Chapter 1667: The Mirror Battle

[AN: I keep forgetting to add the reminder. I made a mistake on Ch 1664. The River of Time existed before the Chaos Demon God, but the Infinite Trichiliocosm did not.]

—-

Alternate Kong started to laugh, but there was no joy, only endless hatred and guilt. "That bastard refused to die. Waves of after waves, but he still played them like they were a bunch of children. Then, there are those useless things from the Infinity Divine Court. They are arrogant, with their nose consistently above their heads, but none of them could stop him.

"If not for the timeline being isolated, Wang Wei would have escaped or found foreign help to save his butt. In the end, it took a Saint to wipe out the entire timeline before he died. But with my timeline gone, how am I supposed to see Han’er and Bao’er again? How strong do I need to be to reverse what happened?"

Alther Kong took a deep breath to compose himself. "They never cared about how I felt when they made that decision. I don’t even think someone remembered I existed when the order was made. After all, who cares about someone who can betray their timelines? Our existence is only to display the court’s generosity and open-minded nature. They use our names to convince others to betray their home, never mentioning how we are at the bottom of society in terms of strength, status, resources, and opportunity.

"And when they need someone to test something with the possibility of great danger, such as this Unification Tower, we are the ones recruited to do it. However, for once, I’m glad I was forcefully recruited, though I doubt it’s a coincidence."

A sinister and cunning look flashed in Alternate Kong’s eyes, which made Emperor Kong weary. "What do you mean?"

"Do you think I came here to swallow you, complete myself, and start my transcendent path? No, no, no, that would take too long, and there is no guarantee I’ll eventually succeed. Ever since I heard I was chosen for this test, I prayed day and night that your life would be complete, and for the first time since that day, fate is on my side."

"You...want to replace me?"

A cruel smile crept on Alternate Kong’s face. "Your life is everything that should have belonged to me. Your family, Master Shang, the academy’s prosperity, and maybe even the future of the Literary Way — they will all belong to me again."

’This man is mad,’ Emperor Kong thought. However, his alternate self’s emotional instability is a significant weakness that he could explore.

"The Infinity Divine Court sends you to test out their new creation, and you want to use it to escape? Do you think you have a chance of succeeding?"

"No, I doubt my thoughts can escape these Saints," Alternate Kong said calmly. "But, I’m still here. Why do you think that is?"

"They want to see if you will succeed."

"The court is already a mighty beast, and this Unification Tower will push them to even greater heights. However, suppose it could also allow them to infiltrate the Primordial Timeline by replacing cultivators with loyal alternate selves. In that case, the chances of the Highest Sovereign’s ambition being completed will drastically increase."

Emperor Kong frowned. "Knowing this, and you still try this desperate plan?"

"Life is like a play, and knowing how to act is a key to survival. Once I become you and far away enough from the court’s core, there are plenty of ways for me to get rid of all the backhands they’ve placed on me."

"Life is like a play, and knowing how to act is a key to survival — that’s something Wang Wei once said," Kong commented.

"Is it? Well, now, it’s my saying," Alternate Kong said as he cracked his neck. "Alright, enough venting. While this was catharsis, it’s time to get back on track. And just so you know, you’re wasting your time by placing so many protections around your Time Mark. In this place, ChronoSpirit Battle is pointless. As long as one of us is the victor, the other’s Existence will be permanently swallowed."

"Is that true? In that case, things will be much simpler," Kong uttered before activating a technique: [Sages’ Will]. A scroll floated above his head before summoning visions of numerous sagacious scholars. They recited scriptures, which then manifested into their will or consciousness. Kong did not hesitate to fuse the Sage’s Will with his True Will and let it flow throughout his body.

Of course, he did not think this was enough. He had already detected that his alternate self was a Primal. Although he’s only a C-Class Primal with more than 3 Ultimate Skills, that’s still a Primal. As such, he decided to use whatever means necessary to protect from the latter’s Dao Will Ultimate Skill. So, he also summoned his third-rank Golden Body and fused it into his body.

Over the years, Kong has primarily used his merit to cultivate, but he still used a small portion to raise his rank by one level. Although far from the peak, it was still a great improvement. More importantly, as the future leader of the Literary Way, a third-rank golden body matches his status and can help gain control of the destiny from Sage Glass Pen.

"The Golden Body of Merit," Alternate Kong stated. "I remember when I was worthy. Well, it doesn’t matter. Soon, everything that is yours will be mine."

[Grief Dharma]

Dark Kong used his Transformation Dao to transform the pain and grief he had suffered into physical manifestations. A towering green figure with a physique and clothing similar to Kong materialized in this white dimension, wearing a twisted mask of pain and grief.

The Grief Dharma punched Emperor Kong, and the latter immediately paused. A terrifying vision struck his mind. He saw how his son was turned into a blood mist by one of Wang Wei’s punches. He saw flames envelop his academy, followed by screams, curses, owls of anguish, and more. He saw his son being torn apart for a second time, his master being dissipated, and finally, his wife — the woman with the most gentle smile between Heaven and Earth — sacrificed herself to send him away from the chaos.

The sound of scriptures chanting woke Emperor Kong from his stupor, and he acted. "You’re not my guilt, so why should I suffer? Return to where you come from." The green Dharma scattered into motes of light before rushing toward Dark Kong. But he sneered and let it enter his body.

"You think you can blame me as much as I blame myself? What a joke. Since guilt doesn’t work, let’s try rage."

A red Dharma with a different mask manifested. And as it punched, the surroundings turned into a world of flame. How will a man feel as he watches his family and everything he holds dear being destroyed? Does he feel incompetent? Does he accept his fate? No, he doesn’t accept his fate. He used his incompetence and turned it into a burning rage that will sunder Heaven and Earth.

"You want me to experience what it’s like to walk in your shoes? Fine," Emperor Kong stated. He opened his mouth to swallow the red Dharma before activating his Dao. He did not let all the rage consume his soul; instead, he transformed it into raw power, boosting his strength. The process was not easy, as the emotion of rage manifested inside his Sea of Consciousness and directly attacked his soul.

But Emperor Kong persevered. His alternate self became obsessed with Wang Wei and what he did, but Kong understood one truth: it didn’t have to be Wang Wei. The cultivation world was cruel, and what happened to his alternate self could happen to him at any time, and the person responsible need not be Wang Wei. One wrong move and everything comes to an end.

With this idea in mind and the constant reminder not to act on impulse, Emperor Kong overcame that rage and successfully took its strength for himself. He calmly looked at his alternate self while his aura dramatically improved.

"You think you’re better than me?" Dark Kong yelled. "You think it’s all my fault? You think you could have done better? Die, you bastard!" He controlled all matter, energy, space, and time in his surroundings and transformed them into the purest essence of speed to rush over. Emperor Kong couldn’t even react when the latter appeared before him and punched him in his face, sending him flying a few light-years away.

"Everybody wanted me to apologize, to lower my head," Dark Kong continued. "They said it was for the future of the academy. Why should I have to apologize? That bastard killed my son. Is it wrong for a father to avenge his son? To avenge the loss of his foundation?"

He appeared next to Kong and kicked him away. "I did nothing wrong. The only mistake I made was being too weak."

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.