Book 21, The Peak – Chapter 43, A New Name (part 1)

Augusta’s body crumpled down, falling into the flows of chaotic space, being carried away like an inanimate object within the ‘rivers’.

The Chief Sovereign of Light, Augusta, was killed by one sword blow!

“Augusta died?”

“Linley killed Augusta?”

The Sovereigns couldn’t help but take a deep breath. It had been countless years since a Chief Sovereign had truly perished.

“Good that he died!” The Chief Sovereigns of Death and Destruction, along with ten-plus other Sovereigns, had already guessed at the connection between Augusta and Orloff. They felt a surge of delight in their hearts!

“Bang!” “Bang!” Two rays of light shot out from Augusta’s corpse, moving at extremely high speed. It was a ring and the Lightsaber.

“Stay here!” Linley wasn’t able to catch them in time, so he could only use his fused Sovereign power to create a distant ‘barrier’, wanting to trap these two Overgod artifacts within it.

“Do you think that the likes of you is capable of trapping my Overgod artifacts?” Orloff’s low voice rumbled within Linley’s mind. In midair, the Lightsaber suddenly expanded dramatically. With a ‘boom’, it pierced straight through that barrier. Linley only saw two bolts of light flash past, and then the two Overgod artifacts disappeared.

Linley, seeing this, couldn’t help but sigh to himself. The Overgod artifacts belonged to the Chief Sovereign of Fate, Orloff, to begin with. Under Orloff’s control, given how quickly Overgod artifacts could move, they vastly outstripped any Sovereign’s speed.

Ten billion kilometers away from Linley, within the void. A white-robd Orloff stretched his hand out, snatching the Lightsaber that had flown towards him. This Lightsaber was the Fate Overgod weapon; his other clone, ‘Augusta’, naturally wasn’t able to unleash its full power. But in the hands of the Chief Sovereign of Fate, Orloff, its power increased dramatically.

The ring slid onto Orloff’s finger as well. Orloff was able to control his Overgod artifacts from a distance, and didn’t need to bind them with blood before using them. He stared into the distance at the many spectating Sovereigns, especially those who hadn’t realized that Orloff and Augusta were the same person, and so were in a state of shock.

No matter how foolish they might be, however, upon seeing this, they understood! Orloff and Augusta had been the same person!

“Ah, Augusta and Lord Orloff are actually the same person! Then...since Lord Orloff became a Paragon long ago, he gained an additional portion of Will. He gained another portion of Will from winning ten Planar Wars in a row. Having an additional Sovereign clone would also transform the Chief Sovereign of Fate’s soul, granting him yet another portion of Will! Although his Sovereign clone has perished, the only thing Orloff lost was the portion of Will which was infused in his Sovereign spark; his already-strengthened soul wouldn’t lose the Will he had already gained. Then Lord Orloff, he...”

All the Sovereigns were completely stunned. Only now did everyone understand how terrifyingly strong Orloff was! A soul change was irreversible; once one’s souls were strengthened, one soul couldn’t possibly weaken in power, just because the other one was destroyed.

Thus, Augusta’s death didn’t actually have much of an impact on the Chief Sovereign of Fate, Orloff. It only represented that Orloff had lost a life.

“So in reality, he had two more portions of Will than I did! No wonder he was able to withstand my Overgod weapon with his bare hands.” The Chief Sovereign of Destruction, Wodred, had a look on his face that was as calm as still water. He quietly watched everything happen.

All of the Sovereigns watched and waited to see...how the Chief Sovereign of Fate, Orloff, would take revenge upon Linley.

“Whoosh!” The Chief Sovereign of Fate’s speed increased to the limit, passing through a distance of countless kilometers. Less than a minute later, he had traversed the distance of a hundred billion kilometers and arrived within Linley’s field of vision.

Linley hefted his Life Overgod Sword in his hand, standing there in the void, surrounded by chaotic space. “You are really quite fast,” Linley actually was able to laugh while nodding in praise.

