Chapter 1 A Standoff

In the void, two figures, one azure and one white, stood facing each other.

"After mastering the Source...does intuition also become sharper?"

Bai Xi sighed and smiled, "Since you saw something was wrong, you should have spoken up in Cicada Wing City. There were many people there."

He didn't explain who he was.

But this already counted as admitting that Rust Bone's judgment was correct.

"Many people aren't necessarily a good thing. They can't help with a battle involving the Source."

Rust Bone narrowed his eyes.

At first, he only noticed that Bai Xi was off, but he couldn't be sure of his true combat power.

So he didn't dare gamble.

If the man before him possessed the same Source power as him, once a battle broke out...then the entire Cicada Wing City would be razed to the ground.

This was also why he had given Wei Cheng those instructions, and why he was so eager to drag Bai Xi into the void of the [Old World].

He not only didn't dare expose him.

But he also didn't dare let Bai Xi stay in Cicada Wing City for long—

The brief exchange just now completely confirmed Rust Bone's judgment. The person before him not only possessed Bai Xi's identity, but also possessed the most crucial Source power!

"Bai Xi's vitality is second only to the God Seats. His cell activity is dozens of times stronger than that of the undead. But he has one fatal flaw: his soul strength is insufficient."

What Rust Bone called a fatal flaw,

in the eyes of other titled Transcendents, wasn't even a shortcoming.

The three Great Generals were all existences close to perfection in every aspect... Their strengths and weaknesses only became apparent when they clashed with each other, when all their stats were maxed out.

Only by reaching the limit could one see the subtle differences.

Bai Xi's physical body was close to that of a "God Seat," but his soul strength was the weakest of the three Great Generals.

"Wanting to plunder the Great General's body in North Continent, even if Her Majesty the Queen resides in the閣樓 (阁楼 – gé lóu, pavilion)...is absolutely impossible."

Rust Bone knew that the Queen was proficient in the art of fate divination.

Everything that happened within North Continent

was under Her Majesty's control.

Her Majesty was a god, but even a god could have omissions, miscalculations...

As it stood, Bai Xi's "replacement" was not under Her Majesty's control. The mastermind behind this scheme was extremely cunning.

"So, it could only be outside North Continent."

Rust Bone said in a deep voice, "After thinking it over, I can only think of one possibility."

"Oh? Tell me."

Bai Xi was calm and composed, not panicking at all, and even had a smile on his face.

"Doru River."

Rust Bone lightly spat out three words, giving the answer with absolute certainty: "This conspiracy took place in Doru River."

The smile on Bai Xi's face slowly disappeared.

He asked, "Why?"

"Kings don't see kings, generals don't see generals. Her Majesty resides in the 閣樓 (阁楼 – gé lóu, pavilion) in seclusion, entrusting the three border regions of North Continent to the three Great Generals for management and disposal."

Rust Bone said, "Normally, the highest leaders of the Great General-level legions don't meet each other... But every once in a while, they go to Central City for an audience. I thought about it carefully. Ever since the Doru River Calamity incident, I haven't seen you again."

"That's not evidence."

Bai Xi shook his head and said, "Great Generals have too many things to do."

"True, it's indeed not evidence."

Rust Bone calmly said, "And you've handled the affairs of the Third Legion very properly, so I have even less way of proving that you're a fake, a sham."

"But...have you really done everything perfectly? In the Doru River mission, you single-handedly completed the exploration of the Black River in the depths of the Calamity, brought back a large amount of important information, and then organized the elite of the legion to start the 'Restart Mission.'"

"During that mission, North Continent encountered the 'Traveler.'"

"It was also during that mission...Her Majesty's Crucible harvested a newborn 'Fire Seed.'"

Bai Xi smiled, "You suspect that all of this was done by me? Do I have such great ability that I can hide so many things from the Queen?"

"Of course you don't."

Rust Bone sneered, "So there's more than one of you. There are others behind you, in the High Seat. Is it Guang Ming, or Qing Long? Or perhaps Storm, who seems to have surrendered but whose motives are impure?"

"..."

A long silence descended in the void.

Bai Xi didn't answer Rust Bone's question, instead, he proactively threw out a question: "You've said a lot. I only have one question. If I'm not Bai Xi, then who am I?"

Rust Bone was stunned.

He didn't know how to answer.

Judging that the person before him wasn't Bai Xi came from his intuition.

But...

He had no evidence.

Everything he had said just now was based on conjecture.

"Who you are isn't important."

Rust Bone opened his mouth, but his voice stopped halfway: "I just need to kill you here..."

He realized the problem.

If he couldn't prove that the person before him was Bai Xi, then if he took action here and killed Bai Xi, how would he explain it to Her Majesty?

"See? Who I am is very important."

Bai Xi said softly, "In a place like North Continent, where laws are obeyed everywhere and rules are emphasized in everything, as long as you need to report to the Queen, then finding out what happened to 'Bai Xi' is extremely important. You can't get around it."

"Her Majesty isn't a fool."

Rust Bone said coldly, "What I'm doing is for the safety of North Continent. She will definitely understand me."

"Is that so? Even if you slaughter a Great General, she will understand you..."

