Lin Taiji watched the scene before her in silence. Her gaze fell on the three elders who now each held an Emperor weapon in their hands. Their Peak Half Emperor auras spread without restraint, like three newly born war gods standing beneath the heavens.
She recalled the pillars of light from moments ago, then shook her head faintly.
One of the elders let out a cold laugh before speaking.
"Now we are equals… I will personally teach you some manners, so you understand how to speak to your seniors."
The sound of rain began to swirl again. Dark clouds gathered rapidly, as if the sky itself was responding to something unseen.
Within the rotating curtain of mist, Zhang Wen slowly stepped out, completely unharmed.
The black umbrella opened above him at an unhurried pace. Raindrops struck its surface with soft tapping sounds before he spoke inwardly.
"System… what just happened? Is the Heavenly Tao burning their luck to increase their power?"
The system replied immediately.
[You could say that. But this method has a severe drawback. Anyone who chooses to accept assistance from the Heavenly Tao will never be able to increase their luck again for the rest of their life.]
[And take a look at the luck of the four people you captured.]
Zhang Wen opened his spatial ring. His gaze swept across the translucent sphere inside.
The luck of the four looked clearly different, yet their panels still displayed only the word gold.
The system continued in an even tone.
[You can feel that their luck is increasing, can't you.]
[Right now the Heavenly Tao is choosing to siphon the luck of those people and give it to these four.]
Zhang Wen slowly lifted his head, then immediately asked,
"And what benefit is there in increasing the luck of those four… in a situation like this?"
The system answered almost instantly, as if it had been waiting for the question.
[You saw how unreasonable the Heavenly Tao was just now, didn't you? Forcing power into three Half Emperors who had already exhausted their potential, pushing them one step toward the gate of the Great Emperor realm, and even throwing down Emperor level swords as if they were worthless.]
A faint smile appeared at the corner of Zhang Wen's lips beneath the mask.
"So now it's basically pouring fuel on the fire so it can go crazy again, huh."
[That's about right, Host.]
He narrowed his eyes slightly before asking,
"But only three strands of red luck… can they really produce this kind of return?"
The system fell silent for a fraction of a second before replying,
[Take a look at the bodies of Long Yantian and Lin Taiji.]
Zhang Wen immediately shifted his gaze.
Not far ahead, a pile of dark red flesh was slowly writhing. A tenacious life force was repairing what was barely recognizable as Long Yantian's body. The faint, chilling sounds of flesh and bone knitting back together echoed softly.
And in that instant, Zhang Wen sensed it.
Long Yantian's luck, which had originally been red,
had now turned white.
He narrowed his eyes slightly, then turned to look at Lin Taiji.
The young woman stood atop the purple gold eagle, her expression calm as if nothing had happened. But in Zhang Wen's sight, her luck, once pure gold, had now become pitch black.
As if all light had been completely devoured.
Zhang Wen shifted his gaze again and saw Long Suyao lying in a pool of blood. Her twisted head had not yet recovered, yet her luck remained gold as before.
He immediately asked,
"What happened to those two?"
The system replied in an even tone,
[As you asked earlier, three strands of red luck were not enough. So the Heavenly Tao drained all of Long Yantian's luck.]
[And you may not have noticed, Lin Taiji chose to reject the Heavenly Tao. So it immediately extracted all of her luck and used it to supplement the three elders and the others inside your spatial ring.]
Zhang Wen nodded slightly in understanding. His expression beneath the mask remained calm.
"Then why didn't Long Suyao receive any assistance?"
The system answered immediately,
[Right now she is in no condition to fight. Helping her would not be worth the cost, so the Heavenly Tao chose the three elders instead. At least they can be used immediately, and if they die, it loses nothing.]
Zhang Wen nodded slowly once more.
"I had thought there might be another reason, like the Heavenly Tao had already helped Long Suyao once before I struck her neck, because earlier her power seemed to increase abnormally."
The system replied at once,
[Yes. Your thought on that point is correct.]
Zhang Wen fell silent for a moment. He looked over the entire scene with indifference, his gaze sliding back to the three elders who now held Emperor weapons. Their power continued to rise, their oppressive aura warping the surrounding space.
Zhang Wen nodded lightly again, as if he had just remembered something, before his voice rang out clearly for everyone to hear.
"What an admirable act… In a situation like this, where some gain immense benefits while others suffer immense losses… I wonder which side I will end up on…"
One of the elders sneered before speaking in a cold voice,
"Are those your last words?"
Zhang Wen remained standing calmly.
"What grudge do we have that we must go so far as to kill each other… And just moments ago, when you still lacked power, your behavior was truly like the difference between heaven and the abyss."
The three elders fell silent for a moment before the power within their bodies began to gather continuously, waves of pressure spreading outward.
Zhang Wen's voice sounded again.
"Have you ever heard this saying? Weakness is the reason people wear masks to pretend. But power is what makes those masks fall away, making pretense unnecessary. Power has never turned anyone into a demon. It simply allows the demon within to stop hiding."
The three elders remained silent, offering no reply, before Zhang Wen spoke once more.
"But heaven never blesses anyone for free. Every time it lifts someone up, it always pulls someone else down as the price. Do you believe that?"
One of the elders let out a soft laugh.
"It's just coincidence…"
Zhang Wen continued in a calm, even tone,
"There is no such thing as coincidence in this world. Everything has a price to pay. Some have already paid it without realizing, while others will have to pay when the day inevitably comes."
"What looks like an opportunity may only be a test, and what looks like a gift may simply be a debt not yet due."
One of the elders narrowed his eyes.
"Are you stalling for time… Fine then. If you kneel and apologize now, I might show mercy and leave your soul intact for reincarnation."
To the side,
Lin Taiji watched everything intently.
In her eyes, countless futures flowed rapidly. She saw fierce battles, saw waves of black power colliding with light, saw the earth shatter, saw blood and surging energy erupt layer upon layer, saw a battle so intense even time itself seemed to tremble.
But in every path, the final outcome was the same… the man in white was the victor.
So she had already made her decision.
But in that very instant,
all the images in her eyes shattered violently, like a mirror being smashed.
And then Zhang Wen's voice rang out.
"Mercy is a beautiful thing… until it is used at the wrong time and place."
The umbrella in his hand turned once.
Krrrk!!!