Lin Lei straightforwardly handed over the spatial rings, which made the Sovereign of Light somewhat suspicious. "Could it really be as I suspected—that Lin Lei brought those Nine Spirit Pearls to the Yulan Continent?" Hearing Lin Lei say that his divine clone wasn't here but had gone to the Yulan Continent, the Sovereign of Light felt a twinge of unease.
But the Sovereign of Light still dripped blood to claim ownership and examined the two spatial rings. "Indeed, they're not here!"
"Sovereign, do you have what you're looking for—the Nine Spirit Pearls?" Lin Lei called out, lifting his head.
"Hmph."
After completing the blood-binding, the Sovereign of Light casually tossed the two spatial rings back down to Lin Lei. And just at that moment, the surrounding energy trembled once more, and a hazy figure took shape before solidifying into corporeal form—clearly, another Chief God's energy clone.
The Chief Gods of Hell were scattered across various locations; arriving in person within a short time was impossible. However, within the range their divine sense covered, Chief Gods could instantly manifest energy clones.
"Augustus." The newcomer wore a long purple robe, his violet eyes fixed upon Augustus.
"Xingyi." The Sovereign of Light glanced at him.
Upon seeing the newcomer, Lin Lei's heart stirred. "The Star Chief God!" He had seen this one before—the Chief God who governed the Star Fog Sea in Hell.
"So lively here—even you've shown up, Augustus. Xingyi, Pash!" A gentle voice rang out, and hazy purple energy condensed to form a figure—a beautiful woman in a loose, light-purple robe. That familiar aura made Lin Lei's heart stir.
"Her aura feels similar to Lei Sijing's," Lin Lei murmured inwardly.
"Lin Lei, it's been a while. Only a few thousand years since we parted at the Amethyst Mountain Range, yet you've already achieved so much." The beautiful woman smiled at Lin Lei, her eyes holding a mesmerizing, almost captivating charm.
"Chief God." This time, Lin Lei bowed with genuine sincerity. The Amethyst Chief God had truly shown him great kindness.
"Haha… quite the crowd. Is everyone here for the Supreme God Mission?" A hearty voice boomed, and crimson energy coalesced in midair into a slightly stout man. His fiery red hair twisted wildly, flames flickering subtly at the tips, and a golden flame insignia adorned the center of his forehead.
"Oh, so many have arrived." Another voice, as black energy condensed.
One by one, Chief Gods' energy clones materialized, appearing in midair. Lin Lei could barely recognize three or four of them. The vast majority were strangers.
"So many Chief Gods," Bei Bei said with a hint of a smile, transmitting his voice to Lin Lei. "Lin Lei, this many Chief Gods appearing together—something you might only see once in billions of years."
"There are a lot," Lin Lei agreed, sweeping his gaze upward. Already, a full fifteen Chief Gods had manifested!
Logically, the Destruction faction of Hell should have had seven Chief Gods, yet here there were fifteen. Fire Chief Gods, Water Chief Gods, the Light Chief God, the Earth Chief Gods… it was quite the gathering. But under the collective pressure of so many Chief Gods, Lin Lei felt the weight bearing down on him.
"This is unbearable," Bei Bei transmitted.
"Just endure it," Lin Lei replied. There was nothing he could do either.
At that moment, the Chief Gods began conversing.
"Lord Augustus, you have the Supreme God Inscription?" The Chief God with the golden flame insignia on his forehead spoke up. Every Chief God's gaze fixed upon the Sovereign of Light.
The Sovereign of Light smiled faintly and made no effort to hide it. With a flip of his hand, a green sheet of paper materialized. "This is the Supreme God Inscription. There's no need to conceal its contents." He openly allowed all the Chief Gods to see it. "Clearly, the news that spread through Hell before was true!"
A crowd of Chief Gods hovered in midair, buzzing with discussion.
The Supreme God Mission! Although some Chief Gods dared not harbor such extravagant hopes, others were willing to take a shot! Even those who didn't dare hope still took the matter very seriously. After becoming Chief Gods, they had few ambitions left. The "Supreme God Mission" was perhaps the thing they valued most.
"Sovereign, you've already inspected my spatial rings. Now, do you believe what I told you?" Lin Lei called out.
"Inspected? Hmph—only two of your clones are even here. Your other divine clone fled to the Yulan Continent. If you weren't afraid of a Chief God coming to investigate, why would your divine clone have gone there?" The Sovereign of Light clearly had no intention of letting Lin Lei go.
"Lin Lei's divine clone went to the Yulan Continent?" Several Chief Gods murmured in surprise.
"With the Supreme God Inscription in hand, that news might actually be true. Lin Lei might really have the Nine Spirit Pearls." Other Chief Gods came to the same conclusion.
Lin Lei gazed at the crowd of Chief Gods hovering above, then fixed his eyes upon the Sovereign of Light. "Sovereign, the Yulan Continent is my homeland after all. What's wrong with returning home? Once I reached Grand Completion and achieved my goal, am I not permitted to return?"
"Of course you're permitted," the Sovereign of Light said coldly. "Then now—do you dare bring your other divine clone here from the Yulan Continent to Hell?" In the Sovereign of Light's mind, a treasure like the Supreme God token was something Lin Lei wouldn't likely entrust to someone else. Nine times out of ten, it was in the spatial ring of one of his clones.
