The primary reason for this was Astria's delayed return. The palace was supported by the spirits and bodies of the Twelve Zodiacs as its formation core. Without Astria, it was akin to losing the core; their power could at best only be utilized at seventy percent.
However, Bai Cha was also punished after that incident. Heaven knows how heartbroken the person managing the arsenal was upon seeing the Z-country arsenal almost emptied. They wept profusely before the big boss, thinking they were about to lose their head.
The Road to Hell was ferocious and terrifying, the air seemingly twisted by evil. Countless vengeful spirits and malevolent deities crawled out of fissures, lunging at Jingji. Virgo stood high in the sky, forming seals with both hands.
"All six paths of reincarnation are cause and effect." Virgo's voice also carried an ethereal quality. As the most outstanding person in spiritual power among the Twelve Zodiacs of Equilibrium, he chose to confront the woman before him head-on.
"Hungry Ghost Path, Animal Path, Hell Path."
Famished vengeful souls and ferocious beasts surged towards Jingji like a tide. The curses of the Road to Hell made them even more powerful. They ferociously charged at the seemingly lost nun not far away, intending to tear her apart.
"Hell is filled with sin, please grant me release for you."
Jingji stepped forward. Smooth thighs were revealed from beneath her nun's habit, causing disorientation. The thorns on her body, however, became more piercing. Jingji looked up. Her eyes were beautiful, like a brilliant silver galaxy, but her gaze was downcast as if she lacked spirit.
The Road to Hell underwent a change. Though the ground below was still stained with blood and twisted by black stones, the sky turned golden. As the first ray of sacred light illuminated the dark hell, all the hungry ghosts and beasts fell into panic.
"Lost ones, please permit me to sever your mortal thoughts."
Virgo was also startled. He hadn't expected Jingji's ability to be exactly opposite to his. The Gates of Heaven and the Road to Hell complemented and countered each other, but his Road to Hell lacked its most crucial participant.
"With the King of Asuras guarding the Asura Path absent, how can it possibly contend with Heaven, which has gods?"
Bai Cha held her forehead, saying indifferently.
The six paths of reincarnation had all appeared. Ox-Head and Horse-Face, carrying chains, arrived panting through the mist. Their massive muscles and huge beast heads, even their chains were incredibly large, but Black and White Impermanence were nowhere to be seen. The officiant of good deeds, Wei Zheng, the officiant of punishment, Zhong Kui, and the inspector, Lu Zhi, all arrived, but Yin Law Officer Cui Jue was absent. Kuai Shu Ge.
"Heavenly God Path lacks Heavenly Gods, Hell Path lacks Cui Jue, Asura Path lacks the Asura King." Bai Cha watched from below with amusement. She glanced meaningfully at Yan Ziqing, who was fiddling with his judge's brush, and teased, "How does it feel? A little guilty?"
Yan Ziqing replied helplessly, "Boss, you're teasing me again."
After he implanted the gene, he had suddenly become a divine painter, with one drawback: he used up brushes too quickly. Every stroke meant a broken brush, and he had to carry a full backpack of brushes whenever he went into battle.
Finally, Bai Cha couldn't stand it anymore. At that time, their relationship with Astria was still very good. She specifically took him to see Virgo. After opening the Road to Hell, they rushed into the Hell Path and stole Cui Jue's judge's brush.
This judge's brush was truly effective, never breaking. However, Cui Jue had been in a stalemate with Yan Ziqing over it for a long time. In the end, the two of them merged, so much so that every time Virgo used the six paths of reincarnation, Bai Cha would mock them.
After all, if it weren't for Yan Ziqing, the Hell Path of Virgo wouldn't have a key general. And Virgo, who had no one good to subdue, was actually fused with Bai Cha's person.
According to Virgo, besides the King of the Underworld, Cui Jue was the most useful. The King of the Underworld was too difficult to invite, and one less ghost general could be invited. As for the Heavenly God Path, Virgo had never successfully communicated with a Heavenly God. This Heavenly God Path at most only had an auxiliary effect. And the Asura Path, the Asura King was never even seen by Virgo.
Ancient texts recorded that among the three evil paths of reincarnation, the Hell Path was the most prosperous, the Hungry Ghost Path was the most perfunctory, and the Animal Path was the most useless. Among the three good paths, the Asura Path was the most mysterious, the Heavenly God Path was the most prosperous, and the Human Path was the most useless. If the six Kings of the six paths of reincarnation were gathered, these six paths of reincarnation would be invincible.
Of course, this was just a saying. Invincibility didn't exist, and the Kings of the six paths of reincarnation could absolutely not be gathered.
The King of Gods had too much prestige. If a mere mortal could summon them casually, wouldn't that cause chaos? Moving a finger was already showing you great favor.
But the competition was this cruel. If you're not good enough, you're not good enough. Jingji had already cultivated divinity. The difference between a true god and a mere ghost was clear. This couldn't be compensated by numbers.
"Your sins are so profound. Please allow me to pass judgment on you."
The clouds in the sky were dyed golden. Every descending golden lightning bolt caused the monsters of the Road to Hell to wail. Virgo quickly formed seals, each palm condensed into tangible gold. Jingji returned the favor, her divine seal actually more radiant.
"...Hm?"
From the stands, Bai Cha raised an eyebrow and sat up. Focusing her gaze, she saw that the thorns on Jingji's legs had indeed fallen off. These golden thorns were not power, but restraint, binding Jingji's power. They were Jingji's warning line.
