Chen Fan made his move.
There were no fierce exchanges, only the power of reversed time.
However, Chen Qi, buffeted by the power of time, was unconcerned, shaking his head with a smile. "Master, it's useless."
Bang.
An immensely powerful force, with a single shock, shattered the temporal energy clinging to him.
He was above the Great Emperor.
Across all nine heavens and ten earths, he was the sole being above the Great Emperor.
Time was indeed potent, but when the gap in power was too vast, it was rendered useless.
"I have a question for you."
Chen Fan remained unfazed. "You intentionally led the Lord of Order to that ruin back then, and then used this method to reclaim the Land of Order afterward. What was the reason?"
This was the one point he couldn't comprehend.
He was truly puzzled.
"I was bored."
Chen Qi replied, "It's not that I didn't want to explain to Master, but... there was truly no reason."
"Master must not have imagined how I've spent these years, floating alone in the chaos. It's incredibly tedious."
"Scanning all the myriad worlds, not a single soul is qualified to stand beside me, not even for a simple conversation."
Chen Fan smiled. "The little meatball could have kept you company."
"..."
That struck a nerve.
Chen Qi's expression soured considerably.
After a long silence, he said gravely, "Master, some things are for the benevolent to interpret as benevolent, and the wise as wise. There's no need to say too much."
"Are you afraid?"
"No."
Chen Qi shook his head. "I simply feel a bit of remorse. Master repeatedly brings this up, hoping to taint my Dao heart? It's useless. Master has never reached my realm, and thus cannot understand the capabilities that come with it."
"My Dao heart is as firm as a rock."
"I feel like you look down on me a bit?" Chen Fan touched his nose, a faint smile on his face.
"..."
The lack of a reply was the best answer.
Chen Qi's attitude clearly indicated his stance.
"Alright then."
Chen Fan sighed. "As a master, I can't be looked down upon by my disciple, can I?"
"Since that's the case, how about I also reach a realm above Great Emperor?"
"Hm?"
Chen Qi raised an eyebrow.
Yet, inexplicably, a strong premonition of something bad welled up within him.
Boom!
In an instant, the ancient, swaying tree poured forth with an incomparably surging force.
The colossal power instantly sent Chen Qi flying.
"Why?"
Chen Qi frowned. "You wish to reach above Great Emperor with this? If it were that simple, why did Master pour his power into the ancient tree before? Wasn't that just a superfluous act?"
His brow furrowed.
"Alas."
A master always answers his disciple's questions.
Chen Fan spoke, "You anticipated ten million years of time, yet failed to grasp the meaning of this act. You... still lack something."
Rumble!
As he spoke, the ancient tree continuously shrank.
Meanwhile, Chen Fan's aura began to ascend steadily.
The five Dao spirits intertwined, roaring... and finally, merged into one.
Boom!
A meatball was born.
Yes, a meatball.
And at this moment, the meatball sleeping in Chen Fan's embrace suddenly opened its eyes.
It glanced with confusion at its companion, a hundred times larger than itself yet identical in appearance, before it. Sadly... it lacked sentience.
"Go."
Chen Fan affectionately rubbed the meatball's head.
Since he didn't know where its head was, he simply rubbed it.
The meatball understood instantly and plunged headfirst into the non-sentient Dao spirit.
Boom!
The moment the meatball integrated, the heavens and earth overturned.
The entire chaos was in turmoil.
"Hum."
The larger meatball opened its eyes.
The light in its eyes remained unchanged from before, still the familiar meatball Chen Fan knew.
"Little fellow."
A hint of a smile graced Chen Fan's face. "You have finally returned."
Squeak, squeak, squeak!
The little fellow still couldn't speak.
But it could clearly express its joy.
"How is this possible?"
Chen Qi was stunned. "The meatball is actually the Spirit of Time?"
"Correct."
At this point, there was nothing left to conceal.
Chen Fan said, "There's something I've never told you, the meatball... is the first being in this chaos. Time has a spirit, and time is eternal. Besides the meatball, who else is qualified to achieve time? It's a pity... you abandoned him."
At this moment, a tempest raged in Chen Qi's heart.
Then, an overwhelming fury began to ignite. "You didn't tell me. You lied to me."
Anger.
He was truly enraged.
The thought of the Spirit of Time accompanying him for millions of years, only to be discarded by him, struck him deeply.
For a moment, Chen Qi's heart ached intensely.
It hurt so much.
It was within reach, yet he had let it go.
"No."
Self-reproach quickly dissipated, and his angry eyes fixed on Chen Fan. "It's you. It's all your fault. Why didn't you tell me? It's all because of you..."
"Alas."
His eyes, filled with extreme hatred, left Chen Fan speechless for a long time.
He didn't know what to say to this disciple.
Who was to blame?
This disciple of his, in his pursuit of power, had gone mad.
He had become estranged from all kinship.
No matter how he addressed him as "Master," Chen Fan knew that the word "Master" no longer carried the same affection as before.
He had changed.
He simply didn't want to bear the sin of patricide and sought some solace.
Such is the human heart.
"Squeak, squeak, squeak."
The meatball stared furiously at Chen Qi.
Having been suppressed in the depths of chaos for immeasurable ages, it had long harbored extreme hatred for him.
In the distance...
The Dragon King suddenly spoke, "The chaos has become peaceful."
The Eighth Land had been corrupted by the encroaching chaotic energy from the outside, gradually becoming frenzied.
But the moment the meatball recovered, the maddened spirit of chaos began to soften, to calm down.
"Indeed."
The Sword Emperor nodded. "So, the root of everything was here."
Yes.
The madness of the spirit of chaos was due to the meatball.
The meatball was the first being of the chaos, representing the chaos, representing time.
Someone had killed the meatball; it was only natural for the spirit of chaos to go mad.
"So, he is the biggest mastermind," the Han Yuan Dao Master murmured, looking at Chen Qi.
The Heavenly Son, the ultimate mastermind.
From the time of the rescue, this individual had already existed.
"Master and disciple,"
Zhan remained silent at the side.
...
The voices of the onlookers were not loud, but they could not escape the hearing of the master and disciple.
"Rise."
Chen Qi made his move.
With a raise of his hand, he channeled the power above Great Emperor to suppress the star river. "Master, you cannot enter the realm above Great Emperor."
He would not allow any situation outside of his plan to occur.
"Oh?"
Chen Fan's eyebrows twitched, and he smiled. "You said this master couldn't enter the realm above Great Emperor, so I'll enter one for you to see. What, are you afraid?"
Afraid?
Chen Qi did not reply.
Though he was unwilling to admit it, deep down, he truly did not wish to see this happen.
Chen Fan's existence put immense pressure on him.
It was one thing if his realm was inferior to Chen Qi's, but now... his master was clearly about to enter the realm above Great Emperor.
He would not permit this.
Boom!
The ancient tree was shattered by the power above Great Emperor.