The central battlefield was eerily silent, with the guards of the Divine race camp and the guards of the Desolate race army facing each other from a distance.
Inside the Divine race camp, in the council hall.
Including the six Divine Lords who arrived from the Divine Realm for support, there were a total of ten Divine Lords. Yan Li was not counted among them.
Shentu sat at the head of the table, scanned the room, and specifically looked at Heli, who was looking down in silence. After a moment of thought, he spoke, "The Divine Realm's Divine race army has all gone to the battlefield, leaving the Divine Realm empty. I intend to end this quickly. Even if we cannot completely defeat the Desolate race, we must destroy most of their forces, so that you can all lead your troops back to the Divine Realm as soon as possible."
Shentu was speaking to the Divine Lords who had come to provide support.
Like Xun He, Shentu's Divine Realm was in a state of emptiness, with two hostile forces intertwined and on the verge of erupting into war at any moment.
If it were before, they would have had absolute confidence in the Divine King. Those rebellious gods would have been easily wiped out by the Divine King with a wave of his hand.
But now, with the precedent of Xia Kuduo ascending to the Divine King realm, Xia Hu Chu and Xia Bai Lin had become extremely dangerous in their eyes.
Xia Kuduo was a deterrent to all the gods in both the Divine and Desolate realms. With him leading the way, all the members of the Imperial Spirit Divine race had become unfathomably mysterious.
The five Divine Lords who had come to provide support exchanged glances. They were not foolish. In the Divine Realm, Chen Du was battling the Divine King and had already garnered the support of half of the Divine race. On the battlefield, the Imperial Spirit Divine race was confronting Shentu's forces.
Their support was merely to participate in the war. They did not need to take sides or get involved in their internal struggles to preserve their lives. Of course, once the final victor was decided, they would belong to that side.
In the council hall, the Divine Lords remained silent, with only Shentu speaking.
"Since there are no objections, each of you may return to rest. We will launch an attack on the Desolate race in three days."
After Shentu finished speaking, the Divine Lords departed.
Outside the council hall.
"Divine Lord Heli, please wait."
All the Divine Lords turned to look at Xun He, and then their gazes converged on the young man in the crimson robe.
Heli smiled brightly and said, "Divine Lord Xun He, is there something you need?"
"I have been on the central battlefield for many days and have not had the chance to converse with Divine Lord Heli. We will be engaging in a decisive battle with the Desolate race soon, and our lives are uncertain. I do not wish to leave any regrets, so I would like to have a sincere talk with Divine Lord Heli and seek your guidance on cultivation." Xun He said with a smile.
Heli nodded with a smile, but inwardly he thought, *This old man, speaking so eloquently, does he think he's cultured?*
Heli nodded to Xia Yeqi, who glanced at Xun He and turned to leave. The other Divine Lords also left slowly, each with their own thoughts.
Divine Lord Xun He looked at the tall and imposing Heli and flattered him with a smile, "Indeed, you are the most talented and youngest Divine Lord of our Divine race. Your demeanor alone is extraordinary."
Heli placed his left hand on the hilt of his saber, a cold smile on his lips. "Since we've already fallen out, why should Divine Lord Xun He speak such pleasantries? Do you really think you've won?"
Facing Heli's direct words, Xun He did not seem surprised. He merely chuckled and said, "Until the coffin is sealed, nothing is certain."
Heli extended his right hand to the side, making a gesture of invitation. Xun He smiled and made a similar gesture. Then, the two of them, in tacit understanding, stepped forward and walked leisurely towards a certain spot, chatting as they went.
"You are right, who can predict the future?" Heli said.
Xun He asked, "You control the law of time, can you not see what will happen in the future?"
Heli paused and said, "The future is what has already happened. Time has its flow and its reversals, and it can even be contradictory. Just like the future me is definitely somewhere, watching the present me.
But I cannot see him, because we are in different temporal dimensions.
What has already happened can never be changed.
Since I know what cannot be changed, knowing it is also useless."
Xun He asked again, "What if it can be changed?"
Heli retorted, "If it can be changed, why know it?"
Xun He suddenly froze for a moment, then fell silent. He pondered Heli's words as they walked side by side leisurely. After a long while, Xun He said,
"Knowing what cannot be changed, you would try to alter fate. Knowing what can be changed, you would set about changing it. This is foresight, the domain of higher gods. This is the meaning of your control over the law of time, is it not?"
Heli first looked at Xun He with surprise, then smiled, "I didn't expect you to say something like this to me. However, I can tell you clearly that I can use time to kill you, just as I stole half an hour of your time in the instant you were lost in thought.
But I cannot use time to do anything that might affect myself."
Xun He said with a wry smile, "No wonder I, a peak Divine Lord, would suddenly be lost in thought for a moment."
Then,
Xun He asked doubtfully, "What did you mean just now? You don't have to say it if you mind, I'm just very interested in the law of time."
"It's fine," Heli shook his head and said, "Even if I tell you, you still wouldn't be able to guard against me using the law of time to kill you."
Xun He's mouth twitched. This guy really didn't know how to speak.
Heli thought for a moment and said, "Because I am time itself. I can use time to influence all conscious life forms and all inanimate objects except myself.
But I cannot use time to influence myself. I hide within the past twenty-odd years, but I cannot interfere with the past, nor can I interfere with the future.
Once I interfere even slightly, history will change, requiring constant correction. I will fall into an endless time loop. By then, I will have already lost without you needing to act."
Xun He smiled, "Is this your weakness?"
Heli nodded and said, "This is just one of them. I have many weaknesses: my family and friends, the members of the Imperial Spirit Divine race, those foolish guys of the Demon race, Huai Xi, and my brother, Yan Li."
As Heli finished speaking, he narrowed his eyes and looked at Xun He, smiling faintly, "Don't try to break my spirit. You already know these weaknesses of mine even if I don't say them. What can you do even if I tell you myself?"
"Once you stand on the battlefield, you must be prepared to die at any moment. It is the same for me and for them. Just as Min Ao said, everyone is watching me, and I cannot be hesitant or indecisive.
If you kill any one of them, I will not flinch. But in the days to come, I will retaliate a thousandfold, ten thousandfold."
Xun He laughed heartily, "By then, I'll probably be dead. How will you retaliate?"
Heli also laughed heartily, "But I stole half an hour of your time. I will arrange for you from that half an hour to be reborn on a human planet, turning you into an ordinary human. You will be reborn repeatedly, and you will constantly watch your loved ones die before your eyes. You will live a long life, free from illness, but you will be lonely your entire life until death, and then you will repeat it all."
Xun He stopped laughing when Heli was halfway through his sentence. He looked at Heli with cold eyes, filled with killing intent.
Heli casually patted Xun He's shoulder and said with a smile, "So, don't put on airs in front of me. Now, how will you conduct yourself?"
Heli was much taller than Xun He. He put his arm around Xun He's shoulder, bent down slightly, and said with a smile, "Second only to the Divine Lords? I don't care if you put on airs in front of others, but if you put on airs in front of me, I'll screw you over."
Heli left, his footsteps light and cheerful, under Xun He's resentful gaze.
Xun He stood stunned for a long time, then suddenly laughed.
...