Chapter 209: Climbing the Peak, The Balance of Offense and Defense Shifts

Where the gaze points, the black tide flows.

In the corner of the perception, pitch-black like swirling ink, it submerged and devoured the last remaining totem pole from the ashes of a race.

The traces belonging to this race ceased to exist.

The black tide continued to surge, never pausing or lingering.

The impassioned journey of chasing dreams, the struggle against the wind in desperate situations, the tragic and heroic epic of rise... all traces of the Spirit Bones' struggle were buried in the surging black tide.

Just as the Evil Eye said: We do not care about their former glory, only the weight they become as nutrients when they wither.

After devouring the Shou Xu race, a massive amount of information appeared in Di Nian Xie Ling's mind.

It discovered that the black tide energy yield produced by the entire race was not even as much as that fake rule mirror that had been decomposed.

It was evident that the rise of the Shou Xu race relied almost entirely on the light mirror.

Based on the information recorded in the light mirror, the Evil Eye concluded that 87.3% of the cheat codes, plus 12.7% of effort, constituted the Shou Xu race's inspirational rise.

The black tide continued to advance.

Just then, the Evil Eye's voice rang out in Di Nian Xie Ling's mind:

"Di Nian, stop. Continuing forward carries risks."

Di Nian Xie Ling nodded; immediately, the surging black tide rushing toward the front halted in an area far from the Golden Ocean domain, splitting into multiple forces that circled the exterior of the Golden Ocean domain to gather information.

What was certain was that this Golden Ocean domain held vast energy reserves.

If it could devour it, the strength of the black tide it controlled would increase by 2 to 3 levels.

But relying solely on its current strength, it simply could not devour it; it had to rely on the assistance of the Player Race and the Battle Insect Race.

Before that, it needed to gather enough intelligence information on the Golden Ocean domain.

Then it would formulate targeted combat units, no longer centering on the Disaster-type and Plague-type as core combat units.

If strength is insufficient, make up for it with units.

The black tide can fight losing battles in terms of combat power, but in the confrontation of unit systems, it always holds an absolute advantage, without exception.

At this moment, perception tentacles entered the Golden Ocean domain to gather information on the Giant Beast units.

Part of the black tide energy also seeped into the Golden Ocean along with the perception tentacles, condensing into Disaster-type units that actively approached the golden giants to probe their combat strength.

The first group targeted by Di Nian Xie Ling was a herd of giants with body lengths approaching one hundred meters.

Not long after, preliminary encyclopedia information on this golden giant was generated in its mind.

【Basic Attributes】:

Body Length: 89-105 meters

Skin Hardness: Black Quality 9.5 (Black Tide numerical unit)

Movement Speed (Combat Movement Speed - Normal Movement Speed), Bite Force, Attack Patterns, Ability Collection (Breath), Wound Healing and Regeneration Speed...

Weakness Analysis (Preliminary Analysis): A fragile area with a diameter of 4.8 meters exists below the neck, lacking hard skin defense, and no elemental resistance was detected.

After a simple understanding, Di Nian Xie Ling directed the black tide units to turn toward other golden giants.

This was to obtain more data information on the Giant Beast units in preparation for the upcoming war.

A guide library marked "Giant Beast" was subsequently generated in the database, storing the combat system information of the Golden Ocean for retrieval and viewing at any time.

The investigation continued to unfold.

During this period, Di Nian Xie Ling began to ponder a question.

How to draw the Battle Insect Race and the Player Race into the war to jointly confront the Golden Ocean domain.

"Di Nian, do you have any ideas?" the Evil Eye, hovering behind, asked curiously.

"The idiotic Insect Race is easy to control; as long as we start a war, the brainless insects will inevitably follow. During the process, they can even serve as our cannon fodder, after all, they only charge blindly and are easy to exploit."

"As for the Player Race side, we must think carefully about how to get them to join as well."

How to solve this problem, Di Nian Xie Ling fell into deep thought, constantly bringing forth the information provided by the Evil Eye in its mind.

The Player Guide Library recorded the behavioral logic of a large number of Player Race members, including information on many events.

It could be seen that the Player Race seemed very interested in Meng Yuan Chu monsters and domain nodes.

This was obviously a weakness that could be exploited.

"Evil Eye, check if there are any Meng Yuan Chu monsters in the golden domain."

