Chapter 970: I Cannot Hold a Candle to You

The Black Empyrean Phoenix was an unorthodox existence.

She had once been the strongest of the Sovereigns and had served as the leader of the Outer Gods.

On one hand, she fought against the supreme will of the starry skies. On the other hand, she also refused to rely completely on the will of the bizarre mist.

She even dared to cast aside her Black Empyrean Phoenix body to complete Luo Hongyan's ascension as a God King and help her resist the supreme will.

No one understood what she truly sought. Her intentions seemed unfathomable, her mind an anomaly beyond prediction.

Luo Hongyan had regarded her as a target to be eradicated for tens of thousands of years, only to receive a gift from her in the end.

Even after ascending as a God King, Luo Hongyan could only admit that she and Pang Lin had never stood on the same level.

Pang Lin's wisdom, foresight, and her view of the two supreme wills all far surpassed her own. In fact, it likely surpassed that of every God.

Thus, Luo Hongyan conceded, "I cannot hold a candle to you."

"Hongyan, I have lived longer than you and experienced more than you," Pang Lin said, gesturing for her not to take it to heart. "If you, too, were reborn over and over, ascending to Sovereignhood time and again, you would be just as broad-minded as I."

Pang Lin's gaze flicked thoughtfully toward Yi Hao.

"You're not the only one capable of becoming a God King. He pushed you to ascend first because he wanted that will to descend upon you.

"If he truly willed it, he could've become a God King long ago. You can't give him that chance now. Don't allow him to become the vessel for that will.

"Hongyan, kill him for me," Pang Lin commanded Luo Hongyan.

Though stripped of her Sovereign-level phoenix body, she still dared to order a God King like Luo Hongyan!

Her voice echoed across the starry region and the many abysses.

Curious eyes watched Luo Hongyan, wondering how the God King would respond.

The two had been mortal enemies, irreconcilably opposed. Pang Lin had even manipulated Luo Hongyan's life!

Will Sovereign Luo comply with her wish?

A tense silence filled the air as the crowd awaited her answer.

"He...could, too?" Luo Hongyan shuddered at the implication.

Yi Hao's River of Fate had already vanished into worlds of light and darkness, their boundless divine power tearing it apart.

The Wheel of Fate dimmed into lifelessness. The crystalline seals within it flickered, at times with radiant brilliance and others with inky darkness. Light and darkness even tainted the Tome of Fate in his hands.

At the end of the day, Yi Hao was only a Sovereign. A few divine artifacts were far from enough to bridge the gap against a God King like Luo Hongyan.

Even so, he had not expected the Black Empyrean Phoenix to understand him as thoroughly as she did, to lay out the deeper intent behind his every move.

"Black Empyrean Phoenix! You are the greatest variable in this grand event!" Yi Hao drew a deep breath, then clenched the empty hand at his side into a fist, pressing it lightly against his chest.

Dazzling threads of fate unfurled from his heart and wrapped around his fist.

"You've driven me to my last resort," he muttered, lowering his helpless gaze to his chest.

His sight pierced through to his heart, where hair-thin streaks of crystalline lightning were swiftly weaving together.

"Ah!"

"My Divine Persona! My soul! Someone is controlling me!"

Gods across the myriad starry regions in the starry skies felt the shroud of an invisible hand pressing upon their seas of consciousness.

The supreme will circling their seas of consciousness felt untouchable and imperceptible, yet undeniably real.

The Tome of Fate silently slipped into Yi Hao's heart, its pages turning of their own accord.

"Though fate cannot be wholly measured, it still leaves traces to follow. And I, standing at the pinnacle of this Heavenly Dao, can grasp the fate of most living beings, including Gods.

"Perished or alive—in the past, present, and future—all lie within my grasp.

"Connect!" Yi Hao shouted.

A vast sphere of light burst forth from Yi Hao, and innumerable threads of silver brilliance quietly came into being.

Those radiant threads, like fishing lines, stretched outward to tether themselves to the souls and Divine Personas of the Gods across the starry skies.

"I can draw nourishment from any and every living mind. I am but one step away from becoming a God King."

An ineffable force bled from the seas of consciousness of the myriad Gods, traveling along the silver threads and pouring into the Sovereign of Fate.

The flow of time reversed for Yi Hao, rewinding his aged figure back to the vigor of his youth.

