Peak Asura

In the Netherworld, atop a ten-thousand-meter mountain outside Mo Yuan City in Hongyang Prefecture of the Nether Continent, stood a dark red palace.

The palace was roughly a hundred meters tall and emanated an eerie aura.

Within the grand hall deep inside the palace, a young man sat with his eyes closed. Countless vines surrounded him. Their surfaces sometimes glimmered with grayish-black light, sometimes with emerald-green light, and sometimes the two lights intertwined.

After an immeasurable span of time, the man slowly opened his eyes and said in a deep voice, "These Death Rule and Life Law always feel as though they are just one final step away from a breakthrough, yet no matter what I do, I cannot take that step."

The man was named Sean. He was a transmigrator from Earth to the world of "Coiling Dragon." He had been born with talent in the Life Law, Death Rule, and Light Law, and by a fortunate coincidence, he had completed a Three-element Soul Mutation in the Qingyuan Material Plane where he had been born.

After cultivating to become a Highgod in the Material Plane, he had sent his Death God Avatar to the Netherworld, while his other two divine avatars remained in the Qingyuan Material Plane.

Billions of years later, his Death Rule and Life Law had both reached the Asura level. The fusion of their profound mysteries had reached an unparalleled height. By his estimation, if he took one more step forward, the heavens and earth would bestow Willpower upon him, just as they did upon a Paragon of a single Law.

As for the Light Law, his talent in it was quite ordinary. Even after billions of years, he was still only a Mid God. The final profound mystery, Judgment of Light, had never reached completion and remained stuck at the last step.

At that moment, a familiar voice came from outside the hall. "Master."

Sean immediately dispersed the energy around him and sent a message through divine sense. "Assas, come in."

Soon, the doors opened, and a man with three sharp horns growing from his head entered. He knelt and said, "Greetings, Master."

"Rise." Sean spoke indifferently.

As a peak expert in the Death Rule, he could naturally Soul Seed large numbers of other God level experts. The man before him was a Seven-Star Demon who cultivated the Destruction Rule.

Moreover, his Soul Seed was exceptionally special, even more terrifying than Mors's in the original work. This was not because his comprehension of profound mysteries was stronger, but because, as a transmigrator, he too possessed a Golden Finger. Deep within his soul was a mysterious pearl, which Sean called the "Soul Pearl."

Sean did not know where this Soul Pearl had come from, but it could protect his soul. So long as he did not die, the Soul Pearl could immediately replenish any loss to his soul, much like the Supreme God Relic, the Nine Spirit Pearls, in the original work.

As for whether he could revive after being killed by a Soul Attack like Morde, Sean had never tested it, nor did he dare to.

Besides protecting his soul, the Soul Pearl had two other traits. First, it made the Soul Poison he refined extremely terrifying, increasing its power a hundredfold. Second, it increased the number of Soul Seeds and Soul Bewilderments he could use.

Speaking solely of Seven-Star Demons, even Mors could only Soul Seed a dozen or so. Any more, and Mors's soul would be unable to endure it. Yet Sean could easily Soul Seed more than a hundred.

After Assas rose to his feet, he said, "Master, Master Breler is ready."

"I know." Sean replied indifferently.

By the time Assas raised his head, Sean had already vanished.

Within Black Wind Valley:

"Breler?" Sean suddenly called out as he appeared behind a man.

"Lord Sean." Breler was startled, then turned around and said, "My lord, the Magic Array is ready. You can begin extracting Sovereign's Might."

"Good. You've worked hard." Sean said with a smile.

He had not Soul Seed Breler, the Magic Array Grandmaster from the original work. It was not because he did not want to, but because he did not dare to take the gamble.

When Linley had chosen a Lord God Emissary in the original work, Destiny Master Orloff had happened to send someone to seize the emissary position. That coincidence was far too suspicious. It was very possible that Orloff had long known of this extraordinarily talented Magic Array Grandmaster. If Sean Soul Seeded him, the consequences would be difficult to predict.

Although Sean also felt that the possibility was small, there was no need to gamble. He only needed a Magic Array Grandmaster. By building a good relationship and spending money, he could still have Breler work for him. There was no need to take risks.

Breler continued, "Lord Sean, I must also remind you that although I have prepared the Magic Array, the success rate for extracting Sovereign's Might is extremely low. As far as I know, many peak experts have a success rate of less than one in ten thousand. Only experts who refine it frequently have somewhat higher success rates."

"Don't worry, I know. If we fail, we'll try again." Sean nodded.

The first difficulty in extracting Sovereign's Might was its terrifyingly high failure rate. After Sovereign's Might was extracted from the currency, the operator had to rely on the Magic Array to control the Sovereign's Might that escaped.

The power of Sovereign's Might was such that, in theory, only Paragons possessing Willpower could control it. Even other peak Asuras, with the assistance of a Magic Array, had only a minuscule chance of success. Naturally, this also depended on the quality of the Magic Array, which was why Sean had spent vast manpower, resources, and time searching for Breler.

Breler continued, "The second difficulty is that, during the process, the extractor's soul will endure immense pressure and unbearable pain. You will also need to continuously replenish Soul Gold Pearls or use other methods to restore your soul.

"Once you can no longer endure the pain, or your soul replenishment cannot keep up, you will be unable to control the extracted Sovereign's Might, and the attempt will fail."

"I've prepared for that as well." Sean replied with a faint smile.

Those two factors had almost completely eliminated attempts by peak experts to extract Sovereign's Might themselves. The first, a success rate of less than one in ten thousand, meant that extracting Sovereign's Might required an astronomical fortune. The second tested the limits of an expert's soul endurance, and the vast majority of people simply could not bear it.

However, his situation was far better. His Three-element Soul Mutation made his soul powerful, and he also had the Soul Pearl within him to rapidly replenish his depleted soul power.

Breler nodded. "Then please proceed. Once you enter, simply follow the method I explained."

"Fine." Sean flew directly into the Magic Array. With a thought, tens of quadrillions of Nether Stones instantly appeared around him.

A hundred years passed. One day, while Breler was resting with his eyes closed, he suddenly sensed that the pressure within the Magic Array had vanished. This could only mean one of two things: either the extraction had failed and the gaseous Sovereign's Might had dissipated, or it had succeeded.

After a while, Sean walked out from within.

Breler stepped forward and asked, "Lord Sean, how did it go?"

"The final attempt succeeded." Sean said with a faint smile. "This extraction of Sovereign's Might was quite successful."

He had successfully extracted Sovereign's Might sixteen times in total, filling him with delight. He had never expected that the combination of his Soul Pearl and Soul Mutation would allow him to achieve such astonishing efficiency.