The Evil Eye did not answer; it released tentacles that danced in the air, and the perception perspective continued to delve deeper into the Golden Ocean.

As for when to start the war, Di Nian Xie Ling was not in a hurry.

Facing a powerful enemy with a huge gap in strength, rashly starting a war before obtaining enough information only brings risks.

It was not a group of reckless madmen like the Player Race; there is no second chance for failure.

Meng Yuan Chu Altar.

Qi Sheng hovered above the altar, surrounded by countless digital characters and light points.

Information from the Challenger System constantly flashed through his mind.

Through the feedback information from the guidance, learning that Di Nian Xie Ling intended to target the "Giant Domain," Qi Sheng opened his eyes.

He had been paying attention to the Giant Domain for a long time.

In the ocean scene composed of golden liquid, besides the domain nodes, there existed a rule force not from the Monster World: Giantization.

If it could be seized, it would bring considerable assistance to the construction of the Player Legion.

He had used Shou Shou Jili to perform a detailed analysis of the Giantization rule.

The obtained analysis content was that this was a rule capable of granting additional power through body size growth.

Theoretically, after purifying the Giantization rule and embedding it into the Challenger System, the Monster-Style players would welcome a significant boost in combat power.

Received an Epic-tier version enhancement.

But obtaining the Giantization Rule is not easy.

The combat power gap between players and the Giantization Domain is too vast.

Units within the Giantization Domain generally possess combat power above Hunting Level 100.

Even if the player legion charges endlessly without fear of death, they cannot harm the foundation of the Giantization Domain; the gap is so great that numbers cannot make up for it.

Even with the Combat Insects and the Black Tide controlled by the Earth-Will Evil Spirit, they are no match even after guided deduction.

What is certain is that after the Earth-Will Evil Spirit investigates the intelligence thoroughly, it will inevitably temporarily abandon the idea of devouring the Giantization Domain.

The Combat Insects, the Terrifying Black Tide, and the player legion, working together, can easily challenge various types of powerful enemies across levels, but there is an upper limit to challenging across levels.

The alliance of the three forces in the newbie village still has a significant combat power gap compared to the Giantization Domain.

Players don't care; if they die, they just change targets and start over.

The Combat Insects don't care either; they are either fighting or on the way to fight. Insect warriors are consumables, with Insect big shots providing real-time support behind them.

The Terrifying Black Tide doesn't care either; the Giantization Domain is merely a negligible force in front of the Terrifying Black Tide.

But the Earth-Will Evil Spirit has only one chance.

If it dares to attempt challenging the Giantization Domain, it will likely be swept away in one wave.

The Earth-Will Evil Spirit's choice to gather intelligence first was a very wise decision.

According to the analysis of the guidance, the route the Earth-Will Evil Spirit expands eastward along will likely be cut off after encountering the Giantization Domain.

Next, it should expand westward toward the Colorful Mist Coast, opening up new territory.

Without paying much attention, Qi Sheng's consciousness jumped at this moment toward the sea area of the Colorful Mist Coast.

Colorful Mist Coast, Ascension Sea Area.

This is a sea area shrouded in storms, located east of the Cang Star Sea Area, and also the region where the Ascension Clan islands are situated.

In the center of the ocean, ink-black dark clouds like a massive curtain press heavily down upon the sea surface, as if about to devour the entire sea area.

Lightning snakes roam wildly between the dark clouds, illuminating the surging wave crests below like rows of gleaming sharp blades.

The waves, like a demon legion awakened from the abyss, crash and merge against each other with the force of mountains collapsing and seas overturning, raising white wave walls dozens of zhang high.

Vortices constantly form on the sea surface, greedily devouring everything around them, forming huge funnels where seawater spins madly, emitting a roaring sound.

Countless figures drive vehicles through the sea area, breaking the waves.

Sailboats, swimming, warships... various vehicles carry players' desire for Shuyuan Warriors, advancing toward the depths of the ocean.

The sea wind blows over the surging wave crests, shaving off a layer of the waves, turning them into a vast mist of water that merges with the fog.

And the area shrouded by the fog is precisely the destination of the players this time.

Compared to personally raising pets, many players prefer Shuyuan Warriors that can be custom-designed.

As long as one can catch a Shuyuan Warrior, it means one can step into the ranks of top-tier players.

