Chapter 248: Tearing the Contract, the Old Archmage Rebels!

That youthful voice sounded as if it had discovered some priceless treasure.

It reverberated wildly in Sun Wukong's and Yao's ears.

"The perfect 'variable'!"

"The highest-grade experimental material!"

"I've been looking for you for ages!"

The unmasked greed and ecstasy in the voice made Yao's back shiver.

She instinctively clenched Sun Wukong's arm.

Only to find the monkey unmoving.

He simply floated silently in the void.

Carrying that seemingly ordinary iron staff.

Not a hint of anger could be seen on his face.

Calm.

A death-like calm.

Yao knew this was his ultimate expression of anger.

"Little monkey."

The voice sounded again, bearing a condescending generosity.

"Stop hiding."

The purple projection swirling atop the Mage Tower flared suddenly.

A will, icy to the extreme and composed purely of logic and runes, spread like an invisible net and instantly locked onto Sun Wukong and Yao's positions.

"Come in."

"Let me see."

"Your logic and my logic."

"Which one... is the truth!"

It was an invitation.

And also an order that could not be refused.

It seemed that being 'seen' by him was a tremendous honor for Sun Wukong.

A faint curve finally lifted at Sun Wukong's mouth.

It was not a smile.

It was a feral grin at prey stepping into a trap.

He did not move.

He was still waiting.

Because he 'saw' something more interesting.

In the grand hall atop the Mage Tower.

Chief Archmage Ao Gu Si Te, upon hearing the Observer's ecstatic voice, trembled violently.

His head rose slowly, inch by inch.

Those deep‑blue eyes, once filled with struggle and pain.

Now, they too gradually settled into calm.

He stared at the excited, energy‑boiling purple projection in the hall's center.

In his gaze, the last trace of fear and hesitation was replaced by resolute madness.

He saw that 'monkey'.

Through the coordinates locked by Lord Observer, he also claimed to have seen it.

What a rebellious, untamed will it was!

What a wildness that could pierce the heavens with a hole!

That was never an 'experimental material'!

It was... hope!

It is the only, and final, hope for their world, imprisoned for countless epochs by 'logic' and 'order'!

Ao Gu Si Te's breathing grew heavy.

His chest heaved violently.

The hand he placed on the table no longer trembled.

Instead, it clenched into a fist!

"Lord Observer."

He spoke.

His voice was no longer hoarse, but carried an unprecedented firmness and resonance.

"You are right."

The voice within the purple projection paused, seeming surprised.

"Oh?"

"Logic does indeed require verification."

Ao Gu Si Te slowly rose.

His aged frame stood upright at that moment, like a spear.

He ignored the terrified glances from the other archmages in the council.

His gaze pierced the projection, as if he were making eye contact with Sun Wukong.

We have believed in the Primordial Canon for too long.

We thought that was the absolute truth.

But today, I have seen another possibility.

He waved his hand.

The space before him twisted slightly.

A heavy, ancient-looking book, forged from an unknown metal, appeared out of thin air.

On the book's cover, there were no characters, only a complex rune emitting a dark-gold light.

That was the mark of "Order."

Upon seeing this canon, all the Grand Mages present, including that purple projection, fell into a moment of silence.

This is the foundation of their universe.

And it is also their……shackles.

Augustus extended his withered hand and gently stroked the cover of the canon.

In his eyes, a flicker of reluctance flashed, but more so was determination.

"The canon teaches us to erase all 'variables'."

"Because it believes that 'variable death' is the ultimate peace of the universe."

"But it forgot."

Augustus's voice suddenly rose, like a thunderbolt, echoing throughout the hall!

"Forgot that we ourselves were born from 'variables'!"

"Forgot that life is brilliant precisely because it is unpredictable!"

"Forgot that to live is itself the greatest struggle!"

His words struck like a heavy hammer, hammering hard into the heart of every Grand Mage.

They recalled their youth, when they stayed up all night in ecstasy over a new magical formula.

They recalled the shock of first witnessing the birth of a new civilization.

Those feelings had long been smoothed away by cold "logic."

They had gone too long……too long without truly "living."

"You……what are you saying?"

The voice within the purple projection, for the first time, carried a hint of coldness.

It sensed a loss of control.

Augustus did not answer.

He responded with action.

He placed his hand on the spine of the canon.

Then.

In the eyes of everyone, disbelieving.

He slowly……tore open a rift in that canon!

"Screech—"

A piercing tearing sound rang out.

That was not the sound of paper.

That was the sound of laws shattering!

A dark-gold light burst from the rift, transforming into countless wailing runes that dissipated in the air.

"Augustus! You're crazy!"

A council member screamed.

"Stop! You'll destroy everything we have!"

"This is a desecration of the 'Primordial'!"

Panic spread.

But Augustus turned a deaf ear.

He exerted force with both hands.

"No!"

He let out an earth-shaking roar.

"This is not desecration!"

"This is……liberation!"

"Boom!"

He expended all his magical power, tearing the canon representing absolute order completely in half!

Countless dark-gold chains snapped from the canon.

The entire magical universe shuddered violently at that moment.

All living beings felt that an invisible mountain weighing on their souls had vanished!

Augustus held high the two torn halves in his hands.

Flames burned in his eyes.

"I, Augustus, in the name of the Chief of the Arcane Council, today, this moment!"

He suddenly pulled something else from his bosom.

That was an ancient scroll woven from starlight.

On it was branded the character "Hóng".

It is the covenant of law signed between their universe and the supreme "Hongmeng Order"!

"Tear up this contract that has enslaved us for hundreds of millions of years!"

He, in front of everyone, tore that covenant to shreds!

Starlight exploded!

The contract turned to dust!

He raised his arms and shouted, his voice passing through the mage towers and reaching every corner of the universe!

"I declare!"

"From today onward!"

"The arcane universe will no longer submit to any cold 'order'!"

"We are no longer the wardens of the prison!"

"We will reclaim our own destiny!"

"We!"

His voice paused for a moment, his gaze blazing toward the direction where Sun Wukong stood, filled with an unprecedented fervor and reverence.

"Join the Freedom Front!"

The entire magical universe fell into deathly silence for three seconds.

Then.

It instantly boiled over!

"Roar!"

From the tops of the mage towers, towering pillars of magical light burst forth!

Countless young mages rushed out of the windows, excitedly waving their staffs!

The passions suppressed for countless years, the curiosity about the unknown, the yearning for freedom—all were ignited at this moment!

"For freedom!"

"Damn the Original-Classic Canon!"

"I've had enough of this!"

Cheers and roars merged into an unstoppable torrent that swept across the whole world.

Beyond the Star Sea.

Yao stared, dumbfounded.

She opened her mouth but couldn't utter a word for a long while.

"Is… this a rebellion?"

Sun Wukong took the Golden Cudgel from his shoulder.

He hefted it.

At last, a unrestrained smile spread across his face.

"Now that's more like it."

He turned his head toward the observer, which had shifted from a purple projection into a mass of black energy.

That mass of energy churned violently.

It displayed its master's raging fury.

"Look."

Sun Wukong grinned at the black mist, revealing a mouthful of stark white teeth.

"Even your dog wants to take a bite out of you."

"Observer Sir."

"Now."

He pointed the Golden Cudgel at the magical universe that was beginning to erupt with boundless fighting spirit.

"Now it's my turn, Old Monkey, to question you."

"I'll come in first and smash your cage to pieces."

"Or you get out."

"Or… get beaten to death by my staff?"