While Sadius and Ignis were observing the development of this universe—
In the Coiling Dragon Universe.
This time, in the first battle of the Planar War, the Netherworld claimed victory.
Linley played a pivotal role in that triumph. Watching the war unfold, all four of his divine clones broke through to the Highgod level.
Sadius was elated.
Meanwhile, in the Overgod Realm of Aether, the many Sovereigns had already carved up nearly the entire Aether Overgod Star.
Naturally, aside from the Sovereign armies, many top-tier Highgods had also seized territory for themselves during this land grab.
Quite a few Highgods even formed alliances, promising that if one among them ascended to Sovereignty in the future, the others in the alliance would submit to them.
Among the many powerful non-Sovereign forces, the most prominent recently were Reynos and Lu Feng, the Three-Legged Golden Crow.
Reynos was already a top-tier Shura-class expert. Without a Paragon present, few could rival him. Everyone believed he was backed by the Redbud Sovereign.
As for Lu Feng, the Three-Legged Golden Crow, rumor had it he was the very first lifeform born in the Aether Overgod Realm. Over the years, he had sought out all Divine Beasts birthed by the Aether Realm, gathering them into a significant force.
There were even whispers that his backer was Sovereign Beirut, especially since the second God-Eater Rat was frequently seen by Lu Feng's side.
On this day, Linley found Sadius, who was accompanying Reyna and Lina on an outing.
"Father, during this Planar Battlefield, I accidentally acquired a strange treasure. It appears to be a damaged Sovereign artifact. Even when I struck it with my full power, I couldn't damage it in the slightest. But when I tried to bind it by blood, I failed."
Sadius already knew Linley had obtained the Pentametal Iron Crown.
He sighed inwardly—Linley's luck remained astonishing. It seemed that what was fated to happen would happen, even if the process changed.
Linley retrieved the old, battered Pentametal Iron Crown from his interspatial ring.
"Linley, that's not a Sovereign artifact. It's an Overgod Token."
Overgod Token?
Linley had never heard of such a thing.
"The four Overgods periodically issue what are called Overgod Missions, delivering a set of Overgod Decrees and Overgod Tokens into the world. Once all components of an Overgod artifact are gathered and assembled, they can be used to summon the Overgod. The summoner is granted a wish—so long as it doesn't violate the laws of the universe, the Overgod can fulfill it."
Linley didn't find the item all that impressive. After all, his father was an Overgod who had already given him a full set of Overgod artifacts.
And Sadius still held a water-type Sovereign spark.
If he truly desired to become a Sovereign, surely his father would give him the spark.
"This should be the seventh Overgod Mission issued in all of existence. After this one, the Overgods likely won't issue any more."
Since Sadius became an Overgod, the world had changed drastically.
From now on, obtaining Overgod artifacts or asking for the Overgod's aid would require following rules set forth by the Overgod himself.
Thus, this seventh Overgod Mission was incredibly important.
"Linley, if you gather all the Overgod Tokens, you can wish for an Overgod artifact—treasures wielded only by the Four Sovereigns of the Edicts and the Lord of Light. For a Sovereign, such an artifact offers tremendous power."
An Overgod artifact…
Linley was tempted.
His current strength had reached a plateau. To break through further, he'd either need to reach Paragon level in a single Law or achieve four-way fusion of different Laws.
Or obtain a Sovereign spark and ascend.
"Father, what about the Sovereign spark you had?"
"I already gave it to the Death Sovereign. She agreed to do us a favor in return."
Linley felt slightly disappointed. His father's only Sovereign spark, given away just like that.
"Enough. Don't worry. It's just a spark. Your final destination isn't mere Sovereignty."
Linley nodded. He had great confidence in himself.
Even without a Sovereign spark, he believed he could surpass Sovereigns.
With that, Linley departed, setting out to search for the Overgod Decree and other Overgod Tokens.
Sadius didn't tell him where to look—that was forbidden by the rules.
In the Netherworld, on Mount Yomai.
The Death Sovereign held a lower-tier water-type Sovereign spark in her hand.
If she refined it, her power would increase tenfold, and she'd no longer be the weakest among the Four Edict Sovereigns.
But now, the Destruction Sovereign Uhtred had sCliocketed in strength, shattering the previous balance among the Sovereigns.
Even if she gained tenfold strength—so what?
The only reason Sovereigns weren't battling one another was because the Overgod loomed above. If the Overgod ceased interfering in Sovereign affairs, Uhtred would likely wipe her out first.
The Death Sovereign had made up her mind.
Since her birth with Heaven and Earth, she had always held the mantle of Death Sovereign, cultivating for countless eras—but still hadn't reached Paragon.
She now realized: no matter how long she cultivated, she would never reach Paragon.
If she wanted a massive power boost, there was only one way left—Soul Mutation.
The success rate was extremely low.
No one had ever successfully undergone a soul mutation after becoming a Sovereign.
Still, the Death Sovereign had decided.
Rather than being endlessly surpassed, she would bet everything.
At worst, she'd lose one divine clone and go back to being just the Chief Death Sovereign.
She stored away the water-type Sovereign spark and summoned the Heart of the Netherworld.
Soon, her water-element divine clone arrived at the palace.
The Death Sovereign was fully prepared.
Her Heart of the Netherworld, to some extent, had a similar effect to the Soulstones of the Redbud Sovereign—but even more potent.
This was the source of her confidence in attempting the soul mutation.
The two clones nodded at each other.
Then, using the Heart of the Netherworld, the Death Sovereign enveloped her water-element divine clone in a special energy.
She raised a finger—
A terrifying soul attack lashed out at her own clone.
The soul of her water-element clone began to disintegrate.
Thankfully, aided by the Heart of the Netherworld, the Death Sovereign was able to control the force precisely—breaking the soul down until only scattered starlight-like fragments remained.
Then, using the Heart's immense soul energy, she rapidly nourished the nearly annihilated soul.
Fortunately, the Heart of the Netherworld was strong enough—the soul energy infusion was swift and unrelenting, stabilizing the clone's soul balance.
Now, it was up to that water-element clone—could it survive and successfully mutate?
If it failed, the Death Sovereign would lose both her original body and the clone, leaving her with only a single divine form. Her strength would plummet—perhaps she'd even be expelled from the ranks of the Four Edict Sovereigns.
For the Death Sovereign to risk this much—one could see just how ruthless she was to herself.
As the Death Sovereign began her soul mutation, Sadius already knew.
If she succeeded—and then refined the lower water-type Sovereign spark—
The inheritance of the Overgod of Death would commence early.
Perhaps, the third Overgod of the Coiling Dragon Universe…was about to be born.
As long as Sadius did not overtly break the rules of Heaven and Earth, he could manipulate the inheritance as he saw fit.
In reality, unlike the other Overgods, the rules hardly restricted Sadius beyond him causing wanton destruction of reality. As the pioneer of Aether, he had the power and the recognition from Hongmeng to operate more freely.
Sadius knew all this, but wouldn't break the rules outright, in respect and slight fear of Hongmeng.
How did he know this?
Well, his power spoke for itself. He became Aether itself and with that came innate knowledge and authority.
And Hongmeng clearly knew about his transmigration and potential undefined destiny. Look at the favors Linley has received? Would he, Sadius who paved the way for a new cosmos not receive some leeway?
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