Chapter 716: Conclusion (I)

The illusory, abstract astral realm was suddenly shrouded in a heavy veil of shadow, reflecting a black, viscous "Ocean" steeped in a sense of decay.

The arrival of the True Creator eased Luo Sai Er's pressure, and He let out a snort, arrogantly saying, "Finally it's my turn."

Having become a shadow of order, He distorted the true sight of the "Eternal Blazing Sun" and the "Lord of Storms", causing their visual feed to lag by one or even two seconds.

Almost simultaneously, a gigantic, mountain‑sized black hand emerged from the decayed "Ocean", reaching for the constantly flickering silver‑white lightning.

The silver‑white lightning kept leaping, bearing an aura of raging destruction, continuously gathering power and awaiting the right moment, as if it had not seen the hand reaching for it and felt no sense of danger.

When the one‑second visual lag caught up, He was already clasped in the palm of that black hand, unable to escape.

On the other side, the nearly real "Sun" erupted with scorching, blazing light, yet strangely confined to a tiny area, as if isolated from the world.

Where the "Knowledge Wilderness" projection faded, Reckton fixed his gaze ahead; an illusory book materialized, turning pages of its own accord, revealing one painting, text, and piece of information after another.

The book depicted humanity's progression from the era of raw meat and blood, to slash‑and‑burn agriculture, then to the creation of various tools and machines, the invention of the steam engine, and the entry into the Steam Age.

It seemed to bear civilization and the enlightenment and development of human societies across different strata, imparting an immensely weighty feeling.

Beams of civilization's radiance were reflected from the book, merging with the floating information around, forming one translucent, illusory figure after another.

They all belonged to the God of Steam and Machinery, embodying different aspects, knowledge, authority, and information.

The knowledge and information constituting these figures became active, granting each figure its own consciousness, difficult to unify and resisting a return to the original entity.

This contamination from the Knowledge Wilderness, after Reckton absorbed the information of the God of Steam and Machinery, began attempting to pollute Him through informational interaction.

As the polluted portion of information returned, this uncontrollable contamination spread to the very body of the God of Steam and Machinery.

Reckton extended his gaunt, blackened right hand forward, its skeletal fingers sprouting eyes that blinked, focusing all his gaze on the illusory book that bore civilization and recorded history and knowledge.

Amid the clattering sounds, the illusory book's pages flipped uncontrollably, torn down by an invisible force, one after another flying into Reckton's hand.

The pages, upon landing in Reckton's palm, rapidly disintegrated into faint, dim, colorless glimmers that seemed composed of countless illusory substances, drifting slowly and flowing.

As the pages were stripped from the illusory book, the breath of the God of Steam and Machinery slipped away uncontrollably, even its Rank 0 persona could no longer be sustained, on the verge of collapse.

"Alas!" the lingering self‑image of the God of Steam and Machinery let out a deep sigh.

His gaze swept around, pausing on Luo Sai Er, who was locked in a stalemate with the Eternal Blazing Sun, then turned to the illusory book whose pages had been half‑removed by Reckton, and with a wry smile said, "I have lost."

The next second, His somewhat illusory form collapsed from within, disintegrating into streams of brass, pale blue, and bronze light that shot outward in all directions.

Seemingly affected by Him, the remaining transparent figures, still resisting each other and striving for independence, shattered into streams of light that swiftly vanished from the astral realm.

One beam after another streaked across the sky, forming a dazzling meteor shower that fell everywhere in reality.

Without the resistance of the God of Steam and Machinery, the illusory book flew straight into Reckton's hand, disintegrating into a faint glow composed of countless illusory entities.

Under Reckton's will, these slowly flowing glimmers re‑coalesced, ultimately forming an intricate, ornate mechanical gauntlet that he placed on his right hand.

After reclaiming his uniqueness, Reckton turned his head toward a spot not far away, surrounded by a cluster of eyes.

At his thought, those eyes dispersed of their own accord, revealing a faint, pallid glow trapped at the center—about the size of a fist, colorless, seemingly composed of countless tiny elements, flowing slowly like a liquid mass.

"To prevent my pursuit, you left a 'Enlightener' trait?"

Muttering softly, Reckton slightly raised his hand, and the faint glow automatically floated onto his palm.

Having done all that, he went straight to Luo Sai Er's side, where He was still locked with the Eternal Blazing Sun. Solidified black mist surged in threads, from which a single eye, varying in size, sprouted.

