Chapter 544: Tiancheng Marriage Registration Office

A milky-white band of light, spanning the heavens, descended from the bright moon, carrying all worries and sorrows with its infinite extension into nothingness beyond.

Star-mist drifted everywhere; a golden vessel cut through the waves, sailing across the boundless ocean.

Two slender fingers brushed the water's surface, plucking from the ripples a wisp of ash like snowdown, then turned toward Bei Wu, who had been waiting on the deck.

"I know everything. It's fine."

The Jade Heaven Sovereign, robed in brocade, gently crushed the ash—light and heat capable of piercing the universe and carving out a space in the void rose and dispersed from her fingertips.

"He's a troublesome fellow; even at this stage, he still has so many tricks left. It's truly difficult for you to face him alone, especially since your future junior brother, when he joined my sect, learned many secrets of the Great Wish Heavenly Cosmos."

She sat at the prow, her body slightly reclined against the edge, her frost-white feet dangling outward, lightly tapping the Sea of Wishes as the boat swayed, its bow and stern curving upward like a new moon hanging at the horizon.

"But judging by the time, it's nearly ready. Return first and prepare well for Tiancheng's affairs."

The Jade Heaven Sovereign's voice carried an ethereal quality, yet beneath it lingered a trace of joy: "When the Wish-Fruit ripens, I shall assimilate the lingering influence left by the former city lord within the void realms into the fulfillment of all beings' wishes."

"Disciple does not understand," said Bei Wu.

"What don't you understand?" The Jade Heaven Sovereign tilted her head, glancing back with a smile: "Don't you understand why I struck the other nine True Sovereigns—or why I've been hiding this from you all along?"

Bei Wu looked up at her, then lowered his head. He neither left nor spoke.

"The Lord of the Great Wish has already died—completely slain by Su Lin, with no possibility of revival," said the Jade Heaven Sovereign. "Including the other two dozen, even the Heavenly Demon Emperor is among them."

Upon hearing this, Bei Wu Zhenxian trembled violently, his face filled with terrified uncertainty—he felt as if he'd heard some absurd, mad utterance, yet could not deny its truth.

An invisible, crushing pressure nearly took tangible form—rising from the depths of memory: the blood-crows blotting out the sky, the malice of the demonic yuan-shen, the tearing and revival of the self, and the few rare encounters with Su Lin within Tiancheng of late.

"Your future junior brother is quite outstanding, isn't he? Thanks to him, I've finally had the chance to take that most crucial step."

The Jade Heaven Sovereign withdrew her gaze, raised her right hand—and the nine heavens beyond the Jade Realm flowed like ribbons into the bright moon suspended in the dome of heaven. Seeing this enchanting scene, her smile, radiant as the world's wonder, deepened further.

"That Tiancheng was originally meant as your inheritance, to free you from the bonds of the Wish-Body. At first, it held little importance to me."

"But he deliberately deceived the spies from Huan Yu's Taiqing side, spun a colossal lie, and terrified that woman—the Taiqing Imperial Princess—and that entire world, what was it called—"

"Did those cautious bastards erase even the cosmic traces themselves?"

The Jade Heaven Sovereign's smile froze on her face. She vaguely recalled a realm whose specialty was introducing infinitesimal variables to trigger cataclysmic changes unseen.

"Twenty-seven Cosmic Emperors sacrificed themselves to seal the World-Eater within one realm. Even when I received the message from the Taiqing Imperial Princess and verified the Lord of Wishes was dead, I believed it with over ninety percent certainty."

She shook her head, her tone tinged with resignation, then continued:

"But this very event gave me confidence. If it's merely a lingering echo, then all of the Great Wish Heavenly Cosmos must now choose a new heir—and the Great Wish Boat must welcome a new master."

"To interfere with the imprint left within the Great Wish Boat and replace it, one must gather wishes equal to or greater than the imprint to wash it away. The vast lingering influence of Tiancheng across the realms serves perfectly as a substitute."

"Whether the information Taiqing uncovered is true or false, I have no time to wait for the imprint and the Lord's echo to fade naturally."

Six hundred years—once a mere blink—now felt unbearably long to the Jade Heaven Sovereign, the variables piling up into immense pressure and urgency.

But once she truly crossed that threshold and learned the truth, she found this affair far stranger than any impractical sealed zone meant to imprison a great demon.

A single person's power.

Bei Wu Zhenxian's lips twitched slightly: "So it's not to revive the Lord of the Great Wish Heavenly Cosmos—you need Tiancheng for yourself."