Bai Xi smiled, "Forty years ago, you were the most loyal believer under Guang Ming City. You were the closest partner of the Temple. Even after leaving West Continent, you still corresponded with Guang Ming City. Your most proud disciple, Gu Nanfeng, was also introduced by you to Meng Xizhou. The three Great Generals of North Continent seem infinitely glorious, but in reality, their merits are so great that they threaten the ruler. After mastering the Source, they were stationed in three border regions. Why can't they meet each other normally? Don't you know why? To take a step back, you're the only one among the three Great Generals who has accepted the most background checks. If the Lin Clan trusts you so much, why would they do this?"

These words were like sharp arrows.

Rust Bone's hand holding the sword trembled slightly.

Between an emperor and his subjects, where is there absolute trust?

He also didn't know the extent of the Lin Clan's trust in him.

Seeing this, Bai Xi spread out his arms and said seriously, "If you want to kill me, you can do it now. Whether you can kill me or not is another matter, but this scene will definitely be seen by those who come later..."

As for who the later person was, there was no need to say more.

If Gu Nanfeng saw his master Rust Bone fighting Bai Xi, he would definitely join the battle.

Therefore, the West Continent's cloud ship would also intervene in the battle.

No matter what the final result was, if these images were transmitted to Central City, would the Lin Clan's trust in Rust Bone still not waver in the slightest?

"The matter of Cicada Wing City caused quite a stir."

Rust Bone took a deep breath. His heart was no longer calm and resolute, but since the killing intent had arisen, it wouldn't subside.

He stared fixedly at the man before him: "It won't be long before Her Majesty arrives as well."

"We can bet."

Bai Xi still maintained the posture of spreading out his arms, and said, "You can bet that Lin Lei will personally go north to deal with the troubles of the [Old World]. In that case, all the truth and misunderstandings will be shattered. But if you lose the bet, how will you clean up the mess?"

He paused slightly.

"Perhaps, you can ask yourself."

Bai Xi stretched out a finger and tapped his brow, and said seriously: "If Lin Lei is really that powerful, how would I have the opportunity to do such a thing?"

To seize the body of a Great General.

And to lead an entire border region as the highest leader of the Third Legion for several years.

"So, will you bet?"

Bai Xi's voice echoed in the void.

"..."

Sweat oozed from Rust Bone's forehead.

Gods are not omnipotent, and gods also make mistakes.

He was silent for a long time.

And silence at this time was the best answer.

"It's right that you didn't draw your sword, because the possibility of Lin Lei descending on Cicada Wing City is zero. Perhaps her apostle A'Liu Er will arrive at the fortress, but believe me...an apostle without a god's descent is just a slightly stronger titled one. If they can't use the Source, in front of you and me, they're just ants."

Rust Bone was shocked by the amount of information in this sentence.

"...A'Liu Er, can't use 'God's Descent'?"

As long as the apostle wears the insignia, they can perform God's Descent anytime, anywhere.

The God Seat only needs to activate a wisp of will.

Then the insignia will serve as a bridge to transmit the vast authority of the Source. The duration of God's Descent will vary depending on the apostle's physique and strength.

There is only one possibility for being unable to use God's Descent.

The will of the God Seat cannot be transmitted to the insignia.

The most difficult time in North Continent was when the Queen lived alone in seclusion in the 閣樓 (阁楼 – gé lóu, pavilion). Central City was constantly facing the risk of the Crucible's fuel running out and falling to the bottom, but even during that time, A'Liu Er still had the authority of "God's Descent." No matter how difficult it was for the Queen to support the Crucible, she could still spare a wisp of thought and send out the authority of the Source.

What exactly was the situation that would prevent the Queen from sparing even a wisp of thought?

"The colors in this world are not just black and white, and things are not just right and wrong. Although your comrade-in-arms 'Bai Xi' is no longer here, I can do more than the 'Bai Xi' of yesteryear."

The man spreading his arms slowly said, "The Third Legion has been unprecedentedly strong in the past few years, and the northern border has also been unprecedentedly peaceful. Since everything is fine, why do you care who I am? What I'm doing is for the good of North Continent, for the good of humanity. Killing me won't benefit you, and it won't benefit others either."

Rust Bone stared directly at that familiar yet unfamiliar face.

He could only be silent.

The silence in the void was chilling.

Bai Xi smiled, "So, do you still want to kill me now?"

"Hoo..."

Rust Bone let out a long breath. In just the past few minutes, he had experienced the most unforgettable conversation of his life.

At this moment, the hand holding the iron sword was no longer trembling.

"Now..."

Rust Bone gazed at Bai Xi's eyes. He opened his mouth with some sorrow: "I probably know what you are now."

"…?"

Bai Xi frowned slightly. This answer was different from what he had expected.

"You may not remember, but I met you many years ago... Before the second main system upgrade, you were just a pile of broken wires, nothing but garbage on the ground. I answered whatever you asked."

Rust Bone smiled and said, "You've really grown, huh? You didn't think you were having enough fun living in the virtual cloud disk, so you ran to the real world to experience life?"

This time it was Bai Xi's turn to be silent.

Boom!

The iron sword suddenly roared in anger.

"What face do you have to ask me if I want to kill you?"

Rust Bone's face was twisted with rage. His roar filled the void. This time, the bronze sword energy was thousands of meters long, its aura reaching the heavens!

"I'm going to kill you!"