At that moment, Liliya put away the teasing expression on her face and asked seriously,
"Hey, Klo. Have you ever considered staying in the Netherworld?"
Locke was momentarily stunned.
The red-haired girl clearly knew that the name "Klo" was fake, yet she continued using it to address him.
Moreover, in his soul vision, the earlier emotions of amusement and playfulness had disappeared.
It was obvious that she was asking seriously.
Since she was being sincere, Locke didn't hide the truth either.
After all, if this girl truly was the one he suspected, he might even manage to grab onto a very thick thigh.
To be honest, when Locke had first read Coiling Dragon, he had already held quite a bit of affection for that particular Sovereign.
"Sovereign," Locke said frankly, "to tell the truth, I suffer from a rather serious persecution complex."
"When my strength was insufficient, I always felt that anyone stronger than me might kill me at any moment—whether for a reason or for no reason at all."
"When I hadn't begun cultivating yet, I thought that reaching Saint-level would make me feel safe."
"But after becoming a Saint, I felt that perhaps reaching godhood would finally bring peace of mind."
"Then after becoming a god, I thought… if I couldn't become a Sovereign, I might one day die from the aftershocks of a Sovereign war."
"It's as though only when no one capable of threatening my life exists can I truly feel secure."
"So… I'm sorry, Sovereign."
"In a place like the Netherworld, where you might come looking for me at any time…"
"It's still too dangerous for me."
"You're afraid that one day I might kill you as well?"
Liliya frowned slightly.
Klo's situation wasn't entirely incomprehensible.
But compared to ordinary people, his caution seemed excessive to an absurd degree.
"Yes."
Locke nodded.
"Just like the situation right now."
"But I never had any intention of killing you," Liliya protested.
"Sovereign, you don't have that intention right now," Locke corrected gently.
"What matters to me is that you possess the ability to kill me."
"The fact that you don't want to kill me now doesn't mean you won't want to someday."
"I'm not accustomed to placing my life in someone else's passing whim."
"Tch."
Liliya clicked her tongue.
Honestly, she felt Locke's reasoning made perfect sense.
After all, even she herself sometimes became annoyed with subordinates she had once favored.
When that happened, she might assign them dangerous tasks just to vent her frustration.
Perhaps, in Locke's eyes, that was already equivalent to wanting someone dead.
But this was the first person in existence she had ever encountered who had cultivated the Laws to Paragon.
She truly didn't want to simply let Klo leave the Netherworld.
Yet to keep him here, she needed him to believe that the Netherworld posed no threat to him.
"Klo," she asked,
"Is there truly no other solution?"
"Nope."
Locke shrugged.
"Unless every Sovereign of the Netherworld swore an oath in the name of the Overgod that the moment they developed the intent to kill me, they would immediately suffer the Overgod's punishment and lose their Sovereign spark."
"But that's obviously impossible."
"No Sovereign would willingly leave themselves with such a vulnerability."
Liliya sighed.
Indeed.
The Coiling Dragon universe was ultimately a world where the strong ruled.
Even though Klo was a Paragon, in the eyes of Sovereigns he was still just a slightly larger ant.
There was no reason for them to expose themselves to such a weakness merely to reassure an ant.
Still—
Liliya couldn't help admiring him.
With such a mentality, he had still managed to cultivate to Paragon.
And across the Seven Divine Planes and Four Higher Planes, not a single legend about him had spread.
This man had hidden himself to an unbelievable degree.
"Klo," Liliya sighed,
"I really underestimated how deeply you understand this world."
To be honest, Liliya had been born as a god.
From there, everything had gone smoothly—until she became the Overlord of the Netherworld, obtained the supreme treasure Netherworld Heart, and reached a level of power unmatched in the entire universe.
The only reason she hadn't conquered the other planes was because she simply didn't care to rule them.
Otherwise, the other Sovereigns—including the three Rule Sovereigns—might never have had the chance to grow.
From the very beginning, she had stood at the absolute peak of existence.
Thus, she could understand Klo's caution toward the strong—
But she couldn't truly empathize with it.
After all, nothing in the universe had ever made her feel fear.
She only pursued her own amusement.
