The two looked at each other from a distance which was insignificant given their strength. The tension created by their indirect confrontation could suffocate an Immortal Venerable with weak willpower.
“Help me save Gluttony,” said Wrath, breaking the atmosphere. Wang Wei looked at her and calmly said, “No.”
“But you said–”
“I said no.”
“I thought you didn’t know her,” added Di Tian.
“Don’t listen to her; your attack affected her mind, so she’s not feeling well. Plus, you can’t trust the word of a devil,” replied Wang Wei without any changes in his attitude.
“What a cheeky brat. Your previous ‘witty charm’ might be acceptable when you were young, but shouldn’t you have grown up and matured by now.”
Wang Wei frowned as he realized something: Di Tian was different–he had changed. If the previous him was someone stuck in a box with a fixed mentality and pattern, the current him had opened that box and seen what was beyond it.
‘What made him change? Is it because he found a way beyond Nine Extremity? Wait, I never figured out he succeeded in the first place.’ He added this mental note in his mind, labeling Di Tian as more unpredictable than he previously classified him.
“And be like you?” he replied with a sneer. “Let time wash away my personality? Mold me into a cruel and sinister person with a face that everybody owes him money? In that case, I’ll stay immature.”
Wang Wei always believed Time was one of the worse enemies of cultivators–especially the high realms ones. Yes, they have escaped their shackles, but their immortality can slowly corrode their mind and dilute their personalities and emotions. So, he promised himself he would never change no matter how many Yuan Epochs he lived.
‘Has time changed me?’ thought Di Tian, and the answer was positive. He was once a spirited young man with the ambition to end the Innate-Acquire War and establish peace and stability for the human race. Unfortunately, his dreams led him to a dark and perilous journey.
“Are you really not going to help me?” asked Wrath, but Wang Wei ignored her. He was not in the state to fight Di Tian for many reasons. The first one was his strength was technically still 4-Root.
As his main body reaches higher cultivation realms, his overall strength only increases slightly. And that’s because he has not experienced the final Fate Baptism from his Fate Palace. However, he has a way around this method to acquire 5-Root power: he uses his Time Dao in combination with his [Future Buddha Self] to borrow the power of his future self after the baptism.
This method is quite an ingenious way to bypass the current issue. However, it has a fatal flaw: it was still a shortcut or technique. If he fought Di Tian, with the latter’s understanding of Time Dao through Samsara Law, he could cancel his technique and reduce his strength back to the original level.
The second reason is that the stubborn Wrath might be caught in the battle and die. He wanted to keep his promise, but there was no way he could fight Di Tian and simultaneously protect her.
Truthfully, in this short interaction, he calculated the possibility of using Pride’s Dao to kill Di Tian here. However, after his calculations, he realized it was impossible, and the latter had a high chance of running away or, as he feared, canceling his technique and killing him here instead.
Finally, and the most important reason, was information. In their first battle, the reason he lost so miserably–besides the fact Di Tian’s strength compared to him was similar to Mike Tyson beating a toddler–was the advantage of information or intelligence.
Di Tian knew his trump cards and ways to survive dangerous situations. He prepared countermeasures, rendering him helpless and useless. But now, he was the one with this advantage because of the Oracle Mirror. Although the mirror cannot update him on Di Tian’s current developments and progress, it still provides him with enough intelligence to give him a significant advantage.
He did not want to give up that advantage by providing Di Tian with more information on his current strength and progress.
While Wang Wei was thinking about whether this battle was worth it, Di Tian was doing the same. He did not have as many reservations and worries as Wang Wei–except for one:
‘After our last battle, he somehow figured out the unorthodox Nine Extremity Foundation and caught up to me. If I fight him now and he senses my transition into 10 Extremity, he might do the same.’
Wang Wei might find a way to reach Ten Extremity without the Limit Breaker; Di Tian did not doubt an Overlord’s ability to create miracles. So, he weighed the pros and cons of fighting for these devils.
