Chapter 585: Unpredictable Heavenly Wrath (Two-in-One)

Yan Jing raised his head, waiting for San Yan to explain his words.

"Eerie Capital is not a monolith. In fact, it is the most complex of the five First Level Domains."

Although the topic had grown heavy, San Yan's expression remained perfectly placid.

"Chaos goes without saying. Strictly speaking, every entity within it is a sibling born from the same source. Even if conflicts arise, they rarely slaughter one another."

"The two trains of Train never interfere with each other. This isn't out of some unspoken understanding, but mutual disdain. Furthermore, each Train Conductor has absolute control over their respective train."

"While the number of factions in Immortal Anomaly is even larger and more tangled than in Eerie Capital, ultimately, they all cultivate the Variant Immortal pathway. They might bicker and fight over the Great Dao on normal days, but the moment outsiders try to sever their path to immortality, the entire domain will unite against them."

"Ultimately, that leaves only Heavenly Kingdom and Eerie Capital."

"In Heavenly Kingdom, the Machine, Life, and Pureblood factions form a tripartite balance. Their conflicts are virtually irreconcilable, but..."

San Yan paused for a long time.

Then he slowly continued, "Most of the rulers in those three domains are smart."

"Because they are smart, they won't do anything that leads to their own destruction."

"But Eerie Capital is different."

"Whether it is the Mo Family, the Qi Family, the Zhu Family, those few from Old Sin City, the Order Keepers, or New Life..."

"The vast majority of them are idiots."

San Yan slowly closed his eyes.

"Your brothers included."

Yan Jing said nothing.

He knew San Yan wasn't finished.

"Under these circumstances, our Clan has still failed to fully unify Eerie Capital. Do you know why?" San Yan looked at him.

Yan Jing answered softly, "Our Clan hasn't done well enough."

San Yan smiled.

"Ah Ji, I have seven children in total. The eldest is honest, the second is cunning, the third is bloodthirsty, the fourth is profound, the fifth is unruly, and the sixth is naive. But all of them spent at least some time by my side."

"Therefore, they all fear me."

"And because they fear me, they have never opposed me."

"You, on the other hand, left my side when you were young. That's why you can still speak a few words of truth."

"Do you know the only situation in this world where children wouldn't dare oppose their father?"

"Do you know what that is?"

Hearing this, Yan Jing's eyelashes fluttered slightly as he lowered his gaze.

"An emperor."

San Yan smiled.

"That is my path."

Looking at San Yan, Yan Jing finally understood.

Whenever he watched San Yan converse with his older brothers, he had always felt a strange sensation. It was bizarre yet familiar, something he couldn't quite put into words.

It just hadn't felt like a normal father-son relationship.

But now he got it.

At this thought, his fingers trembled slightly.

A wisp of turbid, yellowish energy seeped from his fingertips.

It was a dragon aura.

Yan Jing stared at the man sitting in the chair with his eyes closed.

He was clearly wearing a black suit, but as the weird energy rippled around him, it gradually transformed. It looked like a yellow robe, its hand-stitched dark red patterns shifting into five-clawed dragons.

He had met many people associated with emperors.

Whether in the Inner World or the Surface World.

Li Qinghe, the Vice Prefecture Head of East Lake Prefecture in Minhu, Wang Yu, Long Quezhou...

But none of them could compare to this man before him.

Those people either possessed a dragon aura, bore the word 'emperor' in their titles, or acted with imperial airs.

Yet they always lacked a true sovereign's presence.

That unshakeable composure, the ability to remain impassive in almost any situation—still as a frozen lake, yet capable of unleashing heavenly wrath at a moment's notice—only San Yan embodied it so vividly.

The words of the Deity of Fear echoed in Yan Jing's mind once more.

"Fear! The deepest level of fear!"

"It's different."

As the voice faded, Yan Jing suddenly saw it.

He finally saw what the fear of this man before him was.

Legends said that the true dragon emperor was the earthly embodiment of heavenly wrath.

Imperial power commanded the three unities; heavenly might ruled the four seas.

When the Son of Heaven grew angry, heavenly wrath descended, and all creation bowed in terror.

This man before him had actually walked such a path.

He treated his children as princes, his position as the throne, and his domain as an empire. That was why so many things had happened.

"I understand now."

Yan Jing nodded gently.

If he still couldn't tell that San Yan was taking the opportunity to teach him about Fear, then everything he had experienced so far would have been for nothing.

San Yan smiled and nodded.

"The pathway of Fear may seem simple, but its intricacies are vast. Even if you, Ah Ji, do not walk this path in the future, knowing more about it is still a good thing. That way, when you recall this in your old age, you won't be able to blame your father for neglecting your education."

