Chapter 131: Finale (The Crossroads of Fate) — Part 1

Feng Baobao slurped a bowl of hotpot noodles, while Zhang Chulan sat across from her with a basket of steamed dumplings on the table.

"If you're not going to eat, I'll eat them for you, okay?" Feng Baobao's chopsticks tentatively picked up a steamed dumpling, but she noticed Zhang Chulan hadn't reacted at all. She sighed: "What's wrong with you?"

Zhang Chulan shook his head, still keeping his head down, his attention focused on the chat group on his screen. He was frantically searching for the button to leave the group chat.

'What a scam!'

Why doesn't this group chat have a leave button!

Zhang Chulan watched on the screen as that Light God, while continuously firing holy spells capable of destroying cities and nations, used that monstrous speed — which could chop him up a dozen times in an instant — to rain attacks on that senior called Zhongli.

Looking at another livestream room, from Miss Kelaien's perspective.

That Golden Core Stage cultivator, supposedly his true body, was unleashing "One sword frosts cold fourteen provinces, one sword light chills fourteen continents!" Continental — as in continent!

His legs were trembling.

'It's fine, it's fine, Zhang Chulan. As long as you don't agree, he can't enter your world.'

Zhang Chulan told himself this in his heart, slowly beginning to sort through the information at hand. He still hadn't figured out the cause of this chaotic battle.

Han Li: "Su Lin is actually a pretty decent person. You guys don't know the cause and details of the matter, it's fine."

'See, the people in the group are also saying this guy has a pretty good personality, right?'

Zhang Chulan: "May I ask... what is this Administrator Su usually like? I mean in daily life — is he a kind, amiable senior?"

Lu Mingfei: "The first time I met him, he took me around his spirit medicine garden eating and drinking everywhere. He's a pretty good person; I ate quite a few of his spirit fruits."

Zhang Chulan breathed a sigh of relief. Looks like the guy really is decent. Looking at the half basket of steamed dumplings he had left, he finally had some appetite.

"Baobao-jie, save some for me!"

He used his chopsticks to chase away Feng Baobao's hand.

"All good now?"

Feng Baobao tilted her head in confusion.

"I almost buried a hidden danger in this world," Zhang Chulan said, picking up a dumpling and dipping it in some vinegar.

"Kinda scary."

Lu Mingfei: "But no matter how I think about it, it has nothing to do with an amiable senior. Later I signed a slave contract, and he even forced me in an internet cafe bathroom to work as a host at a host club."

"You can have them then," Zhang Chulan said to Feng Baobao. He suddenly felt a bit dispirited.

Purple Gold Divine Dragon: "I'm cursing him! Lord Dragon puts it right here — that guy called Su Lin, I'll beat him up every time I see him!"

Purple Gold Divine Dragon: "A mere bird-man, wait until Lord Dragon returns to my peak, I'll take him as a slave!"

Purple Gold Divine Dragon: "When the time comes, I'll go to his world and pin him down and beat him! Beat him a hundred times!"

That sword immortal looks pretty good, but compared to Lord Dragon's peak level, there's still a gap. Piece of cake.

Zhang Chulan was stunned. This Purple Gold Divine Dragon seemed to be a big shot among big shots.

Purple Gold Divine Dragon: "Not to mention his true body is just a so-called Jin Dan. Wait until he returns to his own world, Lord Dragon will go to his door to educate his true body — must learn from those bird-men!"

Ye Fan: "Are you sure?"

Purple Gold Divine Dragon: "I'll curse his ancestors! You think I'm afraid of him? If you've got the guts, fight me with your true body! @Su Lin"

Xiao Yan: "It seems you possess the ability to challenge heaven. This junior Xiao Yan is deeply impressed, truly impressed."

Purple Gold Divine Dragon: "?"

Miss Kelaien: "In his own world right now, he's basically the Heavenly Dao's own son."

Miss Kelaien: "How about you wait until next year."

