The Father She Once Thought She Could Trust?

He watched the whole thing.

There was no action, no intervention, and not even a change in emotion.

Like a spectator sitting in the audience, watching the whole show without applauding or booing.

Just watching.

Beside him, two equally silent figures watched the whole thing unfold.

The figure on the left has a human head and a dragon tail, white hair and red eyes, with a deep and dangerous gaze.

Donghuang Taiyi.

This key figure in the revival of the Dragon Clan had no expression on his face at this moment. He looked at the fallen dragon corpses and the collected Dragon Clan remains, only narrowing his eyes slightly.

No one knows what he's thinking.

The figure on the right was even stranger.

He was riding a huge alchemical furnace.

The furnace was over ten feet tall, cast entirely from an unknown metal, with countless intricate patterns engraved on its surface. The furnace trembled slightly, emitting a flickering light from within, as if something was being conceived, burning, or—trading—within it.

He himself was draped in a dark blue hooded cloak, which shrouded his entire figure and face in shadow. Only occasionally could a faint, eerie blue light be glimpsed through the gaps in the hood.

Taiyi Zhenren.

"Equivalent exchange, the unchanging rule of alchemy."

As he spoke, he sat atop the alchemy furnace, gazing at the distant, now-defunct battlefield. Beneath his hood, his expression was obscured, only a faint, eerie blue light occasionally flickering within him.

Chapter 369 The Father She Once Thought She Could Trust?

And the enormous alchemical furnace was glowing.

It wasn't a flickering light, but a stable, continuous, and ever-brighter glow.

The furnace body trembled slightly, and the intricate patterns lit up one by one, as if responding to something, or as if brewing something.

Qian Xunji finally withdrew his gaze and turned his head to look at the glowing furnace.

"Here we go?"

Taiyi Zhenren's voice came from under his hood, deep and hoarse, devoid of any emotion:

"Here we go."

How long will it take?

"That depends," Taiyi Zhenren raised his head slightly, his deep blue eyes, hidden in the shadow of his hood, gazing at the battlefield. "When will they be ready over there?"

Donghuang Taiyi watched as the Dragon Clan he had painstakingly resurrected died in battle, his face expressionless. He simply asked, "Is this enough?"

Qian Xunji did not answer.

Donghuang Taiyi did not ask any further questions.

He simply turned back, continuing to gaze at the increasingly horrific battlefield. His gaze swept over the floating dragon corpses, over the warship...

Then, he sighed softly.

The sigh was so soft, almost inaudible, yet so heavy, as if it carried the weight of countless years of vicissitudes.

So many people died.

He said.

No one answered him.

The void remained silent.

The light from the alchemical furnace grew brighter and brighter.

·····································

Qian Xunji's mind was in complete chaos at this moment.

Why?! Why?! Why?!

The system's voice was so shrill it almost pierced Qian Xunji's soul. The electronic voice, which was always calm, mechanical, and devoid of any emotion, was now trembling with near collapse.

Tell me why?!

[The Dragon Clan! Those Dragon Clan! They were all brought back from the dead by Donghuang Taiyi using his reincarnation and resurrection technique!]

[Douluo God Realm! That warship! Those God Kings! Which one isn't under your control?!]

[You clearly could--]

The system's voice was almost screaming:

[You could easily be the ruler of two worlds! The Dragon Clan would treat you as an honored guest, the Divine Realm would revere you as their master, Donghuang Taiyi would manage the Dragon Clan' affairs for you, and Qian Renxue and Arthur would safeguard the Divine Realm realm for you—you wouldn't have to do anything, you wouldn't have to worry about anything, you could just lie there and you would be the true master of both worlds!]

Why did you--

The system's voice suddenly stopped, as if something was choking it.

Then, in an incredulous tone, as if meeting Qian Xunji for the first time, it uttered its final question:

Why let them fight?

Why should the Dragon Clan and the Divine Realm fight to the death?

Why watch the God of Destruction die? Why watch so many Dragon Clan perish? Why make Qian Renxue fight desperately on the battlefield?

What... what do you really want?

silence.

A long silence.

Qian Xunji stood in that void, his golden eyes still calmly gazing at the distant battlefield where the battle had ended.

The dragon's corpse floated, the warship wreckage lay, and the divine blood was still warm—all of this was reflected in his golden pupils, yet it did not stir any ripples.

····································

The furnace of the Taiyi Zhenren is still glowing.

Donghuang Taiyi already knew the answer. Only geniuses can understand geniuses, and only madmen can understand what madmen are thinking.

Coincidentally, Donghuang Taiyi is not a normal person either.

The system is still waiting for Qian Xunji to reply.

a long time.

A slight smile curved the corners of Qian Xunji's lips.

The curve was very shallow, almost invisible, yet also very deep.

"You're right."

He finally spoke, his voice calm, as if chatting with an old friend.

"I resurrected Donghuang Taiyi by bringing the Dragon Clan back to life."

"The development of the Divine Realm was secretly driven by me."

"The expansion plan of the God of Destruction was completed by me, bit by bit, 'inspiring' Tang San to complete it using fragments of his memories."

"The technology of that warship was developed by the Soul Engineer from the lower realms, thanks to my efforts."

"Even the creation of those new gods was orchestrated by me."

He paused, as if savoring something.

"If I wanted to, I could indeed rule both worlds peacefully."

"Do nothing, worry about nothing, just lie down and enjoy everything."

"How wonderful!"

He said, "How wonderful," but there was no longing in his tone.

The system remained silent, waiting for him to continue.

Qian Xunji turned his head slightly, his gaze falling on the dark purple figure floating in the distance with a bloody hole in its chest—the corpse of the God of Destruction.

He's dead.

"He died a horrible death."

"The heart of a dignified god-king was ripped out, his divine essence was extracted while he was still alive, and even his body could not be properly preserved."

He said these things, but there was no regret or remorse in his tone.

There's only one kind of... strange, inexplicable... satisfaction?

The system finally couldn't hold back any longer:

[You... you just wanted to see them die?]

Qian Xunji laughed.

The smile was light and faint, yet it sent a chill down the system's spine for no apparent reason.

You're wrong.

He said.

"I didn't come here to see them die."

Qian Xunji suddenly turned his head and looked at the glowing alchemical furnace.

"Taiyi, you speak."

The voice of Taiyi Zhenren came from under his hood, deep and hoarse:

"Equivalent exchange".

"You have to give something to get something."

"This is an unchanging rule of alchemy."

Qian Xunji nodded. "What can we gain in exchange for this great battle?"