It would, of course, be best if they just fought for the t.i.tle. After comprehending all those sutras in the Buddhist Domain, Gu Li believed that Ye Zichen was absolutely not his opponent.
For a moment he seemed almost eager, but then he heard Gu Zichen say, “of course not.”
Gu Li arched his brows, but in truth, he wasn’t at all surprised. The way he saw it, Gu Zichen must have refused to let them fight in order to protect Ye Zichen from unexpected harm.
It seemed that in Gu Zichen’s heart, he knew Ye ZIchen was no match for him.
As he thought this, Gu Li smirked, then looked at Gu Zichen. “Then how should we resolve this? You’re the one who suggested a vote, so I thought you were in charge of all this. Now you’re telling us you don’t have the authority? Could it be that you have some scruples? Don’t worry about it! If you want to give the spot to Ye Zichen, just do it. I won’t mind.”
“You can give the seat to Brother Ye,” said one of the major powers.
The others nodded in agreement. Even the ordinary immortals below the platform followed suit. Although Ye Zichen worked for the Immortal Region, the immortals of the Underworld and Heavenly Court knew him through the Red Packet Server. Their relations.h.i.+p with him was extremely close.
In the end, the next Master of the Three Realms wouldn’t be their boss, but Ye Zichen was a pretty good choice too.
“Enough.” As the immortals noisily expressed their approval, Gu Zichen reached out to silence them. “It seems I have no choice but to repeat myself: in truth, I’m not the one who decided to choose via election. Rather, this is the Will of the Heavens. I, too, am surprised by the tied vote, but…. Are you sure it’s really a tie?”
The immortals were stunned.
The vote counts were clearly displayed. Ye Zichen and Gu Li were tied, so why would Gu Zichen say….
“Senior, what do you mean?” the Flame Emperor couldn’t help but ask.
“Everyone, please be patient. This still isn’t the final result,” said Gu Zichen.
“Hah, that’s interesting,” said Gu Li, smiling playfully despite himself.
He looked over the crowd and the displayed votes and said, “could you be planning to make those who abstained vote again?”
“Of course not. They choose to abstain, so they no longer have the chance to vote.”
“Then you….”
“There are still some people who haven’t voted, right?”
In response, some of the immortals looked over at Great Sacred Emperor Equaling Heavens and Yang Jian’s seats. They were the only ones who weren’t present.
Yang Jian ascended to G.o.dhood and could no longer return here. Could it be that Great Sacred Emperor Equaling Heavens was on his way?
“Isn’t the Emperor in seclusion, preparing to break through and ascend?”
Just as the immortals started spiritedly discussing the matter amongst themselves, Ye Zichen broke his silence. “Can I withdraw?”
His tone was indescribably flat with no ripples of emotion whatsoever, yet this sentence sent waves of commotion through the crowd.
Withdraw!
To think Ye Zichen would choose to withdraw!
“Emperor Ye, we’re all on your side here,” said the Flame Emperor comfortingly. “You’re sure to win the position.”
“Say it isn’t so! If Emperor Ye withdraws, doesn’t that mean that Chiyou will be the next Lord of the Three Realms?”
“Brother Ye…..”
“Brother Ye……”
The major powers all tried to persuade him, but none of them noticed that Ye Zichen’s eyes were bloodshot until he raised his head. “Everyone, I appreciate your good intentions, but right now, all I want is for this to end so I can leave…..” His tone was still flat, but you could see hints of emotion reflected in his eyes.
“If you give the seal to Gu Li, won’t this Struggle finally end? Then I can leave. Let’s just do it like that, then.”
Starting about an hour ago, or you could say, starting from the time Gu Li showed up, Ye Zichen’s heart was in turmoil.
All he could think about was the situation outside, especially the people closest to him.
Nothing was scarier than the unknown.
Ye Zichen didn’t think he’d be all that useful on the battlefield, but at least he’d be able to see it all for himself.
But now all he could do was sit here and vie for the seat of Master of the Three Realms.
He didn’t want to waste time here, not even a second.
“No.”
Despite everything Ye Zichen said, Gu Zichen rejected him without leaving any room for discussion.
“No?” Ye Zichen’s tone s.h.i.+fted for the first time as his red eyes fixed themselves onto Gu Zichen. “If you hadn’t forcefully teleported me here, I would be standing before the gates of Maple City right now, facing the demons alongside them.”
Back when they’d just started voting, Ye ZIchen had pulled out his cell phone. That’s when he saw the page saying he’d been involuntarily teleported.
Someone had forcefully turned his phone back on, then sent him here.
Only Gu Zichen could manage something like that.
“Right now, I shouldn’t be sitting here discussing some ‘Master of the Three Realms.’ I need to go take care of my loved ones. I have no time to waste with you, so please let me go.”
“No.” Gu Zichen rejected him without explanation. “Until the compet.i.tion ends, you must remain here.”
“But I said I’d withdraw.”
“You don’t have the right to withdraw!”
Clench.
Ye Zichen clenched his fists. His frustration and anxiety finally boiled over, leaving him unable to suppress his emotions any longer.
Eyes bloodshot, he stared directly at Gu Zichen and roared, “if anything happens to them, it’ll be your fault!”
“Them!”
Ye Zichen trusted that Gu ZIchen knew who “they” were.
“You can’t leave.” Gu Zichen’s reply remained unchanged.
Just then, Gu Li jeered, “Hah, if Emperor Ye wants to leave, just let him. If you force him to stay behind, he’ll hate you death. Emperor Ye has the people’s best interests in mind and is worried about the outside situation, so you’d best hurry up and let him go! Let him witness their tragic fate for himself!”
Everyone could tell that Gu Li was being deliberately provocative. When Ye Zichen heard this, it was as if he’d been set on fire; everything he’d been suppressing exploded outward.
Rumble.
Instantly, countless fierce winds sprung up around him.
“I’ll say it one last time. Let me go!”
Everyone present could sense Ye Zichen’s fury as he glowered intently at Gu Zichen….
But what he got in response was still….
“No!”