Chapter 1 A Fork in the Road

That sentence was like a thunderclap, instantly causing Su Zhou's breathing to falter. He subconsciously opened his eyes and exclaimed, "What, go back now? Is there a problem with the Heavenly God Scale?"

"I've only killed a few demonic soldiers and one demonic general, and I have to go back? Or... if I go back now, will time in this world be paused?"

As he said this, Su Zhou found it ridiculous—the traversal caused by the Heavenly God Scale was not something he or Yala controlled. So far, they could only be considered users. And the world they traversed was a real one, how could it be paused at will?

Did they really think this was just a dungeon crawl?

Yala's answer proved this point: "No, there's nothing wrong with the Heavenly God Scale, and time will naturally not be paused. When you leave, you leave, and this world will continue to operate as usual."

"But, even so, why not?" As she said this, Yala's tone was quite calm, as if she didn't sense Su Zhou's shock and reluctance. "Your gains in this world have been plentiful enough—think about it, the Qi Condensation and Object Manipulation Technique allowed you to comprehend the basics of manipulating spiritual energy, the Arrow of Radiance Technique gave you a means of long-range attack, and the Thousand Mile Walk Technique made your speed comparable to a high-speed car."

"Then, the local spiritual materials gave you the reserves to quickly advance to the peak of the Awakening Realm, the spiritual pills allowed you to unleash explosive power, and your weapons have been upgraded. You even unexpectedly obtained a transcendent-grade innate secret technique… It's only been a few days! It's already enough, Su Zhou. You can easily take care of that transcendent organization on Earth now."

Hearing this, Su Zhou tried to speak several times, but found that he had no basis for rebuttal. Yala leisurely said, "You are at the center of a vortex, and your gains have reached a peak. Any further, and the gains will not be proportional to the risks."

"Su Zhou, you should know without me telling you how terrifying the upcoming general attack by the assembled demonic soldiers will be, right? What's more, the enemy may send even more powerful beings, such as the Demonic Emperor or the Imperial Preceptor personally taking action? This is indeed possible, isn't it? After all, the imperial palace can be rebuilt. As long as they become a Xiantian (Innate) expert, destroy the divine weapon, then they will be invincible in the world and can easily rebuild the country."

"You have been a Transcendent for too short a time, and probably can't imagine the logic of Transcendent beings, nor do you understand what 'Great power belongs to oneself' truly means, or what choices people will make because of it—this is a risk that could lead to death, and I advise you to avoid it."

Yala's words were like ice water, instantly extinguishing Su Zhou's previous optimism. He bit his lip, frowned, and sat motionless in his tent.

Seeing this, Yala smiled and said, "There's no need to worry. This isn't a big deal. After all, this isn't your hometown. You must know that you are destined to go to countless worlds to eliminate evil gods. Only by living can you save more people—you are still in your infancy, so there's no need to forcibly shoulder responsibilities that don't belong to you."

This was like the temptation of a devil, but it was also the plain truth.

But this attitude and tone instead provoked Su Zhou's temper.

"Absolutely not! Since I promised the Hundred Families' Righteous Army to guard the divine weapon until it's completed, and made a pact, I must do it! I will never have peace of mind until that Demonic Empire Imperial Preceptor is killed!"

He took Yala off his ear and looked at her seriously. "Yala, I know very well how big my cheat is."

"My Yinglong (Responding Dragon) bloodline has returned to its ancestral form, and I am naturally gifted in spiritual awakening. I pursue ghosts and anomalies, but they avoid me like the plague—I am not an ordinary person, and I have known this for a long time."

"Then I met you—made a pact with the remnant of a 'great being' that I still don't know how to describe or imagine. You taught me a bloodline, power, and inheritance that are even more powerful than before, and even took me to use the Heavenly God Scale, allowing me to traverse other worlds to obtain resources and power."

"After eating the Fruit of Wisdom, my ordinary thinking ability has also made remarkable progress… The Basic Three Forms, spearmanship, and the various secret techniques I learned later, I learned as soon as I learned them, and there was no way I couldn't understand or learn them—I've only shot a few dozen arrows from start to finish, and the Arrow of Radiance Technique has only been used four times in actual combat, yet I can hit people hundreds of meters away… This instinctive calculation and prediction even scares me myself!"

Speaking of this, Su Zhou paused. He gripped the Spirit Iron Spear placed aside, and his serious tone turned into a sigh-like sigh.

"Most importantly, people must have a purpose. What to do with this cheat-like power and talent? I think this question is really important… Not long ago, I said to kill evildoers, right? But only a few months have passed, and I have already discovered the shallowness of my thinking back then."