This is the growth shortcut in the eyes of many players.

In the eyes of lone-wolf players, a Shuyuan Warrior is a fierce combat companion that can help them easily hunt across levels.

In the eyes of team players, a Shuyuan Warrior is an optimized unit that can fill any aspect's shortcomings.

It can be a damage-absorbing tank, a damage-dealing magic caster, or a functional support... one Shuyuan Warrior can fill any team's weakness.

This is also the reason why Shuyuan Warriors are favored by countless players.

With the pet function online, Shuyuan Warriors can be purified and brought back to the Di Zhai Village space, turning Shuyuan Warriors into items available for listing on the Xing De Shang Pin.

The minimum selling price of a Shuyuan Warrior reached 180,000 Shou Shou Jili; catching one means a sudden windfall.

There is a famous player on the forum who owns a Shuyuan.

A passage pinned on his personal homepage is the true reflection of the hearts of players who want to capture Shuyuan Warriors:

Squatting in the Shuyuan Domain for a full three days, when a dying Shuyuan Warrior fell right in front of me, my drowsy self instantly became alert. I felt my blood boiling in my veins, my heart pounding like a war drum, every nerve screaming with joy and pleasure. I knew that was my prey, my trophy, my glory. An indescribable sense of accomplishment filled my mind. This feeling fascinates me every time I recall it; all the waiting was worth it.

Players who want to catch Shuyuan all expect a surprise to arrive in their hearts.

Just like gold prospectors, they might get nothing, or they might wait for fate's favor.

Shuyuan Warriors are also the stepping stone for top-tier guilds, with major guilds offering full benefits, allowing them to choose freely.

At this moment, inside the Shuyuan Domain.

The great battle continues.

Cultivators wear flowing robes of radiant light, with spiritual essence swirling around them, resembling gods descending from the nine heavens.

On the other side, Ascension Clan warriors are shrouded in five-colored light, with layers of elemental ripples spreading from their bodies.

On the battlefield, spell light and elemental power intertwine, the roaring sound deafening.

The remaining clouds in the sky are shattered by various powerful forces, revealing a sky illuminated in five colors.

The earth becomes riddled with holes and cracks in this fierce battle; the originally flat ground is now covered with deep pits and fissures.

Both sides trade blows, neither yielding.

The great battle seems endless; the entire heaven and earth are drawn into the collision of war.

In terms of combat power comparison, the cultivators generated by Shuyuan are in an absolutely disadvantaged position.

But relying on the power granted by Shuyuan temporarily modifying the rules, they can always turn the tide against the odds in desperate situations; key roles simply cannot be killed.

Even if an Ascension Clan warrior seems to deliver a killing blow, it can be nullified in the next second due to some reason.

For example, space suddenly tears open, and a spatial black hole devours the elemental power released by the Ascension Clan warrior.

By cheating on the spot, the cultivator alliance controlled by Shuyuan, even in a disadvantageous position, can stubbornly resist the fierce offensive of the Ascension Clan.

In the fog surrounding the Shuyuan Domain.

Players hide in the fog at the edge of the domain, waiting. The regional voice channel occasionally carries players' voices full of expectation:

"Brother Beneath Di Zhao, please protect us and send a dying Shu Yan warrior, I beg you."

"Fight! I want to see a fierce war, I want to see rivers of blood, send more dying Shu Yan warriors."

"If you don't give me a Shu Yan warrior, I won't come tomorrow. It's so annoying, why does it never happen to me."

"You are just too stupid. While waiting for Shu Yan warriors, I hook my fishing line outside the domain fog; fishing and waiting for Shu Yan warriors go hand in hand, so pleasant... Eh, a fish is biting the hook, I hope it's a Meng Yuan Chu monster."

Amidst the players' expectations and discussions, this round of clashes between the Ascended Clan and Shu Yan came to an end.

This batch of Ascended Clan warriors, having exhausted their energy, chose to retreat and leave the Shu Yan domain.

In the domain world where Shu Yan sets the rules, they can only release attacks using elemental energy stored within their bodies, unable to draw energy from the air to replenish themselves.

Therefore, after the war continues for a while, they must exit the domain space to go outside for energy replenishment.

And the outcome of the war is already destined in the eyes of the Ascended Clan warriors.

Although Shu Yan possesses the ability to alter the rules of the domain world, its stored energy is ultimately limited.

