Yet there was something else Locke had said that left Lilia hesitant.
She wasn't sureāif she asked, would Locke look down on her?
Sensing her hesitation, Locke spoke first. "What is it, Lilia?"
"...Wellā¦"
She lightly kicked the railing beside the floating bridge, sending ripples across the water below.
"Lockeā¦ what you said earlierāabout how using faith power to comprehend Laws makes it impossible to reach Paragonā¦ is that true?"
"Of course it's true."
From that alone, Locke understood what she was worried about.
Unfortunately, there was nothing he could do to change it.
"Whether it's fusing Profound Mysteries or comprehending the Edicts, faith power is indeed an excellent aid. But no matter how good something is, overuse diminishes its effect."
"If you're just one step away from becoming a Paragon, then using a massive amount of faith power might help you break through that final barrier."
"But if you've already used faith power to break through earlier bottlenecksā¦"
"ā¦then reaching Paragon later is simply impossible."
On this point, Locke was absolutely certain.
After all, nearly two thousand cycles had passedāyet among the first generation of Sovereigns, those who weren't Paragons still hadn't become one.
"I seeā¦"
Hearing this confirmed again, Lilia felt a trace of regret.
She shouldn't have chased speed back then.
"You don't need to dwell on it," Locke said.
"The essence of becoming a Paragon is to grow stronger."
"With your current strengthāeven if the other three Edict Sovereigns all reached Paragonā¦"
"ā¦they still wouldn't surpass you."
This wasn't consolationāit was fact.
Even before revealing Paragon-level mastery, Lilia was already the strongest in the universe.
Sovereign-level will. Sovereign artifact-grade body. These were the baseline for the three Edict SovereignsāDestruction, Life, and Death.
That alone already placed them far above Law Sovereigns.
And Lilia possessed more.
Her supreme treasure, the Heart of the Netherworld, could still draw upon a portion of the Netherworld's power even outside its domaināamplifying her strength dozens of times.
On top of that, she had the 0.8 portion of willpower from her other halfāthe Netherworld Sovereign.
Even if the other three became Paragonsā¦
they would still fall short of her.
Only someone like Orloffāafter creating a Sovereign artifact-level bodyācould truly stand on equal footing with her.
"Others pursue Paragon because without it, their strength can't increase any further," Locke continued.
"But you've already reached the very peak of Sovereigns."
"If you became a Paragon as wellā¦ what would be left for the others? Just give up on life?"
Lilia pausedāthen laughed softly.
"Thatā¦ actually makes sense."
Her earlier regret began to fade.
But Locke knewā
this lingering dissatisfaction wouldn't disappear so easily.
Among the Four Edict Sovereigns, if three became Paragons while she remained the only exceptionā¦
it would weigh on her, sooner or later.
If he wanted her to truly move past itā
there was only one way:
increase her strength further.
And for a Sovereign, the best path to thatā¦
was a tenfold victory in the Planar Battlefield.
Locke stroked his chin thoughtfully.
If the Celestial Realm could achieve itā
why not the Netherworld?
Of course, the Planar Battlefield only opened once every trillion years. That timeline likely began from the creation of the Seven Divine Planes.
Which meantā¦
his own ascension to Sovereign might have to be delayed.
Originally, after Oakes and the others arrived, Locke had planned to hunt a Water Sovereign and a Fate Sovereign during the great war.
But nowā¦
perhaps there was no need to rush.
"By the way, Locke," Lilia said suddenly, interrupting his thoughts.
"How do you know the Sovereigns will personally enter the war in a few hundred thousand years?"
"You said it yourselfāonce they realize faith power is useless, they'll stop interfering."
"At that point, they'd care even less about the battles between gods."
"Even if all the gods died, they wouldn't bother looking."
"So why are you certainā¦ that the Sovereigns themselves will descend?"
Locke paused.
Then he smiled faintly.
"Liliaā¦ I already told you."
"Sovereigns harvest faith power because they believe it can help them break through their final bottleneck."
"But what ifā¦"
"ā¦in a few hundred thousand years, a rumor spreads among them?"
"A rumor that saysā"
"That Sovereigns with multiple divine clones, if they refine another Sovereign spark and become dual-element Sovereignsā¦"
"ā¦would gain an additional portion of willpower in both clones."
"āand increase their strength nearly tenfold."
Locke glanced at her.
"Do you thinkā¦ they could stay still after hearing that?"
Lilia didn't remember how she returned to her palace.
But one thing was certainā
her admiration for Locke had deepened to an almost terrifying degree.
Insight. Strategy. Foresight.
The only thing he lackedā¦
was the title of Sovereign.
