"How much blood is too much for you, Master?"

...

The words spoken in a whisper and heard by no one were the deciding factor in uncountable lives across the Realms.

10 years had passed since the Celestial Beasts had raged in their respective Realms.

Since then, Kami and the Lord of Shadows continuously supplied their factions with resources.

Although the Lord of Shadows always had an upper hand as he gifted trained soldiers to those in his support.

On the other hand, Kami failed to convince his mother to join the war. He tried time and time again and hadn’t ever given up. Despite his persistence, his mother refused to involve herself in the war.

Although it started with the 8 Realms closest to the Land Above Realms, the timbers of war slowly started burning in the smaller, farther ones as well.

In one such Realm, an old man walked on the streets of a well-known city with a younger man walking right beside him. Both wore outwardly shabby clothes as they roamed about.

"It is peaceful here in this one. No boys running about worrying about war and death," Old Gu smiled pleasantly as he enjoyed his walk.

On his side, Minho kept his mouth shut. He had already received information that the major factions of this Realm were informed about the existence of the Land of Providence and the 8 major Realms surrounding it.

Considering the higher-ups of these organizations were now involved, it wouldn’t be long before everything erupted into chaos here as well.

Minho hoped they would be out of this Realm before hoards of cultivators began pouring into this city.

Unfortunately, a few moments later, Old Gu felt the presence of hundreds of cultivators gathering in one place.

In smaller Realms such as this, the Spiritual Essence was considerably thin. The Realm was still maturing and would take hundreds of millennia before it could produce an Empyrean Realm cultivator.

The few who became a Sage were considered the epitome of power and authority.

"Ha..." sighed Old Gu, giving Minho a squinted glare. The latter just shrunk his presence.

"It is time to leave-" He paused in the middle of the sentence again, and a sharp light shone in his eyes.

Minho knew from experience that it was never a good sign for his Master to pause unexpectedly. Spiritual Essence began to course through his body, in preparation to deal with whatever was going to happen.

"For the son of a God, you sure are desperate," Old Gu seemingly spoke to no one. The sharpness in his tone could not hint at the image of a weak old man that he had a moment ago.

But as the ground dispersed, Minho saw the silhouette of the man as well.

"You are foolish, old man. Help me before it is too late," Kami persuaded, "Help me if you really wish to see all this bloodshed end." His voice wasn’t as arrogant as before. It was apparent that he was holding himself back.

"Heh," snickered Old Gu, "Do you know what your problem is?"

"Hm?" frowned Kami.

"You think you can win this war. You were not even born when that man was as strong as you are now."

With darkened expressions, Kami shot back, "And here I thought the great Virtue of Patience, the Sin of Wrath, Old Gu would have at least some backbone!

Do you only fight the fights you can certainly win, huh, coward!?"

Minho raised his weapons, ready to pounce on Kami even if it meant sacrificing his life.

"Your father has accepted his fate, why do you deny the reality?" Old Gu asked calmly, stopping Minho with a gesture.

"No ’eternal darkness’ could ever eclipse the Heavenly Emperor!" He almost shouted, "Father has gone soft since that man was his ’dear’ disciple. I will kill that vermin with these hands-"

"And your father will realize that it is time for him to step down and you to take his place as the next ’God’?" Old Gu finished his sentence before chuckling out aloud.

Strangely, the people in the street did not bother with these three people oozing out such intense aura.

"You dare ridicule m-"

However, Old Gu’s booming voice drowned out his words, saying, "Hold your tongue, brat! You bug me for aid with such attitude, and then you present these foolish justifications for starting such a massive war!"

Kami flinched a little, but his power was no different from those of the 7 Heavenly Virtues, so he was able to maintain fierce eye contact.

"You claim that your father has softened. Haha." Old Gu laughed, but there was only a strange irk in his eyes.

"He showed no remorse even when the Wise Seer died for his sake! Your father is no man! He is a God, and a God is always cruel!"

