Rhodes had a terrible headache. He had yet to decide what to do with these four little fellows, and for now, he did not intend to think about it anymore. At the very least, he and Pash could suppress the Four Divine Beasts at any time, so there was no great hurry.
Rhodes planned to rest in the Skyrite Mountains for a while, taking the opportunity to digest his insights from the Star Mist Sea and create finishing moves better suited to himself.
After all, the next time he went traveling, his opponents could only be the few figures who currently stood at the very pinnacle of the Infernal Realm.
There were only a handful of them, including the Demon King and Watrod. When fighting these people, a single careless moment could mean death, so Rhodes did not want to seek them out before raising his strength to its limit.
As for Pash, he had no particular plans either. After discovering the Four Divine Beasts, Rhodes had discussed things with him, and Pash had said that resting here for a while would be fine. His fire element divine clone needed to cultivate as well.
Tempering the Four Divine Beasts when he had nothing else to do would at least keep him from getting bored.
Seeing that Pash had no objections, Rhodes naturally prepared to stay in the Skyrite Mountains for a while.
He would see how to get along with the Four Divine Beasts. Every Divine Beast was proud, let alone top-tier Divine Beasts like these four. As for the arrogant behavior of the future Four Divine Beasts Clan?
Why could they not be arrogant if they had the strength? In a universe where the strong preyed on the weak, what was wrong with a little arrogance from a clan whose four members together were the equivalent of a Sovereign?
Could Rhodes really let the Light Sovereign slaughter the four of them again, after all the countless trillions of years from the dawn of the world into the future? He could get Pash a Destruction Element Mid-level Sovereign Spark, see whether they could seize the Fire Sovereign Spark, and get himself something like the Lightning or Wind Sovereign Spark. With the Four Divine Beasts added to that, who in this universe could still kill him?
Even the Sovereigns of the Four Edicts probably would not offend him lightly!
As for Heaven and Earth Wonders, he would have to pay attention to collecting them and strive to complete a few more Overgod Missions. Heh heh, if he could gather three pieces like Orloff, who could do anything to him?
Just thinking about life in the future makes it seem wonderful. Ah, I should first observe what these Four Divine Beasts are like. From the original story, the four of them had terribly poor relationships with others. It seemed Zijing was their only Sovereign friend, and even that relationship was not particularly close, Rhodes mused inwardly as he looked at the Four Divine Beasts before him.
Rhodes actually very much wanted to nurture the Four Divine Beasts. They would be a great help when competing for Sovereign Sparks. As long as they helped him seize the Lightning Sovereign's Divine Spark, with his greater Willpower than others, he might not be able to defeat the Edict Sovereigns, but which of the other Elemental Sovereigns could defeat him?
That went even more for Mid-level or Lower Sovereigns. There was no Sovereign Agreement now; whoever was stronger could claim the Sovereign Spark.
There was another point Rhodes considered: the absence of Sovereigns possessing three or four Sovereign Sparks probably also had something to do with the Sovereigns of the Four Edicts. They feared that someone might narrow the gap between them.
The four must have maintained a relationship of both opposition and alliance all along.
Opposition meant that none of the four could refine even one additional Sovereign Spark. Alliance meant standing against the other Sovereigns, forbidding any Sovereign from possessing more than two Sovereign Sparks.
In the original story, apart from the Lightning Sovereign Hulei, who was a dual-element Sovereign, no one else possessed multiple Sovereign Sparks.
At this thought, Rhodes could not help thinking of the Demon King. If someone with a soul mutation like him obtained a Sovereign Spark, even a Mid-level Sovereign Spark, the enhanced power from his soul mutation, the fusion of Profound Mysteries of different elements, and the fusion of Sovereign power would allow him to threaten a Sovereign.
No wonder there were no Sovereigns with soul mutations in the original story. Could those Edict Sovereigns have killed them all early on? Rhodes shuddered at the thought, feeling that his guess was probably close to the truth. Otherwise, among the fifty or sixty Sovereigns in the future, how could there be no one capable of confronting an Edict Sovereign?
The Elemental Sovereigns had very little presence, while the Edict Sovereigns seemed to stand on an entirely different level from the other Sovereigns. That was without even mentioning that each Edict Sovereign had an Overgod artifact. Could those really have been offered up by others? They must have picked them up through their own strength.
He could not think about it any further. The more he thought, the more deeply he sensed a conspiracy behind it all. He was not good at such games. Better to strengthen himself and win over a few powerful Sovereigns.
