152: Chapter 152: Power—I once possessed it, but I lost it.

"I suppose... I have an idea."

Lu Jing did not commit himself fully. He weighed his words carefully and said slowly, "Since for the deities of the Divine Realm, especially those God Kings who originally established the rules, whether a Spirit Beast can become a Divinity might not actually be a matter of great concern or a fundamental principle.

When the Dragon God proposed it, they simply went with the flow and agreed, establishing it as a rule.

Then, thinking about it from the opposite perspective, if someone who is equally high-ranking and influential in the Divine Realm were to take the initiative now to propose canceling or modifying this restriction, I believe... at the very least, it would not encounter too much fundamental opposition."

He paused, his gaze shifting to the Silver Dragon King, his implication clear: "Especially since, as far as I know, among the five great God Kings of the Divine Realm, the Goddess of Life and the Goddess of Goodness—you should know their temperaments better than I do.

If it were for the sake of the continuation of life and the original intention of goodness, perhaps they would not oppose giving the Spirit Beasts a glimmer of hope?"

The Silver Dragon King's purple eyes brightened slightly.

Lu Jing's words had awakened her.

That's right, the events of the past were perhaps more likely initiated by the Dragon God, with the God Kings following suit.

If someone with enough weight were to propose abolishing it now, the Goddess of Life and the Goddess of Goodness, with their compassion for life itself and their pursuit of goodness, perhaps truly would not become obstacles, and might even become sources of support.

Setting aside the God of Destruction for now, the attitudes of the God of Evil and the Asura God are unclear, but at the very least, it is not entirely without hope.

"Someone with weight proposing it..." the Silver Dragon King murmured, repeating the words. The faint light that had just ignited in her eyes quickly dimmed again, replaced by a deeper sense of powerlessness.

"But, for the Soul Beast Clan, besides me, a half-crippled Silver Dragon King, who else has the qualifications or the ability to propose this to the God Kings of the Divine Realm? Who can I go to? Within the Divine Realm, which Divinity would be willing to speak up for our Soul Beast Clan and take on the risk of potentially bringing disaster upon themselves?"

This was a question that was realistic to the point of cruelty.

Spirit Beasts had long lost their influence in the Divine Realm; they were even objects of hostility and wariness.

Who would speak for them?

Upon hearing this, Lu Jing shrugged, wearing an expression that said "this has nothing to do with me," his tone so relaxed it was almost infuriating:

"How would I know? That's your business, your problem; what does it have to do with me? I was just providing a possible line of thought. Besides,"

He changed the subject, pouring another bucket of cold water on the Silver Dragon King, who had just felt a glimmer of hope:

"Even if we take a step back and assume someone actually proposed it and the restriction was truly abolished, so what? Would the crisis facing the Soul Beast Clan really be resolved?

Think about it: even without this restriction, how many individuals in your Soul Beast Clan can currently truly cultivate to a million years, survive those terrifying heavenly tribulations time and again, and finally ascend to the Divine Realm?

Very few, perhaps not even one. This still cannot change the future trend of the Soul Beast Clan as a whole being hunted, suppressed, constantly decreasing in number, with their habitats being compressed, eventually leading to decline or even extinction.

Abolishing the ban might just give the top-tier individuals a glimmer of faint hope, but for the entire clan, it's just a drop in the bucket."

Lu Jing's words were like a cold scalpel, once again dissecting the bloody reality.

The Silver Dragon King's eyes dimmed once again.

That's right, even if one could become a Divinity, it would only be for the extremely few individuals with heaven-defying talent and luck.

For the hundreds of millions of ordinary Spirit Beasts, the predicament of survival has not changed in the slightest.

The hunting by human Spirit Masters will not stop, and the temptation of spirit rings will not disappear.

"Then... how can it... truly be changed?" The Silver Dragon King's voice carried deep exhaustion and confusion.

She felt as if she were groping in endless darkness, having finally seen a glimmer of light, only to find a deeper abyss upon approaching it.

She looked at Lu Jing, her purple eyes carrying a hint of nearly pleading intent that she herself had not even noticed.

This human youth, although far inferior to her in strength, always seemed able to provide her with different, and sometimes incisive, perspectives through his knowledge and way of thinking.

Lu Jing watched the Silver Dragon King's confused and helpless appearance, and was silent for a moment.

Then, he slowly raised his head, his gaze seemingly piercing through this independent space, looking toward the ethereal yet truly existing Nine Heavens above, the direction where the Divine Realm was located.

His voice was very soft, yet carried a firm, unquestionable tone as he slowly uttered the simplest, most direct, yet also the most impossible answer:

"It's very simple."

"Possess power."

"Possess the absolute power sufficient to overturn the entire existing order of the Divine Realm, force all Divinities to bow their heads and listen, and render the so-called rules of the Divine Realm nothing more than a facade before you."

"Then, use this power to forcibly change the underlying rules of this World. Abolish all clauses unfair to Spirit Beasts, and set new, favorable, or at least fair, rules for survival and advancement. Resolve the conflict between Spirit Beasts and humans at its root, or... suppress it."

"At that time, let alone abolishing the ban on Spirit Beasts becoming Divinities, even if you wanted Spirit Beasts to be on equal footing with humans, or even for Spirit Beasts to become the masters of the continent, why would that be impossible?"

"Rules are always made by the strong. When you possess the power to set the rules, every problem will no longer be a problem."

After Lu Jing finished speaking, he looked at the Silver Dragon King calmly.

He believed that with the Silver Dragon King's wisdom, it was impossible for her not to understand this principle.

This was almost the most essential law that applied to all Worlds.

The Silver Dragon King was completely silent.

Her delicate body trembled slightly.

Possess the power to overturn the Divine Realm?

Change the rules of the World?

This was more than just difficult.

It was simply wishful thinking, a fantasy!

If she had such power, how could the Dragon God have fallen back then?

Why would she need to hide at the bottom of the Lake of Life, lingering on in a precarious state, healing silently, and secretly accumulating power, while having to be extremely careful even when facing the inspection of a second-tier Divinity from the Divine Realm?

If she had such power, how could the Soul Beast Clan have fallen into such a state today?

Why would Di Tian need to endure for ten thousand years, painstakingly plotting?

Despair.

A despair even deeper and more thorough than when she heard that the Dragon God had initiated the restriction, like a cold tide, completely submerging her from head to toe.

What Lu Jing provided was not a method at all, but a distant, unattainable fantasy where not a shred of hope could be seen.

An ultimate fantasy that, given her current state and the current situation of the Soul Beast Clan, she likely wouldn't even be able to touch the edge of, even after exhausting countless ten thousand years.

She lowered her head slowly, extremely slowly, her long silver hair falling completely, covering all her expressions.

Only her slightly trembling shoulders and the suddenly incredibly oppressive and heavy atmosphere in the space revealed the earth-shattering, yet ultimately dead-silent, turmoil within her heart at this moment.

Power...

She had once possessed it, and then lost it.

And now, she was nowhere near recovering her former power, let alone surpassing it.

How could she talk about setting rules?

Here, it once again fell into a silence that was even more suffocating and desperate than before.