Chapter 14: The Chief Sovereigns Gather
"This Diya is indeed cautious," Linley mused to himself.
At this moment, Beirut and Qinghuo also flew over from afar. Beirut even sent a divine telepathic message: "Linley, were you hiding your strength earlier?" Based on Beirut and Qinghuo's deductions, with Linley's power, killing Diya should have been an extremely easy matter. After all, among the seven law sovereigns, the Light Sovereign was the strongest.
If even Diya couldn't be killed, how could he kill Augusta?
"I didn't use fused sovereign power earlier," Linley transmitted back.
"Indeed," Qinghuo and Beirut both breathed a sigh of relief.
"It's good that you're temporarily hiding your strength. I estimate that after you killed Tiresias, the four chief sovereigns will arrive soon. Hiding your strength now will make it easier to deceive them later," Beirut transmitted.
Linley had exactly that plan.
"I don't want to reveal my power and scare that Augusta into fleeing," Linley said, gazing into the distance. "Diya and the others have already returned to the Wind Plane. Let's go as well."
"It's time to face the sovereigns," Beirut and Qinghuo agreed.
Killing a sovereign requires at least a reason, an excuse. At the very least, one must not violate the sovereign pact.
If you have a reason but flee immediately after killing, even if you're in the right, the four chief sovereigns might become enraged. Once pursued by the four chief sovereigns, things would be dire. Even Linley, as he was now, had no confidence in defeating the four chief sovereigns.
"Whoosh!"
Flying to the edge of the Wind Plane, they tore it open, and Linley, Beirut, and Qinghuo—these three sovereigns—flew inside.
The Wind Plane was vast and boundless. Linley and his two companions took out a metallic lifeform, transforming it into a large ship floating on the sea. The three of them leisurely chatted on the ship, waiting quietly for the arrival of the sovereigns.
"This Linley actually dares to stay here," Diya thought with a trace of anger, his divine sense clearly detecting Linley. "According to their speed, the four chief sovereigns should have received the news by now. Given their speed, they should be able to reach my Wind Plane within half a day."
Diya was burning with fury.
It was understandable. First, as the Wind Sovereign, Linley, a Wind Sovereign, was so insolent, trampling on his sovereign dignity. Naturally, he was displeased. Second, right under his nose, even after his command to stop, Linley still killed Tiresias. How could he calm down? Third, he wanted to seize the Overgod artifact but failed. Fourth, Linley's strength made him feel threatened.
These four points made him hostile toward Linley!
But—
He was hostile toward Linley, yet Linley didn't take Diya seriously at all.
In the Infernal Realm, one of the four higher planes, deep within the Chaotic Ocean.
"Destroy Sovereign, the newly promoted sovereign Linley, along with Beirut and a Fire Sovereign, have come to my Wind Plane. Linley pursued Tiresias, killed him in the spatial turbulence, and even refined the Wind Sovereign's divine spark. This Linley has completely violated the original sovereign pact."
A voice crossed tens of billions of miles, reaching the depths of the Chaotic Ocean.
"Linley killed Tiresias? Interesting, very interesting!" A figure shrouded in black light shot out from the seabed in an instant. "It's been a long time since I've met those three. It's time for a good exchange."
The blurry figure flew directly toward the nearest teleportation array.
In the Light Plane, above the Divine Prison Sea.
"Swish—" A white streak of light tore through the sky, so fast that even Highgods couldn't see it clearly.
Augusta's dazzling golden hair fluttered, a hint of joy in his eyes: "Haha, I never expected that Beirut, Qinghuo, and Linley would dare leave the Yulan Plane and even come to pursue Tiresias! This is a perfect opportunity gifted by the heavens."
As soon as Augusta received the news, he rushed to the teleportation array at top speed!
"But according to the news, Tiresias was indeed killed. How did Linley have the strength to kill Tiresias?" Augusta was somewhat puzzled.
The Wind Sovereign who had sent the message earlier hadn't mentioned Linley having an Overgod artifact.
"Swoosh!"
Augusta's figure landed at the distant teleportation array.
"Linley became a sovereign?"
"He actually killed a sovereign and refined a divine spark?"
One by one, the sovereigns who received the news were shocked. They quickly used teleportation arrays to rush to the Wind Plane.
The first to receive the news and move the fastest were naturally the four chief sovereigns, followed by the other sovereigns, and then the many ordinary sovereigns.
Sovereigns were usually very bored. Their endless, infinite lives gave them unlimited time to waste. A sovereign killing another sovereign and refining a divine spark was like a murder incident in a small mortal town—the appeal was obvious.
Every sovereign who received the news rushed to the Wind Plane.
At the summit of Flowing Wind Mountain, one of the three teleportation array locations in the Wind Plane.
"Hum..." A hazy light flickered.
A blurry figure appeared within the teleportation array, naturally radiating a terrifying aura.
"Who is this?"
The soldiers nearby were oppressed by the aura, holding their breath, staring in terror at the blurry figure in the array. Just as the array's light faded, the blurry figure shot into the sky and vanished in a flash, so fast that even the Highgod-level soldiers couldn't see clearly.
"This... is a sovereign! It must be a sovereign! A speed we can't even see—only a sovereign!"
The soldiers exclaimed one after another.
At this moment, in the distant midair, a red-haired, pretty young girl in a purple robe was gazing toward the northeast. She smiled, and even two cute dimples appeared on her face: "In just a few thousand years, I never expected Linley to become a sovereign and even kill another sovereign. This little guy... interesting, very interesting!"