It only needs to exhaust Shu Yan's energy, and victory will arrive.

With the withdrawal of the Ascended Clan, the brutal battle came to an end.

Hidden in the independent space, Shu Yan watched the Ascended Clan warriors one by one pass through the domain fog, their figures departing.

With this battle over, Shu Yan had realized a problem.

It might be defeated.

Recently, the frequency of the Ascended Clan's invasions has accelerated, and its pressure has grown heavier and heavier.

According to the original plan, although the confrontation with the Ascended Clan would leave it at a disadvantage for a period, as the influence of the "Ascension Scam" expanded in the small world, the Ascended Clan, having lost its source of power, would ultimately be defeated by its own hand.

Until the appearance of the "Otherworldly Demons."

This group of evil lives that could not be driven away hid within the domain fog, watching every battle between it and the Ascended Clan with predatory intent.

They often struck when the Ascended Clan warriors were extremely weak, dragging Shu Yan warriors condensed with Ink Power out of the domain it created, causing irreparable Ink Power losses.

It had tried various methods to deal with them, but no matter what it did, this group of Otherworldly Demons would always return.

They continued to hide in the domain fog, greedily watching the Shu Yan warriors it created, waiting for an opportunity to act.

Even several times, important supporting characters, and even the protagonist, almost got dragged out of the Shu Yan domain.

If this group of Otherworldly Demons truly succeeded, the entire story system would collapse completely, unable to contend with the Ascended Clan ever again.

Two paths lay before it.

Abandon the war and leave, giving up the early investment, and ending the war early by cutting the book.

Or, create a stronger and more logical story system, raising the efficiency of Ink Power resource usage to another level.

How to choose, Shu Yan already had a clear answer in its heart.

It felt it was time to activate the trump card it had buried long ago.

In an instant, as Shu Yan's thoughts turned, the Will, the Pen, and the Book floating in the independent space activated simultaneously.

The book pages turned gently, emitting a crisp sound that broke the invisible barrier.

Shu Yan's consciousness was immediately drawn by an invisible force, entering space teleportation mode.

Its consciousness shuttled through the space tunnel, and countless world light and shadow images appeared before its eyes.

The Xiu Xian Shi Jie controlled by the Ascended Clan, the Low Martial World Youlan Realm, the Sword Chant World... the stories it created circulated in these worlds, continuously generating Ink Power output.

It had divided all these small worlds into three levels.

Among them, for worlds listed in the first tier, if events affecting stability occurred, it would intervene depending on the situation to ensure the world continued to develop in a relatively stable phase.

Only a peaceful environment could produce Ink Power better.

The consciousness continued to shuttle, arriving before a patch of golden light and shadow, and Shu Yan's consciousness suddenly pierced through it.

Its perception and gaze pierced the thick cloud layers, penetrating layer upon layer of hazy veils.

Beneath the clouds, the vast land gradually became clear.

Mountains and rivers unfolded like a scroll; verdant forests covered the rolling hills, and winding rivers shimmered with silver light under the sun.

Towering cities stood upon the land, their city walls towering high.

Shu Yan's consciousness continued to descend, sweeping over fields and villages.

In the fields, farmers bent over to work, and golden wheat waves rose and fell in the wind.

In the villages, cooking smoke rose gently; children chased and played in the alleys, their laughter clear and melodious.

Finally, Shu Yan's consciousness landed in the central area of the bustling city.

This was the core world in Shu Yan's eyes, which it called the "Inspiration World," a special existence standing above the first-tier worlds.

The entire world, from nothing to something, was constructed by its own hand, including the power system influencing this world, which was also created by it.

Regarding the power system settings, it set it as the "Power of the Book Realm."

The beings of the Inspiration World gain power by writing novels.

Every being can construct their own "Book Realm" through novel creation; the beings, rules, and power systems within the Book Realm are all set by the author.

Furthermore, the depth of novel creation, the rigor of logic, and the completeness of the worldview can directly determine the strength of the Book Realm, and also determine the amount of power the author can obtain; under this setting bonus, this world constitutes a unique "Path of Literature Cultivation System."

Even the combat methods of this world were modeled after the creation of Shu Yan's domain.

For example, when two authors erupted into conflict due to various contradictions, they would unfold their respective Book Realm domains, generating their own set characters to engage in battle.