Miss Kelaien, while perilously dodging a sword light, thought to himself: anyway, next year the administrator will be someone else. When the time comes, he can grab a bucket of popcorn and watch from the side as a spectator.

Purple Gold Divine Dragon: "??"

Han Li: "Pretty much equivalent to half a Heavenly Dao."

Purple Gold Divine Dragon: "???"

Yi Leina: "What is a Heavenly Dao?"

Han Li: "It's equivalent to the consciousness of a world, of a universe."

Purple Gold Divine Dragon: "Lord Dragon's been busy lately. This lord has a date with a little female dragon, gotta talk about dragon life ideals."

Zhang Chulan: "I've actually always thought Holy Light was pretty cool! If I get the chance, I wanna learn it too!"

Zhang Chulan: "It's an internationalized society now. More skills never weigh you down, and it can promote common progress, right!"

Zhang Chulan covered his own mouth, turned his head away, holding back his tears. The Heavenly Dao's own son has even come out... doesn't this group have a recall function?

Though it was already deep into the night, Yi Leina, in her quilt, covered her own mouth, her eyes brimming with tears, her little face slightly flushed.

Can't take it anymore.

"Hahahaha!"

"Hahahahahaha!"

Several minutes later

Miss Kelaien: "My spirituality can still hold for 10 more minutes. In 1 more minute, the alchemy matrix on the other side will activate."

He had already started using false spirituality. Even though his spirituality was already more than that of an ordinary ancient scholar, he was now almost at his limit.

Zhongli: "That's enough. Run, Miss Kelaien, retreat into the gaps of history!"

Zhongli: "Xiao Yan, Yao Chen, my apologies."

After Zhongli sent this message, the shield on his body suddenly dimmed, no longer able to withstand the attacks of the Light construct. Under Su Lin's astonished gaze, he wore a smile as he watched Su Lin's four avatars thrust blade, axe, sword, and halberd into his chest.

Zhongli: "This is my final Geo spear."

Lu Mingfei: "Did you recently watch something weird?"

A dense mass of Geo elemental power and spiritual energy, intertwined like an arrow, shot straight up into the sky.

Zhongli's body began to fade, turning to stone, leaving only a faint smile on his lips as he gazed upward at the sky.

The next moment, the stone statue turned to dust and scattered with the wind; the historical projections fighting Old Lu lost all color and vitality in their eyes, their movements growing stiff and mechanical.

In the universe, the forging of the Rock Spear had reached its final step—the arrows of earth element and spiritual energy, glowing with radiance, struck the spear.

Zhongli's final strength surged like a torrent, filling all the grooves on its surface.

In an instant.

Ten thousand zhang of golden light blazed forth!

The uneven grooves upon it were, in fact, ancient seal script characters.

Dao and principle intertwined and entwined; the Rock Spear began its journey toward Earth.

Kleine lifted his head, no longer able to maintain composure; his arms hung naturally at his sides as he stared blankly at the Rock Spear in the sky.

"Too strong."

Even the sharpest tip of the spearhead was the size of the city of Tokyo.

Su Lin gazed at the Rock Spear in the sky, comparable in size to a planet, and exclaimed: "What the hell did he do in Han Li's world?"

It bore array patterns and runes carved by divine essence and magical power, with traces of the stylistic lineage from Water Mirror Peak's transmitted arts.

Han Li shook his head as he watched the livestream: when Zhongli first arrived in this world, he spent one day cultivating Qi, three days establishing his Foundation, and ten days forming his Jin Dan—forcing Han Li to constantly relocate him every few days to avoid drawing attention during his tribulations.

Yi Leina and Zhang Chu'an in the group chat were panicking.

Yi Leina: "Are you planning to blow up this planet?!"

Lu Mingfei: "Don't worry—it's Su Lin's divine realm. It won't be destroyed."

Kleine had no intention of fleeing; he intended to freeload a resurrection miracle, so he'd need less time to digest his Elixir when he reached Sequence Two as the Miracle Master.

Lu Mingze smiled, his spiritual element raging wildly, disrupting Old Lu's authority's release.

