The will of the Phoenix Ancestor's remnant soul completely sank beneath that soul-piercing remark, on the verge of collapse.
The depths of the Sea of Karmic Force fell into brief, deathly silence.
The soul flame representing the Phoenix Clan's pride had dimmed until it was nearly invisible, leaving only a faint candlelight flickering amid endless darkness.
All the pressure, all the gazes, and all the cold will emanating from Yang Chen shifted at that instant.
They landed with absolute precision upon the last will still resisting within that eternally silent darkness.
First Qilin.
That will, as heavy as an ancient divine mountain and bearing the boundless merit of the primordial earth, felt unprecedented pressure at that moment.
This pressure did not come from an external attack.
It came from within.
It came from the foundation of his own will being dismantled inch by inch beneath Yang Chen's indifferent gaze.
That fool Ancestral Dragon only knew tyranny and was driven mad by a few words. That crazy Phoenix Ancestor treated pride like food, and what happened? She still obediently handed over her origin. They were both wrong. Only I understand balance and the weighing of gains and losses.
The Ancestral Dragon's tyranny had shattered.
The Phoenix Ancestor's pride had broken.
Now, it was his wisdom and calculations' turn.
Unlike the Ancestral Dragon, who blindly believed in violence, or the Phoenix Ancestor, who regarded dignity as everything, First Qilin, the ancestor of auspicious beasts who had once walked the primordial earth, spreading blessings and harmonizing yin and yang, took the greatest pride in his sense of balance and strategy.
He believed that all things had a price.
All disputes could be negotiated.
This was the foundation upon which he had contended with the Dragon and Phoenix Clans and stood alongside them as one of the rulers of heaven and earth.
But now, the wisdom he had always been proud of filled him with bone-deep chill.
He could clearly "see" the Ancestral Dragon Remnant Soul, freshly stripped clean, curled up in a corner of Yang Chen's will and trembling. He could "smell" the vast, majestic vitality radiating from that newborn Nirvana Fire within Yang Chen's True Spirit.
This monster was turning the origins of his two old rivals into his own power at an inconceivable speed.
If he waited any longer, he would face an ultimate monster that possessed the Dragon's might, the Phoenix's immortality, and even greater lawlessness.
He could wait no longer.
A steady, heavy divine thought carrying the all-embracing aura of the earth struggled out from that mountain-like will, attempting one final resistance.
Yes, this was the way. Reason with him and tempt him with benefits. Make him understand that being my friend is better than being my enemy. The merit of my Qilin Clan is enough to help him wash away some karmic force. That is a tangible benefit. As long as he has even a shred of reason, he will choose cooperation. This is the best possible solution.
"Daoist."
First Qilin's voice lacked neither the Ancestral Dragon's roar nor the Phoenix Ancestor's shrillness. It was deep and carried a natural persuasiveness, as though he were expounding an eternal truth of heaven and earth.
"My Qilin Clan has governed the primordial earth since its birth, sorted the earth veins, suppressed baleful energy, and borne immeasurable merit."
"The karma between us is not an unsolvable knot."
"If you treat my clan kindly, it will not be difficult for the earth merit borne by my clan to wash away part of your karmic force. When my clan returns to the primordial world in the future, we will surely repay you generously. This is a solution that benefits us both. It benefits you, benefits me, and benefits the entire primordial world."
"Why must you press so hard and leave no room for compromise?"
His words were reasonable and full of temptation.
This was the final attempt of a strategist. He sought to drag this naked extortion back to the negotiating table.
Yet the response he received was an undisguised scoff.
Yang Chen's thought exploded through the Sea of Karmic Force with the teasing amusement of a cat toying with a mouse.
Trying to sell me empty promises? How ridiculous. A solution that benefits both sides, benefits the primordial world? That sounds nice. Too bad I only care whether it benefits me. Your merit is your bargaining chip. My fist is my reasoning. Let's see whether your chip is tougher, or my reasoning is greater.
"Merit? Generous repayment?"
