Wood shavings sifted through Chen Lin's fingers and fell onto the green jade floor tiles.
The private room was deathly silent, save for the faint crackle of immortal incense burning in the bronze censer in the corner.
Two Sun Wukongs. Two Nezhas.
The meat grinder of a battlefield that had raged for hundreds of billions of years was a war against a duplicate universe, as though they were fighting their own reflection.
Chen Lin closed his eyes, his chest rising and falling slightly. The drop of Great Golden Immortal-level True Dragon essence blood at his heart suddenly pulsed. Its savage power of qi and blood became an invisible suppressive force, forcibly stilling the horror churning in his sea of consciousness.
When he opened his eyes again, his clear black-and-white eyes had regained their undisturbed calm.
"There's no way to win this game," Chen Lin said to Ling Yuling, his voice steady and firm. "If it's a mirror universe, that means they have exactly the same resources, cultivation methods, and even tactical command and trump cards."
"If a Great Golden Immortal on our side devises a killing formation, a Great Golden Immortal on the other side will unleash the exact same formation at the exact same moment." Chen Lin tapped the tabletop. "That's an absolute balance of fighting strength. If the fighting continues, the only outcome is mutual destruction. There can be no winner."
A gleam of profound admiration flashed in Ling Yuling's eyes.
"You're very perceptive. Most people who hear this truth for the first time fall into terror as their entire worldview collapses, but you immediately began thinking about how to break the tactical stalemate." Ling Yuling lifted her teacup and took a small sip. "You're right. It's an absolute deadlock."
"So how do the big shots at the