Chapter 17: The Reward of Ten Consecutive Victories
Linley’s methods were straightforward, but the results were quite good.
In truth, Linley wasn’t worried at all. The probability of Augusta refusing was probably less than ten percent. Even if Augusta were extremely cautious and didn’t allow Linley to go with him, Linley could still go to the Divine Light Plane alone, find Augusta, and kill him.
“Linley, what exactly do you want to do in the Divine Light Plane?” Augusta asked with a smile.
“You’ll know when we get there,” Linley replied without answering.
The two flew at incredible speed, soon arriving above the Drifting Wind Mountain Range.
Augusta also noticed the Lightning Sovereign not far away and sneered inwardly: “What a pity. With your abilities, if Linley hadn’t come with me, you might still have had a chance. But now… you don’t have any hope at all.” He glanced at Linley beside him.
He had some doubts about Linley voluntarily following him.
But due to absolute confidence in his own strength, Augusta generously allowed Linley to accompany him.
“Augusta is really lucky. Linley actually went with him,” the other Sovereigns thought as they prepared to give up.
Just as Linley and Augusta were flying toward the teleportation array, a voice rang out in Linley’s mind.
“Everyone, there is something very important. Come over here immediately.”
Linley heard this and turned to look in the direction of the four Overgods. The voice belonged to the Death Overgod. Linley wondered inwardly: “The four Overgods aren’t chasing me. Instead, they’re gathered there discussing something. And now they’re calling us over?”
“What is it?” the Light Sovereign Augusta frowned and muttered.
“Then I’ll have to wait until next time to go to the Divine Light Plane,” Linley said with a faint smile.
“Haha, you’re always welcome. Let’s go. The matters of the four Lords are the most important,” Augusta quickly replied with a laugh.
And so, Linley and the large group turned and flew back.
“Rumble…” Waves crashed against the shore. The four Overgods were currently above a small island.
“How strange,” Linley thought, looking at the four Overgods floating high in the distance. His divine sense clearly detected that the seven Sovereigns and himself were flying over. Besides the eight of them, there was no one else. “There are many Highgods in the Wind Plane. But why did the Death Overgod only summon the eight of us?”
Linley understood instantly.
The seven Sovereigns, and himself—he also possessed Sovereign-level strength.
“Everyone is here,” the red-haired, lovely young girl said, smiling at the eight.
“Lord,” the eight, including Linley, all bowed.
The seven Law Sovereigns generally addressed the Overgods as “Lord” to show respect.
“Do you remember, about a trillion years after the universe was born, when many Highgods were born? Eleven Sovereigns were also born at that time. But of those eleven Sovereigns, only eight are still alive today,” the red-haired young girl said with a faint smile.
“Oh?” Linley was secretly shocked.
So, over countless years, even Sovereign-level experts had fallen, several of them.
“About a trillion years after the universe was born, the Destruction Overgod, Utreid, and the Fate Overgod, O’Brien, once fought. I believe many of you know the outcome. That time, Utreid was slightly inferior,” the red-haired young girl said with a smile.
“At that time, Lord Utreid and Lord O’Brien had both already reached the Great Perfection stage. That battle was truly spectacular,” the Lightning Sovereign said with a smile.
The red-haired young girl nodded slightly: “Although they reached the Great Perfection long ago, countless years have passed, and both of their strengths have increased significantly compared to back then. I believe you are all aware of their improvement. And now, after countless years, they are about to fight again!”
The Sovereigns present were all stunned.
“A fight?” Linley was also greatly surprised.
When it came to the level of Overgods, a fight was no mere sparring match. It could easily lead to one side being killed.
“This, you two Lords, are you…?” the Water Sovereign, the only female among the seven Law Sovereigns, asked in surprise.
“It’s fine to tell you,” the Destruction Overgod, shrouded in a black robe, said indifferently. “O’Brien and I, aside from that first sparring match, later fought again when I obtained a Sovereign artifact and he received a reward of willpower. This will be our third match.”
“A reward of willpower?” Linley wondered inwardly.
The Fate Overgod, O’Brien, smiled and said, “It’s just a sparring match. Let’s go to the spatial turbulence.” With that, O’Brien drew a line with one hand—
A wide spatial rift appeared in the space ahead.
The four Overgods flew in first, and Linley and the other eight followed closely behind. Then the spatial rift dissipated and was repaired.
As Overgods, they wouldn’t spar lightly.
After all, everyone stood at the pinnacle. Once a battle began, it could easily lead to one side falling. They were wary of each other and unwilling to make a move. This showed just how rare a sparring match between two Overgods was. The other Sovereigns, including Augusta, looked on with great anticipation.
In the void, multicolored chaotic streams surged.
Twelve figures stood in the void.
“Haha, Utreid, this time you were the one who issued the challenge. You’re so confident. Don’t lose again this time,” the red-haired young girl laughed loudly.
“Hmph.”
The Destruction Overgod, shrouded in a black robe, immediately flew into the void. The white-robed, white-haired Fate Overgod also flew into the void with a smile. The other ten watched from afar.
“Lord, after that reward of willpower, among the four Overgods, O’Brien should be the strongest, right? But the Destruction Overgod, Utreid, possesses an offensive Sovereign artifact. In their second match, who won and who lost?” the Water Sovereign with long, jade-green hair asked the Death Overgod.
“Can’t you tell from what I just said? Of course, Utreid lost,” the Death Overgod said with a sly smile.
