Li Qiye smiled and said after hearing True Martial: “Min Ren really has a big mouth but he’s right.”

Prime and the others were shaken as they glanced at each other.

Li Qiye took note of their expression and said: “That’s right, I do have a few terrorizing items and enough resources to slay gods and emperors. This is my power, thus, those who want to oppose me must weight their own worth first and see if they are ready to be annihilated by me!”

He uttered such words so casually but when the rest of the group heard the words “slay gods and emperors”, they became quite tense. As sea gods, they knew that the dark hand behind the curtain wasn’t all talk. Moreover, he has done it before!

“I’m sure no wise soul would oppose you, Your Excellency.” True Martial spoke.

Li Qiye continued on: “For me, the disaster isn’t much. If I am willing, I can destroy the Bonesea and the Divine Tree Ridge due to my ample resources. The Trident is amazing, right? I can easily take out three or five treasures at the same level!”

He paused for a moment before continuing: “And yes, Immortal Emperor Min Ren is right about something else. There is one ultimate artifact in the world capable of annihilating all things. Its power is far beyond your imagination. I don’t mind letting you guys know that I do have it in my possession right now!”

The rest was shaken again. Deep Blue had to ask: “How powerful is it, exactly?”

“I can tell you that using it to massacre an Immortal Emperor is too wasteful. In my eyes, even using it to kill the emperors and gods above the nine heavens is still squandering it away.” Li Qiye took his time making this statement.

Few people knew that he was saving these resources for the final battle! Even emperors weren’t worthy of touching this particular arsenal! 

The sea gods felt something they haven’t felt a long time before, a shuddering chill emanating through their mind. They understood that he was telling the truth. There was no reason for the ruler of the universe and the master of the nine worlds to lie at all.

“So now, you all should know the wise path to take.” Li Qiye said flatly: “In your mind, an existence like the Bonesea is your final destination, your ultimate target.”

“But for me, the Bonesea and Divine Tree Ridge, as well as the rest of the burial grounds, are only part of my journey; mountains along the way. If I’m willing to pay a great price, they’ll be crushed beneath my feet! What are they compared to the end of the world?”

The sea gods were silent. They have only heard stories about the end of the world from a few emperors. Alas, they didn’t have a chance to actually see it.

Even one of the greatest sea gods, True Martial, didn’t have this opportunity but he did hear Immortal Emperor Min Ren talk about it.

“Your Excellency, you can really destroy the Bonesea?” Prime became serious.

“It’s possible but I won’t do it. Not unless it declared war against me first.” Li Qiye smiled.

“What if you destroy it? Though our true bodies are no longer in this world, we can let the sea demons serve you and give you all of our race’s resources!” Prime suggested.

“Prime, your idea isn’t bad.” Li Qiye shook his head: “But it isn’t worth it for me. The deal is no good. The thing I need can’t be given to me by you or the sea demon race. Plus, I don’t need your allegiance.”

“I was already the ruler of the nine worlds. If I wanted the nine worlds to serve me, I wouldn’t need to wait till now. My resources are not meant for the Bonesea, only for the final battle. Plus, I’m not a benevolent person. I won’t try to save this world. The life-and-death of the sea demons and the charming spirits have nothing to do with me.”

The group naturally got the point. In order to get to their current position, they understood that relying on benevolence and the high heaven couldn’t amount anything. Ultimately, one must talk with their fist.

If one could walk this path with kindness, there would be no sea gods and Immortal Emperors in this world. Which of them didn’t tread on countless bones? If they didn’t do so, they would be the bones paving the route.

“In the end, this world requires all of you to save it. There is no savior in this world, never has. At the very least, I’m not one of them. Only a butcher.” Li Qiye slowly said.

“But you have done so before.” True Martial blurted: “During the darkest hours of the nine worlds, you guarded it. Otherwise, it would be forever fell into the hands of the Ancient Ming. This is your benevolence, granting salvation to the nine worlds!”

Li Qiye mused for a bit before replying: “Yes, I have guarded this world before. However, it was because the Ancient Mings were invaders in my eyes. They didn’t belong to this world and they shouldn’t have brought the darkness along with them! But worst of all, they shouldn’t have opposed me, that’s why I annihilated them.”

With that, he spoke to the entire table: “But, all of you know what the Bonesea, Maelstrom and Divine Tree Ridge are. These are your three races’ business so you must be the one taking care of them!”

He spoke coldly: “Just like the Ancient Ming and their darkness, that’s why our nine worlds took care of them. During their reign, did immortals above the high heaven come to save the nine worlds? Did the emperors and gods above come? Did the high heaven itself save the nine worlds?”

“No!” Li Qiye’s eyes became deep as he continued on: “To the high heaven and what lies above the nine heavens, we are nothing, only a bunch of ants. They gave no shit about the well-being of the nine worlds! Because of this, we had to be the one protecting and saving the nine worlds.”

“That’s how simple it is. No savior and no guardian. The weak and insignificant existences of the nine worlds must work for their own destiny. They must be the one fighting instead of praying for a savior! If they don't try to save themselves, why should anyone else save them? Kindness and sympathy can only go so far in saving the world; the rest is done by soldiers giving up their lives, wise sages exchanging with their blood!” His words became resoundingly powerful during the speech.

To which the sea gods didn’t respond at all for a long time.

Li Qiye ended with a faint smile: “No savior in this world but all of you are the brave soldiers and wise sages of the sea demon race! If your race were to be prosperous in the future, you must pay with your blood and life, not just a simple deal, whether it be with me or the Bonesea. That’s only the beginning. There’s no getting out of a bigger sacrifice! It’s as simple as that.”

“Your Excellency’s words have shown us the way.” Prime solemnly nodded: “We shall use our blood and lives in exchange for our race’s future and end this disaster!”

“I know that you will be ready. However, the world won’t remember the brave soldiers and the wise sages. They will only know about an emperor, a random sea god, or even an Emperor Assailant. No one will remember the characters in the background.” He smiled at this point.

“Let them be then. We don’t need them to remember and worship us.” True Martial laughed freely.

“Behind every brilliant daughter is a great father.” Li Qiye couldn’t help but praise.

True Martial only laughed back. In the end, Li Qiye stood up since he has achieved his goal. It was time to leave.

“Your Excellency.” As he was leaving, True Martial suddenly called for him. He pondered for a bit before asking: “How is Ruonan doing?”

Despite no longer being in this world, a father still worried about his daughter all the same.