“And you are really quite audacious.” The Chief Sovereign of Fate, Orloff, smiled as he looked at Linley. “It seems that you are quite confident.”

“But I, too, feel as though you are quite confident.” Linley laughed calmly. “Do you think that just by relying on that Overgod weapon, you will be able to kill me? Oh, I forgot; you are a Bula. You are able to divide your consciousness in two, and you have spent countless years researching like a madman. I imagine you have a supreme technique of your own.”

Hearing Linley’s words, a smile appeared on Orloff’s face. “I am very fortunate and should celebrate the fact that I am a Bula, because in terms of my physical defense alone, I am inferior to the Four Divine Beasts, the Sable Leviathan, and those other supreme divine beasts. My Bula race, however, has unlimited potential.” The Chief Sovereign of Fate, Orloff, had an indescribable look in his eyes. “Temperament determines one’s destiny! Due to many contradictory thoughts, many geniuses end up limiting themselves. But me? I’m able to give up all of the contradictory, complicated thoughts that hinder me. All my evilness, my avarice...I can shunt them all aside, leaving behind only what I need.”

Linley laughed calmly. “Thus, we end up with a wild, overbearing, avaricious Augusta, as well as the supreme expert, Orloff, who focuses on his research and pays no mind to worldly affairs?”

“Right.” Orloff nodded and laughed. “To tell the truth, we Bulas aren’t that gifted, innately. Originally, as a Paragon, I did have a Sovereign clone, but in terms of power, I wasn’t confident in being able to defeat the other Chief Sovereigns of the Edicts. Thus, I had to hide my power and ensure that they wouldn’t fear me. If the three of them were to join forces against me, I would definitely lose. Thus, I couldn’t let them know that Augusta and I were one and the same.”

“And so, I naturally ended up having 182 children! In reality, those children were newborn infants with some excellent talents who I selected from the various material planes. After they grew up, they naturally would have no recollection of what happened when they were one or two years old. Augusta trained them, and so they naturally would believe that Augusta was their father. And thus, there was the Augusta clan. Who, then, would suspect that Augusta and I were one?” Orloff laughed softly.

“In the past, you were extremely cautious. But now, it seems, you have no more concerns?” Linley laughed calmly. The Chief Sovereign of Fate, Orloff, smiled and nodded. “To tell the truth, I now hold the other three Chief Sovereigns of the Edicts in no regard whatsoever. This is because...all these years, I’ve never before revealed all of my power. You were able to destroy one of my clones; you are quite formidable. In order to show my respect for you, today, I will reveal my entire power. Although you will die, I will allow you to die satisfied.”

Linley frowned slightly. For Orloff to laugh and speak in such a manner indicated that his self-confidence was extremely high. “Kill me? Augusta also said that he would kill me, but in the end, I killed him.” Linley smiled, but then, suddenly...

“Crackle...” The Life Overgod Sword in Linley’s hand instantly transformed into a ray of green light. An extremely concentrated line of inky jade light, the size of a finger, shot out through the void, chopping through it like a knife and leaving behind only an extremely fine spatial tear which not even divine sense could see clearly. Linley’s Life Overgod Sword stabbed directly towards the body of Orloff, the Chief Sovereign of Fate.

His most powerful sword attack...Sword Intent! After completely fusing all four profound mysteries, Linley’s power had risen a thousandfold. He was now completely terrifying, and one could imagine how strong was the power which this sword attack contained.

“Clang!” A ringing sound. Orloff just smiled as he looked at Linley, not even using his own Fate Overgod Sword to block, allowing Linley to stab him with his sword. “What?!” Linley’s face changed dramatically.

“Impossible!” The distant spectators, including the Chief Sovereigns of Death and Destruction, all couldn’t refrain from crying out in shock. They could tell how terrifyingly strong Linley’s sword was. Logically speaking, no one should be able to rely on their body to defend against it. Not even Chief Sovereigns!

