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As soon as the words "His Highness King Qin" were uttered, the world within the painting fell entirely silent.

Such silence was truly like a painting, with the water ceasing to flow, the wind stopping its stir, frozen completely in time....

"Your Majesty commands the highest respect, yet how can a mere King Qin be worthy of being addressed as ’His Highness’?"

"If it were a King of Qin appointed by me, then certainly he wouldn’t be worth of such a title, but this King Qin of yours..." The Emperor said with a cold laugh, "wasn’t appointed by me, was he..."

The cup in Chen Qing’s hand instantly turned to powder, and within this painted world, it dispersed like ink in water, creating an extraordinary scene, while Chen Qing’s aura also became extremely peculiar, blending into his surroundings as if he were one with the entire painting.

"When did you see through me?"

"I saw through you at first glance..." the Emperor said faintly, "You wear Chen Qing’s face, but no matter how hard you try, you can’t mimic his demeanor."

"How interesting...." The other finally revealed an aura completely different from Chen Qing’s, and in that instant, the Emperor confirmed his suspicions.

This aura, this feeling, belonged to the man who had almost changed the world back then.

"Your tone suggests you’re quite familiar with Chen Qing, but if I remember correctly, you haven’t met him often, have you?"

"Indeed, I met him only a few times," replied the Emperor, looking at the person before him with complex eyes, "but I have met you many times, and while I may forget others... I will never forget you."

"Ah..." The other was first taken aback, then burst into laughter, and the entire Paint World began to tremble with his laughter.

"To be remembered by you is truly an honor for me...."

Such a questioning tone did not incite a sarcastic response from the usually imperious Emperor, since most of his capabilities in life were self-made.

When he betrayed the Black Empress, it was a mutual use of each other’s motives, but the only exception was the person before him, who owed him a great favor!

Back in the Siao Family, he was an offspring of concubines, and so was his sister.

With her extraordinary talent, she dared not show her face for fear of being secretly harmed by the main family’s Siao Mingyue; while he, showing no exceptional talents as an offspring of concubines, had limited resources.

No matter the talent, without resources, it was difficult to achieve greatness.

However, in that desperate situation, it was the person before him who gave him hope.

Pure aid without seeking any reward, merely because he and his sister had promising talents, choosing to help them in hiding and secretly providing resources, and even during their time in the valley of the Otherworldly Demon Statues, he was given the chance to become strong, a favor that could be described as life-changing.

No matter what his reasons were at the time, whether it was for the future of the Human Race or "to not conspire with those of a different path," the fact was that he betrayed the other party, and stepping over the other party to take over the empire was also a fact.

He could stand tall and justified before anyone in his life, but he could not do the same before the person in front of him.

After a moment of silence, the Emperor’s tone became slightly gentler, "I’ve heard... that you fell for Chen Qing’s scheme?"

"Hmph... such a grand scheme!" King Qin’s expression remained calm, but a trace of iciness flickered in his eyes.

He always seemed prone to stumbling at the last hurdle in his life, each time blindsided by others’ schemes at the moment of his triumph.

It had been so thirty years ago in the Central Plains, and it was the same now!

He had never expected that Chen Qing would conspire so early with those from the Federation. Him being an experiment, choosing to conspire with the high levels of that Federation—he still couldn’t understand what Chen Qing was thinking.

Whether he was Pu YunChuan or not, he was still a victim from back then. How did the high levels of the Federation treat the lower class citizens?

How were these so-called brave individuals forced into this terrible world to fight for survival?

To cooperate with those blood-sucking vermin, what on earth was he thinking?

The key issue was that the arrogant upper echelons of the Federation were actually willing to cooperate with Chen Qing, taking the risk of cutting off a large district’s power supply to trap him. If he hadn’t kept a few tricks up his sleeve, he would have been doomed for sure!!

The Emperor nodded upon hearing this, harboring an increased appreciation for Chen Qing.

King Qin was an exceedingly deep strategist; when I managed to outmaneuver him, it wasn’t just because he hadn’t expected my betrayal. There were many other factors, such as the power of the Otherworldly Demon Statues and Mister Five Poison’s sudden betrayal.

If it hadn’t been for that, it would’ve been impossible for me to win even the slightest advantage, and the world would’ve already been in his hands, perhaps even sealed away the ancient beings completely as he had intended, ushering in a millennium of peace and prosperity.

Initially, with the advantage of timing and geolocation, I managed to successfully backstab him, yet Chen Qing nearly got him—impressive indeed.

But I was more curious about his so-called final trump card.

"The final trump card is the Demon Statue that was hidden from us?" The Emperor gazed towards the Paint World.

"You should thank yourself for that." King Qin sneered. "Originally, I wasn’t planning to activate this Demon Statue. The power of the Otherworldly Demon Statues is a taboo. Their use is more dangerous than playing with fire, something you must be deeply aware of, right? For someone of average talent and an offspring of concubines like yourself, to now possess power that even King Xiang may not match, it’s evident how potent that thing is. High risk accompanies high reward, doesn’t it? Skating on thin ice, my Emperor?"

"There is some of that..." The Emperor, however, nodded in agreement. "It’s like something is forcing you to keep moving forward, and every path behind you vanishes as soon as you walk on it. Looking back means certain death, and hesitation also leads to the same fate. From the moment you choose it, there’s no turning back.

I thought only an average man like myself, abandoned by the heavens, would take such a risky path.

Unexpectedly, Your Highness, a man of unmatched talent would also walk this road. "

"Wasn’t that forced upon me?" King Qin laughed.

White Drawing, one of the Four Great Golems, etched its name in front of the statue when I first encountered it.

As a Reincarnator, I knew immediately how terrifying it was.

This fourth version of the golem emerged quietly, clearly indicating that this world would no longer accept the Four Major Guilds’ constant reincarnation manipulations.

What a temptation, but oh, what danger?

Originally, my objective was to seal away the ancients, and naturally, I couldn’t allow such a dangerous thing to resurface, so my first instinct was to seal it.

But then, at that moment, it reached out to me on its own.

That thing... felt as if it had seen through all of my thoughts, and its gentle yet intricate voice directly entered my mind.

"Are you sure? Are you certain your plan will succeed? Why don’t you leave a path for me and keep one for yourself?"

The suggestion was made so casually that I was stunned for a long time.

In the end, I couldn’t resist the temptation.

Just as it had said, I left an option open. If my plan failed, at least there would be something to combat the ancient players. My greed at that moment was magnified, compelling me to sign the contract!

But it was fortunate I had a backup plan, or else... being outwitted by Chen Qing this time would have truly meant no return from death.

"Not forced, merely tempted," The Emperor said with a smile. "It seems that you and I both can’t resist temptation."

"So what then..." King Qin stood up. "What do you plan to do?"

Back then... this guy suddenly rebelized, exhibiting astonishing power, and along with the tempory betrayal of Mister Five Poison and Liu Yu, set a deathtrap for me.

At that time, my power was absolutely unmatched in the world; the Emperor was merely someone with exceptional military talent but, in terms of strength, barely struggled past the threshold of a Fifth Rank Warrior.

Yet at the time of his betrayal, he wielded such power.

Perhaps the Black Empress was overturned in a similar manner?

Now, I really want to know which of the Demon Statues tempted the Emperor back then?