Book 21, The Peak – Chapter 15, Covetous Intent

“Rumble...” The waves of the sea continued to roll forward gently.

Linley raised his head, sweeping it past Augusta and Diya. The Chief Sovereign of Light, Augusta, and the Chief Sovereign of Wind, Diya, both looked back at Linley with gazes that held malice in them. In his heart, Linley just snickered. “Hmph. Augusta probably still has a desire to kill me. After that last battle, Diya probably feels enmity for me as well. Diya I can ignore, but as for Augusta...I’ll let him live happily for a bit longer. After the other Chief Sovereigns leave, I will kill Augusta!”

The other Chief Sovereigns wouldn’t just watch Linley kill Augusta and do nothing about it.

He had already waited for thousands of years. What was another moment?

“Linley. Beirut.” At this moment, the Redbud Sovereign and the Bloodridge Sovereign both flew over, laughing while waving to him.

“Linley, you really know how to make trouble.” The Bloodridge Sovereign laughed as he spoke mentally to him. “How short a period of time has it been? And yet, you’ve killed Teresia.”

“If you killed him, you killed him. However, Linley, you should have prepared an excuse for when the Chief Sovereigns question you, yes?” The Redbud Sovereign looked at Linley.

Linley laughed and nodded.

“We’ll have to trouble the two of you to help, soon.” Beirut laughed while speaking mentally to them.

“We won’t be able to help out that much. Everything is up to the four Chief Sovereigns of the Edicts. The one right next to you, that’s the ‘Bluefire’ you mentioned to me last time, right?” The Bloodridge Sovereign looked towards Bluefire. “Bluefire, I am called Boson.”

“Mr. Boson.” Bluefire said modestly.

How often did sixty-plus Sovereigns have the chance to all gather together? The conversation between the various Sovereigns right now was quite lively.

“Alright, it is time to discuss Linley’s affairs.” A cold voice descended from on high. The speaker was the Chief Sovereign of Destruction.

The words of the Chief Sovereign of Destruction instantly caused all conversation to halt. It grew quiet.

“Everyone.” Beirut laughed. “Everyone, please, all of you, sit. After you sit, we can discuss the matter between Linley and Teresia.”

As he spoke, with a crackling sound, the metallic lifeform that had been in the shape of a giant boat began to transform again. The wide, spacious deck suddenly began to grow several chairs. There were sixty five in total, and the chairs were arranged into an enormous circle. Because it was in a circle, there were no differences in terms of status for seating arrangements.

“Everyone, let’s sit.” The beautiful, violet-robed, red-haired maiden gave the order coldly.

The Chief Sovereign of Death’s words caused the sixty-plus Sovereigns to all descend from the skies or fly over from other parts of the boat and move towards the seats. Everyone casually chose their own seats and sat down. Linley, Beirut, and Bluefire were seated next to each other.

“The four Chief Sovereigns of the Edicts!” Linley swept the four with his gaze.

The four Chief Sovereigns of the Edicts were all seated next to each other as well.

𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

“The three of them are all here. What a coincidence. After the four Chief Sovereigns of the Edicts leave, I’ll kill all three of them.” Augusta gave Linley’s group of three a glance as he murmured to himself.

Right at this moment, a gentle voice rang out. “Everyone, although the four Overgods have not forbidden us from killing each other, fusing an additional Sovereign spark means gaining an additional portion of Will. If we don’t limit battles amongst ourselves, most likely the Lesser Sovereigns and Intermediate Sovereigns will never have peace. Thus, in the past, the other three Chief Sovereigns of the Edicts and myself set up the Pact.”

If a lower ranked Sovereign has not offended a higher ranked Sovereign, the higher ranked Sovereign is not to wantonly slaughter the lower ranked one. Those who violate this will be jointly pursued and killed by the four of us!”

“Only Sovereigns as the same level of power are permitted to fight amongst each other.”

The speaker was the jade-robed Chief Sovereign of Life. The Chief Sovereign of Life’s voice was very gentle; even when discussing the Pact, her voice flowed like the waters of a spring, making the listeners feel peaceful.

The sea wind blew, but the ship atop the waves was extremely stable, and the Sovereigns seated atop it were all listening quietly.

“Today, however, Linley killed the Lesser Sovereign of Wind, ‘Teresia’.” The Chief Sovereign of Life swept Linley with her gaze, her tone abruptly changing. “However, Linley is only a Lesser Sovereign as well...”

Linley, hearing this, couldn’t help but feel delighted. This Chief Sovereign of Life seemed to be helping him.

“Your Excellency.” Suddenly, a voice rang out.

“Hrm?” The Chief Sovereign of Life’s warm, gentle gaze fell upon the speaker. The speaker was the Chief Sovereign of Wind, Diya.

