123: Chapter 123 Such Despair, an Unsolvable Situation

In the Borderlands, amidst the starry sky.

The two sides faced off from a distance, but one thing was strange: a massive, colorful planet stood between them.

On the side of the Esper Alliance, countless warships floated, hiding unknown numbers of troops and high-energy weapons within.

Outside the warships, Immortal Gods stood in formation, confronting the enemy, while ten super-powerhouses sat at the rear, overseeing the entire scene.

"Whoosh!"

Soon, the warships from both sides arrived at the scene.

"Just in time." The ten powerhouses cast their gazes over, scanning these outstanding youngsters.

"One year of training, mission accomplished!" Immediately after, the three True Gods—Fa Kong, Ba Tu, and Ling Xi—all came to report back.

The leading man appeared to be a blue-haired middle-aged individual. He nodded slowly. "Well done. Now, it's up to them. Sigh, sometimes I really don't want to let these children take the field, but they're forcing our hand!"

"Ahem!" Someone gestured, indicating he was saying too much.

"Let's begin." The blue-haired middle-aged man regained his composure, his face showing no emotional fluctuation.

From within the warship, Chen Xing looked toward the opposite side. It was a group of beings difficult to describe with words—truly a motley crew of monsters and demons.

The three major forces—the Demon Alliance, the Demon Race, and the Evil Path—brought an immense amount of pressure.

One against three, attacked from all sides... it was hard to imagine just how much pressure the Esper Alliance had endured over the years.

"These Evil Path members, they all seem to be humans?" Looking at the members of the Evil Path Alliance, everyone felt a chill down their spines.

Since we all come from the same root, why are we so eager to destroy one another?

"The rules—you understand them, right?" The blue-haired middle-aged man spoke slowly. His voice wasn't loud, yet it reached everyone, carrying an air of authority without anger.

"The old rules: thirty days of slaughter. People are sent in during the first three days, and the seals are gradually lifted in the last three days," said the representative of the Great Demons from the Demon Alliance.

"However, this time it's been changed to five days. You understand."

The members of the Esper Alliance looked at each other. They had known this in advance, which was why they had made those preparations.

"Truly sinister. It's three against one, and they're still pulling this," someone couldn't help but say.

Before coming, they had learned from several True Gods that this was a battle royale, as well as a major test to examine the core members of both sides.

Simply put, the massive planet ahead would serve as the battlefield, where experts from both sides would enter to fight to the death.

However, they would descend in batches. On the first day, only humans, demons, and devils of the C-Class Espers level would be allowed down.

According to the normal rules, B-class Esper would only be released on the third day, and so on, until the thirtieth day. Whoever suffered more casualties would lose.

Of course, finishing the slaughter early was also an option.

But with the enemy's superior numbers and the experts from three factions entering the fray, they were clearly at a disadvantage. Why would they agree to such an unfair treaty?

At first, Chen Xing was also very puzzled and had asked his teacher in private.

Regarding this, the True God Ling Xi rarely remained silent, staring at the tea on the table again and again in silence.

"Revered Master, if it really can't be said, then I won't ask. I'll wait until the day my strength is sufficient," Chen Xing said, standing up.

"No need. You are my Disciple now; you'll have to know sooner or later," the True God Ling Xi sighed softly.

Hearing this, Chen Xing sat back down and listened intently.

The True God Ling Xi sipped her tea and looked at him meaningfully, saying, "You... should know who the opponents are this time, right?"

Chen Xing nodded. "The three sides: humans, demons, and devils. I just didn't expect that we would have to slaughter our own kind as well."

The True God Ling Xi put down her teacup, her expression serious. "Then where do you think the Evil Path comes from?"

Chen Xing pondered. Looking into his teacher's eyes, he suddenly had a very bad, even terrifying, suspicion.

Where does the Evil Path come from?

Why ask such a question? Everyone in the world knew that the Evil Path was born from humanity and then defected.

Unless...

"Unless the Evil Path was introduced from the outside!" the True God Ling Xi spoke, directly finishing his inner thought.

"Is this mind-reading...?" Chen Xing was embarrassed.

He asked, "What does 'outside' mean? What kind of thing can be defined as 'outside'?"

The corner of the True God Ling Xi's mouth curled up. "You guessed it. You're quite clever. But if we really start discussing this matter, it is truly despair-inducing."

Chen Xing was puzzled. "Despair?"

The True God Ling Xi took a deep breath and said, "On this chessboard, there are many pieces. For example, the Demon Alliance and the Demon Race—they are all nothing more than playthings for that giant hand behind the scenes."

Hearing this, Chen Xing's hair stood on end.

"Someone can control them? Is that for real?"

"Why not?"

"..."

Chen Xing pursed his lips and couldn't help but say, "If that's the case, it would be very simple for the person behind the scenes to wipe us out. Why don't they?"

This was the first and only time Chen Xing saw Han Lingxi show such a bitter and helpless smile.

"To that existence, whether it's the Demon Alliance or us, we are all just playthings on a chessboard. He does this for nothing more than cricket fighting, wanting to see which side can achieve final victory."

"What?"

Chen Xing was stunned. Between the lines, he only felt absurdity and incredulity, but what followed immediately after was a piercing chill.

Just how strong is the person behind the scenes? Can they really reach such a level? Is there no one who can keep them in check?

"Even if there really is someone in this world strong enough to keep him in check, why would they help you for no reason?" the True God Ling Xi shook her head slightly.

"A battle of that level would cause all of us to perish. If a fight really broke out, why would that person bother to protect us?" Her words were bloody and unvarnished.

Chen Xing fell silent, for his teacher was right.

"Aren't they afraid of... playing with fire and getting burned?" He clenched his fists.

"I understand what you mean. You're saying, what if while playing, someone in the same Realm as him is suddenly raised to keep him in check, causing the situation to collapse, right?" The True God Ling Xi smiled bitterly.

"Is that not possible?" Chen Xing hesitated.

"Suppose—I'm only making a supposition—that your talent could allow you to reach his Realm. But so what?" What the True God Ling Xi said next led to utter despair.

"You can imagine that I am now that giant hand behind the scenes. I am the Immortal God, the only one. The other pieces are all in the Three Heavens Realm or the Tribulation Transformation Realm."

"Do you know why there are none in the Heavenly Position Realm? Because I—the hand behind the scenes—have killed them all!"

Chen Xing felt a boom in his head, followed by a buzzing sound. He finally understood the meaning.

The person behind the scenes kills everyone who is just one Realm below them and even forbids anyone from reaching that Realm.

At this moment, Chen Xing finally understood why Teacher Ye Jianxing had brushed him off when he asked why the Evil Path wasn't completely eradicated.

He also finally understood why Revered Master Ling Xi was so pessimistic and despairing.

He understood even more why that person wasn't afraid of things getting out of hand.

It was like an Immortal God who, in order to rule, killed all Ability Users in the Heavenly Position Realm and blocked the path for anyone to Breakthrough to the Heavenly Position Realm.

If you want to kill the Immortal God, you must step into the Immortal Realm.

If you want to step into the Immortal Realm, you must first reach the Heavenly Position Realm. But once you reach the Heavenly Position Realm, you will be directly obliterated by the opponent.

He doesn't care if your talent is sufficient; if he snuffs you out, you're snuffed out. What can you possibly do?

Unsolvable.

This situation... can be called unsolvable!