Outside Blazewing City, a dense ground of deities formed a circle. All their gazes concentrated on a single man flying in the air. He garbed in red armor, but his physique made him resemble a ball. He was the Blazewing Fiend.

The Blazewing Fiend was a divine beast born during the early years of the Infernal Realm. It was a time where deities of the four edicts reigned supreme. Still, the Blazewing Fiend stood up. Not because he fused the profound mysteries of fire, but because of his divine ability.

The Blazewing Fiend looked into the distance. “Finally here?”

A purple streak appeared in the distance. Before anyone realized it, the streak had already flown into a circle, revealing a man garbed in blue and purple robes.

“It’s the Thunderclap Fiend!” one of the spectator shouted.

As his name suggested, the Thunderclap Fiend was a highgod that trained in the Law of Lightning. Hundreds of thousand of years ago, he had successfully fused four profound mysteries and became a seven-star fiend.

“Even if you’re a seven-star fiend, you’re not my match. If you’re not careful, you’ll die,” the Blazewing Fiend said.

The Thunderclap Fiend snorted. “You’re too confident. Don’t forget, you only fused three profound mysteries. Were you not a divine beast, you would have never become a seven-star fiend.”

The Thunderclap Fiend wasn’t a low-level divine beast, but a magical monster that became a saint. At the saint level and below, magical beasts had an advantage over humans, but that advantage disappeared at the deity level. He fused four profound mysteries through his own efforts and talent. Because of this, the Thunderclap Fiend looked down on those fiends that relied on their innate or divine abilities to become experts.

The Blazewing Fiend didn’t become angry at the Thunderclap Fiend’s provocative words. He only shook his head. “Since you’ve already made up your mind, let’s begin.”

The two didn’t waste any words. Nor did they need any signal to start the duel.

Fire shrouded the Blazewing Fiend, making him resemble the incarnation of wrathful fire. The moment he made a move, most of the spectators lost sight of him, and only six-star fiends could see traces of his figure.

The Thunderclap Fiend wasn’t inferior in any way. The Elemental Law of Fire excelled at soul attacks, but the soul attacks of the Elemental Law of Lightning were only slightly inferior. Not only that, the material attacks were second only to the Elemental Laws of Wind and Earth. Although its speed was inferior to the Elemental Laws of Light and Wind, it possessed the greatest nimbleness. Aside from its comparatively weak material and soul defense, the Elemental Law of Lightning excelled at all aspects.

A spark of blue lightning clashed into the fiery sphere, but it was repelled, revealing the Thunderclap Fiend. He frowned and took out a spear before transforming into lightning again. His body wasn’t even comparable to a demigod artifact, and the Blazewing Fiend possessed an extremely strong body. Clashing head on wasn’t wise.

He turned into a streak of lightning again, but his speed made it so that he appeared to have created numerous doppelgangers even though the Elemental Law of Lightning did not have a profound mystery relating to doppelgangers. Where the Blazewing Fiend made one attack, the Thunderclap Fiend had already made seven.

Thanks to the Blazewing Fiend’s powerful body, he could barely resist the Thunderclap Fiend’s attack, but he already lost the initiative. If the situation did not change, then it was likely the Blazewing Fiend would lose. However, the Thunderclap Fiend didn’t let down his guard. He hadn’t forgotten about the Blazewing Fiend’s divine ability.

The Blazewing Fiend roared and his body began to change. It lengthened into a serpentine creature with emerald scales and a pair of blazing red wings with razor sharp feathers. The Blazewing Serpent roared and charged at the Thunderclap Fiend. Its hundred meter long body was deceptively fast. Its speed far outpaced him in his humanoid form.

Plasma exploded each time the two fiends clashed. However, the Blazewing Fiend only decreased the disadvantage between the two. With his immense size, even five-star fiends could see the increasingly damage state of his body.

“Blazewing Fiend, give up unless you want to die!”

“I admit that you have the right to be proud. However, you underestimate my power,” the Blazewing Fiend shouted.

“Since you want to die, then I’ll fulfill your wish!” The Thunderclap Fiend flew upward and countless bolts of lightning congregated around him, forming a dense black cloud that rained down lightning. A few stray bolts killed some unlucky highgods nearby. All the spectators except those confident in their strength backed away immediately.

