In the chaotic spatial tempest, two figures — one wreathed in green, the other in red — stood facing each other.
"You are..." Tresia studied Qinghuo carefully. "That lucky kid?"
"Lucky?" Qinghuo smiled and nodded. "That's right."
Qinghuo looked Tresia up and down. "Judging by your appearance, that fight with Beirut didn't go well, did it? A lower-tier Sovereign at Full Perfection, and yet against Beirut's ultimate move, you still came up short."
"He — he's a madman." The mere thought of his battle with Beirut sent fury surging through Tresia.
Blow after blow, Beirut had struck with his staff like an endless tide of raging waves.
Like a lunatic, smashing wildly without restraint.
Tresia could barely hold his ground.
"Beirut's Sovereign Artifact gives him an advantage too," Tresia silently admitted.
A Sovereign Artifact was an ordinary weapon that a Sovereign continuously nurtured with "Sovereign's Will" and "Sovereign's Force" over vast stretches of time, until it was finally born.
But the Sovereign Artifacts thus born were generally indistinguishable in rank — unless the raw materials differed too greatly.
For instance, one Sovereign's artifact might be forged from very ordinary ore.
But Beirut's Sovereign Artifact was forged from "Godhead Essence."
Comparing the two Sovereign Artifacts, naturally there was a gap!
As a Divine Beast — the God-Devouring Mouse — Beirut possessed an extraordinarily powerful body. Combined with his Sovereign might, his physical attacks were simply terrifying. And his innate divine ability, "God-Devouring," gave him equally fearsome soul defense. Both were lower-tier Sovereigns... even if an opponent had achieved Full Perfection in the Laws, defeating Beirut was no easy feat.
"Beirut's natural talents are extraordinary — comparable to those Four Divine Beasts. But what about you? Do you really think you can stop me?" Tresia flipped his hand, and the cold crescent blade materialized once more.
"Oh?" Qinghuo gave a faint smile. A fire-red long spear suddenly materialized in his hand, its fierce energy so intense that it shattered the surrounding spatial tempest.
"Come then—" Qinghuo suddenly grinned, his right arm snapping the spear forward. The space within a hundred miles warped into a swirling vortex.
Meanwhile, leaving the fierce battle between Qinghuo and Tresia aside, Beirut and the other two were racing at full speed toward the Yulan Plane.
"Good thing Qinghuo is fast enough. Even though I'm carrying you two, it looks like that Radiant Sovereign won't be catching up." Beirut's divine sense had already detected the distance between the Radiant Sovereign and them, and judging by both sides' speeds, it was easy to determine whether pursuit was possible.
"Lord Beirut, how did Mr. Raylin become a Sovereign too?" Lin Lei was bewildered. "Back in the Planar Battlefield, wasn't Mr. Raylin only at Full Perfection?"
"If Mr. Raylin was already a Sovereign, then back in the Planar Battlefield, when Magnus killed my eldest brother, why didn't he come sooner?" Bei Bei asked, puzzled.
"Qinghuo is like me — his Sovereign clone doesn't dare set foot in other Divine Planes or Higher Planes," Beirut sighed.
"The Qinghuo who appeared at the Planar Battlefield was just his True Body and his Earth God clone — that's all. His Fire System Sovereign clone remained behind in the Yulan Plane," Beirut explained with a smile.
"True Body?" Lin Lei understood instantly.
Qinghuo should have three bodies — a Saint Realm True Body, a Fire System clone, and an Earth System clone. His Fire System clone had become a Sovereign. After his Saint Realm True Body merged with the Earth God clone, it naturally possessed the divine domain of a Highgod. As for Sovereign's Force... he could freely borrow it from his "Sovereign clone."
As for the profound insights of the Laws, the Saint Realm True Body naturally comprehended the Fire System Laws.
As for Sovereign's Will...
Once one became a Sovereign, the Sovereign clone's will was the strongest, while the other god clones had much weaker wills — though still approaching Full Perfection.
