When Akasha’s Sovereign power covered the entire Infernal Realm, he sensed six other Sovereigns of Destruction. They were naturally the two Intermediate Sovereigns and four Lesser Sovereigns. ‘It looks like I’m the last one, and the elemental Sovereigns haven’t been born yet.’

“All of you, let’s meet up,” Akasha said, transmitting the message to the other Sovereigns.

On the gigantic continent, the six Sovereigns of Destruction lifted their heads up. They were waiting to see what their new peer would do. They just didn’t expect him to directly invite all of them. A few of them narrowed their eyes, while others smiled with interest. Nevertheless, all of them flew towards Akasha.

Akasha didn’t have to wait for long until six figures appeared in front of him. Four were bestial, while two were humanoid. Still, none of them could be classified as human by Akasha. He only recognized one of them, a Bloodrune Titan over a hundred meters tall with blood-colored hair. If he wasn’t wrong, this should be the Bloodridge Sovereign, Boson.

While Akasha studied them, the six Sovereigns studied Akasha.

A Sovereign with the body of a serpent and nine heads said. “Speak. Why did you call us? If your answer isn’t satisfactory…”

Akasha raised an eyebrow. He wondered what gave the Hydra Sovereign the courage to speak to a High Sovereign with such a tone. However, he also noticed that the six of them stood on a relatively equal level, with no distinction.

What differentiated Sovereigns from deities? That was the power of Will. On average, an Intermediate Sovereign possessed Will a hundred times stronger than a Lesser Sovereign, and a High Sovereign possessed Will a hundred times stronger than an Intermediate Sovereign.

Since the Hydra spoke so rudely, Akasha didn’t mind showing him the difference between them.

“It’s nothing. I just want to lay down some rules,” Akasha said with a smile.

At this, fury appeared on the Hydra’s nine faces. Not just him, but the other Sovereigns showed resistance. “Hmpf, seeking death!”

The Hydra Sovereign charged forward with nine concurrent hisses. Black Sovereign power exploded from his body as the nine heads charged at Akasha, wanting to swallow him whole.

Akasha raised an eyebrow. Before even clashing, he could tell that the Hydra Sovereign didn’t have that high of an understanding of the Edict of Destruction. If he wasn’t a Sovereign, then he might not even equal a five-star fiend. Of course, that was discounting his abilities as a divine beast. No wonder Paragons looked down on these Sovereigns and called them lucky fellows.

His interest dimmed. Akasha released a simple punch. Of course, although it was simple to Akasha, it still contained profound principles of destruction. The Hydra Sovereign’s nine necks instantly twisted to an unnatural degree. Some of the necks even had bones sticking out.

In a split second, the Hydra Sovereign’s nine necks healed. Even for a deity, that was extremely fast and didn’t consume much power. “Everyone, he’s too strong. We have to team up and kill him unless you want him to reign over our heads!”

The other five Sovereigns who wanted to wait it out all hesitated. After a moment, they all charged at Akasha. The disparity between Akasha’s strength and them brought too much pressure. Like the Hydra Sovereign said, none of them wanted an overlord to rule over their heads.

At first, Akasha still had some interest. However, he quickly lost it. The disparity between them was like an uncrossable moat. Even if the six Sovereigns all teamed up against him, he didn’t feel any pressure. Sure, the power of their moves far exceeded Wodred, Shiva, Gish, and the other highgods, but that was only thanks to the power of Will and Sovereign power.

During the battle, Akasha also discovered why they stood on equal footing. It was true that an Intermediate Sovereign possessed Will a hundred times stronger than a Lesser Sovereign, but that was on the basis on equal comprehension of the edict. The four lesser Sovereigns possessed greater mastery of the Edict of Destruction than the two intermediate Sovereigns.

“Enough,” Akasha finally said. He used his might to finally show the difference between him and them.

Despair appeared on the six Sovereign’s faces. They had never felt so defeated, especially after they became Sovereigns. A few wanted to escape, but one look from Akasha halted them in their tracks.

“What do you want?” an Intermediate Sovereign asked.

Upon seeing the amethyst-like body with one hundred and eight spikes on the back, Akasha recognized her. She should be the first Amethyst Godbeast of the universe, mother of Reisgem and the Redbud Sovereign. “I already said my purpose. I just want to lay down some rules.”

If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

The six Sovereigns tensed, but Akasha didn’t care. “You should know that the more complete your understand of the edict is, the stronger you will become, right?”

Seeing them nod, Akasha continued. “What I want to do is have you all create simplified techniques of the Edict of Destruction that saints and those weaker than them can cast. And then spread it throughout the Infernal Realm and the material planes.”

Now that Sovereigns had appeared, deities were no longer bound to the Infernal Realm. Teleportation arrays on the material plane needed divine power to function, but teleportation arrays on the Four Higher Planes required Sovereign power to work.

“My lord, what are spells, and what is the purpose of them?” Boson asked.