"Evildoers should be killed, but they can't be killed completely. As long as the objective factors that create evildoers exist, and they are removed from the high-pressure preventive environment, then they will definitely be born."

"Just like the World of the Divine Tree, the conflict between the Divine Tree's Kindred and ordinary creatures. The Divine Tree's Kindred can absorb the flesh and blood spirituality of ordinary beings to grow, and they don't need to rely on any other creatures. Then they have no reason to negotiate peacefully with other ordinary beings and develop a win-win situation. And other creatures, facing this kind of higher life form that can convert itself, can't possibly be monolithic and free of traitors. To solve this problem, what's needed is not to kill evildoers, but to eliminate the 'root of evil'."

"Is this evil? In my opinion, it is. But for the entire world, in terms of race, this is natural ecological development, a more intense replacement… I know very well that my so-called good and evil is just my own subjective judgment, a chaotic standard that may be biased or shifted."

Speaking of this, Su Zhou fell silent. However, the Spirit Iron Spear in his hand shone with a faint spiritual light, and purple-cyan flames burned.

After a long while, he slowly made up his mind and said, "It is precisely because this standard is so erratic that I must insist on 'action'—I must go and cut down the Divine Tree and sever the root of 'evil in my heart'. Even if it's full of difficulties and dangers."

"Because I believe that this is where my talent, which I got through who knows how much of a cheat, should be used."

Su Zhou had an unspoken subtext, but anyone could understand it.

——If you have such an opportunity and power, and you can't stick to your dreams, stick to the justice in your heart, and even abandon your persistence before the first world, the first great crisis.

——Then how many times will he give up in the future? Will he make excuses every time?

"Are you stupid?"

But Yala sneered and directly challenged the most basic point: "You've only started Transcendent cultivation for how many days, and you're already 'cultivating your heart'? Don't be stubborn. Your journey has just begun. You don't have to give up when you have more power in the future, but now, taking a step back will broaden the horizon. Don't forget your original purpose."

"I am now sticking to my original purpose—to kill evil gods to help Earth, and to kill evildoers to improve my strength."

Su Zhou also changed his posture. He placed Yala on the *Lanjia* (Azure Armor) Manual, placed one hand on his knee, and held the spear in the other, directly refuting, "There are no Xiantian (Innate) experts in this world, and the strongest is only a Grandmaster. If I can't beat them, can't I run away? You're shifting the topic and changing the concept—I'm also a debater, Yala. I'm very familiar with your tricks of shifting the topic and deviating from the focus! Would I really fight to the death and live and die with these Hundred Families' Righteous Army if the situation is really dangerous?"

"Or are you trying to say that we can only return to Earth now? That's definitely not the case, right? It's normal to run away if you can't beat them, that's called 'a wise abandonment'! But thinking about running away before fighting? That's called 'a coward's escape'—aren't you, a great being, ashamed?!"

Finally, Su Zhou picked up Yala, who was shaking her head and smiling, obviously not feeling ashamed, and put her back on his head, using a stiff tone to summarize, "What's more, continuing to persevere can also get more evil souls from demonic generals, as well as resource and secret technique support from the Hundred Families. The longer it lasts, the more rewards there are… I'd be stupid to run away without even trying!"

"Hehe… It's a good thing to have your own opinions." Since Su Zhou intended to end the topic, Yala didn't mind, "Anyway, I'm just making a suggestion, it's your own business how you choose… I'm going to rest now."

"Okay, good night."

Shrinking back into Su Zhou's hair, the snake spirit chuckled in her heart: "Induction… when has induction only relied on temptation and sweet words?"

Debating is also a kind of induction… or rather, a kind of test.

At this time, Su Zhou, who had closed his eyes again, straightened his posture, and began to cultivate, was also turning his thoughts in his heart: "Debating is also a kind of induction. Is Yala trying to test my determination here? It is indeed a good opportunity, but it's meaningless. Although I have perseverance and want to help the people of this world, I am not foolish. I will not succeed or die. I only need to do my best and have a clear conscience."

Yala, who had closed her eyes: "It doesn't matter if Su Zhou discovers my thoughts, because people can only exert their full potential in the process of arguing and resisting. This is especially true for him."

Su Zhou, who was cultivating the *Lanjia* (Azure Armor): "Yala must also know that I can guess her thoughts—but it doesn't matter, because I was originally going to become the strongest in the world."

"And this World of the Divine Tree is just my first stepping stone!"

Spiritual energy howled in the small tent, sweeping up a tornado-like wind.

The eighteen-year-old young man who had just come of age was thinking about his future, and there were also gazes watching in the dark, with shock and sigh.

Sleepless night, dawn.

Su Zhou cultivated the first *Lan Zhong* (Azure Seed).