Journey of the Fate Destroying Emperor

Chapter 1681: Scholarly Argument

Wang Wei frowned. With such information, the threat of the Fate Cardinal has drastically increased. After all, the bastard had already reached the second step of transcending, leaving only the Dao Quintessence. If he succeeds in leaving his cardinal position, the chances of entering the third step are high.

’The real threat is not the Fate Cardinal, but Grand Dao,’ Wang Wei thought. ’If that bastard decides to overthrow the chessboard, she can free the cardinal and allow him to ascend to the third step, blocking my path forward.’ So far, there has been little indication that Grand Dao would break the rules. However, Wang Wei felt insecure at the thought that his transcendent path relied on someone else’s ability to keep their word.

"Is that all the questions you have? If so, I must leave since I have a lot of work to do." Old Ye asked.

"Hold a few minutes," Wang Wei said. "How does this system work exactly? Does a Tribunal Saint need one of the Grand Dao Positions before reaching the third step, or does it not matter at all, and as soon as they reach that level, everybody else is screwed?"

"About this," Old Ye responded. "Our society currently has a few theories. First, the position can increase the chances of condensing the Dao Quintessence. Second, the position itself does not matter, but it has other uses after becoming a Grand Dao Saint."

"Such as?"

"Have you heard of Vassal Emperors?"

"You mean with the position, Grand Dao Saints can create False third step powerhouses that are under their control?"

"Precisely."

"The theory has some basis, given that the only ability the position has at the current level is suppressing people of the same Dao," Wang Wei analyzed. "But if what you said is true, Grand Dao is truly ambitious. There are probably fewer than 5 Grand Dao Saints in the Chaos Universe, but she’s already preparing for a world with thousands of them, not to mention the false one. Can the universe even handle all these powerhouses?"

"Before the appearance of the Infinite Trichiliocosm, the answer would have been no, as even in the Genesis Era, the number of third-step powerhouses was only in the dozens," Old Ye answered.

"True," Wang Wei nodded. "Speaking of, does this restriction apply to people from other timelines?"

"We don’t know, but from the data we gathered, this is one of the rules that Grand Dao will do absolutely everything in its power to preserve, so the chances of it applying are very high."

That makes sense," Wang Wei nodded. After condensing the Saint Dao Heart, he understood that there are certain rules or orders that he can break, and others that will instantly garner Grand Dao’s wrath if he even thinks about them.

"What do you think will happen after a Grand Dao Saint truly transcends? Will the position become available, or would it be permanently removed as an option?"

"Your question is a topic of contention in our society. We’ve argued for a while now about the answer," Old Ye said as he caressed his beard.

"And I’m guessing you’re a member of the latter?"

"Grand Dao is ruthless, and the pursuit of the Dao itself is a perilous endeavor. So, there are only a few chances for all the infinite living beings in the Chaos Universe," Old Ye explained calmly. Wang Wei wasn’t surprised by this answer. Based on this trial, he could peer into the psyche of a man like Old Ye.

"What? You disagree?"

"I do," Wang Wei nodded. "As I said, Grand Dao is ambitious to plan for 3800 Grand Dao Saints. But what if this was not the extent of its greed? What if it’s preparing for 3800 True Transcendents and more? With that mindset, it would want the positions to reset."

"That’s a good argument, but you are assuming that other people can still follow a Transcendent Path after someone succeeds."

"Are you saying you think two people cannot have the same Dao to achieve transcendence? What’s the basis for your argument?"

"I’ll give you an example. Do you know about the Ji family?"

"I do."

"They have never been able to give birth to another third-step powerhouse because of their ancestor. That’s because Ji Dingxiang caused chaos in the Soul Path."

"That’s not a good argument," Wang Wei shook his head. "The Ji Clan is limited by their bloodline, not purely by their path."

"What about the problem he caused to the Soul Path?"

"That’s most likely due to his failure."

