Chapter 46: Beirut, a Sovereign?
Spatial streams of chaos rapidly rushed past from all directions. Linley, carried by Beirut, advanced at an incredible speed.
Linley's mind was completely blank at this moment. "How is this possible? To be able to move at such a terrifying speed even within the spatial chaos, practically ignoring it. Beirut... his strength?" Linley turned his head to look at Beirut beside him, his eyes still filled with disbelief.
There was no other possibility.
Beirut had definitely surpassed the level of a Deity. Surpassing the level of a Deity meant only one thing—a Sovereign!
"Lord Beirut, you... are you a Sovereign?" Linley asked.
"Haha..." Beirut laughed heartily, stroking his black beard with a hint of pride. "Linley, to be able to fly freely and at such a high speed within this spatial chaos, a speed ten or even a hundred times faster than in the material plane, what else could I be if not a Sovereign?"
Linley was stunned.
Beirut had clearly admitted it—he was a Sovereign!
"A Sovereign? No, this... how is this possible?" Linley's mind was a mess, completely chaotic. "Lord Beirut, aren't Sovereigns unable to enter material planes? The material plane can't withstand the terrifying energy of a Sovereign."
In the Okerlund Plane, even the Sovereign of Destruction and the Sovereign of Light could only manifest as planar projection avatars.
"Haha... among Deities, it is indeed said that Sovereigns cannot enter material planes." Beirut stroked his beard and smiled. "However, the accurate information should be... foreign Sovereigns cannot enter material planes!"
"Foreign Sovereigns?" Linley frowned.
"Linley, do you know the principle behind why Sovereigns cannot enter material planes?" Beirut shifted to another topic.
"The principle? Isn't it because the Sovereign's energy is too strong for the material plane to bear?" Linley replied.
"Linley, you say the Sovereign's energy is too strong, causing the material plane to be unable to bear it. Think carefully—if a Sovereign were to restrain their energy, wouldn't not a single trace leak out? How could it cause the material plane to collapse?" Beirut laughed.
"True." Linley was puzzled as well.
A Sovereign could restrain their energy and aura so completely that even standing in front of Linley, he wouldn't notice a thing.
With such mastery over restraint, how could it cause the material plane to collapse?
"So, what you've heard isn't entirely accurate." Beirut said with a faint smile.
Beirut sighed, "I imagine you'd rack your brains and still not understand. Let me tell you! This involves the issue of soul birth! Every day in the material planes, new lives are born. A new life naturally has a new soul! Take the Yulan Plane, for example. Any life born in the Yulan Plane has a soul that is attuned to the Yulan Plane. The Yulan Plane is its home!"
Linley couldn't help but nod.
He could feel it—returning to the Yulan Plane, even though the elemental density was much thinner than in the Infernal Realm, he still felt comfortable, felt different. Linley had always thought it was psychological. But now it seemed it was because his soul was born in the Yulan Plane.
That made sense!
When mortals die, their souls enter the Netherworld, becoming undead. When undead die, their souls scatter!
When Deities die, their souls scatter!
With souls scattering, naturally, souls are also born!
In the material planes, every infant's birth, every magical beast's hatching, is a new life and a new soul! This new soul naturally has a special connection with the plane it was born in!
"Foreign Sovereigns cannot enter material planes because their souls were not born in that material plane. To enter, they would face rejection from that material plane! The rejection between the material plane and the Sovereign's energy is so strong that it causes the material plane to collapse!" Beirut explained in detail.
Linley understood.
It was the rejection that caused the material plane to collapse.
"However, if a Sovereign's soul was originally born in a certain material plane, that plane is their home! Even if they become a Sovereign, that material plane will not reject them. Since there's no rejection, the Sovereign can naturally enter that material plane." Beirut smiled.
"Lord Beirut, you mean... if a Sovereign's home is a certain material plane, they can return to that material plane. But they cannot enter other material planes." Linley said.
"Exactly." Beirut smiled faintly. "Among the countless material planes, my Sovereign body can only enter the Yulan Plane. As for other material planes, I cannot enter them either."
Everything was clear!
"The Yulan Plane, our home!" Linley sighed.
He was born in the Yulan Plane, and his soul was born there. The Yulan Plane was his home! No matter how powerful he became, home would never reject its child.
"Lord Beirut, since you are a Sovereign, why didn't your Sovereign avatar go to the higher planes? Why did it stay in the Yulan Plane?" Linley asked, puzzled. "And why did your Deity avatar become the envoy of the Bloodpeak Sovereign?"
"My Deity avatar became an envoy to help the Four Divine Beasts clan." Beirut smiled faintly. "As for why my Sovereign avatar didn't go to the Infernal Realm or other higher planes but stayed hidden in my home... it's because if my Sovereign avatar left home, it would be hunted down by the Sovereign of Light!"
"Hunted by the Sovereign of Light?" Linley was shocked.
So Beirut was hiding from an enemy by not leaving.
Beirut's method was effective. The Yulan Plane was his home, but not the home of the Sovereign of Light. Beirut could hide inside, but other Sovereigns couldn't enter.
"Why does the Sovereign of Light want to hunt you?" Linley was full of questions.
"Haha... Of course he wants to hunt me. He hates me to the bone. Even my Deity avatar staying safely in the Infernal Realm was only possible because I paid a great price to ask the Sovereign of Destruction for help." Beirut laughed heartily. "Enough, let's not talk about that now. The most important thing is to pick up your true body and return to the Yulan Plane."
Linley quickly nodded.
