Chapter 19: Ouf's Invitation
In the void, the white-robed Fate Sovereign stood silently.
"Huff!" "Huff!" ...
Around the Fate Sovereign's body, whether near his thighs or his shoulders, all was shrouded in a hazy, steaming aura. It was as if water had been brought to a boil, bubbling and churning. That hazy aura steamed from the Fate Sovereign's body, while his eyes stared intently at the thrusting spear.
A black long spear, thrusting forward.
At this moment, the Fate Sovereign's gaze suddenly sharpened.
"Whoosh!" His right hand swung violently, as if stirring the very heavens and earth, causing the frozen space around him to tremble.
"Slap!"
The Fate Sovereign's right hand firmly grasped the tip of that black long spear.
The Destruction Sovereign stared at this scene in shock, then let out a helpless sigh: "I still lost."
"Utred," the Fate Sovereign said, his eyes gleaming with a strange light. "What do you call this move you created?"
"This was inspired by the Four Divine Beasts' ultimate technique. I call it 'Chaos of Time and Space.'"
"Chaos of Time and Space? A formidable move. It's been so many years. I finally felt the breath of death," the Fate Sovereign remarked with emotion.
The Destruction Sovereign let out a bitter, dismissive laugh: "Fine. Ouf. I lost, so I lost! This Chaos of Time and Space is definitely my strongest move to date, increasing my power by over a thousand times. Yet, this move couldn't defeat you. Haha..." The Destruction Sovereign's laugh carried a hint of sorrow and powerlessness.
"Utred," the Fate Sovereign said solemnly. "I can tell you clearly. This move of yours primarily functions as a soul attack! And I possess a Supreme God-tier soul defense artifact! Therefore, the strongest attack of your Chaos of Time and Space is ineffective against me. Besides the soul attack, Chaos of Time and Space also affects time and space. However, over countless years, my main area of research has been the material aspect—body strengthening, material attacks, and so on. Yet, even so, I had to exert all my strength to block this spear under that restraint."
The Destruction Sovereign sighed.
He understood as well.
After creating Chaos of Time and Space, he realized that the other two Rule Sovereigns were no match for him!
With the soul impact of Chaos of Time and Space, without a Supreme God-tier soul defense artifact, no one could withstand it. But coincidentally, the Fate Sovereign had one! When the Fate Sovereign completed the Supreme God's task back then, he chose this Supreme God-tier soul defense artifact. Many thought he was foolish for picking something useless.
After all, how could other Sovereigns threaten his soul?
But who would have thought it would prove useful now?
"You should remember our agreement," the Fate Sovereign said, his gaze burning.
The Destruction Sovereign looked at him and gave a wry smile: "Of course I'll keep it."
The ten Sovereign-level experts watching from afar were also stunned when they saw the battle end. "How is this possible? Lord Ouf, under such a restraint of heaven and earth, could still block such a fast strike?" The Water Sovereign couldn't believe it. The restraint of heaven and earth from the Chaos of Time and Space move was felt by all the other Sovereigns.
"Lord Ouf actually won."
The many Sovereigns were deeply shocked.
"Terrifying," Linley muttered, that single word summing up his thoughts.
The Life Sovereign smiled and said, "The Four Divine Beasts' combined attack back then, while it affected time and space, its main effect was still a soul attack! Ouf has a Supreme God-tier soul defense artifact, so this move only served to restrain him. Yet, under that restraint, he still managed to block that spear."
"Useless."
The Death Sovereign couldn't help but curse.
Linley turned to look at the Death Sovereign. He had never seen this cute, pretty girl so exasperated before.
"Linley," the Death Sovereign suddenly transmitted to Linley.
"What's wrong?" Linley looked at the Death Sovereign, puzzled.
"There's something I hope you'll agree to," the Death Sovereign transmitted solemnly.
"Please, speak," Linley said quickly, though he couldn't help but wonder what the Death Sovereign wanted from him.
The Death Sovereign transmitted: "You must remember... no matter what, you three from the Yulan lineage must never, under any circumstances, give the Four Divine Beasts' blood essence to Ouf!"
"Huh?" Linley was confused. "Sovereign, can you tell me why?"
"Alas," the Death Sovereign sighed. "Linley, do you know why Utred just now switched from a Supreme God-tier artifact to a Sovereign artifact?"
"I really don't know," Linley admitted. He had been puzzled earlier about why Utred would downgrade his weapon, which would weaken his strength.
The Death Sovereign transmitted: "Actually, this time, the four of us Rule Sovereigns gathered together. After we judged your matter, as you all left one by one, the Destruction Sovereign Utred proposed a rematch with the Fate Sovereign. But the Fate Sovereign refused because... he disdained such contests."
"After that, the Destruction Sovereign claimed he had created a move similar to the Four Divine Beasts' innate divine ability," the Death Sovereign explained. "We were all taken aback, and that madman Ouf became interested. However, a move similar to the Four Divine Beasts' combined innate divine ability would have unimaginable power. That madman Ouf wasn't entirely confident either. So, they made an agreement."
"What agreement?" Linley pressed.
"The agreement was this: once the Destruction Sovereign used that move, he could only attack with a Sovereign artifact. If the Fate Sovereign failed to block that Sovereign artifact with his hand, the Fate Sovereign would lose. If the Fate Sovereign, while under the effect of the move, still managed to block it with his hand, he would win," the Death Sovereign said.
Linley understood.
The Fate Sovereign, relying on his laws' profundities and his own strength, could block a Supreme God-tier artifact with his hand.
But if he was hit by Chaos of Time and Space, his speed would slow down. If he failed to block the strike, and the Destruction Sovereign used a Supreme God-tier artifact, the Fate Sovereign would die!