Under the gaze of those eyes, the light and heat emitted by the central "Sun" were transmuted into pure knowledge, becoming plumes of black mist from which more eyes emerged.

With the "Magnification" support of the Black Emperor, the Sun's light nearly vanished, and the surroundings instantly grew dark and heavy.

From each opened eye around, pure, clear radiance streamed, rapidly coalescing into one complex, illusory sigil after another, as if projecting all the world's information and unleashing a terrifying information storm.

At the heart of the information storm, the Sun's surrounding light and flame solidified and dimmed, as if they could extinguish at any moment.

A crackling electric hiss suddenly erupted, and a silver‑white bolt burst through the decay‑laden shadow's shackles, fleeing this side and hastily returning to the Storm Abyss.

The hand that had emerged from the black, decayed "Ocean" did not pursue; in that hand it still clutched a constantly flickering silver‑white bolt, seemingly a piece forcibly torn from the Lord of Storms.

Crimson light blossomed within the black "Ocean", forming an eye rife with filth and decay, its gaze fixed on the Sun surrounded by Reckton and Luo Sai Er.

The Sun, stared at by countless eyes, seemed to sense the danger, continuously emitting energy, releasing light, and generating ultra‑high‑temperature flames.

In an instant, the entire astral realm—and reality, the spirit world, and the starry sky—were illuminated; the blazing golden sunlight was so intense that others could not open their eyes, unable to entertain extraneous thoughts.

When the light faded, the near‑real "Sun" had already vanished.

The eyes that had sprouted from the thin strands of black mist began to retract, and the shadow covering the astral realm swiftly receded.

Reckton tossed the faint glow he held toward Luo Sai Er, saying, "You may directly claim the provinces bordering Segal, Lunburg, and the Central Plateau, as well as the Oladek Archipelago in the Mist Sea, which will break away from Intis, establish its own kingdom, and become an emperor in reality."

"This 'Enlightener' trait counts as my advance payment, allowing Bonova to assume the papacy, stabilize the Steam Church, shift focus, and guide them to merge with the Knowledgeable Church."

"Agreed." Luo Sai Er took the slowly flowing faint glow, nodding lightly.

Having received Luo Sai Er's reply, Reckton's figure instantly became ethereal, transforming into one massive, terrifying torrent of information that vanished within the astral realm.

He needs to quickly complete the god‑ascension ritual he missed, solidifying and strengthening his self‑awareness.

"The Hidden Sage" is not equivalent to him; as an animated uniqueness, Its wildly extreme self is constantly influencing Reckton.

Reckton's humanity, the divinity of the Knowledge Wilderness, the Hidden Sage's mad self and spirit, the primal instinctual madness accumulated in his extraordinary traits, the spiritual contamination from prior information exchange with the God of Steam and Machinery, and the psychic stitching born of followers' faith all give Reckton a constant tendency toward fragmentation; the peculiar nature of information beings exacerbates this, leading either to self‑splitting into uncontrolled monsters or merging all spirits into a novel composite entity.

In the God‑Abandoned Land, Giant King's Court, within the palace where shadows gradually crumble.

A speck of brass‑colored glimmer materialized out of nowhere, darting swiftly to outline a pair of illusory eyes that rapidly surveyed everything inside the palace, as if seeking an effective way to open the palace from the outside.

Before Klein could react, a familiar figure appeared inside the palace.

It was A Meng, the "Time Angel" and "God of Pranks", wearing a monocle and a pointed soft hat! A Meng smiled at Klein, then, with a slightly solemn expression, looked at the pair of eyes outlined by the brass glimmer.

The next second, A Meng's figure was sketched before those eyes, as if to reveal all of His secrets.

A Meng looked at the outlined figure identical to himself, curled his mouth and said, "Herabogen, it's already year 1351, yet your methods are still the same, no progress at all; can you still call yourself knowledge and wisdom?"

As he spoke, A Meng lifted his hand and pressed the monocle over his right eye; the outlined figure twisted, becoming Klein's likeness—not Ge Er Man Si Pa Luo, but Klein Moretti's.

"This!" Klein's eyes widened in stunned amazement at the scene.

The moment his own figure materialized, his spirit erupted uncontrollably, as if confronting something terrifying, feeling that all his secrets and information were laid bare, causing an uncontainable palpitations.

(End of Chapter)