Volume Two: A Bandit’s Life Chapter Twenty-Eight: Creating Chaos

The Ten Directions Pool, Clear Stream Pavilion, and Eternal Tower gathered with remarkable speed, having long since established their respective footholds in Tongmu Stronghold. However, the leaders of the other fifty-nine factions were far slower; after an entire day, only thirty-four God Kings had arrived.

"Why haven't those twenty-five God Kings arrived yet? It’s been a full day—even if they were mere Heavenly Deities, they could have flown here by now," Lu Qingtian paced the main hall, his impatience growing with every passing moment.

Fang Tao rested his chin in one hand and speculated, "Perhaps they were delayed by something."

Shui Ruojun sipped her tea gently and smiled, "Brother Lu is too anxious. In the past, when summoning leaders for a meeting, we always provided at least three days' notice. Being a leader, after all, means there are always matters to attend to."

"Perhaps. I hope I am merely overthinking it." Lu Qingtian sat down and slowly closed his eyes; for him, peace of mind was the priority now.

Another day passed, and twelve more God Kings arrived in trickles.

"Where are the leaders of the other factions?" Lu Qingtian gathered those who had arrived, his frustration evident. "They could arrive in an instant using teleportation; I truly don't know what they are dragging their feet for."

"Lu... Boss Lu!" Suddenly, the figure of a God King appeared in the hall, his face etched with terror.

"Wan Peng?" Lu Qingtian frowned. "Why have you only just arrived?"

Wan Peng swallowed hard, unable to mask the panic on his face as he blurted out, "Boss Lu, it’s bad. Some of the God Kings in our alliance... have been killed."

A wave of uproar swept through the gathered God Kings. They immediately extended their divine senses, desperate to check the status of their own territories.

"What?" Lu Qingtian lunged to his feet, crossing the distance to Wan Peng in two strides. "What did you say? Our God Kings were killed?"

"Yes, yesterday. Many faction leaders were slaughtered. I only escaped by the skin of my teeth using my Breath-Concealing Technique," Wan Peng said, trembling. Lu Qingtian was well aware of Wan Peng’s unique skill, which allowed him to hide his aura and evade the detection of other God Kings.

"This is disastrous. My territory seems to be sealed off; my divine sense cannot penetrate it," one of the God Kings stood up, his voice frantic.

"Mine as well..."

"And mine..."

Soon, the main hall of Tongmu Stronghold was in complete disarray. Lu Qingtian, Fang Tao, Gu Tai, and Shui Ruojun instantly swept their divine senses across all sixty-three faction territories. Without exception, they found that their senses could not penetrate any of them.

"It is fortunate we moved our assets to Tongmu Stronghold in advance," Fang Tao, Shui Ruojun, and Gu Tai breathed a sigh of relief. As for the other allies, they cared little for their fate.

"Everyone, quiet down! Quiet down!" Seeing the situation spiraling into chaos, Lu Qingtian quickly stepped forward to shout.

The hall finally fell silent. Lu Qingtian continued, "I know that your resources have likely been seized. If my estimation is correct, we have all been outmaneuvered by the Purple Profound Alliance. We all underestimated them."

"Now, we must unite more firmly than ever, or we will be picked off by the Purple Profound Alliance one by one." Lu Qingtian fully exerted his leadership, stirring the crowd, "Originally, there were fifteen days left until the final showdown, but it seems we must advance the date. However, before that, we must unite into a single entity..."

"In my opinion, we should elect Boss Lu as our leader to regroup and eliminate the Purple Profound Alliance," Wan Peng stood up at the crucial moment to shout.

Lu Qingtian cast a satisfied glance at Wan Peng; he could not say such things himself, so he had to rely on others. Fang Tao, Shui Ruojun, and Gu Tai all frowned. If Lu Qingtian became the leader, and all other territories were already controlled by the Purple Profound Alliance, wouldn't everyone effectively become subordinates of Tongmu Stronghold?

"Agreed! Let Boss Lu lead us..." another God King in the crowd shouted more directly.

"I disagree..." others voiced their opposition.

"Quiet!" Regardless of the dissent, Lu Qingtian’s voice still held weight in this critical hour. The room fell silent again. "Listen to me. Whoever leads the assault on the Purple Profound Alliance is secondary. Our goal is the same: to destroy them. As for who holds the title of leader, it is of no consequence. The Purple Profound Alliance is the enemy of us all."

