Gol D. Ace In Coiling Dragon

Wade's breakthrough seemed to spark something in the others, starting with Wukong.

Seeing a brat over 2000 years younger than him make another breakthrough caused Wukong, who was still being suppressed on all sides, to erupt in laughter. He announced that he refused to let any more of these little upstarts surpass him.

Before this, not only had Wukong become a paragon in both the Laws of Lightning and Destruction, granting him his first two units of Will, he had also become a paragon of the Concept of Destruction, and more impressively, he had become a paragon of two separate Concepts of Lightning, but that was far from his limits, and Wukong knew that.

The reason he was so determined to join Linley in this particular tribulation was to use these enemies as a whetstone to break his current limits, and Wade's breakthrough was essentially the last straw to break the camel's back.

His eyes suddenly glazed over, and his staff, wreathed in the power of Lightning and Destruction, moved with an undeniable charm that had his enemies both fearful and in awe. In one moment, it embodied the Concept of Lightning – fast, precise, relentless, and unwavering, and in the next, it embodied the Concept of Destruction – overbearing and tyrannical.

Wukong went from being heavily suppressed to fighting evenly, but it wasn't enough. Wukong's eyes had glazed over, but his mind still projected the back of a certain brother-like figure of his.

He remembered that when they first met, Ace couldn't even wield a glaive properly. During those days, Wukong had been the one to teach him the fundamentals of the glaive and had even been the one to save and protect him more times than he could even remember, but now… Wukong could only stare up helplessly at his younger brother's back, a back that only seemed to get further and further away. It was a feeling that left him both proud and reconciled.

Most importantly, it was due to that feeling that he was finally able to make a breakthrough.

Looking down at his son from his position in the void, a proud and excited smile took shape on Shinji's face as he watched the natural laws descend and envelope Wukong's body.

Despite being so far away, all the Sovereigns could sense that Wukong's breakthrough was far from simple; the intensity of the natural laws descending was over double that of a normal breakthrough for a paragon.

At that moment, not only did Wukong simultaneously comprehend another Concept of Lightning and Destruction, respectively, but he had also become a Demi-God in the Laws of Fire.

It was the weakest and the most seemingly meaningless of his three breakthroughs, and yet, of the three, it was the one he was most proud of.

As he separated another portion of his soul to create his third Divine Clone, Wukong didn't seem to even feel the pain of it, as he focused on the fourth and most important of his breakthroughs – the breakthrough of his mindset.

Ace had created his own element, Aiden had created a new path, Amira was a two-way soul mutate with two heaven-defying bloodlines, and Killian was a three-way soul mutate. He was surrounded by so many freaks that, even though he'd done a good job of hiding it, Wukong had been feeling suffocated for some time now.

Even Linley, Ace's supposed rival, who, for all intents and purposes, had been left in his dust, was about to become the world's first four-way soul mutate.

Aside from Aiden himself, all of those mentioned had started off as his juniors who could only look up to him. His feelings were completely understandable – but now, he had finally walked out of his shadow.

Ace, Linley, and the others may beat him to the peak, but he would still make it there in his own time, and more importantly, he'd do so in his own way.

His eyes fell on his former enemies, but it was as though he was staring past them as he announced that he would be the first person to become a true master of every Law, Edict, and Mandate.

Looking down from the void, Shinji wasn't the only one happy for Wukong; everyone was happy. Still, no one was happier than those original members of the Yin-Yang Pavilion. As arrogant as it sounded, none of them doubted him for a second.

Especially as, as far as deities went, with his most recent breakthrough, Wukong had just taken Lightning as far as physically possible.

It had to be understood that after Aiden began refocusing his attention on the Concepts of Wind, he unearthed several truths about Kannal's discovery, the most important of which was that unless one's soul had surpassed the limitations of their realms – like the direct descendants of the Gol Clan were born with the qualities of a king or soul mutates – the most Concepts a deity could comprehend of a specific Law or Edict were three.

Although there were differences in the power of their souls, for Lesser Sovereigns, soul mutates, and those with the qualities of a king, that number jumped to four. It was five for Intermediate Sovereigns and six for Chief Sovereigns. It was only when one became an Overgod that one could reach the true limits of Concepts comprehendible for a specific Law or Edict – nine!

Still, there was a way around that. If one were to comprehend the Concept of a new law or Edict, as that soul was technically separate from their original, they would be able to comprehend the maximum number for that Law and or Edict as well.

So, theoretically, even if one wasn't to include the Mandate of Pure Yang, if Wukong really was able to become a Paragon of each of the seven Laws and four Edicts, and then also become a Paragon of three Concepts for all 11 elements, just purely talking about one's Willpower, Wukong would surpass the level of even an Intermediate Sovereign.

It would be a long and difficult path, but if anyone could accomplish it, it was Wukong.

With Wukong and Wade both finished with their opponents, they began turning their attention to helping the others.

By the end, it was only Linley and Olivier who were still fighting, both of whom had rejected the offer of help, determined to use their opponents to break through.

The first of the two to break through was Olivier. Even though it was only a single portion of Will he received for comprehending one of the Concepts of Light, it brought his new total up to seven – the same as Wukong and Fotu – allowing him to finally defeat and kill his opponents.

Seeing how he was the only one left, Fotu began feeling panicked, especially as after their respective breakthroughs, neither Olivier nor Wukong were much weaker than him.

Till now, even though he hadn't been able to defeat Linley, he hadn't taken any damage either. In Fotu's eyes, Linley was more like an undying cockroach than a worthy adversary. Still, he knew that even if he did kill Linley now, there was no way he'd be able to face both Wukong and Olivier; as such, he focused less on his battle and more on thinking of ways he could escape.

Linley could see through Fotu's state of mind, especially as the more Fotu focused on planning his escape, the easier of a time he felt. Even so, it only served to piss him off – as though he was being disregarded entirely.

As such, he stopped and told Fotu that if he was able to kill him, not only would he assure him that he wouldn't be attacked by his friends, but he would also give him the two Overgod Talismans he had in his possession.

Hearing that, Fotu frowned, thinking that it had to be too good to be true and that it was more likely to be a trap than anything else.

 Once again, Linley could see through Fotu's thoughts, so he summoned an Overgod, and in front of everyone, he made an oath directly to them and had Wukong and the others make the same promise, but the Overgod did it to wasn't Aiden or Orloff.

To ensure that Fotu truly believed him and would focus wholeheartedly on their battle, the Overgod Linley made his oath to was Phueus, the new Overgod of Darkness.

With their oath made, Wukong and the others sighed and entered chaotic space where the rest of their group were watching from after taking one final look at Linley.

Whether it was Doehring Cowart, Yunaia, Bebe, Wharton, and Wade were all tempted to reject Linley's desire. They had pretty much already won – if Linley just let them fight beside him, Fotu would be easily dealt with, and Linley would be able to make his wish and become the universe's first four-way soul mutate.

Still, as Linley's closest loved ones, they recognised the look in his eyes better than anyone – he had already made his mind up, and there was nothing they or anyone else could say or do to change it. All they could do now was believe in him.

Seeing them all leave, Fotu erupted in laughter as he grinned and licked his lips with excitement. He told Linley that his decision was the single most foolish decision of his life, but lucky for him, he wouldn't be alive to regret it in the future.

In response, Linley, whose body was covered in blood-covered scales, looked at Fotu with his dragon-like eyes and raised his swords. He told him that the time for words had ended, it was time they finally put an end to their battle.

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