"You're too late."
"The Imperial Capital has been razed to the ground."
Sword Elder said indifferently, his expression calm, holding a gourd in his withered hand, but judging from the sound inside, there wasn't much wine left.
Not far from him, under a large tree, Jianping was vigorously swinging his sword, like a tireless machine, only somewhat stiff.
There was another figure standing silently beside the Sword Elder for a long time before finally speaking.
"I see."
"It seems that Light Fiend and the others have agreed to my approach."
"But the situation is already in complete chaos, and I don't know if releasing Li Chen will turn things around."
But only he knew what he was facing.
Sword Elder Xiao Min took a sip of wine and said in a deep voice, "Yu Qingnian, you knew Li Chen would escape, but did you not expect him to vent his anger in the Imperial Capital City?"
Hundreds of thousands died in this accident.
"Is this the game you played?"
Yu Qingnian seemed to pause for a moment, then said in a somewhat complicated tone, "I played the game, and I can bear the responsibility for the deaths in this accident."
"But eventually, we have to leave."
"Profits and risks cannot both be zero at the same time."
All I can do is minimize everything.
Suddenly, Sword Elder produced a cane, pointed it at Yu Qingnian's head, and said angrily, "But you knew he was very likely to vent his anger on ordinary people, so why didn't you stop him?"
Are you trying to ruin your mood by saying these things now?
"After following Gu Xingyun for the past few years, have you only learned chess and how to play chess? Have you learned nothing about humanity?"
"Are we going to follow in Gu Xingyun's footsteps?"
Yu Qingnian fell silent...
Seeing his expression, the Sword Elder sighed and finally relented.
"You knew this was wrong, you shouldn't have..."
"Heaven and earth are the chessboard, and the people's hearts must stand firm. Whether in the past or present, a country that loses its people will perish."
Sword Elder was also an old man who had lived for a very long time.
He witnessed Human Race's rise from humble beginnings and the great changes in the world, seeing how former nations collapsed. This is why he was so furious.
Yu Qingnian did something wrong, so naturally he was scolded.
Even if he is the Supreme Being of the Human Race, so what?
He would still be taught a lesson in front of Sword Elder, and of course, he wouldn't show any mercy.
Yu Qingnian dared not utter a single word of complaint.
He could only listen; everything was arranged by him. But who truly knows the fate of all things? The death of living beings is exchanged for the survival of more people. He had to make a choice.
This choice is indeed a bit heavy.
A gentle breeze blew by, and the bells around us jingled.
Another figure appeared here.
Yu Qingnian looked over, but the figure's aura was extremely unstable, surrounded by rings of black energy, and covered in wounds, dripping with blood. He could even see black lightning flashing within the wounds.
"Owl, it seems you've failed after all."
"You're in too much of a hurry to Path to Godhood."
Xiao ignored his injuries and laughed, "So what if I failed? I've already found my Path to Godhood."
"I figured it out!!"
"If I were to take just one more step, I might become the first Human Race dragon to reach the God Realm!"
Yu Qingnian shook his head and said, "It won't be that simple."
"If the God Realm were that simple, the Human Race would have been born long ago."
This world is imprisoned by an unknown force.
"I've tried it. Whether it's outside the Starry Sky or inside us, we're enveloped by a terrifying force. I can't guess what that force is, but it's a force that I'm very familiar with."
Xiao frowned, somewhat unconvinced, and said, "You're talking about World Consciousness?"
"I've read many novels where, when someone is about to ascend to the God Realm, they encounter resistance from the World Consciousness. Because I am the chosen one, it needs to stop me. So what you're referring to is most likely the World Consciousness."
Yu Qingnian was silenced once again.
World Consciousness —that possibility couldn't be ruled out—but hearing it from Xiao's mouth made him somewhat skeptical that it was that simple. If that were truly the case, why would it need to envelop his own planet?
Could that have been done by the World Consciousness?
Therefore, he did not agree with this idea, but it could be considered a conjecture.
"You can take this as a temporary explanation for the World Consciousness."
"But it cannot be denied that only those who have ascended to the God Realm could possibly know the origin of the Eerie Monsters in our world. Is it because there are even more powerful enemies outside, or because there were once powerful beings at the God Realm who sealed off the entire planet so that those Gods outside would know about our world?"
"That protective layer may have developed a vulnerability, which is why the Eerie Monsters was able to infiltrate."
"Of course, this is just my guess."
Xiao nodded, then looked at Sword Elder, condensing a ball of liquid in his hand that transformed into a stream and entered Sword Elder's gourd.
"Sword Elder, I have nothing to bring."
"It's alright... but it's still pretty good peach blossom wine."
Although the Sword Elder's expression didn't change, he gripped the gourd tightly, afraid of leaking even a drop.
Xiao smiled and shook his head, continuing, "Yu Qingnian, I know what happened in the Imperial Capital."
"Your student, I put him in the Sinful Pass for a year, and now that he's made a mistake, you can't blame me."
"After all, his mindset has indeed changed, just in a different direction. But it can only benefit him, since Human Race are too afraid of the ability to control Eerie Monsters and wouldn't accept it."
Even if it's divine intervention, Yu Qingnian can't control it.
As for his state of mind, it was something that Li Chen himself could decide. Although he was indeed moving in the opposite direction from Yu Qingnian, he was ultimately embarking on the Path to Godhood.
What Xiao couldn't understand was why Yu Qingnian would gamble everything on Li Chen, so he asked.
Yu Qingnian simply replied, "Elder Gu said that this world is not as simple as we imagine. Trajectory is being manipulated by an unknown person, and even we are just pawns in that game. Elder Gu is trying his best to break the game, which means he is playing a game against that unknown person."
"But Elder Gu has lost, so everything is uncertain now. However, the final outcome will be that Li Chen becomes God."
This is the optimal solution.
Xiao frowned and said, "But your student is about to destroy the world!"
"You're telling me he's the optimal solution, but what about the others?"
"Human Race cannot be wiped out, can it?"
"If he becomes God, Human Race will be the first to perish."
"Unless you can change his mind?"
Yu Qingnian..."
What Xiao said is correct, but is this kind of persuasion a normal form of persuasion?
Li Chen no longer has any faith in the Human Race.
Even if the truth were laid bare before Li Chen, it would only make Li Chen more determined to overturn everything. If everything were a lie, anyone would be confused, let alone Li Chen in his current state.