Yet somehowā
that had become his greatest advantage.
From an ordinary human in a material planeā¦
to this.
Lilia felt that no oneāpast, present, or futureācould ever match him.
Even if future gods reached Paragon, at best they would achieve what Locke called the limits of Laws and limits of divine power.
But the limits of the body and the soul?
Those were beyond them.
And more importantlyā
Locke now held a technique capable of threatening Sovereigns.
She knew he had learned many of her secrets through her blood essence.
But she hadn't realizedā
he even knew about her connection with the Netherworld Sovereign.
And that secretā¦
was the key to igniting a Sovereign war.
A single thoughtā
and storms would rise.
No one but her knew that, in a few hundred thousand years, Sovereigns would slaughter one another over a single rumor.
In Locke's eyes, even these exalted beings were like fish in a pondā
drawn in by bait he casually cast.
For a fleeting momentā
Lilia saw it.
Sovereigns falling.
Planes collapsing.
And in the shadowsā
a lone figure silently killing two Sovereigns before vanishing into darkness.
No one would ever imagineā¦
that all of this was orchestrated by a god whom they had never even regarded as a threat.
Seated upon her throne, her garments shifted into deep violet as she resumed her true Sovereign form.
"Lockeā¦"
A smile curved her lips.
Taking him back to Netherworld Mountainā¦
was the best decision she had ever made.
Since his arrivalā
she had never been bored.
And yetā¦
she still couldn't let go of one thing.
Her inability to become a Paragon.
Because she was already so powerful, she had never taken cultivation too seriously.
After becoming a Sovereign and discovering faith power could accelerate her comprehension, she hadn't actively pursued itā
but she hadn't rejected it either.
She hadn't expectedā¦
that it would come with such a cost.
Now, in front of Lockeā
it felt as though everything she had, aside from her strengthā¦
was insignificant.
For the first timeā
she felt a faint sense of inadequacy.
And when Locke became a Sovereignā
even a Lesser Sovereignā
he would stand just beneath the Four Edict Sovereigns.
At that pointā¦
would he see her as worthless?
The thought surfacedā
and took root.
That day, Lilia did not go to the Water Estate.
After spending so many days fishing together, her absence felt strange.
But Locke quickly adjusted.
His third Water Profound Mystery had found resonance with the Edict of Fate.
Their fusion progressed steadily.
His WaterāSpace fusion advanced just as smoothly.
And his research into the Four Divine Beasts' fused innate ability continued uninterrupted.
Though he had already replicated itā
the best techniqueā¦
was always one tailored to oneself.
Just as Wordred's Time-Space Disorder and Orloff's Transcending Reincarnation were likely derived from itā
yet uniquely their own.
The original fusion technique was centered on the Azure Dragon, with the others assistingāa soul-based attack.
And that was the path Locke had taken.
Because in terms of soul strengthā
he believed himself unparalleled in the universe.
Even Pash, whose soul surpassed most Sovereignsā
was inferior to him.
Thus, in Locke's hands, the soul-based fusion technique was even more terrifying than in the hands of the Four Divine Beasts.
But he wasn't satisfied.
He needed more.
Before his body reached Sovereign artifact-level strengthā
he wanted a defensive technique.
One centered on the Black Tortoise.
In his viewā
defense mattered even more than offense.
Because only by survivingā¦
could he kill a Sovereign.
If he struck first, the fusion technique could lock space and ensure death.
But if he were attacked firstā
he needed a defense that could be activated in an instant.
Only then could he surviveā¦
and counterattack.
"Strengthā¦"
Locke exhaled softlyāand returned to his research.
The Azure Dragon-centered technique was powerfulā
but not perfect for him.
With his own spatial bloodline, a fusion centered on the White Tiger and Black Tortoiseā
that was his true path.
The only issueā¦
was limited blood essence.
After reserving ten drops for actual combat, he only had three drops of Black Tortoise essence left for researchā
and one final drop reserved for extracting its innate bloodline.
But that wasn't a real problem.
With a thoughtā
four drops of crimson blood floated before him.
Not real essenceā
but constructs formed through Mirror Flower, Water Moon.
Illusions.
Yet with his understanding, they were indistinguishable from the real thing.
More than enough for experimentation.
Locke closed his eyes.
Maintaining the illusion at full strengthā
phantoms of the Four Divine Beasts emerged around him.
A roar echoed.
Then another.
Azure Dragon. Vermilion Bird. White Tiger.
At lastā
Black Tortoise.
Their cries resonatedā
and a mysterious force began to weave the four essences together.
The foundation of a new techniqueā¦
had begun to take shape.
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