Rhodes thought, Luckily, I've already gathered the Heaven and Earth Wonders that can conceal my identity. Once I have time, I'll send my wind divine clone out. He needs to make a name for himself as soon as possible and establish an identity separate from my lightning divine clone.
Bah! I got carried away again without noticing. I'll spend a few years getting to know these four little fellows first. If they turn out to be decent...
"There's no need for you to be nervous. We two brothers plan to stay in the Skyrite Mountains for a while. Seeing as all four of you are still Lowgods, I can guide you in advancing to Midgods as soon as possible." Rhodes stopped his wandering thoughts and spoke to Azure Dragon Leiding, the eldest of the Four Divine Beasts.
"Fine. Even if we disagreed, we couldn't drive you away anyway. If you want to stay here for a while, then stay. As for guiding our cultivation, I wonder what abilities you have. Can you do anything besides overwhelm others with your cultivation level?"
Azure Dragon looked at Rhodes, his eyes full of curiosity. Judging by his aura alone, Rhodes was no stronger than that red-haired deity, yet the red-haired deity listened to him. Leiding was immensely curious about this.
"Heh, you think I'm not qualified to guide you? Although I don't cultivate the elemental laws of your four elements, I'm still confident I can guide you. I can't analyze those laws in detail, but you can cultivate on your own amid continuous attacks. As for failing to comprehend the Profound Mysteries, that would simply mean your talent is too poor."
Without waiting for the Four Divine Beasts to reply, Rhodes unleashed his current strongest group attack, the Ten Thousandfold Thunder Prison, directly enveloping all four.
Rhodes's voice reached their ears. "Cultivate diligently. I'll keep the energy at the Lowgod level. Whoever comprehends another Profound Mystery first gets to come out first."
As Rhodes's words fell, lightning continuously descended within the Ten Thousand Layers Thunder Domain. Unlike before, the falling lightning began to coalesce, gradually forming humanoid lightning figures whose faces could not be made out.
It was not that Rhodes had been unable to form humanoid figures before, but humanoid lightning had been less powerful than sword-shaped lightning or lightning in its natural form. Now, however, having comprehended the Lightning Magnetism Profound Mystery, Rhodes's control over lightning had improved further, and the lightning figures he formed already possessed considerable power.
He could temper the four little fellows while creating new finishing moves of his own, killing two birds with one stone.
As for Pash, he too began comprehending the Destruction Rule and the Fire Rule.
Meanwhile, the Four Divine Beasts within the Ten Thousand Layers Thunder Domain were being beaten into a sorry state by the humanoid lightning figures, constantly moving around within the hundred-meter-wide Thunder Region Rhodes had created.
They had no choice but to run. They could not win. They simply could not win.
Although White Tiger's Innate Divine Ability, Tiger Roar, could directly destroy more than half a lightning figure's body, the lightning continuously falling from the sky rapidly repaired its humanoid form.
As for Vermilion Bird's Innate Divine Ability, Sparrow Flame, its power against physical targets was actually very weak, but it was an extremely powerful Soul Attack and soul defense ability. Naturally, it was entirely useless against lightning figures that had no souls.
Of the four, Black Tortoise's Innate Divine Ability, Absolute Defense, was currently the most useful. Its defensive power was indeed extraordinarily formidable. Whenever the four truly could not dodge, they relied entirely on Black Tortoise to withstand the lightning figures' attacks.
As for Azure Dragon's divine ability, it was purely supportive. Even when he created an opening for White Tiger and the others to attack, the lightning figures recovered very quickly.
As time slowly passed, Azure Dragon and the others discovered that although the humanoid lightning figures still had only Lowgod strength, it was becoming increasingly difficult for the four of them to move within the Thunder Region. A strange magnetic field centered on the lightning figures constantly pulled the four toward them, making them throw themselves into the net.
It was not just the magnetic field that changed. There was also the lightning in the sky. The moment they saw a flash, a bolt of lightning struck them, and only afterward did they hear the sound. They were hit before their soul power could even react.
Life within the Thunder Region had been manageable for the first hundred years, but this second century grew increasingly difficult. Even Black Tortoise's strongest Innate Divine Ability could not withstand more than a few attacks from the lightning figures.
The attacks became increasingly powerful. The changes within the Thunder Region naturally followed Rhodes's continual improvements to his finishing move. The Four Divine Beasts happened to be there to test his newest finishing moves, allowing him to improve them at any time.
PS: Just one chapter again today, hehe. I hope you'll forgive me, brothers. I'll shamelessly ask for some votes. Brothers with recommendation votes and monthly votes, please vote to support me. Feel free to invest and add this to your collections.
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