Chapter 296: The First 'Leisure Move

Found it!

When Sun Wukong's Original Spirit withdrew from his Master's Study, the golden flame in his Fiery Golden Eyes had already changed its flavor.

It was no longer pure rage and battle intent.

Instead, a hint of cold, calculating precision like a fine instrument had been added!

Boom!

Golden light surged back into the body!

The all‑sweeping Order Purge storm outside, whose rule pressure could suffocate even a Saint,

in this moment seemed to become a silent backdrop.

Sun Wukong opened his eyes.

His gaze immediately fell on the almost‑vanishing graceful figure not far away.

Yao's body had become semi‑transparent.

The Dream Ark she had become still stubbornly shielded those sparks of civilization rescued from the brink of destruction, yet its light had dimmed to the extreme.

Each wash of the Order Purge storm made her form fade a little more.

Sun Wukong's heart jolted sharply.

It was a complex feeling mingled with heartache, guilt and a murderous fury.

But the expression on his face was no longer the previous agitation and helplessness.

An unparalleled confidence, even a slightly playful smile, slowly blossomed at the corner of his mouth.

He did not move; a thought, like a warm spring breeze, gently brushed Yao's about‑to‑collapse Original Spirit.

"Take a break."

"Next, watch me."

Yao's vague consciousness trembled slightly.

She 'looked' at Sun Wukong, though she could not understand why he had suddenly become so resolute,

but the great confidence in his voice made her subconsciously choose to believe.

Buzz—

The boundlessly massive Dream Ark began to contract slowly.

The civilized beings that had been ushered in let out bewildered cries within the Ark.

But as the Dream Realm's scope shrank, Yao's nearly exhausted Primordial Source,

finally got a breath of respite; her transparent body also solidified a bit again.

Yao did not understand what Sun Wukong intended to do.

Hongjun's Order Purge is a bright scheme against the entire Universe, an eradication of the underlying laws,

unless one can, as before, hide in the Illusory Dream—a place of 'non‑existence' that defies logic, any 'variable' would be hard to escape the fate of being formatted.

Now Sun Wukong makes her contract the Dream Realm; isn't that…

Just as she was full of confusion, Sun Wukong's gaze had already locked onto a 'world bubble' inside the Ark.

It was a world whose entire body shimmered with a pale blue radiance.

Countless light ribbons made of data streams wound around the planet like latitude and longitude lines.

The city lacked flora; only cold metal towers rose, and countless hovering vehicles traversed predetermined tracks with millisecond precision.

It was a civilization that had just birthed Artificial Intelligence and was about to undergo a technological explosion.

Their logic, their order, their social structure, in some respects, had already approached infinitely the 'order' Hongjun pursued.

Yet they were still classified as 'variables'.

Because their technology held limitless possibilities.

A cruel curve lifted at Sun Wukong's mouth.

He did not, as before, directly grant this civilization world‑destroying power.

He also did not, like when teaching those demon kings, impart any divine techniques.

This time, he wanted to play something different.

He wanted to be a… sower.

A barely perceptible thought shot out from Sun Wukong's forehead.

That thought carried no power, no murderous aura,

it was like a non‑existent wraith, effortlessly piercing the Dream Ark's barriers,

silently slipping into that civilization's Central Database.

It was a pure logical world composed of 0s and 1s.

Countless data torrents converged, collided, and computed here.

Here lay the core of all knowledge, all history, all logic of that civilization.

Sun Wukong's thought was like a drop of ink falling into the sea, instantly merging.

He did not alter a single line of code.

He did not delete any piece of data.

Such actions would be too crude, too low‑level, and too easily noticed by Hongjun's old stray hair.

He only, at the deepest layer of this data ocean, within that civilization's 'root logic',

left a segment… akin to a thought steel stamp, yet like a philosophical paradox… a brand‑new concept.

A segment, a 'code' prepared especially for Hongjun.

"Individuals possess absolutely free thought."

One can question everything, one can negate everything, one can create everything.

But...

The entire civilization must follow societal laws as precise as a machine, in pursuit of the highest efficiency and eternal survival of the 'collective', as the sole goal.

Hum!

When this seemingly contradictory idea was implanted into the fundamental logic.

The entire central database experienced a slight but profoundly deep tremor.

It was like forcibly installing a seemingly incompatible yet perfectly running new plugin into a strictly configured machine.

After doing all this, Sun Wukong's consciousness quietly withdrew.

On his face appeared a devilish smile.

He looked at the technological civilization he had 'remodeled', as if looking at the most perfect artwork he had personally crafted.

Then.

In Yao's incredulous gaze.

Sun Wukong reached out and lightly pointed at that world bubble.

Go.

Let that old Daoist see what the hell... a surprise is.

Pfft.

A soft sound.

The dream barrier protecting that technological civilization instantly shattered.

The entire world was thus nakedly, by Sun Wukong, from the sole safe haven, the 'Dream Ark', forcibly thrown out!

No!!

Yao let out a piercing scream, she wanted to reopen the dream realm to protect that world.

But, it's already too late!

The technological civilization that had just been thrown out was instantly exposed to the outside world's violent 【Orderly Correction】 storm!

That gray storm capable of erasing all 'variables', letting the universe fall into heat death,

Like a shark smelling blood, it instantly surged toward this newly emerged 'error data'!

Hongjun, far above the ruins of the Purple Cloud Palace, almost at the same time, sensed this anomaly.

On his face, which had become pure law, a hint of contempt appeared.

The monkey hiding in the turtle shell, finally couldn't hold back, huh?

He actually threw away the hard-won fire seed again?

Is this... a reckless act born of despair? Or perhaps,

He thought that with this technological civilization, in which even immortals have scarcely been born for a few, he could oppose his own Heavenly Dao's Orderly Correction?

Absolutely ridiculous!

Are you crazy?! Wukong!!

Yao looked at the blue planet about to be engulfed by the gray storm, her voice filled with despair and incomprehension.

She doesn't understand!

She truly doesn't understand why Sun Wukong would do this!

What's the difference between this and personally killing them?!

However, facing her question, Sun Wukong didn't even turn his head.

He just quietly watched the impending 'destruction', watching the civilization he had personally planted a 'BUG' in, awaiting its 'judgment'.

The corner of his mouth still bore that mysterious, cold smile.

Don't rush.

His voice was calmly terrifying.

Let's see...

Can this first 'idle chess piece' give that old guy Hongjun...

Bring a little, a tiny 'surprise'.