“Haha...” Orloff couldn’t help but start to laugh. “After the creation of the universe, Linley, there have been a total of seven Overgod missions. The other three Chief Sovereigns of the Edicts and yourself, Linley, each acquired an Overgod artifact. But that just accounts for four completed missions! To the outside world, I have only admitted that I was in possession of a soul-protecting Overgod artifact, while Augusta acquired an Overgod weapon. But what about the last Overgod mission? Who completed it? Do you know, Linley?” Orloff was quite smug.

Linley’s heart clenched. “Can it also have been...” “Also have been me.” The Chief Sovereign of Fate, Orloff, laughed. “This Overgod artifact is a defensive Overgod artifact!” As he spoke, a completely black armor appeared on Orloff’s body; this defensive Overgod artifact had already become one with Orloff’s skin.

Linley’s heart was now ice-cold. The distant, spectating Sovereigns were all completely silent as well. Good heavens! Orloff was a complete monster; he had a soul-protecting Overgod artifact, a defensive Overgod artifact, and an Overgod weapon. He had three Overgod artifacts. He could probably stand there and do nothing, and the others still wouldn’t be able to kill him!

“Orloff...” The Chief Sovereigns of Destruction, Death, and Life no longer had any desire to struggle against him. The three Overgod artifacts guaranteed that anyone, no matter how self-confident they were, would feel their morale plummet into the depths of the sea.

“Normally, I’ll just allow this defensive Overgod artifact to be transformed into the appearance of the Orloff Gardens. I’ve bound it long ago, and under my control, it doesn’t emanate any aura at all. Although many people are curious about my levitating gardens and can sense that it is extraordinary, no one knew...that it was actually my transformed defensive Overgod artifact.” Orloff laughed.

The Orloff Gardens was actually a defensive Overgod artifact! Orloff seemed to be in an exceptionally good mood; he even publicized such an important secret. “What, after hiding for so many years, have you decided to reveal everything today?” Linley was a million kilometers away from Orloff, but very cautious.

These two stood at the peak of power amongst Sovereigns. They stood there, within the flows of chaotic energy at a distance of a million kilometers, speaking to each other in voices that rang like thunder.

“Haha, I no longer need to conceal anything.” Orloff laughed. “As for why that’s the case, you will soon know.” Orloff didn’t seem to be griefstruck over the loss of his Sovereign clone at all; instead, he seemed to be in smug and proud.

“Oh?” Linley chuckled. “Swoosh!” Linley immediately transformed into a stream of light, fleeing at high speed into the distance.

“What horrible luck. Orloff actually has three Overgod artifacts! And he is no weaker than me to begin with. Even if he was weaker than me, with three Overgod artifacts in hand, there’s no way I can actually defeat him. I didn’t imagine that I would encounter this sort of a monster immediately after breaking through.” Linley’s heart was filled with utter resignation.

“Fleeing?” Orloff also transformed into a ray of light, pursuing at full strength. In terms of pure Will, the Chief Sovereign of Fate, Orloff, had three more portions than ordinary Chief Sovereigns did. As for Linley, he only had a single additional portion of Will more than a Chief Sovereign. However, Linley had his fused Sovereign power; it could be said that in pure, raw strength, the two were roughly on par.

However, speed was not Linley’s forte. As for Orloff, however, he had spent countless years analyzing and strengthening himself. It could be said that he had reached the limits in defense, attack, and speed. When chasing after Linley, Orloff clearly was somewhat faster than him.

𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

“So fast!” “This speed is inconceivable!” The spectating Sovereigns in chaotic space were completely stupefied now. Linley and Orloff, in terms of speed, outstripped all of the other Sovereigns now.

“Linley is actually as powerful as this.” The Chief Sovereign of Destruction let out a sigh. As for the violet-robed Chief Sovereign of Death, who had flown to his side, she sighed as well. “Linley is strong, but this Orloff...he hid himself far too well. Now that he has revealed his strength, we are no longer qualified to challenge him for supremacy.”

The Chief Sovereign of Destruction nodded helplessly as well. Three Overgod artifacts. Who would dare fight against Orloff?

