Chapter 381: The World's Response

Wu Chang’s True Self paused because of the divine power on the Ritualist, and Laiman, possessing the Ritualist, also stopped moving due to the aura radiating from the True Self.

Why does this guy in front of me have the power of my authority in his body?

After a brief silence, Laiman reacted; his expression began to twist, and phantom pain emerged in his left eye.

"It’s you!"

He remembered that some time ago, due to a stupid mistake by his subordinate, his newly regenerated left eye had been stolen by someone.

Not only that, but the other party had used unknown means to snatch a portion of his Authority of Chaos through his eye.

He could no longer remember how many years it had been since he had felt that sharp pain piercing his soul; even thinking about it now still left him with lingering fear.

The guy who had traveled through the distorted space before him was precisely the thief who had stolen his authority.

Compared to Laiman’s anger, Wu Chang’s True Self was much more composed; a joy like that of an old friend reuniting appeared on his face as he said:

"That’s right, it’s me."

Ever since he entered the Abyss Game, he had been dealing with Laiman; the two could not be called close, but they certainly shared a deep hatred. He believed he didn't need to explain for Laiman to know who he was.

Laiman entered a defensive state. He had suffered many losses at the hands of this mortal before, and now that this mortal possessed his authority and had transcended the category of a mortal, he had to be even more careful.

Furthermore, this plane was occupied by that lunatic Christine, and he could not afford to delay too long.

The Ritualist had messed up his plan this time; the plane where he lost his authority last time, where the player responsible for coordinating with the forces within the plane, happened to be the Ritualist as well.

Two failures were already a grave error. As punishment, Laiman directly burned the energy within the Ritualist’s body, using the method of overdrawing the Ritualist’s life force to grant this body greater power.

"Are you the one ruining my plans?" he asked the True Self while his body tilted slightly toward Wu Chang’s main body.

The True Self seemed not to notice Laiman’s small movements and said with a smile:

"We’re old friends, why be so formal? Your plan failed simply because your subordinate was incompetent and slacking off. I hadn't even gotten around to targeting him before the plan he was in charge of collapsed."

Laiman’s body trembled; it wasn't Laiman shaking, but the original owner of the body, the Ritualist.

Wu Chang continued:

"Your Excellency Laiman, every time we meet, you bring me some local specialties. You didn't come empty-handed this time, did you?"

Laiman looked confused and asked, "What local specialties?"

Wu Chang took out the Poison of the Mortal and, pointing at Laiman’s eye embedded in it, said to Laiman:

"Eyes, of course. It’s always the left eye; I’m getting a bit of aesthetic fatigue. Could you swap it for a right eye this time?"

Crack.

Cracks appeared in the space around Laiman. He clenched his fists, then quickly relaxed them, revealing a stiff smile on his face as he began to clap slowly.

"Good, good, good. It’s been a long time since anyone from the shallow layers of the Abyss has been able to provoke me like you."

The True Self wore the Poison of the Mortal around his neck and gave Laiman a gentleman’s bow.

"That is truly my honor."

He could tell that Laiman was furious.

"There is one thing I need to tell you: the maker of this necklace embedded with your eye is a mortal within this very plane."

"Perhaps you won't remember him at all, but I believe it is necessary to tell you. His name was Anderson, the first commander of the Arcane Knights."

"The item he crafted extracted your authority and truly caused you harm."

From the perspective of an opponent, Wu Chang had no need to tell Laiman about the existence of the Poison of the Mortal, and even less need to let Laiman see it with his own eyes.

If he were in another plane, he wouldn't have said so much to Laiman, but currently, being in the Steam Phantom plane, he felt the atmosphere was right.

One could see from Xavier’s resentment that the Church of Tranquility had put far more effort into the Steam Phantom plane than appeared on the surface.

Not long after he had retrieved Xavier’s Divine Seed, Laiman had possessed the Ritualist and descended directly, proving his guess was correct.

The invention and promotion of the Transcendent Steam Engine, and even the point to which Stilan had reached today, were all heavily influenced by the Church of Tranquility behind the scenes.

Wu Chang remembered seeing records of the Arcane Knights regarding Laiman when he was at the Moonlight Sanatorium.

Cruel, cunning, powerful, vengeful, and possessing a very wicked sense of humor.

To take revenge on the Arcane Knights, Laiman chose not to use simple methods but insisted on awakening within the descendant of the Arcane Knights' commander, which showed just how petty he was.

