Journey of the Fate Destroying Emperor

Chapter 1884: The Highest Firmament Battle III

The second reason is confidence,” Wang Wei explained. ”I am so confident that I will survive this ordeal that you could say Iʼm arrogant, maybe even delusional.”

”Really? But I never felt this way about you.”

”Vulnerability is a weapon, and I know how to use it.”

”Even against your…ally?” she asked.

Wang Wei did not answer directly. ”Tell me, if I were too confident: would you have easily trusted me?”

”No, I would have thought you were unreliable; that you had allowed your intelligence and small success to get to your head.”

”What if you were my enemy?”

”An opponent that is too confident is someone who has something to rely on — something I must be wary of.”

”And how would you deal with such an opponent?”

”Crush them as swiftly as possible or be extra careful in whatever Iʼm doing.”

Wang Wei smiled, ”Now, do you understand why I canʼt appear too confident?”

The Erudite Duchess paused briefly, ”Be honest with me: do you really have something to rely on?”

”Besides my mind? Nothing that I can say I trust with absolute certainty.”

The duchess groaned softly.

”Not impressed?” Wang Wei chuckled. ”But, you said it yourself, weʼve been through so much to reach this stage. And throughout all our trials and tribulations, what was the most reliable? Was it luck? Strength? No, it was our mind. And I donʼt want to brag, mine is quite exceptional.”

Countless memories suddenly flashed through the duchessʼs mind; it hadnʼt been easy to cultivate to such a level in an environment where Grand Dao went out of its way to suppress all Saints. She had to face countless trials and tribulations, and throughout them, the ability to remain calm and strategize has indeed been the most crucial. Without realizing it, a smile crept onto the duchessʼ beautiful face. ”I must admit: a tiny bit of your delusional confidence is starting to rub off on me.”

”Donʼt worry, you will soon be utterly convinced. Ask all my allies, and they will tell you my motto: Believe in Lord Wang Wei, and you will have eternal life.”

[AN: I wonder how many people will get that reference.}

The Erudite Duchess shook her head. This kidʼs frivolous nature was exactly what she needed in this stressful situation.

”Whatʼs your third reason?” she asked.

”I believe I will return, even if I truly die.”

”Thatʼs a bold statement.”

”My loved ones have always been my greatest support,” Wang Wei explained. ”I know one of them will revive me. It might take a while; I might have to wait until one of them becomes a [True Transcendent], but it will happen one day.”

”Just based on that?”

”Just based on that.”

”Do you know how much faith it requires to believe in such a thing?” the Duchess asked. ”How difficult is it just to become a Grand Dao Saint? Your wife is, without a doubt, the person with the rawest talent Iʼve seen in my life, but even then, no one can say for sure she will transcend. No, I canʼt even say for sure whether sheʼll become a Grand Dao Saint.

”Raw talent can only take you far in the [Immortal Stage]. To sanctify, you need not only talent but also luck, destiny, opportunity, creativity and ingenuity, willpower, strategy, cunning, caution, and so much more. And even if someone has the highest capabilities in those categories, itʼs not guaranteed theyʼll become a Grand Dao Saint.

”But you want to tell me you believe your family is capable enough to succeed? And this belief is so firm that it can sustain your emotional state to fight off the fear of death?”

”Thatʼs right,” Wang Wei admitted without hesitation.

The Duchess looked him directly in the eyes, ”And thatʼs not even considering the human factor. How do you know they wonʼt change after your death? How do you know they will not mourn you at some point in their life and move on? How do you know their mindset will not change after they become a [True Transcendent]? How do you know they wonʼt stop caring about your insignificant life?”

”Because I would do the same for them, and I believe — with all my heart, all my being — that they would do the same for me.”

The Erudite Duchess opened her mouth, but no words came out. For a moment, all the vocabulary she had amassed in her formerly eternal life was rendered useless. Refusing to accept such an answer, she glanced once more into his eyes: pure, clear, and sincere to these words.

”How absurd! I figured someone as intelligent as you would be more logical in the way you think.”

”Faith and logic do not necessarily need to be separated,” Wang Wei countered. ”I know my family, and from what I know of them, I believe they can achieve what others deem impossible.”

”Thatʼs not how — forget it. Theyʼve finally broken through the 27th layer, so letʼs focus.”