"Hmph." Old Lu sneered: "You probably don't know—I grew bored of alchemy years ago."

Eight streams of colored light erupted from his body, each transforming into a Lu Mingze clad in distinct attire; apart from Old Lu's own deep, dark spear, the eight other weapons flew into their hands.

The Lu Mingze wearing a wizard's hat glanced arrogantly at the surrounding historical projections, tapped his gray-green staff against the ground, uttered strange incantations, and split space into grotesque, twisted shapes—warped and chaotic.

The Lu Mingze dressed in an ancient imperial robe surveyed his surroundings, smiled carefree, raised his azure longsword toward the sky; behind him, space transformed into a majestic world, filled with the voices of countless subjects bowing and singing praises, while spectral formations of armored troops materialized in the void, their presence overwhelming and fearless.

The Lu Mingze in white training robes raised both hands; a flying dagger spun into silver light, whistling through the air as if a full moon had risen from his palms.

These beings began attacking everything beyond Lu Mingze within the altered space; the tide of battle shifted instantly—whether Kleine's summoned historical projections, or the White Zunzhe and the Long Wang, all were now overwhelmed, forced merely to hold the line.

On the normal battlefield outside the Dawn Hall, only Old Lu and Lu Mingze remained, separated from the rest.

Click—

"limiterremoval."

Old Lu snapped his fingers; Lu Mingze felt the suppression on his authority lift—his power could now function normally.

Lu Mingze frowned slightly, glancing at Old Lu with confusion, but made no move.

"Let's play together, Lu Mingze." Old Lu grinned, and before them two brown wooden crates rose, their alchemical matrices unfolding to reveal seven weapons: a dagger, a katana, a halberd, an ancient Han sword.

These were weapons forged at the peak of alchemy during the Kaiyuan era by the Bronze and Fire Long Wang to exterminate all his siblings—the Seven Sins!

These weapons were meant to exist as a single set, already traded to Su Lin—yet here, multiple copies appeared.

These were two sets hastily crafted by Old Lu's own alchemical techniques, nearly identical to the originals.

"Hnnn hahaha!" Lu Mingze clutched his head and laughed wildly, "So that's it, hahaha!"

He seemed to understand something.

And now, ten minutes remained before the alchemical matrix activated.

"Then let's play together, brother." Lu Mingze's smile faded, replaced by a cheerful grin.

"limiterremoval."

Invisible shackles on both of them shattered simultaneously; seven blades flew from their sword cases, each gripping one weapon in left and right hand, the rest orbiting around them.

Old Lu held Pride and Gluttony, facing Lu Mingze, who gripped Pride and Greed; the two exchanged a knowing smile.

The next instant, they vanished from their spots.

Blade lights swirled; the tide of battle shifted again—before human eyes, countless sparks erupted and scattered across the sky, occasional collisions of absolute ice and explosive flame shook the earth, which continuously shattered and reformed, purple lightning flaring and dying in an instant.

A cataclysmic dance unfolded: the crust shattered into a stage, thunder and gales composed the music, fire and ice danced together, while the main performers of this banquet had already begun their tango.

"Su Lin!"

Old Lu's voice rang out before the Dawn Hall.

"Don't let anything else interfere with me!"

Su Lin halted his actions, abandoning his pursuit of Kleine amid the interference of the Serpent of Fate.

He looked up at the Rock Spear, now entering the atmosphere; since then, his divine realm overlapping with the main plane had experienced a rapid surge in gravity.

In the temple, some half-breeds had begun moving sluggishly; some could no longer walk at all. Yet even here, the weakest half-breed could elevate their bloodline to Class A through Blood Surge.

When the God of Salt, Heuyia, fell, her power collapsed and spilled, turning traitors into salt—was this gravity the result of the Rock God's demise releasing his laws, or was it

"The effect of those runes?" Su Lin squinted, observing; the Avatar of the Light God glanced at Zhongli's fallen location, then dissolved into Bai Guang and appeared beside his true body.

"You're the boss—you decide."