Old Gu took deep breaths as memories of the past flashed past his eyes. He was reminiscing the days when his dearest friend was alive and together they used to gossip about the existence of that very God.

"If he is so cruel, why did he take in disciples, marry, and help you lot?!" Kami was quick to defend his father.

Though he spoke as if he did not believe it, deep down, Kami knew that there was some truth to Old Gu’s words.

Maybe when he was still growing up, he remembered, in bits and pieces of memories, the few moments when his father showed him concern and love. But those moments were fleeting and as he grew older, that little warmth seemed to slowly fade from his eyes.

Now, his father looked at him with the same eyes with which he gazed at everything else. As if he was no different from the rest. As if he meant the same to him as a falling leaf!

Unable to control his anger, Kami disappeared. If he stayed there any longer, he wouldn’t be able to help himself from fighting the old man.

Old Gu continued to stare into the empty air for a few seconds.

He was thinking, trying to come up with an answer to that brat’s question.

Since the Heavenly Emperor was so indifferent to everything, why did he help everyone? Until very recently, he still listened and solved the matters of the mortals.

Such thoughts loomed in his mind until a sudden memory jolted within him the answer to Kami’s question.

. . .

It was the time when the Wise Seer and the Demonic Emperor were still considered the disciples of the Heavenly Emperor.

The 7 Heavenly Virtues were not known as such at that time. They were only talented cultivators who served under the Emperor just like all others.

Yet, Old Gu at that time had recently acquainted himself with the man famously known at the time as the Wise Seer.

They frequently met at Mount Hua, the whole of which was the residence of the Wise Seer.

"My friend, why do you look so troubled," the Wise Seer asked Old Gu, who was staring off into the distance with a blank face.

"The Heavenly Emperor is marrying... Isn’t that something to think about?" He replied while sipping the cup of sake in front of him.

The Wise Seer filled his cup from his gourd again while smiling.

"Among everyone in the Land of Providence, you alone would be troubled about such a thing. Do not let the zealots hear you."

"They can damn themselves."

"Tell me, what demon is in your heart?"

Old Gu looked at him for a while before shaking his heart, "I just don’t understand his intentions. He looks at that woman with tenderness and care, I will admit. But it feels like..."

He trailed off, unable to put his thoughts into words.

"... he looks at everyone with that kind of love." The Wise Seer finished his words, drinking directly from the gourd.

"Yes! Yes. The Heavenly Emperor gazes, even at the dead, with that same tenderness. So, why marry at all?"

"I see why it worries you. But have you stopped to consider that he looks down at us with those same eyes?" The Wise Seer seemed to hint at something.

"Exactly! What drives that man to care for all things mortal? "

But the Wise Seer shook his head, "My brother, you question the reason while ignoring the reality."

"Hm?"

"Does his love become cruel if it is showered the same to everything and everyone?"

Old Gu had no answer to that. He hadn’t contemplated such a question before.

"Haha, I never expected you to be at a loss for words." The Wise Seer was 2nd in line among those who had known the Heavenly Emperor for the longest.

Sighing loudly, he confessed, "To be honest, I do not have an answer for that either."

Downing another cup of the sake, Old Gu continued, "Regardless, what motivates him to marry?"

"You tell me, why do people want a life companion?"

"For support? To satisfy the bodily desires? For understanding?" Old Gu listed the reasons that came to his mind. He continued,

"But he has no need for the former two. Is understanding what he wants?..."

The Wise Seer watched him muttering to himself with amusement.

Finally, he sighed and spoke sadly, "Maybe he really wants someone to share his burdens. For someone to understand him.

Considering how long he has lived, Master must be inexplicably..."

. . .

Standing amidst the crowd, Old Gu remembered the answer he had received from his long lost friend.

There was some resentment in his heart for how the Heavenly Emperor showed no remorse at his friend’s death, and so he only thought of him as a cruel god.

"A God is also lonely..."