Chapter 446: Rules (Happy New Year!)

The daughter of the White Snake saw the person who had arrived and was not afraid; she raised her head and spoke.

"I am the daughter of the White Snake, and I have come to Iron Stone City to seek the protection of the City Lord, that exalted one.

I am willing to serve him as my Master."

"I am the God of Ravens!"

"I am..."

The four deities introduced their own identities one after another.

Upon hearing this, Liushiliu's expression remained calm, yet a ripple stirred within his eyes.

It was the first time deities had taken the initiative to defect to Iron Stone City.

"Please follow me," Liushiliu said without hesitation.

Behind them, the Raven looked at Liushiliu's back, a burning look flashing in his eyes: "Is she that deity who unleashed the White Tiger: Arrow of Time?

The power of time is terrifying indeed."

Beside him, the daughter of the White Snake shot the Raven a glare and transmitted her voice: "Are you worried that others will think you are a Pseudo-White Tiger?"

The God of Ravens coughed: "Don't emphasize the word 'Pseudo'; a Pseudo-White Tiger is still a White Tiger!"

"So... Arrow of Time," the daughter of the White Snake revealed a meaningful smile.

"I suddenly feel that it is understandable that we are defined as 'Sin'," the God of Ravens said secretly.

"Deities?"

"Evil?"

Lin Chao sat by the lakeside fishing, a trace of surprise flashing in his eyes.

The Iron Stone City of today was no longer the Iron Stone City of the past; its reach was very deep.

Especially the organization Zero, which had been formed by powerful Legendary-level individuals, had become the external intelligence organization for Iron Stone City.

That organization had taken deep root across the Continent and knew many secrets.

It was precisely because of this that Lin Chao learned that the several deities who had come to seek protection had been defined as "Sin" by the Master of Light.

According to the secret information Lin Chao had obtained, this seemed to be related to the inheritance those deities had acquired.

Rumor had it that the source of these inheritances had offended the Master of Light, and thus they were defined as Sin.

"His Highness, should we accept them?" the God-Tier Puppet asked from the side, while simultaneously analyzing the pros and cons, "Accepting them might attract the gaze of the Master of Light to Iron Stone City and cause conflict, which is disadvantageous to us.

Of course, they are also a certain amount of combat power and can strengthen the forces of our Iron Stone City.

Moreover, if our Iron Stone City protects them, it might attract more deities to join.

Every bit of strength is extremely important to Iron Stone City."

This puppet was created by Lin Chao after he practiced the Forging Heaven Art.

When he made it, he incorporated some of the craftsmanship and techniques of a Puppet Master.

Even without being infused with complex commands by Lin Chao, its behavior had become very agile.

Lin Chao pondered: "If their philosophy is the same as our Iron Stone City's, we can protect them."

"As you command." This puppet went down.

Lin Chao continued to fish, but he had caught nothing all afternoon.

As night approached, Shivana brought Xiao Bing to the lake.

Shivana gripped Xiao Bing's hand tightly, although she could not perceive Xiao Bing at all, as if Xiao Bing did not exist.

"Daddy!"

Seeing Lin Chao, all the exhaustion on Xiao Bing vanished, an eager look appeared in her eyes, and she threw herself into Lin Chao's arms.

Lin Chao looked at Xiao Bing, his gaze gentle: "How was your play today?"

"I went shopping today and saw many fun and beautiful things," Xiao Bing's voice was soft and sweet.

"Good girl."

Lin Chao turned his gaze to Shivana and nodded: "You did well; in the future... take Xiao Bing out to play more often."

Lin Chao's words seemed ordinary, but Shivana felt that it was not that simple and that there was some mystery hidden within.

She felt inexplicably nervous in her heart, along with a trace of hidden worry.

"How is your cultivation of the technique going?" Lin Chao asked.

Upon hearing this, Shivana was somewhat worried: "My aptitude is too poor; it took me over a year to barely reach the Beginner stage."

Lin Chao nodded: "This technique is different from what you have practiced in the past.

The cultivation speed will be slower, but the foundation is very stable.

You only need to practice diligently, and one day, the technique will be perfected."

"His Highness, after I perfect the technique, can I help you?" Shivana asked cautiously.

Nowadays, the enemies His Highness faced were becoming stronger and stronger.

The Legendary-level beings that Shivana once considered unsolvable were no longer anything before His Highness.

Deities were appearing like bamboo shoots after a spring rain.

A few days ago, there even appeared a deity at the Master level.

Shivana could not imagine a deity at the Master level at all.

His Highness's enemies were already beings of this level.

Yet she was still only a High-level Professional, not even a Legendary.

What she most urgently wanted now was to be able to help His Highness.

Otherwise... the road ahead could only lead them further and further apart.

