Cole had once had a chance.
Originally, Locke had planned that once Cole reached the ninth rank, he would reveal the existence of "Heaven and Earth's Profound Truth" to him and guide him toward the Saint realm.
After all, though Locke was a water-element mage, he still had some understanding of the profound mysteries of the Earth Laws.
With his guidance, helping Cole comprehend "lifting heavy as though it were light" and "lifting light as though it were heavy" would not have been difficult.
But unfortunately, even with all the resources Locke had provided in Locke Territory, Cole never managed to break through to the ninth rank.
Worse still, he eventually chose to betray the Frostsnow Empire, attempting to perform a sacrificial ritual at the Radiant Church to force a breakthrough.
That time, Celes had sent a divine sense transmission that nearly scared Locke out of his wits.
In the end, Locke still protected Cole.
But from that moment on, the two brothers never met again.
—
Frostsnow Plane.
Before the graves of his parents, Locke held a tree branch, occasionally tapping Mira's limbs to correct her stance.
"Mira, for a warrior, the strength of the body is paramount."
"The stronger your body, the greater both the quantity and quality of your battle qi when you begin cultivating it."
"And that will directly translate into strength far beyond others at the same level."
"The essence of physical training is breaking your limits again and again."
Locke showed no leniency just because Mira was only twelve.
Every day, he gathered surrounding water elements to form a pressure field, simulating deep-water resistance.
It bore some resemblance to gravity magic of the earth element.
Under such conditions, Mira's progress was naturally rapid.
Of course, what allowed her to endure such brutal training was Locke's Water Healing Art.
With his current mastery of the Water Laws, its effects were no weaker than light-element healing spells.
Even regrowing severed limbs was within reach.
Under such guidance, Mira advanced at an astonishing pace.
In just one year, she had risen from a third-rank warrior to the sixth rank.
Only when Locke sensed her mental strength nearing its limit did he disperse the water pressure, ending the day's training.
"Mira, your physical strength has now reached the level of a sixth-rank warrior."
From his spatial ring, Locke took out a manual and handed it to her.
"Starting tomorrow, you may begin cultivating battle qi."
Like magic incantations, battle qi manuals were simplified expressions of the Laws, distilled by divine-level experts into forms mortals could practice.
Locke himself had no earth-element divine clone, so he could not create such a manual.
But in the Netherworld, earth-element gods were abundant.
He had simply grabbed one at random and had them condense the Profound Mysteries of Earth Pulse into a usable manual.
Even so, it had taken that god an entire year.
"Thank you, Teacher."
Mira accepted the manual respectfully—but did not open it immediately.
She had not forgotten Locke's words.
The stronger the body, the greater the benefits of cultivating battle qi.
She did not want her weakness to tarnish her teacher's name.
She decided to push her body to the peak of the sixth rank before beginning.
Locke noticed this, of course.
But he did not interfere.
At her current pace, it would take no more than three months.
—
Netherworld.
On this day, Corwell finished refining his divine sparks.
As he stepped out, he heard voices—Locke's… and a woman.
A woman?
Curiosity stirred within him.
In all his life, he had never seen Locke converse casually with anyone.
Locke's world had always consisted of one thing—cultivation.
And yet now…
Someone could actually hold a conversation with him?
And she was a woman?
Unable to resist, Corwell stepped out.
But the moment he saw her—
His heart trembled.
Though he had only caught a brief glimpse before, he recognized her instantly.
This woman… was identical to the Sovereign.
"S-Sovereign…!"
With a thud, Corwell dropped to his knees, kowtowing.
"Corwell greets the Sovereign!"
"...Tch."
Lilia clicked her tongue and glanced at Locke.
"See that? That's how people normally react to a Sovereign. You should learn from your brother."
"Oh please," Locke shot back. "Don't get carried away."
Then he waved a hand at Corwell.
"Get up. She's not the Sovereign—just a divine clone. No need to be so formal."
Corwell forced a dry laugh.
But he did not dare rise.
A Sovereign's clone… was still the Sovereign.
And yet Locke spoke to her like this?
Was he not afraid of being killed?
Then again… judging by their interaction, the Sovereign didn't seem offended.
Which meant—
Their relationship was far closer than he had imagined.
No wonder Locke could ask favors of a Sovereign.
And perhaps…
Only someone stronger than Locke could draw his attention away from cultivation.
—
"Hey, Locke," Lilia said, leaning slightly forward. "You still haven't answered me."
"Why did you go out of your way to have someone create a battle qi manual?"
She genuinely couldn't understand.
At Locke's level, such things were utterly meaningless.
Locke rolled his eyes.
"Isn't it obvious? Someone needed it."
"Who? Male or female? What's your relationship?"
"Female. A disciple I took in a material plane."
Locke didn't bother hiding it.
"I went back to my home plane not long ago. Saw that my family had no one worth mentioning, so I picked a hardworking junior and took her as a disciple."
"I plan to guide her to the Saint level before returning."
"She recently reached the sixth rank physically, so I got her a suitable manual."
"Oh?"
Lilia's lips curved into a teasing smile.
"So, you do have descendants. I thought someone like you would never leave yourself such an obvious flaw."
At the edge of the hall, Corwell froze.
Descendants…
That meant his bloodline.
Two million years later, it still existed.
And yet he himself had never thought of returning.
Instead, it was Locke who had taken responsibility.
A strange feeling stirred in his chest.
—
Locke merely gave Lilia a disdainful look and said nothing.
Yes, he was cautious by nature.
But not to the extent of refusing to build a family.
The reason he had never married was simple.
Most of his life had been spent cultivating—he had barely interacted with women.
And among those he had met, none had ever moved him.
He had no intention of marrying simply to leave behind a bloodline.
Of course…
A wife and children would become weaknesses.
But at his current level—
Unless he provoked a Sovereign…
No Sovereign would go out of their way to offend a Paragon.
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