"One of the candidates..."
It turned out that everything Lin Lei had experienced in the Infernal Realm—every trial, every battle—had been observed by Beirut, who had been constantly evaluating and deliberating.
"Even though I've become a Sovereign, I'm still like any ordinary mortal—I want to pass the Sovereign spark to someone close to me. My three children and Bei Bei clearly couldn't achieve anything in the Earth, Fire, or Water aspects. Because of Bei Bei, I naturally had high hopes for you too. But I understood that among Sovereigns of the same level, if the gap in comprehension of the Laws' profound mysteries was too great, it still wouldn't work. Lin Lei, your comprehension of the Laws' profound mysteries was too low at the time," Beirut sighed. "After all, among Sovereigns, the minimum is the fusion of five profound mysteries! I'm part of that lowest tier. And of course, those who fused five profound mysteries make up the vast majority!"
"A minimum of five fusions?" Lin Lei was somewhat surprised.
"Grandpa," Bei Bei exclaimed in surprise, "you once said that many Sovereigns were the first batch of Highgods between heaven and earth after the countless planes were born, and they happened to seize Sovereign sparks by chance. Their talent and aptitude weren't necessarily that great—so how could they all fuse five profound mysteries?"
After all, for many powerhouses, fusing three or even four profound mysteries was already their absolute limit—they could advance no further.
"Haha..." Beirut laughed, then looked at Lin Lei mysteriously. "As for Sovereigns—even those with lesser talent can fuse five profound mysteries. Once you become a Sovereign in a moment, you'll understand."
"Become a Sovereign in a moment?" Lin Lei's heart trembled.
"Although after becoming a Sovereign, your future achievements may be great..." Beirut shook his head. "But after all, the higher your achievements before becoming a Sovereign, the better. Back then, you had only fused three profound mysteries. It was only by relying on the Soulstone and the powerful body from your Azure Dragon bloodline that you could defeat ordinary Seven Star-level Demons."
"The candidates I evaluated typically had a minimum of five fused profound mysteries," Beirut shook his head. "Greenfire, for instance, was the strongest among them. He had even reached the final bottleneck—just one step away from Grand Completion."
Lin Lei felt ashamed.
When Beirut had evaluated that group of people, if it had been absolutely fair, Lin Lei wouldn't have even qualified as a candidate back then.
"Of course, because of Bei Bei, I still wanted you to become a Sovereign," Beirut said with a smile.
This was only human nature—who wouldn't want to give benefits to their loved ones and friends whenever possible?
"However, your rate of progress was indeed very fast. During your journey through the Underworld... I focused even more heavily on evaluating you," Beirut smiled. "I even had Greenfire's true body carry his Earth God clone to secretly follow you the entire way, while also protecting you."
"Secretly following us?" Lin Lei and Bei Bei looked at Greenfire in astonishment.
Greenfire had been tracking them, and they hadn't noticed a thing.
"Lin Lei, I was truly amazed. Because on the Planar Battlefield, you actually reached the fusion of four profound mysteries! You created the ultimate technique 'Inch of Land, Foot of Sky.'" Beirut smiled. "This technique of yours, especially combined with Wisteria Sovereign's unique 'Amethyst Space' method of application, has already surpassed in execution those who have fused five profound mysteries."
"In barely over two thousand years, you fused four profound mysteries—a speed that, even across all the countless planes, absolutely qualifies as genius." Beirut grinned happily. "I can say with certainty that if you continue cultivating this way, you'll have every confidence of fusing five profound mysteries."
"At that point, I decided that you would be the candidate for the next Earth Sovereign," Beirut said.
Lin Lei sighed inwardly.
"No wonder," Bei Bei muttered. "No wonder Master Relin showed up back then."
"Right, my task was actually pretty much complete by then," Greenfire said with a smile. He then looked at Lin Lei. "That Lowgod who received my guidance at Gong Mountain all those years ago—reaching such heights in barely over two thousand years. And you would go on to become my partner, the Earth Sovereign. Truly astonishing. But who would have thought... before long, something truly momentous happened. I was shocked too, after all. My Sovereign clone couldn't leave the Yulan Plane. And even if my true body wanted to rush over to save you—it was already too late. I was genuinely worried that you had been killed by Magnus right then and there."
Beirut also sighed. "Greenfire told me you had been attacked by Magnus and were on the brink of death. I was worried too—worried that you would die."
"But who would have thought—this became your opportunity for transformation!" Beirut's eyes gleamed. "Having four clones and successfully undergoing soul mutation has made you a supreme powerhouse who surpasses even Grand Completion! Haha... Lin Lei, after your soul mutation, your conditions are even better than mine—and better than Greenfire's!"
"Setting aside your relationship with Bei Bei—even without that, just the fact that you're a citizen of the Yulan Plane would be enough for me to make you a Sovereign." Beirut was visibly excited.
The stronger one's own power, the stronger they would be after becoming a Sovereign!
"Lin Lei, look—" Beirut turned his hand over, and a black stone box appeared in his palm.
Lin Lei recognized it at once—the black stone box that had been sealed within the Yulan Plane.
"You can probably guess what's inside." Beirut smiled as he opened the stone box. The moment the lid was lifted, two-colored radiance shot out in all directions. A heart-palpitating aura emanated from the source of the light, and Lin Lei and Bei Bei couldn't help but stare intently.
Inside the box lay two crystals resembling divine sparks.
The crystals were a translucent gray, like glazed glass—at first glance, they looked like some kind of crystalline gem. The radiance they emitted was a heavy, earthy yellow on one side and a gentle, verdant green on the other. The power contained within them made both Lin Lei and Bei Bei's hearts tremble.
"These are Sovereign sparks!" Lin Lei was absolutely certain.
Beirut was overcome with emotion. "These two Sovereign sparks were taken from the Azure Dragon's corpse—the Water Sovereign spark—and the Black Tortoise's corpse—the Earth Sovereign spark! I've been safeguarding these two Sovereign sparks for over ten thousand years. My greatest fear was that one day I'd have to leave the Yulan Plane for something important, and if I were killed by the Light Sovereign Augustus, what would happen to the Sovereign sparks? I decided that even if I died, these Sovereign sparks must not fall into Augustus's hands. That's why I created that seal."
Lin Lei nodded to himself.
A seal that only a Sovereign could break, yet left within a material plane. The Light Sovereign truly had no hope of opening it.
"Sigh, if only there were a Darkness Sovereign spark too," Bei Bei smacked his lips twice and muttered.