"But... back to the main topic."

San Yan's tone suddenly grew a fraction heavier.

"Your earlier answer was correct, but not entirely."

"To be precise, our failure to unify Eerie Capital isn't because our Clan hasn't done well enough. It's because I haven't done well enough."

"It has been hundreds of years since I took over the Clan. Even then, we were already the number one faction in Eerie Capital. Now, after all this time, our territory has grown a bit, but we are still far from unifying it."

"I grew anxious and committed a cardinal sin for any emperor: I acted too rashly and exposed my ambitions."

"As a result, the situation took a sharp turn for the worse decades ago. The subordinate factions caught wind of my intentions and secretly joined forces, preparing to weaken our Clan's power."

"At the time, the most arrogant among them were two factions: the Order Keepers and New Life."

"Order and Life. Your mother still had some connections to the clans backing New Life, so they could be controlled. But the Order Keepers had long viewed us as a thorn in their side."

"The Deity behind the Order pathway has reached the pinnacle, ranking in the First Echelon of all deities, on the same level as our Fear. Though their leader was a Divine Envoy who had only ascended a few decades prior, he wasn't much weaker than me."

"Back then, your eldest and second brothers came up with their own plans, while your third brother led several stewards to meet the enemy head-on. Although we secured a temporary victory... we still lacked a fatal blow."

"If you do not behead the enemy commander, their morale will not scatter, and it cannot be considered a true victory."

"There is only one difference between a Domain War and an individual duel: generals fight generals, soldiers fight soldiers, but the commanders rarely move."

San Yan paused.

Yan Jing's expression was calm.

"Sixth Brother was the bait."

San Yan shook his head.

"Ah Shan wasn't qualified."

"The Fear Bird and the Fear Seed were the bait."

"Originally, the plan was for your fifth brother to secretly protect him with the stewards, deliberately letting your naive sixth brother wander out to look for companions. But... your fifth brother's skills fell short. His deployment was flawed, and he overlooked some stragglers. For your sixth brother back then, a few Fourth Tier combatants were enough to put him in mortal danger."

"What we didn't expect was that your sixth brother would take you with him."

"Those stragglers swarmed you and forced you both into a Space Rift."

"I went looking for you many times afterward, but..."

Even when speaking of his heartbreak, San Yan's face remained impassive.

It was as if that face would never display any extreme emotion.

Yet the moment he spoke, an irrepressible sorrow finally seeped through.

"Ah Shan... is he truly dead?"

Yan Jing nodded.

"The current new master of Old Sin City is my sweetheart. She helped me search for him several times afterward and found some traces of Sixth Brother, but..." He shook his head.

After a long silence, San Yan stood up. In just a few seconds, he seemed to transform back into that unruffled emperor.

He nodded.

"Since that's the case, is there any news of the Clan's lost seed and fledgling bird?"

The transition was so abrupt, it felt as though he had only asked about San Shan's whereabouts to track down the Fear Seed and Fear Bird.

Yan Jing shook his head.

"I don't know where they went. I only have a White Stone Cage, which is in my hands now."

"Perhaps the bird took the seed and left."

"..." San Yan walked up to Yan Jing.

"Let me see the cage."

White Stone wove together in Yan Jing's palm, forming a cage that he handed to San Yan.

He had enough White Stone now, so if San Yan wanted to take it away...

He still wouldn't give it to him.

What a joke. His brother had left this for him.

Fortunately, after inspecting the cage repeatedly, San Yan handed it back, sparing himself from a further deterioration of his injuries.

"I heard from your Seventh Uncle about your sweetheart in Old Sin City,"

San Yan said.

"I saw that girl's speech at the Gods' Association. She has good courage and presence, but her appearance is somewhat unbecoming."

"What tier is she now?"

"Seventh Rank," Yan Jing answered.

San Yan frowned.

"At the Seventh Rank, she should already be able to adjust her physical form. Haven't you thought of having her adjust the way she looks when she speaks?"

Yan Jing looked indifferent.

"I think her current appearance is the most beautiful."

"Then she can only be a concubine," San Yan said, causing Yan Jing's eyes to widen.

San Yan smiled.

"In truth, the Family doesn't care how many wives you take. It's just that your eldest brother and I only took one each."

Yan Jing said helplessly, "Let's talk about this later."

"This is a minor matter. Naturally, it can wait." San Yan tucked away his smile.

"But the Fear Seed and the Fear Bird must be recovered."

"Once the Clan's candidate selection is over, make a trip to Old Sin City. Tell that girl that if she can recover the Fear Seed and Fear Bird, she can be the main wife."

"And if she can't?" Yan Jing's gaze was calm.