Wang Wei shrugged before focusing. The court finally reached its destination, and what they revealed shocked most of the viewers. A colorful cloud stood at the center of Heaven and Earth. Anyone who saw it was mesmerized and, more importantly, instinctively knew it was the physical form of the Grand Dao in this dimension. However, Grand Daoʼs presence was not what shocked people; even the fact that it was in a cage with two different types of runes fighting each other was not the most shocking thing happening in that layer.

What caught peopleʼs attention was the intense battle happening. Wang Wei and the duchess had already theorized about the Heaven Cardinalʼs objective, but not everyone had their minds or knowledge. However, the presence of Soul Revenance was a surprise to them as well.

”Iʼm surprised the Heaven Cardinal wasnʼt already dealt with,” Wang Wei commented. After Death Reverence had displayed such high authority over Grand Dao, he assumed the cardinalʼs plan had been foiled and that he had been dealt with.

”Something is not right,” the duchess exclaimed.

”Thatʼs obvious. The cardinalʼs survival is probably because Death Reverence hadnʼt put in too much effort to eliminate him. Well, it could also be that Grand Dao decided to use his betrayal to its advantage.”

”Iʼm not talking about. Look at the cage: one side belongs to the cardinal, and the other bears Suijiʼs aura. But where —”

”Where is Death Reverenceʼs side?” Wang Wei frowned. All three people have authority over this Grand Dao, but only two have manifested.

”The person with the highest control will, of course, be the one who is the most hidden,” Wang Wei sighed. Death Reverence has been preparing for this plan for a long time. The only thing that Wang Wei wants to know is whether the appearance of Timeline NP89076H is an accident or all part of their plan. Itʼs feasible that Death Reverence had many resources available to him and used them after hearing about this expedition. But there is a higher possibility that everything was planned.

”Hmm?” The duchess suddenly said, turning his head to the east.

”What is it?”

”I thought I sensed something, but it might be wrong.”

”Double — no, triple check just in case,” Wang Wei warned.

”...Fine.”

…

”Jiu Jingshen, is that you? Youʼre alive?” The Myriad Gourd Empress stared at Soul Revenance, ready to approach him.

”No, thatʼs not him,” the Yin-Yang Origin Dragon stopped her.

”Those bastards desecrated his soul and used it as a medium to create this abomination,” Star Manifestation uttered with clenched fists.

”Now, we have one more reason to fight at all costs,” Heavenly Wolf Khan added. They could not allow their friendʼs soul to be used as the core of such a vile creature.

”Who is our target?” the Empress coldly asked.

”Do you want to work together to eliminate this beast?” The Khan transmitted his voice to the Heaven Cardinal. ”Once heʼs gone, we can negotiate how to distribute the prize.”

”No,” the Cardinal responded without hesitation. With five of them working together, it should be relatively easy to deal with this creature. However, the court has too many people; once that threat is eliminated, heʼll become the new obstacle in their way.

The Heavenly Wolf Khan frowned before glancing at Soul Revenance. ”Ignore them and target Grand Dao. We will annihilate anyone who stands in our way.”

There was no hesitation. The Myriad Gourd Empress summoned her gourd, the most destructive of its kind. Star Manifestation punched with the power of a trillion universes, all with their stars burning to power up the attack. The Yin-Yang Origin Dragon subverted the balance of Yin and Yang, and its attack directly attacked the essence of these Daos. The Heavenly Wolf Khan manifested the Heavenly Wolf Spirit, a spiritual entity that is the embodiment of wisdom, strategy, and war.

The Heaven Cardinal and the Soul Revenance glanced at each other and immediately came to an understanding. The cardinal immediately activated the Anti-Dao Cube, instantly suppressing most of the strength of all of the courtʼs tribunals. Meanwhile, Soul Revenance did what he was best at: influencing the mind and soul. With one ghastly scream, everyoneʼs mind trembled, and their previously heightened fear of death intensified.

[Gourd of Light Origin]

While everyone was still affected, a golden gourd suddenly manifested above the Empress, releasing a purifying light that drastically reduced both the screamʼs effect and the Anti-Dao Cube. Everybody regained their mental clarity.

”Damn it, the fight has just begun, and we already had to use one of our trump cards,” Star Manifestation said in their communication channel, eliciting a taut silence from everybody.