"Then tell us, who exactly should be the leader?" a God King asked.

"I believe a vote would be best," Lu Qingtian said with a faint smile. "Whoever has the highest support will lead this operation, and until the Purple Profound Alliance is removed, everyone must obey their commands."

Voting, arguably the fairest method since time immemorial, was accepted by all. Dozens of God Kings in Tongmu Stronghold began the process of electing their commander.

***

In Pingxiang Valley, Qin Si, accompanied by Qin Shuang, Ping Tian, Zhao Yongkui, Cui De, Xuan Qing, and Xuan Miao—six God Kings and one Upper Heavenly Deity—appeared in the valley.

"Old Zhao, I have to admire your handiwork. You managed to shroud the headquarters of sixty-three factions at once, blocking even the divine sense of God Kings. You’re really something."

Zhao Yongkui scratched his head and smiled sheepishly. "Well... if I am to be considered among the top of over a hundred God Kings, I must have my own specialty. Otherwise, as God Kings, how could I command respect without having mastered Time Stasis?"

"Time Stasis?" Qin Si suddenly recalled something and asked, "By the way, Old Zhao, there is a question I’ve always been unclear on. There are probably hundreds of thousands of God Kings in the Divine Realm. How many have actually mastered the law of Time Stasis?"

Zhao Yongkui smiled at Qin Si. "Alliance Leader, please rest assured. Those God Kings who have mastered Time Stasis pose no threat to us. They are the pillars of the major factions and have no time to bother with us."

"And what if we become a major faction ourselves?" Qin Shuang smiled slightly, ignoring the shock in Zhao Yongkui’s eyes. "If we grow into a major faction, we will naturally come into conflict with them. Only by knowing ourselves and our enemies can we hope to be invincible."

Zhao Yongkui’s expression grew grave. "I know that both Alliance Leaders must have extraordinary origins; otherwise, you wouldn't be so wealthy. Furthermore, the fact that you, Alliance Leader, can trap and kill God Kings with your strength as an Upper Heavenly Deity is truly remarkable. But you both are still underestimating the situation."

"Oh? Do tell." Qin Si stopped, sat down on a patch of grass in the valley, and watched Zhao Yongkui with interest.

Seeing Qin Si’s posture, the others gathered around as well. Among them, Zhao Yongkui possessed the most extensive knowledge of the Divine Realm.

"Alliance Leader, Vice Alliance Leader, Ping Tian and Cui De have already mentioned the vast number of God Kings in the major factions of the Divine Realm, so I will not dwell on that."

Qin Si and Qin Shuang nodded simultaneously, listening for what was to come.

"You know that even the smallest major faction in the Divine Realm possesses thousands of God Kings, but the number of God Kings does not determine a faction's status," Zhao Yongkui said solemnly. "The truly decisive factor is the God Kings who have mastered the law of Time Stasis, or those who have even slightly glimpsed the law of Time Reversal."

"That is understandable. After all, Sovereign figures can only act once every six epochs. Naturally, the elite among the God Kings are the ones who decide the outcome."

"Every major faction now has at least fifty or more God Kings who have mastered Time Stasis. Though the ratio is small, they are often the deciding factor in war."

"Furthermore, Alliance Leader, although you can currently trap and kill God Kings who have mastered the law of Time Acceleration, there is one thing you haven't considered: what level of expert you will be once you reach the rank of God King yourself." Zhao Yongkui posed a question that left Qin Si lost in thought.

"In truth, once you reach the God King realm, you will simply be able to kill those who have mastered Time Acceleration more easily. Perhaps now you can kill two or three, and at the God King level, you could kill a dozen or more, but you would still be no match for a God King who has mastered Time Stasis," Zhao Yongkui stated firmly. "In all the history of the Divine Realm that I am aware of, there have only been four people who could kill God Kings while still at the Heavenly Deity stage. By the time they reached the God King realm—aside from that freak Lin Meng—the other three were all unable to defeat a God King who had mastered Time Stasis."

"Haha, it seems that after such a long history, the Divine Realm has produced quite a few anomalies," Qin Si laughed. The Lin Meng Divine Realm only had a history of two-plus epochs and had only produced one anomaly like his father. Two epochs versus over a thousand—the difference is indeed vast.

"The Purple Profound Alliance appears strong now, but only relative to us small factions. Even if the Purple Profound Alliance were to conquer this entire desolate region, I fear it would still not catch the eyes of the true powers."