This world was also the trump card in Shu Yan's eyes.

It set a rigorous author power level for this world, divided into six ranks in total.

They are:

Literary Apprentice: Initially mastering the power of the Path of Literature, able to write simple stories.

Literary Scholar: The power of the Path of Literature has solidified; able to write battle stories. The author can simply release abilities from the Book Realm, for example, if a character in the book masters the power of fire, it can be released during combat.

Scholar: The power of the Literary Dao manifests in form, capable of writing war epics and condensing literary soldiers—meaning characters within the book can materialize inside the Book Realm.

Literary Ancestor: The power of the Literary Dao reaches the heavens; written content can alter the environment and weather, and the generated Book Realm can summon celestial anomalies to assist literary soldiers in battle.

Literary Venerable: The power of the Literary Dao reaches the divine, capable of perfectly generating self-created characters and endowing them with a degree of self-awareness.

Literary Sage: The power of the Literary Dao is immortal; one can open a Literary Dao Realm and modify the rules of their own created Book Realm.

……

In Shu Yan's eyes, this growth system was established to filter out good works.

For this purpose, it created an existence similar to the Heavenly Dao in this world called the "Literary Dao."

The Literary Dao is the source power of this world and the foundation of all existence.

The Literary Dao is formless and without substance; it feeds power to living beings through the combination of reading text and stories in novels.

In the eyes of the beings in the Inspiration World, the Literary Dao is the first wisp of energy born when heaven and earth first opened; it differentiated into time, space, matter, and rules, forming the framework of their world, the foundation of all things' operation, and the order of the world's rotation.

Imagination is the key to touching the essence of the world, gaining the support of the Literary Dao's power.

For example, if an author can imagine a brand new energy system, that system will directly transform into Book Realm rules, manifest within the author's own Book Realm, and become reality.

The Literary Dao is also the appraiser of this world; the content created by authors is like answer sheets, and the Literary Dao will assign corresponding scores.

The scores determine the height of a living being in this world.

One can also understand the Literary Dao as a literary master hidden behind the world's curtain, silently watching every author's efforts, judging the quality of works through the flow of literary qi and the evolution of the Book Realm, and granting corresponding power.

The rigor of story logic, the sincerity of story emotion... after the Literary Dao judges, it will bestow corresponding literary qi power upon the author's Book Realm.

This growth system has no privileges; it will not favor an author due to their power or fame, nor will it add points because of an author's parents' power; it only grants recognition based on the depth and imagination of the work.

Shu Yan created this world precisely to perfect the combat system of the Shu Yan Realm.

Then, using the three rules of Will, Pen, and Book, it generates Shu Yan Realm worlds of different systems within the Monster World, creating powerful war legions.

Other small worlds produce Ink Power, but only the Inspiration World requires its continuous investment of Ink Power to assist growth.

The city it descended upon is named Wen City, the literary holy land of the Inspiration World, gathering countless scholars and Literary Dao cultivators.

Every inch of land here is permeated with dense literary qi; when it created the Inspiration World, it established a building here.

The entire city was constructed around this building as its center.

The building's shape is a Gao Ta piercing the clouds; inside the tower is a library collecting the peak works created by the beings of the Inspiration World, sorted by literary qi level within the tower.

It can also be understood that a novel ranking list for the Inspiration World is set up here.

Shu Yan came this time precisely to check the latest work rankings and seek inspiration for creating a new war system.

As consciousness swept toward the work sequence at the top of the Gao Ta, countless pieces of information appeared in Shu Yan's mind.

"Eternal War"

Author: Cang Yan

Book Realm Type: War Epic

Introduction: An epic masterpiece depicting endless war; two opposing civilizations exist within the Book Realm, the Race of Light and the Race of Darkness; their war spans countless eras, and war will be the eternal theme of the future.

Book Realm Setting Feature: Beings within the Book Realm can gain power through combat; the more intense the combat, the stronger the power mastered.

Influence Evaluation: The Book Realm created by "Eternal War" is hailed by the beings of the Inspiration World as the "Peak of War"; countless beings, through reading this work, comprehend the method of depicting war scenes.

Derivative Fan Works: "Song of War," "Melody of War," "Era of Light and Darkness"...

