Li Aozi gazed at the teacup, which contained his favorite aroma of tea, a brew he devoted at least two hours daily to enjoying attentively.

But today seemed somewhat different.

Every time Beatrice approached with the kettle to refill, she noticed the tea in the cup hadn't changed at all.

Li Aozi quietly observed the tea leaves settling at the bottom, his thoughts wandering to the ends of the sky.

The path before me has finally become clear. The appearance of the Destiny System can be considered as me finally reaching a stage where I hold value in the eyes of entities like the Destroyer.

Put differently, I have finally proven that I have value in the Starry Abyss.

To reach this point, it took him nearly forty years, and including Leoz, that spans tens of billions of years, an incalculable amount.

Billion years of effort leading to such an outcome.

Certainly, this was partly due to the interference of Lord Entropy, but if I had simply followed the rules, remained loyal to the Primordial Abyss, and worked for them, I may not have even had the chance to see Lord Entropy.

Arstala spouted a lot of theoretical facts, but to Li Aozi, who was poorly cultured, they boiled down to just two things:

1. Suggestion to wait for death.

The Primordial Abyss has no way out; its destruction is a foregone conclusion. Although it doesn't signify the end for the universe, for the general populace of the Starry Abyss, it is indeed the end.

The good news is, it's the same for Earth.

Destroyers are not singular; their presence and function are essentially the essence of the world.

Simply put, the Destroyers are like officials of the imperial court, while the Primordial Abyss is just a barbaric tribe, occupying the nation's resources, refusing the king's transformation, yet desiring to learn the advanced experiences of the Destroyers to split land and rule.

At this point, it's hard to determine who's right or wrong. One can only choose sides based on their stance, and whoever survives, decides what's right.

Clearly, neither Arstala nor the Primordial Abyss has much optimism for the future, believing it's only a matter of time before the Starry Abyss is breached by the Destroyers, much like sitting on a volcano, awaiting eruption.

Following destiny and awaiting destruction might be a good choice.

Of course, aside from sitting idly by, the Eternal Star God Arstala offered him another option.

2. Be killed by others.

The Bloodline is a seed sown by Arstala, a power distinct from the Destroyers, society, and the Starry Abyss, which, if developed to the fullest, may have the chance to change the future of Starry Abyss.

However, this isn't necessarily a righteous choice.

Arstala made it clear that the Destroyers embody the world's order, a natural law like the sun rising and setting; the world needs movement, movement brings cycle and increase.

Yet Arstala's power seeks to halt movement.

Choosing this path stands against all Destroyers, even against all life.

Destruction is divine destiny; defiance may shatter the entire world.

This severely conflicting reality amused Li Aozi momentarily, but he couldn't laugh.

Arstala wasn't lying; he knew more clearly than the others everything Arstala was saying.

Before the Destroyers arrived, the Starry Abyss was merely a chaotic and ignorant primal universe, with even Primordial Abyss lacking its own will.

Yes, they truly are destroyers—invaders—but they are also messengers bringing thought and life, embodying order itself.

What's wrong with the natural law? Would you blame Earth's core gravity if you're constipated?

From ancient times to now, everything abides by natural law, undergoing change, humans and nature coexist harmoniously, mutually beneficial because even deities are just a part of nature.

The curse of Starry Abyss is bestowed fairly upon every individual, whether a Cannon Fodder Deity or a Pathway Main God.

Humans cannot contest with nature; this is a fact.

To battle with nature is to make enemies with all natural creations.

"Truly strange, the more powerful one becomes, the more they are shackled by natural law. To conquer nature only to be conquered by its grandeur," Li Aozi mocked.

...What is this?

Arstala painstakingly conveyed this information, as if spending vast paragraphs to utter two useless words:

Wait for death or challenge the world only to be collectively beaten dead.

And this, this is the conclusion for Li Aozi.

The so-called fate, is this kind of future.

Snicker—

Li Aozi suddenly burst into laughter:

"For a moment, I actually thought someone like me might get a decent end."

He shook his head.

Really, if someone as tyrannical and evil as him could have a good ending, it would be unfair to the honest and upright common folk.

Except... even reaching this state of enlightenment, he couldn't control the instincts of his body.

Destiny reveals, the elite team of the Dragon Race has ventured into the Void for a pre-competition journey, the Golden Dragon Monk went along, Beatrice is just a Spirit Doll, she knows nothing, along with the whereabouts of Irexis Sundace remaining unknown...

Ping!

The teacup dropped, shattered into pieces.

"Enough!"

A mountain of troubles weighed on him, and Li Aozi's stress finally reached its peak.

"Beatrice, I'm going out for some fresh air, notify me if there's any news."

"Understood, Sovereign, please stay safe."

He stood up, swapped his luxurious cloak for common mercenary attire, and leaped from the high building into the vast sea of people.

..................

A few minutes later, a Dragonborn youth wandered the streets of Dragon Island.

Black haired and red-eyed, aside from traces of dragonscales, he bore few Dragon Race features, looking just like a regular mercenary, which was precisely the common citizen look on Dragon Island, with some noble Dragon Race bloodline, like Black Dragon or Night Dragon, Shadow Dragon, but scarce, moderately graded.

Such residents came from somewhat stable homes, indifferent to corporate employment due to pay dissatisfaction, and yet looked down upon in government political circles by the Superior Dragon Clan.

Unable to rise or descend, stuck in this position, many Dragonborn start from grassroots mercenaries, accumulating capital to invest, build a facade shop, considered a fulfilled dragon life; as for transforming into an upper echelon Dragon Race? That's a matter of ancestral fortune.

Li Aozi carefully selected this identity: with a basic status, unlikely to be provoked, with some money but not much, therefore not targeted by those with ulterior motives.

He strolled around the city, admired historical sites, advised old men in the park playing chess, went to buy a drink, sat on a bench, quietly watching the children frolic in the square, like a retiree, his life pace considerably slowed down.

In the past, Li Aozi wouldn't have had this luxury of leisure.

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