The aftershock is still causing such great chaos across the continent.

The Emperor can no longer leave the golden throne, the Celestial Destiny Mage was critically injured and died, and the other Demigod, the Jade Phoenix Mage, persisted until last year, but also passed away from illness.

The Original Power inherited by the young swan, the legendary Jade Phoenix Mage, also exhausted his strength and died during the suppression of the Gate of the Abyss.

Not to mention the aftermath caused the Book of the Dead to be stolen, Rogen's death, the disaster of the living dead on the Dragonbone Prairie, and the Sapphire Dragon disaster forcibly suppressed by Louis.

He glanced at William:

"Keep the Emperor matters hidden from Olivia for now."

William nodded.

Although he doesn't know the full picture like Louis, he at least knows the Emperor has gone to the Shadow Country to participate in a battle hidden from light.

In his view, Louis might be afraid the Second Princess would blame herself for her grandfather's death.

But Louis quickly said:

"The Emperor standing up should have been predetermined, as there is a God-spawn incubated from the Dark Night Goddess's remains in the Shadow Country."

William's eyes narrowed.

In an instant, many difficult-to-understand issues linked together.

"No wonder we saw the core legions of several major countries there."

He felt a bit melancholic, but the knot in his heart dissipated.

Seeing Louis's expression remain calm, William knew he understood.

If the Emperor stood up from the golden throne simply for the young swan, no matter how loyal William was, he would inevitably think—

Rudolph died for Olivia.

Although Louis knew William wouldn't blame the young swan, there was no need to leave a knot in his subordinate's heart.

Improving cohesion is the kind of rhetoric to use at this time.

To die for the young swan and to die for the Emperor are different.

If the Emperor's trip to the Shadow Country was predetermined, it means there was a huge threat that had to be cleared out.

In this way, although saving the young swan was also important, it took a backseat.

The focus became fighting for the Ense Empire.

This is another concept.

Of course, Louis doesn't want the young swan to know about this for personal reasons.

The Black Swan made it clear that the God-spawn in the Shadow Country was hunting the young swan, and that was inevitable.

The reason is related to certain secrets from Ense Empire's past.

It might even be connected to the Emperor's unbelievably strong power.

Even the cocoon of the Dark Night Goddess rests inside the young swan.

That is to say, no matter where the young swan hides, one day the Dark Night God-spawn will entangle her.

The Emperor's coalition with three countries to exterminate the God-spawn was merely advancing what was inevitably going to happen.

Thinking of this, he dreaded the God-spawn even more.

He suspected that even if the Emperor wasn't a god, he possessed some divine attributes.

Recalling the Black Sun in the Fallen Shadow Nether Realm.

He shivered subconsciously.

The Fallen Shadow Nether Realm is part of the Shadow Plane.

And in the past, the Shadow Plane was once a god's private domain.

That's right.

That god is the Dark Night Goddess.

The Shadow Demon Net still operating today is based on the Shadow Plane.

Didn't Old Deng possibly possess a portion of the Dark Night Goddess's legacy?

Louis couldn't help but think of this.

He said solemnly, "The formation of a Half-Plane is not easy, right?"

William nodded, "A Half-Plane essentially roots from the world or world remnants."

"If it was the orthodox 'consolidate with one's strength to ascend to a Half-Plane,' I would say nothing."

"But if it's the 'new path,' one cannot avoid being rejected by the world."

Louis frowned, "What's the biggest difference between the old path and the new path?"

William said:

"The old path uses one's power as a seed, rooting in the outer realm, eventually transforming the original Legendary domain into a Half-Plane itself by continuously gathering Original Power."

"A Half-Plane formed this way has more complete rules, and if you can fight within it, you'll gain huge Half-Plane bonuses."

Louis nodded.

The Master of the Half-Plane can draw on Plane power.

This path has a clear 'Divine Kingdom' flavor.

"What's the cost, then?" Louis asked.

"The demands are too high," William said, "Such a Half-Plane is extremely reliant on the strong. If below a Demigod, they can't even ensure the stability of the Half-Plane."

Louis realized:

"The new path lowered the demands?"

William hummed in agreement:

"The new path takes part of the world's Original Power, transferring the energy required for world operations that a Demigod should bear onto the world itself."

Louis said, "So the new path lowered the Half-Plane requirement to be at the Legendary level, right?"

"Yes, currently many secret realms on the continent are Half-Planes of fallen legendary strongmen."

Louis nodded, "Then those who took the new path must pay a price, right?"

"The price is they find it inconvenient to act," William said, "They're thieves of the world's Original Power, and if they don't find a way to return it, they will face great limitations if they act on the continent."

Louis paused for a moment, hiding his shocked expression.

He only said softly:

"The new path takes effect quickly, allows rapid investment, cultivating one's Half-Plane ahead of time, but with severe action restraints."

"The old path demands high, is slow to take effect, with a long payoff period, but with fewer constraints."

"What a brilliant tactic..."

Hearing Louis's murmur, William asked curiously:

"What tactic?"

Louis calmly said:

"Whether on the old path or the new path, there will be significant constraints, it's practically... like shackling the Legendary and Demigods."

William was silent for a while:

"It's just not known if it's human-made, or..."

"This is not our concern."

Louis ended the conversation.

Indeed, not everyone is qualified to cultivate a Half-Plane.

But those qualified are top Demigods and legendary figures.

A Half-Plane has effects akin to a Divine Kingdom and can directly exert a peak practitioner's strength, aligning especially well with their legendary domain.

Louis read about this in books.

At LV21, one enters the legendary domain.

At this stage, legendary practitioners can focus their power inclination toward a specific domain.

This specific domain is called 'Legendary Destiny.'

A legendary who completes their Legendary Destiny officially qualifies to ascend to Demigod status, beginning the God-ascending path.

In other words, Legendary Destiny is really the long ladder to divinity.

Combined with the old path's characteristics, we know—

When Legendary Destiny is developed to its limit, practitioners can open a small world, embossing their 'destiny' on it once imbued with Demigod power.

Hence, the old path's Half-Plane is born.

The new path skips this step, prompting the Half-Plane to emerge early, growing along with the Legendary Destiny.

This allows those on the new path to more easily capitalize on their power.

"Old path and new path... ha, it might really be interesting."

Louis sighed.

On the old path, most of a Demigod's power is used to sustain the Half-Plane, limiting what they can exert to keep it stable.

The new path allows early power exchange but Legendary practitioners become the world's parasites, essentially stealing its sovereignty.

Thus, when they act, there is a world backlash, similarly limiting their power.

No matter the path, there are significant constraints on the pinnacle-tier powerhouses.

But given the combat power ceiling, no one wants to abandon this path.

"You could say, thanks to this situation, ordinary people don't have to worry too much about those top strongmen rampaging across the continent."

Louis chuckled, "Of course, benefiting the ordinary people is one aspect, but the real beneficiary..."

He looked at the ground beneath him.

With those top-tier monsters' power, the crust is no tougher than a slushie ice to them.

But due to this layer of restraint, it becomes harder to truly harm the world.

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