"Stop selling me empty promises."
His voice was full of contempt.
"I've always believed only in what I can get my hands on."
"Look at the Phoenix Clan. They understand the situation much better than you do."
Yang Chen's thought stirred slightly.
Boom!
An incomparably savage and tyrannical force of the Ancestral Dragon, enough to crush the eternal heavens, erupted from his True Spirit alongside the aura of Nirvana divine fire, which burned away all things while giving birth to new life!
The two entirely different yet equally terrifying powers did not clash.
They intertwined perfectly, becoming a Sword of Damocles hanging above First Qilin's will.
A cold thought that brooked no argument followed immediately after.
All talk and no action is worthless. Let this self-important old fool see for himself what strength is. What it means to have benefits in hand. Before absolute power, your wisdom is worth less than nothing. What I want is not your submission. What I want is your despair.
"What?"
"Do you want me to pay you a personal visit and have a good talk about what 'benefits in hand' really mean?"
At that instant, every thought First Qilin had about "wisdom," "balance," and "negotiation" was crushed to pieces by those two powers.
No... impossible! How could he dare... He actually fused the origins of the Ancestral Dragon and Phoenix Ancestor so perfectly! This was not a threat. This was a demonstration! He was telling me he does not need my merit. He can simply take it from us! My wisdom... my calculations... what are they before this absolute, unreasonable violence? A joke! A colossal joke!
All his schemes became a colossal joke before absolute power that obeyed no reason.
He had no doubt.
If he said another word,
then in the next moment, he would face this madman's combined slaughter, wielding the origin powers of both the Dragon and Phoenix Clans!
That would not be judgment.
It would be complete annihilation, leaving not the slightest trace behind!
In the end.
That will, as heavy as a divine mountain, trembled violently.
All the pride born of bearing earth merit and all the wisdom of the ancestor of auspicious beasts turned at that moment into a sigh filled with endless humiliation and unwillingness.
It is over... everything is over. Dignity? Schemes? Before the scattering of my soul, they are all illusions. If I resist, he really will erase every trace of my existence! I cannot die... The Qilin Clan cannot be severed here... I... accept.
He chose submission.
Buzz—
A khaki sphere of light was forcibly stripped from the core of First Qilin's immense will.
That sphere seemed to contain the weight of the entire primordial earth.
It held the steadiness of countless mountains, the pulse of billions of rivers, the vitality of boundless plains, and the supreme law imprint of Virtue of Bearing.
This was the foundation of the Qilin Clan.
It was the origin power that allowed them to suppress the earth and bear merit.
The khaki sphere pierced through the barrier of the Sea of Karmic Force and, without the slightest hesitation, flowed directly into Yang Chen's body.
The cold system notification rang out in Yang Chen's mind with perfect synchronization.
[Ding!] [With absolute strength, the host has successfully made the Qilin Clan remnant soul submit completely and willingly offer up its origin!] [The reward has automatically been converted into the optimal option: deep insight into the Law of Earth x1!]
Boom!
The instant that origin entered his body, endless profound truths surged wildly into Yang Chen's mind like a celestial river bursting through its banks!
The Law of Earth... not bad. With the Ancestral Dragon's power, Nirvana Fire, and now the Law of Earth, my foundation has grown ever more solid. Offense and defense as one, endlessly regenerating. These so-called creditors are nothing but stepping stones for me to grow stronger.
At that moment, though he stood atop Kunlun Mountain, his senses extended without limit.
He "saw" the veins of the entire primordial earth.
Those earth veins, lying dormant like giant dragons, revealed every subtle pulse clearly to his senses.
He "heard" the breathing of mountains and rivers, the rushing flow of waterways, and the heaviness and vitality contained within every inch of soil.
Virtue of Bearing.
Bearing all things.
This was no longer an empty phrase. It had become an almost instinctive control that he could wield whenever he wished.
Yang Chen slowly opened his eyes. He lowered his gaze to his palm, as though he could see the entire primordial world within it.
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