Sadius was still locked in battle with Barbary.
The patriarchs of the Four Divine Beast clans were growing impatient.
They had originally believed that Sadius—who could suppress even the patriarchs of the Eight Great Clans—would easily finish Barbary.
After all, in terms of combat strength, Sadius could already be called the number one below the level of Great Perfection.
Of course, such a title of "number one below the Sovereign" was not uncommon in the Infernal Realm.
Beirut was hailed as the number one beneath the Sovereign on the Blood Ridge Continent.
Dunnington was hailed as the number one beneath the Sovereign of the Chaotic Sea.
Naturally, both indeed had the strength to back those titles; anyone who refused to accept it had long since been beaten into submission.
Yet right now, the power Sadius was displaying was only at an ordinary Shura level. How could the four clan leaders of the Four Divine Beast families not grow anxious?
"Lomio, what's going on with Sadius?" Gailson hurriedly asked.
"Don't worry. Sadius is using Barbary to temper his cultivation," Lomio replied calmly.
Lomio clearly understood that Sadius' true realm was still only that of a Midgod, with vast room for growth remaining.
Lomio couldn't help but feel curious: If all of Sadius' divine clones reached the Highgod realm, just how terrifying would his strength become?
On the Battle Platform, amidst his fight with Barbary, Sadius' long-stagnant comprehension of the Edicts of Destruction finally advanced.
He had created and understood a third profound mystery of the Edicts of Destruction.
Strictly speaking, these so-called "profound mysteries" of Destruction were more aptly described as esoteric truths.
The esoteric truth Sadius just comprehended came from recalling two moments—first, the overwhelming hammer strikes Mo Si unleashed in their fight, and now, Barbary's soft yet unyielding attacks with his Sovereign artifact.
Sadius grasped the essence behind these two styles of combat.
"I hadn't expected that even the Edicts of Destruction could be linked and derived in this way. This move… I shall call it the True Meaning of Combat and Destruction."
It was True Meaning, not merely true intent.
This was a fusion esoteric truth, not a single, isolated profound mystery.
It contained two parts—one was the pure and straightforward "War," and the other was the complex and ever-changing "Battle."
When these two were combined, they formed the truest essence of Combat.
However, this Combat True Meaning was only just grasped; to fully comprehend and completely integrate it would still require quite some time.
"This True Meaning of Combat and Destruction truly is profound. I can split it apart and separately fuse it with my Slaughter Sword Dao and the power of Destruction, creating two triple-fusion ultimate techniques.
And when the Combat True Meaning is fully comprehended and integrated, I can fuse all four profound mysteries completely.
At that point, reaching the Highgod realm within the Edicts of Destruction won't be far away!"
Sadius felt a surge of delight.
Since Barbary had already helped him make a breakthrough in the Edicts of Destruction, Barbary no longer had any use.
"Barbary, I'll ask you one last time. Will your Barbary Clan relinquish its grudges against the Four Divine Beast clans, return to the Water-type divine plane, and from henceforth remain separate from the Four Divine Beast clans—letting bygones be bygones?"
"Hmph! Dream on! Even if I die, I'll see the Four Divine Beast clans annihilated!"
The Eight Great Clans all bore hatred for the Four Divine Beast clans down to the bone—how could they possibly give up so easily?
"Since that's the case, then your Barbary Clan shall fall into decline forever."
Sadius immediately unleashed Annihilation Sword Intent.
Barbary thought it was the same as before and that he only needed to counter with his own ultimate move.
But then, he saw a colossal illusory divine sword appear in the sky. The Heaven and Earth quaked. Endless divine might descended.
Barbary felt the sheer terror of this sword. His instincts screamed—he had to flee!
But his Sovereign artifact was an offensive-type artifact, not a material-defense Sovereign Artifact.
He knew in his heart that this strike could only be blocked by a material-defense Sovereign Artifact or a Great Perfection Highgod powerhouse.
"Can you escape?"
Sadius activated his Amethyst Space.
Although this was his Destruction divine clone, and even though Sadius no longer had a Soulstone, it didn't affect his ability to use this move.
Moreover, his Amethyst Space had, during this recent period, already achieved triple fusion—and not merely simple triple fusion, but also merged with the Power of Life, significantly boosting his combat strength.
If Sadius had only this one Destruction divine clone present, it would have been impossible for him to simultaneously execute Annihilation Sword Intent and Amethyst Space.
But since his body still housed another hidden divine clone, he could unleash two ultimate techniques simultaneously without interference.
With Amethyst Space unleashed, Barbary's speed instantly slowed.
A look of terror flashed across Barbary's face—he could feel it. He was about to die under Sadius' attack.
"Our Barbary Clan will withdraw from the crusade against the Four Divine Beast clans!" Barbary roared desperately.
He didn't want to die. His water-type divine clone was his strongest. If this divine clone was destroyed, his future would be sealed; he could see the end of his path with one glance.
But his plea for mercy came too late.
If he had spoken even a second or two earlier, Sadius might have considered sparing him.
But now, the strongest Annihilation Sword Intent had already been unleashed. Sadius could no longer stop it.
The heaven-rending, earth-shattering sword fell. Space itself was torn asunder.
Barbary's physical body merely brushed against the rifted space, and half of it was sheared away by the terrifying sword energy.
Even the soul within his Divine Spark was obliterated on the spot. Everyone present was utterly stunned at the sight.
Sadius' power was far too terrifying.
Could this move already rival the attacks of a Great Perfection Highgod?
They couldn't help but wonder.
After slaying Barbary, Sadius controlled the Amethyst Space to bring over Barbary's Divine Spark and spatial ring.
As for Barbary's Sovereign artifact—Sadius didn't touch it.
After all, it was bestowed by a Sovereign; Sadius didn't have the qualifications to privately claim it.
Sadius dripped blood to recognize the spatial ring but failed—knowing the other had divine clones elsewhere. Without hesitation, he crushed the ring directly.
Back at the Barbary Clan, Barbary's other divine clones turned pale. His strongest divine clone had been slain. The Barbary Clan was finished.
"Sadius, you killed my strongest divine clone. I will never rest until you are dead!" Barbary immediately contacted the patriarchs of the other seven clans.
"Everyone, this Sadius' material attacks are nearly invincible below Great Perfection. But in other areas, he is weaker. I suggest that those of you who possess material-defense Sovereign Artifacts go deal with him!"
"Barbary, your strongest divine clone was killed by this Sadius?"
"He also wields that Amethyst Space of Reisgem—you must not allow him to trap you!"
"I will avenge you!" declared St. Nar.
The St. Nar Clan hailed from the Fire-type divine plane. Their patriarch, St. Nar, had reached the quintuple fusion level in Fire-type laws.
Moreover, St. Nar's Sovereign artifact was indeed a material-defense Sovereign Artifact.
He had already learned of what had just happened outside the Tianji Mountain Range and judged that Sadius excelled only at material attacks.
And in terms of soul attacks, St. Nar had a considerable level of mastery—he believed he could easily slay Sadius.
However, before heading to the Tianji Mountain Range, he still left a backup plan. After all, Sadius had just slain the strongest divine clone of a Sovereign's Emissary.