That Laiman valued this plane so much was clearly his vengeful nature at work again.

Perhaps it was to settle the score with Christine, or perhaps he was dissatisfied with his failure to seize Randy’s body; in any case, everything started from the Moonlight Sanatorium.

This made Wu Chang suddenly feel a sense of destiny when facing Laiman.

It wasn't that there was some destiny between him and Laiman, but rather the destiny between the Arcane Knights and Laiman.

In Laiman’s view, the Steam Phantom plane might be his battle with Christine.

But from the perspective of the Arcane Knights, this was a battle between the Arcane Knights and Laiman that had lasted for hundreds of years.

When he was able to defeat Laiman at the Moonlight Sanatorium, he was still a rookie, and he had relied on the preparations made by old Anderson and the Arcane Knights of that year.

In the Steam Phantom dungeon, he had taken over old Anderson’s Arcane Knights once again.

Now, facing Laiman again, he recalled the note on the Poison of the Mortal.

"In the eyes of gods, mortals are like ants, but the sting of an ant can also make a god bleed."

As the commander of the Arcane Knights, he felt obligated to tell Laiman that the protagonist of this battle was not him, nor was it Christine, but the Arcane Knights.

And at the same time, tell Laiman that the first commander of the Arcane Knights, old Anderson—whom he once regarded as an ant—had not only defeated him but also made him bleed.

The current commander of the Arcane Knights would also defeat him and make him bleed again.

Laiman said: "Anderson, he was like you, doing quite well for a mortal."

"But a mortal is a mortal after all; you must remember this."

As he spoke, Laiman suddenly abandoned the standoff with the True Self and ran toward Wu Chang’s main body.

As Laiman moved, the Seed of Famine in Wu Chang’s portable space moved out uncontrollably. The Seed of Famine began to spew out a large amount of steam, and an aura identical to Laiman’s began to gestate within the Seed of Famine.

The Seed of Famine moved toward Laiman; the two resonated, showing signs of merging into one.

This was Laiman’s backup plan: as long as he got close to the Seed of Famine, he could awaken the divinity within it and seize control of the Seed of Famine.

Ever since he was defeated by Ailin, who crushed him with divine power in the Silent Route, Laiman had learned his lesson, knowing that crushing with divine power was the most reliable way to win.

But as high-level beings of the Abyss, the avatars and projections they sent down into the Desolate Realm would all be suppressed by the rules of the Desolate Realm.

The Steam Phantom dungeon was Christine’s territory. If Christine wanted to, she could build a Divine Kingdom on Earth of the highest standard. Even if he had his believers secretly manufacture a ritual of equivalent standard, it would not exceed the opponent’s.

What method could crush Christine?

Laiman’s answer was to cultivate a Divine Seed locally in the Desolate Realm. Once he descended and merged with this Divine Seed that was not rejected by the Desolate Realm, the divine power he possessed could exceed the upper limit of the Desolate Realm and form a crushing blow against Christine.

Now, Wu Chang, this authority thief, could experience his super-limit divine form on behalf of Christine first!

Just as Laiman was about to merge with the Seed of Famine, a thunderous sound came from behind him.

"Man!"

The next moment, a powerful elbow strike smashed into his front, sending this projection that was overdrawing its life force flying away.

This elbow not only had immense force but also contained a power targeting divinity, almost elbowing Laiman’s will directly out of the Ritualist’s body.

After a series of rolls, Laiman, with a blank mind, lay flat on the ground. The sound of "Man" echoed in his ears, and memories of past elbow strikes flooded back like a tide.

He remembered now; this move was the signature skill of that authority thief. The ability was extremely sinister; it hit him every time and had a significant impact on him.

Why had he forgotten such an iconic skill?

Looking at Laiman, who was doubting his divine life, Wu Chang’s True Self raised the corners of his mouth.

The greatest improvement of the Mamba Iron Elbow being upgraded to B-rank was not adding a Mamba Mark to those who had been elbowed and reducing damage through the stacking of Mamba Marks.

It was that during every battle, before he threw his first elbow, the enemy would not guard against his Mamba Iron Elbow.

Not guarding against the first elbow, combined with the "must-hit" nature of the elbow strike, made him invincible in terms of seizing the initiative.

While elbowing Laiman away, his other hand gripped the Seed of Famine that was trying to chase after Laiman.