Diya’s golden gaze was trained upon the Chief Sovereign of Life, but he said with respect, “According to that Pact, the evaluation of a person’s power rank isn’t just divided up into simply ‘Lesser’, ‘Intermediate’, and ‘High’ Sovereign sparks; rather, it is based on true power. For example, any of the Four Divine Beasts of the past were just Lesser Sovereigns on their own, but as a whole, they became referred to as being at the ‘Chief Sovereign’ level. This was because they were powerful!”

When experts battled, joining forces wasn’t always of great use.

Four Lesser Sovereigns that joined forces still wouldn’t be able to overcome an Intermediate Sovereign.

But the Four Divine Beasts were clearly different. Thus, during that Pact, it was specially established that the Four Divine Beasts, as a unit, were at the Chief Sovereign level.

“As for this Linley, in terms of power...” The Sovereign of Wind, Diya, let out a self-mocking chuckle. “I’m afraid that you’ll laugh at me, but not long ago, I intended to go capture this Linley, so as to allow the four of you, your Excellencies, to interrogate him. However, I didn’t expect that after Linley fused the wind-type Sovereign spark, I was unable to do anything to him, even when attacking him at my full strength.”

“How can this be!!!”

Instantly, a shocked uproar of noise.

The Sovereigns who had hurried here from the other planes all knew that Linley had killed Teresia, but they weren’t clear on Linley’s fight against the Chief Sovereign of Wind, Diya.

The main reason was, when Diya had ordered his Sovereigns of Wind to go spread the news, the battle between him and Linley hadn’t started yet!

“Even if Linley fused an additional wind-type Sovereign spark, he would at most have an extra portion of Will. How could he be able to defeat you, Diya?”

“The difference between a Lesser Sovereign and a High Sovereign is very great.”

A chorus of disbelieving voices rang out. These Sovereigns couldn’t believe Diya’s words.

An Intermediate Sovereign was nearly a hundred times stronger than a Lesser Sovereign, a difference of two portions of Will. As for High Sovereigns and Lesser Sovereigns, the difference was even greater.

“Linley didn’t just fuse a wind-type Sovereign spark. Prior to this, he had already fused two Sovereign sparks!” Diya said.

“A single person who fused three Sovereign sparks?” Even the white-robed, white-haired elder, the Chief Sovereign of Fate, couldn’t help but look at Linley.

“Can it be that Linley has killed other Sovereigns prior to this?” Some people immediately said.

“There are still a number of Sovereigns who didn’t come today. Perhaps...”

Linley just quietly watched this group of Sovereigns chatter, while from Linley’s side, Beirut suddenly laughed in a clear voice. “Everyone, I am Beirut. I trust that everyone has heard of the events of nearly twenty thousand years ago. Back then, I acquired four Sovereign sparks! I and this gentleman next to me, Bluefire, each used a spark. We let Linley fuse the other two sparks, and so Linley has only killed a single Sovereign, Teresia.”

Quite a few Sovereigns looked towards Beirut, and they all fell silent.

News of what Beirut had done nearly twenty thousand years ago had spread quite quickly amongst the Sovereigns.

“Diya, even if Linley fused three Sovereign sparks, he would just have two more portions of Will than an ordinary Lesser Sovereign, and would be comparable to an Intermediate Sovereign. How could he have been a match for you?” A man with long blue hair and fish scales on his forehead laughed while speaking.

“Everyone, don’t forget; Linley is a Paragon.” The Bloodridge Sovereign smiled as he reminded them all.

“Even if he is a Paragon, hmph, would an Intermediate Sovereign Paragon be able to defeat Diya?” The other Sovereigns refuted.

“Everyone!” The Chief Sovereign of Wind, Diya, intentionally let out a sigh. “I unleashed my supreme attack, but still couldn’t injure him. In fact, I wasn’t even able to force Linley to use the innate divine ability of the Azure Dragon clan. The reason why Linley is so powerful is primarily because he has an Overgod artifact!”

An instant uproar!

“An Overgod artifact?!”

The Sovereigns, including the many Sovereigns who had only been watching in amusement and had yet to say anything, were all stunned. The Chief Sovereigns, Augusta included, immediately turned lightning-fast to stare at Linley.

“It is true.” Linley, faced with the gazes of these people, nodded and admitted it.

A single stone which aroused a thousand meter wave!

“He actually has an Overgod artifact!”

The Sovereigns who had been treating this as an amusing diversion now completely changed their attitudes.

“By relying on an Overgod artifact, Linley was only able to have a slight advantage over Diya.” A golden-horned man with a seal of a lightning bolt on his forehead mused to himself. “For the Overgod artifact to fall into his hands is a complete waste! If I were to gain that Overgod artifact, given my power, I would have a chance at becoming comparable to the four Chief Sovereigns of the Edicts!”

