"Oracle? I didn’t hear any Oracle," Qingniao said.
"Since I’ve made the identity of the Old God public, the Deity will definitely respond, and sooner or later issue an Oracle to retaliate against ," Su Ming’an said.
Qingniao lowered his head with a smile, his earrings clinking, the crisp sound of glass accompanying his glassy voice: "But I also hold your life in my hands. Why should I listen to you?"
"A simple math problem, right? Three is greater than two." Su Ming’an slowly raised three fingers:
"Qingniao’s Instant Death Rule holds the lives of both and Mizushima Kawa Sora. Zou Yuqing’s Instant Death Rule holds the lives of Qingniao, Mizushima Kawa Sora, and . If you, Qingniao, insist on eradicating and Mizushima Kawa Sora, Zou Yuqing will imdiately activate the Instant Death Rule and eradicate you as well."
Qingniao’s smile remained: "Old God, I think you’ve misunderstood one thing. I obey the current Deity and will never delay the Oracle out of compassion for my own life."
Su Ming’an said: "It’s just delaying the Oracle, not asking you to defy it. Are a few hours of ti more important than the lives of the Goddess and the Divine Son?"
Qingniao glanced at Mizushima Kawa Sora, his expression slightly hesitant. His words held less sway than Mizushima Kawa Sora’s, who would surely value her life.
Now, Su Ming’an restricts Mizushima Kawa Sora, Qingniao restricts Su Ming’an, Zou Yuqing restricts Qingniao, and Su Ming’an again restricts Zou Yuqing with force. The four disciples ford a temporary food chain, with any slight movent capable of eradicating the other, the guillotine already approaching their necks.
Chang Qingluo and others swallowed their saliva, watching this scene with trepidation. If Mizushima Kawa Sora and Su Ming’an died before their eyes, humanity might turn against them.
After a long silence, Mizushima Kawa Sora spoke:
"Then, form an alliance with ."
She made a concession.
"An alliance? That’s quite sincere," Su Ming’an said.
"Yes, I’ve thought about it. You possess a lot of information I don’t know. You are also recognized as soone who digs into the plot the best. Doing as you say in the early-mid stage shouldn’t be a problem. In the later stage, we will compete again," Mizushima Kawa Sora said.
Su Ming’an’s palm was burning hot.
——Lies.
——You don’t truly want an alliance; you have other motives.
Su Ming’an’s gaze beca slightly cold: "It seems you truly want to form an alliance with ?"
Mizushima Kawa Sora said: "Yes."
The palm remained burning hot.
——Another lie.
——Mizushima Kawa Sora, you aren’t sincere.
Su Ming’an curved the corner of his lips into a faint smile: "Then tell the information you already know. In exchange, I’ll tell you the information I know. One piece for one piece, how about it?"
Mizushima Kawa Sora gripped the scepter, her fingers showing a bluish-white: "Fine. I can tell you three pieces of information. First, the Deity is an Innate deity; it cannot be defeated."
——Lies.
Su Ming’an’s palm was nearly hot enough to boil an egg.
He reciprocated with a lie: "The Deity’s combat power is indeed high. I’ve co into contact with the Deity; it might be on the sa level as the Holy Initiation."
Mizushima Kawa Sora: "Second piece of information. After Su Rin and the Deity battled, he vanished without a trace."
——Lies.
Su Ming’an’s palm remained hot, and he couldn’t help but feel a sense of regret—Mizushima Kawa Sora, you haven’t told a single truth.
It seems she’s overly trusting of the Deity, refusing to divulge a single piece of information even when forming an alliance.
Su Ming’an once again reciprocated with a lie.
Mizushima Kawa Sora said: "Third piece of information. Just now, you already matched my Instant Death Rule."
——You’re lying...
"..."
Hmm?
Suddenly, Su Ming’an’s palm beca icy cold, as if he was holding a piece of extre cold ice. At the sa ti, he felt a chill in his heart, as if his entire body was about to freeze.
——This ti... it wasn’t a lie.
Everyone was as silent as cicadas in cold weather, silently watching this scene of confrontation. Zou Yuqing gently stroked the tattoo on her shoulder. Qingniao fiddled with the glass pendant by her ear. Mizushima Kawa Sora stared at Su Ming’an, her earlobes blushing.
"Seems like your Instant Death Rule is ’impose equal death on those who express intent to form an alliance with you’?" Su Ming’an slowly said.
Mizushima Kawa Sora denied: "No."
Su Ming’an’s palm beca scorching hot again.
... This just got interesting.
