"For many people, their starting point is a destination countless others can never reach."
In the Coiling Dragon Universe, aside from a few "unfated ones," every living being's destiny was already decided before birth.
Unless they came into contact with one of those unfated individuals—
only then could their predetermined fate be dragged off course and rewritten.
Otherwise—
this world was nothing more than a vast stage.
The script had already been woven by Fate itself.
Over the years, Locke had gradually come to realize—
he himself was one of those unfated ones.
After all, even the "destined founder" of the Fiend Castle had been replaced by him.
Oakes, who should have died, instead underwent soul mutation because of Locke's intervention and became the famed Lord of Shadowmoon Prefecture.
Likewise, because Locke had revealed the secret of fusing profound mysteries millions of years ahead of schedule—
the destinies of countless beings across the Seven Divine Planes and Four Higher Planes had all changed.
If he weren't an unfated one—
none of this should have been possible.
The more likely outcome would have been his death midway through creating Fiend Castle, waiting for the true "chosen one" to spread it across Hell.
Only beings beyond Fate's script could truly bring change into the world.
At the peak of Mount Nether, inside the Sovereign palace—
the Death Sovereign rubbed her temples.
She should have known better than to ask Locke these things.
Compared to him—
she felt like trash.
The only reason she stood where she did was because she had been born carrying two treasures:
the Heart of the Netherworld
and the Death Sovereign spark.
Without those…
she probably wouldn't even be qualified to speak with him.
But then—
the corner of her lips lifted.
Hadn't Locke just said it himself?
Luck was also a kind of strength.
Then didn't that mean—
she was a Paragon of the Edict of Luck?
Born with a supreme treasure.
Born with a Sovereign spark.
And even someone like Locke had been kidnapped by her and brought to Mount Nether.
From today onward—
she, Death Sovereign Lilia, was officially a Luck Paragon.
No objections accepted.
"Now then, let's continue talking about the one who spread the rumor."
The moment Lilia mentioned sensing a trace of Fate—
Locke had already guessed the culprit.
Orloff.
The Fate Sovereign.
But what he didn't understand was—
why?
The Orloff Locke knew had stripped away all negative emotions and cared only about one thing:
becoming stronger.
If Augustus hadn't already become the Light Sovereign, Locke might have suspected Orloff wanted the current Light Sovereign dead so Augustus could ascend.
But that wasn't the case.
The Light Sovereign was already Augustus.
So, what exactly was Orloff planning?
As the greatest genius in the Coiling Dragon Universe—
whether in mind, action, or power—
Orloff stood above everyone.
If possible, Locke genuinely wanted to speak with him.
After all—
someone who could create a technique like Transcending Samsara, the very move that led Linley to enlightenment and eventually to the fusion of earth, wind, water, and fire—
such a person absolutely had insights worth learning from.
In Locke's eyes—
that technique was undoubtedly a move born from the fusion of the four elemental Laws.
The only difference was that Orloff lacked four elemental clones, so he likely used magic formations to simulate the fusion.
Magic formations…
That was something Locke could study too.
If he could reach Orloff's level—
perhaps he might also be able to use formations to derive Hongmeng energy and cultivate a Hongmeng body.
He pushed the thought aside and continued.
"From this rumor alone, we can infer something else."
"This Sovereign not only has Paragon-level Fate…"
"He also possesses another Sovereign clone."
"Otherwise, he wouldn't sound so certain."
Lilia nodded.
Now that Locke had laid it out—
the hidden mastermind's image was becoming clearer in her mind.
Then she suddenly remembered something.
"Locke."
"When the Divine Planes first went to war, the Four Higher Planes could have stayed out of it."
"But Orloff summoned us."
"He said the Sovereigns under him also wanted more faith power, so he invited us into the war."
She narrowed her eyes.
"Do you think this was him too?"
"I don't know."
"But I'd say there's at least a fifty percent chance."
"From the method of transmission alone, this Fate Sovereign may have already become a Paragon."
"It's possible he avoided using faith power before, then used what he harvested from the planar wars to finally break through."
"Tch."
Lilia clicked her tongue.
But unlike before—
there was no bitterness in it.
She had already accepted the fact that she could never become Paragon.
A mistake was a mistake.
She had chosen the convenience of faith power.
That path was closed now.
Still—
as Locke said—
luck was also strength.
She had been born at the very peak of the universe.
Who could compare?
Of course—
from Locke, she had also come to realize something.
This was likely her limit.
But Locke?
His future still stretched endlessly upward.
If there was ever someone who could surpass her—
she knew without a doubt—
it would be him.
And strangely—
that thought didn't bother her at all.
Even if Locke claimed he could one day surpass the Sovereigns and reach the level of the Overgods—
she would believe him.
"Oh right, Locke."
"At the last gathering of the Four Rule Sovereigns, Destruction Sovereign Wodred said he wouldn't acknowledge Orloff unless Orloff displayed power equal to a Rule Sovereign."
