Book 21, The Peak – Chapter 3, Ten Thousand Years Ago – The Truth

“The corpses of the Four Divine Beasts?” Bebe couldn’t refrain from calling out in shock.

Linley stared at the enormous Azure Dragon corpse in front of him. The draconic scales of the Azure Dragon were still so slick, so seemingly sharp. Even after ten thousand years had passed, the Azure Dragon’s aura was still so awe-inspiring. Linley turned to look at Beirut. Puzzled, he said, “Lord Beirut, for you and Bluefire to be able to become Sovereigns...was because of the Sovereign sparks of the four ancestors?”

Azure Dragon. Vermillion Bird. Black Tortoise. White Tiger. They were Lesser Sovereigns of the water, fire, earth, and wind elements.

Although they were only Lesser Sovereigns, the innate abilities of the Four Divine Beasts were simply too powerful, and when their four innate divine abilities were combined into one terrifying supreme technique, they were even able to fight against a Chief Sovereign.

“Yes.” Beirut sighed, then nodded. “After all, there are only so many Sovereign sparks in the world. It truly was a tremendous stroke of luck for me to be able to acquire four at once.”

“Grandpa, how did you acquire the Sovereign sparks? When you acquired them, you were only a Highgod.” Bebe said hurriedly.

“Also. How did you acquire the corpses of the Four Divine Beasts?” Linley was completely puzzled as well.

Beirut gave Bluefire a glance, and then Beirut laughed as he looked towards Linley and Bebe, then said with a sigh, “After so many years, there is no longer a need to hide this from you. Regarding the corpses of the Four Divine Beasts...I must first tell you about the battle ten thousand years ago. The battle between the Four Divine Beasts and the Chief Sovereign of Light!”

“The four ancestors truly were killed by the Chief Sovereign of Light?” Linley frowned.

“Right. It was the Chief Sovereign of Light who killed them.” Beirut nodded.

“That year, I was in my private room, training. Linley...that’s the private room beneath your Dragonblood Castle.” Beirut laughed, and Linley nodded slightly. He had guessed long ago that it must have been used by a powerful expert for training, and indeed; it had been Beirut!

“While training, I looked through the translucent membrane of the room and saw that far away, in the middle of the chaotic space, a terrifying battle was going on. It was the Four Divine Beasts, who were fighting energetically against the Chief Sovereign of Light, Augusta.” Beirut said solemnly, and Linley listened attentively.

Beirut seemed to become immersed within his memories. “I was completely stupefied, back then. The Four Divine Beasts on one side, the Chief Sovereign of Light on the other. They were all too powerful. During this battle, the Four Divine Beasts were the weaker side, while the Chief Sovereign of Light held the advantage. The Four Divine Beasts had all completely transformed into their original, divine beast bodies. In addition, the four mighty divine beasts worked together to exert their innate divine abilities!”

Linley and Bebe listened breathlessly.

“It was very terrifying, and also very strange. The innate divine abilities of the Four Divine Beasts were actually able to fuse together perfectly, and they seemed to cause the world itself to change. A blurry, spherical light orb shot directly into the body of the Chief Sovereign of Light. At that time, I was certain that the fused innate divine ability of the Four Divine Beasts should be a soul-focused attack.” Beirut said.

Linley’s heart clenched.

“Augusta’s body just trembled, but right afterwards, he actually drew out an enormous sword of light and wildly pursued after and attacked the Four Divine Beasts. Most likely due to the failure of their supreme attack, the Four Divine Beasts simply couldn’t believe it...leading to them losing their will to fight. In addition, they were only Lesser Sovereigns. In terms of speed, they were vastly inferior to the Chief Sovereign of Light.” Beirut let out a sigh. “In an instant, the Black Tortoise, Vermillion Bird, and White Tiger were all killed one after the other. Although the Azure Dragon was powerful, he wasn’t able to hold on either. But right at that moment...I was moved to action.”

Linley and Bebe were stunned.

