Chapter 292: I Am Your Father

Zhu Zi was stunned upon hearing this.

"So it was you who instigated Lei Jie to kill my disciple?"

Lei Jie, the name of that Void Saint Lei.

"How can this be called instigation? That Grand Libationer intercepted and killed a Half-Saint of the Academy halfway; according to the rules and rites of your Hundred Saints Academy,"

"he deserved to be executed."

Zhu Zi shook his head slowly upon hearing this.

"I am the rules of the Academy."

Li Heng smiled upon hearing this.

"If that is the case, then shouldn't it be your turn to be killed by the Grand Libationer?"

Zhu Zi let out a cold snort.

"You know what I mean, don't put on an act. I originally thought you were a helper invited by that Yu Fuhai, but now it seems you came for this Jade Slip?"

"What is your relationship with Yue Zhongshan!"

Yue Zhongshan, the name of that Champion Marquis of Great Ming.

"Him? My subordinate," Li Heng smiled.

"Heh, still putting on an act at this point! I have seen that Emperor of Great Ming before; how could his Qi be like this, his appearance like this? You are so fearless, do you really think you have already won?"

Zhu Zi sneered.

He had obtained this Jade Slip during the war that destroyed Great Ming, and from it, he had comprehended some mysteries. Because that Wang Sheng was still in seclusion, he had achieved the title of the First Saint of the Hundred Saints Academy.

However, good times did not last long.

After the Heaven and Earth Mutation, he was also deeply harmed by the Pollution. Coupled with the fact that Heaven had gone missing not long ago, his Principle Study Dao lacked a portion of its foundation, and his strength had declined.

Forced into a corner.

He could only hide in this All Saints Secret Realm, using the lingering Dao-comprehension aura of the ancient saints to study the Jade Slip, hoping to obtain the true mysteries hidden within it.

This might allow him to avoid the harm of the Pollution.

But now, all his calculations had been disrupted.

It was all because of the person before him!

Although he was in the All Saints Secret Realm before, he could still feel what was happening in the Hundred Saints Academy outside, and he had witnessed the fall of his disciple, the Grand Libationer, with his own eyes.

So now, his hatred was even deeper.

As the two exchanged words, Xiao Hao, who was on the side, was completely bewildered.

What exactly was going on? What had happened?

He should be the protagonist, right? Why were both people before him ignoring him, not taking him seriously at all?

Xiao Hao considered himself a Heavenly Mandate Protagonist, destined to stand at the center of the world stage, enjoying the attention of all, with no one daring to ignore his existence. But this kind of cold treatment...

He felt stifled in his heart.

The Monk-Daoist Guest also had a strange expression.

He knew the purpose of this Anomaly coming to Hundred Saints Mountain was to obtain a great opportunity concerning the future, and that Jade Slip seemed to be the key to that great opportunity.

But now, this Jade Slip had been obtained by Li Jushi.

"You are also talking to me to stall for time, aren't you just waiting for your means to be activated?" Li Heng said with a smile.

Zhu Zi's expression changed upon hearing this.

He stopped pretending and let out a low shout.

"Principle Study Heaven and Earth!"

The surrounding scenery instantly blurred and faded; the All Saints Secret Realm and Hundred Saints Mountain all vanished without a trace. Replacing them was a completely different Heaven and Earth.

With his means successfully activated, Zhu Zi smiled slightly.

"No matter what your means are, since you have entered my domain, you have no chance of turning the tables; you are now in my trap."

"Good means, replacing the Way of Heaven and Earth with one's own Dao."

"And it is structured extremely perfectly."

Li Heng said calmly.

He reached out and grabbed, pulling a strand of rules from this completely different Heaven and Earth. But these rules were completely different from the original Heaven and Earth, bearing Zhu Zi's strong personal mark.

"Since you recognize it, you should submit to execution quickly."

Zhu Zi said proudly.

"Qi is the foundation of all things. Principle is the law of all things. In this Heaven and Earth of mine, Principle comes first and Qi follows. Although there are no objects yet, the principles of objects already exist. Your cultivation is useless, and you are under the control of my Reason Dao."