"Realm of Illusory Dreams"

Author: Meng Li

Book Realm Type: Dream Fantasy

Introduction: A fantasy masterpiece depicting a dream world; countless dreams exist within the Book Realm, each dream being an independent world; beings within the Book Realm erupt in fierce wars for the power of dreams.

Book Realm Feature: Beings within the book can enter dreams, complete challenges to gain the support of dream power, and master various special abilities within dreams.

Book Realm Rule: Dreams are an extension of reality; reality is the reflection of dreams.

Influence: The beings of the Book Realm of "Realm of Illusory Dreams" hail it as the "Gate of Dreams"; countless beings, through reading this work, comprehend how to write fantasy works.

Derivative Fan Works: "Above the Dream," "Nightmare," "Powerful One in the Dream"...

"War of the Stars"

Author: Liu Guang

Power System: Star Power

Introduction: Depicts a Book Realm composed of countless stars; each star represents a civilization; wars between stars determine the rise and fall of civilizations; beings gain power by absorbing star power.

Book Realm Feature: Beings establish resonance with specific stars to gain the power of that star.

Influence: ……

……

While flipping through the book content, Shu Yan also flips through the derivative fan fiction of this work.

Every epic masterpiece inevitably gives birth to a large number of fan works.

This setting is like a cultivation system sect.

The original work can be understood as the foundation for establishing a sect; branches expanded based on the settings of this work can all be viewed as offshoots extending from the same sect.

Fan works continue the story within the framework of the main lineage, inheriting the core settings and worldview of the original work while adding new elements and plots.

For example, a fan work set against the background of "Eternal War" might tell the growth story of a warrior of the Race of Light, retaining the setting of Will Power to make the story background more complete.

In terms of growth mode, fan works rely on the influence of the original work to form their own "literary qi tributaries."

These literary qi tributaries not only nourish the fan works but also feed back into the original work, expanding the original work's literary qi level.

The prosperity of fan works will promote the growth of the sect; every fan work is a branch of the sect and will enhance the power of the entire sect.

For example, the Will Power system built by "Eternal War," through the creation of numerous fan works, gradually became a massive literary school in the Inspiration World, with influence spanning the whole world, forming the current "Will Power Sect."

Even quite a few original works had literary qi levels insufficient to enter the literary qi Gao Ta; later, with the support of the fan works' literary qi, they ascended to the Epic Masterpiece Rankings.

But novels capable of founding a sect and establishing a school are, in the end, an extreme minority.

The vast majority of works are trend-following pieces.

Authors of derivative works rely on the influence of the main lineage to elevate the grade of their own derivative creations.

And derivative works, in turn, can nourish the original work through the flow of literary qi, forming a virtuous cycle.

What Shu Yan observes is the totality of every book-world faction, because in its eyes derivative works are also branches of the main lineage's works and can be merged into a single system.

To build this small world, it paid an enormous price.

And the inspiration to create this world came from a single painful lesson learned through failure.

Once, it was the sovereign of a world; from the moment consciousness was born, it realized it was a unique existence unlike any other.

Its thoughts could alter the course of the world — the Heavenly Dao rule that stood above all living beings.

But in the day-after-day control of the small world, a nameless longing began to sprout deep within its consciousness.

It found itself no longer satisfied with being this world's sovereign; it could clearly sense that beyond its "field of vision" lay a vaster heaven and earth.

The longing for a higher-tier world made it choose to break through established limits, to pursue higher-tier achievements, to touch the peak hidden within endless unknowns.

It refined and refined its homeland world, generating three rules: Zhi, Bi, Shu.

The plundering war that belonged to it thus began.

After successively devouring two small worlds, its consciousness brushed against the edge of a mysterious world.

At that moment, its consciousness trembled, and the shock in its heart was beyond all measure.

In that instant it made a decision: to become the Heavenly Dao of this mysterious world, standing above all living beings within it.

It was not until it descended into Monster World that it understood how laughable its own thoughts had been.

But the thought of becoming Monster World's supreme Heavenly Dao never wavered.

During that period, it went through no small number of wars.

Among them, the opponent that left the deepest impression on it was the Terror Black Tide.

A powerful force that forced it to cut-book and flee more than once.

Its clashes with the Terror Black Tide also let it discover its own weakness and shortcomings, and it began to ponder how it could grow stronger.

The Terror Black Tide had two especially powerful traits.

The first trait was its terrifying devour-and-grow ability.

