Chapter 233: It’s All to Protect You!
The Rabbit-man returned once again to the vicinity of the passage, and just like before, she began clearing the dungeon with several of her subordinates.
Copper Vase continued working alongside her, both pretending nothing had happened.
The other Lords glanced at them in confusion, but since neither spoke, they had no idea what had transpired.
Ding Ning cast a glance at the progress of clearing the passage; it was an enormous spatial passage, with no walls, only vortex-like streams of air.
The vortex endlessly channeled the aura of the Evil Spirit Realm into the Human Realm—this passage was like a one-way funnel, and the energy influx would only stop once the balance between the two worlds was restored.
The branches of the Dark Forest sprawled everywhere, a massive root anchored itself at the Human Realm’s end of the passage, ceaselessly growing towards the Evil Spirit Realm.
It was chopped down, then regenerated.
This mother seed couldn’t stop the evil spirits, only delay them for a while.
Just by looking, Ding Ning calculated how much time was left before the passage would be completed.
Seven days—at the current pace, seven days remained.
Ding Ning gave it a glance and then turned to leave; she had no intention of staying here to help them clear it.
Seeing her turn to go, several Lords opened their mouths to speak, but then shut them again.
Everyone ventured out to seize territory in the Human Realm, but what Ding Ning lacked the least was precisely that.
"If only I’d found a mate in the Human Realm," one Lord muttered quietly.
"Heh, a mate? Might as well just control a slave—human minds are too heavy, I don’t trust them."
...
They didn’t bother to control their voices; in fact, they even raised them a little, as if speaking for Ding Ning, who was leaving.
Ding Ning ignored the voices behind her, her stride unwavering.
Only after coming to understand humans did she agree with that saying from the Human Realm.
Life is colorful; if all you know is cultivation and becoming stronger, it’s bound to be dull.
She returned to her territory. Hua followed behind, letting out a heavy sigh of relief. "Luckily those Lords didn’t notice anything. If they’d sensed you were off, you’d have been stuck there for sure!"
She had always opposed Ding Ning meeting with other Lords before recovering her state completely.
"Illusion and reality—a problem would be if I always hid away and never showed up." Ding Ning shook her head, gently pulling Hua’s outstretched vine. "Isn’t it because I have you, though? Hua is amazing!"
"Hua, what you lack is position. When Dark Star dies, I’ll help you fight for that throne!" She shook Hua’s vine, her voice soft and coy.
"It’s not that easy to fight for. There are plenty of evil spirits watching," Hua shook her head helplessly. Few are just a step from sss rank, but definitely not a small number.
Worry flickered in Hua’s eyes. "Maybe I shouldn’t advance after all."
Ding Ning’s current state was poor, and stuck at such a crucial moment. The other Lords might not die, but the only one certain to die now was Dark Star.
Because his target was too big, and he’s the easiest to kill.
His state was damaged, and he still had plenty of contingencies.
If Dark Star isn’t killed, probably many Lords wouldn’t bother with anything else.
They won’t let Dark Star succeed in climbing over their heads. No one knows his breeding method’s limit, nor how powerful he’ll eventually become.
There’s no need to guess at some things; it’s best to strangle danger in the cradle—that’s what they should do.
"Or maybe I’ll just withdraw. Once Dark Star is dead, I’ll disperse my aura myself."
Every Lord who advances to ss rank leaves their aura in a space. With this aura, they’re qualified to compete for the throne.
Secretly making the list—there’s no such thing here.
Each throne is battled out among the Lords and their peers.
If you don’t leave your aura when ascending to ss rank, you can never do so later. If you proactively disperse it, you can never join again.
Erasing your aura also signals to other contenders you’re withdrawing from the competition.
"No way!" Ding Ning rejected her without even thinking.
"I’ll end up dragging you down," Hua shook her head.
Most ss-ranked evil spirits were secretly raised by various Lords; although sss-ranked Lords can’t join the final struggle, there are always ways.
It’s always possible to secretly manipulate things here and there.
When the opponent makes moves, you have to support your own Lord to erase these manipulations and display a fair environment.
As for those wild evil spirits without a Lord’s protection, they’re the cannon fodder of the contest.
If during the Lords’ duel, someone notices something amiss, it won’t just be a fight for a single throne—other Lords will join in, turning one throne into two.
"I’ll be fine." Ding Ning shook her head. Her prior loss wasn’t from injury in battle, but mental exhaustion, which didn’t affect her combat strength much.
"No way, I won’t let that happen." Hua shook her head hard.
"But we still have Jiang Che. If he really manages to rise above everyone, maybe he’ll solve my sss slot problem for me?" Hua grinned.
Ding Ning shook her head. "No, I’ll help you myself."
"Look, your territory is right beside mine, and when you advance to sss Lord, our territories will be connected."
"See, isn’t it just like Jiang Che and Ren Fengxiang?" Ding Ning said excitedly.
Now all the Lords have ss-ranked subordinates, but their territories aren’t adjacent—rather, those subordinates are sent elsewhere, supposedly to clear the Dark Forest and expand the lands, keeping the ss Lords far from themselves.
Because they’re also afraid of backlash.
Everyone knows ss Lord has their eyes on the sss throne; if they keep one nearby, should they ever revolt, it’s impossible to guard against.
"See, they’re good friends, and so are we!" Ding Ning shook Hua’s vine.
"There wasn’t even a word for our relationship before, but after I got to know humans, I realized—we’re good friends."
"If you died, I’d definitely go fight other Lords for revenge. Then I’d die anyway, right?" Ding Ning looked unconcerned.
"You’d die? You wouldn’t care about Jiang Che?" Hua stared at Ding Ning. "Besides, it was tough enough for you to get this position in the first place."
Every Lord clawed their way through killing and survival.
"I do care, but he would understand me." Ding Ning squinted, smiling. "As for the position—when I fought to get here, it was to protect you better!"
"When he acts for his friends, I’ll understand him. So if anything ever happens to you, I believe he’ll understand me, too."