Chapter 32: Suspicious Points
Apologies. In the previous chapter, the continent mentioned in the Divine Earth Plane was not the Azure Dragon Continent, but rather the Black Tortoise Continent. This has been corrected in the earlier text.
Linley swept his gaze over the two figures and immediately judged their identities.
One of them wore a fiery red robe, with fiery red hair and a round face full of amiability. This person was a lower-level Fire Element Sovereign, Betteir. The other was relatively stocky, about the same height as Linley. Dressed in a gray robe with messy short hair, he was the lower-level Earth Sovereign, Manlu.
"Betteir, Manlu." Linley said with a faint smile. "What a coincidence, meeting the two of you here. May I ask what business you have?"
The Fire Sovereign Betteir and Manlu exchanged a glance. Then Betteir smiled humbly and sent a mental message: "Lord Linley, Manlu and I came here also to find a Sovereign's messenger. This Breyler is someone we had already chosen long ago. This time, we came to make him our Sovereign's messenger. We ask for Lord Linley's assistance."
Linley frowned.
Among the Sovereigns, not every Sovereign had a full quota of messengers. For example, Qinghuo only had one Sovereign's messenger, Pussro, and had yet to choose another.
Because of this planar war, a few Sovereigns whose messenger quotas were not full had begun selecting messengers to fill the vacancies.
"Hmph." Linley's face darkened. Betteir and Manlu couldn't help but feel a slight shock in their hearts. After all, Linley was a terrifying existence who surpassed the Lightning Sovereign and the Light Sovereign. Only the four Overlords of the Edicts could surpass Linley. These two lower-level Sovereigns were utterly incomparable to Linley.
"Betteir, I said we should give up, but you insisted on coming," Manlu sent a mental message.
"Relax, as long as we are polite, Linley won't dare to attack us. Attacking us would violate the agreement," the Fire Sovereign Betteir sent back. Then, with a beaming smile, he looked at Linley and quickly added, "Lord Linley, in the Divine Earth Plane, there are many with strong physical defenses, not just Breyler. Lord Linley can certainly choose someone else."
Linley's gaze swept coldly over Betteir and Manlu.
Before Linley could speak, Bebe, who was beside him, grew angry and couldn't help but shout, "My boss chose Breyler as his Earth Sovereign's messenger. What right do you two have to take him away?"
"Shut up!" Manlu roared angrily, casting a cold glance at Bebe.
They feared Linley, but they didn't care about an upper-level god like Bebe. In the eyes of Sovereigns, upper-level gods were nothing but ants. And now this ant dared to shout at them? Unacceptable! If not for Linley being present, they would have killed Bebe on the spot.
"I think it's you two who should shut up," Linley said in a low voice.
Manlu and Betteir's expressions changed slightly. "Lord Linley, how about we let Breyler choose for himself?" Betteir shamelessly continued. Ignoring Linley's reaction, he turned to Breyler and said with a smile, "Breyler, would you be willing to become my Sovereign's messenger? I can grant you a Sovereign artifact."
Breyler was bewildered.
"What's going on today? Why are Sovereigns fighting over me to be their messenger?" Breyler didn't understand.
Not only did he not understand, even Linley didn't understand.
"What's wrong with these two?" Linley was puzzled. "A Sovereign's messenger is nothing special. There are plenty of Seven Star-level experts in the Divine Earth Plane who are no worse than Breyler. They could easily find someone else. Why would they provoke me over Breyler? What reason could they have?"
Out of curiosity, Linley didn't immediately drive the two Sovereigns away. Instead, he wanted to see what they were up to.
"I..." Breyler hesitated.
Becoming Linley's Sovereign's messenger involved an extremely dangerous trial.
But this newly arrived Sovereign hadn't mentioned any trial. Naturally, Breyler hesitated.
"Betteir, aren't you going to send him into the planar battlefield?" Linley asked coldly.
The Fire Sovereign Betteir smiled casually. "To become a Sovereign's messenger, one must of course undergo a trial."
Breyler glanced at the Fire Sovereign Betteir and thought to himself, "This Fire Sovereign didn't mention it earlier. He probably planned to tell me about the planar battlefield after I agreed. His methods are far from honorable." Without hesitation, Breyler said respectfully, "I'm sorry, but I've already agreed to this Sovereign."
Linley smiled.
Betteir and Manlu exchanged another glance.
"I'll see what else they have to say," Linley thought. He was genuinely curious about what was driving these two to insist on taking Breyler, even at the cost of offending him.
Just a Sovereign's messenger? Linley didn't believe it.
Even if they were short a messenger, it wasn't worth offending a powerful Overlord.
Were Sovereigns fools? Did they have brain problems? That was impossible.
So, what was the reason?
"Lord Linley," Betteir said, slightly bowing and sending a mental message. "Making Breyler a Sovereign's messenger is an order from the Overlord of Fate, Ouf. We are merely following orders and have no choice. Please, Lord Linley, help us out."
Linley was stunned.
The Overlord of Fate, Ouf?
Linley knew that the four Overlords of the Edicts each had a group of Sovereigns under their command. For example, the Overlord of Destruction had many Sovereigns supporting him, and many Sovereigns of other laws had entered the Infernal Realm, effectively siding with the Overlord of Destruction.
After all, Sovereigns knew that the four Overlords of the Edicts were the strongest, so they naturally chose to align with the strong.
The Overlord of Fate was the most unfathomable, and many Sovereigns obeyed his commands. These two Sovereigns were among them! Even the Light Sovereign, Augustus, though not completely subservient to the Overlord of Fate, was considered to be on his side.
