Chapter 1255

Even if his strength matched that of the two-and-a-half-star Nicolas who struck afterward, before the Supreme and the Lord of the Seven Seas, he was still utterly insignificant!

"Who won?"

The ancient god who had awakened the Azure Dragon Supreme clasped his chest, unable to help but wonder.

"Oceanic aura—oceanic deities are destined to have only one sovereign. You must be the so-called Lord of the Seven Seas. Your will is strong, but if my true form arrived, you would not be my match."

Said the Azure Dragon Supreme.

The Lord of the Seven Seas spoke coolly: "So we are not enemies. I have come this time to seek cooperation."

"Cooperation?"

"Indeed. The Flame Lord has caused such a commotion—surely you don't intend to do nothing?"

Said the Lord of the Seven Seas.

"The affairs of the Heavenly Realm have nothing to do with your oceanic deities, do they?"

The Azure Dragon Supreme did not answer the Lord of the Seven Seas, but asked another question.

The Lord of the Seven Seas likewise did not answer the Azure Dragon Supreme, but said:

"I know you plan to wait until the backlash of the Balance Law strikes, so you can achieve your goal with minimal expenditure. But this time, if you wait until the Balance Law's backlash before acting, your plan is destined to fail."

The Azure Dragon Supreme's voice remained unchanged: "Go on."

The Lord of the Seven Seas spoke coolly: "You're right—the affairs of the Heavenly Realm have nothing to do with oceanic deities. Whether it's the ocean of the Heavenly Realm or the ocean of the Divine Continent, both are relatively independent realms. Thus, the Ocean Goddess's power is not greatly tied to the number of Heavenly Realm deities."

"Continue."

Said the Azure Dragon Supreme in a voice devoid of much emotion.

The Lord of the Seven Seas said: "According to my estimation, if the Flame Lord truly survives the backlash of the Balance Law, you may not dare to act then."

The Azure Dragon Supreme's hoarse voice sounded: "Why?"

The Lord of the Seven Seas calmly uttered a few words: "The Sovereigns' Gambit!"

The Azure Dragon Supreme's will fell silent.

The Sovereigns' Gambit!

The Azure Dragon Supreme, a mighty five-star ancient god, had survived the ancient war between ancient gods and sovereigns countless years ago—not merely due to his strength.

But because he could assess the situation and understand his own value.

The reason ancient gods today can recklessly eliminate deities with potential to become sovereigns in the Heavenly Realm is simple.

It is not because they are too strong.

But because the sovereigns have tacitly permitted it.

No matter how strong an ancient god is, he is still not a sovereign.

In truth, law lords like the Lord of the Seven Seas—even if their actual combat power might be slightly weaker than a five-star ancient god—could still repel a five-star ancient god if three or four joined forces.

Yet these law lords, so close to sovereigns, are no fools.

They naturally see through everything.

They know the greatest obstacle to becoming a sovereign is the sovereigns already in existence!

This is why so many law lords hide themselves, actively diminishing their presence.

They do not wish to be noticed.

They would rather lurk in the shadows, spending countless years waiting for an opportunity.

And the information the Lord of the Seven Seas just revealed made the Azure Dragon Supreme realize: there must be divisions among the nine Heavenly Realm sovereigns!

This division, the Azure Dragon Supreme could quickly deduce, was likely this:

Perhaps a few sovereigns wished for new sovereigns to emerge, so the pie could grow larger.

The more sovereigns in the Heavenly Realm, the more prosperous it becomes; its laws rise with the tide, growing stronger.

Yet the current sovereigns do not wish for new sovereigns to arise—not because they fail to understand this principle.

But because even if the pie grows larger, whether they themselves will still get the largest slice remains uncertain.

After all, power is a zero-sum game.

What if the originally strongest sovereign, because the pie grew larger, ended up with the smallest slice while another sovereign took the largest? That would be unbearable.

Moreover, the pie does not grow instantly—it expands over an extremely long process.

