High Martial Arts: Gains one point of health per second, sweeping across the heavens.

Su Jie stood in the center of the hall, his fingertips gently twirling the talisman whose power was slowly fading, his expression calm.

Suddenly, a voice he had almost forgotten exploded in his mind.

[Host, you really know how to stir up trouble.]

Su Jie paused for a moment.

The system seemed to have finally found an outlet for a bellyful of words.

[Having just wreaked havoc on the Celestial Maiden Temple, now you're wreaking havoc on the Myriad Laws Temple. Are you planning to wreak havoc on all nine temples?]

Su Jie retorted confidently, "What do you mean by 'harmful'? I'm acting on behalf of Heaven and upholding justice."

Didn't you see how I corrected the erroneous values ​​of each of those female practitioners?

[Oh? Correction? Which kind of correction are you referring to?]

"...That's not important, what matters is the result. The atmosphere at the Celestial Maiden Temple is much better now; even the Eternals walk with much more grace."

"Your legs must have gone weak from all that trouble."

Su Jie was speechless and decided to skip the topic.

He glanced at the Lord of All Laws, who was being suppressed by the light of the talismans, and added in his mind:

"I have a legitimate reason for coming to the Temple of Ten Thousand Laws. My motto is 'Avenge every wrong.' As Canglan Yu's man, I cannot allow her to suffer for the score in the Canglan Universe."

You admit it so readily and confidently.

The system's tone was somewhat playful.

So what's your ultimate goal? Is it just to stand up for a woman?

Su Jie remained silent for a moment.

The clamor inside the Hall of Punishments seemed to pass through a veil of water in his ears. The eternal curses of the eight wheels, the sounds of impact outside the hall, and the still fierce gaze of the Lord of All Laws all seemed to be separated by something.

He suddenly realized that it might not be a coincidence that the system asked this question at this time.

He did not evade the question.

"I want to break through to the fourteenth level," he thought to himself.

"Breaking through to the fourteenth level requires a massive amount of primordial energy; simply killing those death row inmates is far from enough."

I need war, I need large-scale, eternal slaughter between each other, I need battlefields where blood flows like rivers.

Only in that chaos can I fish in troubled waters and reap enough benefits.

So you're planning to instigate a war between the three transcendent forces?

"Yes, the nine holy temples have been integrated, and then we will declare war on the Myriad Paths Holy Court and the Immortal Heavenly Pavilion."

Do you know what this means?

The system's voice lowered.

Once the war in the realm of gods breaks out in full force, hundreds of millions of eternal beings will perish.

Behind those eternal things are families, traditions, and things accumulated over countless years.

Your words could plunge the entire Primordial Continent into millions of years of bloodshed.

You're so open and honest; you don't seem to have any psychological burden at all.

Upon hearing this, Su Jie's lips curved slightly.

The smile was barely visible in the dim light of the Hall of Punishments, but there was absolutely no remorse in his eyes.

"Do you know why I got to where I am today?" he asked rhetorically.

I would like to hear more details.

"Because I never lie to myself."

I won't say things like "this is a necessary sacrifice" or "this is for a greater good"—those are all bullshit.

I need killing, I need war, I need those who die forever.

Only when they die can I become stronger.

"Only by becoming stronger can I live longer."

He paused, his tone growing heavier: "There has never been justice in this chaotic sea."

The lives of those death row inmates are lives, the lives of eternity on the battlefield are lives, and the lives of the male cultivators in the Heavenly Maiden Temple who are being used are lives.

Whose life isn't a life? If I don't kill them, they'll kill me.

"So I don't dwell on it."

He snapped out of his reverie and his gaze returned to the face of the Lord of All Laws, who was still gritting his teeth and refusing to bow his head.

"I have my principles. I'm very good to my own people, but I'm never lenient with outsiders."

"Cang Lanyu is my person. Fa Wuji harmed her, so he must die. The Lord of All Laws protected Fa Wuji, so he must be suppressed by me."

What about the other six holy temples? They didn't provoke you.

"If they block my way, then the one who blocks my way shall die."

"...You really have a lot of nerve."

"Nonsense. I cultivate to do as I please, not to build a facade for myself."

He suddenly changed the subject, his tone taking on a slightly mischievous tinge:

"Besides, I did all this so that my master could gain more faith."

[Host, are you planning to shift the blame onto your master?]

Su Jie said matter-of-factly, "That's how it is. If he wants to gain faith, then I will unify the nine holy temples for him, wage war for him, and win over the hearts of the people for him."

He can reap the benefits without lifting a finger, what's wrong with that?

You should know he's using you as a pawn.

"Of course! Even fathers and sons can turn against each other in this world, so what's the difference between a master and disciple? Besides, we've only met once."

He used me as a pawn, and I used him as an endorser. It was a mutually beneficial arrangement.

As Su Jie finished speaking, his smile faded slightly, the lazy look in his eyes disappeared, and a rare seriousness appeared.

"Moreover, to collect a large amount of faith, it is necessary to wage war, and wars at this level will certainly result in the deaths of many, many eternities."

Those who wage war will inevitably suffer the karmic repercussions of all beings; if they have faith, they must also bear the karmic burden of those beings. This is fair.

[Host, it's good that you can see this point. But do you know what this karmic backlash, affecting the entire Chaos Sea, means?]

Su Jie raised an eyebrow: "Isn't it just the accumulated resentment of those who died in the war that caused this disaster? Although I haven't experienced it myself, I can roughly guess."

"You'd never guess." The system's tone unusually carried a hint of cold laughter.

Do you think that karmic retribution is just as simple as "being hated"? The path of collecting faith can indeed allow those who have transcended to accumulate enough power to knock on doors.

But the price is the opposite of the faith of all beings: their resentment.

If your master wants to gain faith, he must endure the resentment that continues to ferment, rot, and erode in his soul.

The longer it goes on, the deeper it accumulates, until one day even his eternal fire is stained black.

It will take him countless years to successfully purify it before he can push open that door.

This method of transcendence, which relies on the power of faith to open that door, is the most basic form of transcendence.

Su Jie's brow twitched slightly: "The lowest level? There's such a thing?"

Of course there are. Beyond this chaotic sea, there are many other paths to transcendence. Faith is merely the one with the lowest barrier to entry, but also the most dangerous. Truly top-tier transcendent beings never take this path.

Su Jie's eyes lit up: "Then tell me, what other methods are there?"

The system did not respond immediately, as if it was sorting through some ancient information.

Then the electronic voice sounded again, as if a page of an old scroll had been turned from the depths of a sealed memory.