Chapter 2033: "Shortcut"
The matter of Meng Jian Zhou killing [Meng Jian Yuan] was true.
Before today, Yun Che had never heard the name [Meng Jian Yuan]. In truth, the name [Meng Jian Yuan] was known to everyone in the Abyss.
Because this was the name of the former Dreamweaving Divine Son. Under Yun Che's layer upon layer of pressure, Meng Jian Zhou's shout of "I killed Meng Jian Yuan" was indeed as big a handle as could be. And Yun Che not recognizing the name "Meng Jian Yuan" was, in the eyes of sufficiently astute people, definitely not a small flaw.
Although [Meng Jian Yuan] was not a legitimate son, he was born to the newly taken and most favored concubine of Dreamless Divine Venerable, Meng Kongchan.
At that time, all the other five Divine Kingdoms already had Divine Sons and Divine Maidens who had awakened sufficient Divine Rank. Only his Dreamweaving Divine Kingdom lacked one. Meng Kongchan's anxiety could be imagined. And among all of Meng Kongchan's descendants at that time, Meng Jian Zhou was one of the only two legitimate sons, and he had awakened a six-point Divine Rank. Although it did not meet the "Divine Successor" condition of an eight-point Divine Rank, he was still the best of a bad lot, and with his rather high Xuan Dao talent, he was valued by Meng Kongchan. Divine Rank was not entirely determined by birth; though rare, later awakening of Divine Rank was not impossible. Everyone, including Meng Jian Zhou himself, hoped for such a miracle, allowing him to later awaken to an eight-point Divine Rank and thus become the Dreamweaving Divine Son of the Dreamweaving Divine Kingdom.
But then Meng Jian Yuan was born... and he was born with an awakened eight-point Divine Rank.
Meng Kongchan's gloom dispersed overnight, his face radiant. It was said that the sound of his laughter echoed across the skies of the entire Dreamweaving Divine Kingdom for three days and three nights.
All the attention, praise, and expectations of the Dreamweaving Divine Kingdom focused on Meng Jian Yuan.
As for Meng Jian Zhou... his status undoubtedly plummeted. Some people, when in the depths, redouble their efforts; even if they are destined to never compete, they still make themselves stronger, thus standing at the highest position they can reach. Others become restless and disturbed, even giving birth to a venomous heart... Meng Jian Zhou was undoubtedly the latter, even though the other party carried the future of the Divine Kingdom, even though the risk was immense, and once exposed, it would mean utter ruin.
When [Meng Jian Yuan] was ten years old, Meng Kongchan eagerly appointed him as the Dreamweaving Divine Son. From that day on, no one in the Abyss was unaware of the name Meng Jian Yuan.
Meng Jian Zhou's jealousy and hatred toward him reached their peak.
As a legitimate son of Dreamless Divine Venerable and the brother closest to Meng Jian Yuan, he knew better than anyone the weakness of Meng Jian Yuan's character and the loopholes in his protection. Hiding a venomous heart, he patiently waited for the right moment... Finally, on the three hundredth day after Meng Jian Yuan became the Dreamweaving Divine Son, when he was not yet eleven years old, Meng Jian Zhou found the opportunity he had long awaited. Under the cover of a secretly obtained Dimensional God Jade and the soul-confusing power of Meng Jingzhe, he personally killed Meng Jian Yuan.
He even completely destroyed his body, and then used the Abyss Dust released by an Abyss Core to devour all remaining traces.
Thus fell the youngest and also the shortest-lived Divine Son in the history of the Dreamweaving Divine Kingdom, without even a shred of flesh left behind, and thus no trace to investigate.
During that time, Meng Kongchan was so furious he nearly went mad.
He even did not hesitate to break the taboo of the Dreamweaving Divine Kingdom, using the power of "Dreamweaving" on his own clan, including his descendants.
But in the end, he was blocked by everyone risking their lives... The "Dreamweaving" power of the Dreamweaving Divine Kingdom could not be used on fellow clansmen. This was an ancestral precept and taboo left by the Founding Ancestor that absolutely could not be violated.
