?2003 Surprise

Of his family, Amphorae was the first to breakthrough. That deep sleep she entered into while Dyon was wreaking havoc in former Sprite Alliance territory actually lasted almost thirty years. When she woke up, she had gone from the Higher Dao Realm to the Peak. After consolidating her foundation, she directly broke through, becoming the first to conquer those 9999 steps.

The next was Madeleine. In reality, Madeleine should have been the first to breakthrough. After all, she had [Reincarnation of Heaven's Staircase]. It had to be remembered that this technique allowed phoenixes to directly enter the Higher Existence Realm, skipping over the tribulation, as long as they reached the Peak of the Dao Realm on their own.

However, Dyon advised her against it. Instead, just a few years after Amphorae, she entered under her own strength. It was only then she used [Reincarnation of Heaven's Staircase].

What did this mean? It meant that Madeleine had been baptized twice! Of his wives, even including Amphorae, she was the most powerful.

Dyon had long since heard about those Supremes of the Ancient Battlefield who couldn't enter the Immortal Plane. As a result, they were able to continuously consolidate their foundations and grow stronger without being forcefully ascended. These entities were individuals known as Overlords to the populations within the Ancient Battlefield.

After using [Reincarnation of Heaven's Staircase] only after becoming a Supreme herself, Madeleine was baptized to the level of these Overlords, wielding strength no less than any one of them.

As for how she managed to not be forcefully sent up, the answer was fairly simple. Thanks to Luna's abilities, Dyon could freely teleport into and out of the Ancient Battlefield, bringing individuals along with him. Madeleine was currently within the Ancient Battlefield, so she was subject to the same rules as those Overlords who couldn't transcend.

In addition, as long as she didn't use the strength of an Overlord while outside of the Ancient Battlefield, she would be able to live here peacefully as well.

After being baptized by [Reincarnation of Heaven's Staircase], both Madeleine's Life and Reincarnation Wills had entered the Realm of Law! Even on the Immortal Plane, she couldn't be looked down upon.

There were many avenues toward becoming an Overlord. Some simply strengthened their qi to a standard above Supremes, others their bodies, still others their souls. However, the most difficult path and the one the most powerful Overlords wielded was to reach this level by comprehension!

After Madeleine, it was Ri who was followed by Clara just a few months later.

Though Madeleine was the most powerful, when it came to dealing with many enemies, especially at the Supreme Realm, Ri was likely the most suited. Even as she diligently worked toward perfecting her constitution, and was infinitesimally close to doing so, her beast and fairy companions were growing along with her.

Ri essentially had an army of Higher Existences, Lords and Supremes by her side. A few dozen, in fact. Her main partners, namely the fairies, wouldn't lose out to any Supreme.

As for Clara, her constitutions, well, two of the three, had already been perfected. Clara's Wind Spirit and Fire Spirit constitutions were completed with ease considering the husband she had chosen.

Spirit Constitutions, in comparison to the others, had the most straight forward methods of reaching perfection. They simply needed to absorb high level abyssal cores in order to ascend their constitutions from the mortal grade, to the immortal grade.

If Clara could perfect her Eternity's Balance constitution as well, even without comprehending a Law, she could battle Overlords with ease. In fact, even now, normal Supremes were no match for her!

Of course, Dyon's wives improved the fastest because they could dual cultivate with him. Dyon had avoided entering the Higher Existence Realm himself because he knew that the Heavens would definitely no longer accept him if he reached that level. Even at the Peak Dao Realm, the 13th Dao Stage, he was already a match for a Supreme without his vajra body. If he was on the Ancient Battlefield, he was a match for Overlords and surpassed them with his vajra body.

With this kind of strength flowing through him, his wives advanced by leaps and bounds. In addition, due to his comprehension of [One Above All] and his dragon phoenix dual cultivation technique's ability to share these comprehensions, their understanding toward their own paths deepened significantly faster than all others.

Like this, his wives all became Supremes, while Madeleine became an Overlord, all within 40 years.

But if one believed that this was simply due to dual cultivation, they would be gravely mistaken. The true key to meteoric rise of the Mortal Empire was Dyon obsession with Array Alchemy! As a result, not only did his wives enter this Realm, but his siblings, daughter and many of his Demon Generals had as well!

Knowing this, how could he not be confused with Saru's seemingly slow path toward becoming a Supreme?

Suddenly, Dyon froze, his head tilting as he observed Saru once more.

"Your body It's the equivalent of an Overlord?!"

Seeing Dyon's surprised expression, Saru grinned.

This was no small advantage. Overlords who entered using their qi strength or their comprehension would always be directly rejected by the Heavens. However, those who entered with their bodies or their souls had much more leeway!

One only needs to look at Dyon to understand this. Dyon soul had long since transcended the bounds of the mortal plane. However, wasn't he still here?

This reality is what led to the convention the qi cultivation was the most important. Even one's tribulation's strength was entirely dependent on their qi cultivation talent. This was why Dyon had never dared to absorb the energy kernel despite having it by his side all of this time.

A comprehension breakthrough was slightly different. Eli could only use comprehensions up to the 9th Dao Realm. This was the hard cap of the Mortal Plane. Those who comprehended Laws were essentially forcefully creating a connection to the Immortal Plane, which is why they would be rejected by the mortal plane.

Qi Overlord. Body Overlord. Soul Overlord. And Ascended Overlord.