Once Locke used the Edict of Fate to search for Argenis's aura, after finding him, Orloff would naturally be able to sense the aura of the Edict of Fate from Argenis as well.
Other Sovereigns who had not reached the Paragon level simply did not possess such methods.
Among all the Fate Sovereigns in the magic universe, only he and Orloff had reached the Paragon realm.
There was no need to think further—Orloff would immediately know that the person searching for Argenis was Locke.
"It seems that it's finally time for me to meet the Sovereign who has gone the farthest on the path toward transcendence within the magic universe."
Because of the influence of the Coiling Dragon novel from his previous life, Locke had always harbored some wariness toward the Chief Sovereign of Fate, Orloff.
After all, this was the only person in the entire Coiling Dragon Universe who had sensed that something was wrong with the universe itself and believed that everything within the universe was being controlled by an invisible hand.
Thus, Orloff had wished to transcend beyond this universe. For countless years, he had devoted himself solely to increasing his strength.
Yet Locke always felt that, perhaps because the era was different, the current Orloff was vastly different from the Orloff in his memories.
The Orloff from his memories had separated all of his negative emotions into Augusta, leaving only the best aspects of his own personality behind so that he could devote nearly all of his attention to cultivation.
And before Augusta's death, unless it concerned matters touching upon his most fundamental interests, Orloff could absolutely be called the greatest good person in the Coiling Dragon Universe.
Based on Locke's impression of Orloff after separating Augusta, Locke felt that if Orloff encountered an existence like himself, he should have been quite pleased to see it.
So why had Orloff targeted him like this?
Given the personality of the Chief Sovereign of Destruction, Wordred, Locke simply did not believe that Wordred would proactively suggest restricting him.
Nor would the Chief Sovereign of Life, Wawaya.
Only if the Chief Sovereign of Fate, Orloff, proposed it first would the Chief Sovereigns of Destruction and Life cooperate with him to some extent.
Now that Argenis—who possessed the second Death Overgod talisman—was in Orloff's hands, even if Locke didn't want to meet Orloff, he no longer had a choice.
Of course, Locke's own strength had already surpassed Orloff, who had yet to obtain an Overgod artifact. If Orloff refused to hand over Argenis, Locke wouldn't mind taking action against him.
At worst, after this battle, his Fate Sovereign true body would simply be recognized as belonging to the highest tier among Sovereigns, standing shoulder to shoulder with the four Chief Sovereigns.
Thinking of this, Locke comforted Oakes and Ryan.
"Oakes, Ryan, this matter has nothing to do with you two."
"I already checked just now. Argenis is currently within the courtyard of the Chief Sovereign of Fate in the Celestial Realm. Most likely, his escape was because he was rescued by a Fate Sovereign."
Mm. Since he himself also possessed a Fate Sovereign true body, and Argenis had been sucked away because of the spatial vortex Locke created, then from that perspective, Locke technically wasn't lying to Oakes and Ryan.
"For now, the two of you should return and oversee the Sovereign Army. Since this matter involves Sovereigns, what comes next will be between me and that Chief Sovereign of Fate."
"Yes, Lord Locke."
Hearing this, Oakes and Ryan bowed and withdrew.
Among Deities, their strength might still count as decent. But before Sovereigns, they were no different from ordinary Deities, Saint-level experts, or even ordinary mortals beneath the Saint-level. They were all ants that a Sovereign could kill with a single breath.
Since the matter involved Sovereigns, what followed truly was no longer something they could handle.
At the same time, judging from Lord Locke's tone, the Sovereign who rescued Argenis did not seem to be an ordinary Sovereign.
Rather, a "Chief Sovereign."
Up to now, Oakes and Ryan only knew that among Sovereigns, there existed two levels: Sovereigns and Chief Sovereigns.
Judging from the titles alone, Chief Sovereigns far surpassed ordinary Sovereigns in both strength and status.
Other Sovereigns all had to maintain reverence when facing a Chief Sovereign.
As far as Oakes and Ryan knew, Lord Locke's wife—that female Sovereign—also appeared to be one of the Chief Sovereigns.
And as for Lord Locke himself, since he dared to recruit only Highgods into his Sovereign Army, if someone claimed Lord Locke wasn't a Chief Sovereign, neither Oakes nor Ryan would believe it.
…
Within the Water Divine Plane, Locke's Fate Sovereign true body tore open a spatial tear and flew toward the spatial turbulence where the Celestial Realm was located.
At present, among all of Locke's divine clones, only his Fate Sovereign true body possessed strength surpassing the Chief Sovereign of Fate, Orloff.
Since he intended to meet Orloff, Locke naturally had to send his strongest divine clone.
The spatial turbulence was the "highway" used by Sovereigns for travel.
Thus, the Sovereigns would usually spread a portion of their divine sense throughout the spatial turbulence. The moment any Sovereign entered the spatial turbulence, the others would immediately become aware of it.
The previous incidents had all unfolded this way.
Including the Chief Sovereigns of Destruction and Fate intercepting the Chief Sovereign of Death, and the Chief Sovereign of Life intercepting Sovereign Locke—these Sovereigns had all watched the drama with great interest.
How else could one explain the boredom of Sovereigns?
Every incident involving the three Chief Sovereigns, Sovereign Locke, and the Chief Sovereign of Death had greatly broadened everyone's horizons.