Lin Lei stared at the Sovereign of Light and shook his head. "No."
Hearing this, the Sovereign of Light let out a cold laugh. "Oh? So those Nine Spirit Pearls really are with your other divine clone."
"Lin Lei won't bring his divine clone back to Hell—there really is something suspicious there."
The lofty group of Chief Gods watched the scene with faint, amused smiles. They had no interest in intervening. As for the Blood Ridge Chief God and the Amethyst Chief God, they merely watched in silence, saying nothing.
"Sovereign." Lin Lei sneered. "You hold the lofty title of Sovereign, yet you came after me based on nothing more than a fabricated story. Yes, the Supreme God Mission may well be real. But that story claimed the 'Nine Spirit Pearls' and the 'Supreme God Inscription' were in my possession. Yet now, the Supreme God Inscription is in your hands, Sovereign!"
The cluster of Chief Gods watched the Sovereign of Light with the eager amusement of spectators at a show.
"The Supreme God Inscription is useless to you—discarding it would be perfectly understandable," the Sovereign of Light said with icy indifference. "Lin Lei, bring your divine clone here now, or else…"
"Or else what?" Beirut spoke up, lifting his head to look at the Sovereign of Light. "Great Sovereign, what's this? You're going to threaten a god today?"
The Sovereign of Light cast a cold downward glance at Beirut, but Beirut simply maintained his smile.
"Lin Lei, bring your divine clone here so I can investigate," the Sovereign of Light said evenly. "Once I've checked, I won't lay a hand on you." Before so many watching Chief Gods, the Sovereign of Light had no desire to openly clash with a Perfect Highgod.
"Sovereign." Lin Lei looked up at him with a cold gaze. "It's not that I don't trust you—it's that your words make trust impossible. You were just threatening me. How could I dare bring my divine clone here? If all my clones came and you killed them in one stroke, I, Lin Lei, wouldn't even have the chance to curse you."
The Sovereign of Light's expression darkened.
"My divine clones will not return to Hell. However, I can guarantee that my divine clones absolutely do not possess the Nine Spirit Pearls!" Lin Lei declared. "I, Lin Lei, will now swear an oath! By the Supreme God of Fate above—should my divine clone on the Yulan Continent possess the Nine Spirit Pearls, may my soul be destroyed and scattered!"
Lin Lei fixed his gaze upon the Sovereign of Light.
"Oh?" The Sovereign of Light's brow furrowed slightly.
The surrounding Chief Gods either whispered among themselves through divine sense or spoke openly.
"Could it really be that he doesn't have them?" Doubt stirred in the Sovereign of Light's heart.
"Could they be hidden with Lin Lei's relatives and friends?" he pondered, and his gaze drifted to Bei Bei at Lin Lei's side. "Lin Lei, the Nine Spirit Pearls may not be on you—perhaps you've hidden them with your loved ones. For instance, this one beside you."
Lin Lei's expression turned grim.
"Sovereign, investigate all you wish." Lin Lei turned to Bei Bei beside him. "Bei Bei, show the Sovereign your spatial ring."
"Yes, Boss." Bei Bei didn't hesitate.
Seeing such forthrightness, the Sovereign of Light said flatly, "No need for this act. I know neither he nor you have them. If you did, he would have gone to the Yulan Continent too! Lin Lei, I'm certain those Nine Spirit Pearls are on the Yulan Continent—either with your divine clone or among your kin."
What the Sovereign of Light didn't know was that the two tokens were precisely on Bei Bei!
"Sovereign, if you want to investigate me—go ahead! You doubt my divine clone—I swear by the Supreme God! You doubt my brother—I let you inspect his spatial ring! And now you suspect my relatives and friends! I suppose next I should bring all my loved ones here for you to search, and when you find nothing, you'll probably claim I've hidden the rings somewhere on the Yulan Continent," Lin Lei said, his voice heavy.
The Sovereign of Light was momentarily speechless.
"To avoid all this trouble, let's be direct. Sovereign, just send a group of Highgods to investigate my homeland, the Yulan Continent," Lin Lei said, his expression grim. "I guarantee that my relatives, my friends, and my divine clone will all submit to your people's inspection. You can even have them search the entire Yulan Continent—I won't have the slightest objection."
The Sovereign of Light glanced at Beirut beside him.
Go to the Yulan Continent?
As a Chief God, he himself couldn't enter the Yulan Continent. And a group of Highgods sent there would have to obediently follow Beirut's rules!
"Augustus, Lin Lei has already said this much. Let it go. The news about the 'Supreme God Mission' is real, but the part about Lin Lei—that's probably fabricated." The Amethyst Chief God spoke up with a smile.
The Sovereign of Light glared coldly at Lin Lei.
He was thinking: Lin Lei says this, openly inviting me to investigate, but how can I do anything when my people would be in Beirut's territory? He's just saying that to sound noble. Those Nine Spirit Pearls—he certainly wouldn't dare leave them with ordinary people. They must be with Lin Lei's relatives. The Sovereign of Light had already made up his mind.