After the banquet, Sadius found Lomio.
"Lomio, have you ever considered becoming a Prefect or a Emissary of a Sovereign?"
"No. Prefects and Sovereign's Emissarys have too many constraints."
Sadius was speechless. You're already following me—what greater constraints could there be?
"Becoming a Sovereign's Emissary would grant you a Sovereign artifact as a reward."
Lomio was slightly tempted.
"After my agreement with you is fulfilled, I suppose I'll challenge a Prefect."
According to Lomio's plan, he would follow Sadius for a million years.
After a million years, his strength should reach the peak Shura level. By then, challenging a Prefect would have far better odds of success.
Previously, when he fought against Mo Si, he realized that the Prefects or Commanders of Infernal Realm were not to be underestimated.
"You don't have to take our agreement too seriously. I know of a Sovereign currently recruiting emissaries, but the requirements are quite high. If your material defense could improve one step further, or if your attack power could increase tenfold, then you might have a chance to become a Sovereign's Emissary."
Lomio immediately grew interested and asked which Sovereign Sadius was referring to.
"I'm not entirely sure, but the matter of a Sovereign recruiting Emissary is absolutely true."
Lomio fell into contemplation. Becoming a Sovereign's Emissary would naturally grant him a Sovereign artifact. If only I could have an offensive Sovereign artifact like Sadius…
If Beirut knew Lomio desired an offensive Sovereign artifact, he would definitely never allow Lomio to become his Emissary.
Generally, once a powerhouse reached the Shura level, the first thing they considered was how to make up for their weaknesses, rather than blindly pursuing greater attack power.
After all, a Shura with weak soul defense could easily be defeated by an opponent of the same level who specialized in the soul.
Even if your attack was overwhelming—if you couldn't block the enemy's attacks, you'd still be on a dead end.
Sadius, however, was an exception. He was still a Midgod, but his soul strength was a hundred times that of a typical Midgod, already no weaker than most ordinary Highgod souls.
If he cultivated all three paths to the Highgod level, then his soul would be a hundred times that of a normal Highgod's soul.
Among Highgods, aside from Paragons, there would likely be no one who could match him.
Moreover, his body—after being strengthened by Azure Dragon essence blood and Sovereign power—had evolved into that of an Amethyst Divine Beast.
His fleshly body was already comparable to a Highgod's material defense artifact.
And he could continue refining amethyst origin essence to further enhance his body; reaching a level comparable to a Sovereign artifact wouldn't be impossible.
Lomio was different. His body was powerful, but his soul defense was merely average. What he lacked most was a soul defense artifact.
So Lomio settled down to cultivate in seclusion with peace of mind.
Meanwhile, Sadius went to find Beirut, informing him about the Azure Dragon egg.
Of course, he didn't tell the whole truth. That was his own secret.
"Since the Redbud Sovereign is sending you to the Skyrite Mountain Range, then you should go. After all, it's a Sovereign's order; the Four Divine Beasts family wouldn't dare refuse."
Sadius nodded.
Then, Sadius took his eldest son, Luoshen, and left Indigo city.
"Luoshen, do you know why your Dragon Soul Transformation is so similar to the transformation of the Dragonblood Warriors?"
"Because, Father, you are the great Dragon God of the Yulan continent."
"That was just a trick for spreading faith in the material plane. The real reason you possess the Dragon Soul Transformation is because our family carries the same Azure Dragon bloodline as the Dragonblood Warrior clan."
Luoshen was puzzled yet somewhat excited.
"Father, are you saying…we are part of the Four Divine Beasts clan?"
"No, we are not. I've never told you this, but I actually have an unborn younger brother."
Luoshen was confused. He truly hadn't known about this; in fact, he didn't even know who his own grandparents were.
Sadius transformed into his true body, the Amethyst Divine Beast.
Then he regurgitated from his stomach a single egg—his own dragon egg.
He had always kept the Azure Dragon egg within his stomach.
After all, an Azure Dragon egg was a living thing and couldn't be stored in an interspatial ring. But carrying it around during frequent battles was inconvenient, so he kept it in his stomach pouch.
Many massive magical beasts had such a stomach pouch. Even though the Thornback Iron Armored Dragon wasn't among the largest beasts, it too had one.
"This is my brother, from the same brood as me," Sadius said, transforming back into human form.
"But he has never hatched, so I've kept him with me. It wasn't until I brought him to Infernal Realm and met the mighty Redbud Sovereign that I learned his identity was anything but simple."
"Father, are you saying… this unborn uncle of mine is a descendant of the Azure Dragon?"
"No. The Sovereign told me…he is the second Azure Dragon between Heaven and Earth."
Sadius' words left Luoshen utterly dumbfounded.
The second Azure Dragon Divine Beast in existence—this was even more unbelievable than the birth of a second God-Eater Rat.