This person was the Chief Sovereign of Lightning.

The Chief Sovereign of Lightning had another Sovereign clone, making it so that the Chief Sovereign of Lightning naturally had an additional portion of Will. His power surpassed the other Chief Sovereigns, but the Chief Sovereign of Light had an Overgod artifact.

Thus, amongst the Seven Elemental Chief Sovereigns, the Chief Sovereign of Light was number one, while the Chief Sovereign of Lightning was number two. The difference between them, however, wasn’t that great. If the Chief Sovereign of Lightning acquired an Overgod artifact, he would instantly surpass the Chief Sovereign of Light and even be able to pose a threat to the four Chief Sovereigns of the Edicts!

“Overgod artifact!” The Chief Sovereign of Lightning was already pondering how to take the Overgod artifact away. “This puny little Linley, even relying on the Overgod artifact, only has average power. He is no threat! The greatest problem right now is the other Chief Sovereigns. I want to take the Overgod artifact, but I imagine the other Chief Sovereigns wouldn’t be willing to accept this.”

The Chief Sovereign of Lightning swept his gaze across the other Chief Sovereigns.

Indeed, the other Chief Sovereigns were intrigued as well.

An Overgod artifact!

If they acquired it, they would surpass the other Chief Sovereigns!

“Hmph, all of you want to fight over it?” The Chief Sovereign of Light, Augusta, laughed coldly in his heart. “With me here, the only thing the rest of you can do is dream about it. However...the four Chief Sovereigns of the Edicts will be trouble.” Augusta was also worried; worried about the four Chief Sovereigns of the Edicts.

These simple words from Diya, exposing the fact that Linley possessed an Overgod artifact, caused all of the Chief Sovereigns who were qualified to fight over such a treasure to be intrigued!

“Linley, I’m not able to kill you, but the other Chief Sovereigns are.” Diya was very pleased with what he had wrought.

Linley wasn’t worried at all. He swept the eleven Chief Sovereigns with his gaze. “I imagine that quite a few Chief Sovereigns harbor greedy intentions in their heart. However, after I kill Augusta, I imagine that these Chief Sovereigns will be so frightened, they won’t dare do anything afterwards.” Linley didn’t feel the slightest hint of worry.

He had only revealed a hundredth of his true power.

All of the Sovereigns present understood that the seventh Overgod mission that had been issued since the creation of the universe had been fulfilled by Linley. During the previous period of time, the various Sovereigns had all been fooled by him. However, nobody quibbled about this. If a Highgod had fooled the Sovereigns, the Sovereigns would naturally be furious and take revenge.

But Linley’s power was now on the Chief Sovereign level. Who would take revenge?

In addition, the situation was currently quite delicate.

Quite a few of the eleven Chief Sovereigns felt greedy intentions towards Linley’s Overgod artifact. But all of the Chief Sovereigns knew how the others felt as well! They were afraid that they would be the first to strike, but in the end, let the benefit go to the others. Thus, all of them were extremely cautious.

“Linley fused three Sovereign sparks, is a Paragon, and has an Overgod artifact. He does indeed have the power to fight Diya. However...” The Chief Sovereign of Life’s voice grew cold and fierce. “Just because you are powerful, you can murder a Lesser Sovereign of Wind? This is completely against our original Pact.”

Linley spoke out. “Chief Sovereign, before I fused the wind-type Sovereign spark, I wasn’t that powerful.”

The Chief Sovereign of Destruction said calmly, “Even before you fused the wind-type Sovereign spark, you had already surpassed an ordinary Intermediate Sovereign. To kill Teresia was a violation of the Pact.”

“Everyone.” The nearby Beirut hurriedly rose. “There are two things I must say. Originally, when Linley was still a Highgod, Teresia wanted to attack and kill Linley in the Infernal Realm. Fortunately, the Bloodridge Sovereign, Boson, stopped him. The second thing was that when Linley was passing through chaotic space to return from the Okerlund Plane to the Yulan Plane, he was assaulted by Teresia midway through. If it hadn’t been for myself and Bluefire going all out, Linley would have been killed long ago. Teresia had repeatedly acted against Linley; for Linley to take revenge shouldn’t be considered against the Pact.”

The black-robed Chief Sovereign of Destruction gave Beirut a glance. “He assaulted Linley in chaotic space? Who can testify to this.”

“Your Excellency.” At this moment, a voice rang out. “Although Linley and I have some enmity between us, I have to admit, back then, Teresia did in fact assault Linley’s group. I saw this through divine sense; there was definitely no mistake.”

Linley couldn’t help but turn to look.

The speaker was, amazingly enough, the Chief Sovereign of Light, Augusta!