"No, Leviathan."
Before Lu Xing could answer, Xiao Zi interjected, cutting off Shesha's words… using his extremely formal, official title.
Although she hadn't yet sorted out the full context, it didn't stop Xiao Zi from voicing her opinion.
"Isn't the important thing…"
"That someone in the Empire dared to defy Little Bai's command?"
Though Xiao Zi's voice carried a hint of a smile, the bone-chilling killing intent that flared for an instant caused the previously composed Shesha to immediately recall the terror of the [Pillar of Heaven], the head of the [Three Pillar Gods] and the first person beneath the Monarch.
"The 'authority' I handed over to you before I left was not meant for this."
"…"
"Lord Ziz, you are correct."
"The Empire has known peace for a long time. My considerations were inadequate… No, it is entirely my failing."
"…"
"That's enough, Xiao Zi."
The Monarch's voice broke the oppressive silence.
"Times are different now."
"Some changes are normal. There must be both good and bad; that is what makes a nation that adheres to the 'rules'."
"Or are you saying…"
"You're worried my strength is insufficient to suppress such minor resistance?"
"Hmph~"
"You know that's not what I meant!"
Xiao Zi puffed out her cheeks as if she were angry—heaven only knew how much psychological pressure seeing that familiar, rapid change of expression put on Shesha, who was standing beside her.
"That's why I said I'd show you around."
"The Empire's controlled territory is already quite vast. It would be truly strange if we didn't encounter a single dissenter."
Within the universe of the 'Tree,' the Empire's domain was but a single, small galaxy.
But when it came to the regions beneath the surface of the Sea…
While the Empire had only brought one complete civilization under its wing, the number of small outposts and maritime bases established on the remnants of world bubbles was enough to astound any civilization.
Through all sorts of contact and integration, different beliefs and systems were bound to have a certain impact on the Empire.
Guiding the flow is better than blocking it.
This was the policy Lu Xing was currently implementing.
Furthermore, even if he were capable of it, the Monarch had not used the [Divine Link] to connect every single individual within the Empire. He had only bestowed this honor upon the heads (and deputy heads) of the Ninety-Nine Chambers, as well as the more outstanding [Primordial Species].
And unless faced with extremely special circumstances, he rarely used this power—Lu Xing had been focusing more of his energy on the path of 'becoming stronger.'
After hatching…
This sense of 'anxiety' had diminished considerably.
"Well then…"
The Monarch Ball floated back into the air.
"It's been a long time since Xiao Zi returned. Wake up all the big guys who are still sleeping. We'll hold a welcome banquet."
"The last time Kevin slurped noodles (the last time everyone attended a banquet)…"
"It's been…"
Lu Xing's voice paused for a brief moment.
"It's been almost 2000 years."
---o---
The space between the Pillars fell silent once more.
At the very center of the solar system, the Monarch's main body, which had just returned to the star's interior, began to glow with a divine light on its spherical surface.
"Found it."
The clone's earlier pause was due to this very reason.
A clone of the Monarch, located at the boundary between the middle and lower layers of the Quantum Sea, had likely discovered the target he had been searching so desperately for—a parallel world possessing the "Authority of Origin."
That's right.
This time, it was a somewhat lucky "coincidence," or one could say that the net the Monarch had cast was simply large enough.
Observation of the leaves on the Tree had yielded no results, but an unexpected harvest had come from the most unlikely of places: the Quantum Sea.
The reason for the imprecise wording of "likely"—
The Monarch had sensed a Honkai Beast.
A massive Judgment-class Honkai Beast that had fallen into the Quantum Sea from a "Sea Eye" (a vortex formed on the surface of the Quantum Sea, often created by impacts).
Chiyou.
And inside Chiyou was a human female possessing "Stigma genes" and a "Honkai energy reaction"—this technology, already mature and even somewhat outdated within the Empire, was not something a destroyed parallel world could possess.
Black hair, a coronet, long robes, and the [Key of Domination · Sword of Xuanyuan].
These inconspicuous factors, when combined, allowed Lu Xing to quickly identify the woman's identity through distant memories:
Ji Lin.
There was no doubt.
A single piece of evidence might lead to a misjudgment.
But when the two were combined, the story that took place 5000 years before the "Current Civilization" was clearly already unfolding on a certain leaf.
The problem was—
"Such chaotic time."
When the Monarch used Ji Lin and Chiyou as anchor points to trace their origin, he discovered that the space-time above the "Sea Eye" was a completely chaotic and disordered zone.
In other words, the timeline had been rewritten more than once.
Within this chaotic turbulence, the leaf that still radiated vitality thanks to its altered fate was, without a doubt, Lu Xing's target.
There is a beginning and an end:
The power of Origin belongs to the Herrscher, and the existence of Finality descends upon civilization.
Thrum!
As the light emanating from the Monarch's clone grew ever more intense, a miniature God Halo began to illuminate the surrounding Quantum Sea, even momentarily lighting up the leaves above the Sea's surface.
"The 'contributions' of Otto and Elysia, I see."
The Monarch's clone no longer maintained its spherical shape.
The sea of stars separating them could not stop the connection of power. As more and more Imaginary energy poured into the clone's body, a small [Grand Sovereign Entropy Dragon], only a little over three thousand meters long, gradually revealed its magnificent true form.
"One opened up the timeline."
"The other severed the line of fate."
The Monarch began to murmur to himself, something he hadn't done in a long time.
"To reach the desired path, the temporal veins of this leaf… infiltrating the timeline and letting it develop naturally is certainly a reliable method, but the 'Finality' here will definitely not sit back and wait for its doom. In its eyes, I should be equivalent to the 'Honkai'… if we end up destroying each other, all my previous efforts will be for naught."
"…"
"Must I intervene at all 'time nodes' simultaneously?"
One should not underestimate a clone.
Although it couldn't burn entire galaxies like the main body, a "mere" star-bursting level of power should be enough to crush all the combat forces of the "Current Civilization"—after all, Lu Xing was perfectly clear on all the secrets they had inherited from the Previous Era.
He once again felt his degree of mastery over his dominions.
The [Dominion of Finality (Authority of Time)] could certainly not achieve this under the normal rules of the Imaginary Tree, but within the limited scope of a chaotic domain, a small attempt shouldn't be difficult.
If he were to seek a more stable approach—
"Using the 'singularities' formed by my 'counterparts' should help me evade surveillance."
The [Divine Link] from his main body simultaneously "visited" all his targets: Otto, Kallen, Hua, Himeko… By using the power of [Root Regression], the Monarch could flawlessly disguise his aura.
"Seven days."
The [Grand Sovereign Entropy Dragon] swam slowly toward the "corpse" of Chiyou sinking into the sea.
"That should be enough."