Whilst Mosi's True Divine body of destruction was without a doubt his most powerful body, his other body, which specialised in the Edict of Death, was also at the level of a Commander.
It was because of his high attainments in the laws of death that he was able to enslave so many experts with his soul seed over the years. It was also the reason he believed that he stood a chance at figuring out the secrets behind becoming a soul-mutate. Although he was still some way away from becoming a paragon of the Edict of Death, as far as understanding the soul went, there were very few who could compare to him.
Still, he never thought for a second that his most powerful body would actually die. Although he was still a strong commander, he was nowhere near his former level.
If this knowledge became public, many of his former enemies who were deterred by his overwhelming power would undoubtedly come forward to claim his life.
And in his eyes, it was all the fault of Ace and his crew. Still, avenging his loss himself was all but impossible. They had too many powerhouses stronger than him. As such, his only chance at revenge was by using a borrowed blade, and what better blade was there than that of a Sovereign?
Although he couldn't claim to be "friends", he was the most powerful and most favoured emissary of the Starmist Sovereign of Destruction; because of that, they had a friendly and somewhat close relationship to him – well as close as a deity could be to a sovereign without being related.
If he was to tell him that his most powerful clone had been killed, he believed that he could get the Sovereign to avenge him. And if that didn't work, then he doubted even a Sovereign would give up on capturing a group who had not one but two soul mutates and had mastered some secret technique that had brought their weapon-manship to a level that by all means shouldn't be possible.
That's right, although he had his hands more than full with Leona, he still noticed that not just Ace but every single person in their group had reached a similar level in the handling of their respective weapons to Wukong.
As much as he wanted the secrets to himself, he had to be realistic. There was simply no chance of getting his hands on it now.
Ace and the others had no idea what dangers loomed over their heads; they were too busy catching up after all this time apart. Of course, due to the nature of the information, everyone made sure to talk via their Godrealms so as to prevent any unsuspecting eavesdropping; after all, although no deity – paragons included – could spread their Godrealm over them without Ace feeling it, Sovereigns were the exception.
Whether it was Dylin, Tarosse, Cesar or Wukong, they were all left speechless as they listened to Ace's story. It was hard to believe that Amira had such a profound and complicated background, but they didn't doubt Ace for even a second.
Still, after hearing about Ace's deal with Augusta, even Wukong, someone who had complete and utter confidence in Ace's talent and ability, couldn't help but worry.
Even though they hadn't seen each other in over a thousand years, and Ace was without a doubt the stronger of the two, he saw him as his little brother. As such, it came as no surprise that Wukong immediately agreed to enter the Planar Battlefield on the side of the Divine Darkness Plane with Killian and the others.
Unfortunately, whether it was Tarosse, Dylin, or Cesar, as far as they had come in the last thousand years, they were still far from the level where they could be of any sort of assistance to Ace in that sort of setting. If anything, they'd only end up holding Wukong and the others back. It was for that reason that they decided to sit this one out.
But unlike when it came to rescuing Cesar, they didn't feel as worried for Wukong's safety. With him travelling with Killian and the others, there wouldn't be many situations they wouldn't be able to overcome.
After they finished catching up, Wukong and his group decided to stay with Ace and his group to go check on Linley and eventually leave the Infernal Realm to go back to the Yulan Plane, but before they could even leave the Starmist Sea, they found their bodies suppressed by the most terrifying Godrealm they had ever felt in their lives.
Aside from Beirut and the two newly promoted Sovereigns of the Yulan Plane, Wukong and his group have had zero contact with any other Sovereign, so it was no surprise they were so taken aback. Especially as not only were the three Sovereigns of their Yulan Plane all only Lesser Sovereigns, but none of them had ever exerted any of their true power on them, at least not directly.
Still, Ace and his group were different. Each of them felt tense, but no panic could be seen in their eyes as they waited for the mystery Sovereign to reveal himself.
Next thing the group knew, a tall and lean humanoid figure appeared in the sky before the entrance to the metallic lifeform.
As much as Ace couldn't be bothered to deal with another Sovereign, he didn't hesitate to lead his group out and respectfully greet the man, introducing himself and asking how he could help him.
Even though Ace's tone and actions were respectful, the violet-eyed Sovereign, whose features were shrouded in a layer of fog that not even Ace's [Observation] infused Godrealm could see through, could see the lack of distinct lack of fear, awe, and subservience in not only Ace, but also his group and even Wukong.
This made him frown; after all, regardless of how talented they were or how close any of them were to becoming paragons, they were still only a bunch of Full Gods standing before a genuine Sovereign. Immediately, he understood that this group were more than likely from a clan or faction that belonged to a Sovereign.
Still, if Mosi was right and there were not only at least two soul mutates, but they also had access to a new path to increase one's power, then he couldn't afford to let them go; it just meant he might have to change his plan of approach, but before that, he had to figure out which Sovereign they were affiliated to.
Hearing that, Ace smirked internally before replying that they were from the Divine Light Plane's Augusta Clan, and he was actually the heir to the Augusta Clan as well as Augusta's most doted-on disciple.
Ace and the others couldn't see it, but the second Ace's words came out, the Sovereign's eyes widened.
Of all the Sovereigns, there were only three that none of the others wanted to offend. The first two were Lords Orloff and Wodred. As the two most powerful Sovereigns, the reason was self-explanatory. The third and final one was precisely Augusta.
Although in terms of power, Augusta couldn't even begin to compare to the Chief Sovereigns of Destruction and Fate, he was still a level above his fellow Chief Sovereigns, but most importantly, he was a complete madman whose pettiness was extremely well-known amongst the other Sovereigns.
Still, Shinji, the Intermediate Sovereign of Destruction who reigned supreme over the Starmist Sea, didn't believe him. Not only was Augusta known for his pettiness, but it was also common knowledge that of all the Sovereigns, Augusta was the only Sovereign who didn't actually have any friends. His personality didn't tend to allow it. As such, the chances of him not only taking on a disciple but also "doting" on him was less than a billion to one.
Still, Shinji couldn't help but hesitate. Augusta was an extremely ancient Sovereign; as such, even among the Augusta Clan, there were many who didn't know his name despite their clan being named after him, and if one did know his name, they would know better than to speak his name so lightly, and more than that, they would know better than to lie about him.
In the end, Shinji could only ask for proof. In response, Ace shook his head and said he didn't exactly have any, but he could get a message to him if he wanted; the only problem was that his doing so would disturb him from the important matter he was handling right now, at which point, he couldn't predict how Augusta would react.
Ace's words made Shinji feel more and more as though Ace was lying, but still, he hesitated. If Ace really was telling the truth and he was really able to pass a message directly to Augusta, Shinji would find himself in a whole world of trouble he would much rather avoid.
Shinji's eyes scanned the group as he considered his options when they stopped on Wukong.
His eyes constricted as he stared intently at Wukong, but this time, due to his apparent shock, he forgot to conceal his emotions, allowing Ace and the others to feel it clearly.
Before any of them could even react, Shinji appeared before Wukong, but this time, the fog that concealed the specifics had disappeared, allowing the group to examine the Sovereign's true appearance.
He was a devilishly handsome man with violet-coloured eyes and a single horn protruding from the centre of his head, but the thing that took all of them by surprise was the fact that, like Wukong, Shinji also appeared to be half man, half ape.
Still, what took Wukong by surprise was the single tear of blood that fell from the man's face as he looked at his rueful face as he opened his mouth once again, but this time, instead of the inviolable and majestic tone from before, Shinji's voice was weak and hoarse as he pulled Wukong into his embrace and apologised for being such a pathetic excuse for a father.
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