Among the four present, each one held each other’s lives in their hands, like pointing a gun at the other’s heart, yet no one dared to pull the trigger first.
"Mizushima Kawa Sora, are you really this wary of ?" Su Ming’an sighed.
Mizushima Kawa Sora remained silent.
"What’s your ultimate wish?" Su Ming’an suddenly asked.
For a mont, the church was very quiet.
Miao Qingluo and others silently tried to make themselves smaller, the confrontational aura between these two was too strong, truly frightening.
Mizushima Kawa Sora stood up, the crystal crown shining with star-like luster. Her eyebrows slightly lowered, her voice light as a feather:
"...No comnt."
Su Ming’an chuckled and turned his wheelchair around.
"Zou Yuqing, follow them. If they don’t act according to the alliance, activate the Instant Death Rule imdiately." He relied on no one knowing Zou Yuqing’s Instant Death Rule, allowing her to follow boldly. This round, he had told Zou Yuqing in advance that he was the Eldest Prince, and Zou Yuqing trusted him greatly.
As long as Mizushima Kawa Sora and Qingniao remained uncertain about her Rule, they would continue to trigger her Instant Death Rule during conversations.
"You really do trust ." Zou Yuqing moved closer to him, humming softly in his ear: "Your Highness, are you really not afraid I’ll turn on you?"
"Will you?" Su Ming’an countered.
"Of course I will," Zou Yuqing humd softly.
Su Ming’an clasped his burning palm: "...I do not believe."
...
The war of faith quickly erupted.
Su Ming’an arrived at the headquarters of the Human Self-Rescue Alliance, distributing the special dicine in the na of the Old God to those around. They quickly recalled a history from decades ago, recalling that ti of flowers and flying birds, a ti when they could freely sing and paint.
With the help of Xin Yue and Li Yanghao, the distribution of the special dicine progressed rapidly. With Isabella’s cooperation, the Central Research Institute continued to produce subsequent dicines.
anwhile, he quickly traveled to various countries, forming alliances with willing rulers, bringing them under his protective umbrella. He specifically went to the Ubang Nation once, using force to threaten the king, demanding that the king refuse all interactions with disciples to prevent the nation from being wiped out.
At 7:40 in the morning, the Exotic Species Royals erupted in The First Tower. Just then, Mizushima Kawa Sora had already arrived with troops, and she, along with Yamada Machiichi and Lu, cooperated for a rare mont to temporarily repel the Exotic Species Royals, driving them into the Black Mist.
Upon hearing the news, Su Ming’an’s heart tightened—he realized that what the Deity had said in the previous loop was right—it was indeed his actions reminding people of history that accelerated the awakening of the Exotic Species Royals. In this loop, the Exotic Species Royals awakened a full hour earlier, precisely because the Special dicine had been distributed, and many people recalled history.
When you "cognize" sothing, it will accelerate its birth, much like opening Schrödinger’s cat’s box. When people rember the past history, recall that Exotic Species once ravaged the land, and rember their appearances and forms, they awaken from slumber.
"But... it had to be done..."
Sitting on the terrace of the Human Self-Rescue Alliance headquarters, Su Ming’an overlooked the thousands of lights below. Trucks loaded with Special dicine were being sent everywhere, and crowds gathered like ants. He could see their smiles and hear their shouts as if their souls were liberated, with the most frequently ntioned term among all their words being "Old God".
The night dew was heavy, and the sunrise still hung on the horizon, yet to rise. His fingers moved unconsciously, while the voices of people, traffic, and horns converged into indistinct spots in his ears.
...
[Old God ・ Divine Na "Lighthouse"
Saint: 1 person
Zealots: 23 people
Devout believers: 123,812 people
Believers: 529,310,291 people
Faithful: 1,229,381,621 people
Overall win rate: 34.5%]
...
He looked at the Eye of the Old Days in his hand, which was the Eye of the Old Days from Chao Yan, already gathering a considerable amount of Power of Faith. Once she absorbed it, she could again contend with the tentacle creature by the sea, removing the control seal on him.
This way... all four predicants are considered resolved.
"It’s not that difficult." Su Ming’an hung his head.
Clearing it with one life... wasn’t that difficult either.
"Next, create a rain of Special dicine. As long as people cannot forget history, everything that follows will naturally co together." Su Ming’an had already given the command, and countless people were mobilizing under the na of the "Old God".
He had already passed the most difficult ti period, and a peaceful life was completely unrelated to him. Now, whenever soone heard his na, the first impression was "Old God", not anything else.
