Chapter 2195 Haven't Realized...
The Overlord looked toward Leonel, his expression changing from its baseline for the first time since he had appeared. While his old age wasn't suddenly cured, it felt like his Life Force had been stabilized in a way that he had simply never imagined to be possible without the help of the World Spirit, and there was a very obvious elephant in the room... Just how had Leonel done this?
Leonel hadn't originally come to the Morales territory knowing of the existence of these Overlords. He was sure that his enlightened self had likely battled it out with these individuals, but he simply didn't remember enough details to know for certain. However, the matter of this Overlord's life wasn't too difficult for Leonel to handle because in this territory, he was practically invincible. He even had ideas on how to make this matter more permanent by using methods of separating soul and body and the like. Though, he held off on these matters for now.
Much like his grandfather and the Ascension Empire, the Morales territory had become the domain of Leonel's King's Might, and as a result of that, there were several benefits to be had.
For one, he could draw on the strength of the entire world, and that was World Spirit aside. It was simply impossible for even an Overlord to match him within the walls of this territory so long as his mind was fast enough to keep up with the battle and his mental strength didn't fatigue.
This was precisely why he had directly given up on the World Spirit. A World Spirit had limited amplification to strength outside of one's territory, which was why the young generation of smaller families didn't suddenly enter and become little overlords of the Void Palace.
To Leonel, he didn't need a World Spirit to access such strength within Morales territory, because he had the function of his own Lineage Factor for that, and it could even be said that his King's Might Lineage Factor was far better than a World Spirit in this regard.
That said, that didn't mean that he had lost access to the strength of a World Spirit either, it was just that it was distributed across the many rather than the few, while likewise being amplified through their Constellation.
Helping the Overlord to stabilize his Life Force was as easy as redirecting some of the strength of the distributed World Spirit and concentrating a bit more of it on the old man before him. In fact, the results were even better now than they had been in the past because the World Spirit had been strengthened several times over, on top of evolving into the Eighth Dimension.
Whereas in the past the World Spirit would struggle to maintain the life of an Eighth Dimensional existence, now it was as easy as breathing because they were on the same level.
This simple action by Leonel made the Overlord realize that he had still underestimated the young man before him. That said, he still had several questions and this matter couldn't just be allowed to rest as it was.
No matter what rules Leonel was using to wiggle his way out and be placed firmly in the right, the obvious truth was that Issa and Alvaro's worries were very much warranted. It was true that Leonel wanted to do away with the former system of the Morales, it was true that he likely would have no intention of abdicating when the time came, and it was true that he would have ignored this so-called Ancestor Rule even if they had taken the steps to contact him. Leonel wanted far more than most of the Morales elder generation were willing to give him.
"Littlest Nova, I hope that by this action you aren't hoping to buy my acceptance," the Overlord spoke slowly.
"With all due respect, senior..." Leonel spoke slowly. "... what the Ancestors and elders of the Morales family are worried about is that I will refuse to comply when necessary and that I'll refuse to abdicate when the time comes.
"The reality is by the time this worry is playing out in the present, the situation of the Morales family will be so far different than what you know now that these worries will all seem like worthless sophistry. Do you believe me?"
"No." The Overlord replied simply. "And it's also not just a matter of what will come in the future, it's also a matter of what actions you might take now that will come to shake the family in the future. The internal structure of the Morales is complicated, but what it has always remained is whole and balanced.
"It is not lost on me just how much ambition you have, but even further than that how good you are at scheming and planning. What if you are wrong and the matter of abdication remains a big deal in the future? What reason does the family have to believe that you won't have left several counter measures to ensure your success one way or another?
"You've already displayed the ability to kill Ancestors now, what will it look like in 10 years? We cannot skip a generation of Patriarchs or else it will cause an imbalance in the family's future that won't be easily corrected. Because the Nova Generation was stuck in the Cataclysm Zone, your time of rule must be cut down and shared with the Comet Generation, this has already been decided. And yet, you still talk of how much the family will change in that shortened time frame, just how do you expect others to believe you?"
Indeed, the Ancestors had already decided to compensate the Comet Generation in this way. Both the Nova and Comet Generation would serve for shortened sentences. Maybe if Leonel had the normal reign, he would be believed. But with the length of time shortened so considerably, how could they? They felt like he was just saying anything he could to get his hands on the position, then he would likewise do whatever he could to guarantee himself a position into the future.
But toward this explanation, Leonel only responded lightly.
"It seems you haven't yet realized... The Morales family has already changed beyond your recognition. What need is there for 10 years? Or even five or less?"
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