The shattering of the space-ti barrier might have been a breathtaking spectacle for the gods, but for mortals, it was nothing short of an apocalypse.
The reconstructing world froze in place. The remade populace collectively raised their heads to gaze upward.
All they felt was the earth swaying, the world trembling. Before they could even determine whether this was an earthquake or a divine anomaly, the vast blue sky fractured like a spider web and began collapsing in great sheets at speeds no mortal mind could process.
Pitch-black nothingness seeped into reality like mud, dragging shards of existence along with it as it cascaded downward in a torrent, tearing through everything in its path — real and illusory alike — dissolving it all with terrifying ease.
In that mont, no matter where anyone stood, the first thought was to run. Even with no idea where to go, the only instinct was to move — to flee.
Cheng Shi and the others were no exception.
True, they had been sheltered in the Void, inside the cage [Truth] had set up for the gods. During the world's reconstruction, they might have been safe — but now, as the world itself shattered, nowhere was exempt.
"What... is this?!"
"[War]!" Cheng Shi's face twisted with fury, his teeth grinding. "I knew it — all that restraint was a facade hiding ulterior motives. Beneath the surface of that forced calm, the most terrifying madness was always lurking!
He's gone insane! He's actually trying to break through the shackles of space-ti to find opponents in a wider arena!
Damn it — He gets His fight, but what happens to the gods? What happens to the universe?!"
Cheng Shi's words struck everyone dumb — though it was equally likely that the ongoing destruction of the universe had already done that. Even ng Youfang, self-proclaid seventeenth god, had gone pale. He stared at the world-fractures spreading toward them and declared grimly:
"Could it be that [War] also wants to prevent my return to my Divine Throne?
This doesn't look like ramping up the difficulty of a trial — He's crossed the line!"
"..."
Galusha's expression was equally severe: "Run! If we don't run now, it'll be too late!"
With that, she took off at full speed in the opposite direction of the spreading destruction. Fang Yuan followed close behind. ng Youfang hesitated for a beat, then grabbed the motionless Cheng Shi and dragged him into retreat.
Cheng Shi's eyes were heavy with dread. He felt certain this situation had long surpassed anything mortals could resist. Sothing must have gone wrong in the gods' ga — otherwise, neither [Deceit] nor [Fate] would have allowed the universe to deteriorate to this point.
But what exactly had gone wrong?!
Without identifying the root cause, they would never escape alive.
Yet there was precious little ti to think. Compared to the speed at which the world's fractures spread, mortal running was inconsequential. Before long, the devouring black cracks had split open all around them.
They felt a horrifying tearing force assault them from every direction. Even with every technique at their disposal, they held out for barely a second before every last one of them plunged into darkness.
All except Cheng Shi — because he was rescued.
The mont cracks mirroring the universe's own fractures began to crawl across his vision, he felt soone — no, sothing with claws — seize the back of his neck.
Then he was flung through the air. After a nauseating tumble, he landed on the back of a beast — all rippling muscle and sleek fur — galloping at full tilt.
He instinctively clung to the creature racing beneath him. And despite the apocalyptic Void surrounding them, a feeling of safety welled up inside him.
Cheng Shi raised his head, saw that familiar silhouette before him, felt the biting wind whipping past his cheeks, and smiled with imnse relief:
"Big Cat!"
Yes — Big Cat had arrived.
In truth, Hong Lin should have arrived much sooner.
The mont the Convention assembly ended, [Deceit] had tossed Hong Lin in this exact direction. His intent was obvious: send the little cat to find the Clown.
But at the ti, Hong Lin — still reeling from the twin shocks of the world-ending experint and the gods' power struggle — hadn't recovered her wits. Before she'd even reached the section of the Void where Cheng Shi was and caught sight of him, she had already turned back toward Tao Yi.
It wasn't until she was halfway there and saw [War]'s flas shatter the Void's firmant — the entire world disintegrating at breakneck speed — that it finally clicked. She belatedly realized that the Fun God's toss must have carried a deeper aning.
And that deeper aning, without question, had to be Cheng Shi — because her only connection to [Deceit] was through the Fate Weaver.
Hong Lin's expression shifted. She glanced toward where Tao Yi would be, bit down hard, and without a mont's hesitation, spun around and sprinted back the way she'd co to find Cheng Shi.
She knew that even if she found Tao Yi in this chaos, she could only protect her temporarily. To truly unravel everything and save the world, she needed the Fate Weaver.
So the Dense Forest Spotted Leopard once again demonstrated her speed, snatching Cheng Shi from the jaws of oblivion at the very last second and flinging him onto her back.
Unfortunately, the rescued party showed no gratitude. The words "Big Cat" nearly made Hong Lin's fur stand on end.
If not for the genuine delight in his tone, she would have swiped him with her claws.
The instant Big Cat appeared, Cheng Shi knew she couldn't have found him on her own — coincidences like that didn't exist. So after casting a Healing spell on her, he imdiately asked:
"Who sent you?
[Fate] or [Deceit]?
What ssage did they give you?"
