Chapter 321: Turning Point in History

"Won!"

Lin Liu let out a long breath.

Winning was plain and unadorned yet tedious……

Basically, the whole situation was just a war of attrition, with our side relying on human incense for supplies, while the enemy had instantly refined the entire Heavenly Realm, drawing upon the immeasurable incense accumulated over untold millions of years to replenish their consumption.

One must say the Heavenly Realm truly has deep reserves; taking its hidden stores and matching our side's high-intensity attrition, it actually managed to hold out for over a hundred years!

Lin Liu even dared to say that if the Heavenly Court used this stockpile to support mortal cultivators, it could mass-produce several thousand True Gods, and he would surely lose! But the Heavenly Court is just a bunch of slackers; despite sitting on deep reserves, they never wanted to interfere in the mortal realm—let alone producing True Gods, they didn't even want to run the Underworld……

In the end, landing in this situation was truly self-inflicted! The battle lasted over a hundred years, and during that time, what was consumed was not only the Heavenly Court's incense reserves, but also the loyalty and patience of its subjects:

These star lords, who had once been mortal realm founding monarchs, naturally arrogant and unbeatable—it was only natural that they served the Heavenly Emperor not out of loyalty but because they were cowed by his power and authority, thus becoming his subjects.

And now that the Heavenly Court's leaky ship is about to sink, naturally even their meager loyalty is rapidly depleted.

Furthermore, the Heavenly Emperor kept pulling tricks, issuing one foolish move after another, which only made the officials eager to jump ship!

This trend gave those already planning to surrender the chance to seize the opportunity; after a bit of private communication, they rallied quite a few opposition forces, waiting for the right moment to act……

Thus, when the Heavenly Court side's mindset exploded to its breaking point, a mutiny erupted.

Dozens of surrender-faction star lords, of one mind, joined forces to strike a blow against the Heavenly Emperor, quickly crushing his last loyal hound and successfully capturing the Emperor!

The years‑long stalemate was thus broken……

"Master! The false emperor has been brought here!"

Monkey excitedly came to deliver the message.

"Lin, I have a lot to say to him…… and those captives, temporarily hold them aside, until I finish speaking with the Heavenly Emperor, then deal with them."

"Yes!"

The excited Monkey received the order and retreated.

Not long after, several Heavenly Court defectors roughly escorted the Heavenly Emperor over! "False emperor! Kneel down!"

The defectors, eager to show loyalty before their new master, loudly rebuked the black‑robed youth.

Although the black‑robed youth was disheveled, he did not bow or scrape; facing the defectors' denunciation of betraying their lord, he remained unmoved, merely studying the opposing figure—this famed Innate Ox‑Horse Sacred Body that few have ever seen—with serious attention……

When Lin Liu saw that they still wanted to insult the Heavenly Emperor, he frowned: "How can you be rude to the Heavenly Emperor? Retreat!"

Having said that, the few defectors who had been flattering the wrong side stared blankly, then repeatedly nodded and bowed: "Obey heaven…… obey the Holy Lord's command!"

Having said that, they then grudgingly withdrew.

In the temporary lodging, only Lin Liu and the black‑robed youth remained……

At that moment, the black‑robed youth suddenly spoke:

"I'm curious—why are you determined to overthrow the Heavenly Court?"

"You…… what exactly do you seek?"

By now, Lin Liu no longer played the riddler; he simply smiled at the Heavenly Emperor and said, "Let Your Majesty know: I seek nothing else, only to lead all beings out of this dream‑world."

"Leave the dream?"

The Heavenly Emperor looked bewildered, yet still asked confusedly, "You…… aren't you intending to serve all beings forever without compensation?"

"Of course not."

Lin Liu laughed helplessly, never expecting that even the Heavenly Emperor would misunderstand his goal.

Afterward, Lin Liu slowly began to tell the Heavenly Emperor everything he knew……

……

【You told the Heavenly Emperor about your protagonist identity and plan, as well as the many useful pieces of information you had previously encountered……】

【Although the previous protagonist is currently amnesic, you still want to show off a bit: the worthless previous protagonist took three lifetimes to achieve a perfect ending, whereas you accomplished great success in just two lifetimes—if you don't boast about that, what would you boast about?】

【You have even made preparations, so that when you lead people back from the dream to the Eternal Wasteland, you will definitely meet him face‑to‑face to boast once more……】

【The competitive mindset among protagonists is understandable……】

【……】

【After you finished speaking, the Heavenly Emperor stared speechless: although he thought you were just making up stories, telling novels, the words about "protagonist," "clearance," "Eternal Wasteland," and the like still stirred his dust‑sealed memory.】