The second trait was the free generation of troop types across the entire system.

For the first trait, Shu Yan could temporarily find no method to counter it.

But the second trait could be dealt with by perfecting its own power system.

The Black Tide showed it how terrifying a freely switchable troop-type system was in war — able to meet the challenge of any power system, with no weakness to be countered.

This also gave it the conception of building a multi-system force.

It too wanted to be like the Terror Black Tide, making its own power system possess no weakness whatsoever.

Thus, it created the Inspiration World.

In essence, this world is the troop-type arsenal in its eyes; every epic masterpiece can generate a combat-power system template.

These combat-power system templates will ultimately all be applied to the domain worlds built by "Zhi, Bi, Shu."

Using ink-force as the foundation, turning pages to switch combat-power systems.

For example, the first page writes the cultivation system, the second page writes the magic system, the third page writes the xuanhuan system.

In future wars against the outside, the act of turning pages is like the Terror Black Tide counter-devouring troop types and generating new ones — switching combat-power systems anytime, anywhere.

Possessing a hundred epic masterpieces is equivalent to possessing a hundred combat-power systems that can be switched and generated at will.

This is the meaning of the Inspiration World's existence.

It seems to be spending ink-force to support a bunch of writers, but in reality it spent ink-force to build a combat-power system research-and-development center.

Every author within is a technical R&D personnel, creating powerful war-system templates for it.

From the moment it set foot in Monster World, it deeply understood one truth: the brutal slaughter among the races fighting over resources is merely the prelude before the world-class battlefield opens.

Weak races serve as the buffer zone before the strong races clash.

When the weak races exit the stage, the savagery of the war will keep escalating.

In the Monster World of the future, the law of the jungle will grow ever more naked.

Only by adapting to the brutally changing environment can one claim a place on the future peak battlefield.

Apart from a few super-factions, every other race in Monster World can be called a weak race — and that includes it.

It is both a predator and food for the stronger.

But even a weak race, in this Monster World of infinite possibility, has the potential to stand out.

The world's landscape is not yet set — anyone could change it.

Relying on resource accumulation alone, in its view, was far from enough.

It must learn the philosophy of strong races in building war legions, patch every one of its own shortcomings, and reach an impregnable state.

It once witnessed the sight of the world-trembling Terror Black Tide sweeping through — the world-blotting might, the unmatched power left it awestruck.

But after the awe, a fierce desire also rose in its heart.

If the Black Tide can become a strong race standing at the peak, why not I, Shu Yan?

In an independent space, a figure suddenly opened eyes gleaming with Jin Guang, desire rising in their gaze:

"The future belongs to you for now, but it also belongs to me… Terror Black Tide, I will replace you and become the strongest."

Ambition burned like fierce fire; the conviction in its heart stood firm as bedrock.

It always remembered why it had descended into Monster World — not to eke out a living in the cracks, but… to reach the top!

A golden tentacle stretched forward, and the Rule Book turned to its first page.

All past information is erased; a new story chapter begins.

"Come!"

At this moment, the Inspiration World trembled violently.

The Tower of Literary Dao standing at the world's center suddenly shook intensely; golden runes encircling the tower flashed with dazzling light, as if responding to some invisible summons.

As the shaking intensified, the light brewing at the tower's peak suddenly erupted, transforming into countless streams of golden light that flew toward the sky, pierced the spatial barrier, and descended upon the Shu Yan Space.

Countless characters, traced by the "Rule Pen," were stamped onto the first page.

Outside, the Shu Yan Domain.

The initialized Shu Yan Domain entered a chaotic state; at this moment, countless dazzling beams of Jin Guang pierced the dark mist and descended.

The first beam of Jin Guang exploded in the air; the manifested characters were stamped into the world's background, becoming the bones and framework that constructed the world.

Seawater gushed forth from the void, waves surging, spray flying.

In the ocean, hideous evil creatures appeared and disappeared; their scales shimmered with silver light under the sun.

Floating islands rose from the sea surface, connected by void bridges between them; the filled content continuously increased as time passed.

This was a world constructed based on the Inspiration World novel "Sea of the Void," a world filled with various evil life forms known as Void Evil Creatures.

At this moment, the Rule Book in the independent space flipped to the second page.

Instantly, the ink power constituting the Shu Yan scene dissolved, and the world returned to its initialized state.