"Aren't I already the Lord of the Great Wish Heavenly Cosmos?" the Jade Heaven smiled. "I must deceive the other True Sovereigns and prevent the Lord's echo from reacting badly. And you are a Wish-Body."

Bei Wu Zhenxian gave a self-deprecating laugh:

"Congratulations, Master. But I wonder—since my revival centuries ago, and all the blessings granted me over countless millennia—were they all within the scope of your Great Wish Law?"

"Does it matter?" the Jade Heaven countered.

Bei Wu Zhenxian, as if understanding, drew a deep breath and shook his head with a smile: "Master, his temperament, abilities, and achievements make him far more suited to be your disciple."

"You needn't use his deeds to subtly mock me," the Jade Heaven said, still facing away from Bei Wu.

"You both aided my Great Wish's fulfillment; the exchange was equal. I shall assist you both in return—then you may still shed this Wish-Body."

"As for Su Lin… hah."

But it was indeed a little strange.

The Jade Heaven recalled the Su Lin of memory—his style decisive, edged with ruthlessness, full of lies—but compared to the Su Lin now in Tiancheng, he lacked this depth of cunning, planning, and utter moral depravity.

Bei Wu, bound by the past, had always felt conflicted, thinking some of those acts too base.

But since encountering the current Su Lin, his lingering conflict vanished entirely—compared to what Su Lin had ordered done, his own actions were trivial.

"I'll help him regain his full self as repayment—though the process and timing will differ."

The Great Wish Law is not the Great Wish's most combat-effective ability, nor is it limited solely to 'giving' and 'taking'—there is considerable flexibility in its intermediate processes.

Sweep the Six Directions, Conquer the Eight Extremes: 【My wish was to conquer the heavens and rule all beings. Why? Why can't this wish be fulfilled?!】

I Don't Like Killing in Dreams: 【Dude, you stole my username.】

I Don't Want to Know the Meaning of Life: 【What's wrong with you guys? Why not try a few keys?】

Sweep the Six Directions, Conquer the Eight Extremes: 【What does that mean?】

I Don't Want to Know the Meaning of Life: 【Are you even worthy? You're not even worth a damn!】

My Little Sisters Can't Be That Cute: 【Excuse me, gentlemen—how do you register for polygamous marriage in this world?】

I Don't Want to Know the Meaning of Life: 【Do you even deserve your username? Pfft!】

My Little Sisters Can't Be That Cute: 【But I'm determined to marry my own sister—though my father, mother, and father's concubines are all on vacation, so the wedding will be delayed.】

I Don't Like Killing in Dreams: 【You're even worse than those perverts from Dongwu!】

I Don't Want to Know the Meaning of Life: 【Pathetic harem guy, corrupting morality—die! Explode!】

Sunset-Stained Carvings: 【Can you guys stop chatting in the regional channel? Fuck, I'm posting a party invite—anyone going to the Death Dungeon? Starting with only a P911.】

Repentant Bell Angel: 【Ah Ming, you're gaming again? Take a break, put on a dress, and get married a few times, okay?】

Sunset-Stained Carvings: 【What?! Who are you?! Are you insane?!】

Repentant Bell Angel: 【Because then he might spare the innocent Foolish Mr. —you, who drinks until you drop despite your lousy tolerance! #￥￥】

Sunset-Stained Carvings: 【Shut your damn crow mouth! #Beep——! #¥¥】

I Don't Want to Know the Meaning of Life: 【When did they add keyword filtering?】

Zhang Heng, who was munching on gossip and eager to see rivers of blood, instinctively scratched his head—only to find he'd hit his helmet, producing a crisp sound.

Only then did he remember he was still working; to enjoy life in this world while improving his strength, he had to earn Spirit Stones to support his family.

It's a pity—based on the cancel-lag maneuver, those two users were probably just like him, masters of the Land Keyboard Immortal Realm, unlike those middle-schooler users with titles like "Imperial Ambition King," who'd give out their address after just two heated replies.

Ding—!

【Didi Daida reminds you: you have a new "Cut It" order. The Immoral Map has already provided real-time navigation. Please proceed to Shenyang Street within ten minutes to participate in the capture operation targeting the Confucian Sage and his disciples. The fertility insurance has been deposited into your temporary account.】

Even as a modern man, he couldn't understand or comprehend more than half of it.

But it didn't matter—he was just a Mo De emotionless task machine.

I don't want to know the meaning of life: 【Reincarnation Space 72nd Era, IX District, Road 444, No. 666, Reincarnation Home—I'm Zhang Jie, come find me.】

After replying once on the Private Chat Realm interface, Zhang Heng shoved the Ten Thousand Worlds Knowledge Sphere into his chest, his battle aura surging as he knew he was about to slaughter without mercy.