There was only a portion of Laiman’s consciousness inside the Seed of Famine; how could it break free under his strength of nearly 400 points?

It had been some time since Xavier’s death, and the steam rules shrouding Grimland had become thin enough for Wu Chang to use the Five Thunders Method.

As the light of the divine thunder flickered in his hand, Laiman’s consciousness within the Seed of Famine was erased, causing Laiman, who was lying on the ground in the distance and had not yet recovered from the negative state of the Mamba Iron Elbow, to twitch violently. Putting the Seed of Famine back into his portable space, Wu Chang’s True Self walked to Laiman’s side and said in a light tone:

"Your Excellency Laiman, let me ask you one last time: did you bring any local specialties this time?"

Laiman looked at the Poison of the Mortal swaying on Wu Chang’s True Self’s chest, and for a rare moment, he felt the urge to curse.

He climbed up from the ground and pushed the Ritualist’s life-burning speed to the maximum. The Ritualist’s life force, mixed with energy, condensed into a huge magic circle around him.

The magic circle contained pure destructive power and formed an energy barrier, isolating the space inside and outside the magic circle, preventing Wu Chang from escaping using space magic.

If this were a ranked player like Leng Shan, being hit by this magic circle, even with a B-rank consumable life-saving item, they would be at least half-crippled if not dead.

Wu Chang watched Laiman’s full-force strike, his eyes full of admiration.

No wonder the records about Laiman stated that he possessed endless knowledge and wealth; no wonder he could manufacture the Transcendent Steam Engine just by leaking a bit of "divine-bestowed wisdom" into the Desolate Realm.

The occult magic circle Laiman was condensing was a great inspiration to Wu Chang; its complexity was no less than the occult power furnace in Xavier’s right chest.

And this was not Laiman’s upper limit, but the upper limit of the Desolate Realm’s occultism.

This had great reference value for Wu Chang, allowing him to see more clearly the path to the root power of occultism.

He was rapidly memorizing the complex details of the magic circle; as he was now, he could not yet break the magic circle using occultism.

So he took out the Crystal of Omniscience and said: "Help me find the nodes of the formation."

At the moment before the magic circle exploded, Wu Chang moved quickly to the nodes of the magic circle and broke it according to the Crystal of Omniscience’s plan.

Laiman still wanted to repair the magic circle and continue the attack, but the Ritualist’s body could no longer support it. With his life force burned out, his physical body began to turn to ash.

There was no time left.

Before his physical body dissipated, Laiman stared fixedly at Wu Chang and said: "I will remember you. I will be waiting for you in the Reason Realm."

After delivering his threat, the Ritualist’s physical body completely dissipated.

Wu Chang shook his head slightly, thinking to himself that he was truly popular; the world dungeon hadn't even started yet, and there were already so many people waiting for him in the Reason Realm.

As the Ritualist’s body burned out, something fell from the ashes and hit the ground.

Wu Chang raised an eyebrow. What was the meaning of this? Did it drop a sarira?

He walked closer and discovered that what had fallen on the ground was a seal imprinted with the Lyman logo, somewhat similar to the Traveler's Amulet he had obtained previously at the Moonlight Sanatorium.

"Item Name: Lyman's Might"

"Item Type: Special Item"

"Item Description: A crystal of divine power from Lyman, containing Lyman's divine power within."

"Item Skill: Lyman's Might"

"Skill Description: A believer of the Church of Tranquility recognized by Lyman, holding Lyman's Might, can temporarily borrow the divine power within to enhance skill potency and reduce skill energy consumption. Consuming the item allows for a strike containing divine power."

"Note: Only with the support of the corresponding divine power can the true strength of the authority be unleashed."

Wu Chang picked up Lyman's Might. He discovered that although the skill description limited the use of Lyman's Might to believers of the Church of Tranquility recognized by Lyman, when he held the seal, he found he could drive the Lyman's Might within it just the same.

It seemed that since he possessed Lyman's authority, he was recognized as Lyman the deity himself, skipping the judgment process entirely.

Judging from the information in the note, if he used his authority at the same time he activated Lyman's Might, it seemed he could produce a special effect.

He knew Lyman was a deity who valued etiquette; it was impossible for him to come empty-handed.

Putting away Lyman's Might, he looked up toward the sky over Grimm-land.

The Steam Council and the Church of Tranquility had already exited the stage one after another. He did not know if the Steam Phantom dungeon would end here, but for now, the wind brought about by Xavier condensing divinity had completely stopped.

