Gol D. Ace In Coiling Dragon

Back on the Planar Battlefield, the battle between Linley and Fotu was well underway. Although calling it a battle is putting it politely, the truth was it was far more of a one-sided battering.

If not for the fact that Linley's body was so powerful and he was far more skilful, having comprehended several Concepts already, Linley would've lost his life a long time ago. Unfortunately, the difference between a single portion of will plus his three-way fused divine power was too much for even Linley.

Still, the fire in Linley's eyes burned just as bright as it did in the beginning – as long as he was breathing, he refused to give up hope.

To all those watching, it was clear Linley was hoping for that spark of insight so he could make another breakthrough; after all, whether it was his Concept of Water or his Concept of Earth, he was close to comprehending a second for both. Unfortunately, enlightenment was rarely ever easily attained.

This battle was hard to watch for all those on the side of the Yulan Plane – Linley was without a doubt one of their foremost talents and powerhouses – still, none found it more difficult than his closest friends and family.

Watching Linley get so thoroughly abused made them all want to throw caution to the wind and leap in to help him. Fortunately or unfortunately – depending on how one looked at it – Aiden used his Godrealm to suppress them and keep them from doing anything brash.

First of all, because Linley had made an oath to an Overgod, even if Linley decided he no longer wanted to go through with his deal, Phueus would be well within his right and definitely had the power to sentence Linley to death for backing out of his oath.

Secondly, and arguably more importantly, Linley had already publicly declared that no one would intervene in this matter, and whether he agreed with it or not, Aiden respected Linley enough to uphold his wishes, even if it meant that his wife, son and family would be forced to watch his death, and by the looks of things, that was exactly what was about to happen.

Fotu had just sent Linley's bloodied and battered body flying for what may as well have been the thousandth time, but unlike before, when Linley would ignore his pain and valiantly stand back up this time, he couldn't find the strength. Try as he might, his body simply refused to listen.

Seeing that, Fotu laughed triumphantly and prepared to finish Linley off with his self-created supreme technique when an angry yet all too familiar voice rang in the ears of not only the two fighters but just about everyone present.

It had to be remembered that Fotu was a three-way soul mutate who was on the verge of completely comprehending his three-way fused laws. Amongst all the deities in the universe, including Ace and Amira, Fotu was powerful enough to be ranked in the top five. Losing to an opponent like that was far from shameful, and yet, the only thing Ace said when he arrived was, "You stupid, overgrown, blue lizard! If you lose to trash like that, you were never qualified to be my rival!"

If nothing else, Ace's words angered Fotu to no end, but even if you increased his courage ten times over, he still wouldn't be brave enough to say anything back. He had already heard from his master that Ace had killed a Sovereign as a Full God – that wasn't an existence he was qualified to argue with. Because of that, Fotu turned his attention back to Linley, fully intending to take his anger out on him, but that was when he saw a scene that took him by surprise.

The moment Linley heard Ace's voice, he didn't hurry to his feet. He truly was out of energy – it was a miracle he was still conscious – still, that didn't stop him from bursting out with laughter. Blood would continuously pour from his mouth with every laugh, but Linley didn't seem to feel it.

It was only as his head turned to face a certain point in the sky – as though he could peer into the other side of the void with nothing, but his eyes – and his eyes seemed to meet with Ace's that his laughter finally came to a stop.

Still too weak to move, all he could do was nod, admitting that he really was putting on a disgraceful performance, but that would change now.

Fotu was just about to release a disdain-filled snort when his faint surprise turned into full-blown shock! Before he could say a word in response to Linley's declaration, the natural laws descended in an overwhelmingly overbearing manner.

Sensing the two portions of Will Linley was being blessed with, a smile bloomed on Ace's face as he nodded, stating that this was the bare minimum he would expect of the man he acknowledged as his rival.

Hearing Ace's words, Linley ignored the natural laws that were enveloping him as he snorted and responded to shut up and just watch. First, he'd defeat Fotu, and then he would defeat him.

Everyone present knew of Ace's otherworldly prowess by now; as such, they all felt Linley's words were not only arrogant but incredibly stupid. After all, whilst Linley now had eight units of Willpower, Ace had enough to rival a Sovereign – the two weren't even in the same league – and yet Ace merely smiled and said that he was waiting, as though he truly acknowledged Linley's challenge.