‘Ten Extremity is the key to me proving the Dao. As for the devils? They are replaceable. I can use the clan’s resources to cultivate a few Heaven Chosen with the Tyrant and Support Dao.’
When he returns home, he can wake up a Sealed Heaven Chosen and trains them in these Dao. The Tyrant Dao is more common; some people might already have it or something similar. However, he has to find the right person for the Support Dao.
“Let’s go,” he said to the Shadow.
“Wait,” said Wang Wei.
“What is it? If you want to fight, I’ll amuse you,” said Di Tian with a cold face. “I promise things won’t be much different from the first time.”
“You know that’s not true. Anyway, I’m not here to fight; I just want to talk,” replied Wang Wei, who secretly sealed Wrath’s ability to talk.
“Talk? What do you want?”
“Why don’t you prove the Dao in another World Community?”
“Are you joking?”
“I’m not. You and I do not have much enmity, and both want to prove the Dao. We don’t have to fight if we come to an agreement.”
“No enmity? What you did to my Sleepers is not enough?”
“You almost killed me, and I eliminated your intelligence agency, making us even. So, there is no need to hold a grudge.”
“But I do. Most of these people you killed were people I care for, people that went through so much with me, people who were with me at my lowest.”
“Don’t be so inflexible. If you become Emperor somewhere else, I can make an oath not to interfere in your wife’s revival,” argued Wang Wei.
“And do you think I would trust something so important to you,” sneered Di Tian. He caused Ning’er death, so he must atone for his sins by reviving her himself.
“I can make an unbreakable oath to Grand Dao itself.”
“Unbreakable oath?” said Di Tian with some mockery in his tone. Maybe, before, he might believe in such a thing. However, after knowing the existence of something like the Limit Breaker, he knew there was no absolute in this world.
“If there were a person capable of finding the loophole in any oath or promise, it would be you.”
Wang Wei frowned slightly. Although he expected a negative answer, he did not expect the latter to be so stubborn and did not even entertain the idea. Nevertheless, he did not immediately give up and decided to take some calculated risks. He waved his hand to send a booklet with one page to Di Tian, who caught it and read the title.
[Merit Proving Dao Method]
The Di Clan Heir pondered for a moment as some memories from the past resurfaced in his mind. In his first life, the idea of an alternate method of creating Emperors or Emperors’ strength was discussed as a way to win the war.
Back then, only the Heaven Path Tribulation was viable to humans, but many wise Sages and Emperors speculated on other methods.
“I still disagree.”
“Why? We can both prove the Dao through this method.”
“Even with our current foundation, we can only say we have a 95% chance of becoming Eternal Emperors if the Heaven Will was handed directly into our hands. However, using this alternative method would only give a 90%.
“I don’t want to take any risks.”
Wang Wei knew Di Tian’s statistics were over-exaggerated. However, his concerns about alternate methods were valid. One of his fears is that the methods he used to help his mother, Li Jun, and Yan Liling to become Emperors will decrease their chances of becoming Eternal Emperors–even with merit for help.
“Secondly, even with this method, where would I find enough merit? I imagine it would require a tremendous number.”
“I feel you’re being too rigid. Can’t you even consider this possibility?”
“And I feel you’re being too presumptuous. Why must I be the one who leaves? Why can’t you leave and prove the Dao somewhere else?”
“I have my sect and family to consider,” shrugged Wang Wei. “And a new era to lead.”
“And I have to repay my karma to the Di Clan,” countered Di Tian. The Di Clan’s luck sheltered him from Heavenly Dao’s planning in the early stages of his reincarnation. So, he will repay the karma once he can.
Furthermore, although he did not care about the upcoming era, he also wanted to avoid anything happening to the Myriad Emperor World. He wanted his Ning’er to come to an intact and peaceful world.
Di Tian no longer wanted to entertain this conversation, so he disappeared.