【An inexplicable intuition told him: what you say is true!】

【After reluctantly digesting these so‑called bizarre informations and settings, he involuntarily asked you: "So, as long as we find that dreamer in the Heavenly Court, we can dispel the dream and return to reality?"】

【"In theory, that's how it works!"】

【You nodded.】【But he worried: "What if that person isn't in the Heavenly Court then?"】

【"Then just use an alarm clock to wake everyone in the world!"】

【You stroked your beard confidently: "Now that this biggest nail, the Heavenly Court, has been pulled out, what power in the world could still stop your success?"】

【No matter how you say it, the advantage is mine!】

【But the Heavenly Emperor clearly lacks your confidence; he grew anxious: "You'd better be certain that person is in the Heavenly Court, or else…… you might end up shattered to pieces……"】

【"If the Heavenly Court lacks that person, your loyal supporters will soon be forced by you onto the opposing side!"】

【The more he spoke, the more he worried: "According to your saying, when the person in the dream is awakened, to others it looks like a sudden death…… such a terrifying thing, even if your prestige is higher, few would believe you!"】

【His words left you, who had been feeling proud and satisfied, somewhat silent……】

【"Furthermore, why would they follow you out of the dream and into reality?"】

【The Heavenly Emperor continued to analyze anxiously.】

【"While here, mortals have money, grain, homes, and achievements…… but if they went to reality, all of that would vanish; even if you told them the future in reality would be better, few would be willing to lose these and start over."】

【"And cultivators and True Gods are even more so: up here they are supreme beings, the top‑tier immortal powerhouses of heaven and earth, but if they went to the Eternal Wasteland…… you say everyone there is immortal, so wouldn't they become mere commoners?"】

【"Better to be a chicken's head than a phoenix's tail——they surely understand that…… so even your most loyal True God retainers would not have many willing to follow you."】

【The black‑robed mercilessly exposed the key point you had been overlooking!】

【"If you insist on going against their wishes and making this choice, then…… in short, you must prepare to be smashed to pieces."】

"Furthermore..."

"Speaking up to this point, he hesitated a moment before saying: 'I don't fully approve of your plan, because you're too overconfident... You only planned what to do after success, but never planned what to do after failure.'"

"'Can a dream‑person reaching reality really be as simple as you imagine? I doubt it; a dream‑person waking from a dream…'"

"'Stop saying that!'"

"You finally couldn't bear it any longer and stopped his discouraging words; you, who are used to success and victory, cannot tolerate any form of persuasion now: 'I will definitely succeed! Stop saying defeatist things!'"

"After you scolded him with a sentence, the black‑clad youth sighed softly: 'As a prisoner, how could he dare to try to convince someone brimming with confidence, a victor?'"

"I only hope you can truly go from one victory to another…"

"..."

"That's only natural!"

"You, full of heroic ambition, first brought the Heavenly Emperor down to settle him properly; after all, in the previous arc you had unintentionally verified that he is not the master of the dream world, so rather than sending him back to the Eternal Primordial Wasteland right away, it's better to let him wait a bit."

"But toward the other captives and those who surrendered, you weren't so polite!"

"You directly summoned them in batches; when they arrived nervously to hear your lecture, you immediately sounded the 'alarm clock' for them."

"The essence of the 'alarm clock' is to make the dream‑person aware of the existence of that 'other self' lurking in the dark; merely saying the name 'Zhao Si' is useless—you also have to make them understand what the concept of 'Zhao Si' actually is…"

"Thus, facing those nervous true gods of the Heavenly Court awaiting your lecture, you slowly explained your own protagonist's restart; then, amid their bewildered stares, you delved deeper: 'I can be the restarting protagonist only because of the existence of that "other self"…'"

"The gods had been merely bewildered by the first part, but upon hearing the second, their faces suddenly showed astonishment: 'Is there really such a great existence in the world?!'"

"Really… really…"

"Before they could come up with a fitting description, this batch of people scattered in disorientation, collapsing in a heap of corpses…"

"Was the dream‑master not among this batch?"

"Your brow furrowed slightly as an uneasy premonition began to stir… but you didn't give up, continuing to summon the next batch, and then, amid their shock at the sight of corpses covering the ground, you spoke again of that indefinable 'other self'."

"But this batch also had no dreamers…"

"So you summoned another batch, then another, and another…"

"'Master?!'"

"When the monkey that sensed something was off walked in, shocked, it saw layer upon layer of over a thousand corpses, and also the familiar silhouette hidden among them, and couldn't help but feel a chill run down its spine: 'Master, you… what happened to you?!'"

"'No…'"

"Lin Liu just stood there, dazed and disoriented: 'How could there be none…'"

"He slowly lifted his head from the pile of corpses, giving the frightened monkey a vacant, dazed stare."

"'Disciple…'"

"'Let me tell you a story…'"

"..."

"(End of chapter)"