Chapter 840: A World of Gloom

Zhang Lie nodded. "The reason the superior worlds haven't taken control of all three thousand is because the formation of a superior world will result in an outpouring of the will of the world's energy. The superior worlds will come to claim that energy then."

"What happens to a world that has its energy consumed?"

"It perishes. It becomes a world devoid of life, where no living lifeforms can tread. However, the goal of these superior worlds isn't to destroy the three thousand worlds, nor can they do so.

"After centuries, these worlds will regain their capacity for life, turning into a few dozen or a few hundred smaller worlds. Once these small worlds become inhabited once more, they'll go to war with each other before eventually combining into medium-sized worlds, and hence into large worlds, and finally into superior worlds once more.

"The moment that happens, the ten superior worlds will destroy it and let the cycle happen anew. In other words, they treat the three thousand worlds like a plot of land, one which can be farmed over and over again for resources.

"This is the truth behind the ten superior worlds."

Li Zongming had wondered why there were only ever ten superior worlds. He had made a few bold conjectures, but none as bold as the truth, as the cruel and harsh reality that awaited him.

This wasn't a war of the worlds; it wasn't universal conflict. No, they were all actors in a game, a game in which none of them could be winners. Be they small or large or medium-sized—all these worlds were nothing more than crops to be harvested by superior worlds. The difference was just that some of these crops were immature, some were barely sprouting, and some basically ready for harvest.

Only now did Li Zongming realize that the struggle between him and the king of the west all these years, for generations in the past, was all because of the pressure exerted by the ten superior worlds.

A ball of emotion seemed to disgorge itself from his throat. Despite all his struggles, was he nothing more than a pig in a pigpen?

"A pig, a pig—nothing more than a pig, of course. It's so horrible it could be nothing but the truth. All these years that I wasted, that I spent for nothing, all these years fattening myself up for slaughter—just what have I been doing?"

Li Zongming raised his head to the skies and laughed a terrible laugh. The entire world quavered with the strength of his emotions, and rain poured down from the heavens above.

Li Zongming's mood was unconsciously affecting the weather, and everyone present felt a sudden heaviness suffuse the air.

Li Zongming was able to accept that the worlds had to war with each other; this was natural law, the means and impetus by which the worlds grew stronger, but the fact that what waited for them all at the apex of their strength was nothing but slaughter...?

After Li Zongming finished laughing, he shook his head wearily, tears in his eyes. "After inheriting the throne, I neglected Qianlin's mother for the sake of the realm, tending to the world with my utmost care—and for what?!"

"Are you alright?"

Zhang Lie could understand the king of the east's feelings. He had spent his entire life striving to reach the peak of the three thousand worlds, only to discover a harsh truth instead.

That he hadn't gone crazy was already testament to his mental fortitude.

As though he still harbored some hope, Li Zongming asked, "Is this the fate of all superior worlds?"

Zhang Lie shook his head.

Li Zongming was about to ask another question when Zhang Lie interrupted, "The superior world that doesn't treat you like a crop is even worse."

"Which world?"

"The world of the death spirits."

Upon hearing that name, Li Zongming shuddered.

Zhang Lie continued, "All superior worlds are alike. Nine of the ten worlds treat the three thousand worlds like arable land, and the last one wants to swallow it all up. Why do you think the superior worlds are all trying to stop the death spirits?"

Li Zongming asked, "What are the superior worlds trying to achieve?"

As the king of the realm of a large world, Li Zongming did know more than the ordinary person about the goals of the death spirits, but with some misunderstandings about what the other superior worlds were doing in order to prevent the death spirits' success.

Zhang Lie rolled his eyes. "Surely you don't think that the superior worlds are defending against the death spirits just out of the kindness of their hearts, in an attempt to protect the realm?"

Li Zongming replied, "As far as I understand, the superior worlds are preventing the death spirits from invading the realm and absorbing more worlds ceaselessly."

The death spirits were currently absorbing a few medium-sized and small worlds, as well as the few large worlds they could get their hands on without being obstructed by the other superior worlds. If they were allowed to continue growing, however, they would soon set their sights on superior worlds.

Li Zongming believed that the other superior worlds had banded together to prevent precisely that threat. He had originally believed that the superior worlds were existences worthy of honor and respect, that their strength derived from their long and illustrious existence.

"Given what you've said, it seems like my understanding of these worlds is completely mistaken."

Zhang Lie shrugged. "Let's say that you know half the story. It's true that the superior worlds are trying to stop the death spirits, but only because the death spirits would cut into their crop yields otherwise."

Li Zongming sighed. "To think that even the superior worlds I once honored were such petty, dark existences... how did you even learn of this secret?"

Zhang Lie shrugged. "The Milky Way is large, and our galaxy is connected to more than just the three thousand worlds of this realm. It's hardly a secret to us. Of course, not all lifeforms from the Milky Way know about this information. I'm a rather special existence even among hunters from the Milky Way."

Li Zongming nodded in understanding. Zhang Lie was making this up; the hundred strongest races of the Milky Way certainly knew about superior worlds, and some among the four prime races might know even more, but no matter what they knew, their information certainly wasn't as comprehensive as Zhang Lie's...