Some were feeling shocked, while others were feeling delighted. The Sovereigns who had chosen to serve Orloff were naturally feeling delighted. “Haha, so Lord Orloff was as powerful as this. Without question, Lord Orloff is undefeatable amongst Sovereigns.” A man with two black horns and long hair couldn’t help but laugh.

“Everyone, Lord Orloff is about to kill that kid Linley. Oh, Linley’s already fled into the Life Realm. Let’s chase after them and continue to watch.” The Sovereign of Fire, Borte, said with a laugh. Instantly, these words drew a reaction from quite a few of the surrounding Sovereigns. Everyone already considered Linley to be a dead man.

He was powerful, and most likely even more powerful than the other three Chief Sovereigns of the Edicts. But the one chasing after Linley was Orloff! The unfathomable Orloff, who had three Overgod artifacts!

“Swoosh!” “Swoosh!” Within chaotic space, many Sovereigns began to fly at high speed towards the Life Realm.

Within the Life Realm. Linley was fleeing at high speed, while the Chief Sovereign of Fate, Orloff, was pulling closer and closer to Linley. Although they had started at a distance of a million kilometers, Orloff had managed to catch up, thanks to his greater speed.

“Not good. That technique again!” Linley’s face suddenly changed. The two were now only ten kilometers apart, and right at this moment, a powerful aura washed over him. Linley’s fused divine sense could easily sense...that phantoms of the Azure Dragon, White Tiger, Black Tortoise, and Vermillion Bird had appeared around Orloff’s head, feet, and sides.

Space within countless kilometers completely froze. On the ground below them, various experts who were either training or fighting were also completely paralyzed by this spacetime compression. All of them were completely shocked, but unable to move.

“Swish!” A translucent light shot out from Orloff’s mouth towards Linley. Spacetime Paradox!

“Hmph.” Linley turned his head, opening his own mouth. Similarly, he shot out two rays of translucent sword shadows from his mouth. This was Linley’s most powerful soul attack.

The translucent ray of light and the translucent sword shadows collided. The first translucent sword shadow trembled, then immediately collapsed, but the translucent ray of light shrank in size as well. It then collided with the second sword shadow head on, and with a ‘bang’, the second sword shadow also vanished. The remaining, greatly weakened translucent ray of light was dissipated by Linley’s spiritual energy as soon as it entered his body.

“Admirable. You actually were able to block this technique.” Orloff’s voice rang out in Linley’s mind. “The power you put into this technique is much lower than when Wodred used it.” Linley sent back. In terms of raw power from the profound mysteries, Linley’s soul attacks and material attacks were ten times mightier than a Paragon’s!

As for this ‘Spacetime Paradox’ of Orloff’s, it was only a few dozen times stronger than a Paragon’s, and just a few times stronger than Linley’s attack. It wasn’t able to kill Linley.

“Haha. That’s because both Augusta and myself each only refined and fused with a single drop of the blood essences of the Four Divine Beasts.” Orloff laughed. “One drop?” Linley was puzzled. He had handed over eleven drops of the Azure Dragon blood essence, and somewhat more of the other three types of blood essence. Why, then, had Orloff and Augusta used only one drop of each?

However, Linley didn’t have any time to consider this. “He’s catching up.” This time, Orloff didn’t use a soul attack; instead, he struck out with his Fate Overgod Sword, wanting to engage Linley in close combat.

“Hmph.” Linley gritted his teeth, then charged back at Orloff! The two were only a few hundred meters away from each other; given how fast Sovereigns moved, how little time would they need to cross such a distance? But Orloff was a supreme expert amongst Chief Sovereigns; his reaction speed was incredibly fast as well. Only, Linley had actively taken the initiative and had been preparing for it this entire time, and thus he immediately unleashed his ‘Sword Intent’ attack.

The Infernal Realm. Bloodridge Continent.

“Bluefire, how are things?” Beirut sent mentally. Far away in the Infernal Realm, a figure entered through a spatial rift. It was Bluefire who had arrived in the Infernal Realm.

