Oblivion Peak, inside a stone pavilion.
Inside the pavilion, a small red clay stove on the stone table is steaming. The Oblivion Martial God fills three cups with boiling tea from the stove, takes a sip himself, then says to the Mistveil Martial God and Heavenreach Martial God, "Junior brother, junior sister, come taste your senior brother's handiwork!"
"Tea brewed by senior brother is, of course, excellent."
The Mistveil Martial God smiled, picked up his cup, took a sip, and nodded in appreciation. "It really is quite good."
But the Heavenreach Martial God did not touch her cup. Her gaze was cold as she looked at the relaxed Oblivion Martial God and said icily, "Senior brother, what you’re doing is very likely to invite wolves into the house!"
At this, the Mistveil Martial God's hand paused, and a meaningful look flashed in his eyes.
But the Oblivion Martial God remained calm. "Junior sister, those who do great things must not be bound by trifles! Besides, with us three here, the Demon and Monster Races won’t dare get too reckless!"
The Heavenreach Martial God continued, "But once the Demon and Monster Races break through the Seven Great Battlefronts, it won’t be easy to drive them out. Besides, the Human Race is in chaos right now—our resistance will be much weaker than before!"
The Oblivion Martial God just smiled dismissively. He brought his cup to his lips, took a light sip, and said, "Isn’t that even better? When the time comes, the three of us can step in and turn the tide—those lowly ants will be even more grateful to us!"
The Heavenreach Martial God's gaze grew even colder. "Senior brother, don’t forget—we also rose up from the very ‘ants’ you speak of."
"Indeed."
The Oblivion Martial God was not annoyed at all. "We did rise up from those ants, but now, we are gods. We are no longer the same as those ants. What we pursue is immortality, breaking free from the cage of this world, and entering a higher realm!"
"Senior brother is right. What we seek now is different from ordinary people, so junior sister, don’t oppose senior brother—just follow his lead!" the Mistveil Martial God said cheerfully.
The Heavenreach Martial God gave the Oblivion and Mistveil Martial Gods a long, deep look. "I’m not feeling well, so I’ll take my leave. But let me remind you, senior brother—it’s easy to invite a god, hard to send one away. Don’t let things get out of hand!"
As soon as she finished speaking, the Heavenreach Martial God's figure shot skyward, turning into a streak of light and vanishing.
"Sigh, after all these years, our little junior sister’s temperament is still the same..." the Mistveil Martial God said with a sigh.
"No matter, as long as she doesn’t sabotage our plan." The Oblivion Martial God replied coolly, though a faint murderous intent flickered in his eyes.
"Senior brother, I’m afraid that brat Leon Huang has already gotten word of the Demon and Monster Races attacking. With sects causing trouble inside and Demon and Monster Races attacking from outside, that kid must be in total chaos!" the Mistveil Martial God gloated.
At this, the Mistveil Martial God’s mind turned. "Senior brother, when do we plan to seize the world?"
Hearing this, a glint of greed flashed in the Oblivion Martial God’s eyes. "It’s not time yet. When things are truly beyond saving, we’ll show up as saviors, kill that kid, and take his empire!"
"But senior brother, if we take the empire, who gets to be emperor?" the Mistveil Martial God asked, his eyes flickering.
Previously, the three Martial Gods hadn’t known that founding an empire could draw down qi-luck. Only after Ian Song founded the empire did they realize their old method of siphoning the Human Race’s qi-luck was far too slow. So they started plotting to take his place—if they became emperor, they could obtain a vast amount of qi-luck, even more than they’d stolen over centuries.
With that much qi-luck, they could use secret arts to convert it into lifespan, giving them more time to pursue higher realms. As for whether refining the qi-luck would weaken the Human Race, that was no concern to them—by then, they’d have broken through and ascended to another world.
Glancing at the Mistveil Martial God, the Oblivion Martial God smiled. "Didn’t we agree? The world will be split in three! Each of us will control the qi-luck of one nation!"
"Senior brother, if the world is split in three, the qi-luck will be split too. I don’t think junior sister is on board with our plan. Why don’t we..." A murderous glint flashed in the Mistveil Martial God's eyes. "If we kill her, not only can we seize her divinity and refine it to advance our cultivation, but then the qi-luck will be shared between just the two of us. Wouldn’t that give us an even better chance of breaking through?"
"Junior brother, you’re not thinking of killing me too, are you?" The Oblivion Martial God’s face suddenly turned cold.
The Mistveil Martial God’s expression changed, and he hurriedly explained, "Senior brother, I wouldn’t dare! Besides, my cultivation isn’t as high as yours—even if I had the thought, I wouldn’t dare act on it. More than that, I respect you too much. Besides, that brat Leon Huang is protected by qi-luck—none of us could take him alone. Only if we join forces do we have a chance. So, I need you, and you can’t succeed without me. But junior sister is a bit... superfluous."
"Are you being completely sincere?" The Oblivion Martial God stared deeply at the Mistveil Martial God, as if trying to see through him.
"Absolutely sincere!"
"Very well, I’ll agree to it!"