This process is too long, and the variables too numerous and too great.

Even sovereigns cannot control these variables.

Who gains strength, who loses it—no one knows.

Worse still, the pie may never grow larger, or its growth may prove inadequate—that would be the worst outcome.

Hence, the Heavenly Realm sovereigns do not wish for new sovereigns to arise.

Especially the powerful ones among them.

For them, maintaining the status quo is the best scenario!

This has been the consensus among Heavenly Realm sovereigns for countless years.

Nine Heavenly Realm sovereigns are already enough.

More than that, and they might worry there won't be enough room.

But according to the Lord of the Seven Seas, perhaps a few sovereigns' views have changed?

If so, this is not good news for the ancient gods.

"Speak—how do you propose we cooperate?"

After a brief silence, the Azure Dragon Supreme's will spoke again.

The Lord of the Seven Seas was not at all surprised by his reaction.

Though the Azure Dragon Supreme is powerful, he remains merely an ancient god; even though he has lived countless years, his understanding of the Heavenly Realm still falls short of the Lord of the Seven Seas, who has lived fewer years than he.

The Lord of the Seven Seas said: "It's simple. We strike now. The Flame Lord is powerful, and his strength has barely been depleted. If we act now, we'll face a great battle—I don't want to expend too much energy. So I'll reveal myself first, summoning other Law Lords who seek to control the Flame Law to attack him, forcing out all his secrets, then you deliver the fatal blow."

The Supreme Dragon asked: "How can you guarantee no Supreme Deity will intervene if we strike now?"

The Lord of the Seven Seas replied coolly: "Heaven is now at its peak; the backlash of the Balance Law is far more terrifying than in ages past—even I'm not certain I could survive it. For the Flame Lord to prove his worth, he must endure the Balance Law's backlash before any Supreme Deity will lift a finger for him."

The Supreme Dragon's will emitted a dull voice: "How do you know this so clearly?"

The Lord of the Seven Seas pointed to his head and said: "I guessed!"

The Supreme Dragon let out a soft snort, unconvinced.

The Lord of the Seven Seas said: "You may disbelieve me and wait until the Flame Lord is crushed by the Balance Law's backlash. Then perhaps Supreme Deities will clash—you'll have a good chance. But the Flame Lord's chance will be greater. So I won't take the risk."

"One final question."

The Supreme Dragon no longer dwelled on the prior issue but spoke in a low voice: "The Flame Lord poses no threat to you. Why do you wish to strike him?"

The Lord of the Seven Seas replied coolly: "No comment."

"Fascinating!"

The Supreme Dragon did not grow angry.

"Then so be it!"

In the distant darkness of space, far from the Continent of Gods, a massive star, blazing fiercely and many times larger than an ordinary star from Lin Yan's previous world, suddenly moved.

At the same moment this giant star stirred, the dozen or so fragmentary stars orbiting it were affected by gravity and underwent significant changes.

Their trajectories became utterly chaotic.

"What's happening? What's wrong with our sun?"

On a medium-sized fragment star, countless humans cried out in alarm!

Yes, the Supreme Dragon had long slumbered, having taken the form of this star in this vast darkness.

This stretch of dark space was immense—so immense that even the Supreme Dragon's stellar form could illuminate only a tiny region.

Because he had slept for so long, he had attracted dozens of fragment stars to orbit him.

Worse still, on one of these fragment stars, humans had actually emerged!

The light emitted by the Supreme Dragon provided all the energy needed for the fragment star, allowing it to develop with astonishing speed.

This fragment star now hosted over two billion humans and countless animals.

It had become a complete ecosystem.

Moreover, on this fragment star, numerous powerful beings had arisen. And because no deities influenced it, its development was not constrained as the nations of the Continent of Gods were—it even produced technological artifacts.

They had even prepared to explore the stars.

But before they could take that crucial step, doom arrived.

The colossal star that had supplied them with all energy had moved.

The star's disturbance shocked countless humans on the fragment star.