“This was because the enormous corpses of those three divine beasts, the Black Tortoise, the Vermillion Bird, and the White Tiger were simply floating in chaotic space, being carried away by the streams of chaotic energy. They weren’t too far away from me.” Beirut’s eyes were shining. “Such an opportunity was not to be missed. I would give it my best shot! I used the tail of my ‘Godeater Rat’ body to stretch into chaotic space. My body was refined by divine spark essences, and so was as strong as Sovereign artifacts. My tail swung over at high speed, then with a loop, curled around the legs of the corpses of those three enormous divine beast corpses. Right at that moment, the Azure Dragon was killed by Augusta as well, and my tail also gave the Azure Dragon a powerful tug, pulling the four of them all into the Yulan Plane.”

Linley and Bebe were completely stunned.

Wealth that was acquired through great danger. Linley could imagine the resolve which Beirut had felt back then! He had risked his life to move at high speed to do this!

“I was frightened as well. Those were Sovereigns! Success meant I would also become a Sovereign! This was a rare chance. I risked everything!” Beirut began to grow very excited when discussing that scene. “I was also very lucky. Most likely, Augusta never imagined that someone would dare ‘steal from the mouth of the tiger’ like that. In addition, his focus was on the Azure Dragon. When he chased after and killed the Azure Dragon, he used a soul attack that sent the Azure Dragon flying. Before dying, the Azure Dragon was charging towards the Yulan Plane’s direction to begin with. I just so happened to be able to take advantage and collect the corpses of all four of the divine beasts!”

Linley was completely unable to breathe.

He could imagine that astonishing, dangerous scene!

However, Beirut had a good chance of success; it must be understood that generally speaking, the tails of magical beasts all moved at astonishing fast speeds. As the ‘Godeater Rat’, a divine beast, the tail of Beirut’s original body, especially when he was going all out...a wrap, and a tug! That was definitely something that could occur within the blink of an eye.

If Augusta reacted just a bit too slowly, he probably wouldn’t be able to catch Beirut.

“So my ancestor, the Azure Dragon, truly was killed by a soul attack.” Linley understood now why the Coiling Dragon ring had been damaged. If the Azure Dragon had been damaged and killed by Augusta’s material attacks, the Coiling Dragon ring should have been perfect and undamaged.

“Haha...”

Beirut began to laugh loudly. “Augusta was completely stupefied. He didn’t even react at first...but then, he finally went berserk with fury! After all, he had risked his own life as well to kill the Four Divine Beasts, but I took everything away instead. I, a Highgod, had stolen things from him, the Chief Sovereign of Light. I would have been shocked if he didn’t go berserk!”

Linley could completely imagine that scene.

Most likely, even the Chief Sovereign of Light hadn’t been completely confident in his ability to deal with the combined forces of the four ancestors. Only, he was lucky enough to be successful in blocking the combined, full force blow of the four ancestors, and so was then able to kill the four ancestors one by one.

“Four Sovereign sparks. That represented four Sovereigns!” Beirut laughed coldly. “There was no way Augusta would be able to enter a material plane, and so, all he could do was to send his planar projection clone into the Yulan Plane, wanting to kill me.”

Linley secretly nodded.

A foreign Sovereign was unable to enter a material plane.

As for the four ancestors, there were already dead. Their corpses and Sovereign sparks were mere items and no longer living things; naturally, they could enter a material plane.

“Planar projection clone? That’s fairly powerful as well, comparable to a Seven Star Fiend and even close to some Asuras.” Beirut snickered. “Unfortunately, even before I was a Sovereign, my power was far beyond that of an ordinary Lord Prefect’s. By relying on my godspark weapon, I smashed apart that planar projection clone!”

Linley laughed.

Given Beirut’s power and his insights in the profound mysteries of the Laws, it would indeed be quite easy for him to defeat a planar projection clone.

“Since using force had failed, the Chief Sovereign of Light formed yet another planar projection clone. He threatened me and told me what the consequences would be if I didn’t hand over the Sovereign sparks. But I couldn’t be bothered to listen; I immediately fused with the wind-type Sovereign spark on the spot!” Beirut said with a smile. “That Chief Sovereign of Light even invited Paragons to come act against me, but unfortunately, before the Paragons arrived, I had already become a Sovereign! Fusing a Sovereign spark happens in but an instant.”

“It is that fast?” Linley called out in surprise.

“Fusing divine sparks takes a very long time.” Bebe was surprised as well.

Beirut said with a laugh, “Why does it take so long to fuse with a divine spark? Because you are learning and gaining insights into the various profound mysteries. Naturally, this takes time. But Sovereign sparks contain no insights and no profound mysteries. Thus, they can be fused within a second.”