Everything Sadius was telling Luoshen right now was completely fabricated.
After all, to deceive the Redbud Sovereign and Beirut, he needed a fully consistent story.
So, he decided to deceive even his own son.
"Your uncle is an Azure Dragon Divine Beast. Sadly, I am not. But within me flows a trace of Azure Dragon bloodline, and that is what made you a descendant of the Azure Dragon."
Luoshen couldn't help but feel a surge of excitement.
"Father, are you saying I can undergo the Azure Dragon clan's bloodline baptism and awaken a Water-element divine clone?"
Luoshen naturally knew that the Azure Dragon clan's Dragon Transformation Pool could help their descendants awaken their bloodline power, allowing them to directly become Water-elemental deities.
This was something Sadius had told him before.
"Yes. However, outsiders generally cannot undergo the Azure Dragon clan's bloodline baptism. Fortunately, this time I'm visiting the Four Divine Beasts family with a Sovereign's order. When the opportunity arises, you can also undergo bloodline baptism."
Luoshen had yet to become a Deity. Sadius had instructed him in cultivating the Edicts of Destruction, but he had no talent in that aspect, so he was stuck at the Saint level, never becoming a Deity.
Now knowing he had a chance to independently become a God, Luoshen was ecstatic.
This time, when heading to the Skyrite Mountain Range, Sadius didn't bring little Linley.
He was still too young—not yet at the age to undergo bloodline baptism.
As long as Luoshen could participate in the Four Divine Beasts clan's bloodline baptism, Sadius believed that in the future, his other descendants would also have the opportunity to undergo the Azure Dragon clan's baptism.
The metallic lifeform flew toward the Skyrite Mountain Range.
When they were still some distance away, they suddenly saw a battle taking place.
Once again, the Four Divine Beasts clan was fighting against the Eight Great Clans.
Clearly, this time the Four Divine Beasts clan was at a disadvantage.
Last time, Sadius had helped the Four Divine Beasts clan, but that was simply because the Eight Great Clans had been unlucky.
This time, Sadius decided to intervene again, which would mean misfortune for the Eight Great Clans.
After all, he was heading to the Four Divine Beasts clan to ask the Azure Dragon clan for help.
Sadius left his Darkness God clone in the metallic lifeform to protect Luoshen, while he himself gripped his divine artifact sword and flew toward the battling crowd.
Suddenly, someone flew in—neither the Four Divine Beasts clan members nor the Eight Great Clans understood what was happening.
Before long, the Eight Great Clans saw who it was.
"It's the top-tier Shura who attacked the Barbary clan last time. Everyone, flee!"
The appearance of Sadius had long been circulated among the Eight Great Clans. They all knew there were two Shura-level powerhouses who had previously helped the Four Divine Beasts clan slaughter a Barbary clan squad.
After understanding the truth of that incident, they assumed those two had just been passing by and wouldn't help the Four Divine Beasts clan again.
But today, they once more encountered one of those Shura powerhouses—specifically, that top-tier Shura.
Seeing this, they didn't bother continuing the fight against the Four Divine Beasts clan and immediately began to flee.
After all, their strongest was merely a Seven Star Fiend. How could they possibly match a top-tier Shura?
Sadius didn't expect that he had only just arrived and the group had already scattered.
How boring.
The Eight Great Clans retreated, and though the Four Divine Beasts clan members wanted to give chase, the leading elder ordered them to stop.
"My lord, we meet again. Thank you for saving us once more."
"So it's you."
Sadius sheathed his divine sword.
Before him was the same Seven Star Fiend from the Four Divine Beasts clan he had met previously.
"I recall you are from the Azure Dragon clan?"
"Yes."
"Good. I have come under the order of the Redbud Sovereign to the Skyrite Mountain Range to discuss matters with your Azure Dragon clan leader."
Redbud Sovereign!
They were all surprised.
When Sadius displayed the Sovereign's command token, they finally understood—Sadius was actually an Emissary of the Redbud Sovereign.
"My lord, I will immediately have my divine clone inform the clan leader. Please, follow us."
Sadius returned to his metallic lifeform, while the Four Divine Beasts clan's metallic lifeform led the way.
Within the Skyrite Mountain Range, the Seven Star Fiend elder quickly met with Gailson.
"You're saying that powerhouse is the Redbud Sovereign's Emissary, carrying the Sovereign's command, wishing to discuss something with me?"
"Yes, clan leader. That lord held a Sovereign's command token; he truly said so."
Gailson was thrilled.
Previously, he could only hope to befriend a Sovereign's Emissary.
But now, the situation was different—a Sovereign had sent an Emissary to Skyrite Mountain Range to find him. That most likely meant the Sovereign had a request.
That would mean the Sovereign owed them a favor.
