AZI Volume 6 Chapter 6

"And just like that, the air is ruined."

Towards Long Hua's remark, Bai Wen chuckles, and says—

"Can't have such an air in the Leng Bing Realm last for too long. You understand how it is."

Heaving a sigh, Long Hua takes a bite out of a fried dumpling, and remarks—

"Can't wait to get out of this place… Every minute here feels like I'm wearing a prisoner's collar."

Momentarily, Nuo'er—who had grabbed a bottle of juice from the fridge, sits down a seat away from Bai Wen. 

"…"

Directly in front of Nuo'er, and a seat away from Long Hua, Yao Ying—who is dressed in the same set of robes as Nuo'er, also seated herself. 

"…"

Contemplating for a brief instance, while chewing on a piece of sauce-glazed chicken, Bai Wen asks—

"Lao Long, interested in knowing the Everlasting Spirit Realm's current power structure?"

"Hm? Let's hear it."

Swallowing the chicken meat, Bai Wen explains—

"The main continent is ruled over by seven individuals. The first six are hailed as Immortal Kings, and the seventh is the Immortal Emperor. Surrounding the main continent are three suns and three moons—each of which is meant to represent one of the kings."

"What realm are the kings in?"

"Heaven Manifestation realm. The emperor is in the realm above it. But…"

Seeing Bai Wen making a face that is difficult to describe, Long Hua raises an eye, and asks—

"Is this the main topic that you want to talk about?"

Raising a subtle smile, Bai Wen replies—

"I dislike this emperor greatly, and since you're an outsider, I'm allowed to talk shit about them with you."

Hearing this—

"…?"

"…Ai."

Yao Ying directs a questioning look at Nuo'er, to which, the latter shakes her head with a subtle sigh. 

It goes without saying that demonstrating disrespect towards the Immortal Emperor is strictly prohibited in the Everlasting Spirit Realm, and as far as Yao Ying is aware of—the emperor has an undefeated record. 

"…"

Glancing at Yao Ying, Bai Wen says—

"Chen Shi family's little girl, talk about what you know of the emperor. That way Lao Long here can get a rough idea before I go into detail."

Being put on the spot, Yao Ying places her chopsticks down, and answers—

"Grandpa told me that the emperor has an undefeated track record in battle. Also, the emperor is considered by many to be the great guardian of the entire realm. The reason for this is because the barrier, which encompasses the entirety of realm—can only be maintained by their strength alone. …That's really all that I would know."

"Un."

Nodding his head, Bai Wen remarks—

"Pretty common knowledge then."

Turning back to Long Hua, Bai Wen asks—

"Lao Long, can you guess why this emperor has an undefeated track record in battle?"

"…"

Seeing the odd smile on Bai Wen's face, Long Hua knows immediately that the reason cannot be because of this Immortal Emperor's strength. In that case—

"Hmm…"

"You want a hint?"

"Go on."

"I call this person old tortoise."

"…?!"

Hearing this, Yao Ying widens her eyes with surprise, while Long Hua remarks—

"I see. Undefeated because no one can get through their defenses."

"Exactly. This person specializes in defense. No one has ever seen them use any sort of offensive divine arts."

Snorting out a laugh, Long Hua says—

"Calling them old tortoise is surprisingly fitting then. So, why is there a need for a barrier to encompasses the entire realm?"

"It's unclear as to when it happened, but a war occurred between the Everlasting Spirit Realm and a few other realms." 

Narrowing his eyes, Long Hua asks—

"And the invading forces of that war… I assume they're made up of the weapon spirits of this world?"

"Indeed. Numerous lives were lost during that war, so to prevent it from happening again, that old tortoise put up that barrier."

"Hmm."

Normally, a person like this should be praised as a saint, but Long Hua reacts with a frown, and asks—

"This barrier… Does it also prevent what's inside from getting out?"

"It does."

Clicking his tongue subtly, Long Hua continues to ask—

"And asking that emperor to open up a portion is…?"

"Not possible. That's the same as asking them to reform the barrier. The sheer amount of resources required just isn't feasible."

"…"

Relinquishing his chopsticks, Long Hua leans back in his seat, and stares up at the gear-filled skies, while remarking—

"Out of one prison and into another. Lao Bai, did you call me here just to dampen my mood?"

"Ai, Lao Long, I don't want to do this either. But it's much better than you finding out about it the moment you exit this world, right?"

Grabbing the wine cup, Long Hua downs the remainder of the drink, and upon setting the cup down, Bai Wen refills it for him. 

"Old tortoise…"

Dropping two cubes of ice into the cup, Long Hua picks it up, and downs a portion of the drink—prior to nodding his head at how fitting this nickname is for the Immortal Emperor. 

"Is it…?"

Raising her voice with a tone of uncertainty, Yao Ying asks—

"Is it wrong of the emperor to want to protect the realm?"

Towards Yao Ying's question, Long Hua explains—

"There's nothing wrong with what this old tortoise is doing. However… A bunch of docile sheep, that's what every single practitioner in the Everlasting Spirit Realm is—in the eyes of an outsider. This is…" 

Pausing here, Long Hua felt the need to correct something, as he says—

"Within this vast universe, realms vary due to how they are structure. Some are a colossal mass of land, while others are split off into various planets-like structures. It's far more appropriate to refer to other realms as a star region when you don't know how they look like. …In any case, this is only hypothetically speaking, but...… What happens when more than one star region comes to attack in the future? That old tortoise's cultivation base, it's worthless compared to the vast universe's apex existences. So, what happens when this prided barrier of theirs' shatter?"

"Ai…"

Raising a sigh, Bai Wen says—

"All the docile sheep will run. They have no loyalty towards the re…- Star region. Also, over the last couple of years, veins—to mine spirit stones and immortal jades, they've been depleted greatly. Once all these resources run dry, it would only be a matter of time before all the sects and practitioner households turn towards each other's throats. Forget about getting invaded by foreign star regions, the Everlasting Spirit Realm will destroy itself from within first."