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Writer: StarReader
Proofreader: Silavin
The first thing Heavenly Sovereign did after returning with the emotion path to his domain was to work on removing the bewitching placed on him ages ago.
It always had the habit of flaring and disrupting his character in the worst moments, like when Emotion Sovereign stepped in to wrestle over her path and buy Zhuo Fan time to flee. Or the time he was frantic in escaping the sea of blackness, without his left arm. It was still unhinged, even till now.
Emotions were for humans, which completed them, but to Heavenly Sovereign, walking the path of the old and untainted Heavenly Will, they were a disease, one that could very well take his life.
Infected as he was, with countless random thoughts no different from a madman, it was getting harder and harder to not lash out. Alas, it proved too much when the eight freaks he had under him, gathered throughout millions of years since the mortal domain came to be, came back with bad news time and time again.
He snapped, then and there, using the Heavenly Eye to remove these eyesores and free him of their irritating presence.
In the rare moments of clarity, he realized that it might have been a rather rash decision, that he should do something about his worsening situation.
It was then, as fate had it, that Zhuo Fan, the Uncrown Sovereign of old, and his little brother, lived up to the duty the other nine humane Sovereigns entrusted him by completing their paths, trying to defy him of all things, him of all people!
He figured Sword Sovereign would be enough to bring it back so he could regain his calm. But the result was disappointing.
Heavenly Sovereign had thus no choice but to intervene, removing Sword Sovereign for his insubordination.
Despite the grand speech he prepared, knowing there would be a fight either way, Zhuo Fan threw him a curveball in simply handing over the emotion path, leaving him stumped. However, since he was so generous, Heavenly Sovereign saw no reason not to push it by demanding the Demon Transformation Art, needed to fuse the paths as it could take in any and all powers. It was why the black thunderflame came to be in the first place.
Even in this instance, Zhuo Fan didn’t even blink as he ruined his cultivation by giving the fully trained art over, with an unnerving smile and unsettling words to top it off.
Heavenly Sovereign took his leave, having got what he came for, wanting to remove the bewitching and regain his former composure. The attitude he needed if he wanted to cleanse the world of humanity’s corruption.
It wasn’t easy. He had to work with emotions from an objective standpoint so he could remove it, but he did it in the end. Although it did take over a month, he still did it. And during that month, he also got the Child Sovereign’s path.
The first thing that came to him when clarity was finally restored was regret for removing the eight freaks and Sword Sovereign. Despite their far inferior power, when compared to him, they were still the next strongest beings in the Sacred Domain and they would prove helpful, more or less, when the situation required. Now, he had to do everything himself.
Since there was no use crying over spilled milk, Heavenly Sovereign turned his attention to fusing the paths he currently had.
Days turned into weeks as he slowly added one path after another to his void path, bringing him ever closer to the Supreme Stage and the end goal he had envisions for millions of years.
Despite getting stronger with each added path, something was irking him and made the success taste sour in his mouth. It was only when he added the third path did it all become clear. Zhuo Fan’s words and casual attitude when giving up the Demon Transformation Art left him disturbed and affected so much he couldn’t get it out of his head.
He knew he needed to take control of the situation once more. Having finished fusing four paths in total, he put the others aside, wanting to instead brave the sea of blackness for the remaining paths rather than play in Zhuo Fan’s hand and wait for him to finish completing them. If he were to win like he wanted, he would do it on his terms.
The first time he approached the sea of blackness, and where he thought the paths would be. However, he sensed nothing still from the great abyss, no energy, no path, no nothing. He was prudent after he had lost his arm, even if he was far stronger now. He conducted simple tests to see if he could pull the paths out. They ranged from using his void skills, to nearing himself while shielded with his power.
The results were mixed, with few methods showing the blackness shrinking in the place where it was hit, but for the briefest time. Too little to go in and get the paths himself, not that he knew where exactly they were in this abyss. Others test had expanded the sea, like him getting closer to it he could almost touch it.
In the last case, the sea of blackness swelled in his direction, like it had found its kin, staying like this despite withdrawing. He assumed that because his power was closer to the Supreme Stage, his Yuan Qi had similar nature to this blackness.
Having to fall back without real progress did not deter Heavenly Sovereign. He had waited millions of years for his plan and a little more would not matter.
But since there were some promising results, he came back after each new path he fused, though not even with all the seven fused could he pull the paths out. Still, at least he knew where they were now. His void skills now made it possible to locate them.
He was sure that with one more path, he would be able to get them out.
