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He still didn’t dare to gamble!

Chen Qing knew he had made the right bet the moment he heard that familiar voice.

He was, of course, aware that within such a powerful force, there were bound to be tough contenders and those daring enough to take action.

But this particular figure from the Siao Family, whose raw strength rivaled that of King Xiang in his prime, stood at the pinnacle of King Level. Facing him without a Dao Fruit practically guaranteed death—even if the probability was only one in ten!

This led to a situation where the courageous lacked strength, and the stronger ones rarely possessed the courage...

And those who had both strength and absolute confidence, in Chen Qing’s view, were undoubtedly the elite of their factions, the top-tier figures whose loss could throw their faction into imbalance.

Sure enough, the one who acted carried the expected weight.

But Chen Qing didn’t panic. He knew that once the two sides were locked in a stalemate, even if the Combat Saint Buddha had the slimmest possibility of losing, Old Liu wouldn’t gamble on this round.

Having already lost the Space-Time Jade, if Old Liu were to lose this top-tier fighter as well, the Buddha Kingdom would be devoured down to the bone by the other three factions.

"You anticipated this outcome?" Ao Zhen’s grip on her sword slightly relaxed as her gaze turned complex.

The sudden appearance of that voice signified the opponent’s unwillingness to proceed, while simultaneously stripping her of the chance to validate her Dao.

At this moment, she felt both regretful and somewhat relieved.

Deep down, she knew that if a fight broke out, chances were high... she would die here.

No one wants to throw their life away, no matter how resolute their Dao Heart as a swordsman might be.

"Not entirely anticipated..." Chen Qing whispered, "If Old Liu had the resolve to go all out, he would have acted days ago. He didn’t dare take the gamble back then, so there’s no reason for him to dare now. If the Combat Saint Buddha dies, it’s no different from him personally facing death."

"Old man..." The familiar voice infuriated the Combat Saint Buddha, who clawed at his own head like a monkey with lice, agitatedly declaring, "I can win! I have a hundred percent certainty!"

"No." Old Liu glanced toward the Emperor fused with the Dragon Vein in the distance and sighed.

Chen Qing truly chose a reliable patron. Did he know this would happen beforehand, or was it pure luck? If it’s the latter, that luck seems almost too good to be true.

Who could have imagined that the world would go all in like this?

Must this world reject the dominance of a group like ours?

"Old man... you don’t trust me?" The Combat Saint Buddha turned back, his eyes dangerous!

"I trust you... but the Buddha Kingdom cannot afford even the slightest mishap right now."

"So, you don’t really trust me!" The Combat Saint Buddha smirked. "Why didn’t I realize before how cowardly you’ve become?"

All the Buddhas held their breath at these words.

He was becoming increasingly reckless, yet only he dared to talk to Old Liu like this.

Among the leaders behind the major guilds, Old Liu was by far the most cold-blooded, willing to execute even his own son if they committed a mistake.

With an iron grip, he had swiftly established a top-tier power comparable to Heaven’s Court.

"I’m old..." Old Liu smiled faintly. "The younger generation will have to bear the burden from now on."

"Am I not bearing the burden right now?"

"Not this time." Old Liu shook his head.

The Combat Saint Buddha stared at him intensely, while the Emperor across did not act impulsively.

He could feel how terrifying the newly arrived figure was. They did nothing but stand there, yet their mere presence made his hair stand on end.

This divine power, though capable of defeating the Combat Saint Buddha, would inevitably ensure that he himself would be slain by Old Liu afterward without fail.

This was a guaranteed losing situation!

The two faced off for several seconds until, ultimately, the Combat Saint Buddha relented first. He withdrew his aura, snorted coldly, "Boring..."

The next moment, without waiting for Old Liu’s signal, he vanished on the spot.

For such a brazen subordinate, Old Liu showed no concern, instead casting his gaze downward at Chen Qing. "You can’t hide for long."

Chen Qing looked upward with a smile. "Why do you say that?"

"That power of his can’t last forever. Once he’s exhausted, it’ll be over."

"True enough..." Chen Qing admitted with a nod.

The opponent’s foundation was profound, their faction powerful, with countless King Level experts at their disposal.

These days, Buddhas were awakening one after another.

As long as they kept him under constant surveillance, the Emperor would have to focus his full attention on guarding the Royal City.

Even for a Martial Artist, maintaining such intense vigilance against peers of the same level was mentally draining.

The opposition could rotate their surveillance like a relay race; he could not.

He had to maintain constant focus, sometimes even facing the pressure of multiple King Level experts simultaneously.

At most, three days would pass before the Emperor’s energy was entirely depleted.

This was the difference in foundation. If the Emperor had ten or so King Level experts on his side, they could at least share much of the burden.

But unfortunately, the King of the Great Jin had been in power for less than twenty years, and the Bloodline Noble Family of the Human Race had risen only tens of thousands of years ago.

To cultivate a dozen King Level experts with such a foundation.

.. it was difficult... overwhelmingly difficult.

Even if King Xiang’s elite Ghost Generals all successfully possessed vessels, the Great Jin Dynasty wouldn’t produce more than a few King Levels. Fostering them would take a cycle of at least a million years.

This was the gap...

"You know you can’t outlast it... but why don’t you seem worried? Are you plotting something?" Old Liu squinted, smiling.

"Naturally." Chen Qing smiled back. "Surely Old Liu doesn’t think I’m merely waiting to die?"

Old Liu frowned at this, glanced at the Emperor once more, and finally remarked, "Certain things must not be done..."

"When a person faces death, is there anything too crazy to attempt? Old Liu, haven’t you done crazy things yourselves?"

"Is that so?" Old Liu sneered. "You won’t succeed."

After saying that, Old Liu vanished on the spot. The Emperor remained suspended in midair, motionless for nearly a quarter of an hour after Old Liu departed. Only after all the Buddhas had retreated from sight did he slowly descend, though his nerves remained tense throughout.

"That remark just now—did he already guess your plan?"

"Of course he guessed..." Chen Qing nodded. "He’s a smart man; no one builds such a great force without intelligence. Besides, my plan isn’t hard to deduce."

"Will it affect anything?"

"There’ll be some impact... even failure is possible.

" Chen Qing gazed upward with a melancholy sigh. "In Digital City, trying to secretly use supercomputer privileges without getting caught is nearly impossible. With their authority, it’d be simple for them to locate me. Normally, my plan wouldn’t stand a chance of success. "

"And yet you still risk it?"

"I said normally..."

"There’s an abnormal possibility?"

"Yes..." Chen Qing narrowed his eyes, observing the resonating Dragon Vein around him. He murmured, "I wasn’t certain before, but now I am."

Nie Xingjun and Zhang Zhengyuan, while high-ranking within Digital City, lacked control over its core powers. Ordinarily, using supercomputer privileges unnoticed would have been impossible. But now, it’s operational—and Old Liu hasn’t caught on...

The will of the world, following algorithms and success rates, should spread its bets widely instead of placing all its hopes on one individual. Betting entirely on the Emperor isn’t something a mechanized, data-driven intelligence would typically do.

All of this... is being manipulated by an unseen hand.

"There’s no doubt about it!" Chen Qing declared coldly. "That person... is still alive!!!"