The battle among the First Rank was swiftly divided into their respective theaters.
No matter what, many First Ranks supported the Heavenly Demon. That was why the plan had been able to advance this far. The Heavenly Demon alone could never have made it happen.
And now, the appearance of Li Qi and the Pratyekabuddha merchant lord had brought the Heavenly Demon's plan to a halt.
At last, Li Qi had achieved what he had dreamed of all this time.
He stood in confrontation with the Heavenly Demon.
A one-on-one, head-on decisive battle against the Heavenly Demon.
This was the final outcome of his lifelong struggle in pursuit of freedom.
This was a war beyond time, a war that had broken free from enslavement and entered the realm of eternal freedom.
The Heavenly Demon spoke words of denial to Li Qi. "Li Qi, you cannot transcend history. You must understand that even for First Ranks, the only content in the history they experienced was their selfishness and endless struggle. They always overrated such struggles, boasting of them until flowers rained from the sky, when what they truly pursued was merely power—the power to interpret the world."
"This is not something that belongs in the ideal world of someone like you, is it? You have mastered demonic thoughts. You should understand as well that the history of all things is no more than an endless, tedious string of records."
The Heavenly Demon's words began guiding Li Qi's demonic thoughts.
But Li Qi had now found his own answer.
The First Ranks were not particularly afraid of the Heavenly Demon's demonic influence. Their Dao had reached this point already, so before this operation of the "Age of Dharma's End" began, none of them had noticed the Heavenly Demon's immense destructive power.
Li