At times like this, Wordred naturally didn't dare admit that he truly hadn't thought of that possibility back then.
After all, the Chief Sovereign of Death was currently right beside him.
If the Chief Sovereign of Destruction dared admit that he had once believed the Chief Sovereign of Death married Sovereign Locke because she was a woman whose mind had been clouded by love, then in the very next instant, the scene currently playing out between Orloff and Locke's Fate Sovereign true body would repeat itself between him and the Chief Sovereign of Death.
With both sides possessing bodies as tough as Sovereign artifacts, the Chief Sovereign of Destruction would merely be somewhat more durable than the Chief Sovereign of Fate.
However, judging from how the Chief Sovereign of Death and Sovereign Locke had publicly announced their marriage with great fanfare, and how the marriage contract written by Sovereign Locke had hung in the skies above the Netherworld for a full hundred years, neither the Chief Sovereign of Death nor Sovereign Locke had deliberately concealed the fact that Locke had already broken through in the fusion of Laws and Profound Mysteries.
They simply hadn't publicly proclaimed that Locke already possessed power on the level of the Four Chief Sovereigns of the Edicts.
"Then, Sovereign Locke, regarding the gray flame mentioned by the Chief Sovereign of Fate, shouldn't you explain it a bit?"
After easing the awkwardness somewhat, the Chief Sovereign of Destruction directly questioned Locke.
Several hundred years ago, a gigantic spatial vortex had appeared within the spatial turbulence outside the Netherworld. It looked extremely similar to the elemental vortices formed when powerful lifeforms in material planes broke through and absorbed enormous amounts of elemental essence.
Thus, after the Chief Sovereign of Fate pointed it out, everyone had guessed that at the center of the spatial vortex, either some powerful lifeform or some natural treasure was being born.
Now, Orloff had pointed out that the reason he searched for the Sovereign Emissary of the deceased Nine Nether Sovereign and accepted him as his own Sovereign Emissary was because he had sensed Argenis's aura within that spatial vortex.
As such, it was difficult not to associate the gray flame Locke extracted from Argenis with the treasure supposedly birthed within the spatial turbulence several hundred years ago.
This also explained why the Chief Sovereign of Fate had attacked Sovereign Locke.
Under normal circumstances, given the Chief Sovereign of Fate's wariness toward Sovereign Locke, unless Locke had directly killed Argenis right in front of him and trampled the Chief Sovereign of Fate's dignity into the ground, the Chief Sovereign of Fate absolutely would not have attacked Sovereign Locke.
After all, whether it was the Chief Sovereign of Death standing behind Sovereign Locke or Locke abandoning the Sovereign Pact entirely and directly killing the Water Intermediate Sovereign Bibo to become the Water Intermediate Sovereign himself, neither was something the Chief Sovereign of Fate could withstand.
Only if the gray flame Locke extracted from Argenis possessed enormous attraction to the Chief Sovereign of Fate could it have driven Orloff to take such a risk and attack Sovereign Locke to seize that gray flame.
"This gray flame has nothing to do with the vortex that appeared within the spatial turbulence."
As he spoke, Locke's Water divine clone raised an eyebrow toward the Chief Sovereign of Death.
The Chief Sovereign of Death pondered for a moment before nodding in response to Locke.
After receiving her response, Locke took out the Death Overgod Edict the Chief Sovereign of Death had once given him from his interspatial ring and handed it to the Chief Sovereign of Life, Wordred.
"This contains information regarding that gray flame. Lords Wordred and Wordred may take a look. Afterward, you may decide for yourselves whether this information should be made public."
After the Chief Sovereign of Fate exposed the existence of Bloodshadowflame, Locke knew that if he failed to provide the Chief Sovereigns of Destruction and Life with an explanation this time, then a rift would inevitably arise between the Four Chief Sovereigns of the Edicts in the future.
Locke did not wish for any unpleasantness to arise between the Chief Sovereign of Death and the Chief Sovereigns of Destruction and Life because of him.
In any case, Locke also knew that after the Chief Sovereign of Death, the other three Chief Sovereigns would soon obtain Overgod Edicts as well and learn of the Overgod Mission. Thus, he did not hide the matter from the Chief Sovereigns of Destruction and Life.
As for whether the Overgod Mission should be revealed to all Sovereigns, Locke did not interfere in that matter either.
In any case, so long as no Sovereign truly gathered all three Overgod artifacts, then to Locke, none of it posed any threat.
The Chief Sovereign of Life, Wordred, accepted the somewhat worn cloth from Locke's hand. Upon sensing the material of the cloth, she was slightly startled.
Afterward, she unfolded the cloth and swept her gaze across it. Very quickly, she understood the contents written upon it, and her heart shook.
However, even so, the Chief Sovereign of Life's expression remained calm and unchanged as she handed the cloth over to the Chief Sovereign of Destruction.
"Hiss…"
The Chief Sovereign of Destruction did not possess the same composure as Wordred.
Among the Four Chief Sovereigns of the Edicts, the Chief Sovereign of Life, Wordred, was content with whatever came her way, while the Chief Sovereign of Death herself was already the strongest.
Thus, the Chief Sovereign of Destruction, Wordred, pursued strength with an obsession no less than the Chief Sovereign of Fate, Orloff.
The other Sovereigns also noticed the changes in Wordred's expression, but even if they were given ten times the courage, they still would not dare spread their divine senses over to secretly peek at the contents of the cloth.