Golden light flashed. The dense golden light mass solidified as if it were a gelatinous liquid with golden cotton. Faintly, people below could see the phantom image of a strange creature appearing.
It had a serpentine body, six wings, and four heads. Two wings covered its face, two covered its feet, and the remaining two were for flight. It was accompanied by a lion's roar but had a human face.
"Seraph." Virgo's expression finally changed. Looking at Jingji opposite him, her pupils had vanished, and only dazzling gold remained in her whites, as if she had become a detached god.
The golden light exploded. The entire referee team was dispatched but was still forced to retreat by the golden light attack.
True powerhouses controlled their strength at will, just as Bai Cha had initially evaluated Virgo. Uncontrolled power was failure. Now, with the thirty-six referees repelled, this clearly indicated that Jingji had lost control.
Virgo cultivated the six paths of reincarnation. After all, the six paths of reincarnation included the Human Path, making it more relatable and easier to cultivate. However, when it truly came into contact with divinity, there was still a deficiency. The moment the Seraph's divinity appeared, the six paths of reincarnation, along with Virgo, were locked down.
The roaring sound subsided after quite some time. Virgo crossed his arms in front of him to block. Seeing that the referee team had been blown away, he thought he might get injured, and his golden armor would need repair again. But he only heard the roaring, experiencing no pain.
"Shaka, you used to tell me to surrender if I couldn't win. Now you've forgotten yourself."
The voice was clear and cold, and familiar. He had heard this voice a long time ago.
Back then, this child was still young and even liked to act spoiled in his arms, with this same proud voice, but now with more indifference.
Virgo half-knelt on the ground and looked up.
On the vast arena of the World Championship, huge crystal lamps hung from the high ceiling. The blinding light made the girl in front of him seem dreamlike. The girl's extended hand had not yet retracted. She had blocked the residual impact. From this angle, Shaka could clearly see a burn mark on Bai Cha's palm.
A long, long time ago, on this very arena of Equilibrium, he had also stood in front of her like this, saying the same words.
"Elpis." Virgo murmured, his eyes complex. The referees quickly stepped forward to determine the winner. Jingji had also recovered from her loss of control.
Jingji was no longer in a state where she could lose control to an irrecoverable extent at any moment. The moment Bai Cha made her move, she had regained her senses. She picked up the golden vines that had fallen to the ground and re-wrapped them around herself.
The nun, dressed in black and white, appeared quiet and even frail, so frail as if she were a dying girl who hadn't slept for days and nights due to illness. Upon closer inspection, faint dark circles could be seen under her eyes, as if she could collapse and sleep at any moment. Even her speech was soft, as if she were gasping for breath.
On another large arena, the match had concluded. The names on the screen changed frequently. There was more than one arena, but the news was updated and consolidated in real-time. On the screen, the name ranked seventh had disappeared and was replaced by Xiang Nan.
"I truly can't imagine that I've pushed you to the point of using your trump card, and yet you remain so calm." Virgo stood up and gave Bai Cha a big hug. "Elpis, I know you still have the token of the Goddess of Hope on you. Aren't you really considering coming back?"
Bai Cha did not refuse, allowing her former uncle to hug her. She glanced in a specific direction in the stands and said coldly, "Come back? To snatch your boss's position?"
"He's not that kind of person. There must have been a misunderstanding about what happened back then." Virgo tried to persuade her, but Bai Cha interrupted.
"Of course, I know there was a misunderstanding, Shaka. I understand these principles. Besides, he didn't do anything wrong; he just chose to remain silent. Of course, I won't deem him guilty." Bai Cha shrugged, as if saying it indifferently. "I just really dislike those self-righteous people who stand on the moral high ground, maintain neutrality at first, and then insist on persuading those in the midst of conflict to give up hatred and spread love throughout the world."
This included Astria, as well as the neutral faction. That's why Bai Cha had always referred to Bai Shu as Astria, never calling him uncle again, nor ever using his real name.
Gong Yue Chen Pei, he was not even worthy.
Bai Shu sat in the stands. The large arena had loudspeakers, and any sound could be accurately transmitted to everyone's ears from the stage.
Moreover, Bai Cha and Virgo were not speaking in hushed tones; their voices were not quiet. Astria still maintained a poker face, allowing the people around him to look at him with strange eyes, remaining expressionless, like an emotionless machine staring straight ahead.
Sometimes, even Bai Cha didn't understand what Bai Shu was thinking.
Bai Cha had always felt that the Bai family and Equilibrium were adversaries. Many of Bai Shu's strategies were indeed in that vein, and many times Bai Cha had almost fallen for his schemes.
However, at other times, Bai Cha felt that Bai Shu was not her enemy. He never showed any emotion of dislike or joy towards her. Even when his people showed her kindness, he remained expressionless.
Rather than indifference, it was more like a sense of utter resignation. In short, Bai Cha didn't understand.
[Beep—]
[Bai, come here for a moment. I forgot how to break this蛊.]
It was Xiang Nan's voice.
Xiang Nan was currently on the sixth large arena, giving acupuncture to the unconscious Meng Qinghuan, effectively turning Meng Qinghuan into a porcupine. Meng Qinghuan was indeed very powerful. This time, Xiang Nan used his ultimate蛊worms to defeat Meng Qinghuan. These ultimate worms, if things went as expected, Meng Qinghuan would likely never be able to use them again. Who knew that the first time they were used would be on their own person?
Bai Cha: "...You're asking me? Who am I supposed to ask? I don't know anything about worms."
She felt disgusted by anything furry, so how could she use them? If she didn't use them, how would she know? If she didn't know, how would she know the solution?