The Western Front battlefield.
The battle between the Ruthless Great Emperor and Arrogance looked calm, but was all the more perilous beneath the surface.
There were few direct clashes between their attacks.
Instead, most of their contest took place at the level of the soul.
Arrogance kept unleashing mental corrosion, trying to breach the Ruthless Great Emperor's Dao heart.
"You cultivate the Ruthless Dao, severing all seven emotions and six desires. What have you gained in the end?"
"You stood guard for countless ages, only to end up with your soul extinguished, didn't you?"
"If Su Ming hadn't saved you, you wouldn't even have a remnant soul left now."
"This so-called Great Dao of yours is nothing but a joke."
Arrogance's voice echoed endlessly through the Ruthless Great Emperor's sea of consciousness, like demonic whispers boring into his ears.
Every word struck precisely at his Dao heart.
The Ruthless Great Emperor's Ruthless Dao did not come from being born without emotion.
He had cultivated it by severing his emotional ties later in life.
And anything severed left a flaw.
Arrogance was magnifying those flaws, one after another.
The fingertips of the Ruthless Great Emperor's sword hand trembled slightly.
For the first time, a faint ripple stirred in his eyes.
That single ripple.
Arrogance caught it at once.
"Found it."
Arrogance smiled faintly.
He flicked a finger.
An invisible mental spike instantly pierced the Ruthless Great Emperor's sea of consciousness.
The Ruthless Great Emperor gave a muffled groan and retreated half a step.
A trickle of golden blood seeped from the corner of his mouth.
He was injured.
And the injury was to his soul.
"It seems your Ruthless Dao isn't all that sturdy."
Arrogance advanced slowly, his voice dripping with contempt.
"Once I shatter your Dao heart, I'd love to