"Then I will go find them myself," San Yan said softly.

"And if I cannot find them, I will ask your Great-grandfather to look."

"The Clan's heirloom cannot be left wandering outside."

"If the Fear Seed has been nurtured and grown by the Fear Bird, that would be even better. In the future, we can merge it into the body of whichever of your brothers becomes the candidate. Letting his Fear Bird and Fear Seed devour them will push the pathway of Fear to an even higher level."

Great-grandfather.

What tier?

Demigod Realm?

Yan Jing stood up and bowed slightly to San Yan.

"Ah Ji understands what Father has said."

"If there is nothing else, Ah Ji will take his leave."

San Yan nodded.

"Go."

Yan Jing finally walked out of the reception room.

San Yan gazed at his departing figure, a profound smile surfacing on his lips.

Yan Jing stepped out of the reception room.

To be honest, he didn't feel much.

He had spent so little time with San Yan that he felt absolutely nothing when the man spouted those fatherly sentiments. When he factored in San Yan's path, he felt even less.

Who could trust an emperor's tears?

Instead, it was the man's final demand for the Fear Seed and Fear Bird that got him thinking.

He wasn't worried that San Yan would find them.

Rather, if his opponent's Fear Seed and Fear Bird could devour his, didn't that mean he could do the exact same in reverse?

'I have to find a way to ask around...'

With this in mind, Yan Jing headed outside.

Before long, a voice called out to him.

"Xiao Yi!"

Everyone else only ever called him Ah Ji.

Yan Jing turned his head. Sure enough, Wuhe stepped away from the wall and hurried toward him.

"Xiao Yi, you're finally out."

"How did it go? Father didn't do anything to you, did he?"

Wuhe looked Yan Jing up and down.

Yan Jing smiled.

"Why, is Father that terrifying?"

"Shh, shh, shh!"

Wuhe hurriedly pulled Yan Jing to the side, seemingly wanting to get further away from the reception room.

"Father... he rarely praises anyone. Do you know what Father's path is?"

Yan Jing nodded. "He told me."

"Then why are you still—" Wuhe lowered his voice even more.

"Don't believe a word when he praises you, and don't listen when he scolds you. It's the art of the emperor; do not try to guess his motives."

Yan Jing nodded in agreement.

Wuhe then said softly, "I'm telling you, Father is a bit weird."

Yan Jing blinked.

"How so?"

"He just is." Wuhe sighed. "He's never praised me."

"Maybe he sees that it hasn't been easy for you on the outside, Fifth Brother," Yan Jing chuckled, before shifting the topic.

"Our Clan's Great-grandfather... Fifth Brother, do you know about him?"

Wuhe nodded.

"How could I not?"

"What tier is he?"

"Tenth Tier."

"Not the Demigod Realm?" Yan Jing was taken aback.

But Wuhe was even more stunned. He froze for a long while.

He looked at Yan Jing.

"Do you even know what a Demigod is?"

Yan Jing nodded. "Above the Tenth Tier, below a Deity."

"A Demigod is still a god!" Wuhe grew agitated and grabbed Yan Jing's sleeve.

"Even if Great-grandfather is powerful, he isn't a god."

"So our Clan doesn't have a Demigod?"

"Well..." Wuhe frowned.

He couldn't guarantee that.

The Fear Clan's history was simply too long.

"At any rate, Great-grandfather probably isn't."

"Alright." Yan Jing nodded.

"Why did you suddenly bring up Great-grandfather?" Wuhe asked curiously.

"Did Father talk to you about him?"

"He did." Yan Jing nodded, frankly relaying San Yan's final orders about finding the Fear Seed and the Fear Tree.

"He said that if he couldn't find them himself, he'd ask Great-grandfather to look."

Wuhe furrowed his brow tightly.

"An heirloom is certainly important, but... asking Great-grandfather?"

"Surely not to that extent."

Yan Jing smiled.

"Who can say?"

"Fifth Brother, who are you planning to vote for as the candidate this time?"

Wuhe shook his head.

"Haven't decided?"

"No." Wuhe looked earnestly at Yan Jing.

"I'm telling you, Xiao Yi, we've struck gold."

"How so?"

"Us losing out this time seems like a setback, but we actually made a huge profit."

Wuhe was somewhat excited.

"To get our ballots, Eldest Brother and the others must have prepared a ton of stuff."

"Let's not vote for anyone yet. We'll wait for them to up the ante, how about that?"

"Sure." Yan Jing looked at his wonderfully naive fifth brother with a smile, before casually tossing out another question.

"Fifth Brother, Father's generation probably had seven children as well, right?"

"Aside from Seventh Uncle, do we have any other uncles left?"