Previously, when the Sovereigns had begun to spread word amongst themselves that Linley and Augusta were engaging in battle in chaotic space, Beirut had felt uneasy, and so he had arranged for Bluefire to go watch in chaotic space.

“Beirut, Linley killed Augusta.” Bluefire said hurriedly. “Truly? That’s, that’s wonderful.” Beirut was overjoyed. “What’s wrong with you? Why are you looking like that?”

“But...” Bluefire’s face grew ugly to behold. “Augusta and Orloff are actually the same person. Orloff...” Bluefire carefully began to describe everything, and as he did so, Beirut’s face turned ugly to behold as well. By the end, his entire body was beginning to quiver.

“It’s me who has harmed Linley!” Beirut growled. “What should we do now?” Bluefire hurriedly asked. “What can we do?” Beirut let out a sigh. “I have no idea how I’m supposed to let Bebe and the others know about this.”

Right at this moment, Beirut suddenly frowned. “Eh? Why are they back? Bluefire, Linley’s father, Hogg, and his mother, Lina, have already arrived at the Bloodridge Continent’s teleportation array. Immediately go and arrange for them to be escorted here. Linley...we aren’t able to help him, but we must protect his family and friends.”

“Right.” Bluefire noticed Linley’s father and mother through divine sense as well.

Hogg and his wife, Lina, were currently advancing towards the Skyrite Mountains at full speed.

“I know everything. I remember everything.” Lina’s eyes were filled with worry. “My child...Linley, could it be that he went to go kill the Chief Sovereign of Light? Nothing will happen to Linley, will it?” In the very instant Linley killed Augusta, the Angels from the Angelic Resurrection Pool which Augusta controlled all instantly gained their freedom.

Lina remembered everything, everything that happened back at the Yulan Plane, and also everything which had happened after she had been transformed into an Angel. She immediately remembered her son, Linley, whom she had carried for ten months, as well as Wharton. Only now did she truly begin to worry for Linley.

“Whoosh.” Bluefire instantly appeared before them. “Bluefire.” Hogg and Lina immediately recognized him. “Bluefire, what’s happened to my child, Linley?” Lina immediately asked with worry. In the past, although she had met Linley, that that time, she was still under control. She felt no emotion for Linley whatsoever. Only now was she truly Linley’s mother.

Bluefire had an ugly look on his face. He let out a sigh. “Come with me.” Sovereign power swept up Hogg and Lina, who immediately transformed into streaks of red light, disappearing into the horizon and soon arriving at the Skyrite Mountains.

Beirut, seeing them come, went to welcome them and Bluefire. “I’m not sure what’s going with Linley right now. Soon, I’ll discuss it with you two.” Beirut looked at Hogg and Lina as he spoke. For now...Beirut didn’t want to reveal that Linley was fighting for his life.

Hogg and Lina exchanged glances, concern in their eyes.

“Bang!”

Suddenly, a surge of powerful ground ripple swept towards them. Bluefire and Beirut simultaneously turned their heads to stare towards the south, towards the Chaotic Sea.

“Linley!” “Orloff!” Beirut and Bluefire were both shocked. Linley and Orloff were currently wildly battling each other. They had battled all the way out of from the Life Realm, then passed into one of the other nearby Higher Realms, the Infernal Realm. They now appeared in the southern margins, in the skies of the endless, infinite Chaotic Sea.

Almost immediately afterwards, many Sovereigns tore holes through reality and arrived in the Infernal Realm. The Sovereigns were all watching this unprecedented, spectacular battle! Only, everyone maintained a great distance from Linley and Orloff, because as all the spectators knew...even the other three Chief Sovereigns of the Edicts, to say nothing of the ordinary Chief Sovereigns, might lose their lives in the face of this battle between Linley and Orloff.

“Bang!” “Bang!”

The surrounding fabric of reality repeatedly collapsed. The countless experts of the Chaotic Sea had long ago hidden themselves deep into the bottom of the sea, but the vibrations that transmitted all the way to the bottom still stunned them. How terrifyingly powerful was this energy?

