Chapter 646: Eternal Belief

Chapter 646: Chapter 9: Eternal Belief

“Wood can transform into lightning or wind, or it can generate Yang Qi. These are the only paths to smoothly advance to the Innate realm. To advance to Celestial Spirit Martial God, you either have to be like me and seek the Divine Wood Power to transform your physique, or you have to try and reverse-engineer a purely wood-element Cultivation Technique—which is what I’m currently doing.”

“Of course, before this, you were the only one in the world in the Celestial Spirit Realm—and you wield the Divine Wood Power. So to you, almost every Innate Martial Saint in this world, not to mention the members of the Undying Sect, must have been complete pushovers.”

Su Zhou gave a slight nod, and Zhou Buyi tacitly agreed. “Power is a funny thing. Even if I wanted to let it go, I couldn’t. If my strength weren’t enough to exert Suppression over everyone, then the moment I stepped down from the position of Alliance Chairman, disputes would erupt… Not everyone wants to be the Chairman. There are plenty who want to be the Emperor, or to carve up the land and become Enfeoffed Kings.”

The Tianzheng Alliance might look like a picture of peace and prosperity, but in truth, in a world with Extraordinary Power—a world of such equality that common people are neither servile nor arrogant toward Martial Artists and Innate Martial Saints—it’s not the least bit ‘gratifying’ for those who wield that power.

It’s easy to understand why. If Zhou Buyi hadn’t been constantly keeping things in check, such an Order would be precarious, to say the least—even if only a portion of Martial Artists were dissatisfied.

“Bowing your head is only meaningful when you’re standing at the top. Only when I possess strength that surpasses everyone else and *voluntarily* step down from the Chairman’s seat can I lead by example, uphold this system, and establish it as the Order. Then, I can continue serving as the director of the Demon Suppression Bureau, suppressing all turmoil in this world, ensuring no one dares to defy me, and bringing about eternal peace.”

This was his line of thinking, and for over a hundred years, it was exactly what he did.

Zhou Buyi didn’t publicize his discoveries. Instead, after advancing to the Celestial Spirit Realm, he sealed off and even deliberately distorted the relevant fields of research. Su Zhou understood his reasoning. After all, if multiple people reached the Celestial Spirit Realm—the terrifyingly powerful Commander Tier—it would be a simple matter for them to break away, found their own kingdoms, and crown themselves Emperor. Even Zhou Buyi, the strongest Martial Artist alive, couldn’t possibly maintain Order while also suppressing other masters at the Celestial Spirit Realm.

He had to slow the growth of individual martial power in this world to stabilize the Order. Moreover, to prevent any future geniuses from advancing to the Celestial Spirit Realm and developing their own ambitions, Zhou Buyi took the initiative to cultivate the Divine Wood Power, guaranteeing he would have absolute power over every other Martial Artist in the world.

‘—So what was wrong with any of that? There’s nothing wrong with pursuing immortality. There’s nothing wrong with cultivating Divine Wood Power for the sake of world peace. Even being a dictator and an Emperor shouldn’t be considered a sin.’

But Su Zhou knew full well what kind of price one would have to pay to obtain Divine Wood Power now that he, as the King of Divine Wood of the Immortal Banyan Tree, had forbidden it from sharing its power any further.

Furthermore, Zhou Buyi’s earlier refusal to help Su Zhou eradicate the Undying Sect served as indirect proof of Su Zhou’s suspicions.

“You’ve been extracting Divine Wood Power from the Demon Dynasty remnants in the Undying Sect.”

Su Zhou was direct. “With Demon Dynasty remnants and separatists around, Tianzheng has enemies to focus on, preventing it from turning all its attention to internal struggles. Meanwhile, you occasionally strike at both sides, harvesting power and prestige to aid your Cultivation… This is a classic case of nurturing a threat to make yourself indispensable. Such negligence is no different from committing evil. The people who died because of the Undying Sect effectively died at your hands, too.”

“You could say that.”

Zhou Buyi admitted it without hesitation. “I allow them to operate in remote areas, to strike at unruly local government forces. When the time is right, I send in official troops. This way, I can harvest power and also bring those disunited regions back into the fold. As for the separatists, they are a banner. As long as they exist, all the rebellious forces within Tianzheng will rally to them. Cracking down on them from time to time effectively reduces the crime rate in stable regions and lowers instability.”

“Of course, a country can always find more important things to do than completely eradicating those two groups. It’s not that I’m deliberately indulging them, I’ve just always made other choices.”

“The Undying Sect is the same, in principle. As long as the legends of the Divine Wood exist, someone will always pursue immortality. History is right there; it’s something that can’t be stamped out. And since I wield the Divine Wood Power, no matter how they explore that path, they will eventually deliver themselves right into my hands. Even if, someday, those Monsters grow to a point where the Demon Suppression Bureau can’t suppress them, all I have to do is act, and I can wipe them all out.”

Su Zhou carefully observed the man speaking so eloquently before him. His gaze was like a torch, allowing him to see clearly which of the man’s words were spoken from the heart, and which were a facade, hiding something more.

Then, he let out a sigh.

“Zhou Buyi, it’s like you want to hold the entire world and civilization in the palm of your hand to protect it. You don’t trust anyone, so you shoulder all the pressure yourself… Don’t you get tired, cleaning up after an entire civilization and fixing all its messes by yourself?”

At this, Su Zhou couldn’t help but let out a self-deprecating laugh. “But the ridiculous thing is, I actually understand you completely. Because if I were in your shoes, I would definitely want to do the same thing, and I couldn’t even do it with your level of Perfection… Call me naive, but I really couldn’t bring myself to do what you’ve done—letting the Undying Sect and the separatists fester as a gathering place for evil. I would have killed them all at the first opportunity.”