Seeing her approach, Fifth Youlin took a breath and said, “Luckily, you didn’t let the spell charge to the ninth sword. Otherwise, even if you’re not in physical form, your soul would suffer irreparable damage.”

The large tiger sat down and responded cheerfully, “Of course! That’s why I used all my strength to interrupt the spell early!”

It consumed almost half of the rule power of a ruined city!

In other words, the rule power of an entire city could only activate the domain twice! Qin Ruqing’s heart ached with every drop of blood!

Fifth Youlin remained silent for a moment and asked, “How did you come to master such a high-level spell as the Thunder Dragon?”

“It’s just a flashy trick! At most, I managed to replicate it fifty percent!” Qin Ruqing said casually. “The original spell used real Heavenly Fire, Purple Lightning, and Thunder Fire. I only used beast fire with some wind and thunder attributes to make a makeshift version!”

Qin Ruqing briefly described seeing the ancient female immortal using the spell to decapitate a great demon in the historical rift, though she vaguely mentioned it being in the Void Realm, not specifying it was in the Rule Cave.

Fifth Youlin’s lips slightly moved, and he looked at Qin Ruqing with a complex expression. “So, you’ve only seen it once, and because you remembered the seal sequence, you dared to use it now?”

“…Aren’t you afraid that you might not be able to execute it properly, resulting in losing the battle?”

Qin Ruqing’s tiger eyes glared at him. “If I lose, I lose. I won’t die or be embarrassed… You, Fifth Youlin, are a Celestial-grade young clan leader, so losing to you is normal.”

In other words, losing wasn’t a loss, and winning was a gain.

Fifth Youlin fell silent again. “…Aren’t you afraid that losing might result in failing to pass the Source Rule Cave?”

Qin Ruqing replied, “I won’t lose. Why don’t you take a look at the battlefield below?”

Fifth Youlin’s pupils contracted slightly, as if he had remembered something.

He abruptly turned his head to look below.

The battlefield below was littered with corpses, both human and beast.

The human forces were retreating, while the beastmen were pressing their advantage and had already penetrated deep into human territory.

He had been so focused on the battle with Qin Ruqing, and given the nature of the illusion, he had been somewhat detached from the broader battle situation.

Realizing Qin Ruqing’s assured tone, Fifth Youlin turned his head. “You knew all along that the human forces would lose this battle!”

“Yes, I knew. I have integrated into the beastmen, and from what I understand of their strength, I calculated that the humans had no chance of winning this battle.”

Fifth Youlin’s expression showed some disappointment. “So your reason for choosing the beastmen’s side was because victory was certain?”

As a member of a Celestial grade family, Fifth Youlin unquestionably stood with the human side.

He had never considered the beastmen.

If Qin Ruqing had indeed chosen the beastmen merely for the sake of an easier victory and acquiring the inheritance, Fifth Youlin would have to admit that he had misunderstood her.

“No, I chose the beastmen precisely because the will behind this space wanted me to choose them,” Qin Ruqing said calmly.

At first, she had been troubled, thinking that “leading the chosen faction to ultimate victory” was an impossible task because she was a human within the beastmen.

It seemed that neither side had a clear advantage.

It wasn’t until Qin Ruqing used reverse thinking, setting aside the question itself and considering the intention behind the questioner, that she had clarity.

She was participating in a human inheritance trial, and the one who set the trial must also be a human sage.

If the goal was to choose the human side, why create such a challenging proposition? Choosing the human side would be a given, so why make her integrate into the beastmen?

Unless, the questioner was deliberately guiding her, and Qin Ruqing’s personal experiences had shown her that the beastmen were not as described by the humans.

Thus, the answer to this “choice question” became clear.

As for why she revealed the imminent breakthrough of the Beast Emperor to Fifth Youlin after choosing the beastmen, it was a line she, as a human, had to uphold.

— “I can change my view of the beastmen, but some things must never be forgotten!”

Once the answer was clear, Qin Ruqing’s next task was to figure out how to lead the beastmen to victory.

This problem was surprisingly easy to solve!

Qin Ruqing was a leader herself, and the Flame Tiger was one of the largest beast clans.

She knew the real military deployment of the beastmen, and having attended high-level meetings, she was aware of the Beast Emperor’s upcoming breakthrough.

Qin Ruqing easily concluded that the human forces would not win this battle.

She and Fifth Youlin had simulated the outcome, and it was evident that the final result would be a defeat for the human forces.

Of course, the real struggle between humans and beastmen wasn’t determined by a single battle; there were battles before and after.

“The flow of history moves forward, and we are merely a speck of dust, powerless to change anything,” Qin Ruqing had somehow reverted to her original appearance.