"While using that move, the Destruction Sovereign was not allowed to use a Supreme God-tier artifact. It was merely a contest," the Death Sovereign shook her head and sighed. "But their contest had a wager."
"What wager?" Linley asked, puzzled.
"If the Destruction Sovereign won, the Fate Sovereign would have to explain the principles of his ultimate move to him. If the Fate Sovereign won, the Destruction Sovereign would have to explain the principles of that move to him," the Death Sovereign sighed.
"This..." Linley was somewhat shocked.
"Originally, Utred was unwilling to discuss the wager. But Ouf was clearly very eager to know the principles of that move. So, he said that if Utred didn't agree to the wager, he wouldn't agree to the contest," the Death Sovereign sighed. "After all, Utred needed something from Ouf. Plus, confident in himself, he agreed to the wager."
Linley nodded slightly.
"Linley, I know that with an attack similar to an innate divine ability, even if one understands the principles and knows everything, to actually execute it... without the blood essence and lineage, even if one could use it, its power would be extremely low," the Death Sovereign looked at Linley. "So, Linley, you three from the Yulan lineage must never give the Four Divine Beasts' blood essence to this Ouf."
The Death Sovereign smiled helplessly: "If you don't give him the Four Divine Beasts' blood essence, I still have a way to protect myself against Ouf. But once he learns this move too..."
The Death Sovereign was being very direct.
"I understand. I won't give him the Four Divine Beasts' blood essence," Linley nodded.
"Alas, the reason I'm entrusting you with this..." The Death Sovereign looked into the distance at the Destruction Sovereign and Fate Sovereign in the void. "Ever since he created that move, the Destruction Sovereign has surpassed both Vivia and me. The balance of power among us four Rule Sovereigns is no longer stable."
Linley nodded.
The Fate Sovereign had a Supreme God-tier soul defense artifact, but the Death Sovereign and Life Sovereign did not. Who could withstand the Destruction Sovereign's Chaos of Time and Space?
"This..." Linley couldn't help but look at the Death Sovereign.
"Utred and Ouf can check each other. They probably won't be crazy enough to go after Vivia and me," the Death Sovereign transmitted with a smile. "It's like how we four Rule Sovereigns don't go after the Law Sovereigns. Since we've all reached the peak, wouldn't killing our peers just make things more lonely?"
The Death Sovereign's words were also a way of comforting herself.
"They can research. Can't you research too, Sovereign?" Linley comforted her.
"I don't have that much patience," the Death Sovereign chuckled lightly. "But if it really comes to a fight, as long as Vivia and I join forces, who lives and who dies is still uncertain!"
At that moment, the Death Sovereign and the Life Sovereign exchanged a glance, seemingly communicating something.
"Haha, truly ingenious," the Fate Sovereign said, his eyes gleaming with a strange light. "Your Chaos of Time and Space is indeed clever. Although its power is inferior to the Four Divine Beasts' combined innate divine ability, it cleverly bypasses the difficulty of soul differences. Utred, I must admire you."
"Hmph," the Destruction Sovereign's expression was grim.
"Unfortunately, this move requires the energy of the Four Divine Beasts' bloodline to be fully unleashed," the Fate Sovereign sighed. After speaking, he couldn't help but turn his head to look at Linley among the ten in the distance. The experts all left the spatial turbulence and returned to the nearest Wind-type Divine Plane.
A cool sea breeze blew. The twelve people hovering high in the air chatted casually, preparing to part ways.
"Whoosh!" A metallic life form shot across the nearby sea surface. The gods inside glanced at the twelve in the distance but paid them no mind. How could they have imagined that the twelve hovering high above were twelve Sovereign-level experts?
"Ouf, last time you said you used all your strength. This time, you also claim to have exerted your full power," the red-haired pretty girl looked at Ouf and snorted. "Did you hold back some of your strength?"
Ouf, that old man, smiled helplessly: "I really did give it my all this time. You have no idea... when Utred used that move just now, I was terrified. The soul attack was so strong that if it weren't for my Supreme God-tier soul defense artifact, I would have been done for. Even the influence on time and space was barely manageable, and I only just managed to block that spear."
"Hmph, keep gloating," the red-haired pretty girl snorted.
Linley and the others simply watched quietly.
After all, the four Rule Sovereigns had the best relationship, and the others didn't feel it was their place to interrupt.
"Linley," the Fate Sovereign Ouf suddenly turned to look at Linley and said cheerfully, "Do you have time? How about visiting my Ogu Garden in the Celestial Realm?"
The Ogu Garden was a sacred place in the Celestial Realm.
It was a garden floating high in the sky, the residence of the Fate Sovereign Ouf. Even ordinary Sovereigns, without Ouf's permission, would not dare to enter the Ogu Garden. Normally, the Fate Sovereign Ouf spent his days there researching.
"Linley, remember what you promised me," the Death Sovereign transmitted. Not only the Death Sovereign, but the Destruction Sovereign and Life Sovereign also looked at Linley.
In the eyes of these three, Ouf's defense was nearly invincible.
If Ouf were also to learn the Chaos of Time and Space move, who could stand against him? Although they knew that, given Ouf's personality, he wouldn't go around killing others, they still didn't want Ouf's power to increase so dramatically.
Linley smiled bitterly and said helplessly, "Lord Ouf, I'm truly sorry, but I have important matters to attend to."
"Haha, no rush, I'm not in a hurry. Whenever you have time, you can come find me," Ouf said with a smile. "Alright, everyone, I'll take my leave now."
The Fate Sovereign Ouf smiled warmly, then flew off alone.
"Linley," the Light Sovereign Augusta, who had been silent, looked at Linley and transmitted, "Aren't you coming to my Light-type Divine Plane?"