Published: February 11, 2025
"A famous French writer once said, 'Opportunities come like lightning, brief and fleeting, and it all depends on whether you seize them without hesitation.'"
Ye Zhongming picked up a tribute but didn't immediately place it into the Gate of Blessing. Instead, he looked at the Yama Tree and the spirit woman.
"I understand your concerns and know that you both yearn for freedom; perhaps that is the essence of life."
"But..."
The turning point had arrived, and Ye Zhongming's voice grew urgent and resolute.
"Everything in this world comes at a cost; this is an ironclad rule. Just as you must fight powerful opponents to absorb the energy of evolution. Yangos has grown stronger; it has upgraded from level seven to level eight. It feels great, and you are envious. But why? Because it is my battle beast, and it is almost one with me, so it can take risks without fear because I bear the cost for it."
These words lingered in the ears of the Yama Tree and the spirit woman. Although their expressions did not change much on the surface, they were deeply contemplating in their hearts.
They were unwilling to lose their freedom. If they desired strength, they would have to fight for it themselves, navigating through dangerous paths to embellish their evolutionary journey.
This naturally involved countless battles and injuries and the constant possibility of death.
Although they still hadn't made a final decision, Ye Zhongming's words forced them to acknowledge the weight of his argument.
"You can think it over; I can wait for you a while." Ye Zhongming smiled, fiddling with the tribute as he awaited the responses of the two high-level beings.
Despite his confidence, he had no assurance that the two would agree.
The Yama Tree, while having an excellent relationship with Cloud Summit, was not guaranteed to serve it in the future. No matter how charmingly Ye Zhongming spoke, promising to bear risks, the substance of his words relied on the potential evolution of Yangos through the Gate of Blessing. If they became his battle beasts, wouldn’t they still need to fight immediately?
Clearly not; they would still need to battle, facing even greater dangers.
What they would gain was merely the benefits of the present.
The spirit woman was even more realistic. Unlike the Yama Tree, she was a psychic mutant life form born to control zombies. More importantly, she had an equally powerful assistant, the black cat, giving her substantial leverage to attain the freedom she desired.
It was known that because of the black cat’s presence, the spirit woman's evolution was far more challenging than other beings of her level; she required double the energy. In return, her battles were also nearly twice as demanding.
Was she tempted by Ye Zhongming's proposal? Of course! But she would weigh the pros and cons even more carefully.
Seeing the two level-eight beings hesitate at first and gradually calm down, Ye Zhongming's heart sank.
He knew his plan had failed. These two top-tier beings in the food chain resisted the temptation right before them and chose to maintain their independence.
Ye Zhongming shrugged, showing a look of regret.
This might have been the best opportunity to bring the two beings under Cloud Summit, but unfortunately, along with their high intelligence, they also possessed the ability for independent thought, choosing a different path.
"Hey, Ye, don’t be like that! Our relationship isn’t something that can be summed up in a scroll. We are friends. Well, if you are willing to mate with me, I might consider the matter."
"Why don’t you turn into a human first?" Liang Chuyin rolled her eyes. She had been dissatisfied with the Yama Tree's constant attempts to flirt with Ye Zhongming for quite some time.
"I... just wanted to ask Red Hair some things."
The spirit woman clearly had a different level of relationship with Ye Zhongming than the Yama Tree, and her refusal was much more pragmatic.
Ye Zhongming had a rough idea of why the spirit woman sought out Red Hair but merely nodded, saying nothing.