You, referee, get on the field and play

After becoming far too powerful for his enemies, Chen Yi had lost all desire for revenge.

Who would feel a thrill from stepping on a colony of ants?

“I’m not some kind of bloodthirsty maniac. I’m not going to slaughter people for no reason.”

Chen Yi heard their thoughts.

‘Yes, yes, you’re not a bloodthirsty maniac. You only happened to blow up half of Gourd City when you destroyed the magic shell cannon factory.’

‘Right, right. We believe everything you say.’

‘When will I ever become as awesome as this human…?’

Chen Yi cleared his throat.

“Show me the way.”

The Dragonfolk kneeling on the ground, begging for mercy, did not answer.

“I told you to show me the way. I’m going to find your realm lord.”

Unexpectedly, they refused.

“Forgive us, but we cannot obey…”

“Looks like you people really aren’t afraid of death.”

“We are! But we cannot betray our realm lord…”

“You’re quite loyal.”

Just then, Chen Yi suddenly turned his head toward the sky.

“You don’t need to show me the way anymore. Your realm lord is here, along with your Dao Protector.”

The group fell silent and waited.

After a while, they waited some more.

It felt as though quite a long time had passed before Sotuofeiren asked,

“Boss? It looks like they haven’t arrived.”

“No, they’re here.”

“How—”

“My divine sense covers too wide an area. They’re flying too slowly.”

“…”

They waited for quite some time before the Lord of the Dragonfolk Realm and the Dragonkin Dao Protector finally arrived—though in reality, they had been traveling at full speed.

Their pairing was much like that of the Sacred Dragon clan: a realm lord who appeared to be in his prime, accompanied by an aged Dao Protector with snow-white hair.

The Lord of the Dragonfolk Realm was tall and powerfully built, his muscles so bulky that he looked as if someone had stuck a pile of balloons onto his body. The dragon horns atop his head twisted and curled like a mountain highway.

He dressed casually, without armor or any luxurious garments symbolizing authority and status. He wore only a uniquely styled leather outfit.

“Your Excellency has been searching for me for several days. I am now standing before you. Please spare my people.”

Chen Yi replied calmly,

“I haven’t done anything to them.”

“May I ask how you entered my realm? As far as I know, the Human Realm currently has no means of crossing the barrier between worlds.”

“I walked here.”

“It seems you are unwilling to say. Very well—you have the right to keep your secrets. What exactly do you want from me?”

Chen Yi explained his request.

He wanted the Mountain-River Armor to be nurtured within the Dragonfolk Realm’s spirit of the land. In addition, the Dragonfolk were to send a large force to guard it.

The Dragonkin Dao Protector immediately objected.

“Realm Lord, you must not agree! Repairing the Five-Element Root Artifact will consume the spirit of our realm’s land. It will have a negative impact on the living beings and fortune of our realm!”

Chen Yi said,

“You’re making it sound far more serious than it is. I may not leave the Five-Element Root Artifact here for very long. Perhaps I’ll come back to retrieve it after only a few years.”

The Lord of the Dragonfolk Realm was silent for a moment before saying,

“I refuse.”

Chen Yi gave a faint laugh.

“You have more backbone than the previous realm lords, but I insist on doing this.”

“Then there is only one way to settle this—a fight.”

At that moment, the Lord of the Dragonfolk Realm displayed the bearing of someone who knew he was outmatched, yet would still charge forward without hesitation.

Once they exchanged blows, Chen Yi discovered that this realm lord possessed considerable combat ability.

It seemed that he had somehow squeezed a little more water out of the sponge that was the Martial God Realm—the cultivation realm representing the limit of strength in the Void Realm.

On top of that, the Dragonfolk possessed advanced artifact-forging technology. The various weapons drawn by the Lord of the Dragonfolk Realm possessed astonishing destructive power. Some of them could shatter space with ease, without requiring the slightest effort.

The Lord of the Dragonfolk Realm also possessed an excellent tactical mind.

After exchanging several moves with Chen Yi, he immediately realized that he could not do anything to him.

Thus, he used his weapons to destroy the surrounding space, hoping to kill Chen Yi with the spatial turbulence that spilled out after space shattered.

