Ophelia was just about to open her mouth to greet Ace when she was interrupted by the sounds of chimes. The chimes that sounded were the most beautiful and ethereal sounds she and those present had ever heard; in fact, it wasn't just them; the chimes sounded right throughout every corner of the universe.
Ophelia had never heard anything like it before, but many of the older existences throughout the universe had. Still, that was what made it all the more shocking – the last time the chimes sounded, it was to signify Heaven recognising Ace's achievement of founding the Mandate of True Yang.
All those who understood the meaning of the chimes had no idea what was comprehended this time, but they all knew that the person who had comprehended it was undoubtedly none other than Ace.
As for the man in question, even as the natural laws descended around him, allowing him to receive his second heavenly blessing, he appeared to pay no attention as he continued to study the newly promoted paragon before him.
Whilst he was still in his personal dimension, because he was effectively the heaven of the dimension, the Heaven of the wider universe couldn't peer inside; as such, it had no way of understanding what he had comprehended thus far, but the moment he exited his personal dimension, the true Heavens instantly sensed his comprehension of the Laws of Space, which in turn led to the current situation, a situation Ace had long foreseen happening.
As the natural laws dissipated, signifying the end of his blessing, Ace casually noted aloud that even though she was born with a True Yang Physique, to become a paragon of an element with essence that hadn't yet finished maturing before turning 4000 years old was a very impressive achievement.
Hearing that, Ophelia's eyes once again widened in shock. Standing before him, she felt completely naked and exposed, a feeling that not even a Sovereign was capable of making her feel.
Still, Ace had little interest in her emotions; he had no ulterior motives when scanning her so thoroughly – it was purely out of interest. Now that he had, he was far more interested in going back to his training, but before he did, there were two more things he had left to do.
First, he casually took out a crimson gold jewel from his storage ring and tossed it over to Ophelia before nodding to Lance.
Though Ophelia had never seen a Sovereign Spark before, from the dense energy it was radiating, she could instantly tell what it was.
Looking back up at Ace, almost as if to make sure it was really for her, she saw him smiling reassuringly as though urging her to proceed; as such, she proceeded to drip a drop of her blood on it to merge with it.
Seeing the cocoon of Sovereign energy slowly enveloping Ophelia, Ace placed a hand on the shoulder of the calmly awaiting Lance and began to speak. Like before, with the help of his Overgod-level stepfather, Ace's voice was spread throughout the universe.
Whilst the wider universe was still reeling from the shock of the chimes that had just ended, Ace explained that the chimes that all of them had just heard were to signify the recognition of the Laws of Space. Although it will take around 25,000 years before the essence of said Law has finished spreading through the universe, slowly but surely, it will become easier and easier to begin comprehending the Laws of Space.
On that subject, he didn't say anything. Even so, the shock his words caused was far more than most could put into words. The Laws of Space and Time were Laws many had wanted to comprehend, but before today, be they Sovereigns or Deities, no one had any idea where to even begin.
Still, Ace was far from done with his declaration. He then went on to explain that the true reason he had decided to speak to them all today was to congratulate Ophelia, who had been the first person to completely comprehend the Mandate of True Yang, winning her the prize of the True Yang Sovereign Spark.
As he said that, he spread the image of Ophelia becoming a Sovereign directly into the minds of all those listening to his message.
At the same time, he went on to explain that just like with the Sovereigns of the other elements, there will be a total of two more Intermediate and four more Lesser Sovereign Sparks, but they will have nothing to do with him. The Heavens will form them in random locations in the universe, and as such, he will have no say in who ultimately wins it.
After wishing them good luck, Ace proceeded to end the transmission. He was just about to take his leave, no longer interested in the happenings of the wider universe, but before he left, Ophelia, who had just finished merging with her Sovereign Spark and was getting used to her new power, suddenly moved to intercept Ace.
Previously, whether it was Ace's little sister or his great-grandnephew, there had been several people stronger than her, but now, after becoming a Chief Sovereign, there were only two able to follow her movements.
Still, even as she appeared before them, blocking their exit, both Lance and Ace remained completely indifferent. A Chief Sovereign may be a supreme existence to the majority of the universe, but to them, she was just a slightly stronger ant. Even if she had malicious intentions, both were more than capable of crushing her. Still, they could sense that she didn't seem to have any malicious intentions; as such, they both looked at her curiously, waiting for her to explain what she wanted.
Seeing their reactions, or lack thereof in this case, Ophelia bowed deeply at Ace and thanked him for bestowing the Sovereign Spark to her, but before he left, knowing she would likely never get another opportunity like this again, she wanted to understand the true difference between her and the Universe's strongest deity.
Her actions could be construed as rude and offensive, but sensing the pure intentions coming from her, Ace merely sighed before telling her to make her move.
Ophelia looked around hesitantly. Although she wanted to fight against Ace at least once, she didn't want to offend the Gol Clan and destroy their imperial palace.
Understanding what was going through her mind, Ace chuckled and told her not to worry; she wasn't capable of breaking anything with him there.
Feeling the overwhelming power coursing through her body, whilst she didn't expect to actually be able to defeat him, at the very least, she thought she could push him to give him a somewhat decent fight. Still, with his reassurance, she had nothing to worry about – even if the palace was destroyed in their battle, she doubted the Gol Clan would hold it against her with their leader giving her the green light; as such, summoning her trusted sabre, she held nothing back as she attacked Ace.
As a Chief Sovereign, most present weren't even capable of following her movements. Aside from Ace, the only one who could was Lance, and seeing her attack, Lance nodded with appreciation, instantly recognising that she had comprehended a Concept of Pure Yang.
Ace also noticed the level of her sabre art. Still, his expression remained light and easy. As the terrifyingly sharp edge of the sabre approached his neck, Ace merely uttered the word "freeze", and as he did, Ophelia felt the laws of space warp around her, suddenly constricting her movement, forcing her to halt altogether.
Seeing the shock on her face, Ace chuckled as he explained that the Laws of Space and Time were different to ordinary Laws and Mandates. Both Space and Time were made up of three separate Laws; for every Law comprehended of either Space or Time, one would be awarded another portion of Will due to the overwhelming complexity of each one.
So far, he had only comprehended the first Law of Space – the Law of Spatial Warping. It was a Law that allowed him to, as the name suggests, literally warp the laws of Space to the whims of the user. It allows him to compress, expand, or even stabilise the Space around him.
As he said that, the tear in space caused by Ophelia's previous attack was suddenly fixed and stabilised, as though it was never there. Still, whilst everyone else was listening to Ace's explanation, Ophelia was using all her might to resist Ace's spatial constriction. Unfortunately, the difference was too much; try as she might, she could feel her bones slowly being crushed by an overwhelming force.
Turning his attention back to his opponent, Ace asked her if she still wanted to continue with a smile on his face.
A sigh escaped Ophelia's mouth as she admitted defeat. If before she felt that the rumours of Ace were overexaggerated, now she understood that they were anything but – he truly was just as powerful as the rumours made him out to be.
Before she could say anything else, Ace's body suddenly disappeared as he returned to his training – as powerful as he was now, he knew he was still too weak to defeat Phueus as it stood.
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