Beirut was taking a great risk by bringing him through the spatial chaos. After all, if they could come here, the Sovereign of Light could too.
"No wonder Lord Beirut told me to wait for ten to fifteen days. He was probably deliberately stalling to make sure the Sovereign of Light returned to the Light Sovereign Plane." Linley now fully understood why Beirut had asked him to wait.
Linley's true body was in the Okerlund Plane, while his Deity avatar followed Beirut. Through the connection between avatars, they could easily guide the direction, ensuring Beirut wouldn't get lost in the vast spatial chaos.
"Lord Beirut, the Sovereign of Light won't come after us, will he?" Linley asked, worried for Beirut.
"Don't worry. How would he know we entered the spatial chaos?" Beirut said confidently. "Besides, as soon as I entered the spatial chaos, I spread my divine sense. The range of a Sovereign's divine sense is far beyond your imagination. If he enters my range, I'll have plenty of time to react."
Linley nodded slightly. A Sovereign's divine sense could easily cover the entire Infernal Realm or the entire Netherworld, and that clearly wasn't its maximum range. From this, one could imagine the terrifying power of a Sovereign, far surpassing the willpower of a Paragon by countless levels.
In the Okerlund Plane.
The sea churned as Linley sat cross-legged in midair above the surface, meditating, while Bebe kept watch nearby.
Suddenly—
Linley opened his eyes, a smile on his face. He transmitted mentally, "Bebe, get ready. We're about to enter the spatial chaos."
"Spatial chaos?" Bebe was shocked. "Boss, are you planning to return to the Yulan Continent Plane through the spatial chaos?"
"Yes, but not by my own power." Linley smiled.
"Then whose? A Sovereign? Which Sovereign would be willing to help us?" Bebe was puzzled.
"You'll find out soon enough." Linley said mysteriously.
Through the connection between his avatars, Linley could clearly sense that his Deity avatar and Beirut had arrived at the outer edge of the Okerlund Plane.
"Let's go!" Linley grabbed Bebe with one hand and slashed the air with the other, creating a massive spatial tear. The terrifying suction force of the tear even pulled in a large amount of seawater.
"Inside." Linley stepped forward, taking Bebe with him into the tear. The spatial tear slowly healed and disappeared.
The ocean surface returned to calm.
"Linley and the others entered a spatial tear? Into the spatial chaos?" The group of Highgods who had been monitoring Linley and Bebe through divine sense were shocked.
It wasn't just the Light Divine Realm faction. Others, including the Infernal Realm faction, the Earth Divine Realm, and the Wind Divine Realm, had all left Highgods to watch Linley and Bebe's movements. But their choice to enter the spatial chaos stunned them.
"Entering the spatial chaos? Self-exile?" The Highgods were bewildered.
"Maybe another Sovereign is waiting for them outside," some guessed. "Quick, report to the Sovereign!" In an instant, the news was relayed to the Sovereigns.
Deep within the Divine Prison Sea of the Light Sovereign Plane.
"What? They entered the spatial chaos?" The Sovereign of Light's eyes were filled with shock. In an instant, he reacted and sneered, "The Sovereign backing Linley must have gone into the spatial chaos to pick him up. Who could it be? Violet Orchid? Or..." A name surfaced in the Sovereign of Light's mind.
"Beirut?" A glint of killing intent flashed in the Sovereign of Light's eyes.
"It's very likely Beirut!" Without hesitation, the Sovereign of Light's energy surged, tearing open a spatial rift before him. He stepped inside, and the rift healed behind him.
Within the spatial chaos, the Sovereign of Light transformed into a streak of white light, advancing at an astonishing speed.
"Beirut, I hope you run fast enough. If I catch you... hmph!" Although not one hundred percent certain it was Beirut, based on Linley and Beirut's relationship, the Sovereign of Light had his suspicions. Beirut had been hiding in the Yulan Continent Plane for years, fueling the Sovereign of Light's rage.
He wouldn't let go of even the slightest chance!
In the beautiful and chaotic spatial streams, Beirut's faint green light shield enveloped Linley and Bebe as they sped toward the Yulan Continent.
"Grandpa Beirut, am I dreaming?" Bebe stared at Beirut in disbelief. "You're actually a Sovereign? This... this is unbelievable." Earlier, when he followed Linley into the spatial chaos and saw Beirut arrive, Bebe was utterly stunned.
"Grandpa Beirut, if you're a Sovereign, why have you been hiding your strength? Why did you become the Bloodpeak Sovereign's envoy?" Bebe kept chattering.
"Enough, don't talk about that now. Your grandpa is busy traveling. We'll talk when we get back." Linley quickly interjected. He understood that Beirut was taking a risk by being in the spatial chaos.
Along the way, Bebe couldn't stop talking, clearly too excited.
"I can't help it." Bebe clenched his fists, baring his teeth in excitement.
"Almost there. We've already covered more than half the journey back. Just hold on a little longer." Linley comforted him.
"Haha..." Beirut suddenly laughed.
"What's wrong?" Linley and Bebe looked at Beirut in confusion.
"The Sovereign of Light has indeed come. I've already detected him." Beirut laughed heartily.
"And you're still laughing?" A deep voice echoed in Beirut's mind—the voice of the Sovereign of Light.
"Why shouldn't I laugh?" Beirut retorted with a sneer. "I knew that if there was even the slightest chance, you, Augusta, wouldn't give up on trying to catch me. But unfortunately, although you're faster than me, your path is much longer. You won't make it in time!"