The Stone Emperor's assurance eased Shi Yi's mind. He knew all too well Shi Hao's knack for trouble. The nickname "bear child" wasn't earned lightly.
Case in point: digging up the Void God Realm's Initial Grounds passage wasn't something just anyone would dare attempt. It screamed fearless audacity.
The passages for entering and exiting the Void God Realm were paved with Primal Treasure Bones.
Did others not covet those bones?
It wasn't that they didn't want to.
They simply didn't dare!
Unless someone dug up the bones and escaped punishment, no one would dare follow suit.
Yet no imitators had emerged in the Void God Realm, because none had an invincible Heavenly Passage Realm brother like Shi Yi.
In the conversation that followed, the Stone Emperor and Shi Yi chatted casually, their rapport growing. Then, abruptly, the emperor shifted the topic to the Martial King's Manor.
His expression turned grave, his tone heavy with regret. "Bi'an and Ya Zi were too cunning. When your grandfathers set out to hunt that adult Pixiu, I should've stopped them."
His remorse was half-genuine, half-feigned.
Fifty-fifty.
In the Stone Emperor's calculations, Bi'an and Ya Zi were meant to cripple the Martial King's Manor's elders, aligning with royal interests. The manor's number of Venerables had begun to threaten imperial authority.
Martial King's Old Fifteen, the Great Demon Shi Zhongtian, was especially formidable, matching the emperor himself, bolstered by his imperial dragon qi.
But the emperor hadn't anticipated Bi'an and Ya Zi's ruthlessness. Not only were the manor's elders annihilated, but the Rain Clan was nearly wiped out too.
As for the utterly destroyed Demonic Spirit Lake, the emperor harbored no regret. Non-human races were inherently untrustworthy, and he'd long despised those giant spiders.
"This wasn't anyone else's fault. Greed was the culprit. In the face of so-called opportunities, many lose their usual composure," Shi Yi said calmly.
He understood.
This was the Dao of this world. When faced with opportunities, all beings lost their reason.
Like venomous insects in a pit, they slaughtered each other until one carved a path to the heavens, emerging as the supreme venom king.
Was a person's life worth nothing beyond chasing opportunities?
Of course not. But seeing others scramble for them, you couldn't help but join the fray.
Why did Liu Shen say the strong were always alone? To become the strongest, you had to kill everyone—even your kin.
This world was likely sick. Sacrificing to the heavens, the earth, all beings—sacrifice was its anthem, and no one found it strange.
A healthy world should offer three thousand Daos, each a path to enlightenment.
Not a single road of endless slaughter leading to a final destination.
And was that destination truly the end?
"Well said. The word 'opportunity' is always so alluring. Everyone thinks they're the chosen one, unaware of how many have died chasing it," the Stone Emperor said, his tone approving.
He hadn't expected Shi Yi to grasp the dangers behind opportunities, rather than blindly chasing them. This cautious mindset suggested he wasn't doomed to fall early.
Even more impressed!
It was no surprise the Stone Emperor was so taken with Shi Yi, even more than with Shi Hao.
In a not-so-distant future, to escape the Desolation Domain's great calamity, this emperor would abdicate his throne to Shi Hao and slip away to the Upper Realm.
Like Shi Yi, the Stone Emperor was pragmatic, unwilling to sacrifice himself for some grand cause. But he hadn't foreseen Shi Hao's stubbornness, defiantly clashing with the Upper Realm's orthodoxies.
Perhaps Shi Hao's intentions were noble—freeing the Stone Kingdom from Upper Realm control, seizing its own fate.
But people must know their limits. Passion alone couldn't change reality, and Shi Hao, at that time, lacked the strength to defy the Upper Realm.
Invincible in the Lower Realm? So what?
Seven gods descended, and without Liu Shen's contingency, Shi Hao would've been finished—no one left to even collect his body.
Most tragically, even if Shi Hao died for the Stone Kingdom and the Eight Domains, not all would thank him. Many would blame him, resenting him for provoking the Upper Realm's deities.
Fortunately, the Stone Emperor now favored Shi Yi even more, likely sparing Shi Hao the burden of the throne.
After the Martial King's Manor and Void God Realm incidents, he genuinely sensed a calamity star vibe from Shi Hao—a lone, cursed star.
He didn't want to pass the throne to Shi Hao only for disaster to strike the kingdom soon after.
A side note: the Desolation Domain's great calamity targeted only Venerable-level beings, not ordinary creatures. The Lower Realm was the Upper Realm's medicinal field, and Venerables were the great medicine in the eyes of Upper Realm powerhouses.
The strong reaped the weak's lives.
The Lower Realm was the Upper Realm's herb garden.
Since ancient times, many Immortal Kings sought the source of darkness, never considering it might be themselves.
The Upper Realm treated the Lower Realm as a medicinal field, its Venerables as great medicine. Was that righteous?
"Not seizing, not competing, free of desire—none can achieve that. Before opportunities, one must think thrice. We humans covet beasts' true blood and treasure bones, but don't they also crave our flesh as great medicine?" Shi Yi sighed.
The sigh, neither heavy nor light, laid bare the relationship between humans and beasts: each saw the other as prey.
Humans ate beasts, beasts ate humans, both seeking to devour the other to fuel their cultivation.
"You're young to be pondering such heavy topics," the Stone Emperor said with a hearty laugh.
He'd initially planned to pass the throne to Shi Hao, but now Shi Yi seemed the better fit—exceptional talent, mature mindset, the ideal human emperor.
The Stone Kingdom's throne wasn't inherited father-to-son. It was awarded based on talent and strength, with the prerequisite of bearing the Shi surname.
Don't ask why the Stone Emperor didn't pass it to his own heirs.
The title of human emperor carried not just power but immense responsibility.
Among the Shi Clan's younger generation, only Shi Yi and Shi Hao could shoulder the role.
The Stone Kingdom's emperor, surnamed Shi. Shi Yi, also surnamed Shi. Both hailed from the Shi Clan.
The Shi Clan came first.
The Stone Kingdom followed.
Though Shi Yi and the Stone Emperor shared the Shi surname, they weren't blood-related royals—just clan members.
Like sharing the surname Li.
Not every Li is your kin.
Of course, if you traced back dozens or hundreds of generations, you could force a blood connection.
"Heavy topics?" Shi Yi tilted his head.
"Yes. At your age, you don't need to dwell on these things. Focus on cultivating. When you're strong, then ponder the ties between humans and beasts," the Stone Emperor said, ruffling Shi Yi's hair.
"I'll cultivate diligently. The grudge for my clan is irreconcilable," Shi Yi said firmly.
All in all, the meeting between Shi Yi and the Stone Emperor left both satisfied.
Shi Yi found the emperor less unapproachable than expected—surprisingly easy to talk to, even sharing his own cautious nature.
The Stone Emperor saw in Shi Yi a chance for freedom. If not for Shi Yi's youth, he'd have handed over the throne and fled to the Upper Realm for a carefree life.
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