"At my current level, I've only just stepped through the door to the Laws of Space. The amount of spatial power I can draw upon is still extremely limited, and its might isn't particularly impressive."
Locke flexed his fingers slightly, feeling the faint distortion of space settle.
"But once my comprehension deepens… if you don't use Willpower, you might not even be able to block my attacks."
Lilia nodded in understanding.
"That makes sense. Even though the strand of profound mystery you're using is incredibly faint, in terms of quality and power, it's already comparable to two fully fused profound mysteries."
She paused, her gaze lingering on the distorted space.
"I just wonder… when you fully comprehend this unknown Law, how strong you'll become."
Locke merely smiled, offering no answer.
After all, spatial power—even in the main universe—was something only Deities could comprehend. And those who fully grasped the Laws of Space could ascend to the level of a Godking.
A Godking stood on the same level as the Overgods of the Coiling Dragon universe.
Even Locke himself wasn't certain—if he fully comprehended the Laws of Space within this universe, would he form a divine spark of space?
By his estimation, once he comprehended even ten percent of the Laws of Space, he would likely possess strength comparable to a Lesser Sovereign.
But that was speculation. Only when he truly reached that stage would he know for sure.
Still, even this initial step was enough to pleasantly surprise him.
"How enviable…" Lilia sighed softly. "Back then, through a moment of sudden enlightenment, I managed to use the Water Laws to brush against spatial power, allowing me to draw upon a trace of it. But if I try to comprehend space directly… I can't sense anything at all."
On this point, even Locke had no solution.
In the Coiling Dragon universe, cultivation was fundamentally tied to affinity.
You could only perceive—and thus cultivate—the elements with which you had affinity. Without it, you couldn't even sense the element in question, let alone comprehend it.
Lilia's inability to sense spatial power meant she had no affinity for it.
As for Locke…
Perhaps because he was a transmigrator, he possessed a faint natural affinity for space. After using the innate divine ability triggered by the Black Tortoise Sovereign's blood essence, he had managed to touch upon spatial power—and from there, gain a foothold in understanding it.
This was also the very foundation that allowed him to attempt the creation of the Dijiang bloodline.
Without spatial affinity, he wouldn't even be able to perceive space—so how could he refine the innate "gifted bloodline" from divine beasts with spatial abilities?
Of course, since the Water Laws were a subordinate branch of the Laws of Space, it was still possible to use them as a bridge to touch upon spatial principles.
But the prerequisite for that was clear—
the Water Laws had to reach Paragon.
Lilia's earlier enlightenment, which allowed her to create a technique that used water to invoke spatial power and trap enemies, was nothing short of heaven's favor.
However, before reaching Paragon in the Water Laws, it would be nearly impossible for her to touch the Laws of Space again.
Locke rolled his eyes at her. "You're already someone countless others envy, and you're still envying me?"
"If I had even half the innate treasures you possess, I'd be laughing in my sleep."
Then his expression shifted slightly.
"Though… Ivina and Jin…"
He shook his head, unable to hide his regret.
Those two had originally had the potential to become Lilia's right-hand aides.
But they had been too impatient. Before Lilia's Netherworld Sovereign clone had reached its peak, they had secretly consumed the Netherworld Fruit.
Yes, it had allowed them to leap from ordinary Highgod strength to the level of Seven-Star Fiends—a thousandfold increase in power.
But in the long run?
Even within just the past two million years—since the fusion of profound mysteries had become widely known—they were no longer among the top-tier experts.
The position of a Seven-Star Fiend was… awkward.
With a Sovereign-bestowed attack Sovereign artifact, one could rise to the level of a Prefecture Lord.
But even then, they would only be average among Prefecture Lords.
And as one of the Four Edict Sovereigns, Lilia's emissaries had to be at least at the Prefecture Lord level—and among the strongest of them, especially after receiving Sovereign artifacts.
Using a mere Seven-Star Fiend as her emissary?
That would be an embarrassment she would never accept.
"Hmph!"
If Locke hadn't brought it up, it would've been one thing—but now that he had, Lilia's irritation flared immediately.
"If not for the bit of old affection I still have, I would've killed them for stealing the Netherworld Fruit."