“Haha, Orloff, I thought you were very powerful, but now, it seems, your attack power is only average. To kill me? It’s far from being enough!” Linley’s voice echoed in the skies.

“Linley, your attack and your profound mysteries are indeed extremely powerful. Admirable, truly! If your Overgod artifact matched you, I probably truly would find it hard to kill you.” The Chief Sovereign of Fate’s voice rang out as well.

Linley and Orloff were deep within the Chaotic Sea, staring at each other from a distance of ten thousand kilometers. Although they were far apart, the terrifying aura each radiated was something they could sense, even without using divine sense.

“Kill me? How are you going to kill me?” Linley snickered. Linley’s body was covered with a flowing layer of inky jade light. His bloody wounds were repeatedly, ceaselessly healing. In terms of Will and Sovereign power, Linley and Orloff were evenly matched, but in terms of profound mysteries, Linley was on a higher level than Orloff, while Orloff’s Overgod weapon was utilized at a higher level than Linley.

This made it so that, in terms of raw material attack power, Linley and Orloff were actually on par with each other.

However...Orloff had a defensive Overgod artifact. He could ignore his own defense and focus on attacking. As for Linley, he had to carefully defend. Naturally, this made it so that Linley was at a disadvantage. Still, Linley wouldn’t lose his life as a result. After all, the difference in power between the two wasn’t that great.

The many Sovereigns all watched nervously. By now, they all realized...that amongst the Chief Sovereigns, Linley and Orloff were the two strongest. But Orloff had three Overgod artifacts...he could be said to be unbeatable, and so, in the eyes of the many Sovereigns, this duel of the two most powerful experts ever created would result in Linley’s fall.

Quite a few Sovereigns felt grief for Linley, in fact. “Ten thousand years...for him to reach these heights means that Linley can be described as an absolute marvel. Someone like him...what a pity. He’s going to die.”

“Even though Linley is going to die, the countless planes of the universe will never, ever forget him. After all, he is the only person qualified to battle Orloff, a supreme Sovereign without peer.” The various Sovereigns chatted amongst themselves, many feeling grief for Linley.

And yet, at the same time, they also felt admiration for Linley in their hearts. Generally speaking, when facing a man who was about to die, others would forget about their flaws and feel no jealousy...and so, quite naturally, most of them felt sympathy for Linley. Still, they continued to watch as Linley was driven towards death, one step at a time.

“Haha...Linley!” The voice of Orloff once more rang out in the skies above the Chaotic Sea. A confident smile was on his face. “It has been a long time since I’ve had such an enjoyable battle. Linley, just now, I was so happy when fighting you. I truly am not willing to let you just die...but I don’t want to let you live either.”

“Weren’t you puzzled as to why I am no longer hiding my secrets?” The Chief Sovereign of Fate, Orloff, laughed. Linley turned to look at Orloff, nodding slightly. “Why?”

“That is because, not long ago, or to be precise, during the last Planar War, when I saw the ‘Samsara Battle Formation’ your six Emissaries activated, I had a flash of insight. Afterwards, I spent a few decades and finally completed my previously flaw, unperfected supreme technique.” The Chief Sovereign of Fate, Orloff, smiled.

“Supreme technique?” Linley frowned. At this point in time, Orloff actually reached out to speak privately to him through divine sense. “Yes, supreme technique! Over the course of the countless eons, I didn’t actually spent much time developing my ‘Golden Samsara Body’ technique. My time was actually spent in developing this supreme attack, the greatest of all material attacks – Samsara Transcendence.”

“Samsara Transcendence?” Linley was secretly shocked. Orloff sighed through divine sense. “Linley, you will definitely die, so I wish to tell you some secrets that I discovered! Long, long ago, I discovered that the countless planes of the universe operated in far too orderly a manner. Who created the teleportation arrays? The Overgods? The Overgods are nothing more than the manifestations of the Edicts. Why, then, would they do such a thing?”

