In an instant—
the space around Locke fell completely still.
The flowing waters that formed the Water Estate froze in place. The lake itself became like solid glass; even the ripples were suspended mid-motion.
Black spatial cracks flickered into existence around him.
The phantoms of the Four Divine Beasts surged toward the center, attempting complete fusion.
"Boom…"
With a soft explosion, everything shattered—along with the frozen space—revealing the true world once more.
"Failed at the final step, huh?"
Locke wasn't surprised.
After all, he wasn't one of the Four Divine Beast Sovereigns.
When they used their fused innate ability, the heavens themselves granted a mysterious guidance—an instinctive certainty of how to perfectly merge their powers.
For them, failure simply didn't exist.
But for Locke—
it was a different story.
He lacked their innate advantage. Through their blood essence, he had analyzed each of their abilities and reconstructed a fusion technique centered on the Azure Dragon.
But creating one centered on the Black Tortoise…
was practically starting from scratch.
This kind of research demanded countless trials.
Fortunately, his Mirror Flower, Water Moon had reached a profound level—enough to simulate Divine Beast blood essence for experimentation.
Otherwise, the real cost would have been unimaginable.
Still—
there was an unexpected gain.
Even in simulation, the fusion could induce a state resembling time-space stillness.
That alone deepened Locke's understanding of the Laws of Space.
A welcome bonus.
As Locke had predicted—
time passed, and something subtle began to change.
Across the planes, soldiers of the Sovereign Armies gradually realized:
their masters… no longer cared.
The Sovereigns, once deeply invested in the progress of war, now seemed indifferent.
Some armies hadn't received a single directive in over a hundred thousand years.
It felt—
as if they had been abandoned.
Of course, no one dared say it aloud.
Morale plummeted.
Without orders to cease, the armies still fought occasionally—but only as a formality.
Unless there was personal hatred, most clashes were perfunctory at best.
And so—
order slowly began to return to the Seven Divine Planes and the Four Higher Planes.
Then—
a message began to spread.
Quietly.
Relentlessly.
Among the Sovereigns.
"If a Sovereign possesses a divine clone, and that clone refines another Sovereign spark to become a second Sovereign body—
then both bodies will gain an additional portion of willpower…
increasing overall strength nearly tenfold."
No one knew where it came from.
No one knew how it spread.
But almost all Sovereigns learned of it at the same time.
And for those with divine clones—
they knew.
It was true.
Compared to ordinary gods, Sovereigns already gained an extra portion of willpower through their divine clones.
So, if one of those clones became a Sovereign—
even if the original body gained nothing…
the new one would still surpass others of the same level.
The effect was immediate.
Sovereigns without divine clones began to form alliances.
Those who did have them—
were treated with suspicion.
The atmosphere among Sovereigns grew tense.
Heavy.
On the verge of breaking.
Netherworld — Mount Nether
Seated upon her throne, the Death Sovereign silently contemplated the message that had appeared in her mind.
She already knew Locke's plan.
To ignite a war.
To strike amid chaos.
To seize a Water or Fate Sovereign spark.
But even so—
the method left her in awe.
If she didn't know Locke possessed a Fate divine clone…
she might not have detected the faint trace of the Edict of Fate within that message.
With a thought—
her Water divine clone separated from her Sovereign body and descended toward the mountainside.
When Lilia arrived at the floating bridge of the Water Estate—
Locke was in the middle of another experiment.
Perfect timing.
The Four Divine Beast phantoms were just beginning to merge.
"Buzz—"
Time froze.
Space halted.
Within ten meters of Locke—
everything was severed from the outside world.
Beyond that boundary, waves surged violently.
Within it—
absolute stillness.
Lilia, caught inside, couldn't move at all.
"This is… the defensive technique he mentioned?"
High above, in her palace, the Death Sovereign's divine sense spread out.
Strangely—
it detected nothing unusual.
Yet her Water clone clearly felt the overwhelming suppression of time and space.
Even with willpower—
she couldn't break free.
And yet—
her divine sense saw nothing?
With a thought—
Lilia activated the Heart of the Netherworld.
Within the Netherworld, it granted her absolute control.
Invincibility.
And then—
she saw it.
Two overlapping realities.
One—
what her divine sense perceived: nothing abnormal. Just Locke standing before her.
The other—
the truth.
A ten-meter domain where time and space were completely severed from the outside world.
Without hesitation—
she trusted the Heart of the Netherworld.
After gauging the strength of that domain, she withdrew her power.
No wonder…
So, this was how Locke had spread that message.
"Crack!"
The frozen space shattered like glass.
The suppression vanished.
"You're here, Lilia," Locke said with a smile.
"Well? Not bad, right?"
Even he hadn't expected her to walk right into the domain mid-experiment.
Still, since it was only a simulation, he hadn't stopped.
What surprised him more—
was the result.
This Black Tortoise-centered fusion gave him partial control over time and space.
Against an ordinary Lesser Sovereign—
their attacks might not even reach him.
But more importantly—
his Mirror Flower, Water Moon was changing.
After so many simulations…
it began to blur the line between illusion and reality.
Even Lilia—
couldn't tell.
She had been trapped, just as if it were real.
And at that point—
could anyone still call it an illusion?
Of course, Locke didn't explain that.
To make the false become real—
one must first believe it.
Why sabotage himself?
"Mm. It's impressive," Lilia nodded.
Then shook her head.
"But still too weak against Sovereigns."
"Even a Lesser Sovereign could break it."
"I know," Locke replied calmly.
"This was just a test—using only a trace amount of blood essence."
"If I faced a real Sovereign, I'd use the full essence immediately."
"I see…"
Lilia nodded in understanding.
"I thought you were rushing things. So, this isn't its true power yet."
Locke blinked.
"…Rushing?"
He looked at her, puzzled.
He had only been researching techniques.
What exactly did she mean?
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