Why did Konrad hasten Regretless's return? Simple, regardless of whether by his hand or Celestial Slaughter's so long as Cloud or Night faced the threat of extermination, alarmed by his Supreme Will, Regretless would awake. And even if they could stall him for three to five years, the time of his return undoubtedly neared.
That being the case, using him to source Celestial Slaughter's abilities undoubtedly was a wiser choice. If knowing the enemy was the first rule of warfare, on the war for information, Celestial Slaughter currently held an indisputable advantage. They knew too little of him.
With Regretless's typical conceit, not putting Celestial Slaughter in his eyes was natural. But unfazed, Celestial Slaughter curled his lips into a smile.
"Regretless, trillions of years have passed, but you still maintain the same attitude. No, you've gotten even worse. At least in the past, when you navigated the Nether Realm's political sphere, you had a less straightforward nature to you.
Ever the disappointment. I wonder what your slut mother would think of all this?"
Celestial Slaughter quipped, nailing one of Regretless' sore spots, and making his eyes go bloodshot.
"What? You don't like the – slut mother – part? You don't like the truth? How typical of overly devoted children? In my father's reign, your mother played the two Empyrean Princes against one another, nearly ruining centuries of brotherhood before finally giving birth to you, this bastard child. If not for your uncanny resemblance to my crown prince, I would undoubtedly doubt your parentage.
What a joke, that my foolish elder brother couldn't see through her wiles, and spent the entirety of his remaining years caring for the fruit of her treachery. No wonder the world named her Divine Enchantress.
What a pity, what a joke, what a shame!"
Celestial Slaughter scoffed, speaking words that were…entirely false! However, no one besides him knew the truth of those past events. All who did no longer existed. And as Regretless' rage and indignation peaked, seeing him reach boiling point, Celestial Slaughter pursued.
"Actually, those are all lies. The truth is that Highest Dragon and Divine Enchantress were initially a couple. But as the only Tribulation Spirit available, I needed her to provide me with a child I could manipulate to my ends. Therefore, I forcefully took her before Highest Dragon.
At the time, I'd already reached the Primordial God Rank while he still was at the Overgod level. It was a one-sided thrashing, and he watched, helpless as I defiled his woman. Her cries still ring in my mind."
As those words echoed, Regretless's eyes blanked, spreading wide alongside his lips. His battle-will grew chaotic, and his entire body shook.
"I mean their cries, of course. I could have used my Golden Dragon Rod to facilitate her subjugation, but I didn't. Highest Dragon tried very hard to restrain his pain, but couldn't. In the end, to reduce her sufferings, your mother had no choice but to accept a contract with me and give birth to you.
Part of the deal was that I'd rewrite Highest Dragon's memories. Which I did. After all, that elder brother of mine was a valuable official. How could I bear his loathing? A pity that once he transcended in Truth and became a Primordial, he regained all those pesky memories.
Unfortunate, really. But luckily for me, knowing you only had him as support, knowing that without him backing you, your life would become a living hell, he had to bear the pain, to bear the shame, to bide his time while bearing it all, and never utter the tiniest word of complaint.
How…sorrowful. To think that it was your rash insurgence and not this personal hatred that'd cause him to raise his sword against me? How…tragic. Child, you really did your imperial uncle wrong."
Celestial Slaughter sighed, and even as his words trailed, Regretless teetered — on the verge of collapsing mid-air. And seeing that side of him, Konrad couldn't help but inwardly sigh. The current Regretless was such a mess that to say nothing of Konrad, any one of the Chthonian Dragon Dukes could take control of his Dao Heart and send him into perdition.
Perhaps counting on him to source Celestial Slaughter was…a mistake. But then he recalled the source of Regretless' strength, and his eyes contorted into a frown.
"Not right. What is the old goat trying to achieve by riling him up?"
Konrad wondered.
"Lies…lies…LIEEEEES!"
Regretless snarled while clutching his head, and sinking his nails into his flesh in a maddened frenzy. But what the onlookers couldn't feel was that alongside the anguish and rage, his strength soared unceasingly.
"It naturally isn't. I'm sure you could see it. That lingering pain in his eyes. The silent agony that made the suavest gentleman of the Empyrean become a secluded Taoist monk, how could you not see it? You just didn't want to.
A man must face his demons to rise above himself. Highest Dragon faced them daily. How heroic. You should learn from him."
Those words were the final straw and the crimson of Regretless' irises spread to his sclera. In that instant, it was as if something inside him snapped, as if anguish and remorse broke a certain limit, then numbed all the rest.
Like a drunken man, Regretless' head vacillated. He then stabilized, closed his eyes, and as he clenched his fists, an eerie red mist soared from his body—turning into a blood hurricane.
Regretless' eyes opened wide and as the full might of his cultivation erupted, all were startled to feel that with cultivation alone, he could suppress a Supreme! For a Perfect Bridge, such a feat was entirely inconceivable.
"Hahaha, uncle, mother, I am not filial. I am not filial.
But don't worry, in this era, I shall avenge this slight.
AAAAAAAAAAARGH!"
A majestic hurricane of a crimson aura high of three kilometers swirled around Regretless, making his strength rise no end while three suns, appeared at his back. A crimson sun, a sky blue sun, and a white sun!
"Even if I must use my life as the price, Celestial Slaughter…I WILL KILL YOU!
Innate Skill: Absolute Dominion!"
Regretless bellowed, and shockingly, the very essence of the Dao shifted ownership, becoming his to with as his saw fit. Alongside it, the tribulations of all Realms answered his command, while the lives, bloodline strength, and existences of trillions gathered to empower him!
The sky darkened, shrouded with the sound of crackling lightning and thunderbolts. The ground heaved, the Laws spiraled out of control, the three suns spread to form a triangle in space—stretching across hundreds of kilometers.
"Heavenly Demon Tablet!"
With Regretless' command, his Supreme Artifact, a grey stele engraved with ancient red writings, appeared above his head. The tablet morphed, becoming a grey bow that dropped in Regretless' hands.
As Regretless pulled the bowstrings, creating a crimson, white and sky blue arrow aimed at Celestial Slaughter and his forces, a dreadful pressure able to extinguish all existence rippled!
With his windblown, sky blue hair fluttering at his back, Regretless fired the arrow, that arrow all the ancients on the scene effortlessly recognized. When compared to the one that ended so many lives in the past, this one was in a completely different dimension, boasting a strength that could extinguish even a High Supreme in one strike.
True to his words, Regretless threw caution to the wind, imbuing the root of his Infiniteness in the arrow to perish with Celestial Slaughter!
But to the audience's shock, Celestial Slaughter didn't seek evasion. Better, he threw himself at the arrow, opened his mouth, and as grey winds unfurled from his form, he swallowed it whole!
All the energies contained in that arrow swelled Celestial Slaughter's veins, strengthening his dreadful physique while enhancing his cultivation.
With a whirl, Celestial Slaughter stabilized himself in the air, and as his golden eyes rose to meet Regretless', they sparked with amusement.
"Excellent move, my child. Alas, I am invulnerable."