By then, with just one word from the Sovereign, wouldn't the Eight Great Clans have to retreat back to their original planes?
The crisis of the Four Divine Beasts clan could thus be resolved!
"Hurry, call the other three clan leaders. We shall welcome him together."
Soon, the four clan leaders of the Four Divine Beasts clan waited at the outskirts of the mountain range.
Before long, two metallic lifeforms arrived and landed outside the mountain range.
Sadius stepped out with his son Luoshen.
"How is it…he's only a Midgod?"
The four clan leaders were curious.
"My lord, these are our Four Divine Beasts clan leaders. From left to right: Azure Dragon clan leader, White Tiger clan leader, Vermillion Bird clan leader, and Black Tortoise clan leader," the Seven Star Fiend elder introduced.
Sadius looked at the four. The Vermillion Bird clan leader was a woman; the other three were men.
He only knew the Azure Dragon clan leader was named Gailson; the others he wasn't familiar with.
"I am Sadius, Emissary under the Redbud Sovereign; greetings Four Clan Leaders."
Facing the four, Sadius was polite. After all, their strength was not weak—they were all at the top-tier Shura level.
Hearing Sadius personally say he was a Sovereign's Emissary, they had no doubts left.
Gailson immediately stepped forward.
"Sadius, welcome to the Skyrite Mountain Range. Please, come inside."
Then the four clan leaders led Sadius and Luoshen through the Dragon Path into the interior of the Skyrite Mountain Range.
The Dragon Path coiled like a massive dragon, incomparably majestic.
Along the way, Sadius chatted casually with Gailson.
"Sadius, thank you for helping us twice. The Four Divine Beasts clan is endlessly grateful."
"A trivial matter, just a flick of the hand."
"And this is?"
"This is my son, Luoshen. Luoshen, quickly greet the four clan leaders."
"Luoshen greets the four clan leaders."
"Impressive demeanor, outstanding appearance," the four all praised Luoshen.
"Sadius, may I ask—what matter did the Sovereign entrust you with this time?"
"Well, this matter could be considered a stroke of fate between me and your Azure Dragon clan."
Gailson was curious. What could it be?
The four clan leaders brought Sadius and his son to the palace specifically for hosting important guests.
Then, they prepared a grand banquet.
"What I'm about to bring out next may leave you in disbelief, but I hope you can restrain your emotions."
The four were curious. What would Sadius take out?
They saw Sadius place an Azure Dragon egg on the table.
At first, they didn't comprehend what this egg was.
Only Gailson realized it.
He immediately stood up.
"This… this is!" Gailson couldn't believe his eyes.
"That's right. This is an Azure Dragon egg."
Clatter!—the sound of cups falling to the floor.
The other three clan leaders were also incomparably shocked.
An Azure Dragon egg? How could that be?!
The Four Divine Beasts were birthed from the natural forces of Heaven and Earth, not hatched from eggs.
This fact was not widely known.
But as the children of the Four Divine Beasts, the four clan leaders naturally knew it.
Seeing an Azure Dragon egg before them, they couldn't help but be filled with doubt.
"Gailson, you can sense the bloodline power within this Azure Dragon egg. Then you'll know whether I speak the truth."
As the son of the Sovereign Azure Dragon, Gailson's Azure Dragon bloodline was the purest. Naturally, he sensed the bloodline within the dragon egg.
It was faint, yet incomparably pure.
The Azure Dragon bloodline within the egg could be said to be a full one hundred percent pure.
This truly was an Azure Dragon egg.
"Sadius, how do you have this Azure Dragon egg!" Gailson was overwhelmed with emotion.
Then Sadius repeated the fabricated story he had prepared.
"Haha! I didn't expect this. Heaven hasn't abandoned our Four Divine Beast clan!" Gailson laughed loudly.
"Gailson, it was also from the Redbud Sovereign that I learned my brother turned out to be the second Azure Dragon of Heaven and Earth. Thanks to him, I carry a trace of the Azure Dragon bloodline."
Gailson grew even more excited.
Sadius possessed the Azure Dragon bloodline—he thus counted as part of the Azure Dragon clan. And he was a Sovereign's Emissary! If they could draw him into the Four Divine Beasts clan, then wouldn't the crisis with the Eight Great Clans be immediately resolved?
But he was the elder brother of the second-generation Azure Dragon. If he were to invite Sadius to join the Azure Dragon clan, what position should he promise him?
An ordinary elder position certainly wouldn't suffice, since Sadius was a Sovereign's Emissary.
"Gailson, the matter is this: the Redbud Sovereign sent me to the Skyrite Mountain Range to borrow the Azure Dragon clan's Dragon Transformation Pool. Otherwise, my brother would not be able to be born.
"And also, my child and I wish to borrow the Dragon Transformation Pool to see if we too can undergo the baptism."