The Heavenly Human Race, in the ruined Cloudtop Heavenly Palace.
Boom!
Thunder crashed, shattering the palace's last intact pillars.
Thunder Punishment Immortal Emperor stood amid the ruins, violent lightning coiling around him. Yet the eyes once filled with hatred now held only bewilderment.
"Why? Why did it turn out like this?"
He let out a low growl.
Behind him, several Ancient Emperors of the Heavenly Human Race remained silent.
At last, the eldest among them—an old man with eight wings on his back, most of them broken—spoke. "Thunder Punishment, it's time to let go."
"Let go? My son died at his hands, and you want me to let go?!"
Thunder Punishment Immortal Emperor spun around, lightning bursting outward.
The old man did not move. He let the lightning strike him, but it did not so much as stir the hem of his robe.
"Your son died because of his greed, because he coveted the New Alliance's resources. He got what he deserved!"
The old man spoke calmly. "And Fang Chen wasn't killing your son in particular. He was clearing away every obstacle in the New Alliance's path."
He looked at Thunder Punishment Immortal Emperor, a trace of pity in his eyes. "Do you still not understand? Our war with the New Alliance was wrong from the start. We thought we were defending the nobility of the Heavenly Human Race. In truth, we were only defending our own privileges."
"When privilege stands in the way of progress, it must be broken. Fang Chen was simply the one who broke it."
Thunder Punishment Immortal Emperor trembled all over. At long last, he sank to his knees.
"Then what should we do?"
The old man gazed into the Void and said slowly, "The Heavenly Human Race's greatest strength is its mastery of the