"So that gray flame was Bloodshadowflame?"
The Chief Sovereign of Destruction forcibly suppressed the reluctance in his heart and returned the Death Overgod Edict to Locke.
An Overgod Mission…
Gathering all the items would allow one to make a wish to an Overgod, so long as it did not violate the rules.
Making a wish to an Overgod…
In but an instant, countless wishes that could greatly increase his power surfaced within Wordred's mind.
For example, gaining an additional portion of Willpower, raising the toughness of his body another level, obtaining another divine clone, becoming a soul mutate, completely fusing a set of Laws to become a Paragon…
Of course, the most cost-effective option remained the same as how Deities obtained Sovereign artifacts—requesting an Overgod artifact from the Overgod.
Just as only Sovereign artifacts could block Sovereign artifacts, only Overgod artifacts could resist Overgod artifacts.
When facing Prefects with Sovereign artifacts, Prefects without Sovereign artifacts in hand would not dare directly receive attacks from Sovereign artifacts even if they were personally stronger than those wielding Sovereign artifacts.
Only Paragons possessing Willpower could truly withstand attacks from Prefects wielding Sovereign artifacts.
"So, Lord Wordred, Lord Wordred, this should be enough to prove that the gray flame has nothing to do with the spatial vortex from several hundred years ago, yes?"
After taking back the Death Overgod Edict, Locke did not store it away into his interspatial ring, but instead looked toward the Chief Sovereign of Destruction and asked.
"Mm."
After nodding, Wordred spoke toward the Chief Sovereign of Fate, Orloff, who was still being attacked by Locke's Fate Sovereign true body.
"Orloff, Sovereign Locke's Bloodshadowflame truly has nothing to do with the spatial vortex."
"And since most of the Sovereigns are already gathered here, I shall announce something here as well."
"Locke's Fate Sovereign true body possesses strength on the level of a Chief Sovereign of the Edicts. In my capacity as the Chief Sovereign of Destruction, I acknowledge that Sovereign Locke's Fate Sovereign true body possesses the same highest-tier Sovereign rights and status as the rest of us."
"At the same time, Sovereign Locke's Water divine clone possesses power at the third tier—that is, the level of a Laws Chief Sovereign—and shall enjoy rights and status equal to those of the Laws Chief Sovereigns."
"I agree."
The Chief Sovereign of Life nodded in approval of the Chief Sovereign of Destruction's assessment of Locke.
Now, the relationship between the Four Chief Sovereigns of the Edicts and Locke had completely reversed.
Locke no longer needed the title of "Chief Sovereign of the Edicts" to prove himself. Rather, in order to preserve the supreme and unparalleled status of the "Four Chief Sovereigns of the Edicts" among Sovereigns, the Four Chief Sovereigns urgently needed Locke to join their ranks.
"I have no objections."
The Chief Sovereign of Death shook her head. She did not feel there was anything inappropriate about Locke's strongest Sovereign clone stepping into the highest echelon of Sovereigns.
"Then, what about the Chief Sovereign of Fate, Orloff?"
"What do you say?"
Although three of the Four Chief Sovereigns of the Edicts had already acknowledged Locke's strength and status, meaning whether the Chief Sovereign of Fate agreed or not no longer affected Locke's entry into the top tier of Sovereigns—
the proper procedures still had to be followed.
"I…"
Just as the Chief Sovereign of Fate opened his mouth, his expression suddenly changed drastically.
"Thousand-Mile Heaven-Reaching Palm!"
Only to see Locke's hands form palms before suddenly slamming together before his chest.
Instantly, Water Laws and Fate Edicts within the spatial turbulence condensed into two gigantic hands that smashed toward the Chief Sovereign of Fate from both sides.
"BOOM—!"
"Pfft…!"
The two gigantic palms formed from fused Laws synchronized with Locke's own palms as they collided together, unleashing a thunderous explosion.
Orloff was smashed into grievous injury like a fly struck between two swatting palms. He spat out large amounts of blood foam while crimson cracks appeared all across his body, making him resemble a porcelain doll on the verge of shattering.
"Sorry about that, Lord Orloff."
Only now did Locke's Fate Sovereign true body separate the palms he had clasped before his chest as he spoke toward the Chief Sovereign of Fate.
"Although we are both Chief Sovereigns of the Edicts, for some reason, I simply do not feel that Lord Orloff possesses the qualifications to evaluate me."
"So could I trouble you not to keep speaking?"
"Otherwise, there's no telling if my next attack might be even stronger."
After launching this attack against the Chief Sovereign of Fate, Locke slowed down slightly, giving Orloff enough time to use Sovereign power to slowly recover his body, which had nearly been shattered by Locke.
"Hiss…"
The actions of Locke's Fate Sovereign true body directly frightened all the Sovereigns.
Especially that final move, where Locke nearly slapped the Chief Sovereign of Fate to death like a fly.
At the same time, the words Locke spoke to the Chief Sovereign of Fate made all the Sovereigns feel pain in Orloff's face on his behalf.
"Enough, Locke. Let this matter end here."
Originally, the Chief Sovereign of Death had no objections to Locke treating Orloff in this manner, but when she saw the expressions on the faces of the surrounding Sovereigns, she frowned and opened her mouth to stop Locke from continuing to attack and humiliate the Chief Sovereign of Fate.
(End of Chapter)
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