After all, the Dao Sovereign had only three pieces on the board, while the Heavenly Emperor had five under his command.
As for Senior Brother, he was the most pitiful of the lot. At the beginning, he had only Taiyi Daoist as his one lackey.
The number of pieces could not, of course, explain everything, but it could still reveal some things.
Moreover, the Dao Sovereign and Senior Brother, those two "ghosts," each had their own identity. One had occupied the identity of the Dao Sovereign, the other that of Senior Brother. Only thus could they "enter the world."
Yet this mysterious Heavenly Emperor had not occupied any identity that had ever existed.
A ghost without even an identity, something that should not have been able to exist, had appeared just like that.
This directly and plainly revealed the difference in their standing.
Even the fact that the Dao Sovereign and Senior Brother had unhesitatingly chosen to take half each earlier might not have been unrelated to him.
"The long cycle of reincarnation has finally reached its final chapter. Hand over the fruit, and I can give you the chance to be born—in the future I create!"
As the Heavenly Emperor moved, his will burst forth.
"You have already been tainted by worldly filth. Even if you refine the fruit, you will never have a chance to attain the Dao."
The Heavenly Emperor directly revealed a truth—and also the reason he had not occupied an identity.
With his power, if he had chosen an identity like those two ghosts, there was absolutely no way he would have allowed them to seize the initiative.
It was merely that, in the Heavenly Emperor's eyes, the gains did not make up for the losses.
Though it would bring certain conveniences, when the most