Often, the connection and feelings between two people depend not only on how good their relationship was in their youth, but more on... the changes in the gap between their status, position, and strength.

Today, His Highness has already left her far behind, to a degree that is beyond her reach.

Lin Chao understands Shivana's state of mind; he has lived for a long time, and he has seen many such things.

He feels that, sometimes, humans... are just too concerned with saving face, or perhaps, they consider too many things.

Of course, he also understands that these things are human nature and unavoidable.

As he is now, he is merely standing in the river, "laughing" at those who are drowning.

"When you cultivate to perfection, you can certainly help me," Lin Chao said slowly.

Upon hearing this, Shivana's gaze became resolute again: "Your Highness, I will work hard!"

Lin Chao knows that the hard work this young girl speaks of is truly hard work.

"On the path of cultivation, one must avoid being overly hasty.

Shivana, I hope to see you reach perfection, safe and sound."

"I will!"

Shivana leaves, and Lin Chao, holding Xiao Bing, continues to fish.

Xiao Bing changes to a comfortable position to lie down; it seems she also played until she was a bit tired from shopping outside today.

Lin Chao continues fishing.

By the lake, herons sweep past from time to time, stirring up ripples.

Unknown flowers struggle out from the soil, stained with the mist of twilight.

The sound of footsteps approaches; Sixty-Six walks to Lin Chao's side with a respectful expression on his face: "Young Master, the four—the Daughter of the White Snake, the Raven, the Anyeyizhen, and the Giant King—have been inspected and qualified; they can join Iron Stone City."

"Hmm, then sign the contract with them."

"As you command."

After speaking, Sixty-Six turns and leaves.

Lin Chao is still fishing, but fortunately, with Xiao Bing accompanying him, he does not feel bored or lonely.

It is just that...

The sky gradually turns dark.

The large and the small are draped in a black veil by the night.

In the silent night sky, a clap of thunder suddenly rings out.

"Iron Stone City, hand over the four 'Sin' gods!"

The voice rolls, echoing throughout all of Iron Stone City.

Many players are furious, and many Commoners are startled awake from their sleep, showing expressions of anger and worry.

Of course, there are also some people who, upon hearing this voice, show expressions of pleasant surprise; naturally, there are also those who gloat over others' misfortunes.

The Raven's expression turns ugly, with a hint of worry: "The God of Wrath, it is actually him!"

The God of Wrath is a deity with Strong Divine Power.

Among deities with Strong Divine Power, he belongs to the strong.

Rumor has it that the Lady of the Night once favored the God of Wrath and was very satisfied, specially bestowing upon the God of Wrath the Veil of the Night.

Therefore, when night falls, the strength of the God of Wrath increases by another fifty percent.

This makes him rank among the forefront even among deities with Strong Divine Power.

He is also the strongest deity under the Master in the Lady of the Night's camp.

At this moment, the God of Wrath stands in the air.

A strong wind blows, his black hair fluttering, revealing a face that is not good-looking.

His face looks extremely fierce and malevolent, and his eyes are filled with a crimson color.

Within the night, a faint black veil floats around his body, making it hard for people to notice.

He looks at Iron Stone City with a contemptuous expression, also carrying a trace of fury.

As he stands outside Iron Stone City, everyone inside the city feels their emotions becoming inexplicably irritable and wrathful.

With the arrival of the God of Wrath, many figures appear on the walls of Iron Stone City.

The God of Metal, Eyun Xiaojie, and Diya appear together.

The four "Sin" gods, including the Daughter of the White Snake and the God of the Raven, also appear here, their eyes filled with worry.

They had just signed a contract with Iron Stone City, and the God of Wrath has already found them here.

The God of Wrath sees the Daughter of the White Snake and the Raven, his eyes playful: "Iron Stone City is still sensible; deliver the four Sin gods to me, and I will spare you from the fate of sudden death!"

The words of the God of Wrath are exceptionally arrogant and carry a strong deterrent force.

The God of the Raven is silent, and the Daughter of the White Snake does not speak either.

At this time, they are communicating via telepathy.

"Will Iron Stone City hand us over?"

"I don't know!"

"The God of Wrath represents the Lady of the Night, and he is not just an ordinary Strong Divine Power; Iron Stone City will find it hard to withstand him."

"We just signed a contract with Iron Stone City; are we going to run away now?"

"We must be careful of the deities of Iron Stone City."

These four Sin gods are communicating, while the Daughter of the White Snake is uncharacteristically silent.

"White Snake, what do you think?" the Raven asks.

The White Snake then replies via telepathy: "Since the contract has been signed, I don't think that His Highness has any need to deceive us!"

"White Snake, you are too confident; what does Iron Stone City have to block the God of Wrath?"

The Giant King looked up at the God of Wrath, fear in his eyes.

