Hunting Sovereigns, refining Sovereign Sparks.
For Lin Lei, whose soul had undergone mutation across all four avatars, this was indeed the most direct path to increasing his strength.
"What about the other Sovereigns' anger and obstruction?" Belute paused briefly, then nodded. "Of course, there's also an agreement among the Sovereigns — if a Ruler were to strike down a Lower Sovereign, that would simply be slaughter. Should anyone violate the agreement, they would face a joint purge by the four great Rulers!"
Lin Lei's heart clenched.
A joint purge by the four great Rulers?
"So the Sovereigns killing each other — the Highgods won't interfere," Lin Lei said suddenly.
Beside him, Qing Huo smiled faintly. "The Highgods are merely rules. They ensure the countless Planes operate normally. If a Sovereign dies, they won't care. When one Sovereign perishes, a new one will certainly be born. The Sovereigns themselves are worried that such indiscriminate killing would lead to too much chaos. That's why they established that agreement."
"What are the terms of the agreement?" Lin Lei asked quickly.
Belute smiled faintly. "The agreement is simple. For Sovereigns of the three ranks, if a lower-ranked Sovereign has not provoked a higher-ranked one, the higher-ranked Sovereign is not permitted to slaughter the lower-ranked one. Only Sovereigns of the same rank may fight and kill each other. The four great Rulers jointly supervise this!"
"Sovereigns of the same rank may fight and kill each other?" Lin Lei nodded to himself.
"If that's the case, then couldn't the four great Rulers easily kill other Rulers?" Lin Lei asked immediately.
"Ha ha..." Belute couldn't help but laugh. "Lin Lei, have you lost your mind? Rulers can fight each other, and the four great Rulers possess Highgod Artifacts attuned to them — their weapons are powerful, but that doesn't mean their speed exceeds the other Rulers'. If the other Rulers can't win, can't they simply flee?"
"Right, right," Lin Lei said, feeling somewhat embarrassed.
Sovereigns of the same level generally wouldn't differ too much in their ability to escape, especially if their divine sense detected the other first — they could naturally flee well in advance.
"But back then, when Augustus killed the four Divine Beasts... doesn't that count as violating the agreement?" Lin Lei couldn't help but ask.
"Like I said, Sovereigns of the same rank may fight each other. This refers to same rank — everything is determined by actual strength!" Belute said. "Though the four Divine Beasts are all Lower Gods, together they are comparable to a Sovereign. Should we classify them among the Lower Gods? If so, wouldn't they be able to slaughter Lower Gods with impunity?"
Lin Lei understood.
The four Divine Beasts were classified at the "Ruler level."
"Lin Lei, in terms of strength, you're also at the 'Ruler level,'" Belute said with a sly grin. "But others don't know that. Let's go hunt a Sovereign first. You refine another Sovereign Spark. Even if other Sovereigns find you later, it won't be hard to come up with an excuse."
Lin Lei's mind stirred, and he smiled. "I understand!"
The secret of his soul mutation was unknown to others — fabricating a few words to explain things away wouldn't be difficult.
"Besides, the Destruction Ruler is on good terms with us. He'll speak up for us too," Belute said casually. "I recall that the Death Ruler also has a decent relationship with you, Lin Lei."
This agreement was originally established through the joint oversight of the four great Rulers. With the Destruction Ruler and Death Ruler on good terms with Lin Lei's side, this matter was nothing to worry about.
"Then who shall we hunt?" Lin Lei asked suddenly.
"Lin Lei, you should still need Wind System and Fire System Sovereign Sparks. Should the Sovereign Spark be a Lower Sovereign Spark, or a Middle or even Higher Sovereign Spark?" Belute asked. Clearly, Belute also understood the principle of balance, which was why he posed the question.
Lin Lei nodded. "A Lower Sovereign Spark!"
Just as with the four high-level divine powers — though far weaker than a Sovereign's might, when the four high-level divine powers merged, their combined force exceeded that of a Sovereign's might tenfold, and they even possessed multiple extraordinary effects like body enhancement and weapon enhancement. That was precisely because of balance.
A Sovereign Spark wasn't necessarily better the stronger it was. The most important thing was — balance!
"Very well. Then we'll either kill a Wind System Lower Sovereign or a Fire System Lower Sovereign." Belute pondered for a moment. "Among these Sovereigns, the one with the worst relationship with us is the Wind System Sovereign, Terei. Back when I first obtained the four Sovereign Sparks and then went to the Underworld, Terei pressured me."
"Terei..."
Lin Lei nodded as well.
Back in the Underworld, if not for the intervention of the Blood Peak Sovereign, Terei would have nearly killed him over the "Nine Spirit Pearls."
And during the spatial turbulence, it was also thanks to Belute and Qing Huo taking turns to obstruct Terei that he managed to survive and bring the Highgod token back to the Yulan Continent.
"This Terei has tried to deal with me multiple times, to put me to death, and moreover, Terei has old grudges with you, Grandpa Belute." Lin Lei nodded. "Then let's target him!"
"Hmph, that Terei — just a Lower Sovereign, yet his ambitions are anything but small." Qing Huo also nodded. "He deserves to die."
The three Sovereigns of the Yulan lineage had, in this brief moment, decided the fate of another Sovereign.
Three days later.
Lin Lei bade farewell to his family and friends. As for the purpose of this trip — hunting a Sovereign — he only told a select few, including Dilia and Bei Bei. Dilia and the others were shocked by the decision of the three, but they had sufficient confidence in Lin Lei, Belute, and Qing Huo.
"Boss, whether I'll be able to roam freely across the major Planes in the future depends on you, Boss," Bei Bei teased with a grin.
"Just watch," Lin Lei laughed.
"Lin Lei, be careful," Dilia still reminded him.
"Mm." Lin Lei gently squeezed Dilia's hand, then turned and departed.
This operation, according to plan, wouldn't take too long. After saying a word to his family and friends, Lin Lei departed together with Belute and Qing Huo.
The Yulan Plane. The vast North Sea stretched out before them.
Lin Lei, Belute, and Qing Huo — three Sovereigns — soared northward at a leisurely pace, showing no urgency whatsoever.
"Lin Lei, you've spent five thousand years researching the blood essence of the four Divine Beasts. Any results?" Belute asked.
"No major results." Lin Lei shook his head with a smile. "But because Gates and his four brothers in Dragon Blood Castle are from the Black Turtle clan, I was able to learn through them how the Black Turtle blood essence functions. From that, I was able to deduce how my Azure Dragon clan's ancestor, the 'Azure Dragon,' strengthened his body back in the day."