Journey of the Fate Destroying Emperor

Chapter 1997: Clash of Egoes

"You're late," Ma Liqiu said, sipping her tea gently.

"Apologies. I ran into a bit of trouble."

Ma Liqiu frowned as she looked him up and down. "I thought this was some kind of tactic, but it appears you're actually injured."

Wang Wei sat down and served himself a cup. "I don't need to use these low-level tactics. If I'm displeased with someone, I'll just tell them."

"Are you displeased with me?"

"Shouldn't I be?"

"...I understand how you feel, but the Void Illusion Realm is crucial to me. I need it for —"

"I don't care what you feel; we had an agreement, and at every step of our deal, you tried to screw me over." He turned to face her. "I don't get screwed over — I screwed people. And 99% of the time, I can do that, but I don't; I keep my word. But you? Hehehe."

"You really have an overinflated sense of ego."

"Overinflated? Tell me: has anyone in this world earned the right to be arrogant more than me? You've lived in two different eras and have met countless heroes. Have you met someone more worthy than me?"

"...Fair point," Ma Liqiu replied, gently setting the teacup back on its base.

"I consider myself a businessman, so I behave in a manner that is usually welcoming to everybody. Otherwise, I would be so insufferable and arrogant that you people would be sick of me; the worst part is you wouldn't be able to say anything to me because, as I said, no one deserved to be more egotistical than me."

Wang Wei waved his hand, and Wang Qi brought him a piece of paper.

"Alright, let's end the pleasantries. I'm giving you two choices: hand over control of the Illusion Void Realm, or buy it back from me, with the condition that you must stop competing with the Dream World. Anyway, you only need the realm for your Saint Path, not the soul energy. This is the price I'm asking for."

Ma Liqiu took the paper and read it; the asking price was exorbitant, but that was understandable in a negotiation.

"So, which do you choose?"

"Neither."

"Pardon me? Maybe my hearing has some issues. Wang Qi, what did she say?"

"Sir, she said neither."

"So, I wasn't hearing things."

Ma Liqiu remained calm before continuing. "Both the realm and the soul energy are crucial to my Saint Path."

"Then pay for it, and we can negotiate the soul energy division."

"Why should I pay? The Void Illusion Realm is my creation; I spent eons molding it into what it is today. You were supposed to only be a temporary owner, holding the reign until I came back."

"So, what I'm hearing is, you won't pay."

"I'm sorry, but no. The best I can do is promise to repay you after sanctification."

"Sanctification? You mean the thing you can do because I helped you revive?"

"Technically, you only play a partial role?"

"Technically?" Wang Wei asked, looking her directly in the eyes.

"I'm just telling the truth."

"Do you understand the consequences of your actions?"

"I'm fully aware."

"Good, good, good."

"Oh, fuck, three goods?" Wang Qu thought. "The boss is truly mad. Heaven have mercy on this poor woman."

"I understand I'm wrong in this situation, but you —"

Ma Liqiu didn't finish her words before her body imploded, turning into a tiny black hole that dissipated in a few seconds. Then, a terrifying attack followed a causality line that struck her true body, hidden somewhere else in the Void Illusion Realm.

"The world must have gone mad, Wang Qi," Wang Wei said. "First, I had to deal with that ingrate Liang Shixian, and immediately afterward, I had to deal with another one. Tell me, what is wrong with this world?"

"Boss, I don't think something is wrong with the world; it's the people."

"Maybe you're right. I used to think I was good at reading people, but now, I'm questioning myself. Liang Shixian was something else; after the shit he pulled in the court, I knew he was a liability. But Ma Liqiu? I pegged her for someone reasonable. So, why does she insist on courting death?"

"Boss, I think you fail to take into account her age."

"Oh? What makes you say that?"

"The truth is, your peers are a bit afraid of you. They know from experience what it means to be your enemy, and since you're usually easy to talk to and share the benefits, they are fairly agreeable in most situations.

"The older generations have watched your legends; they know you are the future; they know it's in their best interest to compromise on certain things. And once again, it helps that you are always willing to share the benefit.

"But Ma Liqiu is different. To her, all your achievements are just words on paper: tales, myths, and stories. She can't deny them because there's proof, but she's never truly experienced them herself; she's never felt any awe for what you've done. Now, if you take into account that she was a hegemon of her era, the fact she was probably the you of that era, it's understandable that she's arrogant, confrontational — that she wants to do things her way."

"Hmm, that's quite insightful of you."

"You think so? I've started refining Fangjin's essence, and I can already feel a lot of progress."

Wang Wei didn't buy it; it's only been two days, so he couldn't have made that much progress. The most likely explanation is the placebo effect: Wang Qi thought he was improving, which led him to tap into deeper potential.

Wang Wei stood.

"Boss, what are you going to do?"

"I was planning on some drastic measures, but your explanation has calmed me down a bit. So, let's try a peaceful resolution." After that, he teleported straight to the Heavenly Court, heading to the Saint's abode.

The room was simple: a stone Buddha Statue was embedded in the middle of the hall, surrounded by smoke from three incense burners. Maitreya sat on a prayer mat beneath the statue, facing away from it; she held a prayer bead and calmly watched Wang Wei enter the room and sit on the mat opposite her.

"Why are you suppressing so much rage?"

"Some people seem to think I'm the kind of person to be played with."

"What happened?" She knew Liang Shixian's ordeal wasn't enough to push him to that edge. Wang Wei explained the situation with Ma Liqiu, forcing Maitreya to sigh deeply.

"Since I'm involved in all this karmic entanglement, I'll deal with it." With a flick of her wrist, she sent a message to Ma Liqiu, who showed up less than five minutes later. The Ma Clan Ancestor stared at Wang Wei with cold eyes and gritted teeth.

"Have a seat."

"Thank you, Saint."

"You should know why I summoned you here."

"I understand. I'm willing to negotiate a buying price with him."

"Too late. I only want control back."

Ma Liqiu clenched her fists. "I'm willing to give you —"

"I don't give a rat's ass what you're willing to offer. I want control back, and nothing more."

"What are you being so petty about? You don't even have any need for the realm."

"Who says I don't? I'll strip it into parts to fuse with the Dream World, increasing its security level and overall performance."

"You dare?"

Wang Wei chuckled. "You said I had an overinflated ego; it seems that was projection." He dared to facilitate the annihilation of an entire timeline because Grand Dao schemed against him. And yet, this woman asked if he dared to destroy a trivial Void Illusion Realm.

"Saint!"

"There is nothing I can do for you. Everything has cause and effect, and now, you're just paying for your actions."

"What if I insist?"

Wang Wei turned his head sideways to look at this woman, wondering if she was mad. That would explain her string of strange behavior.

Maitreya did not react to these words; she just stared at Ma Liqiu. "A Saint Array? Did you have an adventure? Is that the source of your confidence? Unfortunately, that's not enough to deal with my old self, let alone now."

Ma Liqiu remained quiet, forcing Maitreya to shake her hand. The Saint reached out, and a colossal golden hand manifested in a hidden area of the Illusion Void Realm. A powerful array appeared, trying to halt her way, but it was useless. As Maitreya said, this Saint Array could not stop her former self, let alone after condensing all 12 pillars.

The golden palm broke through the array to head to a central building where Ma Liqiu and the main branch of the Ma Clan resided. It broke through their residence, descending on Ma Liqiu's true body — who was missing an arm. The hand didn't kill her; instead, it touched her forehead and drew out a purple crystal engraved with millions of tiny runes.

"Here," Maitreya said, handing the crystal to Wang Wei.

"Thank you." Without wasting a moment, he refined the crystal and regained control of the realm.