"From birth to now, it's probably been less than ten thousand years. This little guy's growth rate is truly a miracle," the red-haired young girl murmured to herself with a smile.
Given the Death Sovereign's age, calling Linley a "little guy" was only natural.
"Hmm?" The red-haired young girl turned her head. "What a coincidence? Arriving at the same teleportation array as me."
"Speed it up," the red-haired young girl transmitted.
"Don't rush. The other two haven't arrived yet," a gentle voice sounded. A flash of emerald green light appeared beside the red-haired young girl almost instantly. It was a beautiful woman in a green robe. Her eyebrows were like crescent moons, her eyes like sparkling stars, and her smile was enough to enchant anyone.
Strangely, she didn't emit any soul aura at all. Her soul aura was completely concealed to the extreme. It was clear how high her achievements were in the field of the soul.
She was one of the four chief sovereigns—the Life Sovereign.
"Big Sister," the Life Sovereign said with a smile, "it's been a long time since we last met."
"Yes, it's been a long time. The last time was during the planar war, about a trillion years ago. By the way, Vivia, let me warn you in advance. This matter involves Linley... this little guy. I've watched him grow. Unless necessary, don't kill him," the red-haired young girl said.
"Don't worry," the Life Sovereign replied, her smile always so serene. "But if Linley's actions completely violate the pact, I won't have a choice."
"Hmm, I won't make things difficult for you. Oh, the other two have arrived one after another, but not at the same teleportation array as us." The red-haired young girl glanced into the distance. "Let's go. We'll set off first."
Immediately, these two female chief sovereigns flew at top speed toward Linley and his companions' location.
Upon discovering that the four chief sovereigns had entered the Wind Plane, the Wind Sovereign Diya naturally went to greet them. In terms of strength, the four chief sovereigns far surpassed the seven law sovereigns. In status, the four chief sovereigns were also exalted. The other seven sovereigns had to bow to them when meeting them.
This showed their high status.
Diya saw four streaks of light flying over from afar and immediately went to greet them, bowing: "Greetings, Four Great Ones!"
The four who arrived were two men and two women. The seemingly young girl, the Death Sovereign, was as ancient as the Netherworld itself. After all, she was the first life in the Netherworld. This was also why the Life Sovereign called her "Big Sister." Among the four chief sovereigns, perhaps only the Destroy Sovereign could compare to the Death Sovereign.
"Diya, come with us," the white-bearded, white-robed old man said with a faint smile.
Among the four chief sovereigns, the Life Sovereign and the Fate Sovereign had their soul auras completely concealed. If one closed their eyes, they wouldn't even sense the presence of these two.
"Yes," Diya replied humbly, following behind the four chief sovereigns. The ship remained steady.
"The four chief sovereigns have arrived," Linley said, rising to his feet and looking into the distance. Beirut and Qinghuo also looked up.
"Can the four chief sovereigns detect your divine sense, Linley?" Beirut transmitted.
"They shouldn't be able to. Earlier, I first tried using fused sovereign power, and the four chief sovereigns had no reaction at all. Then, I used Earth sovereign power, and they noticed me," Linley transmitted back. Although he had an advantage in divine sense, Linley was still very wary of the four chief sovereigns.
In terms of strength, none of the four chief sovereigns were weaker than him.
"They're here!" Linley's eyes had already spotted five figures in the distance.
A red-haired young girl, a sinister black-robed man, a beautiful woman in a green robe, and a white-robed, white-haired old man.
These four were the four chief sovereigns!
"The Life Sovereign and the Fate Sovereign have no soul aura leaking at all. It seems they've both reached the Grandmist realm in terms of law insights," Linley thought warily. "As for the Death Sovereign, she is the first life in the Netherworld. Her innate divine ability might not be weaker than Beirut's. As for the Destroy Sovereign... judging by how the other three treat him, he's probably not the weakest among the four chief sovereigns."
Linley couldn't help but feel a tremor in his heart.
These four chief sovereigns were each unfathomably deep.
"Greetings, Sovereigns," Beirut immediately bowed.
"Sovereigns," Linley and Qinghuo also bowed.
Facing the four chief sovereigns, even the seven law sovereigns had to bow. Linley wasn't arrogant enough to think he could compare to them yet.
"Linley, we meet again," the red-haired young girl said, smiling at him. "The first time we met at Nether Mountain, you had just stepped into the threshold of a Commander. The second time, you had already reached the Grandmist realm. And now, the third time, you've become a sovereign."
"This Linley has probably been cultivating for less than ten thousand years, hasn't he?" the white-robed, white-haired old man among the four said with a smile, his gaze falling on Linley, so gentle. "Very impressive indeed!"
Unexpectedly, at this first meeting, two chief sovereigns had favorable impressions of Linley. This made the Wind Sovereign Diya, standing nearby, feel anxious and angry.
"Sovereigns, Linley killed Tiresias..." Diya quickly said.
The red-haired young girl smiled faintly: "More and more sovereigns are arriving. Let's wait until everyone is here."
At that moment—
Other sovereigns arrived!
First were the Wind Sovereigns, then the sovereigns of other elements, such as Augusta and others, along with many other ordinary sovereigns. Within less than an hour, over sixty sovereigns had gathered nearby. It should be noted that there were a total of 77 sovereigns. This number referred to all sovereign avatars. For example, Linley alone counted as three sovereigns.
Except for those in material planes or their own divine planes, all sovereigns who received the news had come.
"There are so many sovereigns. In the past, I've never seen so many gathered together," Beirut transmitted with a laugh. Linley also looked around.
The sovereigns gathered in twos and threes, some hovering in midair, some landing on the ship.