When the Thunderclap Fiend saw the Blazewing Fiend charging at him, he only let out a single word. “Fool.”

However, in the Blazewing Fiend’s eyes, the Thunderclap Fiend was the true fool. The Blazewing Fiend unleashed a tyrannical roar and the feather on his wings vibrated. Flames spewed out from between the fears, and before anyone knew it, the divine beast vanished from their eyes.

No, the Blazewing Fiend didn’t vanish but activated his divine ability, Searing Edge. His speed had dramatically increased, causing him to shoot past the thunder clouds and part them in half. With the clouds dispersed, it revealed the Thunderclap Fiend, eyes wide with disbelief.

“How did—” He never got to finish as his eyes dulled. A divine spark fell out as his body plummeted in to the ground in half.

The Blazewing Fiend transformed back into his humanoid form. Although a few cracks littered his armor, he didn’t appear that injured. His strong body and fusion of three mysteries made him one of the weaker seven-star fiends, but he could keep his position as the city lord of Blazewing City because of his divine ability. Searing Edge was a material attack at the level of an asura.

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Many people had challenged him before, thinking that he was easy prey, but they all died under his divine ability. Still, the Blazewing Fiend wasn’t satisfied. Although his divine ability had the power of an asura, he couldn’t use it consecutively, so he could only be considered a seven-star fiend and not an asura.

“Hm?” The Blazewing Fiend looked toward a boat-shaped artifact. He had already noticed the boat, but because of his duel, he did not reach out. Naturally, he came to the same conclusion as Stryke. “I wonder which asura Mister is?”

There was a period of silence. Just as he thought that the asura would ignore him, he received an invitation. The Blazewing Fiend didn’t hesitate and flew in. At his level, making friends with an asura was still very attractive to him. Once he entered, he immediately saw the pond and the four deities under the pavilion.

“Windreaper Fiend?” the Blazewing Fiend muttered. He paid attention to all seven-star fiends. He nodded, but when he saw Akasha, he couldn’t recognize him.

The Blazewing Fiend originally thought that Akasha was a reclusive asura or one from another plane, but his body froze when he saw the armored man behind him. Although the armored man disguised himself, the Blazewing Fiend could still recognize Plato’s aura.

The Blazewing Fiend quickly kneeled. “Skyfire has seen the Sovereign.”

Akasha raised an eyebrow. “How did you recognize me?”

Stryke’s body stiffened. She stared at Akasha in shock, but quickly reacted. She got off her seat and kneeled. “Stryke has seen the Sovereign.”

However, Akasha didn’t pay her any heed and waited for the Blazewing Fiend’s answer. “Answering the Sovereign, I was lucky enough to see Lord Plato take action once. As the commandeer of the Chaotic Sea Army, how could he serve another highgod like this? So I deduced that you must be a Sovereign.”

Akasha laughed. “You’re quite observant. What the Thunderclap Fiend said was right. You rely too much on your divine ability. It’s fine to use it as a trump card, but a trump card only works if your opponent isn’t prepared for it. You should quickly fuse four profound mysteries and become a true seven-star fiend.”

“I thank the Sovereign for your advice.”

Akasha nodded. He waved his hand and a drop of black liquid emanating a terrifying aura flew toward the Blazewing Fiend. “Consider this your reward for the exciting battle.”

Before the Blazewing Fiend could react, he found himself kneeling in the air outside of Blazewing City. He sighed, but soon became excited. He saw a Sovereign, the legendary Sovereign! Not only that, he got himself a drop of Sovereign’s Might. More than once, he had rued the fact that he missed the chance to take part in Arcadia’s construction. Now, it didn’t matter.

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Once the boat disappeared from Blazewing City, Akasha glanced at the still-kneeling Stryke. “I heard that you are a Windreaper Mantis?”

“Yes, Sovereign,” Stryke said, not daring to hide anything.

“Stand up and show me your true form.”

After Stryke revealed her insectoid form, Akasha sighed. “It’s really similar.”

