If it were someone else, saying they’ve never encountered a boss with the Power of Root in their instances, it would be perfectly normal.

After all, the Power of Root is the highest grade of power in the Desolate Realm, and only the bosses in the most difficult instances might have mastery over it.

But when these words come from Lord Peace, then something seems off.

It is currently confirmed, or suspected, that the instances Lord Peace has cleared are all extremely difficult, with more than one or two A-Level instances verging on being out of control.

That he didn’t see the Power of Root in those bosses—what did he see instead?

Divinity perhaps; but where in the Desolate Realm are there so many instances involving the domain of divinity?

Cold Mountain found Lord Peace’s answer absurd, but even more absurd was that Sword Star didn’t give the indication of a lie, which meant what was said was true.

This left Cold Mountain at a loss for how to continue the conversation.

Wu Chang, however, didn’t notice Cold Mountain’s anomaly and instead was looking forward to Cold Mountain’s intelligence.

His understanding of the Power of Root was indeed limited.

He had seen the Power of Root in Fang Hui and Yu Siyi, and he himself wielded the Power of Root in mysticism.

But he never really gave much thought to how to use this power.

With authority at one’s disposal, who would still be pondering the Power of Root?

The instance bosses he encountered were also the hidden manipulators deep in the plane.

He had eliminated demigods, the indigenous gods of the Desolate Realm, god projections, and even the divine clone of the Master of the Deep Sea possessing a Divine Kingdom.

Yet he had never encountered a boss that primarily relied on the Power of Root.

After all, the Power of Root is also a mundane force, unable to harm divinity at equal strength.

Until today, Wu Chang thought he hadn’t encountered a boss with the Power of Root because it was too weak and needed practice.

But Cold Mountain implied that each kind of power has its suited track, and in the Desolate Realm, for players from the Desolate Realm, the Power of Root seems more troublesome.

Cold Mountain remained silent for a moment, adjusted his mindset, and said:

"Everything has its rules, forming lines from points and planes from lines; if the world is a painting, then rules are the threads that compose it."

"Just like a painting, all patterns appearing on it need lines to outline them. The Power of Rules is similar—it’s not necessarily natural rules; anything occurring in the world has underlying rules."

"Thunder and lightning have rules, joy and sorrow have rules, even eating and sleeping have rules."

Upon hearing this, Wu Chang seemed to comprehend something; so the Power of Rules isn’t like in movies or games where it’s always a macro-level power.

To manipulate earth, wind, water, or fire, or to alter material structures, can be considered the Power of Root.

No wonder his mysticism is the Power of Root, while Fang Hui’s romantic troubles and Yu Siyi’s overwhelming love are also the Power of Root.

Seeing that Wu Chang understood the buildup, Cold Mountain continued:

"The threads of rules are the fundamentals, and the patterns drawn by the threads are the appearances. If one can observe the appearances to discover the corresponding intrinsic rules and use some power to stir the Power of Rules."

"Then this power is the Power of Root."

As the foremost Breaker of the former Desolate Realm, many people knew about Cold Mountain’s information, and he was not afraid of exposing his own ability.

He pointed to his hand and said:

"For instance, I have been afraid of the cold since I was young and often caught colds."

"Over time, I realized I could make others feel as cold as I do. Eventually, I could do the same for inanimate objects, and even the air."

"Then I saw the rule named cold and mastered its corresponding Power of Root."

Wu Chang gasped upon hearing this; was awakening to the Power of Root really so casual for you naturally gifted individuals?

Fear of the cold could awaken the Power of Root; being popular with bad women could awaken the Power of Root; even after being played by a bad man, one could awaken the Power of Root.

However, recalling himself, his initial awakening of the Exorcism Talent was due to staying up late playing games to the point of heart palpitations, nearly dying suddenly, and upon waking, he could see bloodstains invisible to others.

Perhaps, not just the Power of Root—they lived in a world that was simply like this.

Cold Mountain took a sip of wine and continued:

"As in my previous analogy, if the world is a painting outlined by threads of rules, the harmony among lines is what enables the harmony of the picture."

He looked around and noticed the oil painting hanging on the wall; he wanted to use it as a demonstration but suddenly remembered they were in an instance, and he couldn’t afford to damage the wall hanging, so he withdrew his hand and took a flyer out of his pocket.

It was a recruitment ad for a cold storage warehouse. Cold Mountain carried it with him, and combined with his heavy coat, he might have been working part-time in cold storage before coming.

Pointing to the polar bear logo on the recruitment ad, Cold Mountain said:

"Look, when the lines are harmonious, you can tell this is a polar bear."

"But if someone manipulates the Power of Root to enlarge part of the structure and disrupt the image’s inherent balance."

With his words, the bear’s eye-like black dot continuously expanded, engulfing the other lines on the image; within a few breaths, the polar bear turned into a massive black sphere.

"Now, is this a polar bear, or just an eye, or rather, just a blob of black?"

Wu Chang looked at the black mass on the image and said:

"You mean, if the Power of Rules becomes too strong, this kind of rule will overshadow or devour other rules?"

Cold Mountain nodded satisfactorily and said:

"As expected of Lord Peace, sharp as always."