Su raised his head and gazed at the sky of the First Tribe.
By his side were Bei Wang and Angelica; they had already escaped from the First Tribe, quite far from the square.
Nevertheless, the sight, visible throughout the Qiongdi, was still staggering.
Toxic rain drifted, the world a blur—like countless terrifying creatures lurking within the blackness, roaring.
Wave-like black tentacles flowed below the sky, gloomy, nauseating, evil—just one glance could cause dizziness.
Like an isolated island, a white figure dotted the darkness, at any mont to be swallowed by the black tide.
"...It’s too exaggerated." Su murmured to himself.
He had thought this instance was rely a competitive one for the Silver Star. As for its plot, it seed inconsequential, just a struggle between the faiths of two deities.
But now, the Number One Player had shown them with facts: if they didn’t engage in the plot, everyone would truly be annihilated.
Players, usually adept at steering the narrative, could now only stand by helplessly as the story unfolded.
"We need to help Su Ming’an." Angelica said, "This is a boss battle—if he dies, Qiongdi will be destroyed."
She turned her head and saw Bei Wang beginning to dry heave; even at such a distance, the negative effects of the tentacles were still severe.
"...We can’t help." Su’s face turned pale, "Even looking at it makes us dizzy."
"Then I’m leaving." Angelica stated bluntly, "I’ll just kill myself."
...She thought, if there was no chance of winning, it was better to leave early, to avoid being tamorphosed—their ntal state was already very bad.
This Eighth World... was nothing but a deception, tricking lead players into a slaughter. Many had already suffered irreparable damage.
She didn’t know why the Number One Player insisted on continuing, even though failure wouldn’t erase his strength; it was better to preserve their condition for a later instance.
Didn’t he know, this was rely a futile act of prematurely exhausting energy?
"Right." Angelica suddenly said, "Su, that Peak Alliance of yours, can you take with you?"
"You’re interested? I rember you’re with Noel; Number One Player is likely not to invite Noel into the alliance."
"Noel will convince him." Angelica said, "Without Lv Shu interfering, the misunderstandings between them...aren’t hard to resolve."
...
"Huff, huff..."
Mizushima Kawa Sora struggled to crawl out of the cave, witnessing the apocalyptic scene in the sky.
Her legs had been severed by Dian Si, making it very difficult to move; she dragged her charred leg stumps out, with the purification power of the Fla of Bai Shen beginning to destroy her nerves.
She frowned, her palm coated in a layer of black mist, neatly slicing through the leg flesh that remained charged with the Fla of Bai Shen’s energy.
She looked up at the sky.
The white tentacles, like a steadfast island in the flood, collided with the towering black tentacles.
"...Is he truly becoming a god? Bai Shen, the Judicator of Whites?" she murmured, "Hasn’t he realized his na has already disappeared?"
...
The tribespeople beneath the firmant looked up, watching the scene in the canopy.
—It was strikingly similar to the scene five years ago when Bai Shen blocked the Canopy Curse.
Five years earlier, their Bai Shen had also appeared in such a posture, blocking a disaster enough to destroy them.
"Mom, look, it’s getting light..." Ming’an, with an ax in hand, hid in the stone house at the edge of the square, his face bearing a childlike innocent smile.
His hand was pressed against the back of the old woman’s neck, transferring the power of the Curse through the blood tie into her gaunt body.
"Ming’an, don’t let go, let’s continue the ga..." the old woman softly comforted him.
...
The Judicator Dian Si raised up blazing white flas, incinerating the torrential poison rain.
"You—hurry and pray to Lord Bai Shen!" he shouted at the panicked tribespeople.
He deeply understood the importance of faith, and now that Lord Bai Shen had returned, he wouldn’t let Him die again like a fleeting blossom.
...
Noel, her long dress already torn, rushed into the tunnel, running in one direction.
...
At the edge of the jungle, Teacher Fang, guiding a group of children, adjusted his glasses and quietly comforted them.
...
Similar scenes unfolded in every corner of Qiongdi.
Beyond the screen, billions of tense viewers watched this climactic scene unfold.
So cheered, so brimd with confidence, so were filled with anxiety, while others maliciously anticipated a total annihilation.
Forums, discussion sections, and world chat zones were filled with heated debates, the imnse information of this instance — a first-ti-hosted Hundred-Person War — attracted the eyes of the world.