Although Stryke was curious about Akasha’s comment, she didn’t dare to ask and quietly stood there, allowing the Sovereign to inspect her body. After a while, Akasha said, “Okay, you can change back to your humanoid form. Follow me back to Arcadia.”

Although she was going to Arcadia, Stryke couldn’t suppress her unease. There must be a reason for the Sovereign to take her to the most powerful city in the Infernal Realm, but it didn’t mean it would be good for her. Still, she dared not resist and nodded.

It took less than an hour for Akasha to return to Arcadia. Upon entering, he dismissed Plato and took Stryke into the Akashic Palace. Once there, he sat on his throne and looked down at the kneeling Stryke. Sweat slid down Stryke’s skin as she waited for a heavy heart.

“Does the name Scyther ring a bell?” Akasha finally asked.

Stryke pursed her brows and shook her head. “No, Sovereign.”

“Forget it,” Akasha said with a shake of his head. Maybe it was a coincidence?

He glanced at the kneeling highgod. Perhaps…

Akasha raised his hand, showing his palm, but what was important was the drop of blood essence. It was a black at the outside and crimson in the center. Just staring at it would make anyone feel its uniqueness. This was a drop of his own blood essence.

He had reached an impasse in his comprehension of the Edict of Destruction, and grew tire of fusing the profound mysteries of light. To kill time, Akasha began researching his own blood in order to find a method to devour divine beasts of other attributes, besides destruction and light. If he succeeded, Akasha wanted to devour the Four Divine Beasts.

Unfortunately, he didn’t have much success. Still, he knew that research took time. Right now, Akasha was waiting for the creation of the Ancestral Baptism of the Four Divine Beasts Clan. This way, he could kidnap a few members for research.

Akasha had heard news of the Thunderclap Fiend’s challenge to the Blazewing Fiend, but he never expected to encounter Stryke along the way. Seeing the scryer recordings of Stryke’s true form had aroused his interest and awakened some buried memories. After bringing Stryke back, he wanted to do a small experiment.

The Genesis Wyrm blood essence floated in front of Stryke, causing her to pale. “Absorb it.”

Stryke hesitated. She could sense the heart-palpitating aura of the blood essence. What would happen to her if she absorbed? Maybe death, or maybe just nothing? However, she didn’t have the right to refuse, so she could only grit her teeth and absorb it into her body.

Pain instantly filled her mind, causing her to cry out in pain. Stryke was forced into her true form, and it felt as if her body was tearing itself apart. The sensation only increased with time. She wanted to faint and let the pain be over with, but she knew that doing so would exponentially increase her chance of death.

She could only bear the pain and attempt to guide it in a meaningful way that she had no experience in.

Akasha watched Stryke with eyes devoid of emotions. No guilt, happiness, or even pity. He had experimented on hundreds if not thousands of lives, including highgods, but they all failed. Without any accident, Stryke would just become another failed experiment, but a change occurred.

Stryke’s green shell turned red and even took on a metallic glint. The scythes at the end of its arms shrunk and morphed into two large pincers. Those were just the most obvious changes, and the process continued for fifty-seven years.

During this time, Akasha used many resources and even expended enough Sovereign’s Might that would make even a paragon turn green with envy. At the end of the transformation, the Natural Laws descended. A Demigod Spark of Earth materialized, and a mantis-shaped soul flew out of Stryke’s body. She, who only had talent in the Elemental Law of Wind, had become a demigod of Earth.

Akasha thought Stryke would gain a talent in the Edict of Destruction, not the Elemental Law of Earth. Still, this was a happy accident. Didn’t this mean that he had the potential to devour divine beasts of other attributes? He calmed down and observe Stryke’s new form.

Stryke still possessed a bipedal insectoid body, but with a red metal exoskeleton. Her rounded head had three blunt horns extending above her forehead, and eyes with dark yellow pupils. Like the Windreaper Mantis, she had a thorax and an abdomen. However, Stryke’s two segmented arms now ended in large, round pincers. Her wings had become clear and retractable.

“Congratulations on your successful mutation. Do you have a name for your new race?”

Stryke kneeled. “Please bestow my race with a name.”

Akasha smiled. “You were once a Windreaper Mantis, but taking into account of your changes, how about Scarletclaw Mantis?”