In the Earth Divine Plane, Hurley had slain the Lesser Earth Sovereign Antonius in a single strike.
Yes, this had exposed him.
But to Hurley, none of that mattered.
As long as he became strong enough to stand on par with the Four Rule Sovereigns—
everything else was irrelevant.
After all, every Chief Sovereign possessed the same amount of willpower.
The gap between a Law Chief Sovereign and a Rule Chief Sovereign was, in his understanding, merely because Rules were slightly stronger than Laws.
But if that rumor was true—
then obtaining an additional Sovereign clone would increase his strength tenfold.
At that point—
he would surpass the Four Rule Sovereigns entirely.
He would become the strongest Sovereign.
With that thought, Hurley released his Earth divine clone.
A single drop of blood fell onto the Lesser Earth Sovereign spark.
In an instant—
his Earth clone became a Lesser Earth Sovereign.
At the same time, after his soul was baptized by the Sovereign spark, his Lightning Chief Sovereign clone gained an additional portion of willpower equivalent to 0.8 of a Paragon's will.
His power surged nearly tenfold.
"It's true!"
"With another Sovereign clone, one truly gains another portion of willpower!"
Feeling the explosive rise in strength, Hurley's confidence swelled beyond measure.
He had also heard the Death Sovereign's furious voice.
But now—
he no longer believed himself inferior to a Rule Sovereign.
The moment he stepped out of the Earth Divine Plane—
he headed straight toward her.
He would defeat the Death Sovereign under the gaze of all Sovereigns.
Then everyone would know—
who truly stood at the pinnacle.
Of course, after crushing her, he fully intended to impose an absolute ban on Sovereigns killing one another.
The last thing he wanted was for someone else to eventually surpass him the same way he had surpassed others.
"Bold!"
The Death Sovereign's furious voice thundered in his ears.
Hurley's lips curled into a savage grin.
"You look down on me?"
"Then let me show you the difference between us now!"
With a flick of his hand, a violet Sovereign spear appeared.
Lightning crackled along its length.
Empowered by immense willpower, it condensed into a beam of purple lightning that shot toward the Death Sovereign.
"Spear of Thunder!"
The Death Sovereign merely raised one hand.
"A firefly's glow dares challenge the radiance of the moon?"
She caught the incoming lightning beam with her bare hand.
Then clenched.
Crack!
Hurley's strongest attack—
was crushed in her palm.
Barehanded.
"How is this possible?!"
Hurley's face twisted in horror.
"This shouldn't be possible!"
"I now have two Sovereign clones! I possess more willpower than you!"
"You should be no match for me!"
"How can you be this strong?!"
His roar sent ripples through the divine senses of the watching Sovereigns.
So, the rumor had truly been real.
From Hurley's attack alone, everyone could tell—
his strength had indeed increased by roughly tenfold.
But the Death Sovereign…
was absurdly powerful.
That level of attack—
and she had crushed it with one hand?
"Oh?"
The Death Sovereign lowered her hand and looked at him as though he were trash.
"Why shouldn't I be this strong?"
"Do you think everyone is garbage like you?"
"I am the Death Sovereign."
"The Sovereign who stands at the absolute peak of all Sovereigns."
"The destination you struggle your entire lives to reach…"
"…is merely my starting point."
Had this been her earlier self, she might not have spoken so arrogantly.
No—
that wasn't true.
She had always been this arrogant.
She had merely restrained herself after seeing the other Rule Sovereigns reveal their Paragon-level mastery.
Even though she was stronger than the other three—
she had never flaunted it.
Because in her eyes, relying on treasures to stand alongside true Paragons was hardly something glorious.
But after Locke's words—
she had fully embraced the identity.
Luck is also strength.
Some people are born in Rome.
Some are born beasts of burden.
She?
She had been born already standing atop the entire universe.
She possessed the Netherworld Heart, a treasure that allowed her to rival Paragons.
Her body had long since reached the level of a Sovereign artifact.
She possessed twin bodies, granting her an extra portion of willpower over other Sovereigns.
And if she wished to become stronger—
she only needed to kill any Water Sovereign.
