A True Deity

The White Emperor Crown was woven from silver silken threads with embedded metal. It felt ice-cold to the touch, exuding a faint, sharp edge. Anyone who looked directly at the face of whoever wore it would feel a stinging pain like needles pricking their eyes. A few seconds later, the item information surfaced: [Name: White Emperor Crown] [Type: Crown] [Function: Decapitation] [Description: Woven from ice silkworm silk, its frame forged from an ancient remnant sword core. Nine top swordsmiths of the Qin Dynasty nurtured it day and night with sword intent, taking three years to complete it. On the day of its completion, the nine swordsmiths were all decapitated, their primordial spirits merging into the crown to become artifact spirits. This crown can sever heads; it cannot be defended against, nor can it be dodged.] [Remark 1: It is one piece of the Heaven-Worship ceremonial attire. The remaining three pieces are: boots, belt, and robe. It is said that assembling the four-piece set allows communication with Haotian.] [Remark 2: The wearer is constantly plagued by the resentment of the nine swordsmiths. Only a monarch can suppress it.] [Remark 3: The wearer must endure the agony of ten thousand arrows piercing the heart.] "To me, resentment and pain are trivial..." Zhang Yuanqing thought to himself. What blind wraith would dare provoke a level 9 Day Wanderer? They had to be crazed with a desire to be transcended. He lowered his head slightly and donned the rule-based item woven from ice silkworm silk—the White Emperor Crown. The moment he put on the crown, a piercing agony struck his heart—like undergoing a root canal without anesthesia, hurting so severely that cold sweat broke out all over his body. At the same time, nine dense streams of Yin energy burrowed into his sea of consciousness, transforming into nine ragged, fierce specters. The fierce specters looked up at the warm sun suspended above his sea of consciousness, screaming as they dissolved into blue smoke. They had not been transcended, but they cowered back into the White Emperor Crown, never daring to come out again. Zhang Yuanqing took a deep breath, easing the throbbing sting that felt like a drill buzzing against his dental nerves, and took out the Yin-Yang Robe, Houtu Boots, and Azure Emperor Jade Belt in succession. He intended to activate the set effect and attempt to communicate with Haotian God. To meet the entity who had benefited both the First Emperor and the Commander of the Bu Liang Ren so greatly. *Whoosh—* The Yin-Yang Robe split into red and dark black. The red unfurled behind him, forming a blazing cloak of flames that flapped vigorously. The dark black settled over his body, turning into a black robe embroidered with silver patterns of the Black Bird, understated yet exuding nobility. Around his waist, a brilliantly shining emerald-green belt radiated a soft, gentle warmth, tempering the depth of the black robe and the overbearing aura of the flaming cloak. On his feet were a pair of exquisite, bright-yellow silk boots, their aura heavy and majestic. The crown with its dangling beaded tassels served as the crowning touch, vividly highlighting his monarchical status and grandeur. The Five Elements were assembled! A hazy yellow, heavy earth spirit unfurled beneath Zhang Yuanqing's feet, spreading relentlessly until it blanketed the entire Mohist Mechanism City dungeon. Amid rumbling roars, towering mountains rose. The White Emperor Crown cast a pillar of white light toward the sky. The beam shattered into tens of thousands of flowing rays, descending upon the ground and the peaks, giving birth to rocks and stones. The black robe turned into a surging river, cascading from the high mountains as waterfalls and meandering across the plains. Birds and beasts surged from the emerald jade belt, scattering dappled motes of green light; thus forests were born, teeming with creatures of wing and claw. The flaming cloak surged with a whoosh, igniting mountains, rivers, and wilderness, incinerating the scene of thriving vitality. Amid the ashes, tender green saplings broke through the soil, and from the crevices of stone seeped clear springs... A new cycle of life blossomed forth. Zhang Yuanqing stood quietly in place, watching the Five Elements generate and overcome one another, cycling endlessly. After an unknown time, the cyclical power of the Five Elements began to flow back, returning into his body. Then, a vortex formed on Zhang Yuanqing's chest. The powers of the Five Elements whirled turbulently, plunging toward its center. *Boom!* Having absorbed the Five Elements, the vortex erupted, spewing forth endless chaos. Where chaos touched the earth, the earth was assimilated into chaos. Where chaos sprayed into the air, the very concept of the sky vanished, turning into a colorless void of chaos. The Mohist Mechanism City dungeon rapidly collapsed, returning within a dozen seconds to the state before the creation of heaven and earth—a chaotic expanse devoid of space and time. In this boundless chaos where neither front nor back, left nor right could be discerned, a celestial light descended from an infinite height. Haotian God had descended! ... The evil demigods wore calm, composed expressions. This was why they firmly believed the Lord of All Fiends would not lose, and why they had dared to send Asura onto the stage so casually in the previous match. Demon Seed was the god of the Lethal Alchemist profession. His avatar had