Among them, Wordred, the Destruction Overlord and the true ruler of Hell, had done nothing personally. Yet no one dared show him the slightest disrespect. As expected, the largest share of the faith power—thirty percent—flowed directly to him.
Of the remainder:
The Violet Thorn Sovereign and the Stars Sovereign each received thirteen percent. Of the four Lesser-Sovereigns, Pax Sovereign received seven percent, while the other three each received eight percent.
Everyone was satisfied.
Muya Legion Training Grounds
Boom!
Ryan and Adelman were sparring on the legion's training field.
After watching the training of the Sovereign army, Ryan felt the itch to test himself and stepped forward to spar with the soldiers.
But how could ordinary soldiers of the Sovereign army possibly match him?
Even when two vice-commanders of the Muya Legion attacked together, Ryan defeated them with ease.
In the end, to preserve the dignity of the Sovereign army, Adelman had no choice but to personally step onto the field.
Ryan was a Highgod of the Earth Laws. After learning the secrets of fusing Profound Mysteries from Locke, his strength had advanced by leaps and bounds.
Now Ryan had completely fused three Profound Mysteries of the Earth Laws, making him a Six-Star Fiend–level expert, roughly on the same level as Adelman.
Moreover, as a rock-type special lifeform, his body was several times tougher than even a Highgod artifact. His true combat power could almost rival that of a Seven-Star Fiend.
Under these circumstances, if Adelman did not use his Sovereign artifact, he was actually slightly weaker than Ryan.
However, Ryan's advantage came with a weakness.
Being a rock-type lifeform, he possessed overwhelming durability—but lacked speed.
Thus, while Adelman couldn't overpower Ryan head-on, his lightning-fast movement from the Lightning Laws allowed him to avoid embarrassment.
At that moment, both of them suddenly heard Muya Sovereign's voice in their ears.
They immediately halted the duel.
Adelman walked toward Ryan, astonishment written across his face.
"Ryan, your strength is far beyond that of a mere Five-Star Fiend, isn't it?"
Ryan scratched his head awkwardly.
"Haha… I am indeed a Five-Star Fiend. But I recently broke through during seclusion. I haven't yet gone to have my rank reassessed by a Seven-Star Fiend."
"I see."
Adelman nodded in understanding.
He was familiar with the ranking system of Fiend Castle.
For a Five-Star Fiend to advance to Six-Star Fiend, a Seven-Star Fiend must oversee the evaluation. Once confirmed, the candidate's Fiend badge changes from five stars to a crescent moon, and the evaluator leaves their name as certification.
Advancing to Seven-Star Fiend was actually simpler.
If one's attack could tear open a spatial rift over thirty meters long, one already possessed Seven-Star Fiend–level strength.
As for advancing to Shura, one had to challenge an existing Shura and gain their recognition.
Thus, although Ryan already possessed peak Six-Star Fiend strength, until he formally passed the test, he remained technically only a Five-Star Fiend.
"Greetings, Lord Sovereign."
Ryan and Adelman both knelt on one knee.
Muya Sovereign's voice sounded again beside Ryan.
"That will do, Ryan."
"I've already received the message from that lord."
"You've completed your mission very well."
Those words startled both Ryan and Adelman.
That lord?
Just moments earlier, before reading the message inside the violet crystal, Muya Sovereign had openly referred to Locke by name and even mocked his ability to manage subordinates.
Yet now—
He was addressing Locke as "that lord."
Could it be that Lord Locke himself was a Sovereign?
Muya ignored their thoughts and continued.
"Ryan."
"Yes, Lord Sovereign."
"That lord promised a drop of Sovereign's Power as the reward for completing the mission. Because of certain petty individuals interfering, you failed to receive what you deserved."
"So, I will compensate you now."
With a wave of his hand, a drop of black Sovereign's Power radiating terrifying might appeared before him and floated toward Ryan.
"Thank you, Lord Sovereign."
Ryan bowed gratefully before storing the drop inside his spatial ring.
"Also," Muya continued, "I observed your battle with Adelman."
"In terms of strength, you've already reached the level of a Six-Star Fiend of Fiend Castle."
"Therefore, in the name of Muya Sovereign, I acknowledge you as a Six-Star Fiend."