The extent of damage correlates with the use of divine-level spells; avoid them if possible, especially the more powerful ones—after all, this Light God avatar is quite useful to Su Lin, and his Sword Immortal character card has a time limit anyway.

The Light God Avatar took over, attacking the shadow of the Serpent of Fate; Su Lin sheathed his Han Bafang sword, closed his eyes, let his true energy flow, condensed his sword intent, and his very existence began to dwindle.

Gravity intensified further; some half-breeds' bones cracked, struggling to remain mobile—even now, the half-breeds of the Sect of Secrets and the Dawn faction still fought desperately, using firearms and blades to eliminate each other.

"Old Zhao! Enough already—you hate the dragon race more than I do, yet now you're working so hard as someone's servant?"

Inside the Fifth Temple, only a dozen half-breeds remained in combat; Zhang's bloodline squad, after bloodline transcendence, had only two left; the other side consisted of Rodvia George, a 1976 graduate and former Student Council President of the Cassell Academy, and his half-breed legion.

"In the end, today's outcome hinges on those monsters above—do you really need to personally eliminate me to feel satisfied?" Rodvia George activated Quintuple Blood Surge; now half-dragon, he could stand against even powerful Second-Generation Dragons.

"Foolish." Zhao Huai Gu's golden pupils glowed crimson, a sharp gleam flashing in their depths; his cleaver descended, and twin hurricanes erupted along the blade's edges, flinging back the surrounding half-breeds.

The hurricane howled, wind speed intensifying, as Zhao Huai Gu used his Word Spirit to continuously lower the absolute amount of oxygen inside this temple building.

He stood tall and firm, his gaze resolute as he glanced toward the direction Long Wei had come from, and said to Rodavia George: "At first, I wanted to serve as your inside man, and probably that old man from the Wu family thought the same."

"Then what are you doing now? Does a young body really intoxicate you all that much?!"

Yes, the current Zhao Huai Gu looked no older than a young man in his twenties.

The same face as when Rodavia George and Zhao Huai Gu first met — in 1980, they encountered each other during a mission investigating underwater caves beneath the Mississippi River, but that mission unexpectedly involved an egg of a Second-Generation, and while being hunted by over twenty Dead Servants, their wounded companions kept using their own blood to buy the rest of them chances to escape.

Three weeks later, they emerged from a mountain cave two hundred kilometers away, and by then, of the twelve-person squad, only the two of them remained.

"I'm simply using my own strength to put an end to this history of slaughter between dragons and humans," Zhao Huai Gu said, staring fixedly at Rodavia George.

"Ruled by dragons?! Becoming their domesticated dogs?!" Rodavia George's tone carried disappointment, and his body began showing strain as he had to divert part of his power to counter gravity.

"No." Zhao Huai Gu crushed the medicine in his mouth, vertical pupils appearing in his golden eyes, and the wind sliced through two bullets like blades, severing the necks of the two hybrids behind him.

He said with conviction: "To be ruled together with the dragons!"

"We will only have one ruler, and It is not any one race."

"My strength before those bright moons is like a firefly's, but I still wish to shine, even if it illuminates nothing more than a single brick on the road ahead."

"Your mind has been controlled!" Rodavia George said resolutely: "You—"

Rodavia George wanted to say more but found his voice gradually growing faint, his breathing growing difficult.

The storm shrouded the fifth temple, and when it dispersed again, only Zhao Huai Gu remained on the field.

"He actually doesn't care about ruling at all — He's just annoyed by the arguing between us and the dragons."

He pushed open the great door with all his strength, wanting to rush to the other temple buildings to provide support, but the instant he pushed the door open, he looked up and saw the golden rock construct in the sky.

"George, you were right — looks like it really has nothing to do with us anymore." He slumped to the ground, leaning against the stone door, awaiting the arrival of the ending.

Miss Kelaien once again borrowed false spirituality and looked toward Su Lin's side, only to find that all that remained there was the Light God avatar that had been restraining the Serpent of Fate.

Clearly, in his memory, just a moment ago Su Lin had still been there.