"Haha, Lord Ouf has his Twelve-Winged Angel Legion. Does he really care about one or two messengers?" Linley sent back with a faint smile.
"We cannot fathom Lord Ouf's thoughts," Betteir and Manlu said respectfully. Betteir sent, "Lord Ouf ordered us to come here and find a Sovereign's messenger named Breyler. Although Lord Ouf didn't say we must succeed, we don't want to disappoint him... So, we ask Lord Linley for your help."
Linley began to understand.
But he was still puzzled. "Ouf, as the Overlord of Fate, is so exalted that even the Overlord of Destruction can't touch him. Why would he remember an upper-level god like Breyler?"
"Lord Linley..." Betteir pressed on.
"Sorry, but I've already accepted Breyler as my Sovereign's messenger, which is a promise I've made to him. As a Sovereign, how can I take back a promise I've given?" Linley glanced coldly at the two. "You two should leave now."
Betteir and Manlu frowned.
"Lord Linley, this is a personal request from the Overlord of Fate, Ouf. If you do this, Lord Ouf will know..." Betteir said fearlessly.
Linley's face darkened.
Threatening him?
His gaze turned icy as he swept it over the two and uttered a single word: "Scram!"
Betteir and Manlu's faces changed drastically. They didn't dare say another word. They bowed slightly and immediately flew away in retreat.
"Using the Overlord of Fate to threaten me," Linley thought, shaking his head. These two Sovereigns were just bluffing. Linley knew Ouf's personality well. He wasn't the type to hold grudges. Sometimes, a superior could be a good person, but their subordinates' reckless actions could ruin their reputation.
The gap between lower-level Sovereigns and Overlords was indeed enormous.
It was only because of the Sovereigns' agreement—no attacks without enmity—that they were safe.
Far away.
"That Linley is too arrogant," Betteir sent angrily. "We humbly asked for his help and even explained it was because of the Overlord of Fate. Yet he still refused to give us face."
"Betteir, you went a bit too far today. Linley is, after all, an Overlord-level existence," Manlu sent back.
Betteir sneered, "Overlord-level? He's just a lucky kid who, in less than ten thousand years, became an Overlord-level expert by refining three Sovereign sparks and possessing a Highgod artifact. And Manlu, you don't need to fear him. As long as we don't make a major mistake, does he dare to attack us?"
Betteir had always looked down on Linley.
Linley's rise was too fast. First, he became a lower-level Sovereign, then matched the Wind Sovereign, Diya, and soon after, destroyed a Lightning Sovereign's divine clone and severely wounded the Light Sovereign.
Such rapid ascension naturally invited jealousy from many Sovereigns. Betteir was one of them.
"Stop dreaming. You can think about it all you want, but do you actually dare to provoke Linley?" Manlu asked with a mocking smile.
Betteir was speechless.
Did he dare? No!
"Let's return to the Celestial Realm. Unfortunately, we didn't complete Lord Ouf's order this time," Manlu said helplessly. "But Lord Ouf didn't force it. Failing isn't a big deal."
After Betteir and the other Sovereign left, Linley turned to Breyler and said with a faint smile, "Since you have a request, I will grant you a soul-protecting Sovereign artifact. From today onward, you will be my sixth Sovereign's messenger." Linley flipped his hand, and a soul-protecting Sovereign artifact ring appeared in his palm.
"Thank you, Sovereign!" Breyler knelt down excitedly and accepted the Sovereign artifact.
Linley glanced at Breyler, then looked at the other five Sovereign's messengers behind him and said with a smile, "From today onward, the six of you should stay together and learn to cooperate well! If you work together in the planar war and are careful, your chances of survival are quite good."
"Yes, Sovereign."
The six all bowed.
"Although some of you have one or two drops of Sovereign power, that might not be enough for the planar war," Linley said. He flipped his hand and produced six black jade bottles, each containing a large amount of Sovereign power. Two bottles contained Water Sovereign power, one contained Earth Sovereign power, one contained Wind Sovereign power, one contained Light Sovereign power, and one contained Dark Sovereign power.
As a Sovereign, storing other types of Sovereign power was a trivial matter.
"Each bottle contains 100 drops of Sovereign power, enough for you to use in the planar war," Linley said. With a thought, the six bottles flew toward the six individuals.
The six immediately accepted them with joy.
"Thank you, Sovereign!" The six knelt gratefully.
"Alright, stand up." Linley swept his gaze over them. He knew that all six would enter the planar battlefield. He wondered how many would survive by the end. "Remember, on the planar battlefield, never be reckless. Learn to hide. Survival is the priority; killing the enemy is secondary."
"Yes, Sovereign." The six messengers felt a trace of gratitude.
"Prepare to set off," Linley said, turning to look into the distance. "It's been over five hundred years. In less than a hundred years, the planar war will begin." Bebe stretched lazily. "Ah, finally time to go back."
Linley smiled faintly.
Just then—
"Sovereign, could you wait a moment?" The sixth messenger, Breyler, said awkwardly, bowing.
"What is it?" Linley looked at him.
Linley was curious about Breyler. What was it about this seemingly ordinary Seven Star Demon-level expert that made the Overlord of Fate remember him?
Breyler quickly said, "My Dark-type divine clone is elsewhere. The Sovereign is in the Infernal Realm. If I survive the planar war, I naturally want to stay in the Infernal Realm as well. So, I plan to bring my Dark-type divine clone with me."
"Dark-type divine clone?" Linley was somewhat surprised.
Being able to cultivate both Light and Dark elements was rare. Olivia was one, and Breyler was another.