"What a terrifying fellow!"
Bei Bei was also frightened out of his wits. That palm strike alone had already filled him with a sense of danger. He knew full well that a full-power blow from a Sovereign artifact—someone like Beirut might be able to catch bare-handed, relying on his comprehension of profound mysteries. But he, Bei Bei, was no Beirut! There was absolutely no way he could take it so easily.
"In terms of comprehending profound mysteries, I'm far behind Grandpa! No point trying to be a hero." Bei Bei didn't hesitate for a moment. As that sword strike came hurtling down, the adorable God-Devouring Mouse within his soul sea immediately used a drop of Destruction Sovereign power. Bei Bei, like any other being, had two bodies—
One was his Darkness God clone, the other his Saint Realm true body. But that true body was still in God-Devouring Mouse form. Just like Beirut's three sons, who all possessed mouse-form true bodies. Normally, the true body would naturally merge into the God clone. Bei Bei also understood that if his Darkness God clone died, his true body would certainly perish as well.
"Pfft!"
Enveloped in black radiance, Bei Bei was once again sent hurtling backward at tremendous speed, slamming heavily into the ground with a boom and plowing a deep trench through the earth. Yet there wasn't a single wound on his body.
"That was close." Lin Lei let out a sigh of relief.
Lei Sijing, Lei Hong, and Lin Lei all rushed toward Bei Bei at top speed.
"Bei Bei." Lin Lei hurried to help him up.
"Hehe, Boss, I'm fine. He couldn't even scratch me." Bei Bei chuckled, but Lin Lei, Lei Sijing, and the others felt no relief at all—Bei Bei had only escaped by burning a drop of Sovereign power. Lin Lei couldn't help but turn toward Byatt in the distance. Byatt stood in place, utterly motionless.
He watched Bei Bei with undisguised interest.
"Used Sovereign power?" Byatt showed not the slightest anger. "The God-Devouring Mouse is indeed a rare divine beast of the heavens—and worth my spending a drop of Sovereign power!"
Boom!
A pale cyan aura erupted from Byatt's body like flames, then immediately retracted inward without the slightest wisp escaping. Not a single trace leaked. Clearly, as a Highgod of Perfection, he could control Sovereign power with absolute precision. The sight sent a chill through all four of them.
"He's using Sovereign power too!" Lin Lei cried out inwardly.
"Not only a Sovereign artifact, but Sovereign power as well!" Lei Sijing was so furious he could have cursed. Byatt pulling this—it was nothing short of bullying!
A faint smile actually appeared on Byatt's face as he regarded Bei Bei. "Forcing me to use Sovereign power and a Sovereign artifact—even if you die, you should count yourself proud." With that, Byatt's figure blurred once more. Although the Amethyst Space still blanketed the area, his speed this time was something the three of them simply could not obstruct.
Though no Sovereign power leaked from Byatt's body, he had already activated it.
"He's using Sovereign power too—Bei Bei won't be able to withstand it." Lin Lei grew frantic.
Immediately, an enormous phantom of a coiling Azure Dragon materialized behind him. At this critical moment, Lin Lei unhesitatingly unleashed his innate divine ability—the Dragon's Roar!
The sound pierced into Byatt's soul.
Involuntarily, Byatt's figure faltered for just an instant, but his speed immediately returned to normal. The impact was almost negligible. Lin Lei felt a wave of bitterness: "A Highgod of Perfection—even Bei Bei's innate divine ability had no effect on him, and when I use it, the disruption can be ignored as well."
Lin Lei had a certain feeling—
Using it against Byatt was like an ant trying to shake a tree. Perhaps this ant was somewhat unusual, but the tree merely trembled its leaves ever so slightly.
"Bei Bei!!!" Lin Lei cried out through his soul in anguished helplessness.
Screeee~~~ An ear-splitting shriek erupted suddenly, filled with madness.
Boom!
Space twisted like dough, then split open with jagged fissures. Bei Bei was sent flying once more, blood spraying in every direction. Seeing that vivid crimson, Lin Lei's face—which had still harbored a sliver of hope—went deathly pale. But he did not despair—
Because he could still sense Bei Bei's existence!
"Haha, trying to kill me? Grandpa was right all along! Our God-Devouring Mouse has the strongest physical defense across all the planes! Without using Sovereign power, my body is as tough as a divine spark. With Sovereign power… no Highgod in existence can kill me!" Bei Bei shouted half-madly.
