Chapter 479: Time Rewinds, but the Core Remains Unchanged!

[Fourth, sects and families.]

[These don't need much introduction; they're no different from the Void Realm.]

[The Three Major Sects of Blazing Star, the Ji family and Jiang family of Vermilion Violet Star, all belong to this category.]

[If such forces are strong enough, they can operate without being controlled by others, and they don't need to pay taxes to factions like the Immortal Kingdom either.]

[If they're not strong enough, then they can only become subjects of more powerful forces.]

[After the trials of the sixth simulation, you have a fairly clear understanding of these concepts.]

[So when the Archpriest provided you with intelligence, you basically didn't need them to explain these terms and concepts in extra detail.]

[Otherwise, you wouldn't come across as a local.]

["...That's everything we know."]

[After half an hour of rapid-fire questions and answers, you had a complete picture of the Winged God Church's inner and outer workings.]

[You figured there probably wasn't much you didn't know, after all, this Archpriest on Fortune Star held a fairly high rank within the entire Winged God Church.]

[The main conclave on Lingwei Star served as headquarters, while the branch conclaves on three third-class stars led by Fortune Star could be considered regional offices.]

[The Archpriest position was like a regional branch manager, privy to more than enough information.]

[The Winged God Church had no Immortal Lord-level experts; their strongest were Transcendent Realm cultivators, but there were quite a few of them, all concentrated at the headquarters on Lingwei Star.]

[Never mind Transcendent Realm, even Extreme Terrain Realm cultivators didn't like staying on third-class stars, so on a third-class star like Fortune Star, only the Archpriest and a few Red Cardinals were at the Extreme Terrain Realm.]

[They belonged to that category of people who had no hope of promotion at headquarters, whose cultivation potential had bottomed out, and who didn't have many years left, so they came to branch offices to take higher positions and wait for retirement.]

[Outwardly, they claimed it was for a better pension after retirement, but actually, they were abusing their positions for personal gain... those who know, know.]

[Transcendent Realm experts of the Alien Race posed no threat to you now.]

[But facing a war on the scale of multiple planets, relying on just one person, while also having to manage takeover and governance, was clearly impossible.]

[So you needed manpower, lots of manpower!]

["You lot can keep reflecting in your cells. If you manage to render meritorious service later, I might consider granting you a certain degree of freedom."]

[The Archpriest, desperately craving freedom, pressed on.]

["Great one, how can we render meritorious service? Great one? Great one!"]

[You walked away, ignoring him entirely.]

[The prison door slammed shut with a heavy thud, and layer upon layer of formations rose up, reinforcing the jail.]

[The Archpriest looked at this prison he had once prided himself on, built to hold those rebels, and let out a long sigh.]

["If only I hadn't built this prison so sturdy. Now we can't even escape ourselves, sigh..."]

[Liu Family Village.]

[This was where you had nearly died at the hands of the Old Hag in your sixth simulation, the place you woke up after passing out.]

[Returning here once again, you stood atop the clouds, gazing down at this shabby little village.]

[From your assault on the main conclave to your use of the Hundred Demons Night Parade to clear it out, no more than half a day had passed in total.]

[So the various Winged God Church conclaves scattered across Fortune Star had no idea that headquarters was already gone, and the Archpriest had become a prisoner.]

[The local policies of oppression, suppression, and enslavement were still being carried out exactly as before.]

[Given the speed of information dissemination on this planet, it would probably take several months before news spread everywhere.]

[Right now, you could see that the Winged God Church branch conclave governing the region where Liu Family Village was located had once again sent people to collect grain and seize people.]

["Sinners, your time of atonement has come..."]

[You heard a familiar voice.]

[Looking closely, the leader of this group of church officials who had come to Liu Family Village was none other than White Priest Locke.]

[The very one who, in the sixth simulation, had taken you and Liu Ying away from Liu Family Village.]

["What a coincidence."]

[Keeping your body perfectly upright, you plummeted at terrifying speed, like a missile falling in a vertical trajectory.]

["BAM!!"]

[A thunderous air-burst echoed as your feet landed squarely on top of Locke's head. The shockwave generated upon impact swept outward in all directions, forming a visible blast wave.]

[Locke felt as though a mountain was pressing down on his head.]

[Yet the weight of this mountain was just right - enough to make him barely endure it, but not enough for him to break free, pinning him firmly between the earth and the feet above his head, unable to move an inch.]

["Who!! How dare you offend this priest!"]

[The Guardian Knight Order members who had accompanied Locke to Liu Family Village saw their White Priest with someone stepping on his head and immediately launched an attack at you.]

["Protect the High Priest!"]

[You glared at these soldiers clad in armor as clumsy and heavy as iron buckets, and let out a thunderous roar.]

["SCATTER!!!"]

[The soundwaves materialized into a tangible attack, piercing through their armor and forming reverberating echoes that shook their internal organs to shreds.]

[They vomited black blood mixed with fragments of their organs on the spot, collapsing in a clattering heap.]

[Seeing this, Locke was utterly horrified and immediately changed his tone.]

["S-Senior..."]

[You paid no attention to what Locke was saying; it wasn't important.]

[Your gaze swept over the villagers kneeling on both sides of the road.]

[At this moment, in their eyes, this scene was too shocking to comprehend.]

[From childhood, they had been taught that they were sinners, that the Winged God Church was helping them atone for their sins, that it was the spokesperson of the divine.]

[But now, the winged man representing the divine was being stepped on beneath your feet, unable to move, calling you senior with a face full of sycophantic flattery.]

[Did that seem right?]

["Stand up! Stop kneeling!"]

[The villagers dared not disobey your words.]

[They all stood up one by one, but they were trembling, bodies hunched and stooped, wearing tattered dirty clothes, utterly devoid of any Essence Energy or vitality.]

["Starting today! You no longer need to bow to this church or that church, and you don't need to be enslaved by anyone anymore!

You are not sinners, you are the human race, flesh and blood, with independent dignity and personality, the human race!!

The land around the village is yours, whoever tills it owns it, plant your own fields, live your own lives!

Or, there's another option - come with me, and we'll kill these goddamn Alien Race bastards and put this world back on the right track!!"]

[With those words, you stomped down hard, and Locke beneath your foot exploded into oblivion on the spot.]

[You waved your hand, and Triple-Origin True Fire materialized, burning his flesh and blood remains into a wisp of green smoke, gone without a trace.]

[You floated in midair, looking down upon the land, a hint of compassion, a hint of majesty, a hint of divinity in your eyes, along with seven parts of unyielding, death-or-glory battle intent!]

[Liu Ying was the first to step forward.]

["I'll go with you!"]

[Liu Ying's father, Liu Tian, tugged at her clothes.]

["Daughter, this..."]

[The expression on Liu Ying's face was utterly resolute.]

["Hero, I don't understand any grand principles, I just think you're right, and those Alien Races are wrong!"]

[You looked at Liu Ying.]

[In the sixth simulation, Liu Tian and Liu Ying, father and daughter, had saved you from drowning. Later, in the Rebel Army, Liu Ying had also been an extremely important general.]

[No matter how many times time rewinds, a person's core nature never changes.]

[Liu Ying was still the same Liu Ying!]