Chapter 19: Reasonable Inference

Trading a worthless life for the deaths of a group of saint disciples—what a satisfying episode!

But the plot's development clearly surpassed Zhao Si's expectations; he frowned, sensing something was amiss:

No way—even if Di Jun truly found out that the Jie Sect and the Chan Sect were secretly plotting subversion, he wouldn't just march straight to Kunlun Mountain to attack them, would he?

He razed their sect's headquarters—this grudge is massive! Doesn't Di Jun realize that, now that the other side has already achieved the Dao and become saints, the balance of power between us has fundamentally shifted?

Under saints, everyone is an ant; if they truly get angry, don't be fooled by the Heavenly Court's numbers and seemingly luxurious all-star lineup—actually, the Two Saints could destroy them with little effort.

By rashly charging in to start a fight, didn't Di Jun just completely offend them?

Risking a feud with the saints by picking a fight—what could he possibly be after……

This absolutely couldn't be the protagonist's doing!

Without much thought, Zhao Si decisively ruled out the possibility that the protagonist Jin Bing's gluttonous words were behind it.

Whether it's gluttonous words or investigative evidence, they're merely his surface pretexts; this sole legitimate heavenly emperor who governs the Wilderness is certainly no hot-headed fool……

Yes.

Di Jun was appointed by the Dao Ancestor as the sole legitimate ruler of the Wilderness, so his legitimacy derives from Hongjun; even Hongjun endorses this legitimacy, and Hongjun's disciples naturally ought to respect and acknowledge Di Jun's authority—even if some people resent Di Jun, they dare not show it openly.

Probably not good.

Among the Three Purities, Taiqing was cut off directly, Yuqing was banished to the extreme west where even birds don't defecate, and Shangqing went to an island in the East Sea—this shows that even the Heavenly Court's heavy hand they dare not directly confront; it's not that they can't win, but they're compelled by the Dao Ancestor's orthodox righteousness.

Because they made no effort to hide their movements among humanity, Di Jun discerned their purpose and therefore chose to unleash a slaughter upon humans to oppose the saints.

What he cares about is probably not humanity itself; after all, in this life he never ordered a massacre of humans, showing he doesn't understand humanity this time.

Anyway, the saints' rise will surely shake the Heavenly Court's position; rather than being gradually stripped of power and ending up in a sorry retreat, it's better to wield the righteousness of the Immortal Dao in a heavy strike, justifiably overwhelming them with force.

In the Wilderness, many resent the Heavenly Court; if Di Jun really launched a slaughter on this pretext, he'd truly wake up to find himself at odds with the world.

In other words, Di Jun didn't target Kunlun Mountain because he believed the protagonist's gluttonous words, nor because he uncovered some anti-Heaven plot by the Jie and Chan Sects that made him furious; rather, he himself wanted to exploit this affair to grandly display himself, thereby achieving certain political ends.

【Time has already reversed……】

What a fine self-destructive fighting style!

In the past, Di Jun was a quasi-saint-level expert, and Heavenly Court powerhouses such as Taiyi and Kunpeng were also of quasi-saint cultivation; their combined might was unrivaled in the Wilderness, so no one dared violate his authority.

You only show up now after discovering my background is utterly ordinary, so you dare to reveal yourself, planning to probe me face-to-face before finally deciding what attitude to take toward me……

Anyone can see that the Six Saints dwelling in the world will surely tower over the Heavenly Court's authority—but what is the Six Saints' attitude toward the Heavenly Court?

So, what should I do?

Zhao Si pondered:

These guys came to discuss a deal with me; they're probably aiming to farm merit on humanity, since they have a merit-discerning eye and have long known that humanity is the protagonist of heaven and earth.

Perhaps Guang Chengzi and company don't think they're offending the Heavenly Court; after all, before the secret of humanity being the 'protagonist of heaven and earth' was exposed to the public, aside from their disciples who had opened the merit-eye, nobody would pay much attention to a new species—take it over and it's taken over, not worth making a big fuss.