What Miss Kelaien did not know was that Su Lin had not actually vanished — he was now everywhere.

"The Heavenly Dao turns, all things remain constant." The Heavenly Dao is far too vast; even a Ruyi Zhenxian is still far too insignificant before Heaven. If an immortal were to use their own immortal soul and immortal body to resonate with the world, they would likely soon be swallowed up and vanish with the tide.

"Merge with the body to touch it, withdraw upon contact, and carve out a sliver of life."

The subtlety of Borrowing a Sword from Heaven lies in this: before being swallowed by the tide, in an instant one uses one's own sword-heart as a rope to return to shore, while leaving behind a trace of information within the Heavenly Dao.

【Borrowing a Sword from Heaven】

Su Lin withdrew from that omnipresent state, his humanity returning to his body. Though his hand clearly held nothing, it was as if he were loosely gripping a sword.

The world-destroying rock spear transformed into the firmament, those talismans like the stars that had been in the sky earlier — not yet having reached the atmosphere, still beyond Earth's orbit.

Winds and clouds churned, ten thousand sword-lights converged, and silver light blazed brilliantly in Su Lin's hand, transforming into a stream of swords that surged toward the sky.

"Slash!"

The figure was ethereal and indistinct, as if a man with a blurred, unclear face overlapped with Su Lin's silhouette.

With his full cultivation unleashed, Su Lin's sword, carrying the might of Heaven, became a meteor cutting against the wind as it slashed toward the rock spear in the sky.

The first to collide were not the sword-light and the construct themselves, but the Laws between them, which began ceaselessly grinding and clashing against each other, supreme auras eroding one another — even though they were in normal Earth space, the others felt as if a catastrophe had arrived and the world was about to be destroyed.

No — if this battle had been fought on Earth, not only would surface lifeforms be cleansed by the aftershocks, but whether Earth itself could still exist would itself be a question.

Su Lin carried an unstoppable momentum; he seemed to feel that the sword immortal named Henbieli had merged into one with him at this moment. He became a massive computer, sensing, calculating, ceaselessly severing the rock spear above from every trace of magical power and every detail.

At this moment, Miss Kelaien's spirituality also ran dry. He spread his hands helplessly as all the historical projections dissipated. His head was groggy, as if he wanted to fall asleep and rest right there. The Light God Su Lin over there glanced at him and waved a hand to toss out a streak of Bai Guang, letting him feel a little better.

"If you can't come down, how about you give me a slash?" Miss Kelaien looked at the rock spear in the sky that was gradually slowing down and the sword-glow whose momentum grew ever more tremendous, and felt that Zhongli's final move might not come down after all.

The Miracle Experience Card couldn't be wasted.

The Light God Su Lin glanced at him disdainfully, paid him no heed, as if saying he had no interest in a defeated opponent.

"Space?!"

Su Lin had ultimately still underestimated the rock spear Zhongli had created. All of Henbieli's magical power was poured into this one sword; Su Lin's sword, carrying a trace of Heaven's will, touched this immensely heavy object, but the talismans and patterns on it lit up, and for the first two seconds his sword seemed like a clay ox entering the sea — entering into a space — but two seconds later it shattered the Cave Heaven World hidden within this rock spear.

A patch of runes on the spear instantly shattered.

But—

Too late!

In the delay caused by those two seconds, Su Lin's sword shattered the spear shaft, and the sword-glow flew off toward the starry sky beyond.

The spearhead, without deviating in the slightest, accelerated as it plunged downward.

At this moment, there were still 1 minute and 33 seconds before the Alchemical Matrix activated.

And at the spearhead's current speed, it would likely strike the ground in just over ten seconds.

His internal magical power was still recovering, and Su Lin tried to activate his Light God avatar, only to see—

Streaks of true-spirit light blazed to life on the shattered fragments of the rock spear. Su Lin turned his head in disbelief and saw Zhongli's illusory figure standing tall in the high sky, arms folded across his chest, gazing at Su Lin, as the fragments of the rock spear transformed into long spears interwoven with Jin Xuan two colors.