Hong Lin answered quickly: "[Deceit], but there was no ssage."
No ssage?
Impossible.
Cheng Shi frowned and said in a low voice: "Then tell
everything you know. Whatever you have — things you heard, postures you observed, expressions you noted — it all counts."
Hong Lin wasn't as clueless as she appeared. The mont she realized [Deceit] had sent her to find Cheng Shi, she understood the [Void] master's intent. She had spent the entire run replaying everything she'd experienced, and she quickly recounted it all to Cheng Shi — [Truth]'s experint, [Folly]'s comntary, the Assembly of Gods Convention, and the Fun God's cryptic parting words.
And when Cheng Shi listened carefully and pieced it all together, he finally understood what was happening.
The Fun God had pulled Big Cat into the Convention assembly to use her as a ssenger. And Big Cat had done an excellent job — though Cheng Shi found it puzzling that her account contained only the gods' spoken words and no other details whatsoever.
'So [Folly]'s Authority is in [mory]'s hands?'
'Is that what the Fun God was trying to convey? But if He already knew, why didn't He go after it Himself?'
'[mory]'s guard is too deep — as an opposing faction, He can't easily make a move?'
'That's plausible. If so, I understand — this job probably falls to Li Jingming.'
'But then what did the Fun God's final warning an?'
According to Big Cat, He had dangled her in the air, delivered one seemingly disjointed piece of advice, and then sent her on her way. Clearly, that sentence was ant to be more important than anything else from the Convention.
Yet it sounded like a perfectly ordinary warning...
"Once your Benefactor dies, there's no one left to protect His followers..."
Cheng Shi mulled it over for a long ti without reaching a conclusion. He even began to wonder if it was just the Fun God's way of pressuring Big Cat — a threat not to grow too close to [Fate].
But then Hong Lin, noticing his prolonged silence, glanced back with a question — and inadvertently sparked his breakthrough.
Hong Lin asked: "What exactly happened? Why did [Truth] try to destroy the world?"
That question lit a flash of inspiration. Cheng Shi slapped his palm against Hong Lin's flank and raised his head with excitent:
"[Truth]!"
"?"
The completely incongruous answer and the Fate Weaver's repeated provocations pushed Hong Lin over the edge. She was about to turn her head and roar at him when Cheng Shi launched into rapid-fire explanation:
"B— Hong Lin, turn around — no, change direction!
We need to find people — find the Erudition Presidium, find the Grand Scholars!
My trial settlent hasn't appeared, which ans the trial isn't over yet. If it's not over, we can still go back.
I understand what the Fun God ant now.
It's not just [Prosperity] that's lost its protection!
[Truth] is dead too — His followers have equally lost their shield! Which ans what they're holding is mine for the taking!
That's what the Fun God ant — He's telling
to go after the Ritual of Truth!"
"?" Big Cat was stunned. "The Ritual of Truth?"
"Yes, the Ritual of Truth!
[Truth] self-destructed. His voting rights went to [Void], His Authority to [Birth]. It looks like nothing's left — but don't forget, His Servant God creations still exist!
If we find the Ritual of Truth, we can carve out our own share in this world-ending experint!
Hurry, Hong Lin — find a way to get
back there."
"..."
It wasn't that Hong Lin didn't want to — she didn't understand.
Her speed was impressive, but she was barely outpacing the world-ending fractures. She couldn't see how securing the Ritual of Truth had anything to do with saving the world.
The world was about to be destroyed. Was this really the ti to hunt for spoils of war — a Servant God creation of [Truth]'s?
The timing seed all wrong.
No matter how greedy a person was, you couldn't gamble your life for greed.
But trusting Cheng Shi, she did her best to follow his directions and sprinted toward the section of the Void that led back to the trial.
Along the way, seeing Cheng Shi's utterly confident deanor — as though he no longer worried about the world's collapse at all — her curiosity finally got the better of her:
"Can the Ritual of Truth stop [Truth]'s experint?"
Cheng Shi burst out laughing at the question, pointing toward the world-fractures visible in the distance:
"The current destruction has nothing to do with the Ritual of Truth.
At first, I was terrified too. But the mont I realized the Fun God was sending
after spoils of war, my fear vanished.
Think about it — if He truly had no way to handle this world-ending experint, the only thing He'd be doing right now is trying to save this world. All His sches and secrets are in this starry sky. Even if every other god gave up, the Fun God probably wouldn't — He's not the type to surrender that easily to 'Him.'
Yet in the middle of this crisis, He still has ti to concern Himself with trivial matters like sending
to grab loot. That ans He must already have a counterasure!
[Truth]'s experint and [War]'s eruption look unsolvable to us — but in His eyes, they might not be a bad thing at all.
He's probably using this as another opportunity to sche sothing.
Relax — this world won't collapse.
When the sky falls, the tallest will hold it up."
"?"
Hong Lin was even more confused. She blurted out: "[Deceit] is going to save the world?"
Cheng Shi gazed toward the firelight streaking across the horizon, his eyes glinting.
'He said He would — but this ti, the savior probably isn't Him...'
...
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