But Di Jun clearly cares a lot.

It's true that under saints everyone is an ant, but can we really go to war with the Heavenly Court under the banner of 【Immortal Dao Rebel】……

Zhao Si suddenly thought of something, as if sensing:

Nüwa created humans only a few hundred years ago, and the other five saints have only just founded their teachings and become saints not long ago; they likely haven't actually offended the Heavenly Court yet, but their very status as saints is already the greatest challenge to the Heavenly Court's ruling clique.

Regardless of world or polity, essentially it's the strong using power to establish their supreme rule; power is the pillar of authority.

The result of the contemplation was to seize the occasion and launch a heavy blow against Kunlun Mountain……

This is Zhao Si putting himself in the heavenly emperor's perspective, simulating based on his own understanding; although details may deviate, it's probably not far off.

What Di Jun cares about is that the saints' disciples' attitude toward the Heavenly Court has changed—and whether that is also the saints' intention.

Especially now that the Jie and Chan Sects openly meddle in Heavenly Court affairs, expelling the protagonist—the Heavenly Court official who manages humanity—this clearly reveals the two sects' inflated mindset.

Finally it's my turn to take charge!

Zhao Si shook his head, surprised by Di Jun's grand move.

All in all, Di Jun's methods are not bad and the effect is excellent—at least one punch smashed the Jie and Chan Sects to shreds, core disciples were abolished, registered disciples lined up for the execution platform; it can be called a sudden return to the eve of liberation, harshly using battle results to proclaim to the Wilderness that the Heavenly Court is still not pulled!

But there are also negative effects, and they're significant—because now there truly are two saints secretly plotting subversion……

So, in the previous simulation, the reason Di Jun quickly issued the slaughter order was very likely because this group of saints' disciples caught wind of things shortly after Nüwa created humans.

Recalling the fragmentary information from the earlier simulation, Zhao Si formed a bold guess:

These saints' disciples probably noticed humanity long ago, but since I've been making a splash here, they suspect I know something, so they've cautiously investigated me for a long time.

As for the specifics of how to negotiate, they probably still intend to first gauge my attitude; if I'm as weak and bullyable as just now, they'll simply drive people out and seize power; but if I'm as overbearing as the first time, they'll just attack outright.

But as the Six Saints successively attained the Dao, this authority derived from cultivation strength also faced passive challenges and instability due to the emergence of even stronger cultivators:

Under saints everyone is an ant; now six saints have actually appeared in the Wilderness, you, Di Jun, a mere quasi-saint ant—are your words still hard enough?

It's quite apparent that not only will everyone think this way, but Di Jun himself likely harbors doubts in private—not to the point of losing sleep and appetite, but at least he's suspicious and jumpy.

【……Facing the visit of Jie and Chan Sect disciples with unknown intent, you, as the chieftain of tens of thousands of humans, choose: (?), please freely input your strategy.】

Before the Six Saints attained the Dao, there was only one saint in the world—Hongjun; the Dao Ancestor Hongjun himself was the Wilderness' strongest being and transmitter of the Dao, thus he is the source of legitimacy for all Immortal Dao forces.

Upon further reflection, in the previous simulation Di Jun insisted on opposing humanity, yet in this round he has delayed paying attention to humanity; the only variable causing this butterfly effect could be that he served as humanity's chieftain for a full seven hundred years in this round.

But legitimacy aside, the Heavenly Court's ruling strength fundamentally still depends on Di Jun's own cultivation and the cultivation of those who truly obey his orders.

It's not that he looks down on the protagonist; don't look at how the protagonist twists right and wrong before Di Jun—this sort of thing is easily uncovered upon investigation. Although Guang Chengzi and company indeed turn their noses up and are rather disrespectful toward the Heavenly Court, at least they haven't truly shown their antagonistic form yet.

Could it be……

【Whether time has reversed, returning to the previous life choice?】

Zhao Si began to ponder:

Whether or not to trade with the saints' disciples……

……

(End of chapter)