Time traced back to when Xavier had just condensed divinity, was bombing Baisha Avenue wantonly, the Tongue of God had dispelled Randy's abnormal status, and Wu Chang was about to take flight.

Aside from Wu Chang's side, there was another battle happening simultaneously in Grimm-land tonight.

Beneath the St. George Cathedral, Phantom slowly approached Olivia and asked:

"I have one last question. You foresaw so many situations, so did you foresee what is happening now?"

Facing Phantom's question, Olivia sensed something abnormal. Her expression was cold, her tone somewhat weary, and she said:

"Phantom, are you going to betray me?"

Phantom shook his head and said with a smile:

"Betrayal? Certainly not."

"My faction has never changed. I have always followed the era and stood on the side of the plane."

"Your Majesty the Queen, you are not the Child of the Plane and are destined not to make it to the end, so why should I stand with you?"

Phantom pressed toward Olivia, and Olivia, like a panicked white rabbit, was forced to retreat continuously.

Phantom listened to the whistling wind at the air vent and said:

"Your Majesty the Queen, listen, the wind has risen. This is the world you are in responding to the Child of the Plane."

Olivia bit her lower lip lightly and asked softly, "When did you betray me?"

Phantom pondered and said, "The night I first entered Grimm-land."

Olivia said, "I thought it was after the Transcendent Gathering."

"The Transcendent Gathering, hah." Phantom sneered disdainfully.

"An existence as dazzling as me can attract people's gazes even in the darkness; why would I need that kind of clumsy trick to grab attention?"

"When I first entered Grimm-land, that group of black-robed people calling themselves the Steam Council found me and proposed to cooperate with me."

Olivia's expression gradually calmed. She said, "They found you first, so you joined them?"

Phantom shook his head and said, "Of course not. Not just anyone is qualified to cooperate with me."

"I didn't trust them at first, but their leader showed me his power as the Child of the Plane. That kind of power—I couldn't refuse it."

Under Phantom's pressure, Olivia had retreated to the deepest part of the underground space. With her back against the wall, she had nowhere left to retreat.

She could only stand straight and ask:

"What is the power of the Child of the Plane?"

Phantom said, "It is the power that can sway the development of the world, represents the great trend of the world, and is unstoppable."

"Once this power is unearthed, one can influence the entire world by oneself and make the world revolve around them. Fighting the Child of the Plane is an extremely unwise choice."

Phantom paused and continued:

"Of course, not every Child of the Plane can unleash their power."

"Some Children of the Plane can influence the rules of the plane with themselves and change the trend of the world; others just happen to ride the crest of the world's great trend, occupying the mission of the Child of the Plane without knowing it."

While speaking, Phantom thought of Glad.

As the leader of the Ziyou Party who advocated for industrialization and free trade, Glad relied on occupying the favorable position of the plane's great trend to occupy the mission of the Child of the Plane.

It was a pity his life was too comfortable, and he was suppressed too tightly by Prime Minister Luo En, resulting in him having absolutely no chance to discover his mission as the Child of the Plane.

Phantom drew his saber and said in a tone of regret:

"Your Majesty Olivia, come to think of it, you are actually my ideal type. If I had met you first, perhaps I would have chosen you."

"As your admirer, I will give you a quick end."

Olivia: "Wait!"

Phantom's movements paused, and he asked, "Do you have any last words?"

Olivia pointed to the ceiling and said, "Listen, the wind has stopped."

A look of panic appeared on Phantom's face. He initially thought it was some metaphorical way of begging for mercy, but when he calmed his mind to listen, he discovered that the wind outside had truly stopped.

An ominous premonition appeared in his mind. Could it be that Peace was truly as strong as the legends said, and could still defeat the Child of the Plane even when the rules of the plane were completely influenced?

Olivia continued:

"You said the rising wind was the world's response to the Child of the Plane; then, why is the wind stopping not the world's response to me?"

Phantom was stunned for a moment, subconsciously wanting to correct Olivia—that was not how logic worked.

But before he could open his mouth, he discovered steam surging out in the underground space, the steam so thick it was like solid cotton, completely obscuring his vision.

All the abilities within his body, including the Source Power he was so proud of, were completely suppressed by the steam rules and could not be used.

Amidst the steam, Olivia's faint voice came:

"Since you know there is more than one Child of the Plane, then why can't I be one too?"

(End of chapter)