True Lord Tianhe's hand tightened slightly, leaving a clear crack in the armrest of the throne beneath him, which had been forged from a Ten-Thousand-Year Star Core.
In the great hall sat True Lord Luangu, the Lord of Ten Thousand Buddhas, the Lord of the Nine Nether Manor, and six others whose homes Zhou Ming had just raided—the nine "victims."
Every face was as black as the bottom of a pot, and the resentment pouring from them nearly lifted the roof of the Divine Hall.
The dozens of true lords behind them were silent as cicadas in winter, though they kept exchanging glances.
Accusations, complaints, doubts...
Countless gazes shot toward True Lord Tianhe on the central throne like arrows made solid.
"Brother Tianhe, say something!"
True Lord Luangu had the fiercest temper. He slammed the table, and the desk forged from Chaos Divine Metal gave a groan of protest.
"You were the one who gathered us and swore those 'Returnees' were turtles trapped in a jar, ours for the taking!"
"And now?"
"We haven't caught the turtles, but they've nearly torn our homes apart!"
"Amitabha." The Lord of Ten Thousand Buddhas held one hand before his chest and turned a string of prayer beads made from world cores with the other. The speed of his fingers, however, betrayed his unrest.
"The Buddha Light in my Thirty-Three Buddha Kingdoms has dimmed. Even my believers' faith has begun to waver."
"Benefactor Tianhe, we have yet to see the 'supreme opportunity' you spoke of."
"Instead, this 'boundless karmic burden' has come knocking first."
His voice was quiet, but every word struck True Lord Tianhe's heart like a hammer.
"Enough!"
True Lord Tianhe surged to his feet. The terrifying pressure of someone at the Dao-Merging Peak swept through the hall.
The once-noisy hall fell