It was only because the Sovereigns didn't dare gossip openly about these Chief Sovereigns, fearing they would end up like the Blood Peak Sovereign Pash of the Infernal Realm, who had been brutally beaten by the Chief Sovereign of Death.
Indeed, due to the Sovereign Pact, higher-ranked Sovereigns would not casually kill lower-ranked Sovereigns.
But as long as there was a reason, giving someone a severe beating was something nobody particularly cared about.
Now, Sovereign Locke had left the Water Divine Plane alone and was heading toward the Celestial Realm.
Could it be that there was yet another massive piece of gossip involving two Chief Sovereign factions?
Immediately, the Sovereigns tacitly spread their divine senses toward the Celestial Realm.
Within the Netherworld, the Chief Sovereign of Death naturally noticed the movements of Locke's Fate Sovereign true body. She immediately arrived at Locke's Water Estate to ask about it.
"Locke, I noticed earlier that your Fate Sovereign true body went to the Celestial Realm. Did something happen?"
"Mm."
Locke nodded.
There was nothing he intended to hide from the Chief Sovereign of Death.
"Lilia, do you remember how I previously sent my Sovereign Army to wipe out the Nine Nether Army that had fallen into piracy after the death of the Nine Nether Sovereign?"
"I discovered the second Death Overgod talisman, Bloodshadow Flame, on the commander of the Nine Nether Army, Argenis. So, I had Ryan—whose strength greatly increased after consuming the Netherfruit—lead five Sovereign Armies to support Oakes in the Nethersea."
"At the time, I believed that with Ryan's assistance, Oakes and Ryan would definitely be able to capture Argenis and retrieve Bloodshadow Flame."
"But unexpectedly, during my previous breakthrough, I made some small disturbances within the spatial vortex to toy with the other three Chief Sovereigns."
"The Chief Sovereign of Destruction's final attack just happened to open a spatial passage connecting the Netherworld to that unknown material plane, pulling Argenis into that unknown material plane."
"Earlier, when Oakes and Ryan came to see me, I captured a trace of Argenis's aura from them and used the Edict of Fate to search for him. That's when I discovered that Argenis is currently within the courtyard of the Chief Sovereign of Fate, Orloff."
"If it were only Argenis himself, then no matter what the Chief Sovereign of Fate intends to use him for, it wouldn't matter to us. Matters among Deities should be handled by the Deities under us."
"But since Bloodshadow Flame is in Argenis's possession, I have no choice but to go personally."
"So that's what happened."
The Chief Sovereign of Death finally understood. She hadn't expected this matter to become entangled with the Chief Sovereign of Fate, Orloff.
"I should be the one to go see Orloff directly."
The Chief Sovereign of Death said this seriously.
"Although your strength has now reached the level of the four Chief Sovereigns, Locke, you still haven't openly displayed that strength. In terms of status, you're still considered one rank beneath Orloff."
"But for me, there are far fewer concerns. If I go directly to his door, I doubt the Chief Sovereign of Fate would offend me over a single Overgod talisman."
"Haha, don't worry, Lilia."
Locke laughed.
"I know what I'm doing."
"If it can be resolved through discussion, I'd still prefer to retrieve Bloodshadow Flame peacefully."
"Of course, if Orloff refuses to negotiate, then I also wouldn't mind accompanying him on a little trip through the spatial turbulence."
While Locke's original body was comforting the Chief Sovereign of Death, Locke's Fate Sovereign true body had already arrived within the spatial turbulence surrounding the Celestial Realm.
Rather than immediately tearing open a spatial tear to enter the Celestial Realm, Locke first extended his divine sense into Orloff's courtyard and greeted the Chief Sovereign of Fate.
After all, forcibly tearing open a spatial tear into a Divine Plane or Higher Plane was considered a provocation toward the ruler of that plane and would inevitably invite pursuit by that plane's Chief Sovereign.
Although Locke did not fear pursuit from the Chief Sovereign of Fate—and even without an Overgod artifact, Orloff was not Locke's match—
Locke still did not wish to destroy this rule that everyone had worked so hard to establish.
Otherwise, Sovereigns truly would never sleep peacefully again.
Every rule required the Sovereigns themselves to obey it in order for it to continue existing.
Once a Sovereign began breaking the rules, it would not take long before those rules lost the ability to restrain Sovereigns and were ultimately discarded entirely.
"Lord Orloff, Locke has come seeking an audience. I wonder whether Lord Orloff might spare me a little time?"
"Haha, for Sovereign Locke to visit, this humble one is deeply honored. My humble residence is illuminated by your presence. How could I possibly not have time?"
"Please."
After replying to Locke, the Chief Sovereign of Fate, Orloff, personally tore open the space of the Celestial Realm.
"Then many thanks to Lord Orloff for allowing this interruption amidst your busy schedule."
Seeing Orloff open the spatial tear, Locke did not hesitate and directly stepped through it, entering the courtyard of the Chief Sovereign of Fate.
"Sovereign Locke, please sit."
Orloff rose and invited him over. After Locke entered the pavilion within the courtyard, the two sat together upon the round stools beside the round table.
"Since Sovereign Locke became a Sovereign, this is still the first time we've truly spoken face to face like this."
While pouring tea, Orloff smiled as he spoke to Locke.
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