Lin Lei was shocked to discover that Bei Bei's chest had indeed been split open, blood flowing freely. But the wound hadn't gone deep.
"How is this possible?" Byatt stared at Bei Bei in disbelief.
A full-power sword strike, and it still couldn't kill him?
"Hmph, my skin and muscles are roughly equally tough, but the hardest parts of my body are my bones! My entire skeleton has condensed an enormous amount of divine spark essence! Haha… I was actually scared for a moment there. Back then, a Sovereign's single strike nearly killed me and shattered my bones. I figured that with Sovereign power and a Sovereign artifact, your attacks might rival a Sovereign's casual blow." Bei Bei crowed triumphantly.
Though Beirut had once told him how powerful the God-Devouring Mouse's physical defense truly was, Bei Bei had always been supremely confident—but at Netherworld Mountain, the Netherworld Fruit Tree had easily split him open, even breaking his bones. That had planted seeds of doubt.
He had assumed…
That a Highgod of Perfection, wielding Sovereign power alongside a Sovereign artifact, should be able to match a Sovereign's casual strike. But now it was clear that while a Highgod of Perfection's attack power was terrifyingly strong, when compared to a Sovereign's, it was still far, far short.
"Haha… impressive, impressive!" Lei Sijing also burst into hearty laughter. "Bei Bei, you actually thought that using Sovereign power and a Sovereign artifact would let him match a Sovereign? You couldn't be more wrong. Highgods are far too feeble before Sovereigns. Bei Bei, what makes a Sovereign most formidable isn't their Sovereign artifact, nor their Sovereign power—it's the Will of a Sovereign! An attack imbued with a Sovereign's will is the most terrifying attack of all."
Lin Lei and Bei Bei both froze. The Will of a Sovereign?
Will—a nebulous, intangible thing—could it really be that powerful?
"When a Sovereign kills a Highgod who hasn't reached Perfection, they don't even need to lift a finger. A single thought is enough. That is the Will of a Sovereign!" Lei Sijing laughed. "The difference in power between a Highgod using Sovereign power and a Sovereign using Sovereign power is more than ten thousandfold. All because of the Will of a Sovereign."
Lin Lei suddenly understood.
He had long heard that a Sovereign could kill any Highgod with a single thought—only Highgods of Perfection could offer the slightest resistance. Lin Lei had never truly understood… a single thought, and a Highgod dies? How could that be?
So it was because of this intangible thing called the "Will of a Sovereign."
"Why is the Will of a Sovereign so powerful?" Lin Lei couldn't grasp it.
But he had no time to ask Lei Sijing.
Because at that moment, Byatt's expression finally turned serious. He looked coldly at Bei Bei. "God-Devouring Mouse—you refine divine spark essence into your own body. In terms of physical defense among all the divine beast species, you God-Devouring Mice truly rank first. I admit, my physical attacks cannot wound you. Then… listen to my melody!"
His words had barely fallen when music erupted inside the minds of Lin Lei, Lei Sijing, Bei Bei, and Lei Hong. The melody echoed ceaselessly within their heads, seemingly carrying a strange and bewitching magic. Lin Lei, who had only just heard it, managed to resist for one or two seconds before sinking entirely into the music, falling into a dazed, foggy state.
But the very instant the music reached his ears—
Lin Lei's God clone, without any further restraint, consumed a drop of Water Sovereign power! His Earth Sovereign power had long since been depleted, and he'd had only two drops of Water Sovereign power remaining. Using one now left him with a single drop.
Of the four, only one had immediately regained clarity at the very instant of entering that dazed state.
That was Lei Sijing!
His soul attainment was extraordinarily high. Lin Lei, Lei Hong, and Bei Bei had all fallen into the dazed state. However, Lin Lei and Lei Hong were fortunate—Byatt had no intention of killing them. He merely wanted to plunge them into that foggy condition. As for Bei Bei… while his soul had succumbed to the daze, he was also subjected to a strange soul attack.
Normally speaking…
In a dazed state, one wouldn't think to use Sovereign power to fight back. Under a Highgod of Perfection's soul attack, one would ordinarily perish.
But—
"Byatt, that's enough." Lei Sijing's low voice rang out as he sent a soul strike toward Byatt.