Who could compare?
Her domineering voice echoed through the spatial turbulence.
And yet—
not a single Sovereign felt she was wrong.
Even the other Rule Sovereigns had to admit there was still a gap between themselves and her.
"So cool…"
The Life Sovereign, Wawaya, gazed at the Death Sovereign's back like an awestruck fangirl.
The Destruction Sovereign snorted coldly.
But even he offered no rebuttal.
Meanwhile, Orloff's smile never changed.
In fact—
Wodred could even see a trace of delight in his eyes.
To Orloff, weakness itself was not frightening.
What frightened him was lacking a path forward.
And now—
the Death Sovereign's terrifying physical strength had shown him the next direction for his cultivation.
Hurley, however, could not comprehend any of this.
But he understood one thing clearly.
The gap between him and the Death Sovereign was simply too vast.
If even his strongest attack could be crushed so effortlessly—
then there was no doubt she could shatter his Sovereign body and Sovereign weapon in a single strike.
Without hesitation, he turned and fled into the spatial turbulence.
As the Lightning Chief Sovereign, his speed was second only to the Wind Chief Sovereign among equals.
Unfortunately—
the Death Sovereign, empowered by her treasure and willpower, was still faster.
At this rate—
he could never escape.
Suddenly, Hurley's figure curved sharply.
He aimed for the endless depths of the spatial turbulence.
If he could enter any random material plane and hide—
finding him would be incredibly difficult.
Then—
a gentle voice sounded ahead.
"Sorry."
"This path is closed."
The Life Sovereign, Wawaya, appeared before him.
Hurley's face contorted.
"Damn it!"
"I may not beat the Death Sovereign…"
"…but do you think I can't beat you?!"
"Spear of Thunder!"
His strongest move exploded forth again.
The result—
was exactly the same.
Smack!
Wawaya casually slapped the attack aside.
Just like that.
Hurley didn't dare say another word.
He immediately changed direction again.
But he had not fled far before another figure appeared.
The Destruction Sovereign.
Wodred.
"Die!"
Having already been casually stopped by two Rule Sovereigns, Hurley now merged body and spear into a bolt of lightning and charged straight at him.
Unlike the previous two—
Wodred stood there with his arms folded.
As if Hurley wasn't even worth noticing.
BOOM!
Endless lightning erupted.
Hurley became one with the storm, tearing through layer after layer of spatial turbulence.
Then he unleashed everything upon Wodred.
Boom boom boom boom boom—
The Sovereign spear in his hand struck like a raging tempest.
In an instant—
millions of thrusts descended.
Wodred's figure was swallowed by endless sparks.
But for all its overwhelming momentum—
the attack failed to injure him in the slightest.
Then—
at the very end—
Hurley's Sovereign spear shattered.
Its tip exploded into fragments.
"T-this… how is this possible?"
Hurley stared at the ruined weapon in disbelief.
Not just him.
Every watching Sovereign drew in a sharp breath.
This was completely different from before.
With Death and Life—
they had crushed his attacks with their hands.
No one could be entirely sure whether that was due to sheer willpower or physical strength.
But this?
This was undeniable.
The collisions had thrown off countless sparks.
Everyone had seen it clearly.
Even with willpower reinforcing the body—
without terrifying physical durability, this would have been impossible.
To damage a Sovereign weapon through defense alone—
Wodred's body had reached an unimaginable level.
And yet—
they had not forgotten what the Death Sovereign had just declared.
That she stood at the pinnacle of all Sovereigns.
Which meant—
even someone as monstrous as Wodred still believed himself weaker than her.
Then just how strong was the Death Sovereign?
At this point, the Law Chief Sovereigns were all trembling.
This was absurd.
They had naïvely believed the difference was merely "half a tier."
Was this what half a tier looked like?
Could half a tier casually crush an attack ten times stronger than a Law Chief Sovereign's?
Could half a tier shatter a Sovereign weapon through defense alone?
Who were they trying to fool?
This was no slight advantage.
This was despair.
Hurley, especially, was now genuinely beginning to question his entire life.
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