Chapter 176: 176 - The Philosophy of Defiance

Before the phantoms could even fully ascend, a second, infinitely more devastating beam of energy violently erupted from the vortex.

The pillar of energy crashed down mercilessly, tearing through the vanguard of tens of towering beast phantoms.

The majestic beasts — phoenixes, lynx, dragons, qilins and many others, were instantly vaporized upon contact.

"Kuargh!" Cale spat blood, the taste of copper coating his mouth.

'Sigh...'

Stripped of all external protection, Cale was caught directly at the dead center of the strike.

The Thorned Lotus covered his body like a shield, its blades trying desperately to block the incoming attack.

The blinding beam slammed directly, triggering a terrifying, earth-shattering explosion that completely enveloped the realm.

The force of the bombardment obliterated the surroundings, sending massive chunks of stone and ruined structures flying violently through the chaotic, crimson-soaked tempest.

Caught within the merciless epicenter of the blast, Cale was forced to endure the fury of the cosmos with nothing but his crippled body and failing will.

Looking up through the devastation, he grinned maniacally.

"Is... that all you can do?! Shooting lasers on me! Hahaha! Damn pathetic, aren't you!"

As the dust and energy from the previous strike began to clear, the heavens revealed that their true wrath had only just begun.

"Ah... no... did I somehow provoke it! What are you, a five-year-old!"

The swirling vortex churning above did not dissipate. Instead, it expanded, its fiery epicenter tearing even wider to birth a terrifying physical manifestation.

A colossal, glowing golden hand violently emerged from the depths of the maelstrom, its unimaginably massive scale rivaling the size of the very mountain itself.

"What... in the seven hells is that?!"

The titanic palm pushed through the abyssal clouds and plummeted downward, determined to utterly crush Cale's completely unprotected Astral Sovereign Body beneath its overwhelming might.

"Fuck!" he spat.

Knowing the newly formed divine vessel would shatter under the weight, Cale made a desperate, split-second decision.

Forcibly shifting his consciousness back into his original vessel, he threw himself directly over the pristine, white-robed Astral Sovereign Body.

'Haha... I'm seriously close enough to kiss my second bo—'

"What the fuck am I thinking!"

The mountain-crushing impact slammed mercilessly into his back.

A violent, agonizing cough tore from his throat, splattering dark crimson blood across his soul armor.

The overwhelming power of the heavens instantly shattered his remaining defenses, snapping his bones and rupturing his organs, leaving his original body brutally half-crippled.

As the purplish-red dust slowly settled, Cale remained fiercely holding onto the shattered stone.

Kneeling protectively over the unblemished figure of his greatest creation, his battered form served as the desperate shield, having paid the price to ensure the survival of his new body.

He opened his eyes, blinking heavily.

"Ah... am I still... alive...?"

[Host Is Alive]

"Heh..."

But the grin didn't last long. His face frowned, as if about to cry and give up.

"There's... more..."

'I wasn't even an evil monster in my past life. Why is this so angry?'

Or maybe he was, and just didn't know.

He got up slowly, sitting on the ground, hand running through his white hair, which had turned half red due to his own blood.

"Ah... is this the choice of heavens? Heh... you think I'm dumb. The heavenly will can't be this weak. If it was actually the heavenly will, it would've killed me right away. But this thing didn't. It's like sending your subordinates instead of coming by yourself. What is a puny ass human like me in front of the heavenly will? Yet here I am, alive... barely, but still... alive."

He stood, bent, his spine nearly cracked but refusing to break...

"Law of heaven? Aren't laws made to be broken? In this world, the will of the strong is the law itself. I've experienced it firsthand. The demonic side flaunts their atrocities and cruelty while also having a kind and loving nature toward their own. The righteous side claims to be orthodox, on the side of the people. But these are the same people who always initiate fights against the demonic sects, plundering and killing, allowing slavery and prostitution. They're not just two-faced liars — they're multi-faced bitches with no sense of humanity. Only the will and greed to covet profits matter to them."

His voice grew stronger, despite his shattered body.

"In such an environment, I will definitely want to fuck up both sides. To go directly into the fray — that's been my nature. I will become the kind of heavenly demon even the heavens and earth has never seen! There is no right, no wrong, no righteous, no demonic! Only 'I'... only 'I' exist. The things that matter to 'me' should be respected, and others turned to ashes! That's the kind of strength I'm pursuing!"

He looked up at the vortex above, eyes blazing.

"And if the heavenly will is this weak, hahahaha! I might just succeed!"

Money? Fame? Power? What did he not have?

He was one of the heirs to a strong kingdom's dukedom. If possible, he could marry the princess and convince his uncle to become king himself. The path to terrestrial power was within reach.

Fame? Wasn't the name Midgar famous enough? Though not known worldwide, it was still recognized across much of the world, solely due to his family's first ancestor and Sirius and his father.

Weirdly, he too had made a crazy impression on the entire world. They not only knew his name but his face too.

Somehow — or maybe because of his fucked-up luck, he was recognized by the heavenly court itself.

It wasn't a superpower organization. Cale himself doubted if they had more than a hundred Transcendents.

What they did have was their millions of years of history, their accumulated resources, and their numbers, literally in the billions.

However strong a Transcendent may be, what the fuck could he even do if a million Sage Stage cultivators opposed him?

The heavenly court played with numbers, holding the position of the mediating party in any and every dispute. One could call it a government, but it wasn't a fair one — just a crude one.

Because, at the end of the day, the heavenly court too was created and ruled by humans.

Not by some universal principle of justice.

By humans' ; flawed, greedy, ambitious humans who were just as capable of cruelty as anyone else.