Chapter 3: The Truth from Over Ten Thousand Years Ago
"Four Divine Beast corpses?" Bebe couldn't help but exclaim.
Linley stared at the massive Azure Dragon corpse before him. The dragon scales still gleamed with luster, appearing extremely sharp. Even though it had been dead for over ten thousand years, the Azure Dragon's aura was still enough to instill fear. Linley turned to look at Beirut and asked doubtfully, "Lord Beirut, the reason you were able to become a Sovereign, and Qinghuo as well... is it because of the four Sovereign sparks of our four ancestors?"
The Azure Dragon, Vermilion Bird, Black Tortoise, and White Tiger were respectively the four lower-level Sovereigns of Water, Fire, Earth, and Wind.
Although they were merely lower-level Sovereigns, the Four Divine Beasts possessed such extraordinary talent that they could even combine their four innate divine abilities into one, forming a terrifying ultimate technique. This allowed them to contend even with Overlords.
"Yes." Beirut nodded with a sigh. "After all, there are only so many Sovereign sparks in the universe. For me to obtain four at once was already an incredible stroke of luck."
"Grandpa, how did you get the Sovereign sparks? Before you got them, you were still only a Highgod, right?" Bebe pressed on.
"And also, how did the corpses of the Four Divine Beasts end up here?" Linley was equally puzzled.
Beirut and Qinghuo exchanged a glance. Then, Beirut looked at Linley and Bebe with a sigh, saying, "After all these years, there's no need to hide this from you anymore. To talk about the Four Divine Beasts' corpses, I must first mention the battle between the Four Divine Beasts and the Sovereign of Light over ten thousand years ago."
"So it was indeed the Sovereign of Light who killed our four ancestors." Linley frowned.
"Yes, it was the Sovereign of Light." Beirut nodded.
"Back then, I was cultivating in the planar secret chamber. Linley... that is, the planar secret chamber beneath your Dragonblood Castle." Beirut said with a smile. Linley nodded slightly. He had guessed back then that some powerful figure must have been cultivating there, and it turned out to be Beirut.
"During my cultivation, through the transparent membrane of the planar secret chamber, I saw a terrifying battle taking place in the distant spatial turbulence. It was the Four Divine Beasts fighting fiercely against the Sovereign of Light, Augusta." Beirut said solemnly. Linley and the others listened intently.
Beirut seemed lost in recollection: "I was stunned at the time. The Four Divine Beasts and the Sovereign of Light were both incredibly powerful. During the battle, the Four Divine Beasts were at a disadvantage, while the Sovereign of Light held the upper hand. The Four Divine Beasts all transformed into their true forms, appearing as divine beasts. And then, the four of them joined forces and unleashed their innate divine ability!"
Linley and Bebe held their breath as they listened.
"It was terrifying and strange. The innate divine abilities of the Four Divine Beasts could actually merge perfectly, as if heaven and earth were shifting. A hazy, circular light completely sank into the Sovereign of Light's body. I was certain at that moment that the combined innate divine ability of the Four Divine Beasts was aimed at the soul." Beirut said.
Linley nodded inwardly.
The soul was the most fundamental aspect of a person. The strongest innate divine ability should indeed target the soul. "At that time, the Azure Dragon, the leader of the Four Divine Beasts, roared in fury, saying that the Sovereign of Light had gone too far and that he had no one to blame but himself if he died now. From the Azure Dragon's tone, he seemed very confident in that ultimate move." Beirut said. "I originally thought that Augusta would be shattered into nothingness and die from that attack. But—"
Linley's heart tightened.
"Augusta's body merely trembled, but then, he actually wielded a massive sword of light and madly pursued the Four Divine Beasts. Perhaps because even their ultimate move had failed, the Four Divine Beasts themselves couldn't believe it. With their strongest technique failing, they lost their will to fight. Moreover, they were only lower-level Sovereigns, far slower than the Sovereign of Light." Beirut sighed. "In the blink of an eye, the Black Tortoise, Vermilion Bird, and White Tiger were killed one after another by a single sword strike. Although the Azure Dragon was stronger, he couldn't hold out either. But at that moment... my heart stirred."
Linley and Bebe were stunned.
"Because at that time, the corpses of the Black Tortoise, Vermilion Bird, and White Tiger were floating in the spatial turbulence, drifting not too far from me." Beirut's eyes lit up. "I couldn't let the opportunity pass. At worst, I would risk it. I used the tail of my true form, the Godeater Rat, to penetrate into the spatial turbulence. My body, refined from the essence of divine sparks, was as tough as a Sovereign artifact. My tail stretched out at extreme speed, coiled around the limbs of the three divine beast corpses, and at that moment, the Azure Dragon was also killed by Augusta. My tail simultaneously grabbed the Azure Dragon and yanked hard, dragging all four divine beast corpses into the Yulan Plane."
Linley and Bebe were completely stunned.
Fortune favors the bold. Linley could fully imagine Beirut's decisive move at that moment—risking everything to execute that technique at the fastest possible speed.