At those words, the emblem on Ryan's chest transformed.
The five stars disappeared.
In their place appeared a crescent moon, and within that moon was Muya Sovereign's personal mark.
Ryan stared at it in disbelief.
To be personally certified by a Sovereign as a Six-Star Fiend—
That was the greatest honor since Fiend Castle's creation.
"Thank you, Lord Muya."
Muya nodded.
"Ryan, if you ever encounter that lord again, please convey my greetings."
"Yes, Lord Muya."
After leaving the Coldwind Mountains, Ryan still felt dizzy from everything that had happened.
Although Little White's actions had initially cost him a drop of Sovereign's Power…
In the end, Ryan had not only lost nothing—he had gained far more.
In material terms, Muya Sovereign had given him a drop of Sovereign's Power.
Ryan now possessed two drops.
But what pleased him even more was the information he had indirectly learned.
Lord Locke… was a Sovereign.
Ryan still found it strange that Locke had first appeared as merely a God.
But since the words came from Muya Sovereign himself, they must be correct.
After all, a Sovereign certainly knew far more than he did.
Yet Ryan also felt a faint worry.
It had been over a thousand years since Locke last contacted him.
Had Locke abandoned him because he was not strong enough?
Ryan still remembered Locke's words.
Locke had said he would not wait for Ryan and Rockpeak forever.
If they wished to follow him, they would have to grow stronger.
Otherwise, one day they wouldn't even be able to see his back.
Ryan didn't know if he had already reached that point.
But sparring with Adelman had restored some of his confidence.
Without using a Sovereign artifact, Adelman had been no match for him.
That meant he could still be considered a capable subordinate.
Still…
Just as Muya had addressed Locke as "that lord," Ryan understood that he must become even stronger than Adelman if he wished to stand beside Locke again.
Then keep training, Ryan.
Encouraging himself silently, Ryan turned into a streak of yellow light and vanished into the mountains.
Netherworld – Locke's Water Palace
Locke sighed softly.
"Looks like I'll need to start saving faith power."
He stored away the remaining half-drop of Black Tortoise Sovereign blood essence.
Previously, with the assistance of large quantities of faith power, Locke's research had progressed smoothly.
Through the Black Tortoise's blood essence, he had successfully touched upon the principles of spatial freezing.
But now that the faith power had been redistributed, the situation had changed.
Locke still found it strange that he continued receiving roughly ten percent of the faith power, but the enhancement from that amount was no longer enough to significantly aid his comprehension.
After experiencing the amplification provided by faith power, Locke had no desire to waste precious Sovereign blood essence.
He possessed very limited quantities of it.
Each drop had to be used to its fullest potential.
Fortunately, regardless of how the Sovereigns distributed the faith power in Hell, they had still left him over ten percent.
That was already a pleasant surprise.
Before, Locke had never used faith power and hadn't realized just how powerful it was.
Now that he knew its benefits, he began forming new plans.
If he could collect the blood essence of every divine beast in the Coiling Dragon universe with innate time or space abilities, perhaps he could truly comprehend the Laws of Space and Time themselves.
Thus, after establishing a new intelligence network, Locke had another objective.
Collect divine beasts with time- or space-related innate abilities.
Use their blood essence to help him comprehend space and time laws.
"What a beautiful day."
Stretching lazily, Locke stepped out of his palace.
Then suddenly—
His gaze sharpened.
On the floating bridge ahead, a red-haired girl in a green dress was crouching, studying something intently.
"So that's how it works…"
"The Water Laws can actually be used like this."
At that moment, Profound Mysteries of the Water Laws began swirling around her body.
Clearly—
After seeing the bridge Locke had formed with water, the girl had entered a state of sudden enlightenment.
"What astonishing talent…"
Even Locke was shocked.
His own path to becoming a Water Paragon had relied partly on exploiting a cultivation loophole—beginning to fuse Profound Mysteries while still a God.
On top of that, he had accidentally discovered the secret of how Water Laws interacted with the world's other laws.
Without those advantages…
Locke believed his current strength would at best have reached that of a Seven-Star Fiend who had fused four Profound Mysteries.
(End of Chapter)
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