Yin leaned forward slightly, and the void around Long Chen and Qian Jinglei constricted, making them gasp for air that wouldn't come. "I want Yun Lintian broken at the peak of his power, by my hand, not rushed and fractured by the meddling of that time-obsessed fool. Their deaths," he said, pointing at the fallen, "are not for you to give. They are mine to take, or to leave, as it suits my purpose. You have wasted my resources."
The revelation struck Long Xi, Long Qingxuan, and Nantian Fengyu with a new kind of horror. Their lives, their deaths, were just variables in a cosmic calculation between these primordial monsters.
They weren't even granted the dignity of being targets; they were merely pawns, their value measured only in how their suffering could be used to manipulate Yun Lintian.
Long Chen was trembling uncontrollably. "F-forgive us, Lord Yin! We acted thoughtlessly! We sought only to serve you!"