Whoosh—

Several long spears pierced through Su Lin. Su Lin spat out a mouthful of fresh blood, watching Zhongli's phantom dissipate into the air.

"Noted."

Boom—

A violent explosion rang out, and Su Lin's true body was swallowed by divine power in the sky.

Clap clap clap—

"Magnificent." Miss Kelaien applauded, saying to the Light God Su Lin who was about to dissipate: "A fine ancient scholar who just had to go up there and fight in person — you still haven't learned your lesson."

"The last diviner as reckless as you — who was it again? I forgot."

"If Old Lu can't stop it, then we've got this mission's victory in the bag."

As Miss Kelaien spoke, he suddenly saw the dissipating Su Lin's final smile curl at the corner of his mouth — a smile laden with meaning.

A chill ran down his spine, and he looked toward the battlefield over there.

In the instant Kleine turned his gaze, White Zunzhe detonated himself, breaking free from the state Xiao Yan had recreated yesterday, buying time for the rock spear's arrival.

At the final moment, Xiao Yan hurled a Buddha's Wrath Fire Lotus fused with Yao Lao's battle qi and alien flame, and was completely swallowed by the backlash.

Boom—

Kleine was pinned to the ground, immobile; when he looked up again, golden light had reached his head. He lay spread-eagled on the earth, awaiting the incoming rock spear.

The moment Su Lin's true body had just been pierced

"Brother, you're going to lose." Lu Mingze flicked away the Pride from Lu Mingfei's hand and thrust Greed forward, his face wearing an expression of certain victory. "You won't back out or cheat, will you?"

Lu Mingfei blocked it with Gluttony, swung his sword at Lu Mingze, and said: "That idiot Su Lin! But it doesn't matter."

"I've wanted to beat the crap out of you for ages!"

"Beating you up feels great!"

In the split-second gap between Lu Mingze's downward slash and his recovery, Old Lu seized Lu Mingze's wrist, yanked him forward, and punched him in the face.

He was just playing before; now he was serious.

"Do you have any idea how many times I've fought across other worlds and other planets?"

Two weapons pierced through Lu Mingze's defenses, pinning his hands to the ground. Old Lu straddled Lu Mingze and pounded his face with blow after blow.

"For leaving me alone!"

"For making me the Supreme!"

"For writing scripts all day long!"

Old Lu sat astride Lu Mingze, raining punch after punch upon him, yet made no move to use his authority to block the rock spear's tip.

"You piece of shit!"

Tick

Tick

"Are you crying, brother?" Lu Mingze smiled as he looked at Old Lu. "You're such a big man, still crying like a child."

"Shut up!"

Old Lu swung left and right, hammering Lu Mingze's face without stopping.

Golden light bathed the earth; the rock spear above was about to merge with the land of this divine realm. Lu Mingze's pupils reflected that golden glow as he quietly stared at the man before him—this man named Lu Mingfei.

"What's that?"

A streak of crimson appeared in his eyes; amid the golden radiance obscuring the heavens, that streak of crimson refused to be extinguished.

Old Lu had been staring into Lu Mingze's eyes; the more he saw that expression, the angrier he grew, and the faster his fists flew.

But then he stopped. He saw that streak of crimson light.

Old Lu turned his head to look at the sky.

In the virtual reality center, revived Hui Liyi was continuously channeling divine power outward.

As the chosen Holy Maiden of Light, she had been granted the highest permissions of the divine realm.

The originally pure white Light Flame had been dyed the crimson hue of the Flame God's Lotus by divine power dye.

"Lose? Do you have any idea whose divine realm this is?"

Before the gaze of the world.

A silhouette with crimson flame wings sprouting from its back stood before the falling rock spear, holding a long blade.

From behind, she was a girl with dark crimson hair; above her head floated a colossal Eye of Judgment.

Boom—

A pillar of flame, covering half the Earth, erupted upward!

