All the young disciples widened their eyes when they realized an invincible force had completely sealed them off. They had barely escaped a deadly abyss, and suddenly, they found themselves on the brink of death again.
"How arrogant."
Out of nowhere, a calm and smooth voice echoed through the space. All the disciples felt a warm comfort wrap around their bodies, and the emptiness of space was replaced by a green, natural aura.
They felt their bodies being freed, and when they turned around, they saw a massive tree behind them. It was so tall it looked like it could be an entire planet. Its leaves sparkled like stars in the sky, and an absurdly dense natural energy enveloped the whole area.
Then, a snort came from the Shadow God. A dark, malevolent wave erupted, pushing the natural energy away. That shadow was so wicked that everyone felt like anyone who touched it would be reduced to nothing; no mortal could even dream of surviving that.
"Starry Sky Tree, don’t try to act all nice."
The voice of the Warlock God sounded dry and cold. Instantly, his body pulsed, and millions of runes from the five natural elements appeared, beginning to merge and fuse together. At that moment, all the celestial laws of the universe stirred.
A sharp sound and a cutting aura made everyone gulp. Their eyes focused and saw the Sniper God holding a golden bow, with an arrow ready to shoot. Just facing that arrow brought a tangible sense of death that made everyone tremble.
"Your Nine Star Tree Sect used to be number two in the universe, considered the oldest sect of them all. I could list thousands of stories about your sect’s sinister deeds throughout history; slaughtering entire races for little is a low-level act for you."
The dry voice of the Heavenly Spirit God echoed; he was the only one who didn’t move. The other three didn’t really attack; even the black mist stopped midway, just pushing the green energy away.
"Our ancestors made many mistakes throughout history. That’s a fact, but we’ve never run from responsibility or denied it. All the guilty were named and punished severely; we also did our best to make amends."
The calm voice came directly from that cosmic tree. "Why do you think your three sects took us down to the fifth position so easily? Do you really believe that just having one or more deities is enough to surpass us?"
"Make amends? Do you think the lives of the races you wiped out can be repaid like that?!" the Warlock God shot back dryly. "Well, that’s great; let’s put your arrogant words to the test."
Everyone trembled at that; peace didn’t seem like an option. Alm and Bruno watched the situation calmly. They noticed the look from the Berserker God and gave him a slight nod. With a shared glance, they felt that this god was just like Rocky, except for the thousands of extra years.
"Half-human... no, Lord God of Forging. I thank you for taking care of my naive children. Surviving by climbing a mountain of innocent corpses would be a disgrace to my Azure Dragon race." The whale turned and saw that human-shaped figure, who looked a lot like Yuan.
"Hey, Dad, I’m not naive. He just moved faster and came up with a plan before I did... and... what? God of Forging?" Yue started to speak but stopped when she noticed the respect in her father’s words.
"Foolish girl, this human is above even me; don’t you dare be arrogant around him. But you did well to get close to him. Anyway, we can’t talk right now..." He replied calmly, then turned to face forward.
Countless figures moved, joining those four gods. All the beast sects that were against the whale at the convention were now close to the enemies; now, thousands of other races and sects were coming closer. Among them was even the Shrouding Sky Whale Sect and several others that chose to stand by the whale and survived.
"Young Wulliu, come back immediately. We’re glad you returned alive and got the karmic blessing; but that half-human is someone very suspicious."
People from the Shrouding Sky Whale Sect shouted at their heroic disciple who was with Alm and Bruno. It wasn’t just this sect; hundreds of others shouted the names of their disciples, ordering them to retreat.
All the disciples were stunned, not knowing how to react. But the whale’s voice came calmly. "You don’t owe me anything. We fought and survived together; that’s all there is to it. Our karma has been settled."
Everyone heard this, and their eyes shook. They weren’t idiots; seeing the situation, they quickly understood that something huge was happening. Their sects chose the other side, and obviously, that was the more powerful side.
"I..." someone murmured with regret. It was a demon who turned to the whale and bowed slightly in thanks; he couldn’t speak out of shame for what he was doing, but he couldn’t abandon his sect. The whale gave a slight nod, and that demon moved away, leaving the group.
After him, countless others did the same. Soon, more than two-thirds of the people chose to abandon him. Who would be foolish enough to get involved for no reason? He had already said that no one owed him anything.
But... the whale looked at the people who stayed and felt something strange blossoming in their hearts. All those they had brought from the staircase and protected were the only ones who chose to remain.