Hearing that, Linley, who was still lying on his back, turned to face Fotu, who was glaring furiously at him, but behind that fury and frustration was a genuine hint of fear. Ace wasn't the only one who could sense the amount of Will Linley had received.

Now that Linley had eight units of Willpower, Fotu was far from a match for the Dragonblood warrior, or at least he would've been had Linley not been so severely injured.

Although the descent of natural laws was able to heal physical injuries, it wasn't a complete restoration – it all depended on the severity of the wounds.

Seeing Linley shakily stand back up made it clear that he was far from his peak, which in turn meant that he wasn't without hope.

With everything he had seen of those from the Yulan Plane by now, he understood he couldn't afford to waste any more time. It was either kill or be killed, and he refused to be killed when he was so close that he could practically taste victory.

Fotu directly used the strongest technique he had in his arsenal. As his technique moved toward Linley, the space of the Planar Battlefield was directly torn to shreds and the landscape was left devastated in its wake. Even so, Linley's eyes remained calm and composed.

As Linley's breakthrough came from his comprehension of two new Concepts, it didn't actually do much to increase Linley's overall level of skill. Still, with eight units of Will at his disposal, Linley's raw power had reached a whole new level – one that Fotu could no longer compete with.

Fotu watched in shock and horror as one of Linley's swords tore through the supreme technique he was so proud of as though it was a hot knife through butter, and before he could even understand what happened, Linley had seemingly teleported, suddenly appearing directly in front of him.

As he cut Fotu in two, the only thing Linley could think was that he was finally one step closer to catching up to Linley. However, that was because he had no idea that Ace had also made a significant breakthrough himself. If he did, who knew how he would react?

Seeing Fotu's three divine sparks fall to the floor before Linley, aside from Linley and Ace, there wasn't anyone present, not shocked by the sudden development. Still, the person most angered by this sudden development had to be the Intermediate Sovereign of Death, Matadall.

Not only was Fotu his most powerful emissary, he was also a true friend of his. Not many knew this, but the reason Matadall was able to become a Sovereign was because Fotu had been there to help him secure the Sovereign Spark.

Matadall wasn't the original owner of his current Sovereign Spark; the original owner had actually been a unique lifeform of the Netherworld born in the same era as Imoiya and her husband. Unfortunately for them, they ended up getting into a disagreement with the four ancestors of the Four Divine Beasts Clan.

Because of the vast difference in power, it would take at least ten Lesser Sovereigns to defeat one Intermediate Sovereign, but because of the Four Divine Beasts unique ability to fuse their four separate Divine Abilities, when they used their fused Divine Ability, "Spacetime Paradox", they were no weaker than a true Chief Sovereign – it was how they were able to rival Augusta for so long back then.

Unfortunately, at the time, Matadall's predecessor didn't know of this – no one did. As such, he was the first person to find out about it, and he did so the hard way, causing him to forfeit his life.

With one of her own Sovereigns being killed on what was effectively her own doorstep, Imoiya ended up chasing after the four ancestral beasts.

With the Intermediate Sovereign Spark ownerless, it ended up turning into a free-for-all between all the deities nearby.

At the time, Matadall and Fotu were sworn brothers who had been adventuring through the Netherworld together.

And whilst Matadall was just an average, seven-star spectre at the time, having not become a soul mutate yet, Fotu was already a famous invincible commander who had become a three-way soul mutate.

Unfortunately for Fotu, he never had an affinity for the Edict of Death, which made the Sovereign Spark pointless for him, but the same couldn't be said for Matadall.

Unfortunately, they weren't the only ones interested. There were several other interested parties, many of whom were at least at the commander level.

In that battle, Matadall suffered grievous injuries to his soul, which ultimately caused his soul to begin the mutation process.

As a result, Fotu was forced to fight for the Sovereign Spark alone. Thankfully, he was successful, but his sworn brother was in a disastrous state. At the time, he didn't know if it would work, but he ended up forcibly dripping Matadall's blood on the Sovereign Spark, allowing his unconscious friend to not only fuse with it and become a genuine Sovereign but also a two-way soul mutate.

So, seeing his sworn brother die like that, his mood could be understood. For a second, he forgot where he was; he forgot that he was surrounded by not only chief sovereigns but also Overgods.

With but a casual wave of his hand, he tore a hole in the space of the Planar Battlefield, preparing to avenge his friend, regardless of the consequences.

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