(You can pair this chapter with the "Lone Brave" BGM.)
"You're insane. You're completely insane!"
"Do you know how painful Zhang Ziliang's Sword Cultivation Technique is?"
"Not everyone can endure it. You're asking for their lives, understand?"
"Even if they achieve something, they still won't be able to replicate the brilliance of Zhang Ziliang's sword, because that strike carried the momentum of the world, the fortune of humanity, the sun, moon, mountains, and rivers!"
"It cannot be imitated!"
Li Xinghe looked at Zhao Hai as though he were looking at a madman.
A madman through and through.
Yet Zhao Hai merely glanced at Li Xinghe expressionlessly and said faintly, "Then according to your gradual, step-by-step approach, what level can they reach in a year and a half?"
"Can they injure Wang Ye or the Ancestor?"
"And how many of them can survive?"
"Since the final outcome is still total annihilation, why not maximize the benefits?"
Hearing Zhao Hai's icy voice, Li Xinghe fell silent. He slumped onto the sofa, his hair slightly disheveled. At that moment, he truly resembled an old man in his twilight years, his entire body steeped in the air of decline.
After a long while, Li Xinghe finally spoke slowly, though his voice had become terribly hoarse.
"You're right."
"Following your plan, they might truly be able to wound the Buddha. At worst, they could take down two of the Six Imperials with them."
"But..."
"They could have faced the pain death would bring a year and a half from now, instead of... instead of enduring torment, agony, and wailing as they walked the final stretch of their lives."
Li Xinghe's voice grew lower and lower, and his clouded eyes reddened slightly.
Zhao Hai finally rose from his chair. Looking at Li Xinghe in the distance,