Their sects were average or mediocre. They weren’t heroic disciples; they were just there to serve some Young Master who had been killed. They had never been valued and were considered disposable, but for the first time, they felt they had some worth. Instinctively, they all understood that this decision would forever change their destinies. It was something that would only happen once in a lifetime and only for a few lucky ones.
"Divine Lords, my sect no longer has any relationship with those shameful disciples. I’m expelling them. They were enchanted by that nefarious Heaven-Defier; please, don’t involve us." A voice quickly rang out, followed by several others making similar declarations.
Those who stayed were immediately kicked out and treated like sinners. But then the name "Heaven-Defier" finally came up, and the disciples who had stepped back paled when they realized how close they had been to danger.
The ones who remained just took a deep breath and didn’t worry. If there was a god and other powerful figures backing him, this accusation wasn’t something that could be proven. But the one with the strongest hand was making the accusation, and their former sects were just licking his boots.
"Young ones are easily enchanted, don’t worry about it," the Heavenly Spirit God said softly. "Half-human, I will be merciful to you. Surrender, and I will personally look into your memories to prove your innocence or guilt. Surviving isn’t an option; using a Heavenly Spirit is a mortal sin. But those you implicated won’t be affected."
The whale stared at him without showing any emotion. All the distant dwarves clenched their fists tightly, ready to attack without hesitation, but King Nival held them back. The whale had told them from the start that they could only act with his permission. If even the Forge God was calm, they would trust him until the very end.
"You pathetic trash. So what if he used a Heavenly Spirit?"
The voice of the Berserker God echoed, and his muscles tensed, fracturing the space around him. An incomprehensible physical force distorted the world around him.
"Things aren’t black and white," the voice of the Starry Sky Tree sounded softly. "Have you ever asked the Heavenly Spirit how he feels about this? Or do you know the situation that led to this? Why do you think you have the right to accuse someone without knowing the context? You’re just an arrogant fool who thinks he’s the protector and law of the world."
"Laws exist to prevent the greater evil. I know that sometimes innocent people can commit lesser evils. I have to stop the greater evil, so the law must be equal for everyone," he quickly replied.
The Starry Sky Tree shot back: "You’re just using your race as an excuse for revenge. It’s clear that this half-human isn’t what you’re accusing him of; isn’t it satisfying to feel like the world’s judge?"
"I’m not doing this for my dead disciples. This convention was about life or death; I can’t blame anyone, just their fate. I’m doing this for the future; he must be punished as an example, so my race can feel safe."
A dry huff came from the Azure Dragon. "No use arguing. Right and wrong are decided by the winner. But the Azure Dragons won’t let you do as you please without proof. We honor our ancestors and the honor of our whole race. We won’t hide the truth or twist things in our favor."
After those words, the universe seemed to go silent. The power of all the gods and sacred beasts was activated to the max. The celestial laws moved towards them, and a long-awaited battle was about to erupt.
Until...
A lazy voice sounded...
"Stop."
Everyone turned to the whale, who was as calm and indifferent as ever. He waved to his allies and then spoke quietly:
"As I understand it, this is my problem. I appreciate the help, but I can handle this myself."
The Berserker God spat quickly. "What?! I know you’re the Forge God, but you had to start over and are still pretty weak. Don’t worry, we’re not leaving you; it’s been ages since I really fought, I’m going to beat them senseless."
The whale smiled slightly, and everyone around noticed it. The last part of the Berserker God’s words was clearly the most important to him.
"This is my issue, don’t worry. Things are going to heat up, and you’ll have other chances to fight at full strength," the whale said calmly before turning to the others.
"The time when I was the Forge God is in the past; this is just one of my facets. I’m far beyond that now. Don’t worry, this is just a little problem. I’ll fix it quickly."
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The whale’s words were carefree, with no room for discussion. His whole figure radiated an aura of confidence, as if he were dealing with something irrelevant.
All those big shots squinted, not understanding why they couldn’t respond. But the disciples who stayed with him had shining eyes, staring at him without blinking.
The whale slowly stepped forward, heading towards the gods and the countless terrifying beasts, all at the peak of cultivation in the universe.
He stopped calmly, hands behind his back, looking down at them as if he were looking at insignificant insects.
"I heard you wanted something from me? You were accusing me of something and... screw it, let’s not waste time on this nonsense. I’m too old for this. Come at me all at once, and I’ll wrap this up quickly."