He felt chaotic emotions in his mind, emotions coming from people all over the world. Holding the three elents of becoming a god, "Faith", people’s emotional faith would naturally be accepted by him. When he achieved Bai Shen, he also accepted all emotions from Qiongdi.
However, this ti, the teachings and mythical stories of the "Old God" were completely written by himself, and the image of the "Old God" belonged entirely to him, allowing him to directly contact and accommodate these people’s faiths.
"..."
Su Ming’an’s vision was dim, the myriad lights in his eyes rging into rainbow-like spots, and in his ears, it was as if combined voices of billions surrounded him. He felt an indescribable chaos, unable to distinguish his own voice, as if he truly beca a godlike statue without the five senses.
"– Want to go see the stars?"
At that mont, a voice ca from behind.
Chao Yan’s hair draped over his shoulder, a hint of lemon fragrance approaching.
"...Stars?" Su Ming’an said, "I’m not in the mood, but if you’re ready, we’ll head to the edge of the World quickly."
"A Deity issued an Oracle years ago, prohibiting people from gazing at the starry sky. Aren’t you curious why?" Chao Yan said, "Because, apparently... there are things in the sky that the Deity doesn’t want people to see."
She unwrapped a li candy, placing it in her mouth, the sound of crunching crisp in the air.
Su Ming’an was indeed a bit curious: "Then let’s take a look."
Chao Yan led him to the highest pavilion in the Human Self-Rescue Alliance, activating a talisman, lighting up the observatory’s canopy. Su Ming’an sat in the observation chair, looking up at the fuzzy sky, gradually being illuminated.
One star, two stars, three stars.
The starry sky slowly erged, dragging their silver tails, like gemstones fixed on velvet, brightening Su Ming’an’s tired eyes.
Hundreds, thousands...
Star marks, constellations, Morning Star Palace...
Dazzling lights reflected on the canopy, like countless guiding lights hovering in the Galaxy, with the Galaxy and canopy inlaid, water and sky blending, stars interweaving, yet in this extre beauty, Su Ming’an saw an extra radiance.
At this mont, he seed enveloped in velvet-like starry skies, seeing countless versions of himself among the constellations. They were connected by silver star marks, flickering in the shimr of the Morning Star. So "selves" were walking towards the distance, others falling in the Space between stars, while so lingered in star palaces, slumbering.
He saw a Dieying in the starry sky, heard the Dieying’s voice—
"Su Ming’an, you finally discovered ."
"Everyone in this world is a Chess Piece, only you and I are the manipulators on the chessboard. As long as you reach the twentieth day, we shall et—I look forward to the day we et."
Between Su Ming’an and that Dieying, an invisible thread seed to entangle them.
After the voice faded, Su Ming’an snapped back to reality, that Dieying had already vanished, leaving only the beautiful starry sky in his sight.
He asked Chao Yan, and Chao Yan said that only he saw sothing special. Everyone else only saw the normal starry sky.
"The starry sky is beautiful." Chao Yan said, looking up: "A long ti ago, I heard a saying: When people die, they beco a star. That’s why there’s such a beautiful starry sky."
Su Ming’an gazed at the starry sky.
"I’m thinking, after I die, I should also beco a star." Chao Yan said.
"What if you don’t beco a star? Suppose we have no future, like predecessors erased from history; we don’t even rember their nas and sacrifices." Su Ming’an said.
Chao Yan looked at him. Her jade-like eyes were like clear lakes, bringing tranquility and peace. Talking with Chao Yan always made Su Ming’an feel calm.
"I will rember you." Chao Yan said.
"You beca a star." Su Ming’an said.
"The stars will rember too." Chao Yan said.
She spread her fingers open, and starlight leaked from the gaps.
"Why are you so good to ?" Su Ming’an still couldn’t understand. The two rely had a passing acquaintance, yet she dedicated her life to help him.
Chao Yan closed her fingers together, stars evident in her eyes:
"If there is soone who grew up alone and struggled but still loves this world. If there is soone who considers the bigger picture but also empathizes with every individual, saving the precarious situations at every critical mont, taking it as their responsibility to save everyone, enduring pain alone as the cost to fulfill their inner idealism. If such a person truly exists, and you know how to help them—would you love them, protect them, and assist them?"
Su Ming’an didn’t speak.
He had just used the Ruler’s Skill on Chao Yan, and the Ruler’s Skill indicated it couldn’t be used. She must have so Favorability, so there could only be one reason for why it couldn’t be used.
—She had full Favorability for him from the beginning.
After closing the observatory, they headed to the edge of the World.
The waves roared, on the golden beach, a young man with black earrings stood there, looking at Su Ming’an.
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