Hum—!

He froze for a moment, pulled an outdated smartphone from his right pocket, and his tone instantly softened:

"Dad, Mom, I won't be home for dinner tonight."

"Chu Lingyun came to our house?! Wait—she's just my teammate, don't misunderstand! Hey, it's totally normal for someone my age to be unmarried!"

"Alright, I understand. What do you want for dinner? I'll bring it back. If Dad wants to drink, let him drink."

Zhang Heng didn't really want to meet Chu Lingyun—he even felt a little reluctant to return to the Reincarnation Space. In just one day, he'd forgotten the "Savior" he'd spent ten grueling years becoming, surviving the apocalypse's zombie tide until he finally faced demonic foot soldiers.

"Alright, I'm coming right back."

After hanging up, Zhang Heng, in low spirits, canceled the dispatch. A strange sense of relief, like escaping death, flickered through his heart.

He was puzzled, about to head home, when he saw a handsome young man being shoved out by several security guards, surrounded by a flock of fluttering women outside the Civil Affairs Bureau's Marriage Registration Office.

"Didn't I say we only needed to register one?!" the refined, jade-like young man protested. "If you won't register us, at least give a reason—and why kick us out?!"

"You act like a person, but they're all your sisters!" the clerk tossed out a pile of A4 papers.

"They're not even blood sisters—so what?" the man retorted.

The clerk slammed the door shut: "Ask your father! All the brides are within three generations of kin—and you're all on the same household registration!"

Then Zhang Heng heard phrases like "Duan Lang," "I don't care about titles," and "As long as there's love, it's fine."

Then, on the street, a petite girl with white hair and purple robes heard this, took the hand of a red-haired man whose face radiated exhaustion, and walked into the Marriage Registration Office.

Wait.

Something's off here.

Zhang Heng was about to pick up his phone and call the police, when a hand snatched it from behind—he had no time to react.

"Young Master Zhang Heng, lend me your phone."

It was a slender man with ink-black eyes. He took Zhang Heng's phone, dialed a number—and the moment the call connected, he dissolved into a stream of electrical signals and surged into it.

Female voice: "Without Miss Grey Witch, what meaning does this world have? Gender doesn't matter."

Male voice: "Without today's Yi Leina's energy, I'm about to die."

Sword drawn—shriek—!

"No replies to group messages or Ten Thousand Worlds Knowledge Sphere messages."

Su Lin tore apart two nearly formed, indistinct humanoid shadows that had begun to link with him, turning them into shards of light, then asked the grey-haired witch, who hugged a pillow and buried her face in it, in a trembling voice:

"What's wrong with your brain?!"

"Do you want me to check it for you?! Do you really want to hear me say this kind of thing while turned into that?!"

"It's not my fault," came a calm voice from inside the pillow. "They generate automatically when you're in this world. Probably because you've secretly liked me all along and want to say these embarrassing things."

"Sigh, I can't deal with you."

Pah—!

Su Lin slapped his own face with one palm, fingers curling as he dragged them slowly down from his forehead, overwriting his own body with the ability of Sequence 6, the Faceless One.

"I might as well destroy this world and Tiancheng together right away."

"Don't casually say such terrifying things!!!"

A pillow carrying a faint fragrance was thrown at him. Su Lin caught it and moved it aside—the witch before him had changed into modern attire and was now casually flipping through a travel magazine.

"Don't you have any other wishes?"

Su Lin stared at her expressionlessly, pretending not to notice she'd slipped into the next room during time stop and erased the blush still lingering on her face.

"I want to keep traveling, to meet all kinds of people and experience wondrous things."

Yi Leina thought for a moment, holding up the magazine: "Come to think of it, though I've visited many worlds these past few years, I haven't fully explored any of them—there are still countless unique places left unvisited."

Of course—just like some players mapping out worlds, achieving 100% completion would take countless hours.

"So my wish can be fulfilled by myself—I don't have any particular desire."

"Good."

Su Lin glanced at his hair, which had grown longer despite never using a hair-growth technique, and sent a location request to Ke Lan.

"Cough, cough."

Yi Leina cleared her throat twice, unconsciously lifting the book to block her view: "So I'll probably spend a long time traveling. If anyone wants to join me for a while…"

She lowered the book and glanced subtly ahead.

Empty. Only a library filled with magical tomes remained, and at its center stood a massive cross, its layers upon layers of countless dimensional rifts woven together like a kaleidoscope, spinning endlessly.

"Huh?"

Where is this?

Why does it feel familiar…

(End of Chapter)