"Then..."
"To avoid a situation where, after my own demise, His Nordrassil was defeated alone against four Ninth Tier and ultimately perished like me."
"And so that our race may have hope of survival."
"His Sun King severed the 'Sun' Authority that he bore, and then, he perished completely!"
"And in the very next moment after His Sun King fell, His Nordrassil stretched out a branch to support the fallen... Authority of the Sun!"
"And at that moment, His Nordrassil became the first being in the Ruins Realm to simultaneously bear three Authority!"
His voice was low and somewhat deep.
Liya Nolandir paused her narration, seemingly recalling that tragic era.
Shen Heng noticed this and raised his eyes. He didn't say much, but asked, "Why was the World Tree able to assume his former Authority after the Sun King's fall?"
Qin Yu looked up, a hint of confusion in her eyes.
Night Spirit Liya Norlandir composed herself and said, "Because His Nordrassil has already come a long way on the path of the 'Sun,' if it weren't for the fact that the same path can only accommodate one Ninth Tier being, then He would have already been able to bear the Authority of the 'Sun'!"
"Then what did you mean by 'severing' Authority?" Shen Heng asked.
"Authority influences the beings that bear it; and the beings, in turn, influence Authority," Liya Nolandir explained.
"When a being successfully assumes a certain Authority, it begins to leave its mark on the path of that Authority."
"The longer it endures, the more marks will be left on the path corresponding to that Authority."
"At this point, even if the original being perished for various reasons, the imprint on the path corresponding to its Authority will not disappear so quickly."
"If they are not actively severed, then those marks will instinctively try to block the next being that wants to assume this Authority."
"Therefore, we must proactively sever ourselves from that path, stripping away any trace of ourselves we have left behind!"
Shen Heng nodded slowly, asked no more questions, and turned his gaze to Qin Yu.
Qin Yu paused for a moment, then asked,
"Sister Liya, isn't the Authority of 'Order' supposed to be able to invoke all other Authority? Logically speaking, after the fall of that Sun King, His Nordrassil could have simply invoked the Authority of that Sun, right? Why does it need to bear the burden of it?"
"It's possible, but the power wouldn't be enough to truly bear that Authority!" Night Spirit Liya Nolandir replied.
"When you assume a certain Authority, a great deal of knowledge about that Authority will be instilled into your mind as that Authority remains with you."
"At this point, using that Authority will be significantly enhanced in terms of power, scope, and Authority."
"That is why His Nordrassil, after assuming the Authority of 'Order,' still sought other Authority."
"It is also for this reason that other beings were able to resist His Majesty Nordrassil."
"Otherwise, if it carries the load, the effect is the same as not carrying it."
"Then the other guys will be completely unable to resist His Nordrassil, since what they can use, His Nordrassil can also use, and the effect is no different."
"But the reality is that they can indeed resist His Nordrassil."
"Of course, in a one-on-one situation, you'll be at a huge, almost impossible, disadvantage!"
Qin Yu slowly nodded, indicating that she understood.
Shen Heng then looked over again and asked,
"And then what?"
Returning to the topic, Night Spirit Liya Nolandir's spirits, which had just recovered from the answer, sank again somewhat, but she still said,
"After that, His Majesty Nordrassil, who now bore the weight of three Authority, faced those four Ninth Tier beings alone."
"Although he now possesses an Authority and his strength has greatly increased, he is still facing four Ninth Tier beings!"
"Furthermore, two of them, although they do not bear three Authority, still possess two Authority."
"Then, after who knows how long the fighting continued..."
"Ultimately, with His Nordrassil severely wounded, and one of the four Ninth Tier beings on the opposing side dead, and the remaining three sustaining varying degrees of injury, the battle ended."
"Then, in that war, at least a billion lives were lost."
"Because it was the only, and also the most devastating, great battle in the entire ancient era, it is called..."
"The War of Antiquity!"
Liya Nolandir paused here, then continued,
"After the war, His Majesty Nordrassil relinquished his original control over the entire Ruins Realm, retaining only control over one-seventh of the original territory, centered on Nordhill."
"Trinities that wish to live there may continue to live there, and it will continue to protect them."
"We, the Night Spirit Clan, will naturally continue to live near His Nordrassil."
"That is..."
"Since that great war, less than one-twentieth of our clan's original members have survived."
"Then, perhaps out of awe of the great war, or perhaps out of consideration for the future, the mainstream cultivation direction of our clan began to change. We no longer pursued the bright and warm 'Sun,' but instead pursued the tranquil and peaceful 'moon.'"
"Then, over the next tens of millions of years, two paths gradually developed: 'wood' and 'shadow'."
"And then, right up to today."
"Hmm... there haven't been any major changes in between. The only change that could be considered is that damned snake, more than five million years ago, went over and forcibly stole a fork from His Majesty Nordrassil!"
Liya Nolandir said, sounding somewhat annoyed.
Upon hearing the familiar creature, Shen Heng raised his eyes. "And then, locked up in this palace?"
"Hmm," Liya Nolandir responded, her voice still sullen.
"Why would it make this?" Shen Heng asked.
Qin Yu, too, raised her eyes.
"That's a branch of His Nordrassil!" Liya Norlandir's voice rose slightly involuntarily. "Though it's just a branch, the inclination towards Order, life, and the Sun it embodies is almost unparalleled by any other race."