Chapter 569: You Are Not as Good as the Heavenly Emperor

"So these ten are your juniors, fellow Daoist."

Li Heng looked at the group of Sacreds numbered one through ten and said with a smile.

"Why, do you know them, fellow Daoist?"

Kong Zunzhe raised an eyebrow and asked in surprise.

"Naturally I know them; one could say we didn't get to know each other until we fought. Wouldn't you agree?" Li Heng responded with a smile, while the group of Sacreds fell into silence, completely unable to grasp the current situation.

At this moment, Number One sent a Divine Sense transmission to Kong Zunzhe.

"Venerable, the person before you is actually the suspected mission target; it is precisely because of him that we decided to summon you to descend." He did not know what kind of complications were involved, so he chose to speak the truth and cut the Gordian knot—this was the correct choice.

"What? He is the mission target!"

Kong Zunzhe was shocked and asked again.

"Didn't you say earlier that the mission target only had the cultivation of a Supreme? Yet this person before me is at the same realm as I am, ranked as a Venerable. Are you truly certain?"

"This is indeed the mission target I spoke of, absolutely correct. As for why he is at the same realm as you, I do not know." Number One responded helplessly.

He was also astonished in his heart.

Previously, this person was only at the realm of a Supreme, at most an Invincible One among Supremes. How much time had passed since then? Not even a day, right? Why was this person already at the Venerable Realm?

It was truly difficult to comprehend.

However, regardless, he felt fortunate in his heart that he had agreed to Number Three's proposal to summon a Venerable Avatar to descend. Otherwise, if the ten of them had to be hostile toward a Venerable, even if they unleashed all their trump cards, the only outcome would be death.

Kong Zunzhe fell into deep thought; he could sense that Number One was not lying. But to cross the chasm from an Invincible One among Supremes to a Venerable in such a short time—was this not too terrifying?

In a certain sense, could this already be considered Transcendence?

He had originally thought that his previous sensing of this person having just broken through meant they had just broken through to the Venerable Realm a million, ten million, or a hundred million years ago, and their foundation had not yet stabilized.

As it turned out, Reality was playing a joke on him.

"Just broken through" meant they had broken through less than a day ago?

It seemed he would have to deal with this cautiously.

"Then I roughly understand what is going on. How about this, Fellow Daoist Li, for my sake, spare these ten juniors this once; consider it an adult not holding a grudge against a petty person, how about that?"

Kong Zunzhe said calmly.

"And what if I don't agree?"

Li Heng responded with a smile. These ten people had gone for the kill the moment they attacked, using a Forbidden Weapon; if he hadn't also been "cheating," he likely would have already met Eternal Silence and capsized in the gutter.

Under these circumstances, how could he possibly let these ten people go?

"Why must you be like this, Fellow Daoist? Weren't we talking quite happily just now? Besides, you so readily spoke of the Heavenly Emperor's information just now; you must have some grievances with that Heavenly Emperor as well."

"As long as you let these ten juniors go and do not strike at them, my Multiverse Alliance can promise to help you deal with that Heavenly Emperor, if that Heavenly Emperor can return alive."

Kong Zunzhe frowned, his tone beginning to turn cold.

"Not enough, not enough; the Heavenly Emperor does not need you to deal with him."

Li Heng chuckled and shook his head.

"Heh, it seems you are unaware of the power of the Heavenly Emperor, Fellow Daoist?"

"Back then, that Heavenly Emperor flowed against the Time-Space Mother River and discovered our hidden Time-Space Source Point, and he did have a brief contact with us. I can say this: even the Heavenly Emperor of that time would be more than a match for you, Fellow Daoist."

Kong Zunzhe suddenly laughed.

He had been very surprised after learning the information about the Heavenly Emperor from Li Heng just now. After all, ever since the Heavenly Court collapsed in this era, the Multiverse Alliance had not observed any information on that terrifying figure, the Heavenly Emperor, and had assumed the Heavenly Emperor was already dead.

As it turned out, not only was this Heavenly Emperor still alive, but he could also project Transformation Bodies from the Wuqiong Weizhi back into the Great Void? Such ability was worth even greater attention from their Multiverse Alliance.

"Then I observe that the same applies to you, Fellow Daoist."

Li Heng answered with a smile.

Kong Zunzhe's expression turned cold instantly.

"As the saying goes, taking a step back opens up a vast sky. You could completely soften your stance, Fellow Daoist, and avoid conflict; isn't that good? I can preserve the lives of these ten juniors, and you gain the friendship of the Multiverse Alliance; it can be said to be a happy ending for all, a win-win situation."

That was what was said, but there was no emotion in the words.

"Do you believe these words yourself, Fellow Daoist?"

Li Heng asked in return.

"Fine! Then I shall handle this officially. My ten juniors came to this era only to execute a mission: to find a strange object lost by my Multiverse Alliance. Has this strange object been obtained by you, Fellow Daoist? If you have obtained it, please hand it over, and you will still be able to reap the friendship of my Multiverse Alliance."

"But if you have obtained it and refuse to hand it over, that is theft, a violation of the laws of the Multiverse Alliance. I do not know what the consequences will be then; do not say you were not warned!"

Kong Zunzhe's expression was icy as he warned Li Heng.

"Then I have indeed obtained it."

Li Heng smiled. Since the person or faction involved with that Strange Fire Pile had already arrived, he could not be bothered to hide it. With a thought, he retrieved the Strange Fire Pile that was on his main body's side.

"This is the thing you were talking about, right?"

The fire pile burned quietly, floating above Li Heng's palm.

Kong Zunzhe frowned, feeling some surprise in his heart; he seemed not to have expected Li Heng to be so straightforward and was unclear what kind of scheme this was. He thought for a moment and spoke.

"Indeed, please return the object to its owner, Fellow Daoist."

"Wait, how can you prove this object belongs to your Multiverse Alliance?" Li Heng responded with a smile.

"Naturally there is evidence. My Multiverse Alliance has a Secret Technique; once used, it will cause this strange object to react and reveal the exclusive mark of the Multiverse Alliance." Kong Zunzhe said calmly.

"Then please try it, Fellow Daoist," Li Heng said.

"It seems you still refuse to give up, Fellow Daoist? Very well, I shall let you see the Secret Technique of the Multiverse Alliance!"

Kong Zunzhe sneered, and a Rune suddenly appeared in the Void, profound and mysterious, emitting invisible ripples that spread out and covered everyone present, including that Strange Fire Pile.

Then... then there was no then.

After the ripples spread out, everything remained calm as usual; no strange changes occurred, let alone the appearance of the exclusive mark of the Multiverse Alliance that Kong Zunzhe had spoken of.

"It seems you were mistaken, Fellow Daoist; this is not your item after all," Li Heng said with a slight smile.

Kong Zunzhe remained silent for a long while.

Even though only a clone was present here, in terms of strength alone, he was far stronger than this Li Daoren. Moreover, being this close, even if this Li Daoren had set up some restrictions, he should have been able to penetrate them and cause the Number Five Strange Object to react.

How could there be no reaction at all?

Suddenly, he raised his head to look at Li Heng, his aura surging. "Fellow Daoist's methods are truly brilliant; why not have a discussion on the Dao?"

If negotiation was impossible, then the only option was to fight.