“After risking my life, I had become a Sovereign, and also acquired three more Sovereign sparks.” Beirut said with a sigh.

“Grandpa...you really are formidable.” Bebe’s eyes were filled with admiration.

Linley sighed in amazement as well. If he himself had seen that scene, would he have dared to ‘steal food from the mouth of the tiger’, to steal from the Chief Sovereign of Light? This truly required courage. However, it also required enough power! After all, ordinary Highgods were completely incapable of pulling in the corpses of the divine beasts from chaotic space.

“But of course, this also caused...the Chief Sovereign of Light to hate me to the core. He wanted to force me to hand over the other three divine sparks, but I paid him no heed.” Beirut laughed calmly. “I could tell that the Chief Sovereign of Light had the sort of temper where he would definitely avenge any slight. Since I had already offended him, I might as well offend him to the end.”

Linley nodded slightly as well.

“Not long afterwards, I intentionally spread the word that a Necropolis of the Gods had been created, and that within it were the Sovereign artifacts the four divine beasts had left behind after dying! If one wanted to fight over them? They were to come to the Yulan Plane.” Beirut laughed. “After a Sovereign dies, if someone was to take away the Sovereign artifacts that they left behind, there would be no other Sovereigns who would come to take them back.”

Linley nodded slightly.

There were multiple ways to acquiring Sovereign artifacts. One was to accumulate enough military merits in a Planar War. Another was to become a Sovereign’s Emissary and be gifted by the Sovereign. Still another was to acquire a relic Sovereign artifact of a deceased Sovereign. For example, this was where Linley’s Coiling Dragon ring had come from.

Only, the chances of a Sovereign dying were simply too low.

In addition, generally speaking, only Sovereigns were able to kill other Sovereigns. They would collect those Sovereign artifacts and not let them just be taken away.

“Sovereign artifacts proved to be too enticing. After the news spread, quite a few people hastened to my Yulan Plane, such as some Seven Star Fiends of the Infernal Realm. Even a Twelve Wing Angel of the Divine Light Realm came, as well as powerful figures of the various planes. A major battle thus began here at the Yulan Plane.” Beirut laughed. “But of course, everything was under my control.”

Linley laughed.

Beirut had been a Sovereign by then. No matter how fiercely those Highgods had struggled, how could they escape Beirut’s control?

“During that battle, I showed just a bit of my power and let my fame and reputation spread out. Immediately, some Sovereigns paid attention to me.” Beirut laughed. “Originally, when I had seized the corpses of the Four Divine Beasts, Augusta didn’t announce it to everyone. Thus, many Sovereigns had no idea. After I became famous, some Sovereigns sent their planar projection clones to speak with me, and thus learned of this affair. And so...the Chief Sovereign of Destruction made a request of me.”

“What was the Chief Sovereign of Destruction’s request? Did he want the Sovereign sparks?” Bebe said.

“No. He requested the ‘blood essence’ that could be refined from the blood of the Four Divine Beasts. The source of a divine beast’s power comes from their blood and lineage. The Chief Sovereign of Destruction probably wanted to develop something from the blood essence of the Four Divine Beasts.” Beirut sighed. “After all, in all of recorded history, only the Four Divine Beasts were able to fuse their innate divine abilities together.”

“I gave half of the blood essence of the Four Divine Beasts to the Chief Sovereign of Destruction. The Chief Sovereign of Destruction, in turn, promised me that so long as my divine clone didn’t go to the Divine Light Plane, he would guarantee that the Chief Sovereign of Light wouldn’t dare to kill my divine clone.” Beirut said.

Linley and the others now understood.

“So that’s how it is. No wonder the Chief Sovereign of Light didn’t dare to act against you in the Infernal Realm, Grandpa.” Bebe said.

“Although he is powerful, he isn’t a match for the Chief Sovereign of Destruction.” Beirut laughed. “After all, the Chief Sovereigns of the Four Edicts are simply too powerful. The Chief Sovereign of Life is a very friendly person, but his power is unfathomable. The Chief Sovereign of Death lives a life of leisure in the Abyssal Mountain, and has never fully revealed her power. The Chief Sovereign of Destruction’s hiding abilities are quite deep; I have no idea if he developed anything from the blood essence of the Four Divine Beasts or not. As for the Chief Sovereign of Fate, he never gets involved in worldly affairs and always remains within the Celestial Realm.”

