Emperor’s Domination

“I’m sure you don’t only want to know about this unknown world, but you’re certainly not the only one in history. However, few could do it, regardless of their power.” The girl said.

“It’s true that I want to go there. A rumor alone isn’t worth my time to research.” Li Qiye said flatly.

“What is your goal? Treasures, escaping, or other purposes?” She looked at him in response: “You don’t look like you’re running for your life because you wouldn’t wait till now.”

“I could ask the same about your father.” He smiled: “He didn’t do it to escape either, then why did he go to that world? That’s an arduous task and your father, powerful he may be, must have paid a great price. Across the long trek of history, very few people could truly go there. For our epoch, some of the beings called dark overlords can’t do it either.”

The girl pondered for a bit before replying: “I don’t know what my father was thinking, but since he came back, it should be out of love for the living beings.”

“That makes sense.” Li Qiye agreed: “Those with other intents wouldn’t come back at all, since returning was death.”

“Well, if you are doing this to save your epoch, I’m afraid you will be disappointed. That place won’t be like your imagination and won’t have the things that you want. Otherwise, my father wouldn’t have come back empty-handed and my world destroyed!”

“That’s your father, not me. Plus, who says I’m doing it to save my world and the living beings?” He shook his head.

“Then for what?” She didn’t think he was doing it to escape since there were other ways.

“For myself.” Li Qiye said with a pensive tone: “I am only an ordinary man with no great ambitions. I fight for myself because I am me, not a savior or a devil! I fight in order to find the answer to the question looming in my mind.”

“An answer to what?” She asked.

He smiled without answering, continuing to stare at the horizon.

“If you want something like immortality, hmph, you should just drop that thought.” She speculated.

“Immortality?” Li Qiye shook his head: “I’m not the bravest man in the world, but death is not scary at all. Many things are much worse.”

He sighed and continued: “One day, I will pierce through the sky and fight to the very end without looking back.”

“The end of the world is beyond your imagination.” The girl said coldly. Her father was at the very apex of his epoch so she knew many things.

“I have experienced worse, it won’t be that special.” He chuckled.

“Then what do you think is scary? The final battle, or the Ancient Ming?” She asked.

“That’s an interesting comment. The Ancient Ming probably wasn’t there in your epoch but you know about them and even bring them up in this conversation.” He couldn’t help but smile.

“I know their origin.” She uttered.

“You didn’t meet them during your epoch and you were sealed in the cloth after. I don’t know what happened then.” He said.

“Right, I still know of them. The Ancient Ming wasn’t the one who told me.”  The girl said.

“Your father then, or some people who relied on the darkness and came to you?” Li Qiye said flatly.

She didn’t answer the question, not wanting to bring it up.

“Looks like it’s complicated.” Li Qiye said: “I’m guessing there was a traitor to your father or you, this being convinced you to join the darkness and revealed terrifying matters to you. Or, he told you that your father was hiding shocking facts from you in order to change your mind, but you remained staunch.”

He virtually knew what happened even if she didn’t tell him.

“If you think the Ancient Ming is scary, then you’re completely wrong. They’re only the beginning.” The girl said: “Ancient Ming, darkness, even the high heaven, all aren’t that scary. There are worse things going on in the background.”

“I know.” Li Qiye said: “I have traced back many sources. This will require more time and in order to understand completely, I need to go to that world for another source of reference.”

“And then what? Even if you could participate in and win the final battle, you might not obtain your goal. When you think you are ruling everything, the terror will begin. The Ancient Ming is only a tiny part of the terrible fog, not worth mentioning.”

“You have only heard about it but don’t really know the truth. It is still limited to speculation, a faint outline.” He smiled.

“So what? My father knew even more but he didn’t wish to tell the rest of the world.”

Li Qiye was right again. The girl didn’t know all the details but after that being tried to persuade her, she went to question her father.

“So, you don’t know the real terror.” Li Qiye shook his head: “I can tell you that it is not the Ancient Ming, or the villainous heaven. The things you’re imagining aren’t that scary. The real terror is the human heart. If people are pure, then nothing is scary in the world. The heart and mind are the sources of everything.”

She was moved by this statement. Perhaps the scariest thing wasn’t much compared to the heart of men. Her experience was the perfect example!

Li Qiye continued with a gaze full of determination: “Regardless of the outcome of the fight, I will bravely tread forward to whichever location. Even if there is nothing at the end of the world, I will fight at the end of the end of the world!”

“You think you can win?” She asked after a brief lull.

“Terror starts from the heart, but so does courage. As long as my heart is fine, I will be the last one smiling.” He gave her the best answer.

“Maybe you are right.” Her voice turned softer: “But my father says, if the judgment of the high heaven isn’t around, some other, worse judgments will take its place.”

“So your father wavered.” He calmly said.

“He would never!” She shouted with a changed expression.

“You misunderstood me.” He explained: “I’m not saying that he stopped believing in his ideals and beliefs, but more of himself. He thought that even if he could make it to the final battle, he still wouldn’t be able to save his world because like you said, there are scarier things afterward. That’s why your father didn’t tell you the real secrets.”

She gently sighed and said: “You’re right, that’s why he wanted me to hide up above.”

“That might not be useful either.” He chuckled.

“At least there is still hope. He knew that things were much more serious than his expectation.”

“That’s why he gave up in the end. He knew that even if he could continue fighting, it wouldn’t change anything. This is also why those closest to you also chose the darkness!” Li Qiye deduced.

She fell into silence.