THE GOD EATER

The other Dao Lords didn’t think their demands were unreasonable. Tepid Scholar believed that since the Forging Pathway used to belong to him, it was right for him to ask that it be returned to its original owner.

As for Martial Will, if he wanted to be unreasonable, he would have asked for Black Chain’s Enslavement Pathway. But he knew that it was impossible to get Black Chains to give up two pathways in a row.

So he didn’t bother to ask for the impossible. Instead, he also asked for something that he believed was rightfully his. It was also something that other Dao Lords would support.

Just as he expected, every Dao Lord began to pressure Black Chains about the matter of letting the Blessed Heaven World ascend. All of them joined with Martial Will in shouting and argued with Black Chains to his face.

What they were asking for should have been something that they didn’t need to ask for. But Black Chains had made it so that they needed to ask for his permission.

They wanted to pressure him into giving them what they wanted, but Black Chains refused to be pressured. He gritted his teeth in anger and said, ”I’ve said this many times. It is not yet time. When it is time, I will let it happen.”

Just as he said this, the black monkey’s leg was ripped off by Loki and used as a club to beat the black monkey. Each hit from the leg let off bursts of Entropy that went up into the sky through the link between the avatar and the true body.

The Entropy settled into his existence like oil in a bottle of water. The water in this case is his lifespan.

For now, the amount of water in the bottle outweighed the amount of oil entering the bottle. So the bottle remained a bottle of water. But in time, the amount of oil will become more than the amount of water in the bottle. This is bound to happen since he couldn’t remove the oil and because the water was constantly being used in the bottle.

So after a while, the bottle of water will become a bottle of oil. When that happens, his death will be near.

That outcome is certain. It will happen sometime in the future, and there are very few things he can do to avoid it.

One of the things he can do to avoid that unpleasant future is to avoid fighting. It is even more important to me to avoid fighting a battle in which he is unlikely to gain anything.

This is the best method to use in the situation where there is no Divine Spark to help remove the oil from the bottle of water. But an even better option is to find a way to get a Divine Spark.

Because of this, he thought to himself, ’If I had a Divine Spark to remove my Entropy, my situation wouldn’t be so bad that I don’t want to move around and take action for fear of dying young. So maybe what they’re asking for is not such a bad thing.’

Having decided to change his mind, he said to the other Dao Lords, ”I think it is a good idea to help our super worlds ascend.”

His voice was calm as he said, ”I believe that it is high time we gained a Divine Spark to help us remove our Entropy.”

Then he said with determination, ”As for the other request to give up the Forging Pathway, I cannot accept it. We have to use another thing instead.”

When Martial Will heard this, he said to Black Chains, ”That’s good to hear. It is good to see you open to criticism.”

Then he said to Tepid Scholar, ”Come on, old man. Your plan worked. He gave up on resisting and let us have the least evil option. There is no need to force him with the Forging Pathway anymore.”

He didn’t say this in a secret message to Tepid Scholar. He said it out loud as if he didn’t care that everyone would learn that his request and Tepid Scholar’s request were part of a scheme to make Black Chains do what they want.

When the other Dao Lords heard what he said, they were enlightened. Then they chuckled or looked at Black Chains in schadenfreude.

Black Chains should be embarrassed by all of this. But whether he was embarrassed or not, he didn’t show it. His face was stoic, and there were no ripples of emotion in his eyes as he looked at Tepid Scholar waiting for the Dao Lord of the Myriad Phenomenon Sect’s stance.

He listened attentively as if every word Tepid Scholar was speaking were precious treasures, so he heard clearly as Tepid Scholar said, ”No. I don’t want something else. I still want my Forging Pathway.”

Black Chains wanted to speak, but Heavenly Eye beat him to it. She said, ”Why? We already have the most important thing.”

Tepid Scholar replied calmly, ”You already have the most important thing. I don’t have the most important thing, and I must get it before I can consider this deal worthwhile to me.”

In response to his words, Martial Will said in anger, ”I thought you said it was unlikely for him to give you the Forging Pathway, which is why you asked me to ask for the ascension of the Blessed Heaven World. What you’re doing now might jeopardize what we already have. What if he changes his mind?”

But Tepid Scholar refused to change his mind. He said, ”Don’t worry. I don’t think he will change his mind about letting our worlds ascend.”

He even chuckled as he said, ”Don’t let his bravado fool you. He didn’t actually relent because we forced him. He became open-minded because he is desperate and needs a Divine Spark.”

”I think he has reached his limit. So this is the best opportunity I will get to force him to return my Forging Pathway.”