Linley sighed to himself. This exchange with the Chief Sovereign of Destruction had been quite favorable for him.

All the Chief Sovereign of Destruction had to do was to go threaten the Chief Sovereign of Light, and thus he was able to acquire half of the blood essence of the Four Divine Beasts.

It must be understood...that just by using a single drop of blood essence from the Azure Dragon, Linley’s body was able to become incredibly powerful. One could imagine how much energy was contained within the blood essence of a divine beast.

“The blood essence of a divine beast is the essence of its power. I was quite curious regarding the blood essence of the Four Divine Beasts, and so I ran a few tests as well. I tested placing a drop of blood essence in the body of an ordinary human to see what would happen. The results of the first experiments were that the humans were unable to endure it, and their bodies collapsed. They died. Afterwards, however, I grew experienced. I finally succeeded!”

Beirut began to laugh. “And so, the very first generation of the Four Supreme Warriors was born.”

Linley was completely awestruck.

“The Four Supreme Warriors?” Linley looked at Beirut, stunned. “They were the results of your experiments?”

“Grandpa, you...” Bebe was completely stunned as well.

“What, is it very strange?” Beirut laughed calmly. “Actually, if I didn’t interfere in the lives of Baruch, Armand, Hyde, and Prey, they would have become cannon fodder on the battlefield, and wouldn’t have had any accomplishments. After my experiments, they became the Supreme Warriors and thus gained great fame in the continent.”

Linley now understand. As Beirut had seen it, for a Sovereign to choose mortals for experiments, and especially experiments involving the blood essence of the Four Divine Beasts...this was an honor for the mortals.

“No wonder the Four Supreme Warriors had suddenly appeared in the Yulan Plane. In addition, nobody was able to find out any reason behind this.” Linley sighed to himself.

“Strictly speaking, Baruch and the rest of the four should be considered of the same generation as ‘Gislason’ of the Four Divine Beasts clan.” Beirut laughed. “To be honest, I still felt grateful towards the Four Divine Beasts. After all, it was because of them that I was able to become a Sovereign.”

“Thus, the divine clone that I sent to the Infernal Realm stayed at Indigo Prefecture! The Bloodridge Sovereign knew my true status, and so I asked him to help me by announcing to everyone else that I was his Emissary. This made it easier for me to show up and protect the Four Divine Beasts clan.” Beirut laughed. “If I was merely a Sovereign’s Emissary, how could I have gotten the Bloodridge Sovereign to appear with but a few words, then have him make the eight great clans retreat?”

Linley was sighing.

When Beirut had summoned the Bloodridge Sovereign, the Bloodridge Sovereign had appeared and rebuked the eight great clans, making them retreat. Linley had sighed in amazement back then about how much face Beirut had, to be able to do this! So in reality...it wasn’t that the Bloodridge Sovereign was giving his Emissary face. Rather, it was because Beirut himself was a Sovereign. Naturally, Sovereigns would give other Sovereigns face!

“I also had three Sovereign sparks. Naturally, I would have to choose three people to inherit it. However, I couldn’t just randomly choose them. I had to test them and to select them carefully...Bluefire thus became my first choice.” Beirut then sighed. “In reality, I wanted for Harry and my other two children to become Sovereigns. But the Sovereign sparks were only of earth, fire, and water, after all. Thus, they had to train to the Highgod level on their own in these three Laws in order to fuse the Sovereign sparks.”

“You have to become a Deity on your own in order to fuse with a Sovereign spark?” Linley said in surprise.

“Right. If you don’t rely on yourself and instead rely on fusing with a divine spark, then your foundation will be weak and unstable. Your divine spark and your soul will not be perfectly fused, and so it will be impossible for you to then fuse with a Sovereign spark.” Beirut shook his head. “Those children of mine were only talented in darkness and wind; I tried everything I could, but they still weren’t able to succeed in those three elements.”

Linley nodded slightly.

“Afterwards, because Bebe appeared, and especially because of your rapid advancements, Linley, and how astonishingly fast you rose in power, I chose you as one of my potential candidates...” Beirut turned to look towards Linley.