"So you think failure can cause issues, but not success?" Old Ye sneered.

"Why not? Success can further revitalize the Chaos Universe and increase its source. Failure can lead to terrible backlash if not managed properly."

"Ha, that’s not entirely true. Success can also have a negative impact on the universe. Why have no other body refiners transcended after True Saint Bi did?"

’True Saint? Is that what the Society calls True Transcendent? More importantly, I have finally confirmed that Bi Longsheng was a direct descendant of the Primeval Body Mansion Ancestor,’ Wang Wei thought. Although Su Dandan has already entered the mansion, she hasn’t sent any information back as instructed.

"You’re being disingenuous, especially if you know that the current situation of body refiners was due to the drastic change of the environment after True Saint Bi’s departure. And I’m not even touching the question on whether True Power Dao Path counts as a Transcendent Path for the Power Dao or something that exists independently."

Old Ye stumped his feet on the sky while waving his flinging his arms. "You keep disagreeing with my arguments, but you haven’t provided anything that supports yours."

"The evidence is on how the Positions actually operate."

"That’s not enough," Old Ye snorted. He knew that as long as someone’s Dao was unique, the holder of a position could not suppress their powers.

"That may be true, but it’s still a valid fact that I’m using as a basis for my theory. Meanwhile, yours is standing on biases and the desire to win an argument."

"You!"

"Alright, old man, calm down before this devolves into a fight," Wang Wei said, waving the white flag.

"No, this can’t end like this," Old Man Ye said as he tucked in his floaty robe to reveal his slightly muscular arm. Wang Wei couldn’t tell if the latter wanted to fight or continue this intense debate. "We must decide this now and then."

"Alright, I concede defeat. You win. Your theory is right. Can we move on?"

"You! Have you no integrity as a scholar?"

"Who said I was a scholar?"

Old Ye was speechless. He has lived for so long and debated countless brilliant and not-so-brilliant minds, but he has never met such a rogue before who does not follow the rules.

"You can’t do this."

"Yes, I can," Wang Wei said. "Anyway, I want to ask: why do you think these Saints — especially the Tribunal Tier one — haven’t started hunting down positions?"

Old Ye took a deep breath before closing his eyes for a good minute. Then, the calmness of an old and wise scholar returned to his eyes. "Boy, I’ve given you a lot of free information in this conversation. If you want more, you have to pay something of equal value."

Wang Wei wanted to roll his eyes. Although he was young for a Primal, for all he knows, he might be older than Old Ye. "Fair," he nodded. After pondering for a while, Wang Wei condensed a talisman with the information about how certain Saints can take control over their alternate selves.

"What are the requirements to have this ability?" Old Ye asked.

’It seems they don’t know about the foundation pillars,’ Wang Wei concluded. "That’s valuable information."

"I understand," Old Ye nodded. "To answer your question, they can’t. Our theory is they can only take it by defeating the holder while in the same realm."

"Not even suppressing their cultivation will do?"

"We don’t know for sure, but since no one has done it, we assume that’s the rule."

"This information has a lot of implications," Wang Wei thought. The good news is that there is still hope for Position Holders, but once their importance becomes widespread, numerous problems will arise. ’Even if these Saints cannot directly take the position, they can still plot out or even directly kill the owners and have their people take it. Then, once the time is right, it’s just a matter of exchange."

Wang Wei knew that most of those saints were arrogant and would not have any problems waiting for their opponents to catch up to their level, but not everybody was like that. More importantly, that’s only if the positions are not a requirement to achieve the third step. If that is the case, things will become even more complicated.

’Wait, could it be that the reason these old Saints have been plotting against talented individuals was not just because their movement was restricted; they were preparing for ways to acquire the positions. Speaking of the Old Saint...’

"Old Ye, from what I know, the Grand Dao Positions only appeared during the Paragon Age. What about the Saints who sanctified before that? Aren’t they screwed?"