"No wonder," Lin Lei silently sighed.
"Grandpa Beirut, you still haven't explained — how did Mr. Raylin become a Sovereign?" Bei Bei pressed.
"This..." Beirut hesitated briefly, then shook his head. "This matter is quite complicated — it can't be explained in a short while. Once we reach the Yulan Plane, I'll tell you everything in detail... Greenfire and I have been training you all along, Lin Lei, and with your current strength, it's about time."
A wave of confusion passed through Lin Lei's heart. But this was a desperate flight for survival — not the time for lengthy discussion.
They raced onward.
"Whoosh~~~" Spatial tempests surged and flowed, spatial rifts crackled and split.
Lin Lei and the others had been traveling for a long time. They were nearing the Yulan Continent Plane when suddenly, a surge of energy closed in rapidly from behind.
"Lin Lei, Bei Bei." A gentle voice rang out, and the figure quickly caught up.
"Mr. Raylin." Lin Lei and Bei Bei looked back. It was none other than Qinghuo — "Raylin."
Qinghuo was a Sovereign, and moreover at Full Perfection. As a Fire System expert, he excelled in speed... so naturally, Qinghuo's pace was somewhat faster than Beirut's. Add to that the fact that Beirut was carrying two people, and his speed was naturally slower still. It was only to be expected that Qinghuo would catch up.
"Qinghuo, how was Tresia? Quite the handful, right?" Beirut asked with a smile.
"A Full Perfection Wind System Sovereign — of course he was troublesome," Qinghuo replied calmly. "But I'm also a Full Perfection Sovereign. I can't do anything to him, and he can't do anything to me. Now that I've come here and the two of us are together, Tresia certainly won't seek trouble on his own."
"You're both at Full Perfection, but I..." Beirut sighed. "Full Perfection is truly hard to achieve."
"It really is," Lin Lei agreed, nodding.
Although outwardly he claimed to be at Full Perfection, Lin Lei knew... his strength didn't come from Full Perfection — it came from the soul mutation of his four clones.
"Haha..." Beirut suddenly laughed. "The Yulan Plane is just up ahead. That Radiant Sovereign has been chasing us this whole time — nothing but a waste of effort." Beirut was quite pleased with himself. As he spoke, the four of them were already drawing close to the vast edge of the Plane in the distance.
Lin Lei's eyes lit up. He flew out of the center of the spatial tempest, drawing close to the Plane's boundary.
"The Yulan Plane — I've finally arrived!" Lin Lei felt a surge of intense excitement.
Having reached the Yulan Plane, he could finally safely summon the Chief Sovereign. And here in the Yulan Plane were his family, his brothers...
"Haha, Augustus! We've already arrived. You chased us without a moment's rest, giving it your all, but in the end, you still couldn't catch up." Beirut leaned against the edge of the Plane, gazing into the distance, and sent his voice via divine sense. "This rare opportunity — and you couldn't even seize it. What a waste."
Still far away in the spatial tempest, the Radiant Sovereign "Augustus" stood amidst the swirling currents, his expression grim.
"That Tresia — truly useless," Augustus thought bitterly.
But he understood — the appearance of another Sovereign, "Qinghuo," had made it impossible for Tresia to hold Beirut in check.
"Beirut, don't get cocky. No matter how cocky you get, you can only cower in the Yulan Plane. If you've got the guts... send your Sovereign clone to the Infernal Realm, to the Radiance Divine Plane." The Radiant Sovereign "Augustus" taunted via divine sense. "A coward who doesn't even dare show his face, yet dares to act arrogant."
But Beirut wasn't angry in the slightest.
"A coward? I'm a God-Devouring Mouse — that's what I am!" Beirut replied cheerfully via divine sense. "This God-Devouring Mouse of yours loves nothing more than devouring Godheads — Sovereign Godheads included... I really am sorry about that from back then. Haha..." Beirut was thoroughly delighted.