The young, female Master of the Laws before them was obviously a far thornier opponent than that untried youth.
Just now, she’d manipulated the Laws of time, making time itself flow backwards. This was a feat difficult even for those who’d condensed the Grand Dao of Time’s dao heart, yet just now, she’d done so naturally.
“Big Sister Ru, I was wrong.” The chastised youth hung his head.
He really had run out on his own. Back in the clan, he always heard his older brothers say how much fun it was outside. After a while, he could no longer restrain his curiosity and ran off to take a look.
As soon as he went outside, he encountered Zhou Wu, who’d coaxed him over.
“If I kill her, I’ll be able to complete the Grand Dao of Time’s dao heart.” As he looked at her, God Emperor Zhou Wu felt this idea growing inside him. Of the countless daos, the Dao of Time was one of the most challenging and impenetrable. It was even harder to master than the Grand Dao of the Five Elements.
Time Acceleration, Time Stop, and Time Reversal.
Any of these three methods of manipulating time were incredibly useful in combat.
The Master of the Laws whipped her head around and looked right at Zhou Wu. His eyes instantly lit up with friendly light. He nodded and smiled at her.
She’d discovered him.
He hadn’t expected this. The idea had just barely popped into his head, yet she’d already sensed that brief flash of murderous intent. It seemed she really was at a far, far higher-level than the other youth.
The young woman glanced at Zhou Wu once more, then looked away.
It was because he’d considered killing her.
“Then tell me, why did you run all this way?” the girl asked the youth.
“I…. I came here with him.” The boy pointed at God Emperor Zhou Wu. “He could tell that I was from the Land of the Laws, and he said that someone was about to break the balance. He asked me to come along to help threaten them.”
“That so?” The lady Master of the Masters glanced at Zhou Wu and smiled, but it didn’t reach her eyes. When she looked away, she patted the boy on the head and said gravely, “Fortunately, you’ve been a poor student, and your comprehension of the laws is still rather shallow. Otherwise, someone would have killed you and seized your dao a long time ago. The outside world isn’t as wonderful as you think; there’s danger at every corner. Who knows how many people want to slaughter us as a shortcut to condensing their dao hearts? In the future, remember: you can’t follow just anyone. If someone really breaks the balance, as Masters of the Laws, we’ll sense it on our own, won’t we? Got it?”
She tousled the boy’s hair, then glanced pointedly at Zhou Wu. She made no direct accusations, but her meaning was clear.
After murderous intent rose up in his heart, it only lasted an instant. Afterwards, Zhou Wu maintained that same amiable smile. He no longer even considered killing the Master of the Laws and obtaining a dao heart.
That wasn’t all. This time, when the Master of the Laws looked at him, he didn’t so much as speak.
“Please, forgive me. I didn’t know your junior brother was so young. Leading him here into danger was entirely my mistake.” Zhou Wu’s attitude was earnest, and he seemed sincere. “However, Masters of the Law exist to maintain the balance of power, and that includes balance between the various factions of the God Race. These are top experts and masters of their respective Divine Mountains, yet they want to attack me, the God Emperor chosen by the heavens. Furthermore, they want to wipe out the entire Bai Family, a clan utterly loyal to the God Race. I, Zhou Wu, am the God Emperor, but my power is limited. I humbly request you issue judgment and give us justice.”
“The wicked are the first to sue for justice.” Zhao Qianhe snorted.
Zhou Wu sure knew how to talk. He was shrewd indeed.
It was no surprise that someone like this could trick her junior brother. After all, the kid had never left his clan’s territory before.
Despite her distaste for Zhou Wu, he said something she rather approved of: the Masters of the Laws really did exist to maintain the balance of power, as well as the balance between various clans and factions. They existed to eliminate those who broke the Laws, or tried to usurp and change them.
Regardless of her feelings about him, Zhou Wu was still the God Emperor, the master of the God Race. If someone really tried to rebel against him, or attempted to obliterate an entire family clan, that would indeed upset the balance. From the look of things, this place was already a river of blood and a mountain of corpses. She really did have to do something about it.
As for whether he was telling the truth or not, she didn’t need to ask any questions.
A jade scepter appeared in her hands, and through it, she sensed all that had happened here, including the source of the incident. However, the scepter wasn’t omniscient; it could only replay the past. It had no means of determining the future.
Her eyelids gently shut as she started flipping through the events leading up to this.
“Hm?” Suddenly, the Master of the Laws knit her elegant brows. She then opened her eyes and locked onto Ye Zichen.
“What’s your relationship with him?” the female Master of the Laws asked expressionlessly.
“I asked you a question. Answer me. I’ve already let you off once by not pursuing your threat to kill my junior brother.”
“What a joke!”
“The Laws cannot be provoked. It seems I must….”
“He’s my son. If you have a problem, take it up with me.” Just as Chao Feng and the young female Master of the Laws were about to duke it out, Ye Rong suddenly interjected.
When she heard that, the Master of the Laws looked at Ye Rong for a while. Afterward, a hint of surprise flashed through her eyes, but she hid it so well that none of the onlookers noticed it.
“Let me ask you this: before I got here, what were you people planning to do?”
“Annihilate the entire Bai Family!”
“Why? Just for the sake of that ordinary, unexceptional youth?”
“That’s right!” Ye Rong’s gaze showed no signs of backing down. “They served my son’s arm and ruined his eye. So what if I wipe out their clan? What, do you want to stop me?”
So long as the Master of the Laws saw things his way, given her flexible application of the dao and the Laws, Chao Feng and the others would be helpless against her. With her support, God Emperor Zhou Wu was confident he could suppress the whole lot of them.
This wouldn’t just resolve the Bai Family’s impending calamity. It might even clear up everything weighing on his heart.
Better yet, once this was over, he might even be able to use this to get closer to the Master of the Laws.
He might even…
He might even manage to get his hands on the Dao of Time’s dao heart after all.
Based on the look in the Master of the Law’s eyes, it seemed she was preparing to announce her decision.
The cultivators of the Profound Pavilion and Star Altar clenched their weapons. They’d all received their orders: even if the Master of the Laws sided with Zhou Wu, even if they had to go against the Laws themselves, they still had to wipe out the Bai Family.
At that moment, the Master of the Laws turned to Zhou Wu and smiled.
When he saw her smile, God Emperor Zhou Wu’s gaze lit up with delight. Chao Feng and the others, however, knit their brows.
“That’s right? What’s it to you?” said Ye Rong.
The Master of the Laws merely chuckled, took her junior brother by the hand, and took a step back. “Then… please, go on!”