A speck of dust, powerless to change anything.

Fifth Youlin looked at the final outcome of the battle and the corpses of the humans below, feeling a heavy weight in his heart.

But Qin Ruqing’s tone shifted, becoming lighthearted. “Of course, history can’t be changed because it is in the past. As for now, we’re not just a speck of dust; we’re at least a sandstorm!”

Fifth Youlin: “……”

“You really don’t seem like someone raised by a prestigious family in the cultivation world.”

Qin Ruqing laughed. “Well, I was too outstanding and different from the start. The Qin family’s approach to my upbringing was more hands-off. Even our family’s ancestors couldn’t control me!”

She sounded quite proud.

Fifth Youlin pressed his lips together, not wanting to say another word.

The battle was over, and logically, their consciousnesses should have been transmitted out of here or moved on to the next trial.

However, the scene before them did not disappear.

Everything was continuing.

In this battle, the human forces suffered a great defeat, and the stronghold was lost.

The remaining human soldiers could only retreat in disarray.

However, the higher-ups of the human race were not particularly surprised or enraged by this outcome.

Because they had confirmed an even worse piece of news:

The Beast Emperor was indeed about to enter a breakthrough.

If the Beast Emperor did succeed, it would be more than just a matter of losing a battle; the entire human realm would suffer.

Fifth Youlin and Qin Ruqing stood together, observing the human high-ups in the conference tent, each wearing a worried expression.

Fifth Youlin said solemnly, “This illusion… is it continuing the story from where we left off?”

Qin Ruqing examined the scene for a moment but shook her head. “Not quite. It doesn’t seem like a continuation of our story but rather an accurate depiction of historical events. Didn’t you hear them? They said, ‘According to our reports from the infiltrators in the Beast Clan.’ If it were a continuation of our story, it would have been reported by you, Fifth Youlin.”

“In other words, whether you told me or not, the real history shows that the humans were already aware in advance,” Fifth Youlin said.

Qin Ruqing folded her arms. “Of course. Don’t underestimate the strength of our human race!”

Fifth Youlin pondered for a moment and said, “It seems there is a hidden record in the Myriad Scroll Pavilion about an ancient secret technique that can transform a person into a true beast clan member by exchanging blood and bones. However, this method is extremely cruel and painful, reducing the lifespan and typically resulting in the transformed becoming a demon beast, usually living no more than ten years.”

“Sounds like that’s probably the technique used,” Qin Ruqing said lightly, though her heart grew heavy.

Enduring brutal torture to forsake their human identity and becoming demon beasts despised by people at the time, even if they managed to gather valuable intelligence, their ultimate fate would not be any better.

The historical scenes before them continued.

The human powerhouses understood that if the Beast Emperor’s breakthrough news was true, they had to do something before the breakthrough occurred.

Ultimately, they decided to launch another war, gathering all their forces for a desperate battle!

Fifth Youlin frowned and shook his head. “The human race has just suffered a great defeat and incurred severe losses. The chances of winning in another battle are less than thirty percent.”

Qin Ruqing said, “But if they don’t start a war and wait for the Beast Emperor’s breakthrough, the human race would have no chance at all.”

Qin Ruqing asserted, “They must have a backup plan! If they didn’t, there wouldn’t be us descendants here!”

Indeed, there was a backup plan.

The top human powerhouses gathered for a secret meeting, and eventually, one person proposed a plan.

—To construct an ancient ultimate killing array, serving as the key to turning the tide of the war.

Qin Ruqing asked, “They referred to him as Daoist Venerable… Have you heard of this venerable’s name?”

Fifth Youlin seemed to know something but remained silent.

The secret high-level meeting erupted into intense arguments because the cost of constructing this ultimate killing array was enormous!

Not to mention the celestial and earthly treasures required, the most critical aspect of the array was that it needed sacrifices from a hundred cultivators above the Mahayana stage to unleash its full power.

A hundred Mahayana experts would almost exhaust the entire top-level strength of the human race.

If they won the war, it would be acceptable. But if they lost, the foundation of the human race would be destroyed, leaving no chance for recovery!

Qin Ruqing and Fifth Youlin held their breath, waiting for the final result.

Whether such a bold and crazy proposal would be accepted.

However, the scene shifted, and they were transported out.

……

……

Standing outside the six Rule Caves, even with Fifth Youlin’s composure, the dramatic outcome left him momentarily stunned, feeling stuck and unsure of what to do next.

As for Qin Ruqing…

“Ahhhhhhh, why is stopped here!”

“Let me at least know the outcome of the meeting!”

“Being stuck like this will get me cursed to death, you know…”