Yet it also became the basis for Meng Jian Zhou's audacity.
With Meng Jian Yuan dead, facing the furious and several times out-of-control Meng Kongchan, Meng Jian Zhou's fear far outweighed his excitement. What temporarily relieved him was that because there was "no body seen alive or dead," everyone... especially Meng Kongchan, clung to a faint hope that Meng Jian Yuan was still alive, sparing no effort to track his whereabouts.
Meng Jian Yuan naturally could not be found, and Meng Kongchan's attention soon shifted.
Because another legitimate son, the always quiet and unassuming Meng Jian Xi, had surprisingly awakened three more points of Divine Rank later in life, achieving a nine-point Divine Rank—the qualification of a Divine Successor!
This surpassed even Meng Jian Yuan.
From heaven to hell, and back to heaven, Meng Kongchan experienced such great ups and downs in just over ten years. It was easy to imagine the degree of importance, care, and protection he gave to Meng Jian Xi. With the lesson of Meng Jian Yuan, Meng Kongchan did not hesitate to split his own most important divine soul, leaving a part of his soul within Meng Jian Xi's soul. At the same time, to "treat everyone equally," he also symbolically carved soul imprints on some more important descendants... As a legitimate son, Meng Jian Zhou was naturally included.
Meng Jian Xi, who had leapt to become the Dreamweaving Divine Son, immediately revealed his true edge.
And the Meng Jian Xi that Meng Jian Zhou saw was a completely different person from the one seen in public.
This younger brother, whom he had once only looked down upon with his nose, was thousands of times more sinister than he was.
Gradually, all of Meng Jian Zhou's ambitions were ground into fear, until he no longer dared to have any thought of competing with him.
Abandoning himself, he no longer dared to have ambition, leaving only the constantly accumulating gloom and the resentment he dared not show in the slightest in front of Meng Jian Xi.
Meng Jian Xi's cultivation and status advanced by leaps and bounds every day, while Meng Jian Zhou made no further progress, gradually becoming a complete good-for-nothing.
...
"It's probably about like that." Yun Che narrated it to Li Suo in a bored manner.
The sordid affairs among the three brothers Meng Jian Zhou, Meng Jian Yuan, and Meng Jian Xi did not strike him as strange at all, nor was he interested.
What he cared about most was the "Dreamweaving" power of the Meng clan.
It was the foundation supporting an entire Divine Kingdom, the strongest soul power in the Abyss.
"Li Suo, do you have any impression of this 'Dreamweaving' ability?" he asked tentatively.
"No." Li Suo said softly: "Ancient divine powers span time and space; perhaps their names are no longer what they once were."
"Indeed." Yun Che nodded slightly, not speculating or pressing further.
"When you were recounting just now, your mind was calm." Li Suo said slowly: "What was the cause of your earlier soul agitation?"
"Because... in Meng Jian Zhou's recent memories, I saw a person."
Yun Che's eyes darkened, and he slowly spoke the name: "Hua... Cai... Li!"
Strictly speaking, it wasn't actually "seeing" in the true sense. Rather, Meng Jingzhe had distantly sensed Hua Caili's aura and, like a frightened bird, swiftly sent a sound transmission to Meng Jian Zhou, telling him to avoid her as quickly as possible.
The time was just four days ago.
That is to say, at least four days ago, Hua Caili was within the Mist Sea.
Meng Jian Zhou's left arm had been severed by Hua Qingying, and it could not be regrown. Thus, the one-armed Meng Jian Zhou undoubtedly harbored intense thoughts about "Hua Qingying" and, as the cause, "Hua Caili."
Among the memories Yun Che had seized, there were many of Meng Jian Zhou's perceptions of these two women.
She... she really is the Divine Maiden of the Zhe Tian Divine Kingdom, Hua Caili.
And the one secretly guarding her, the Sword Immortal Hua Qingying...
The number one person below the True God in the Abyss!?
As the guardian of a Divine Kingdom's Divine Maiden, she should naturally be extremely powerful. But Hua Qingying's reputation still made Yun Che unable to help being shocked.
