Chapter Ninety-One: Resolution

“I know that all eight of your clans have deep enmity with the Four Divine Beasts Clan. But the Four Divine Beasts Clan has already lost ninety percent of its elders, and its reputation has been badly damaged. I imagine the whole of Hell will know about this. Their glory is gone, and so many elders have died—that should be enough.” Beirut said calmly. “Besides, they never destroyed your clans in the first place.”

“Lord Prefect, you said back then that if we did not attack the Heavenly Sacrifice Mountain Range, you would not interfere. Why are you interfering now?” Patriarch Bolin could not help but ask repeatedly. The other six patriarchs, along with a great number of elders, were all looking at Beirut as well.

The people of the Four Divine Beasts Clan were also staring at Beirut. They were nearly driven mad, each of them in excruciating pain. What they wanted most now was for this struggle to end, for the grudges to be settled once and for all.

“I did indeed make that promise,” Beirut said with a faint smile. “And you truly did not charge into the Heavenly Sacrifice Mountain Range. But today, it is not I who is interfering in this matter. It is... the great Sovereign.”

As he spoke, Beirut flipped his hand and took out a parchment covered in intricate magical runes. Sizzle... the parchment ignited, and a strange wave of energy spread outward.

“The Sovereign?” They were incredulous, momentarily bewildered.

But at that very moment, a peculiar energy began to gather between heaven and earth. Black power converged at terrifying speed high in the sky. That black energy was unmistakably the power of the Sovereign of Destruction. A vast amount of sovereign power fused together overhead, finally forming a black face dozens of meters tall. A dreadful pressure swept outward.

“The Sovereign!” Feeling that terrifying pressure, the patriarchs below, the many elders, and the more than a million clan members on both sides seemed to hold their breath. Then, one after another, countless people knelt prostrate, each of them trembling with anxiety.

“The Sovereign!” Beirut bowed slightly. Beside him, Qian Kun also inclined his head in salute, while the Grand Elder dropped straight to her knees.

The black visage revealed a faint smile toward Beirut, then a voice like thunder boomed out: “The matter between the Eight Great Clans and the Four Divine Beasts Clan ends here. Go back whence you came.”

“Yes!” Though the seven patriarchs were somewhat unwilling, before a Sovereign they could only answer respectfully. They feared Beirut and Qian Kun already; there was no need to mention a Sovereign. The might of a Sovereign was unmatched. To erase them would take no more than a single thought. It would be far too easy.

Then the Blood Peak Sovereign turned to Qian Kun, his tone calm and impossible to read: “You are Qian Kun, yes? It was you who previously killed my sovereign envoy, Rennars, correct?”

“Yes, Sovereign. However, I have not been in Hell for long and am rather ignorant. I did not know before that Rennars was your sovereign envoy,” Qian Kun replied. His heart gave a small jolt, and though he was somewhat nervous, he still managed to speak with composure, neither servile nor overbearing.

The Blood Peak Sovereign looked at Qian Kun in silence for a moment. Then, as Qian Kun’s unease grew, he spoke again: “Your strength is indeed formidable. Unfortunately, I did not have time to take you as my sovereign envoy, and instead that fellow Teresia reaped the benefit.”

“Beirut!” The Blood Peak Sovereign then turned to Beirut as well.

Qian Kun secretly breathed a sigh of relief, watching Beirut bow in response to the Blood Peak Sovereign.

“Who is that young man standing over there?” the Blood Peak Sovereign asked. “Aside from you and Qian Kun, only that one young man is still standing here.”

Beirut froze for a moment, then instinctively turned to look in confusion. Gaisleisen and the others also raised their heads in curiosity. There they saw Linley standing motionless with his eyes closed, a trace of a smile seeming to linger on his face.

Beirut was somewhat stunned, then quickly said to the Blood Peak Sovereign, “Sovereign, that is Linley, the one I mentioned to you.”

“In all these years, upon my arrival, this is the first time I have encountered someone immersed in sudden enlightenment. Such a thing has never happened before,” the Blood Peak Sovereign said with great interest as he looked at Linley.

Voom.