Taking a master's treasure without permission—Ivina and Jin had clearly grown too bold under her favor.
Because of this, Lilia had already given up on them, treating them as little more than pets to pass the time.
Locke only smiled, offering no opinion.
No matter what, they were still Lilia's companion beasts. How she chose to deal with them was her own matter.
After all, when his own pet, Bebe, had been killed by the Blood Peak Sovereign Pash after betraying him, Locke had still felt a trace of displeasure.
My pet—since when was it your place to deal with it?
Even if it had done wrong, its punishment should've been mine to decide.
Touching what was mine without permission… wasn't that a blatant disregard for me?
Of course, Locke's current strength was still far from Pash's.
At the very least, he would have to reach Sovereign-level strength before he could properly "pay him a visit."
Changing the subject, Locke asked, "By the way, Lilia—how are the wars across the Divine Planes progressing?"
He could tell her mood was rising; better to steer the conversation elsewhere before she actually decided to turn those two snakes into soup.
"How else? Same as always."
Lilia shook her head. "But more and more powerful experts are getting involved."
"Even within the Sovereign Legions, very few can contend with those who've joined the battlefield later."
"Still, each Legion Commander has been granted a Sovereign artifact, so they can suppress those experts."
"Recently, though, I've heard that some Sovereigns have begun privately recruiting these powerful individuals—offering Sovereign artifacts and Sovereign power to bring them under their command."
"So now, more and more experts on the battlefield possess Sovereign artifacts and Sovereign power."
"Oh?" Locke raised an eyebrow. "Is there no limit to how many subordinates a Sovereign can recruit? And can they grant as many Sovereign artifacts as they want?"
Lilia blinked. "There's no strict limit. As long as you have enough Sovereign artifacts and Sovereign power, you can recruit as many as you like."
"Though Sovereign power is easy enough—refining Sovereign artifacts isn't. Even for me, it takes at least a thousand years to temper a single artifact into a Sovereign artifact."
"And if I don't actively refine it, it takes even longer."
"In that case…" Locke mused, "if a Sovereign were to grant one person three Sovereign artifacts, wouldn't that person become invincible—assuming no Paragon appears?"
"Not quite."
Lilia smiled. "The Sovereigns started these wars to harvest faith. At this stage, the amount of faith they're gaining is at its peak."
"No Sovereign would be foolish enough to give three Sovereign artifacts to a single person."
"Once such an individual appears, unless another with equal backing exists, the war would quickly come to an end."
"And that goes against the Sovereigns' purpose."
"I see."
Locke nodded.
It made perfect sense.
The Sovereigns needed continuous conflict to generate faith. If the war ended, where would they find such a steady stream of it?
At least for now, not a single Sovereign had any intention of stopping the war.
And as long as the Sovereigns desired it, the soldiers under them would have no choice but to keep fighting.
In the Celestial Realm, within the Carls Mountain Range, a stronghold of Hell's invading forces had been established.
The one guarding it was none other than Ryan, the second-strongest expert under Locke.
The war between Hell and the Celestial Realm had already raged for over a hundred thousand years.
As the invading side, Hell faced numerous disadvantages—most notably, the native forces of the Celestial Realm would never allow their home to be occupied.
Thus, powerful experts frequently launched raids on Hell's strongholds.
Those who came to attack were, at minimum, comparable to Six-Star Fiends.
Within the Sovereign Legions, there were not many who could match such strength.
As a result, Hell's Sovereigns issued missions through the Fiend Castle:
Defend a stronghold for ten thousand years, and upon success, receive one drop of Sovereign power.
Such a reward was enough to stir the hearts of countless Fiends.
After all—Sovereign power.
More than two million years had passed since the Fiend Castle spread across Hell. Seven-Star Fiends were no longer rare, and even experts at the level of Prefecture Lords existed.
Yet even now, among the 108 Prefectures of Hell, over eighty Prefecture Lords were still only at the Six-Star Fiend level.
The reason they could maintain their positions was simple—
they had once completed the Fiend Castle expansion mission and received a drop of Sovereign power.
Only those with absolute confidence in their strength would dare challenge a Prefecture Lord.
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