Chapter 205: Liang Yi

According to the timeline, the bandaged man became a Player of Truth's Side over four years ago, and after three years founded the Evil Science Alliance, gaining immense power.

At this time, the Mercury Alloy Guild came seeking help; Truth's Side advised them to seek the Retrograde Chamber, causing Mercury Alloy to become trapped in the Time Maze.

A year later, a new player squad appeared; Li Cheng killed Silverite, used the temporal chaos, and sent the bandaged man back over four years ago, completing the cycle by making him a Player.

There are two issues here: first, why, after being sent back to the past, did Truth's Side fail to save his wife and children?

Second, how much subjective initiative did Truth's Side exert to facilitate the cycle?

When the bandaged man was at Lv1, he knew the Player IDs of Master Pi Fu, Zhao Zijing, and the Driver; after becoming Truth's Side, did he long-term monitor these individuals and guide them onto the "correct" cyclical path?

Hearing Li Cheng's question, Truth's Side sat up slightly and said calmly: "Yes and no."

"After I was shattered by the temporal chaos, I was indeed sent back over four years ago—just in time to witness my wife and child's funeral."

Truth's Side noticed the expression on Li Cheng's face and smiled to explain: "Don't worry—I was utterly desperate, my spirit broken, but precisely then, the reward for the 【Electrical Retrograde】 quest included a soul-type item."

"It allowed me to gather the remnants of their souls, preventing them from dissolving completely."

Beneath Truth's Side's hood, Xu Xu ignited a single point of light.

Within the glow, Li Cheng faintly saw a woman holding a child's hand—their forms covered in cracks.

Truth's Side waved his hand, dispersing the light, and continued: "After that, I completed every mission the Arena assigned me, and likewise chose Spiritual Energy as my power system."

"This was, to some extent, influenced by Silverite."

"The difference is he practiced Mind Prophecy and Mind Enchantment, while I specialize in Mind Creation."

Spiritual Energy is the art of developing mental potential; masters of Spiritual Energy can delve into their own minds, drawing power from the vast ocean of the subconscious to twist and reshape external reality.

The Mind Creation system Truth's Side cultivates allows him to extract stellar matter from the Astral Plane to create weapons, armor, or animated constructs.

"Since I returned late, my wife and child's souls had scattered significantly. To perfectly resurrect them, I traveled through countless script-worlds, gathering any useful knowledge and exchanging techniques with other Players."

"During this process, I discovered no such Evil Science Alliance as you mentioned, so I founded one myself."

Truth's Side said: "As my power grew, my understanding of the Arena and fate deepened."

"Especially one day, while exploring the Arena, I discovered that patch of grass—and within it, the pipe that had long been leaking."

"I realized I was the one facilitating the cycle."

"Among the Players who participated in the 【Electrical Retrograde】 quest, Zhao Zijing, Catherine, Mendoza, and Miles all used their real names—their identities are traceable."

"But to let fate proceed as it was meant to, I interfered with no one's destiny—even blocking all memories in my mind regarding you."

"And as I anticipated, the version of me with blocked memories, when approached by Mercury Alloy Guild, still directed them to the Arena to seek the Retrograde Chamber, ultimately completing the cycle."

These words were earnest; Li Cheng pondered for a moment and chose to believe.

It wasn't that he was naive enough to accept all explanations blindly—rather, a Lv40 transcendent, in some sense, is no different from a god.

Take Truth's Side's Mind Creation system: its ninth-tier ability, Creation of Worlds, can directly forge a personal semi-plane, adjusting its atmosphere, water, temperature, terrain, and introducing life from outside to play the role of creator.

At this point, there's truly no reason for him to lie to a Lv14 Li Cheng.

"Alright, I've explained everything. Now let's discuss the real matter."

Truth's Side clapped his hands and chuckled: "It seems you've been infected by the Worm Lord, a divine affliction?"

Li Cheng nodded. "Yes."

"Easy. Divine afflictions in the Arena are fundamentally concepts. The Worm Lord represents mutation, evolution, and adaptation—passed down since the origin of life."

"For microorganisms, change is good. More frequent genetic mutations mean a higher chance of evolving traits suited to the environment, increasing survival and reproduction."

"But higher lifeforms often cannot bear the cost of change."

"Here, take this item."

Truth's Side snapped his fingers; the palm-sized crystal construct opened a nearby cabinet and retrieved a long, straight, ancient jade knife.

The jade knife was emerald and translucent, its hilt's end engraved with a yin-yang fish pattern.

【Item Name: Liang Yi Dao】

【Type: Ritual Item】

【Quality: Epic】

【Effect 1: Taiji Gives Rise to Two Instruments. Use on self to forcibly balance internal forces, reducing conflict between different types of power. Passive effect】

【Effect 2: Yin-Yang Transformation. After use, temporarily make one force dominate within the body, maintaining structural stability for a short duration】

【Effect 2 Cost: 50% of total Spiritual Power, 50% of total Sanity】

【Effect 2 Cooldown: 3 hours】

【Usage Requirement: None】

【Note: The Great Ultimate gives rise to Two Instruments; Two Instruments give rise to Four Symbols; Four Symbols give rise to Eight Trigrams】

If perfect-quality items occasionally appear for sale in the auction house, then Epic-quality items above perfection are truly priceless.

Li Cheng slowly reached out and grasped the hilt; in some deep, intuitive way, he understood how to use the blade.

The first effect of Liang Yi Dao forcibly balances internal forces.

It can make devils convert to God, make undead learn holy light.

Used on oneself, it can suppress the Worm Lord's divine affliction infection, neutralizing its invasive, corrupting activity while preserving only its useful aspects.

The second effect allows temporary release of the Worm Lord's genetic restrictions, transforming into a monster at critical moments.

Both effects are conceptual—worthy of an Epic-quality item.

Li Cheng slowly released his grip on the hilt, chose his words carefully, and said: "This is extremely valuable."

"Not really. This blade was stolen by me from a sect in a xianxia-themed script-world—no cost involved."

Truth's Side smiled: "Consider it a favor I'm doing you."

"Besides, this blade is merely an auxiliary item, lacking direct offensive or defensive capabilities, so its weight in the Arena's scoring is moderate."

"If I'd given you another item, the Arena would have sharply raised your score and assigned you far harder missions."

Since he said so, Li Cheng accepted the Liang Yi Dao and nodded his thanks.

"There's one more thing."

Zhenli Zhice tapped his fingers back and forth on the table, his tone turning serious; Li Cheng straightened his spine slightly and listened attentively.

"Would you like," Zhenli Zhice said in a low voice, "a succubus?"

"Huh?" Li Cheng stared, bewildered.

"Hahahahahaha."

Having rarely seen Li Cheng so baffled—especially after all the flashy moves he'd pulled off during the 【Electrical Energy Rewind】 mission—Zhenli Zhice burst into laughter. "When I founded the Demon Scientists Alliance, I made my first fortune by turning goblins into handsome men and beautiful women, then opening nightclubs and bars. Kind of nostalgic, isn't it?"

Of course, given our relationship, I wouldn't dream of fooling you with goblins, goblinoids, bugbears, or gnolls.

I've signed long-term contracts with the Abyss and the Nine Hells—I can recruit demons or devils directly through Boss Direct Hiring."

"Uh, never mind."

Li Cheng still wore his electronic eye and electronic nose, waving his hands frantically to show he had no such worldly desires.

Instead, Huiyu grew quite excited. "Do you have any devils that can help with homework, ah!"

Li Cheng swung a palm strike at her, then dragged her away from the place.

(End of Chapter)