Just then, a light, airy voice drifted over.

"God of Wrath, making such a racket in Iron Stone City in the middle of the night, what crime is this?"

A woman of peerless elegance appeared; her appearance was beautiful, but that was not what mattered—what drew the most attention was the powerful pressure radiating from her.

Strong Divine Power!

As soon as this woman appeared, the gods present were certain that she was a deity with Strong Divine Power!

This was the second deity with Strong Divine Power to formally show their face in Iron Stone City!

And this God-Tier Puppet was none other than Forty-Nine.

It was crafted from a statue of the Ancient Goddess Xuan Nu, who bore a striking resemblance to the Lord of the Heavenly Court.

The God of Wrath looked at Forty-Nine, his gaze finally holding a hint of seriousness, though he remained indifferent.

The God of Wrath roared loudly: "Does Iron Stone City intend to choose to harbor sinful gods?"

"I don't know anything about sin or sinful gods; I only know that they are our partners in Iron Stone City.

Besides, if the Master of Light says they are sinful gods, does that make them sinful gods?

I could just as well say that you are the source of chaos, a light of evil!"

Forty-Nine retorted sharply, not giving an inch of ground.

Hearing this, the God of Ravens could not help but feel moved.

The others felt the same.

Only the Daughter of the White Snake narrowed her eyes: "I told you... Iron Stone City would not abandon us."

"But... what if we offend the Lady of Night as well..." the Raven said with some worry.

Iron Stone City had already offended the Mother of Earth.

Now, were they to add the Lady of Night to the list?

The Daughter of the White Snake did not answer, continuing to watch the confrontation between the God of Wrath and Iron Stone City.

The God of Wrath's eyes were blood-red at this moment, as if they were about to spew Fire, but he suddenly laughed: "This is the biggest joke we have ever heard."

"In this world, the Master is the Rule!

"If the Master says the North Sea shall run dry, then the North Sea can only turn into a desert!"

"If the Master says there cannot be two Suns in the sky, then a Sun God's God Kingdom shall crash!"

"The Master is the Rule!"

"The Master is the definer of the Rules!"

"If the Master says they are sin, then they are sin."

"The Master is benevolent; not saying that everyone in Iron Stone City is a sinner is already the greatest mercy!

Do you also wish to be like them and become sin?"

The voice of the God of Wrath was extremely arrogant and filled with tyranny.

He stood in the air, insufferably conceited, carrying endless might.

It was as if, apart from him and the Master he spoke of, everything in the world was a plaything, a toy to be trampled at will.

A hint of coldness flashed in Forty-Nine's eyes: "If the Master is this kind of Rule, then... I shall topple it."

"Audacious!" The God of Wrath was naturally short-tempered, and hearing Forty-Nine's words, he became even more furious.

He had long been accustomed to being high and mighty.

With the Lady of Night never appearing, he had always been a Master-like existence within her faction.

He could even decide the life or death of a deity with a single word.

Precisely because of this, when someone challenged his authority, he was instantly enraged.

"I, the God of Wrath, declare that all living beings in Iron Stone City are sinners!

Any deity who sees them must kill them!"

Although the God of Wrath was not a Master, he had once received the favor of the Lady of Night.

During the thousand years the Lady of Night had not appeared, he had come to view himself as a Master.

"What a big mouth!" Forty-Nine's face was like frost; she was clearly somewhat angry.

The Commoners in Iron Stone City naturally heard these words as well.

Hearing this, they were all filled with rage.

Especially those who had previously chosen to believe in those gods, all felt ashamed of their former faith.

Many Commoners and nobles were filled with righteous indignation.

"Only the Fire of Civilization is worthy of our faith and trust!"

"Yes, it is we who hold high the Fire of Civilization!"

"That is the true god!"

"These are all Evil Gods!"

Many people were cursing the God of Wrath, and in the process, they cursed the Lady of Night and the Master of Light as well.

As a deity, the God of Wrath naturally knew when mortals insulted him.

In just an instant, he sensed millions of living beings cursing him.

It was fine for him to judge mortals as sinful, and it was fine for him to slaughter mortals, but it was not fine for mortals to curse him—that was a sin!

The God of Wrath's face turned livid: "A bunch of ignorant, weak mortals, only capable of empty talk!"

"In three months, I will make your Iron Stone City barren, with not a single living being left alive in this world!"

"We will make you regret today's choice!"

Following this voice, a layer of pitch-black Black Screen spread out, the entire Heavenly Vault became even darker, the moonlight vanished, and the whole night turned as black as ink!

PS: (Happy New Year!

Wishing everyone and those you care about peace and safety year after year, and may you gain both wealth and romance!

In the Year of the Rabbit, eat rabbit heads, White Rabbit candies, and have two rabbits!)

(End of this chapter)