It was only when he saw Chen Yi walking through the spatial turbulence unharmed that a trace of despair finally appeared in his eyes.

Seeing this, the Dragonkin Dao Protector joined the battle as well.

But the Lord of the Dragonfolk Realm stopped him.

“Dao Protector! You must not come to harm! Flee at once, and make sure to protect our realm’s spirit of the land!”

“Realm Lord…”

“Please obey, sir.”

“Yes!”

The Dao Protector flew away.

Chen Yi did not stop him.

He was flying far too slowly to escape the range of Chen Yi’s divine sense.

“Wait a moment. Why do I feel like the villain here?”

Chen Yi gave a self-mocking smile, then punched straight through the body of the Lord of the Dragonfolk Realm.

“I’ll say it one more time! Repairing my root artifact is not as serious as you imagine! If you want to live, agree to my request!”

The Lord of the Dragonfolk Realm looked at the wound on his body, which refused to heal, and gave a bitter smile.

“I never imagined that, without noticing, such a powerful expert would emerge among the humans. Humanity… You truly are filled with infinite possibilities.”

“Your stubbornness will only bring greater harm to the Dragonfolk Realm.”

Chen Yi used a trace of his divine ability, and the space-time around them immediately began to collapse.

The Lord of the Dragonfolk Realm recognized it at a glance. This was a collapse caused by the world exceeding its carrying capacity, not destruction caused by excessive force.

“You returned from the True Realm? That’s impossible!”

“Stop asking about things that have nothing to do with you!”

To Chen Yi’s surprise, the Lord of the Dragonfolk Realm still refused to yield.

“Then kill me.”

“Are you stupid? Aren’t you afraid that I’ll dismantle the entire Dragonfolk Realm and erase your people from the Void Realm completely?”

“Your appearance means that the Dragonfolk Realm is destined to lose this realm war. If, after thirty thousand years of bitter struggle, our entire race ends up merely making wedding clothes for someone else, I would rather my people be destroyed here and now!”

When an ordinary person said something like that, one could rebuke them with, “Don’t speak for everyone else.”

But the Dragonfolk truly could not be treated that way.

As far as loyalty to their own race was concerned, Chen Yi had witnessed the Dragonfolk’s devotion both in simulations and in reality.

If not for the Myriad Souls Banner’s ability to brainwash souls, Chen Yi would have had great difficulty obtaining even a scrap of information from the Dragonfolk spies he had captured in the Human Realm.

“Are you really that desperate for victory in the realm war? Is it truly a matter of win or die?”

“This is the mission of our race, and the great hope that has allowed us to fight until this day! If that great hope is destroyed, then living would be worse than death! I only regret that your human race refuses to follow the rules of the game and has actually managed to return from the True Realm!”

What the Lord of the Dragonfolk Realm said was not wrong.

Chen Yi’s current actions were even more excessive than a referee personally entering the game.

The Lord of the Dragonfolk Realm’s unyielding attitude made Chen Yi think of something else.

Could winning the realm war truly allow one to become an immortal?

Otherwise, why would the Dragonfolk go this far?

Based on his “travels” through the Dragonfolk Realm over the past few days, the entire realm had become a single, unified rear base for the realm war. It was governed through centralized administration across the whole territory, with every level of authority operating at astonishing speed, all to ensure that the war faced no unnecessary obstacles.

Every Dragonfolk was a screw in this enormous war machine. No one could stand apart from it, whether commoner or noble.

Those who could fight joined the army.

Those with brains worked in rear-line research and artifact forging.

Those who were mediocre and incapable handled logistics and menial labor.

And if they could do nothing else, they could still become “breeding stock” and desperately produce children.

Every Dragonfolk had become a practitioner of the grand ideal of becoming immortal through victory in the realm war—even if their own generation would never live to see that day.

“Answer one question seriously, and I won’t harm the Dragonfolk Realm or your people.”

Seeing Chen Yi withdraw his murderous aura, the Lord of the Dragonfolk Realm’s rigid attitude softened considerably as well.

“What do you want to know?”

“Can victory in the realm war truly allow one to become an immortal?”