As soon as these words were spoken.

Although Li Heng's expression did not change, Xiao Hao and the Monk-Daoist Guest, who had also been pulled into this Heaven and Earth, had their expressions change; their cultivation was indeed no longer effective.

This ineffectiveness was not as simple as suppression.

It was that the Heaven and Earth simply did not acknowledge their cultivation!

Li Heng began to laugh.

"You are not capable, but the concept of this Principle Study is not bad. However, your strength is still a bit shallow. And if you interpret the world through Principle, then I am the Principle, I am Heaven."

"I am the origin you revere."

As soon as his voice fell.

Zhu Zi trembled violently, feeling as if Li Heng had been infinitely elevated, on par with Heaven, and even standing above the Nine Heavens, looking down on him from high above, like the Heavenly Principles themselves!

Under this strange phenomenon.

He even discovered that the Principle Study Heaven and Earth he had constructed no longer obeyed his commands; everything had returned to Li Heng!

Zhu Zi was horrified; how could this be possible!

Li Heng spoke with a smile.

"Your Principle Study is not pure at all; it treats 'let the ruler be a ruler, the minister a minister, the father a father, and the son a son' as Heavenly Principles that cannot be defied, failing to truly restore the objective and actual Heaven. And now, I am Heaven, I am the Emperor, I am your ruler, your father—how will you act now?"

Zhu Zi's expression changed abruptly.

He realized that these words were not merely about seizing the authority of his Principle Study Small World, but were intended to subvert his path and destroy his foundation. If things were truly as these words claimed, he would have no power to resist this person and could only let himself be slaughtered!

But why?

Why could this person's status be on par with Heaven, reaching the position of Heaven, the position of the Emperor, and the position of Reason that he revered? Is this truly something a living being can achieve!

"I do not believe it, you demon!"

"A demon who has usurped the Heavenly Position!"

Zhu Zi roared, defining Li Heng as a demon who had usurped the position of Heavenly Principles, rather than the Heaven, Emperor, and Reason he revered.

He knew he could not continue to think deeply, or his Dao heart would collapse sooner or later, so he hurriedly stirred his own Heavenly Human cultivation.

However, Zhu Zi was also lifting a rock only to drop it on his own feet.

He had constructed this Principle Study Small World to be truly worthy of being called a Small World, faintly capable of existing independently outside the Great Heaven and Earth where everyone else resided. But now, the authority of this Small World had been seized by Li Heng, and the power of this Small World was entirely used by Li Heng.

Therefore.

No matter how Zhu Zi attacked, it was all neutralized one by one by the power of this Principle Study Small World, unable to stir up even the slightest ripple.

"I have said it before, I am your father."

Li Heng said with a smile.

Zhu Zi's Principle Study was not pure; it was not a doctrine that purely analyzed the origin of Heaven and Earth, but was instead heavily mixed with the governance of the Zhuzhu Dynasty.

In order to curry favor with the emperors of the Zhuzhu Dynasty, and for the sake of the continuation and glory of feudal ethics, he gave them an orthodox position, mixed in the fundamental arts of Confucianism, added the order of "let the ruler be a ruler, the minister a minister, the father a father, and the son a son," "the ruler is the guide for the minister," "the husband is the guide for the wife," and "the father is the guide for the son," and claimed that this was the Heavenly Principle.

Once these Principle Studies spread, even he became constrained by them.

He, too, could not defy these principles and orders.

And this time, Li Heng used some super-specification means; he leaped from an ordinary status to the status of a ruler and the status of a father, which is why Zhu Zi was suffering the consequences of his own actions.

"No, impossible!"

Zhu Zi roared; his fundamental Dao was being negated by Li Heng, and his own cultivation was even faintly dissipating. Thus, no matter how deep his cultivation of Qi was, he became flustered and exasperated.

Because this was a negation of himself.

"I will let you witness the power I have comprehended from that Jade Slip!"

He intended to risk his life against Li Heng!