Akasha blinked. He didn’t think that they wouldn’t know what spells were, but after thinking about it, he realized it wasn’t without reasons. Spells only came out after Sovereigns created them, after all. “As for the purpose. It’s to gather the energy of faith. Each time a saint or mortal uses a spell, they will give us faith energy. One person using a spell might not amount for much, but what about a trillion? Ten trillion? A quadrillion? The more faith energy there is, the easier it is to comprehend the edicts and elemental laws.”

None of the Sovereigns were idiots. They understood Akasha’s purpose. It was not that they didn’t know about faith energy, but the amount they had was just too little. So little, in fact, that it seemed useless. They didn’t know how effective it would be, but they were willing to try. After all, it benefited not only Akasha, but them, too.

“However.” Akasha’s eyes sharpened. “I don’t want news of this to spread. The more people who know about the function of faith energy, the more competition we will have.”

“What competition?” a Lesser Sovereign asked.

“Do you think we are the only Sovereigns? Don’t forget that the Celestial Realm, Life Realm, and Netherworld also exists,” Akasha said. His words woke the Sovereigns up. They had lived in the Infernal Realm for so long, they forgot the other realms existed. It was not too surprising. After all, the Infernal Realm still had a lot of unexplored treasures. “Although they haven’t appeared yet, I theorize that there will be seventy-seven Sovereigns in total. Seven for each of the four edicts and seven elemental laws.”

Akasha’s words made the Sovereigns frowned. The Four Higher Realms made them realize that Sovereigns of the other edicts would appear. They just didn’t realize that Sovereigns would appear for the elemental laws. While some were troubled, a few were ecstatic, like the Hydra Sovereign. Some of them had divine clones, and if they found another Sovereign spark, wouldn’t it mean they would have a second Sovereign clone?

The Sovereigns were clear on the power of Will. Most of the Will was concentrated in the Sovereign spark, but even so, the Natural Law will baptize the souls of their saint and diving clones, granting each clone another portion of Will.

“My lord, do you know if there is a differentiation between Sovereign sparks?” Boson asked. This question had always puzzled him. His attainments were clearly higher than the Redbud and Hydra Sovereigns, but why was he weaker than them?

Akasha answered them. It was no big secret, and revealing it now instead of allowing them to figure by themselves would make no big difference. Upon learning the difference between the three types of Sovereign, despair entered the four Lesser Sovereigns’ eyes, while happiness exuded from the Hydra and Redbud Sovereigns. For those that had divine clones, this only enhanced their desires for a Sovereign clone.

“Remember, create the spells as fast as possible and spread them. More importantly, keep the secret about faith energy as soon as possible. If I discover any leaks, I will exterminate the culprit!” Akasha turned to leave, but halted. He turned around, and the six Sovereigns felt their hearts tightened. “I forgot to ask, but what are your names?”

The six Sovereigns internally sighed in relief. They obediently reported their names. From this, Akasha learned that the Redbud Sovereign’s name was Reisbud. The Hydra was the other Intermediate Sovereign, and his name was Lerna. As for the four Lesser Sovereigns, Akasha didn’t care too much except for Boson.

“My name is Akasha, and if anything important happens, you can find me in the Chaotic Sea.” With those parting words, Akasha left.

Akasha returned to the Chaotic Sea in destitute island. In the future, he will have highgods build a palace for him, but for now, he wanted to focus on creating spells and propagating them.

A hundred thousand years later, Akasha created seven spells.

Forbidden Rank Spell - Nuclear Blast. As the name implied, it created a nuclear bomb using the materials in the air. Anyone who could use it was likely a prime saint.

Forbidden Rank Spell - Void Veil. A spell that cloaked the user in a defensive aura that weakened attacks.

Forbidden Rank Spell - Absolute Fragility. Any object or living being with this spell cast upon them would be significantly weakened to the point that even non-Saints could defeat them.

Ninth Rank Spell - Energy Leak. A spell that caused the user's opponent battle qi or mana to leak, rendering the powerless with time.

Eight Rank Spell - Shatterpoint. Launches an undefendable attack that breaks the target.

Seventh Rank Spell - Vacuum Pocket. Deprives an area of air and other matter.

Sixth Rank Spell - Piercing Spear. Condenses the user's mana into spears and launches them at a target.

Contrary to Akasha’s expectations, the lower rank the spell, the harder it was to create. After pondering over it for a while, he realized why. Spells were simplified versions of the profound mysteries of the elemental laws or principles of the edicts. To make a spell, you had to condense it in a way that anyone could understand. The easier it is to cast, the more knowledge the creator needed.

After creating the seven spells, Akasha didn’t want to wait any longer. He wanted to start gathering faith energy now, but to do that, he needed subordinates. For the first time, Akasha regretted not bringing his followers from Alspirit City, but that only lasted a moment.

He was a Sovereign now. Highgods should flock to him, hoping to please him. It was true that Sovereigns had yet to attain the lofty status they had in the novel, but that was simple enough. And he already had a target he wanted to subdue.