“In addition, why would there be Planar Wars? The goal of the Planar Wars clearly is to reduce the number of experts, so as to ensure that the number of experts within the planes would be balanced.”

“All these various established mechanisms...brought a sense to me. A sense that the countless planes of the universe were being guided by an invisible hand.” Orloff said.

Linley was stunned. Orloff’s words were very reasonable. It did indeed seem as though an invisible hand was governing the countless planes.

“I want to break free from this regulation! Break free from this control!” Orloff’s gaze was sharp. “Countless years ago, my goal was to surpass the other Sovereigns. Now, I am invincible, and so my goal is to develop the most powerful material attack, to shatter the universe itself. I will make it so that neither the heavens nor the earth can stop me, can bind me! I will surpass and transcend the samsara, this cycle of the universe!”

Linley’s heart was quivering as he listened. “Countless years of research. I’ve analyzed countless races and discovered quite a few secrets.” Orloff’s smile was filled with delight. He didn’t want to tell the other Sovereigns about this matters. But as for Linley...as he saw it, Linley was going to die. And so, he would finally speak to Linley these words that he had hidden within his heart for so many years.”

“The universe is filled with ‘space’. Thus, I paid particular attention to some innate divine abilities that were linked with space. As I saw it, if I were able to develop an attack that could break through and shatter space itself, what would happen? Would the universe collapse? Or would I reach a different universe? I don’t know...but I am eager to find out.”

“This technique, Samsara Transcendence, remained unperfected, despite countless years of research. Still, I absorbed much experience and constantly improved my own power. And yet, I still felt that something was off. Afterwards, when I learned ‘Spacetime Paradox’ from Wodred, I realized where the problem lay, and so when you gifted me with the blood essences of the Four Divine Beasts, I spent most of them in research.”

Linley finally realized why Augusta and Orloff had each used only a single drop of the many drops of Four Divine Beasts blood essences which Linley had provided.

“Despite that, however, the ‘Samsara Transcendence’ technique remained rough and disharmonious. But when I saw the ‘Samsara Battle Formation’ the Emissary under your command had developed, I suddenly understood! A magical formation...this technique of mine could be merged with a magical formation and thus be set up even more perfectly.”

Orloff’s face was filled with a smile of self-delight. “I finally succeeded. I personally believe this ‘Samsara Transcendence’ attack of mine to be at the peak of what is possible. In terms of power, it is definitely superior to ‘Spacetime Paradox’.”

“Linley, to show my respect for you, I will permit you to die under this technique. Experience for yourself...my Samsara Transcendence!”

Orloff’s face began to glow with an almost holy light. He appeared almost like one of those holy figures amongst mortals as he raised his Fate Overgod Sword.

“Rumble...”

Four sword illusions suddenly appeared around Orloff. One was jade-green, one was earthen yellow, one was fiery red, and one was light blue. The four sword illusions swirled around Orloff at high speed, and instantly...

“Rumble...”

The universe began to change. It darkened. All of the spectating Sovereigns were completely stupefied. What sort of terrifying power was this? This technique, ‘Samsara Transcendence’, was the most terrifying technique Orloff had developed, after spending countless years drawing from and analyzing the best parts of various other techniques and powers!

“I only have one chance.” Just as Orloff began to unleash his technique, Linley reacted. And what he did was...

“Swoosh!” Linley frantically fled in into the distance. And as he did, the four sword illusions swirling around the Fate Overgod Sword formed into a gigantic illusory sword that was more than a hundred meters long.

The sword chopped out...

“Crackle...” A terrifying spatial chasm appeared in front of it, stretching off into infinity. It created spatial vibrations for countless kilometers around, causing the deaths of countless living creatures within the Chaotic Sea. This illusory sword that contained four types of sword illusions almost instantly arrived in front of Linley.

When his opponent had launched this attack, Linley actually separated his body into three; a Dragonformed Linley, the water-type Sovereign clone, and the wind-type Sovereign clone.

“Haaargh!” The Dragonformed Linley let out a low growl. Wielding the Life Overgod Sword in his hands, he swung savagely against the sword illusion.