"After eight days, a coback against the odds, could Number One Player truly be unbeatable?"
"——Peak competition enters the final phase! Top-ranked Players facing extermination??"
"Several surviving Players chose to quit by suicide; what does tamorphosis really represent? With the erging fangs of a World Replica, how can we maintain ntal stability?"
"——How will the battle between the two gods end, can Qiongdi be saved? Number One Player who received the Bai Shen’s authority, will he transcend the boundaries of humanity?"
"——On the possibility of World Ga Reincarnation theory!"
"——Era Transition Theory, is the World Ga truly being hosted for the first ti?"
"..."
Various theories circulated in public parks, taverns, and squares where people watched, each place bustling and extrely lively.
The Deity and faith discourse of Qiongdi, the Era Transition Theory, reminded people of high-dinsional beings of the World Ga, alongside the current human condition.
So experts and comntators believed that as the World Replica progressed gradually, so truths would also slowly unveil.
They firmly believed that, over ti, with human Wisdom and creativity, they would one day unearth the secrets behind this ga.
...
Outside the Canopy, the life Curse quieted down again after the stimulation from Jiu Shen ceased.
The tentacles that were slaughtering tribe mbers outside Stone Fortress were forcibly pulled back within the brilliant duo’s Shield.
High Tower Invitation prevented the Jiu Shen from slaughtering the tribespeople.
Beneath the barrier of the High Tower Invitation,
was the forced duel to the death between the black and white deities, arguing over the theory of Age.
In front of Su Ming’an, the black tentacles had grown into a giant tree touching the sky, each tentacle wrapping around to form layers of bark outside the main tree. Inside the heart of the tree, Jiu Shen watched him coldly.
Due to the High Tower Invitation’s compulsory duel effect, He could no longer attack the tribespeople; his only target within the barrier was Su Ming’an.
"At the end of every epoch, when I am about to destroy them, there is always soone like you who, not knowing whether they are alive or dead, wishes to stop ," Jiu Shen said.
"You underestimate the weight of a civilization," Su Ming’an said, "Civilizations have their origins, birth, developnt, and destruction dictated by fate. Even if the world perishes as a result, it is all part of the natural order. To start the next epoch at the cost of all beings from the previous epoch, disregarding the will of these beings, is rely a caprice of your position as a deity."
"Swoosh!"
Jiu Shen no longer spoke. His tentacles, like those of a python, lunged forward, and Su Ming’an propped up a barrier with one hand to protect himself.
"Clang——!"
The tentacles created several spider-web-like cracks, but his barrier was not shattered by a single blow.
With that strike, Su Ming’an confird that Jiu Shen’s strength had not fully recovered.
Even though Xiber provided Him with faith through the repeated reincarnations, after all, it was just the strength of one person. Jiu Shen had awakened in haste, also out of fear that Su Ming’an would beco Bai Shen and wanting to eliminate a threat. He was not truly in his best state.
Facing the omnipresent tentacles, Su Ming’an clung to the barrier while counting down, starting to switch states.
The mobility in the Shadow State was too poor, and Spatial Displacent was hard to execute among the tentacles; Spatial Vibration could also not deal effective damage to Jiu Shen with a combat power of 4500. Thus, he decided it would be better to switch to the Bright State, which was sufficiently strong in physical strength and power, to focus on defense and look for an opportunity.
After the five seconds of countdown, he distinctly felt a significant enhancent in his physical attributes, and the boost from Swordsmanship Mastery was already in place.
He glanced below, and to his surprise, the tribespeople had not fled.
On the contrary, in striking uniformity, they kneeled on both knees, closed their eyes, and prayed softly, drawing the entire square into a solemn, dignified, and sacred atmosphere.
In the past, the ergence of the rules of faith broke the disparagent people had for daydreaming.
It seed as though as long as one fantasized with enough conviction and with devout faith, people could actually realize their "fantasies."
Hence, the people of Qiongdi enjoyed themselves and even ford "daydreaming" as the ruling class, with praying rituals, shamanic thods, and tribal beliefs, taking pride in this.
Looking at it now, all of this was not without value.
—This was a world’s unique way of survival.
Unlike modern people who advocate scientific concepts, the people of Qiongdi regarded faith as sothing as ordinary as eating and drinking. It was inseparable from their spirit and an integral part of their humanity.
