Chapter 4579: On Their Own

Celis didn’t really have any family or anything of the sort in the Great Void. His entire life had been focused on cultivation, after all, and he had never really built a connection of his own. Because of that, Celis was the only one among the group who didn’t even bother returning to Lisan and instead remained in the Celestial Plane.

He simply spent his time cultivating with the few Godly Crystals they still had in their possession. They were nowhere near enough to push the group to the limit of the Peak Stage, but it was still better than having nothing to work with.

Kentucky, on the other hand, had plenty of family members waiting for him. He returned to the Floating Islands of Time, where his brother and parents had been living ever since they returned to Lisan. Naturally, he spent some time with them and caught up on everything that had happened while he was gone.

Too bad Kentucky was still Kentucky.

Before long, most of his time was once again spent lying around, sleeping, or retaking his ’duties’ as the beloved Minokawa in the Great Kentucky Fan Club. Apparently, becoming an expert capable of freely traveling between the Celestial Plane and the Great Void hadn’t changed his priorities in the slightest.

—

On the fourth day after the meeting with Soza in the Werdlem Empire, the envoys of the Werdlem Empire indeed came to pay a visit. Not only that, Soza himself came along to speak with the twins’ group directly.

Normally, a Universe of Lisan’s level wouldn’t be able to accommodate an existence like Soza. Fortunately, Soza once again used the same plate that could suppress his cultivation and allow him to enter, an item brought down from the Celestial Plane.

Well... truth be told, he didn’t really need it anymore.

If the twins willed it, they could use the Echo to allow Soza to enter Lisan with his Celestial cultivation without causing any backlash from the Universe. Their control over the Vinx Great Void had already reached a level where even something like this was trivial.

—

In a meeting room within the Realm of Gods, Rean sat together with Soza and the Werdlem Empire’s envoy and Emperor. Fila and Soul Gem were also there with their children. An hour after Rean had left the Werdlem Empire, Soul Gem had been sent there by Rean as well, giving him the first real opportunity to speak with Soza without having to worry about retaliation.

"Hum?" Rean looked between the two men. More specifically, he noticed that Soza and Soul Gem still didn’t seem to be on particularly good terms. "I thought you two had used your time to talk things out."

"Hmph!" Soul Gem snorted. "Do you think I haven’t tried? This old man’s head is as hard as Divine Metal. Perhaps even harder."

"Shut up!" Soza immediately countered. "I don’t want to hear that from the man who stole away my daughter."

Fila could only sigh helplessly. "Father, once again, I left because I wanted to. Why can’t you at least put in some effort to get things right? Didn’t you like your grandchildren very much?"

Soza’s expression softened slightly as he looked toward Fila and Soul Gem’s children. "They are fine, but that’s because you are their mother. If only this guy wasn’t their father..." He sighed before glaring at Soul Gem again. "You are lucky that these friends of yours managed to gain control over the Echo. Otherwise, I would have skinned you alive already."

"Ha!" Soul Gem laughed. "If that were the case, I wouldn’t have appeared in front of you to begin with. I would have taken my time, grown stronger than you, and then come back just to beat some sense into that thick skull of yours."

Rean scratched the back of his head.

His plans to get this family on good terms didn’t seem to have worked very well. "Ahem... In any case, you guys will have plenty of time to talk things out from now on. For the moment, shall we enter the main topic of this visit? I have to return to the Celestial Plane soon, so I would rather spend the rest of my time with my family."

Obviously, Soza didn’t know that the twins’ group now had the ability to enter and leave the Vinx Great Void whenever they wanted, completely free of charge. As far as the Werdlem Empire knew, coming down to the Great Void required them to pay an enormous price, and they would have to pay that same price every time they wanted to return.

Naturally, Rean had no intention of correcting that misunderstanding.

Soza calmed himself and nodded toward Rean. "Yes, let’s talk. We have no way of stopping you now. So, what do you want?"

Rean smiled. "Me? Nothing, really. I have absolutely no intention of meddling with the plans of the Werdlem Empire or providing help to anyone wishing to take you down."

Soza and the other envoys were taken aback.

That definitely wasn’t what they had expected to hear.

"You... don’t?" Soza asked. "Why?"

"Because nothing good would come out of it," Rean explained simply.

Rean had already discussed the matter with Roan and Sister Orb. The twins’ influence in the Vinx Great Void was simply too great. The fact that they could retain their full strength from the Celestial Plane made them essentially invincible within the Great Void. However, that strength came with another problem.

If they intervened with this, they would eventually be forced to intervene in everything.

The idea was simple. There was no way the twins’ group could hide what they had achieved. Too many cultivators already knew about it, and they didn’t have any particular reason to conceal it, either. Their current status alone would provide all the safety Lisan could possibly require from outside dangers.

That didn’t mean they needed to become the Great Void’s permanent guardians, however.

"Suppose I make a move to get the Werdlem Empire destroyed," Rean continued. "Eventually, another Empire or some other force would simply take your place as the strongest power, and the cycle would repeat itself. It could even be an Empire originating from my own Lisan Universe, simply because we happen to be here."

Rean leaned back slightly as he continued. "At the end of the day, the Werdlem Empire reached its current status because it was strong, smart, and cunning enough to do so. Even now, after the Bubble was destroyed, the other powers can only plan their attacks carefully, and none of them are willing to act recklessly. In the end, we’ve decided to leave your fate to yourselves."

He looked directly at Soza. "If the Werdlem Empire is eventually destroyed, then that means you weren’t strong enough to survive without the Bubble. It’s that simple. You will only have yourselves to blame. We won’t intervene."

Soza narrowed his eyes as he considered those words. "We... obviously won’t complain about such an arrangement. It’s just that we were expecting you to make some conditions in exchange for leaving us alone."

Rean shook his head. "No requirements."

He paused for a moment before correcting himself. "Actually, there is one. Although I don’t think it will be a big deal to you. Just leave my Lisan Universe alone."

Rean’s tone remained calm as he continued. "I’m not saying you can’t defend yourselves. We’ve also decided not to interfere with Lisan’s affairs unless the Lisan Universe itself is about to be conquered or destroyed. But that’s limited to Lisan."

He looked around the room, making sure everyone understood what he meant. "If Lisan’s experts go out of their way to attack your Werdlem Empire, you can kill them. You don’t need to worry about retaliation from Roan, Kentucky, Celis, or me. Anyone outside Lisan, regardless of what kind of relationship they have with us, is on their own."

Soza remained silent for a moment.

That was an unexpectedly straightforward arrangement. The twins weren’t asking the Werdlem Empire to surrender, pay tribute, or even change its current position. They were simply drawing a clear boundary around the Universe they considered home.

And, perhaps more importantly, they were making it clear that they had no intention of becoming the rulers of the entire Vinx Great Void merely because they now possessed the power to do so. The Werdlem Empire truly couldn’t have asked for better conditions despite everything that had happened.