She looked at him curiously.
"Do you think Wodred can kill Orloff?"
"If he can…"
She clenched her fist.
"I'll go snatch the Fate Sovereign spark for you and make you the new Fate Sovereign."
Locke burst into laughter.
Seeing Lilia this fired up for his sake—
it was honestly adorable.
"Lilia, did you forget?"
"I already said it."
"If the one who spread the rumor really is Orloff…"
"Then he also possesses an additional portion of willpower from another Sovereign clone."
"That would make him nearly a thousand times stronger than an ordinary Rule Sovereign."
"Unless Wodred is also a Destruction Paragon…"
"Only you can suppress him."
That was the truth.
The thousandfold difference was partially offset by Lilia's Heart of the Netherworld and Sovereign-artifact-grade body.
In the end—
what truly gave her the edge was the extra willpower from her Netherworld Sovereign clone.
"Then I'll kill him myself."
"No need."
Locke shook his head.
While he appreciated Lilia's enthusiasm—
he genuinely didn't need Orloff dead.
At this stage—
any Sovereign spark would do.
Lesser
Intermediate
High.
It made no difference.
The Sovereign body was merely there to protect his path.
Even a Lesser spark in his hands would make him comparable to an Intermediate Sovereign.
With borrowed Sovereign power and fusion techniques—
his strength could multiply again.
And if he used the Four Divine Beast fusion technique—
aside from the Four Rule Sovereigns—
any other Sovereign who came would die.
For Locke—
his true path was still the creation of the Dijiang bloodline, the supreme spatial divine beast.
Since the path of transcending through the four elements was no longer open—
he wanted to attempt transcendence through time and space instead.
Difficult?
Of course.
Even in the main Hongmeng Universe, those who completely comprehended Time had failed to transcend.
So, in a subsidiary universe like this—
the difficulty would only be greater.
But if one never tried—
success was impossible.
As for Orloff—
Locke didn't want him dead.
In some ways—
Orloff was similar to him.
Both were walking the lonely road beyond the world.
Sometimes, having another traveler on that path made the loneliness easier to bear.
And more importantly—
Locke liked Linley.
If Orloff died here—
would Linley still be able to achieve the four-element return-to-origin and derive Hongmeng energy?
Locke didn't believe he himself could force such an enlightenment.
"For me, any Sovereign spark is the same."
Lilia didn't question that.
Because it was true.
Even with only an Intermediate spark—
Locke would become a being capable of rivaling the Four Rule Sovereigns.
"Fine."
Since Locke didn't want Orloff killed—
she dropped the matter.
Then Locke's eyes sharpened.
"Lilia."
"Take that trace of Fate you captured and make a scene in the Celestial Realm."
"Shift suspicion toward ."
"And while you're there—"
"mark the locations of a few Lesser Fate Sovereigns."
"Come back and tell me."
Lilia's eyes lit up.
"Haha—now this I like."
Immediately—
the Death Sovereign tore open space.
She shot through the spatial turbulence toward the Celestial Realm.
At once—
the movement attracted the attention of the Sovereigns.
At least sixty Sovereigns spread their divine sense into the spatial turbulence.
Everyone wanted to know what the Death Sovereign was about to do.
Lilia didn't care.
In fact—
the more who watched, the better.
Orloff's rumor had thrown Locke into a passive position.
If Locke hadn't told her not to kill him—
she truly wouldn't have let Orloff off.
But if she couldn't kill him—
she could still teach him a lesson.
"Rip—!"
She arrived outside the Celestial Realm and casually tore open a spatial rift hundreds of meters long.
A sweep of divine sense—
and the locations of the seven Fate Sovereigns instantly appeared in her mind.
Her voice thundered across Heaven.
"All Sovereigns of the Celestial Realm—"
"Come out and face me immediately!"
The watching Sovereigns instantly became uneasy.
This—
was clearly not a friendly visit.
Judging from her tone—
she wasn't even putting Orloff in her eyes.
After all—
"All Sovereigns" naturally included the Fate Sovereign himself.
The Sovereigns of the Celestial Realm immediately sent their divine sense toward Orloff.
This was his problem.
As the ruler of the Fate faction—
he had to stand up now.
A smiling figure flew out from his palace.
"Death Sovereign—"
Orloff began politely.
But Lilia cut him off coldly.
"I said all Fate Sovereigns are to appear before me."
"Anyone absent…"
Her killing intent surged.
"…wants to die?"
Boom.
She released her full power.
The terrifying pressure instantly engulfed the entire Celestial Realm.
Every god in Heaven dropped to their knees.
The Fate Sovereigns still hiding in their palaces vomited blood on the spot, horror flooding their eyes.
Just one sentence—
carried with the Laws of Death—
had already severely wounded them.
And they all understood one thing.
This was only because she had not intended to kill them.
Otherwise—
they would already be dead.
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