Qi WuHuo looked at the Great Emperor Ziwei of the North Pole, who had just naturally referred to himself as "I."
The Great Emperor Ziwei of the North Pole placed a stone at his leisure, his tone flat. "You don't seem convinced."
The young Daoist didn't directly argue back. Instead, he placed a white stone on the board and replied solemnly, "I wonder, North Emperor, what reason do you have for making yourself the foundation of order?"
He had expected the Great Emperor Ziwei of the North Pole to say that he was the fairest, the most impartial, or perhaps the most magnanimous. But the Great Emperor Ziwei of the North Pole merely answered flatly:
"Because I am the strongest."
Qi WuHuo asked, "Do you mean that only the strong can set the rules?"
"The law of the jungle?"
The Great Emperor Ziwei of the North Pole replied, "Of course not."
"Rather, only the strong can enforce order."
"The essence of order is power. Order without power to back it is nothing but emptiness."
The black-robed Great Emperor sat there calmly, his eyes fixed on Qi WuHuo. They reflected the young Daoist, yet seemed to be reflecting the man he himself had been in his youth. The Great Emperor, who now held the Six Realms in check, answered evenly, "Everyone has their own ideas and their own order."
"But only the strong can enforce order."
"Only they can make all things operate according to their order."
"When every living being's order is allowed to flourish, there is no order at all."
"Absolute freedom is the same as absolute chaos."
"Now, the second question, True Martial. What matters most in order?"
The Great Emperor Ziwei of the North Pole regarded Qi WuHuo with a calm, stern gaze.
"Is it equality? Impartiality,