonlight spilled across the land. The entire canyon was silent, with no movement for thousands of miles around.

"Boom!"

A terrifying aura suddenly burst out from within the canyon. A divine beast's roar rang toward the heavens as a stream of azure air shot skyward.

"This is too much!"

Deep within the canyon, in a grand palace, a man in a white robe with white markings carved into his forehead smashed the table before him. An enraged growl rose from his throat.

Four figures—three men and a woman—sat around a stone table in the palace. Besides the white-robed figure, there was a tall, burly man with brown hair, a young woman with flowing fiery-red hair, and a blue-haired man whose ice-blue brows drifted as he sat there, expressionless.

A terrifying aura radiated from the white-robed man. The markings on his clothes seemed to merge with his body, as if he might transform into an enraged White Tiger at any moment. He gritted his teeth and cursed.

"All right, Lierus. Anger won't solve anything. Calm down." The blue-haired man spoke slowly, placing his right hand on Lierus's shoulder to soothe his hot-tempered younger brother.

"Phew!"

Lierus, the White Tiger Sovereign, took a deep breath, then slowly sat down. The aura around him subsided completely.

"Big brother, are we really going to let this go? That Ren is far too arrogant. Our clan has never suffered such a great loss in all these years!"

The Black Tortoise Sovereign, Bowen, reached out his right hand and conjured a new table. Then he spoke indignantly.

The Vermilion Bird Sovereign, Nimo, said nothing, but she also looked toward Reding, the Azure Dragon Sovereign, waiting for her eldest brother's decision.

"All right. Let this matter end here. We can't get into another conflict with the Sovereign of Death."

Reding spoke with unmistakable authority. Though the four siblings were very close, when it truly mattered, he still had the bearing of an eldest brother.

"Big brother, how much longer do we have to live like this?" The Vermilion Bird Sovereign, Nimo, lowered her head, her voice carrying a hint of unhappiness and a trace of uncertainty about the future.

If outsiders saw the Vermilion Bird Sovereign like this, they would surely be shocked. After all, the legendary Four Divine Beasts Sovereigns had always been known for their arrogance and domineering ways.

Reding sighed softly and said nothing. Outsiders only saw the Four Divine Beasts and their clan as arrogant and domineering. In truth, they had their own helplessness, too. They really were arrogant, truly were overbearing, and truly were helpless.

The Four Divine Beasts Sovereigns were a special group among the Overgods. Though they were Low-Sovereigns, they had power comparable to that of Overlords. In the eyes of the many Overgods, they were immensely prestigious and untouchable.

But Reding knew that the four of them had always been in a dangerous position. Their innate bloodline was something every Overlord was interested in. The Destruction Overlord seemed to have a good relationship with them and even often visited the Four Divine Beasts Clan.

That was why their children all thought the relationship was close. But Reding could see that the Destruction Overlord was a madman, single-mindedly focused on surpassing the Fate Overlord. How could he genuinely be their friend? In the end, what interested the Destruction Overlord was the Four Divine Beasts' bloodline abilities.

Over the countless years, members of the Four Divine Beasts Clan had gone missing, both openly and in secret. Though there was no proof, Reding suspected that the Destruction Overlord had quietly taken them away to study their bloodlines.

The Fate Overlord was no different. Though the Fate Overlord kept out of worldly affairs, Reding had never dared to think of him as a kindly old man. The Fate Overlord was even crazier than the Destruction Overlord, eager to study anything that might increase his power. Naturally, the four of them were no exception.