【Divine Technique: Purifying Flame】

Burning, purifying—endless crimson flames burned within the divine realm overlapping Earth. Wild light elements, aided by divine power dye, masqueraded as fire elements, weaving and converging under the Master's command.

A scene of apocalypse.

At the heart of the flames, Hui Liyi held the long blade, divine power gathering upon it, sharpening it to unbearable keenness. She pointed the blade's tip at the rock spear's point, concentrating boundless power into a single point.

The rock spear burned under the flames; its runes flickered dimly and brightly.

From space, the flame pillar covering half the Earth began slowly rotating, transforming into a fire tornado.

Wings flared; power surged from her body. Hui Liyi charged forward with the long blade, striking the rock spear's tip.

【Divine Technique: Path of Light Transmutation】

This divine technique granted the recipient immense positive enhancements. Until the technique ended, Hui Liyi would possess a godlike physical constitution and gain various positive buffs to light-based spells.

The hollow space within the rock spear burned away; its hidden true spirit slowly vanished. When the blade touched the spear's tip, the rock spear began to crumble, cracks spreading across its surface.

Moments later, the rock spear shattered into countless fragments. Zhongli's last remaining true spirit cast one final glance at Hui Liyi's state, then dissolved into nothing.

The instant Hui Liyi sheathed her blade and canceled the "Zizai Fa," a blue glow ignited at the peak of Dawn Hall, and spiritual energy spread like ripples through water.

Beyond those who had come from the chat group, every human, dragon, and half-breed originally on Earth had a command implanted deep within their minds.

"How unexpected, brother," Lu Mingze sighed. "You've won, you've beaten me—why are you still sitting on me?"

"I'm not your sister anymore."

"Oh." Old Lu stood up dazedly, staring at the figure in the sky. The consciousness of Lu Mingfei within him began to stir—wanting to "restore the throne," to reclaim the body.

"Hui Liyi?" he ventured softly.

All her avatars across Dawn Hall returned to her body; weapons circled around her.

In the sky, the figure in the black trench coat, long blade in hand, turned to look down at Old Lu. Beneath the coat she wore a JK school uniform; her long red hair shimmered with flame, tiny sparks of fire dancing around her, her wine-red eyes tinged with crimson.

"Akura," Hui Liyi whispered. "Hui Liyi has come to help you."

A joyful smile spread across her face.

In the virtual reality center, the members of the Snake and Eight Families stood frozen like stone statues, staring blankly at the girl on the screen.

The crow removed his sunglasses and said to Yuan Zhisheng beside him: "Young Master, Young Lady has truly become Empress. You're about to be imperial family now."

"Isn't that what they call it over there—Imperial Uncle?"

Normally, even if Yuan Zhisheng ignored it, others would scold the crow, but now no one knew what to say—this situation was beyond anyone's expectations.

"Isn't that Xia Na!" cried a half-blood who loved anime, clutching his head.

Not just him—now everyone across the world who had watched the anime "Blazing Eyes: Xia Na" was flooding the internet with posts.

"I thought Daidara was some half-blood or dragon in disguise—could the dimensional gate of this world have opened too?"

"Two-dimensional! I'm going to the two-dimensional world!"

"This Xia Na seems a bit more mature."

"Can't you let her grow up?!"

"This doesn't fit the setting."

"Do the gods' war fit Earth's setting?"

That power wasn't hers to possess—Old Lu stared blankly at Hui Liyi in the sky.

And this outfit is...

Too absurd, impossible—but then what explains the power on her body?! It makes no sense!

"Thank you, Hui Liyi," Old Lu said solemnly.

"I'm helping my Akura," Hui Liyi shook her head. "Akura wants the matrix to succeed—so I must help him."

She raised her long blade, pointing it at Old Lu: "But Hui Liyi has thought clearly through this time."

"Whether it's Akura or Lu Mingfei, they can only belong to me alone."

"I will drive you out of Akura's body."

In an instant, Hui Liyi appeared behind Old Lu.

Old Lu's pupils contracted—he blocked Hui Liyi's strike with his dark red dagger.