Perhaps they would be controlled, used by those with intentions, and be branded as ignorant, but compared to other worlds’ ways of survival, it had no superiority or inferiority.
Simply survival.
—It had more legitimacy than any so-called ideology.
At that mont, standing high in the sky, Su Ming’an could very clearly sense the faith power coming from all directions.
There were old people, middle-aged folks, wives worried about their husbands, and mothers longing for their children.
Praying for the future of Qiongdi, for the missing loved ones, for the distant mighty deity, for vanquishing curses and disasters...
They turned into emotion value, rging into his own value, becoming a power at his disposal—allowing him to wield this faith-forged scepter and slash at the deity intent on destroying Qiongdi.
It seed as though all of Qiongdi was sharing his destiny. The desires in the tribespeople’s hearts, the prayer words from their mouths, rang in his ears like the pealing of bells and drums.
Due to the indoctrination of faith and sect, their ideologies and willpower at this mont were more firm, more unified, and more powerful than those of any other world.
No one chose to flee, no one chose to evade disaster. Not a single person, unlike a Player scurrying away while clutching their head, kneeled in devotion, bowed their spines, offered their wholehearted enthusiasm, and turned a deaf ear to the danger around.
—They entrusted their lives to their [Faith].
...
[Emotion Value: 1000/2000]
...
"Crack," a bone-snapping sound echoed as Su Ming’an’s sword-wielding right hand was shattered by a tentacle.
He had been maintaining a defensive position, shrinking at the very edge of the barrier. Restricted from attacking his target, the impatient Jiu Shen sought only to destroy him, unleashing countless attacks like whips made of vines, forcing him to block only those tentacles aiming for his vital points.
With his palm fractured and his sword shattered, he stepped back, exposing his chest.
"Swoosh!"
An exceptionally sharp tentacle thrust forward violently, and he did not dodge, allowing it to pierce through his chest.
The next mont, a golden radiance shone, withdrawing the tentacle; it repaired Su Ming’an’s wound and, with a particularly fierce thrust, lunged at Jiu Shen.
Lasting Radiance, Damage Transfer.
The tentacle-ford black tree trembled violently as if it had been gravely injured, but Su Ming’an was not too pleased.
For above it, there was still a full line of health.
[HP: 18900/20000]
...
A potentially fatal blow to the chest could only inflict one-twentieth of Jiu Shen’s health in damage, and further attacks were even less likely.
Su Ming’an had run out of moves.
fighting 4500 was almost an impossible victory to achieve; he wasn’t like the protagonist in an action ani who could burst through such a large gap in strength. With so many layers of tentacles, it was impossible to strike effectively; he couldn’t defeat the opponent.
Moreover, his SAN value had already dropped from healthy to a perilous 50 points, continuing to decrease with such close contact with the tentacles.
He glanced at his Emotion Value.
...
[Emotion Value: 1500/2000]
...
The faith of the entire Qiongdi provided him with a rapid increase in Emotion Value.
In this mont, he knew it was ti to take a gamble.
Far from retreating, he surged forward, using Spatial Displacent to reach the surface of the tentacle.
Covering his still-mobile left hand with Erasure, he plunged it deep into the layers of tentacles, reaching for the heart of the tree—
He didn’t believe this entity was invincible; Jiu Shen was too heavily guarded with tentacles, and sothing crucial had to be inside.
"Puff, puff, puff!" Several tentacles pierced his body, but they didn’t reduce his health; he was already using the Otherworldly Notes of the Knight of Light, granting him ten seconds of invincibility.
Jiu Shen imdiately tried to push him away, but the tentacles were severed by a sudden appearance of a black blade light.
Three minutes had passed, the High Tower Invitation concluded automatically, allowing others to join the battle.
The young shaman dressed in a pale, stern-looking ritual garb stepped into the barrier, cutting through the nurous tentacles trying to push Su Ming’an away.
Now that he had surrendered the Black Python Authority, his strength was greatly reduced; even swinging his blade was sowhat strenuous.
The invincible Su Ming’an was untouchable by the tentacles, which then turned their attack towards him, shooting towards him like a storm, intending to impale him like a hedgehog.
"What are you doing here!" Su Ming’an imdiately recognized the sudden appearance of Fengchang. Now in the midst of gods battling, Fengchang’s arrival was akin to marching to his death.
"...Give it to ." Fengchang extended his hand towards Su Ming’an.
Reviews
All reviews (0)