A Telling Apology from Vivian
Deep in Orf's soul, Augusta's voice suddenly rang out. "I told you Lincoln had tampered with the Quintessence Blood. Otherwise, with your skill at studying it, how could you have failed to produce any useful results for so long? Lincoln must have something special about him to have reached Dual-Element Paragon. Hmph. He only had to make one trip to the Underworld to help Hela, who had been stuck for countless years, become a Paragon!"
Orf spoke calmly. "You've never been diligent in your cultivation, but now you're obsessed with becoming a Paragon. Since we found nothing amiss when Lincoln handed over the Quintessence Blood, we can't go after him over it now. Besides, it's not certain he tampered with it. His Quintessence Blood is unusual, so it's only natural I couldn't uncover enough information in such a short time. And besides, no one can afford to show him disrespect now."
"Back then, we only made that deal because Lincoln needed the Light Sovereign Spark more than we did. In truth, we were the ones who got the better end of it."
Augusta snorted. "If you'd listened to me and killed Uterede and the other two after getting your second Supreme Artifact, you would have ruled over the endless planes completely. Lincoln would never have had a chance to rise. Then you could have studied him however you pleased! You're blaming me for slacking off in my cultivation now, but have you ever thought about who's to blame for my lack of diligence?"
"Enough, Augusta. You're bringing this up again. Even if time flowed backward, I still wouldn't choose that path. Although I would have been invincible, killing those three would have been no easy feat. If I had done it and provoked them into