A strange fluctuation of heavenly law descended. Everyone was all too familiar with it; it was the very sign of becoming a god, or of a godhood transforming. A godhood shining with earthy yellow light flew out from Linley’s body, while heaven’s law transformed it and his soul underwent its own metamorphosis.

The Sovereign, the patriarchs of the Four Divine Beasts Clan, the patriarchs of the Eight Great Clans, hundreds of elders, and countless clan members all watched this scene. This was probably the most eye-catching moment in all Hell for a High God breakthrough.

After a moment, Linley opened his eyes, and finding himself watched by countless people, he was startled. “What is it?”

“This Linley...” Qian Kun looked at Linley, who had instinctively and foolishly raised his head to stare at the black face condensed from the Blood Peak Sovereign’s power, and he did not know whether to laugh or cry.

“Interesting! Interesting!” The corners of the black visage’s mouth lifted slightly, and then it abruptly dispersed. The immense, oceanic mass of destructive sovereign power vanished without a trace, as though it had never existed at all.

Beirut walked over to Linley with a wry smile. “Linley, I said that once you reached High God level I would give you a godhood weapon, but there was no need for you to break through at a time like this, was there?”

“I...” Linley was at a loss for words. He had no idea this sudden enlightenment would come at such a moment.

Qian Kun also walked up to the Grand Elder, grinning as he said, “Now that the Four Divine Beasts Clan’s trouble has been resolved, the promise you made me...”

“I promised that if you drove off the Eight Great Clans or frightened them away, I would marry you. But now it was Lord Beirut and the Sovereign who helped. You didn’t do anything,” the Grand Elder said at once.

“Why, you...” Qian Kun stared at the Grand Elder, wide-eyed and momentarily speechless. That change of face had been far too swift.

At the critical moment of the Sovereign’s descent, Linley had unexpectedly broken through in a flash of enlightenment, which also startled the experts of the Eight Great Clans. Earlier, they had already suspected that Linley’s fusion of the profound mysteries of laws was probably nearing perfection, which was why he could possess seven-star demon strength while still at Mid God level. Now that Linley had broken through to High God, even if he had not reached Grand Perfection, he was probably far stronger than before, and they likely were no longer his match.

The seven patriarchs were in complicated, chaotic moods. Soon enough, they all turned and left. The forces of the Eight Great Clans withdrew, leaving behind only vast stretches of empty castle structures.

The members of the Four Divine Beasts Clan, however, grew excited and moved to tears; many of them wept on the spot. From this day onward, their clan would no longer have to endure days filled with crises and humiliation. It was all over.

Several days later, a figure flew out from the Heavenly Sacrifice Mountain Range and paused in midair, looking back over his shoulder. It was Qian Kun.

There was nothing left worth lingering for in the Four Divine Beasts Clan. He wanted to go to a place even more splendid and interesting, to wander and battle with more top experts.

“Qian Kun!”

After a moment, just as Qian Kun withdrew his gaze and was about to depart, he heard a somewhat urgent, cool voice. Then, like a flash of lightning, a shadow appeared before him. It was the Grand Elder, still wearing her silver mask. Her beautiful eyes were fixed on Qian Kun. “You’re leaving just like that?”

Qian Kun looked at her in silence for a moment before saying, “I was planning to go to the Planar Battlefield. You should know how dangerous that place is.”

“I am not afraid! Qian Kun, let me leave with you. No matter where we go, no matter what dangers there are, so long as you are there, anywhere will be fine,” the Grand Elder said calmly yet firmly.

Qian Kun could not help asking, “But you still haven’t agreed to marry me. If you just run off with me like this, what does that make it?”

“My grandson is already that big, and I have plenty of descendants and juniors besides. Do you really expect me to hold a wedding specially for you here in the Four Divine Beasts Clan? You may not find it embarrassing, but I’d worry they would all laugh at me,” the Grand Elder said irritably.

Qian Kun froze. Then his eyes lit up and joy appeared on his face. He stepped forward and wrapped an arm around the Grand Elder’s waist. “Gaia, I really thought you were a block of ice, something that could never be warmed.”