"I was scared too, but those were Sovereigns! If I succeeded, I would become a Sovereign! A rare opportunity—I went for it!" Beirut was still excited as he recalled that scene. "And I was very lucky. At the time, Augusta probably never expected anyone to dare snatch food from a tiger's mouth. Besides, his attention was on the Azure Dragon. He was chasing the Azure Dragon, using a soul attack to kill it. As the Azure Dragon died, it was charging toward the Yulan Plane. I just scooped them all up and pulled all four divine beast corpses in!"
Linley was completely breathless.
He could fully imagine how perilous that scene was!
But Beirut's success was possible. After all, a magical beast's tail usually moves the fastest. As a divine beast, the Godeater Rat, Beirut's true form's tail, especially when he went all out, coiled and retracted in an instant! The speed was absolutely blinding.
Augusta, perhaps a fraction of a second too slow, couldn't catch Beirut.
"So the Azure Dragon ancestor was indeed killed by a soul attack." Linley also understood why the Coiling Dragon ring was damaged. If he had been killed by Augusta's close-range material attack, the Coiling Dragon ring should have remained intact.
"Haha..."
Beirut laughed heartily. "Augusta was stunned at the time, not even reacting. Then, he went mad with rage! After all, he had fought desperately to kill the Four Divine Beasts, only to have everything snatched away by me. A mere Highgod taking something from him, the Sovereign of Light—how could he not go crazy?"
Linley could fully imagine that scene.
The four ancestors had joined forces, and the Sovereign of Light probably wasn't completely confident of success. He had only barely managed to block their full-powered strike, allowing him to kill them one after another.
"Four Sovereign sparks! That represents four Sovereigns!" Beirut sneered. "Augusta couldn't enter a material plane, so he could only send a projection into the Yulan Plane to try to kill me."
Linley nodded inwardly.
Foreign Sovereigns couldn't enter material planes.
As for the four ancestors, they were already dead. Their corpses and Sovereign sparks were merely objects, not living beings. So, of course, they could enter a material plane.
"A projection? Its strength was decent, comparable to a Seven Star Fiend, maybe even close to an ordinary Asura." Beirut scoffed. "But unfortunately, even before becoming a Sovereign, my strength exceeded that of an ordinary Prefect. Using my divine spark weapon, I smashed that projection to pieces!"
Linley smiled.
With Beirut's power and his achievements in the laws, defeating a projection was indeed very easy. "When force didn't work, the Sovereign of Light formed another projection and threatened me, saying that if I didn't hand over the Sovereign sparks, he would do something. But I ignored him. Right then and there, I refined the Wind-type Sovereign spark!" Beirut said with a smile. "The Sovereign of Light even tried to send a Paragon to deal with me. But unfortunately, before the Paragon could arrive, I was already a Sovereign! Refining a Sovereign spark takes only an instant."
"So fast?" Linley exclaimed.
"Refining a divine spark takes a long time," Bebe said in surprise.
Beirut laughed. "Why does refining a divine spark take so long? Because you need to comprehend various profound mysteries, which takes time. But the Sovereign spark contains no profound mysteries at all, so it's just an instant."
"After that one gamble, I became a Sovereign and still had three Sovereign sparks left." Beirut sighed.
"Grandpa... you're ruthless enough." Bebe's eyes showed admiration.
Linley also sighed. If he had witnessed that scene, would he have dared to snatch food from the Sovereign of Light's mouth? It required courage, but also sufficient strength. After all, pulling the divine beast corpses out of the spatial turbulence was something ordinary Highgods couldn't do.
"Of course, this led to the Sovereign of Light hating me to the bone. He tried to force me to hand over the other three Sovereign sparks, but I paid him no attention." Beirut said with a faint smile. "I could see that the Sovereign of Light was the type to hold a grudge. Since I had already offended him, I might as well go all the way."
Linley nodded slightly.
"Not long after, I deliberately spread the news and built the Necropolis of the Gods, claiming that it contained the Sovereign artifacts left behind by the Four Divine Beasts. If anyone wanted to seize them, they could come to the Yulan Plane." Beirut laughed. "When a Sovereign dies, the Sovereign artifacts they leave behind can be taken by others without other Sovereigns reclaiming them."
Linley nodded slightly.
There were a few ways to obtain Sovereign artifacts: accumulating military merits in the planar battlefield, becoming a Sovereign's emissary and receiving one as a reward, or obtaining one left behind by a deceased Sovereign. Linley's Coiling Dragon ring was an example of the latter.
However, the probability of a Sovereign dying was extremely low.
And those who could kill a Sovereign were usually other Sovereigns. When a Sovereign killed another, they would also collect their Sovereign artifacts, so they rarely circulated.
"The allure of Sovereign artifacts was too great. After the news spread, many people rushed to the Yulan Plane. Some Seven Star Fiends from the Infernal Realm, twelve-winged Seraphim from the Divine Light Plane, and powerful figures from various planes all came. A great battle began in the Yulan Plane." Beirut smiled. "Of course, everything was under my control."
Linley smiled.
Beirut was already a Sovereign at that time. No matter how fiercely those Highgods fought, how could they escape Beirut's control?
