Chapter 6347 Qian Jie
“Then, I will have to kill you,” Long Chen answered without hesitation.
Ying Wudao slowly set down his wine bowl. He first poured for Long Chen, then for himself. Resting the jug aside, he met Long Chen’s gaze.
“Brother Long, although you are powerful, I am no longer the old Ying Wudao. I have already reached the final step of the Sovereign flame realm. How will you kill me?”
Mu Qingyun’s heart shook.
999 Sovereign flames...
No wonder his presence alone gave such crushing pressure, even without releasing his aura.
Yet, Long Chen simply shook his head.
“It doesn’t matter how strong you are, you can’t block my path. I have five old friends who entrusted everything to me. Let alone a single Ying Wudao, even ten thousand Ying Wudaos can’t shake my confidence.”
After saying that, Long Chen raised his wine bowl and Ying Wudao followed along. Both drained their bowls in silence, tension simmering between them.
When Ying Wudao reached for the jug again, Long Chen’s hand was already there. He poured more for them.
Ying Wudao stared at the fresh pour, smiling bitterly.
He said, “I don’t dare drink more. If we fall out and you force me to spit this wine back up, wouldn’t that be embarrassing?”
“Then all the more reason you should drink. If we do fall out, you’ll never taste such wine again,” said Long Chen, tipping back his bowl.
Ying Wudao hesitated, then followed suit, draining it.
With several bowls in their stomachs, the silence grew heavier. Neither spoke.
The two attendants stood frozen, afraid that this tense situation would erupt into a death match. After all, they didn’t wish for Long Chen and Ying Wudao to fight.
At last, Ying Wudao broke the silence. “Heaven and earth are like a cage trapping us all. If you want to break it, then in the future, there are only three paths...”
Long Chen didn’t interrupt, waiting for Ying Wudao to elaborate.
“First—if you win, you will stand at the peak of the world and slaughter us invaders.
“Second—you lose. You die, your Dao scatters, and we outsiders take over. The nine heavens’ natives will be reduced to ash.
“Three—no one wins or loses. Only endless war between the two sides with no end in sight.
“Other than these three, I see no other ending. Brother Long, what do you think?”
Long Chen nodded. Ying Wudao’s analysis was all too right.
Ying Wudao sighed. “However, none of these endings are good. Every one of them is still within the cage. No one is truly free.”
Long Chen was startled at that. Ying Wudao’s tone was steeped in helplessness and weariness.
“Even if the human race wins, will the fighting end? No—the greed of your race is more frightening than ours. If our devil race wins, will there be peace? No—limited resources guarantee endless struggle. This world is destined for chaos. There will never be peace. Even if you win, Brother Long, so what?”
“Once I win... I will rewrite the laws of this world,” Long Chen replied.
“Rewrite... this world’s laws?”
Ying Wudao’s eyes glimmered, staring at Long Chen in disbelief. Long Chen didn’t hesitate before giving this response. Furthermore, he spoke with absolute conviction.
Shaking his head, Ying Wudao said, “You don’t know how terrifying the existence you are facing is. Back then, the Nine Star Master stood at the peak of the ten thousand Daos. Unmatched, unrivaled. He managed to unify the ten thousand races and led them against that powerful existence. Yet, look at the result.
“The nine star line was as numerous as the stars themselves, and still they were slaughtered. The nine heavens and ten lands crumbled, and the natives were forced to live in the hundred domains and thousand prefectures, nearly annihilated. That was their most glorious era, and still they fell. Now, the nine heavens are weaker than ever. The races are fractured, busy killing each other. I really have no idea where Brother Long’s confidence comes from.”
Even Mu Qingyun, with her firm Dao-heart, was shaken. If the nine heavens had been crushed in their prime, what chance did they have now? Every day, many battles erupted between their own people. The thought deflated her, and a tide of powerlessness rose within her.
Long Chen solemnly replied, “My confidence comes from my brothers, my wives, and the kind souls of the nine heavens. I won’t abandon them because of the evil ones. I’ll protect them. That is my conviction. Some burdens must be carried, and some dangers must be faced by those who can. No matter what kind of existence my enemy is, our footsteps will not retreat a single inch.”
Hearing that, Ying Wudao quickly shook his head.
He said, “You misunderstand me. I don’t tell you to retreat or try to shake your confidence. Your race has a saying: when something reaches its peak, it swings back the other way. Power peaks, and then it falls. But if you keep the balance, there will be no collapse. If you and I join forces to maintain an equilibrium, perhaps peace can exist”
Mu Qingyun stared at Ying Wudao in disbelief. His way of thinking was far too dangerous. If any other devils heard this, he would be executed.
The fact that he could say such a thing to Long Chen showed that he had absolute trust in him.
Clearly, he didn’t want any side to be destroyed. He wanted to maintain a kind of balance.
Long Chen would represent the nine heavens, and he would represent the outsider devil race. If the two of them secretly worked together, they could maintain an equilibrium between the two sides.
But such a path was dangerous. One misstep, and both would be branded traitors, hunted as sinners by their own comrades.
“To use your words—since the nine heavens are in their worst state, things can only improve. I won’t give up that chance. Brother Ying, you should abandon this thought now. By your plan, even if we stand at the peak, our freedom will be bought with the lives and blood of countless beneath us. I don’t want such freedom.” Long Chen replied, shaking his head.
“Then what do you want?” Ying Wudao asked, his tone finally growing cold after being rebuffed again and again.
“I want a world of order. One where the kind are given the best treatment,” Long Chen answered, smiling faintly at the two attendants trembling nearby.
After saying that, he rose and took out two jugs of wine.
“Today, we couldn’t get on the same page. Consider these jugs my payment for using your boat.”
Long Chen’s meaning was clear—no need for more words. Any further talk would only lead to blades.
Seeing Long Chen leave, Ying Wudao could only watch, helpless. But before Long Chen departed, Ying Wudao gave him a solemn warning.
“Be careful of someone called Qian Jie. He will definitely come after you, because... the other half of the Heaven Earth Cauldron is in his hands.”