System vs Rebirth

"Old friend. It\'s been three years since you last visited me." The Dark Lord smiled while spreading his arms.

"Hahaha. It\'s indeed been a while." Old Jade chuckled and hugged him.

"I never thought that you would visit me."

"Indeed. I wanted to retire peacefully, but it seemed that they couldn\'t really let me retire." Old Jade shook his head helplessly.

"Right? I heard you retired to the Ardagan family. Were you having fun there?"

"Yeah. It was great. I had never expected to be able to live in such a dream." Old Jade nodded.

"Is that so? Now I\'m a bit curious about the Ardagan family. Maybe I should retire there as well?"

"You\'re still young, but you\'re thinking about retiring already?"

"What young? I might not be as old as you, but I\'m already 64 years old." The Dark Lord chuckled.

"Hahahaha." Old Jade laughed out loud while rubbing his beard.

"Well, come in first. Let\'s talk about the old days inside." The Dark Lord extended his hand while his other hand wrapped around Old Jade\'s neck, gently pulling him inside.

"Indeed." Old Jade nodded in agreement.

The Dark Lord brought him to his office as he personally poured him tea.

"Thank you." Old Jade put the cup down while saying, "Are you aware of the situation of the kingdom right now?"

"Somewhat. It\'s really chaotic out there." The Dark Lord then took a seat while casually saying, "So the reason why you\'re out of retirement is because of the rumors?"

"You already know about the rumors?"

"While I\'m not there all the time, of course, I have heard it. The reason why we have never had a great elder and only twelve elders is so that there will be a balance. The Tower Association since there will be six elders opposing it. The moment a great elder is born, the balance will be broken."

"Then…" Old Jade\'s expression brightened. It seemed that he wouldn\'t need a lot of effort to convince him.

Sadly for him, the Dark Lord dropped a bomb he never expected. "And that is why I choose to break that balance."

"You…" Old Jade stood up, trying to use his power. But that was when he suddenly felt immense pain all around his body. "!!!"

Old Jade dropped to his knees while screaming. "Aggghhh!"

He was trying to move his body, but they refused. His spiritual energy caused immense pain.

The Dark Lord\'s expression darkened. "Old friend. What have you heard? 5 people have agreed to open the great elder position? That is wrong. 8 people have agreed from the very start.

Those rumors are just distractions."

"Distraction? Don\'t tell me…"

"Yes. It\'s to know who can be persuaded and who can\'t."

Old Jade felt chills down his spine. If that was true, then the rumors were actually bait to bring him back here. Old Jade gritted his teeth, glaring at his old friend. "What did you put in that tea?"

"A poison… one that is supposed to have gone extinct more than five hundred years ago." The Dark Lord casually sipped his tea. "It saddens me that my old friend doesn\'t know what is good for the kingdom and what is not good."

"Five hundred years ago?" As an elder, he remembered another elder that might get involved. However, that elder should have died. "Don\'t tell me. The Plant Lord…"

The Plant Lord had been eliminated in the past because he was involved with the Supreme Devil Organization, especially with the cultivation of an herb that was supposed to be extinct in the past.

"Indeed. The Plant Lord might not be with us anymore, but the cultivation of the Fagant Leaf is not with him anymore. Such a potent drug that is able to seal one\'s spiritual energy and immobilize one\'s muscles… it\'s truly one of a kind. It seems to take some time for a stronger human, but I guess you still can\'t escape from it."

"You… Do you know what you\'re doing? What is good? You\'re the one confusing what is good!" Old Jade gnashed his teeth. He wanted to move his body and punch his face, but it was futile.

The Dark Lord replied with a question. "And what is good to you? Do you not understand the position we are currently in? Suppose I\'m supporting the Ardagan family, will they be able to overcome numerous demons? What about the ancient demons that they will bring?

"A single ancient demon alone can wreak havoc on this kingdom, let alone multiple of them. The kingdom will be destroyed, and we won\'t be able to do anything. Other kingdoms? Even they won\'t be able to stop them.

"If you think about it that way, it\'s easy to realize that humanity will go extinct. And what? I\'m going to make sure humanity survives. If only you could understand me…"

"Survives? What is the difference between you and a dog? I\'d rather die with dignity than let those demons who are lower than ants trample my pride as a human." Old Jade snarled.

"You don\'t know anything, my friend." The Dark Lord shook his head helplessly.

"You\'re the one who doesn\'t know anything. Throughout history, humans will win again and again. We won\'t go extinct because the light we have will be inherited to the next generation! You have lost your light and given up. I\'m not your friend, you lowly dog! You are the same as those people in the palace who can only think about their fake authority."

"That\'s what you think. I couldn\'t care less about them. They can play territory as they want, but me? I\'ll make sure that this world will be repopulated by a human again… a much superior human."

"You…Aaaahhhhh!" Old Jade roared. He administered as much strength as he could, he released all the spiritual energy that he had. However, it was futile. None of them could produce anything.

"It\'s useless, my friend. Unfortunately, it\'s such a shame, but I guess I\'ll be alone in the new era that will come after this. It was nice to have you as my friend." The Dark Lord pointed his palm at him. His pupils suddenly turned black, which wasn\'t the characteristic of a human.

There was immense strength emitted from his body.

"This power…" Old Jade widened his eyes in shock. "You are not supposed to be this strong."

"This is the power that will rule the new era. I\'ll give you one last chance. Join me."

Old Jade made a painful look as if he were able to foresee the future. "My lord… You must get stronger… much stronger than right now. You have to kill these bastards!"

"…" The Dark Lord noticed what he said at the last moment. It seemed that Noel wasn\'t strong enough to go against him yet. And that was what he really needed.

Little did he know, Old Jade was lying one last time. He knew Noel had reached the Spirit Transcendence and had the ability to fight them. He just wanted to lower their guards.

He looked like he was still struggling, but he had given up inwardly. He muttered in his heart, "I\'m sorry, my lord. I\'ve screwed up. This is the only thing I can do for you… humanity\'s fate is in your hands."