"Through that battle, I made a name for myself with a little effort. Soon, other Sovereigns took notice of me." Beirut laughed. "When I first took the Four Divine Beasts' corpses, Augusta didn't spread the news widely, so many Sovereigns didn't know. As I became famous, some Sovereigns communicated with me through projections and learned the truth. At that time... the Sovereign of Destruction made me an offer."
"The Sovereign of Destruction made an offer? Did he want the Sovereign sparks?" Bebe asked.
"No, he asked for the refined blood essence of the Four Divine Beasts. The power source of divine beasts is their blood. The Sovereign of Destruction probably wanted to study the large amount of blood essence from the Four Divine Beasts." Beirut sighed. "After all, in history, only the Four Divine Beasts could combine their innate divine abilities."
"I gave half of the Four Divine Beasts' blood essence to the Sovereign of Destruction. In return, he guaranteed that as long as my divine clone didn't go to the Divine Light Plane, the Sovereign of Light wouldn't dare kill my divine clone." Beirut said.
Linley and the others understood.
"So that's why, in the Infernal Realm, the Sovereign of Light didn't dare to make a move against you, Grandpa." Bebe said.
"No matter how powerful he is, he's no match for the Sovereign of Destruction." Beirut smiled. "After all, the four Overlords of the Edicts are too strong. The Sovereign of Life is kind-hearted, but her strength is unfathomable. The Sovereign of Death lives leisurely in the Nether Mountains, never fully revealing her power. The Sovereign of Destruction is deeply hidden; I don't know if he's figured anything out from the Four Divine Beasts' blood essence. And the Sovereign of Fate is even more reclusive, always staying in the Celestial Realm."
Linley sighed inwardly. The Sovereign of Destruction's deal had been a bargain for him.
All he had to do was threaten the Sovereign of Light, and he got half of the Four Divine Beasts' blood essence.
After all, Linley's body had become incredibly strong from just a single drop of the Azure Dragon's blood essence. The energy of divine beast blood essence was unimaginable.
"Divine beast blood essence is the source of their power. I was also curious about the Four Divine Beasts' blood essence, so I conducted experiments. I tried fusing a drop of blood essence into an ordinary human's body to see what would happen. At first, the humans couldn't withstand it and their bodies collapsed, killing them. But later, with experience, I succeeded!"
Beirut laughed. "And so, the first generation of the Four Ultimate Warriors was born."
Linley was stunned.
"The Four Ultimate Warriors?" Linley stared at Beirut in shock. "They were the result of your experiments?"
"Grandpa, you..." Bebe was also dumbfounded.
"What, surprised?" Beirut said with a faint smile. "In truth, if I hadn't intervened, Baruch, Amand, Hyde, and Polley would have just been cannon fodder on the battlefield, never amounting to anything. Through my experiments, they became Ultimate Warriors and achieved fame and glory on the continent."
Linley understood. In Beirut's eyes back then, a Sovereign experimenting on mortals with the blood essence of the Four Divine Beasts was an honor for those mortals.
"No wonder the Four Ultimate Warriors suddenly appeared in the Yulan Plane, with no traceable origin." Linley sighed inwardly.
"Strictly speaking, Baruch and the other three should be considered of the same generation as Gesresen and the others from the Four Divine Beasts clan." Beirut laughed. "To be honest, I still feel grateful to the Four Divine Beasts. Because of them, I became a Sovereign."
"So, my divine clone in the Infernal Realm stayed in the Blue Prefecture. The Bloodpeak Sovereign knew my identity, and I asked him to help by publicly claiming that I was his emissary. That way, I could step in to protect the Four Divine Beasts clan." Beirut smiled. "If I were merely a Sovereign's emissary, would the Bloodpeak Sovereign have stepped in to drive away the eight great clans just because of my words?"
Linley was deeply moved.
Back then, Beirut had summoned the Bloodpeak Sovereign, who appeared and shouted at the eight great clans to retreat. Linley had marveled at Beirut's influence at the time. It turned out that the Bloodpeak Sovereign wasn't acting out of respect for a Sovereign's emissary, but because Beirut himself was a Sovereign. Sovereigns naturally respect other Sovereigns!
"I still have three Sovereign sparks, so of course, I need to choose three people to inherit them. But I couldn't just pick anyone. They had to go through trials and rigorous screening... Qinghuo was the first person I chose." Beirut then sighed. "Actually, I wanted to let Harry and the other two boys become Sovereigns too. But since only the Earth, Fire, and Water Sovereign sparks remained, they had to be Highgods who had become gods independently in those three laws to refine the Sovereign sparks."
"To refine a Sovereign spark, you must have become a god independently?" Linley asked in surprise.
"Yes. If you didn't rely on yourself but became a god by refining a divine spark, your foundation is unstable. Your divine spark and soul aren't fully compatible. Refining a Sovereign spark on top of that is impossible." Beirut shook his head. "My three children only had talent in Darkness and Wind. No matter what I tried, they couldn't succeed in the other three laws."
Linley nodded slightly.
"Later, because of Bebe's appearance, and especially your rapid progress, Linley, with your astonishing improvement in strength, I also considered you a candidate..." Beirut then looked at Linley.