Beastmaster of the Ages

Yingsang Daiqiong took out a blood-stained scroll. It was a blood petition signed by ten billion devas. Their names were signed onto the scroll with their blood, making for quite the garish sight.

Imperator Yin didn't react in the slightest. Before him was the wife who had shared his bed for countless years. Yet, like other devas, she chose to stand against him. He knew that his wife was a firm supporter of the Eightpart Pantheons, so it wasn't odd that she wanted him to surrender.

"Husband, do you see this?" Yingsang Daiqiong gave him a firm look. "This is the will of the people, the devas as a whole! I already reached out to Imperator Shen of the wonderians. They said that if we admit our mistakes and surrender the world cores, the Eightworld Wargod Blades, and our divine astralship, the Imperial Specter, they will not attack us. Once the Eightpart Pantheons exterminate Li Tianming, they'll return them to us and allow us to rejoin them! Things can be like they were before!"

Even after all that, Imperator Yin gave her the silent treatment. Then, three male specter kings came out from behind her, all of them tearing up.

"Imperator, we can no longer hesitate! We do not have much time left!"

"We devas have always been one of the Eightpart Pantheons! We should rejoin them and return to our rightful place!"

"If we don't snap out of this, we might be wiped out from this universe!"

Countless other specters outside the palace joined them in their pleas, trying to make their imperator rejoin the Eightpart Pantheons. Imperator Yin could clearly see that nobody was on his side. He had joined Tianming because he was forced to, after all.

However, he recalled that many other devas approved of his decision to leave the Eightpart Pantheons when he first made the decision. Most of them weren't willing to lose their hell-rings. It was the source of their combat power and their lifeline. How did these people get swayed so easily to accept losing their hell-rings once more?

Imperator Yin didn't really blame his people who had limited access to information in the first place. However, he looked at his wife and the three others, all four of the specter kings, and quietly returned to the palace. "Come."

The four elites followed the imperator into the palace. One of them immediately got in front of the imperator. The Eight-armed Specter King said, "Imperator, I was one of those who clapped with all eight of my hands when you first made your decision. But the situation back then was different. Tian Jiu had been wreaking havoc among the wonderians and the armies of the ashuras, Sin and Virtue Pantheons suffered heavy casualties. On the other hand, Starfall and Sundown stepped down to protect themselves. Under those circumstances, taking down Li Tianming was far from ideal.

"Things have changed, however! That person managed to get Tian Jiu under control and made her part of the Eightpart Pantheons' fighting force! Li Tianming is sure to die! If we don't adapt quickly enough, we'd end up dying with him!"

All four of the specter kings including Yingsang Daiqiong looked resolutely at Imperator Yin. He met their gazes and said, "I know you're doing this for our people. I also understand your assessment of the situation. It's true that Shen Wu's appearance has broken the balance between both sides. However..."

He focused on his wife and said, "Did you know why Imperator Shen came to negotiate with you instead of me? If he really wanted the Eightworld Wargod Blades and the Imperial Specter, why would he not come to me directly?"

He didn't wait for his wife to reply. "There's only one reason for that. The Eightpart Pantheons has been a weak alliance to begin with. Such an alliance would never be able to forgive dissenters or traitors. They have already made up their minds about wiping us out. If we hand over those two world cores, we won't even be able to resist them. What do you think would happen if they still send troops to flatten us? If I were Imperator Shen, I would first intimidate those of us at Deva Imperius to soften us up and then continue to threaten us. That might even lure Li Tianming to come to reinforce us. Only then would Imperator Shen be able to squeeze out the most value from us."

His words caused the four's expressions to change. They had indeed considered that possibility, but didn't think it was too likely.

"Don't underestimate how much Imperator Shen, Imperator Mo and the rest want to wipe us out," Imperator Yin said. "Even if Li Tianming wasn't around, the wonderians and ashurans have always had lots of conflict with us. They would never give up on this chance to get rid of us for good. If you were in their shoes, would you let this chance slip? There was always only one choice we could've made, and it was made long ago when we picked Li Tianming. There is no other option."

Yingsang Daiqiong shook her head, eyes still filled with determination. "Impossible. With the Heavenly Dao around, they wouldn't be able to touch us as long as we choose to return."

Imperator Yin said, "I wouldn't be surprised if the Aeternal Beings are tweaking with the Heavenly Dao."

"What?!" This was the thing that truly came as a shock.

"How would you know this, Imperator?" asked one of the elites.

"After the restoration efforts in the past few years, I have begun to suspect that the loophole in the Heavenly Dao does not stem from natural causes. Somebody is studying the Heavenly Dao. Those Aeternal Beings might have discovered a way to change it for good after so many years have passed. This is the chance they've been waiting for.

"Let me tell you now that the nine Aeternal Beings including Shen Wu are the most terrifying things to exist in this universe. What's even more terrifying is how we're already standing against them. Do you think the Eightpart Pantheons, who are backed by such fearsome beings, would accept the surrender of traitors? If you truly care for the devas' survival, fighting to our deaths is the only option. If we surrender, we'll only be wiped out sooner. This is the truth!"

The four of them were utterly shaken. They hadn't expected that the situation was already in such dire straits. Who knew that there were eight other beings just like Shen Wu? Yingsang Daiqiong's emotions were a wreck after that realization.

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