"Wait!"

But the girl gave him no chance to speak.

Blades flashed like lightning—the sound of battle erupted again outside the Dawn Hall.

"Brother, you've tied yourself in knots," Lu Mingze remarked, tidying himself up with amusement as he watched the fight.

Old Lu had no time for Lu Mingze—he blocked the onslaught with his nine weapons while saying to Hui Liyi: "Stop, Hui Liyi—I only want everyone to be happy."

"But then Hui Liyi won't be happy," Hui Liyi said firmly.

Old Lu didn't understand why Hui Liyi's personality had changed in this timeline—other timelines never showed her like this; everyone lived together.

No—it wasn't personality. She was always this kind of girl; only her attitude had changed.

Change. Variable.

Variable.

"Su Lin!!!" Old Lu roared: "You bastard—you betrayed me!!!"

Su Lin used the authority of his divine realm to reappear before the Dawn Hall.

"Written in black and white—I helped you rule the world. Isn't the task already done?" Su Lin feigned confusion. "Why say I betrayed you?"

He patted Behemoth beside him, healing his wounds and applying several buffs: "Go—help your Supreme."

Lu Mingze nodded with a smile. Behemoth surged forward, waves of Li Heishui and Extreme Ice spreading, pushing Hui Liyi back and giving Old Lu a moment to breathe.

Old Lu stood atop Behemoth's head and said to Hui Liyi: "Hui Liyi, let's go home, okay?"

"Who matters more—Hui Liyi or them?" Hui Liyi's tone carried anger.

Su Lin descended to the basement and woke Weigong Shilang: "We won. The projection can be withdrawn."

"Oh, alright."

Thus, the weapons in Old Lu's hands vanished—he pulled a great sword from Lu Mingfei's storage pouch.

Su Lin returned to the hall's entrance, surveyed it, and said: "This is quite faithful to the original."

Hui Liyi in this state is already immensely powerful, and Old Lu hesitates to strike her—he can only rely on Behemoth's abilities to waste time, while Lu Mingfei's consciousness inside him still causes trouble. True—he only wanted to neutralize the threat, not become king of the world.

A ball of flame condensed into a fist the size of a skyscraper, striking Old Lu—its essence carried purification and judgment, causing him great pain.

Old Lu gritted his teeth—Lu Mingfei was trying to reclaim his body. Though he could only interfere, this couldn't continue—if Old Lu fell and entered revival, that moment of slumber might let Lu Mingfei seize control. No more delays.

In a month, he could easily make the past version of himself and those girls' relationship irreversible. Those girls weren't passive—they'd just toss this guy over there...

'Su Lin, you better not shatter your divine essence.' To stop Hui Liyi in this state, there was only one way—he sank his divine awareness into the deepest depths of his mind-sea, where a prison lay.

【Agreement One: Do not harm others】

【Agreement Two: Do not ****】

The stone walls bore inscriptions like clauses—some had been eroded by wind, their characters blurred and unreadable.

"Time for your walk," Old Lu said to the prisoner behind the iron bars.

"Is your power enough? Hehehehe~" Inside stood a Lu Mingfei, his back turned, his head twisted one hundred eighty degrees to stare at Old Lu—his eyes brimmed with madness.

"What is harm? I'm making everyone better!"

"You can't tell! You can't tell truth from falsehood in this world!"

He roared, screamed—then his voice softened, low and gentle:

"Come, see the world through my eyes~."

"If you won't go, I'm letting him out," Old Lu kicked the bar behind him—where a chaotic, frenzied mass stirred, then reshaped into Lu Mingfei's form.

The Lu Mingfei before him glanced at the other, and said:

"I'll behave. As much as I can."

The word count of this chapter hasn't changed, so don't worry about paying more to subscribe. I wrote "Part One" as the title, then thought better of it—so I'll release the final chapter ("Part Two") as a free chapter to apologize for this mistake. There's no "Part Three." Sorry—I accidentally posted a draft and ruined your reading experience.

End of this chapter.