Chapter 2196 Cowardice
The Overlord frowned, not quite understanding what Leonel was trying to get at. But in a rare moment of patience, maybe due to the attitude of the Overlord to begin with and how he had approached matters, Leonel chose to explain.
"How have Heirs been chosen in the past?"
The Overlord's pupils constricted into pinholes.
"It seems that you understand already," Leonel continued indifferently. "An Heir is a man or woman with both Lineage Factors of the Morales. It's always been easy enough. There are billions born to the Morales in every generation, deciding a ruler among them would be a ridiculous task to take on every few decades. So, instead, this route was chosen. It was also a method to bring together the two bashing heads of the Metal Synergy and Spear Domain Factions, allowing them to unite under one person. But...
"Is that even possible anymore?"
The Ancestors and elders who were still kneeling on the ground were shaken. They had spent so long trying to make clear the new changes of their Lineage Factor that they had forgotten one very important thing... There were no longer two Lineage Factors; the two had been fused into one supremely powerful Lineage Factor, and on top of that, every currently living Morales had been granted it under the power of the Stars.
If the rules of the past were taken literally, the Comet Generation had no Heirs. If they were taken loosely, then everyone of the Comet Generation was an Heir.
This was a huge change that they hadn't even considered until this moment. They were too focused on other things, so much so that they had neglected something so obviously right before them. How would they even begin to deal with this?
Hold an Heir War with them all? But there weren't even remotely enough powers in the Human Domain to do such a thing, setting aside how difficult it was to set up such an event.
What if they forgot about the leadership part of the Heir Wars and just had the Morales fight amongst themselves? But that wouldn't work either. For one, it would breed a lot of animosity, and it would also result in various factions helping their descendants in one way or another, the very matter that the original rules were supposed to stop.
To make matters worse, the Morales didn't want to choose an Heir just based on battle prowess. Not only would that greatly dissatisfy those of the Metal Synergy Faction, it wouldn't be smart on their part either. They wanted someone who could lead, and this was especially important for the members of the Morales family who were all too used to being free-spirited and hot-headed; they needed a steady hand.
The more they thought about this matter, the more of a headache they got. They suddenly understood that Leonel was right, this was already a version of the Morales that they had no understanding of, it had completely changed... and it was mostly because of the young man right before them.
If not for his performance in the Heir Wars, their Constellation would have never awoken.
While it was a headache, would any of them choose to go back to the old way? Of course not. While it was extremely rare to have a single family with two Lineage Factors, what was even rarer than that was having such a powerful and synergized Lineage Factor like this new one before them.
The Overlord looked toward Leonel deeply.
"This is still not enough. We figured out a method in the past, we can figure out a new one now. Once the new Lineage Factor is understood, it will be easier to pick out those with great talent and those with less. We can simply create a new standard."
"And by the time you do that, how many more changes do you think there will be?" Leonel asked.
The Overlord fell into silence. It was hard to tell a young man that had already done so much what he could and couldn't do, no matter how unlikely it seemed.
"Beyond that, I think you're wrong about something, I do not need 10 years. It took me not even two years to go from the Sixth Dimension to the Seventh. I could kill Ancestors at the Sixth Dimension... What do you think I can do now?"
The Overlord's eyes narrowed. "Are you trying to threaten the Morales?"
"I should be."
The pupils of the Overlord constricted, he suddenly felt a very dangerous aura coming from Leonel, one that could snuff out his life with a thought.
"The Morales have greatly disappointed me. Weakness, I can tolerate. Cowardice and inaction, I cannot."
The Ancestors and elders had a fierce reaction to this. Yes, they had chosen not to go to the Void Battlefield, but it wasn't out of fear or cowardice. They were Morales, they didn't have such a bone in their body!
"Unwilling to admit it? Ask yourselves why you chose to remain behind. You wanted to protect this land. You feared that if you left you would be vulnerable, that the Morales you left behind would be taken advantage of by others.
"You would rather allow the Human Domain to be broken into, to be plundered, to watch the weak from families you probably feel superior to fight the battle for you.
"Is this not a form of fear? Of cowardice?"
Leonel never raised his voice, and yet the Morales Ancestors couldn't seem to raise their heads, their throats constricting and their chests feeling heavy.
"Would you like to know what I want to do with the Morales, that matter is simple enough, you're welcome to stay and listen to the changes I'm about to make."
The Overlord frowned, but he didn't say anything else. Technically, Leonel wasn't allowed to make any changes while they were in an Ancestor Rule state, but it was also clear that Leonel didn't care. Currently, the Overlord was more interested in what Leonel had to say.
"The first is the most simple. From now on, no member of the Morales will enter the Void Palace."