Sword Immortal, number one below the True God, cultivates the Emotionless Sword... just a few words send chills down one's spine.
No wonder even someone as strong as Meng Jingzhe was so terrified and miserable when he dragged Meng Jian Zhou away at Lin Yuan Realm that day.
"Hua Caili?" Li Suo had a shallow impression of this name, gradually recalling that it was the woman they had briefly encountered half a year ago at Lin Yuan Realm, and whom Yun Che suspected to be the Zhe Tian Divine Maiden: "Your agitation comes from her?"
"Yes!" Yun Che frowned and nodded, his gaze turning toward the deeper Mist Sea: "She is in the Mist Sea right now."
Li Suo was puzzled: "You and her don't even count as acquaintances. Why are you so excited?"
"Because..." Yun Che spoke words that Li Suo was destined not to understand: "She is the best shortcut I can think of."
"Shortcut?" Unsurprised, Li Suo was only even more confused.
Yun Che said slowly: "Ahead of me lies the Abyss, which I must overturn. And the time left for me is less than fifty years."
"The Abyss Emperor spent millions of years building this Abyss world. And I must overturn it in just fifty years. So I don't have the choice to take shortcuts—I must take shortcuts... by any means necessary!"
"...What exactly is this 'shortcut' you speak of?" Li Suo understood Yun Che's situation and his words, but only failed to grasp what he meant by a shortcut.
"You'll understand." Yun Che thought for a moment, then could only answer like that.
Li Suo didn't ask further, and Yun Che stood still in place, not speaking or moving for a long time, as if suddenly lost in thought.
"What are you thinking about?" Li Suo spoke again.
Yun Che maintained a contemplative expression and said thoughtfully: "Thinking about how to create curiosity."
"Cur...iosity?" Every answer Yun Che gave her today only confused her more.
"Curiosity is the most important beginning." Yun Che explained quite casually: "Whether for men or women, it's the same... and that might include the Creation God."
"..." Li Suo seemed to understand Yun Che's intention somewhat, but didn't want to respond to that last obviously unnecessary remark.
"Little Li Suo," Yun Che asked, seemingly inquiring but actually talking to himself: "Tell me... how does one make a woman born of noble lineage, with a pure soul, raised under extreme protection, used to seeing everything others covet, and even more used to seeing the Abyss's finest men... develop a lasting curiosity about a man?"
"Shouldn't this be your area of expertise?"
"..." Yun Che's eyes snapped up. Li Suo's reply caught him quite off guard.
On the surface, Li Suo had only "awakened" after he entered the Abyss.
In truth, before she voluntarily revealed herself, she had been accompanying him for several years, like He Ling... During that time, she had observed all his actions without missing a single one.
Yun Che extended his finger, and the surrounding Abyss Dust, guided by his will, slowly coalesced into the two characters "Zhe Tian" in front of him.
Another flick of his finger, and another name appeared to the right—"Sen Luo."
The name of the strongest among the six Divine Kingdoms.
This was also the Demon Empress's habit. Manifesting things before the eyes was often clearer than pondering them within the soul sea.
He extended his other hand and slowly drew a thin line between "Zhe Tian" and "Sen Luo" with the Abyss Dust.
But this line he drew very slowly, very reluctantly, as if it carried too much fragility, and an accidental stray wind would scatter it.
Yun Che's brows gradually furrowed. Silently, a long time passed without his notice, and the line formed by Abyss Dust silently dissipated.
Slightly exhaling, just as his fingers were about to fall, his eyes suddenly snapped wide open.
His fingertip pointed upward, and another name condensed... Its position spanned across the space between "Zhe Tian" and "Sen Luo."
"Meng... Jian... Yuan..."
He softly uttered this name, which had not previously entered his heart, and suddenly a dark profound light of immense depth burst from his eyes.
Dreamweaving...
What a wonderful name.
Then let it be I...
Who will weave a beautiful dream for you all!
Boom!
His palm swept across, and "Zhe Tian," "Sen Luo," and "Meng Jian Yuan" scattered, returning to Abyss Dust.
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