Ch. 1401A Race's Sorrow, the Giant Mouth Clan's Terror
Key plot points and events
- Demon Emperor Daochen and Thousand-Hand Hui observe the Giant Mouth Clan keeping captured squid-like beings as livestock. Hui explains that the clan deliberately targets the strongest resisters; over generations, oppression can erode resistance, hatred, and even civilization.
- Daochen is disturbed by how easily a powerful race can subjugate others. He recognizes that the same fate could befall the Primordial World if its defenders—himself, the Avenger, and other resisters—were eliminated.
- They leave without interfering, since confronting the Giant Mouth Clan is not yet practical. Daochen concludes that the clan’s world is extraordinarily rich in chaos energy, beasts, and resources, while his own world is impoverished by comparison.
- Newly tempted by the prospect of greater resources, Daochen asks Hui about the six surrounding worlds. Hui suggests the Giant Mouth Clan may have ignored them because they are barren, occupied by other races, or simply undiscovered.
- Daochen and Hui travel to a nearby spatial barrier. Hui says it cannot realistically be broken, but a small portal may be opened. He points to Daochen’s World-Suppressing Nails as a possible tool.
- Daochen drives a nail into the barrier, but the impact rebounds violently, throwing him far away.
Character developments
- Daochen shifts from moral outrage at the prisoners’ fate to a sobering awareness of his own world’s vulnerability. He also develops ambition, hoping to access richer worlds and resources.
- Thousand-Hand Hui serves as a pragmatic guide, explaining the mechanics of oppression, the surrounding worlds, and the nature of the barriers.
Significant themes
- Oppression and resistance: Resistance can be worn down when rulers punish the strongest opponents and make submission seem survivable.
- The strong devouring the weak: Power can make domination seem almost inevitable, even for societies that believe resistance is possible.
- Scarcity and ambition: Discovering the wealth of another world makes Daochen newly conscious of his home’s poverty—and eager to claim more.
- Limits of knowledge: Worlds may be separated by barriers their inhabitants mistake for the edge of reality.
Character interactions
- Daochen challenges Hui’s bleak view of resistance, but Hui explains how time and calculated repression can extinguish it.
- Daochen questions why the Giant Mouth Clan has not conquered the other worlds; Hui offers several possibilities while acknowledging uncertainty.
- Hui directs Daochen to use the World-Suppressing Nails, and Daochen’s first attempt fails spectacularly.