His strikingly handsome form stood tall and imposing. His presence was sharp and unyielding, as if no calamity under heaven or earth could bend him.

Whole swathes of starry regions flickered into stark clarity on his broad forehead. The suns, moons, and stars gradually shrank, condensing within Yi Hao.

As the Patriarch of the Star Race, Yi Hao had the innate gift to project his will out to roam through the starry skies.

After ascending as the Sovereign of Fate and earning the trust of the will of the starry skies through his loyalty, he was rewarded with the ability to bridge his mind to every starry region.

Even Tian Yu, by contrast, had to rely on prismatic crystals in the Void Temple to monitor each starry region.

Yi Hao had no need for such tools. The combination of the starry regions on his forehead and his innate ability allowed him to keep an eye on every starry region. Moreover, as the Sovereign of Fate, he could also intervene!

The Demon Realms, the constellations of the Star Race, the territories of the Wood Race, the skies of the Celestial Race, the domains of the Spirit Race, and much more were all within his perception. He could alter the future of every living being and even the myriad Gods at a whim!

He was the embodiment of the supreme will of the starry skies. A mere pluck upon the threads of fate could decide life or death, compelling beings to march to his tune.

"Since you've already become a God King, and Pang Jian's Immortal Divine Soul has also ascended to the Exalted God Realm, I see no reason not to ascend as well."

Yi Hao calmly closed his eyes.

The starry regions across his forehead grew ever broader and more boundless. At the same time, his body grew immeasurably vast, radiating an austere majesty. It was as though he had existed since the first dawning of heaven and earth, guiding the course of evolution from the shadows.

The aura of the Heavenly Daos flooded through him. Laws and edicts danced across his skin. He was like the incarnation of the supreme will itself—the beginning and end of all things.

Pang Jian's physical body trembled under the pressure of Yi Hao's strange transformation.

His Immortal Divine Soul, seated above his Divine Persona, flew outward and gazed down at Yi Hao.

With his Immortal Divine Soul and Divine Persona separated, Pang Jian could clearly see that all the Heavenly Daos in his Divine Persona were clustering unnaturally together.

An unknown power, higher than him and the God Kings, was trying to wrench them away.

"Twisting fate itself?" Pang Jian's Immortal Divine Soul snorted coldly. "Rise!"

Pang Jian, harmonized with the Primordial Chaos Starry Region, waved his hand toward the God King's skull below.

Twelve World God Pendants flew forth, transforming into twelve divine artifacts.

The twelve divine artifacts whirled around his Immortal Divine Soul and physical body as though alive. The twelve respective Daos of Sun, Moon, Star, Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, Earth, Lightning, Cold, Demon, and Darkness radiated brilliantly outward through those divine artifacts.

The divine beings dwelling in his Immortal Divine Soul resonated with the twelve divine artifacts!

Twelve fragments of Pang Jian's soul, each nearly at the level of a high-ranking God, commanded those divine artifacts, releasing the radiance of the twelve Heavenly Daos!

His Immortal Divine Soul was the ruler of the many spirit bodies within!

"Seal!"

His Immortal Divine Soul pressed down on his Sovereign-level Divine Persona with the corresponding power of an Exalted God. The will of his Immortal Divine Soul seeped into it, calming the chaotic currents of the Heavenly Daos and restoring them to their true form.

Ever-shifting strands of emotion etched themselves deep into his Divine Persona. With uncanny precision, he wove his Immortal Divine Soul's complex emotions to sever the Divine Persona's link with that external force.

That force was trying to wrench away his Divine Persona and collapse the foundation of his physical body.

Hold steady!

His firm resolve to rebel reverberated through his Divine Persona.

Twelve differently colored lights wrapped tightly around his body, anchoring him from the twisted strands of fate and preventing the dreadful transformation from taking hold.

"Even that couldn't shake you?" Yi Hao muttered, gazing deeply at Pang Jian. "The alternate path paved by the will of the bizarre mist is truly mysterious."

An ancient temple emerged, with majestic halos of fate encircling it. It descended upon Yi Hao's body and poured an endless tide of divine power into him.

Yi Hao's power swelled. His aura surged like a boundless sea, erasing every vestige of light and darkness surrounding him. Before long, the area around Yi Hao was wiped clean of Luo Hongyan's power.

"I said I would become a God King," Yi Hao declared with booming dominance, "and so here I am—a God King!"