“...”

A shiny orb made from silver descended quickly to the ground before suddenly slowing down to a halt. A pale blue glow glazed over it as the sphere started to travel up into the air. It traveled upwards where it came from but right at the top, the energy around it burst into many tiny fragments.

“Shit…”

Zhang Dong saw the orb that weighed around a kilogram crashing down to the floor. While normally he would have no trouble manipulating this amount of weight with his spiritual energy, it was different in this case. The metal ball was not forcefully lifted up, instead, time was being slowed down around it and then reversed. He was able to momentarily affect a small area around the object but his stamina wasn’t quite there.

“This is a lot harder than mastering the other energies, even soul power isn’t as difficult… But I’m actually getting somewhere…”

There weren’t many things in this world that could tire him out. His body had become superhuman with massive reserves of spiritual energy that grew larger each day. Even with all of that, he could barely use the Dao of Time to use this simple technique. Yet, there was hope for him now. He had managed to push through one of the hurdles and was now able to affect time in close vicinity to his body.

“Reversing time is a lot harder than fast-forwarding for some reason… Perhaps it goes against the fundamental rules of the world?”

Next to the ball, there was a withered plant. Previously he had used the Dao of Time to age a flower. Before him, it bloomed and then withered away into the state it was now. The process was a lot easier to produce than the reverse as bringing it back to life via a time technique was quite strenuous. He came to the conclusion that the passage of time was considered more natural than winding back the clock. Going faster was still within the rules of this world.

“I can’t really affect much of an area though… I can’t imagine how much power you’d need to reverse the time on the entire planet or the universe…’

The Overseer managed to stop time but they were not reversing it. Perhaps this was all that he needed, if he pushed time forward he might be able to move. If he failed, however, it would turn him into a dried-up raisin in a matter of seconds. Without being able to reverse the process he would need to be careful.

“Maybe becoming a true immortal is required to manipulate time. If you have unlimited time, then perhaps it is possible to affect it?”

He glanced within himself to the white seed that had begun opening slightly. Even now he had no idea what this thing would turn him into. Would it allow him to reach the immortal stage or something in-between? As things stood now he was unsure of his chances against the final opponent. With his current mastery of the Dao of Time, it might not be possible to even land in one hit before he was disabled.

‘The noose has been slowly constricting around the Long Clan, they don’t really have anywhere else to run…’

To take his mind off his training he decided to glance at the map. A lot of months had passed since the battle at the wall. His armies were performing rather well and constantly producing victories as they pushed into the central region. Most of this could be attributed to the bad handling of their people by the Long Clan and also their limited numbers.

They had decided to keep themselves small and constricted to one major city right in the middle. Everything around them was run by weaker branch families and smaller sects. They had a lot of masters that if the need arose would be able to wipe out those branching families. However, these same masters were hard to move and control. All of them lived at the apex of the empire and thought fighting was beneath them.

Due to a mindset like this, the United Element Sect could prosper. Before the Long Clan realized this, they were on the defensive. They had lost the first line of defense that were the branch families. Without the lands they occupied resources became limited and even when the stronger masters began their move, it was already too late.

‘They all fled to the capital, soon it will be the last thing that remains… but I don’t like it, what is he thinking…’

Zhang Dong didn’t even need to participate and within a short amount of time, his forces surrounded the dividing mountain. It was as if the Long Clan was beckoning them inside, the probability of a trap existing inside was great. There were a few options that he could go with, one that involved risking his own life or his soldiers.

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‘Should I send in a scouting party first? There are a few elders that are good at sneaking in but none of them is better than me at it. The only problem would be to explain it to everyone…’

After using the demon hunter persona his wife had become quite mistrustful. He couldn’t blame her as she was afraid of him getting into trouble as he always did. With his position becoming so high as to rival the Azure Emperor so did his importance. If it became known that he had perished or gone missing, then the Long Clan would probably launch a full-blown assault. It wouldn’t be strange if their current allies turned on them if he disappeared either.

When taking everything into account, it wouldn’t be great to move in by himself. Launching a similar mission when he headed out into the ocean was a better solution to the problem. They actually had more information about their opponent now than when they visited the Cerulean Empress.

‘Bob, how long will it take for another palace upgrade if you use the current spirit points we are getting.’

‘Calculating… it will take approximately 4 years, 34 days, and 5 hours.’

‘That’s what I thought, I kind of reached the point of diminishing returns here…’

The palace had gone through another upgrade since the time he visited the underwater Empress. It was now larger, sturdier, and more mobile than ever. It could not be compared in size to the flying city of the Long Clan but its capabilities should not be below it that much. Even after receiving spirit points from the entire western region, it would take years for the next upgrade.

‘It’s also four years if I don’t use the points on anything else, upgrading the angel army takes a big chunk out of it and can easily double the time I’ll need to wait.’

Unless he wanted to conquer the Eastern region, he would probably not be able to upgrade the fortress for at least another five years. After all that time some momentum would be lost and his enemies would become even more entrenched. As it stood now he believed that the Long Clan’s defenses wouldn’t be up to par. They had remained on top for so long so he expected them to be sloppy just as they have continued to be throughout this whole war.

‘I can’t have them start doubting their power, they will make a lot more mistakes now than in the future where they have some time to cool their heads.’

It became clear that for his battle with the Azure Emperor, he would need to come to him. Perhaps the region surrounding the whole capital would become a ring for their massive conflict. No maps existed of that region and it was rumored to just be an area filled with precious resources. Many other sects in the past had attempted to push into it but no one was able to return alive.

‘If I can get past the first hurdle there, then victory won’t be impossible. It could also be possible that they want us to push in…’

While finishing up his training he started moving outside. The whole dimensional regalia had become filled up with people. There were now millions of war prisoners living here but they weren’t really doing anything. Some were used for spirit herb farming while others were for mining. This immortal treasure was a small world of its own and also had its own resources.

He took some time to fly over one of the encampments that was filled out with swarms of tents. The other elders didn’t like how he brought this idea up to them. Instead, they wanted to place everyone into harsher concentration camps where they would be taught a lesson. Yet, he understood that the vast majority of these people had nothing to do with the Long Clan. They were unable to refuse their overlords and a lot of them were non-combatants who were just trying to live out their lives.

‘Not all of them look happy about this but at least the kids are enjoying themselves.’

This encampment was surrounded by a large formation that acted like a fence. There was more than enough space to fit everyone in but his people controlled the traffic that was going in and out of here. These people outnumbered the warriors from the sect and thus they needed to be controlled. It was always possible for a revolt to be launched if enough of them got together.

‘As long as the conditions don’t go out of control, they should remain docile but the longer they stay here the more they will want to return to their old lives.’

All of these people previously lived in the central regions. They weren’t receiving much compared to what they were used to. The concentration of Qi in the Dimensional Regalia was high but not high enough for people that grew up around the central spirit vein.

‘Even if they tried to revolt they wouldn’t really be able to get out…’

He was more afraid that people would lose their lives and not about them potentially breaking out of this place. His sect members were training and living here as well, so they needed to be prioritized over everything else. This continued to push him to a faster resolution to the Azure Emperor issue.

With the issue in mind, he vanished from the area and appeared outside. There he looked out the window to take in the view of what he had created. A city stood tall with millions of people living in it. A statue resembling him along with his wife and best friend was there. People regularly visited it to bow in an attempt to get some good fortune and blessing.

‘I need to preserve the peace here but what will it cost…’

Zhang Dong asked himself while bringing up the system window that pointed him toward the Golden Palace. Soon the final push would commence and he needed to assemble his army. Only one enemy remained and it was finally time to end it all.