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"Everyone knows that the outside threats won’t just stay out there forever." The Guard Commander looked at the sky: "The desire to guard this world and remain hidden here without being discovered by the outside, and live as landlords forever, is simply not sustainable."

King of Qin looked at him, this being the first time he’d heard someone from the guilds talk about their internal situation, and he immediately became intrigued.

As the dominant force ruling over this world, what the current mindset of the Four Major Guilds was genuinely piqued his curiosity, and he really wanted to know why they had shaped the world this way.

"What does ’without being discovered by the outside’ mean?"

"Literally what it says..." The Guard Commander sighed, walking towards the Council of Elders’ resting place while recalling the stories of the past

"The initial guild players were very spirited. They had to be, since in the era when demons consumed humans, if you didn’t fight hard, you’d end up as prey.

To change their fate, to avoid being someone else’s food for generations, they had to fight.

Back then, everyone believed in themselves because they were transmigrators, after all.

They felt destined by heaven, especially with the intelligence they had, the players made their moves and displayed their Divine Skills.

Different intelligence led to different players, and back then everyone was a group of impassioned youths. "

"Oh?" King of Qin felt a certain memory within him and smiled a smile that wasn’t quite a smile. Indeed, it was the mentality of players – death was just a restart; who wouldn’t become a warrior? They truly were a fortunate bunch.

Yet he was different. With the memory of a player but not the fate of one, a real death without reincarnation meant living in constant fear.

It was only when the Emperor ambushed him and nearly killed him that he realized how fundamentally different he was from those Samsara Players.

"What happened next?" King of Qin asked, free from the battlefield and its urgent tensions, genuinely interested in hearing more about those players.

"Then it’s as you know. That group used the Prophet’s intelligence and known strategies to gradually gain the powers of this world, eventually forming a huge collective force."

King of Qin nodded, unsurprised. Players who held intelligence and strategies and could restart upon death, just one would suffice. With tens of thousands of transmigrators, success was inevitable, spurring others until the Four Major Guilds took shape, didn’t they?

"I’m curious, having climbed to the apex of this world, and you being one of them, enjoying immense benefits and longevity, why rebel? Is it really for the so-called lives of the world?"

Honestly, he didn’t believe it. Even Chen Qing, if he had experienced betrayal and reincarnation, might not be able to maintain his original intention. Human hearts inevitably perceive reality in the face of great power and fear.

"Because it’s human nature." The Guard Commander said coldly: "People often dare to fight and take risks when they have nothing, but once they have some capital, they become hesitant, especially at the top."

He paused, then continued: "The road ahead is not like now, with clear strategies and plenty of intelligence. Everyone is in the dark, and most crucially... you can’t start over. How many do you think would be willing to take on that challenge?"

"I see..." King of Qin nodded in agreement upon hearing this, empathetically understanding why those people would choose to shrink back.

Everything here was so wonderful; even if there were mistakes, you could start over. But in the next version, the nature of it would be entirely different. No restarts, no intelligence – what difference would there be from the ordinary NPCs around?

Who would be willing?

Here, everyone can achieve longevity, stand aloft the pinnacle, and look down upon all living beings. After a period of hibernation, waking up to a long life as an Emperor – why risk any of that?

"But is it really up to them whether they want to face challenges or not?" The Guard Commander gave a bitter smile: "They’ve tried everything to delay the arrival of that era, but everyone’s clear that it’s impossible to stop the outside threats forever. Sooner or later, you have to face them."

"Since it’s about evasion, why would Kagura choose to take the initiative to strike, instead of directly destroying the Four Sacred Array? And from your tone, it seems that group has already started researching the unknown of Outer Space?"

"Not everyone is willing to play dead." The Guard Commander said with a sneer: "There are still those who know that continuing like this won’t work, but here lies the contradiction; if you want to research Outer Space, you’re risking speeding up its arrival, and nobody wants to take that risk.

The people above want to act, but if the majority below are unwilling, what can you do? "

"Interest group, huh?" The King of Qin suddenly understood. It made sense—so many members in the Four Major Guilds with such great benefits, the leaders couldn’t just do as they pleased.

A massive interest group hijacked the decisions from above. It was no wonder the Four Major Guilds didn’t dare to openly research—it was like this all along.

"Does Kagura dare?"

"She doesn’t dare either... That’s why she split off the Demon Buddha..." the Guard Commander said with a sarcastic laugh.

"So that’s how it is..." Everything now made sense.

He had been wondering why Kagura, having taken control of the entire Shenwu Guild and being one of the top power players, would resort to the methods of the Demon Buddha. History had clearly shown it was a failed Dharma, carrying the risk of backlash. Now it seemed the truth was obvious.

Using the identity of the Demon Buddha’s Incarnation to conduct research meant that even if exposed, there was an explanation for her subordinates—it was natural for the Demon Buddha to devour its master and do things that the original vehemently opposed.

How could it be said that she had instigated it?

If discovered, then just come forward to condemn the act. As for the outcome, well... since things had already reached this point, may as well go all-in.

This move forced the guild members to participate unwillingly.

Now it made sense. After all, for those at the top, be they Ancient Demons or Mortal World Emperors, they never really cared for such entities. They were just using them to create a sense of crisis, to manufacture accidents.

If it weren’t for the deliberate cover-up, how could the Ancient Demon’s foundations have evaded the Four Major Guilds quietly researching Outer Space?

Now everything was explained.

"And you? Guard Commander..." The King of Qin looked at him, his tone mockingly playful: "Is your betrayal a result of your own will, or the guild’s instruction?"

"I don’t need to explain myself to you." The Guard Commander said coldly.

"Oh, I think it’s the latter, after all... Surely, it isn’t really because you fell in love with the Ancient Demon Queen, right?"

At these words, the whole atmosphere around them turned icy cold. The Guard Commander stopped in his tracks, turned his head back, and stared at the King of Qin, enunciating each word: "I will only say this once, if you continue to use her to test me, you will certainly die!"

King of Qin: "......."

This guy... he can’t be serious, can he?

The Ancient Demon Queen? Isn’t that just a bug?

Having the memory of a Samsara Player, he truly couldn’t understand. A player with human cognition could... actually fall in love with a bug...

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Meanwhile, Chen Qing and Ziyue had yet to appear, and suddenly, Yun Du City was unexpectedly shrouded in dark clouds.

Everyone looked up in astonishment, as if some colossal entity... had covered the sun!