The second beam of Jin Guang spun in the air before exploding; countless gears and steam-formed vague outlines emerged from the void.

As the gears meshed, a clicking sound rang out; steam rose from the ground, forming a hazy mist.

Within the mist, a city cast from steel and brass gradually manifested.

A massive steam engine roared at the city's center; gear-driven airships spun in the sky, and mechanical beasts roared on the ground.

This was the worldview structured by the Inspiration World novel "Heart of the Machine," a war world where steam and mechanical systems coexisted.

The Rule Book flipped pages again.

The third stream of Jin Guang split in the air and merged into the Shu Yan Domain, transforming into four elemental vortices.

Fire, water, wind, and earth four elements rose, forming a magnificent scroll.

At this moment, the fire transformed into a giant dragon, roaring as it dove from the sky, spewing scorching flames.

The water transformed into a giant whale, smashing onto the sea surface and raising towering waves.

The wind transformed into a giant eagle, beating its wings to generate gales, battling the vast sky.

The earth transformed into a giant turtle, raising its head and stomping the ground, causing the earth to tremble.

The four great elemental divine beasts launched a charge toward the world's center.

This was the worldview depicted in the Inspiration World novel "Peak of the Elements," a war world dominated by the four great elemental gods.

The Rule Book flipped pages again; the Rule Pen traced quickly.

The fourth stream of light diffused in the air, transforming into a phantom mist.

Countless starlight points manifested from the mist.

Starships raced through the starry sky; star beasts crossed the void; starlight wove a magnificent scroll of the galaxy.

This was the magnificent star-war world depicted in the Inspiration World novel "Tomb of the Stars."

The fifth page, the sixth page... new combat system worldviews rapidly switched and generated within the Shu Yan Domain.

Though it could not build a full combat system like the Terrifying Black Tide, this would be the future development direction in Shu Yan's eyes.

From now on, every page would be a war system; in the future, it would also be like the Terrifying Black Tide, lacking no weaknesses.

After the twenty-three world systems were perfected, Shu Yan opened his eyes; his gaze pierced the domain mist and turned toward the Ascendant Race Islands.

Though the Ascendant Race was strong, in his eyes, they were merely a whetstone.

This was a challenge he had set for himself; if he could overcome it, he would use the growth brought by the Ascendant Race to soar upward, break through constraints, and reach a new height.

If he failed, he would merely be a meteor streaking across the sky.

This was the path he had chosen; in the future, only life and death awaited as destinations.

Either ascend to the absolute peak, or turn to dust.

"Ascendant Race, the offense and defense have shifted!"

Gazing from afar at the Ascendant Race lands, Shu Yan's cold voice, devoid of any emotion, resounded throughout the independent space.

Meng Yuan Chu Altar.

Through the feedback of guidance, understanding the reason for the changes in the Shu Yan Domain, Qi Sheng's eyes were full of admiration.

The changes in the Shu Yan Domain proved that Shu Yan had already walked out a brand-new path; in a manner conforming to the three rules of "Hold, Pen, Write," he was constructing an alternative full-system war army.

He had even created a research base (Xian Xiao Shi Jie) to assist himself in perfecting the war army system.

Previously, he did not understand why Shu Yan dared to challenge the Ascendant Race; clearly, Shu Yan was the weaker side.

Even if seeds of doubt were planted in the Xian Xiao Shi Jie, time was needed to wait.

Now he understood.

This was a Tribulation of Ascension Shu Yan had set for himself, using the Ascendant Race as a whetstone to sharpen himself.

The time remaining in Shu Yan's eyes was limited; a world-level war might open its curtain at any moment; he must seize the opportunity to grow stronger.

Since one must climb to the peak, one must choose the fastest method of growth.

Weak races are not worthy to sharpen the blade's edge; if one fights, one must fight a strong race capable of changing one's own future, using the resources and foundation brought by defeating the strong race to climb to a new height.

"This world is becoming more and more exciting."

All races compete to cross; too many potential races harbor the ambition to ascend to the world's peak; among them, perhaps a potential new star will successfully leap over the Dragon Gate and reach a brand-new height.

Qi Sheng was very curious; when the future peak battle opens its curtains, which races will truly have the qualification to take a seat at the table.

"This future truly makes one look forward to it."

(End of this chapter)