[Perhaps some beings had long anticipated that the [Heavenly Emperor] would do this.]
[The moment the [Heavenly Emperor] stepped into the dark [Forbidden Zone], several [Dark Supreme Venerables] brazenly moved to stop him.]
[You, meanwhile, remained hidden in the shadows, watching coldly as you gauged the strength both sides displayed.]
[The result made your brows furrow slightly.]
[—These [Dark Supreme Venerables] were only as strong as [Nascent Soul True Lords] without the enhancement of a Fruit Position.]
[That was exactly the same realm you reached by sacrificing only ordinary lifespan to activate [Late Bloomer].]
[But more importantly, some of them, like you, were merely comparable to the [nascent soul early stage] without a Fruit Position's enhancement.]
[The [Heavenly Emperor] blasted them apart with a single punch...]
[Others, however, had reached the [nascent soul middle stage]. Though no match for this [Heavenly Emperor], they could still hold him off for a while.]
[From this, you judged that the [Heavenly Emperor]'s current strength should fall within the [nascent soul middle stage].]
[Yet this scene filled your heart with clouds of doubt.]
[As early as the seven-chime intelligence on the seventh day, you had learned that the so-called [Great Emperors] throughout history]
[had merely relied on a portion of the rank bestowed by the "mastermind."]
[But... why were so many beings able to use borrowed attunement with this mastermind's rank?]
[By rights, when a [Great Emperor] attained the Dao, all the essence and fortune of this realm they carried would already have been fed back into the Fruit Position, leaving them nothing but an empty shell.]
[It was understandable that [Great Emperors] could use borrowed attunement.]
[But why could [Dark Supreme Venerables], beings who had slashed away part of themselves—even beings with no connection whatsoever to a Fruit Position—still use borrowed attunement with