The other Sovereigns found it hard to believe.
Without relying on a Sovereign artifact, the Fate Overgod was the strongest. But with a Sovereign artifact, the Fate Overgod only had a soul-defense Sovereign artifact, which couldn’t increase his attack power. So why did the Destruction Overgod still lose the second time?
“As for why he lost? Hmph, that old man O’Brien. How much of his terrifying strength can you really see?” the Death Overgod said with a faint smile.
The group of Sovereigns fell silent.
“A reward of willpower?” Linley couldn’t help but speak up. “Lord, what exactly is a reward of willpower?”
“You don’t even know that?” the Death Overgod asked, looking at Linley in surprise. The other Sovereigns also looked at him.
“I really don’t know,” Linley said with a helpless smile.
The Death Overgod’s pretty little face broke into a smile: “Haha, you’ve only been cultivating for less than ten thousand years, so it’s normal that you don’t know. The reward of willpower I’m talking about refers to the reward given by the Overgods after ten consecutive victories in the Plane Wars!”
“Ten consecutive victories?” Linley frowned.
“Yes. A Plane War is held every trillion years, and each Plane War consists of five battles. Among the eleven planes, aside from the Divine Life Plane, the other ten planes all participate. On average, every trillion years, these ten planes fight once. The results of a battle are threefold: victory, defeat, or a draw!”
Linley nodded slightly.
He had participated in one Plane War and knew that the outcome depended on the results of the two Stellar River passages.
“According to the rules, if one side wins ten consecutive Plane Wars, then the seven Highgods of that plane will all be rewarded by the Overgods. Each will be granted a portion of willpower, equivalent to refining an additional Highgod spark,” the Death Overgod explained in detail.
Linley was shocked.
“A portion of willpower?” The reward was far too generous.
“Linley,” the Life Overgod beside him said with a smile, “Do you think ten consecutive victories are easy?”
“Not easy,” Linley immediately realized.
He had experienced a Plane War. To win a single war, one had to achieve victory on both Stellar River passages simultaneously. If only one passage was won, it was merely a draw. Last time, if not for Linley’s battle with Magnus, the Dark Plane probably wouldn’t have won.
“In Plane Wars, the probability of a draw is over half!” the Death Overgod said with a sneer. “Occasionally, you might win one war. But a trillion years later, the next war might end in a draw. Then everything is for nothing. After all, you need ten consecutive victories to get the reward. Forget winning ten in a row—even winning five in a row is almost impossible. Even if you win five, if the next war is a draw or a loss, you fail, and you have to start over from scratch!”
Linley nodded slightly.
The strength of the various planes was roughly equal, and given the way Plane Wars determined victory, the probability of winning ten in a row was essentially close to zero!
“Once every trillion years, from the beginning of the universe until now… it’s happened over a million times,” the Death Overgod said with a sigh.
“Over a million times…” Linley’s heart skipped a beat.
Once every trillion years—how long had the universe existed? Linley felt a chill. The Sovereigns, with their infinite lifespans, probably couldn’t be bothered to count the time. It was just too long. They only spoke of “countless years.”
“But Linley, do you know how many times ten consecutive victories have occurred in all those countless years?” the Death Overgod asked teasingly.
“This… I don’t know,” Linley couldn’t be sure.
“Once! Only once!” the Death Overgod said with a sigh. “In all those countless years, there have been six instances of nine consecutive victories. But for the tenth war of those six, the other planes would generally join forces to prevent the tenth victory.”
Linley understood.
The Highgods didn’t want other Highgods to receive the reward of willpower.
So even if someone achieved nine consecutive victories, the other planes would unite for the tenth.
“The only successful instance was the Divine Fate Plane,” the Death Overgod said with a sigh. “Because of that, the seven Highgods of the Fate system were all granted a reward. Each received an additional portion of willpower. This made the Fate Overgod, O’Brien, surpass us in strength!”
Linley marveled inwardly.
The Fate Overgod was already at the Great Perfection stage. With an extra portion of willpower, it was no wonder he was so strong!
“And this O’Brien pays no attention to worldly affairs and devotes himself to cultivation. He studies the principles of innate divine abilities, and he also studies the reasons for physical strength…” the Death Overgod said with a sigh. “For example, O’Brien’s physical strength is definitely among the top three among the Highgods.”
Linley was secretly shocked.
This Fate Overgod, O’Brien, an old man who paid no attention to the world, was actually the most terrifying figure.
“Look, they’re about to make their move,” the Death Overgod suddenly said.
Linley quickly looked, and the other Sovereigns also focused their attention.
In the vast void, the white-robed, white-haired Fate Overgod stood calmly, gazing at his distant opponent—the Destruction Overgod.
Meanwhile, the Destruction Overgod’s body emitted a terrifying black light. This black light was pure black, devouring everything around it, even the spatial turbulence was swallowed by the black light on his body. Gradually, the black light spread further and further, until it covered a range of a thousand miles.
“O’Brien is very strong. But Utreid has also created a new technique this time,” the Death Overgod transmitted to Linley.
“What technique?” Linley asked curiously.
The Death Overgod gave Linley a meaningful glance and transmitted: “Back then, the four ancestors of your Four Divine Beasts clan, their combined innate divine ability was extremely powerful, even threatening to Sovereigns! And now, Utreid has created a technique similar to that combined innate divine ability.”