Chapter 585: Shattering the Shackles, the Dao Springs from Me

Qin Hao was greatly shocked.

How could that be?

Long before, when we broke through the siege, I had clearly mobilized the entire clan's strength, completely overloaded the system, and turned it into primordial energy.

That system consciousness that had been monitoring him must have long since been wiped out!

As if hearing Qin Hao's shock from deep within, Yuanchu's flat voice sounded again, carrying a kind of pity for an ignorant child:

"You think you destroyed what?"

"That's merely the operating interface and energy converter I gave you."

"It's like a machine: you ripped off its casing, burned its circuitry, smashed its screen… you think it's broken."

Yuanchu said, slowly raising his hand and gently grasping at Qin Hao from afar.

"But the machine's core crystal, the factory serial number engraved with my name, is something you can never comprehend or touch."

"As long as that number remains, no matter what you evolve into, no matter where you flee."

"What belongs to me will always belong to me."

Qin Hao felt a sharp pain emanating from deep within his soul.

The death point he thought had vanished with the system's explosion now, as if hearing its master's call, began to throb violently!

"Since that's the case, the experiment is over, K-779."

"Take all the energy you stole and return to your proper place."

Yuanchu's hand clenched shut.

An irresistible rule-based attraction, ignoring Qin Hao's now cosmic‑hard flesh, directly targeted the source of his soul.

【Detected highest authority command: Return.】

【Agreement confirmed.】

【Now severing the soul binding with the host…】

A series of alert tones frantically echoed in Qin Hao's mind.

He felt a heart‑rending pain spreading from every corner of his soul.

It was not just the pain of power being drained; it felt like a part of one's body being forcibly ripped out.

From the moment the system was activated, he had come all the way to today, although he had finally freed himself from dependence on the system,

but it is undeniable that the system had become deeply intertwined with his life and soul.

This binding was both his aid and his deepest shackle.

And now Yuanchu intends to use this very shackle to utterly destroy him.

"Dad!"

"Old Qin!"

The startled cries of Qian Jun, Qin Wu, Qin Zheng and others rang in his ears.

They could clearly see strands of runes representing the system's origin being forcibly pulled from Qin Hao's soul,

coalescing into an unstable ball of light that flew toward Yuanchu on the throne.

As the runes drained away, Qin Hao's aura plummeted at an astonishing speed.

That once indestructible inner universe even began to show signs of collapse.

Yuanchu's face bore a smile.

He was enjoying the process.

Watching these pieces that thought they had escaped the board, yet still could not break free of his control, filled him with pleasure.

"Do you see? This is the fate of you variables."

Yuanchu's voice was full of aloof superiority.

"Everything you have is what I gave you; since I can give, I can also take away."

"Without it, you are nothing."

Qin Hao's body trembled violently, his consciousness being drowned by the pain of severance.

He instinctively wanted to resist, to use the Dao he had comprehended to oppose this highest command that stems from the Principle.

But he found he could not.

Because the system fragments are part of his soul.

Resisting it is like the left hand fighting the right—no matter who wins, the loser is oneself.

Could it really just end like this?

After painstakingly making it to this point, leading the entire civilization to achieve an unprecedented evolution,

must we ultimately suffer this humiliating loss of everything?

No!

I refuse to accept it!

A torrent of rage and indomitable will erupted in the depths of Qin Hao's consciousness.

He abruptly stopped resisting.

His eyes, amidst the pain, became extraordinarily clear.

He recalled Xuan Du's words: "The system is merely technique; the Dao is the essence."

Yes,

When did I start treating this technique as my own essence?

I, Qin Hao, and the Yanhuang Civilization have gotten to this day never relying on this program!

We rely on that stubborn refusal to accept fate, that unwillingness to lose!

That determination to keep moving forward even if it means piercing a hole in the sky!

You're right.

Qin Hao suddenly spoke.

He raised his head, staring at Yuan Chu on the throne.

Without it, I am nothing.

But...

Who told you I wanted it?

In everyone's shocked gaze, Qin Hao gave up resisting that pulling force.

Moreover, he mobilized all his remaining willpower, not pushing outward but pressing inward hard!

He wanted to actively cooperate with Yuan Chu—no, to expel this damned system core faster and more thoroughly than the Overlord,

completely driving it out of his own soul!

Ah—

Qin Hao let out a earth-shattering roar.

That was a self-amputation ten thousand times more painful than the previous passive stripping!

If Yuan Chu's act was plucking, then Qin Hao's act now is cutting off an arm!

That cluster of system light, which had been slowly flying toward Yuan Chu, surged forward under Qin Hao's active expulsion.

Pfft—

Qin Hao spat out a mouthful of golden soul-blood.

His aura plummeted to the bottom at this moment.

His body became somewhat illusory, as if it might dissipate at any moment.

But he laughed.

He laughed with utter exhilaration, utter freedom.

He felt that the invisible shackles that had bound him from the start shattered completely at this moment.

His soul felt an unprecedented lightness.

Like a person who had been dancing in shackles, suddenly casting off all restraints.

Although weak, his own freedom returned.

This thing, I return it to you.

Qin Hao, using his last strength, pointed vaguely at the light ball flying toward Yuan Chu.

The light ball finally hovered before Yuan Chu.

Yuan Chu's smile froze.

On his blurred visage, surprise appeared for the first time.

He had anticipated Qin Hao's struggle, anticipated his despair, but he never imagined this test subject would choose this self-mutilating way to escape his control.

Qin Hao's body swayed, yet he remained standing straight.

Gazing at Yuan Chu on the throne, his eyes held no fear, only mockery.

You think this is all I have?

No, this is merely your charity.

And we Yanhuang never deign to accept others' charity!

His voice, transmitted through the soul network, reached every Yanhuang person clearly.

Those clansmen who had felt despair after Qin Hao's power was stripped, upon hearing this, felt the fire in their hearts reignite.

Indeed.

When have they ever survived on others' charity?

To have today, they relied on their own hands, their own will, step by step forging it!

Roar!

Qin Wu was the first to let out a roar.

No longer minding Qin Hao's weakness, they directed all their fury at Yuan Chu on the throne.

Trillions of Yanhuang people, at this moment, rekindled their fighting spirit.

They may have lost their mightiest being, but they have not lost the courage to fight.

Qin Hao watched all this and smiled with relief.

From this moment on, the Yanhuang civilization truly grasped its destiny in its own hands.

Yuan Chu gazed at the system fragments hovering before him, then looked down at that weak but fiercely spirited swarm of worms,

his unchanging state of mind rippled with a slight wave.