“BANG!” Linley felt as though a mountain was crushing down upon him. In almost an instant, the two hands which Linley was using to wield his Life Overgod Sword completely shattered. His bones split apart, and blood flowed everywhere. The Life Overgod Sword trembled, then slipped out of his hands, with the edge of it being knocked backwards and slicing through Linley’s chest, as easily as slicing tissue.

With a ‘slash’ sound, Linley’s chest was completely chopped open, from shoulder to waist. Linley’s bisected body flashed, and he instantly exchanged it with his earth-type Sovereign clone.

The Life Overgod Sword, due to having been used to block that sword illusion, was actually knocked far into the distance, flying away like a meteor.

“How terrifying.” Everyone was completely awestruck. The three Linley’s were currently fleeing into the distance, but the strange thing was...Linley wasn’t actually in pursuit of his Life Overgod Sword.

“The Life Overgod Sword is indeed quite resilient; by relying on it to block, he was actually able to save his life. However, there will not be a ‘next time’.” Orloff chased after Linley at high speed, also preparing to unleash his supreme technique yet again.

The Chief Sovereigns and the ordinary Sovereigns were all filled with terror. This included Beirut and Bluefire, who were closest to him.

“Too powerful.” Linley, thinking back to that scene, thought to himself. “The attack power was so strong, it actually shattered the draconic scales on my hand and broke my bones, knocking the Life Overgod Sword onto my body and then sending it flying far into the distance.” It must be understood that Linley’s body, especially when infused with his Will and when filled with his fused Sovereign power, was far more powerful than most Sovereign artifacts.

And yet, despite that, he had still suffered such a fate. That technique, Samsara Transcendence...it was simply too powerful.

“The fruits of his countless years of research is indeed powerful.” Linley’s gaze was locked onto a distant figure...the Sovereign of Fire, Borte. Borte was currently alongside the other Sovereigns who served the Chief Sovereign of Fate, Orloff.

“Lord Orloff is too powerful. That technique...is absolutely invincible.” The man with two black horns said with a laugh.

“Haha, Linley was actually able to stay alive. However, his Life Overgod Sword was knocked flying. What is he going to use to block the next attack?” Borte laughed disdainfully. He was rather envious of Linley to begin with, and last time, Linley had barked at him. This made it so that Borte had a very negative impression of Linley. Naturally, he hoped that Orloff would kill Linley.

“Everyone, Linley is flying over towards us. Quick, step aside.” The Sovereigns all hurriedly moved away, but they weren’t in too much of a rush. After all, they believed that Linley was simply fleeing, and just so happened to flee towards their direction.

But the strange thing was...

“Swish.” As the Sovereigns flew away, Linley suddenly changed directions as well. Linley’s speed was more than a hundred times greater than those Lesser Sovereigns, and he instantly appeared before them.

“What?!” Borte’s face changed dramatically. “Bang!” Linley’s fist smashed onto Borte’s head. A weak little Lesser Sovereign of Fire, in front of Linley, wasn’t able to fight back at all.

“Fire-type Sovereign spark.” In virtually the same instant as he struck out, Linley sent a drop of his blood into that Lesser Sovereign spark. His gaze was sharp. “By now, I have no other options. Only by fusing with his fire-type Sovereign spark will I be able to rise in power yet again!”

Linley had no other choices. He didn’t want to die. Once he died, Beirut, Bluefire, and even the Four Divine Beasts clan and Linley’s family members...who knew what would happen to them?

Thus, Linley had to act. There were quite a few Sovereigns of Fire present, but the only one Linley felt antipathy towards was Borte. Thus, without hesitating at all, he chose that poor bastard.

“Rumble...”

The world began to change yet again. Countless amounts of fire elemental essences swirled about in midair as the fire-type Sovereign spark entered the divine fire clone in Linley’s body. It only took an instant to refine a Sovereign spark, and so Linley’s souls once more began to transform, and Will once more flooded his soul. Aside from this...

“Four types of Sovereign power...FUSE!”