But after speaking with Locke for so long, she suddenly realized she had a better method to keep him here.
"Klo."
"Come with me to Netherworld Mountain."
Liliya stared at him seriously.
"I am the Overlord of the Netherworld, the strongest Sovereign among them all—Death Sovereign Liliya."
"Instead of hiding everywhere, afraid of persecution from seventy-seven Sovereigns…"
"Why not stay by my side and only worry about one person?"
"As long as you stay with me, the other seventy-six Sovereigns won't dare bully you."
"What do you say?"
"Of course…"
"If you refuse to come with me, then to prevent you from opposing me in the future—"
"I'll kill you right now."
She even made a fierce expression.
But on her small face, it somehow looked more cute than threatening.
"Hahaha!"
Using soul vision, Locke could clearly tell that Liliya held no killing intent.
His heart finally relaxed completely.
Not losing a Paragon-level divine clone was obviously good news.
And having the Death Sovereign as backing would greatly assist Locke's future plans of acquiring the Water Sovereign spark.
So, in truth, Locke had no intention of refusing.
But even if that was what he thought internally, he couldn't agree too easily.
After laughing, Locke said to Liliya's Water divine clone,
"Sovereign, it's not that I'm looking down on you."
"Although you're a Sovereign's divine clone, unless your true Sovereign body appears personally…"
"This clone alone cannot defeat me."
"Heh!"
"So, what if you have Willpower?"
"Like I don't have it too!"
"Take this!"
Being looked down upon like this—even as a clone—angered Liliya.
She immediately struck out with her palm.
Space ripples spread around Locke, forming a tightening watery prison.
"Oh?"
Locke instantly understood the technique.
It centered on the Circular Softness Profound Mystery, combined with Essence of Water, Water Body, Water Waves, and Illusionary Fog.
Liliya's Water divine clone had fused five Profound Mysteries.
She was a commander-level powerhouse.
With Willpower enhancing her strength, she was essentially invincible below Paragon level.
In fact, before arriving here, she had only fused four Profound Mysteries.
But after seeing the way Locke structured his water palace, she had experienced enlightenment and fused the fifth.
Unfortunately—
The opponent she faced now was a true Paragon.
With a thought, Locke's perfectly unified Water Laws spread outward.
Under the amplification of his Willpower, they instantly shattered the water prison.
Then Locke extended his right hand toward Liliya.
"Heaven-Reaching Palm Across a Thousand Miles!"
In an instant, a gigantic hand formed from Water Laws seized Liliya.
No matter how she struggled, she couldn't break free.
"See, Sovereign Liliya?"
"Paragons are invincible."
"Even if you are a Sovereign's divine clone, you have no power to resist."
"If I wished to kill you, your true Sovereign body wouldn't arrive in time to save you."
"So next time you encounter another Paragon who isn't a Sovereign clone, you'd better—"
BOOM!
Before Locke could finish speaking, the watery hand binding Liliya exploded apart.
"That's… Sovereign's Might?!"
Locke immediately realized what had happened.
To escape his control, Liliya had used Sovereign's Might.
Although no typical aura of Sovereign's Might appeared, Willpower allowed her to control it perfectly, preventing any energy from leaking.
Her base power of 800,000 multiplied by the millionfold amplification of Sovereign's Might—
Raised her combat power to 80 million.
Far surpassing Locke's normal 10 million.
Seeing that Liliya still wanted to continue fighting, Locke flipped his hand.
A single drop of black liquid emitting terrifying pressure appeared in his palm.
"Sovereign…"
"Are you certain you want to fight me with this clone?"
"I may not be a Sovereign, but I'm fairly skilled in soul techniques."
"I can extract Sovereign's Might from currency used across the planes."
"If I also use Sovereign's Might…"
"The gap between us will only grow larger."
Looking at the drop of Destruction Sovereign's Might in Locke's hand, Liliya snorted coldly.
But she stopped attacking.
Now she had no choice but to admit it.
The power of a Paragon truly was terrifying.
Not only was there a massive gap in their Laws—
Even the Paragon's Willpower was twenty percent stronger than that of a Sovereign clone.
Paragons truly were invincible.
And for once—
That arrogant man had been telling the truth.
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