descended into the mortal realm and operated painstakingly for a century; how could he not have left some trump cards for demigods of his own profession? The orthodox faction had assumed the Freedom faction's only good card was Asura, unaware that the Lord of All Fiends was another. Touching his silver earring, Fear Heavenly King looked at Fu Qingxuan from afar and sighed: "If you had taken the field in the last match, the orthodox faction would at least have had a hope of winning two rounds. Fu Qingxuan, the opportunity was given to you, but you proved useless." The God of Fire was ready to start a life-or-death battle right beneath the arena stage, but Little Sapling hugged his calf: "Wait and see, wait and see..." Sword Qi swirled around Fu Qingxuan. Suppressing her body's mutation with "Iron Will," her thoughts raced at high speed, pushing her mental faculties to their limit as she said: "Surrender. Use points to waive the life-or-death match and preserve Void first. "If we give up the arena matches, we lose at most one array. The worst outcome would be 'holding three and seizing two' turning into 'holding two and seizing three.' With the God of Wine dead, we still hold the upper hand in a team battle." Looking at The Smoker, whose rank clearly exceeded level 11, reached level 12, and was still growing stronger, her tone remained calm: "The Smoker is invincible in one-on-one arena duels, but in a team fight, he is not unbeatable." *Though in private I drink milk tea and scarf down M&Ms, I only know that I am a good marshal.* The more critical the situation, the calmer she judged it; no matter the predicament, she never lacked a level head. The Sea Emperor, whose temper was no less volatile than a Fire Mage's, frowned and retorted: "The evil demigods can borrow power from those 'invaders.' In a team fight, we'll be in even greater danger." He swept his gaze across the evil demigods, his meaning clear: in a single duel, they only faced one; in a team fight, every one of their foes could borrow power. Fu Qingxuan sneered. "Your temper can be like a Fire Mage's, but your brain cannot! Use your head. If the evil demigods could collectively borrow power from the 'invaders,' why would they bother acting along with us? In the earlier battle for the array cores, the orthodox faction would have been wiped out already. "If my observations aren't mistaken, the amount of transcendent power this dungeon can endure is limited. If they borrow power collectively, the Spirit Realm's countermeasures will trigger, which might turn out even more in our favor." The orthodox demigods nodded slightly, acknowledging her analysis. Although they had never used a Myriad Realms Mall exchange ticket, as powerhouses of demigod rank, they knew very well that administrator authority was finite. By now, The Smoker's rank had surpassed level 12 and was faintly nearing the legendary threshold of level 13. In the deductions of the demigods, level 13 meant obtaining complete administrator authority and becoming the sole supreme sovereign of a profession. Reaching this degree allowed one to drop the "demi" from demigod. In other words, a deity! In other words, to defeat The Smoker, the Void demigod had to become a full administrator. Yet that was impossible. First of all, the various professions in the Spirit Realm all possessed demigods who had already claimed a portion—or even multiple portions—of authority; the Myriad Realms Mall could not forcibly seize them. Second, aside from a few core causality-type items, the demigod authorities also played a role in maintaining the Spirit Realm's operation; that is to say, the Spirit Realm itself occupied a portion of administrator authority. Thus, all the Void demigod could exchange for was the level 10 powers scattered across the various professions. Three portions of level 10 authority were equivalent to three level 10 demigods. To defeat a peak level 12, or even level 13, Smoker was impossible. At this moment, using points to waive the life-or-death match was the orthodox faction's only viable choice. Ending the arena duel before Void wasted the demigod items in his hands and focusing on the team fight was their only remaining path to victory—even if the hope of winning was slim. "Who are you trying to scare?" Curling his lip, the naked Void demigod wearing a silver mask gazed toward the colossal, hideous Smoker and turned his head to shout at his companions: "Don't surrender yet! It's my turn to flex!" Without waiting for the orthodox demigods to respond, he held onto the trunk of the Tree of Ten Thousand Treasures and spoke in a chanting tone: "Great Myriad Realms Mall, I trade the Hurricane Origin to you in exchange for a powerful strike of this profession!" The Spirit Realm notification rang by his ear: [Myriad Realms Mall Appraisal: Hurricane Origin, one of the administrator authorities, demigod-stage item. Appraisal complete!] [Exchanged items: Paladin's Shield, Paladin's Sword... Ding, unable to exchange for Paladin's Armor. Randomly drawing an administrator authority for you... Ding, draw complete. Item name: Empress Wa's Slough!] [You will obtain the power of three administrator authorities. Duration: three minutes. Countdown begins: 02:58:80] [Ding, exchange complete!] Two golden beams radiating a solemn, majestic aura descended, merging into the Void demigod's body. On his left arm condensed a brass round shield engraved with the relief of a rampart, while in his right hand coalesced a four-foot-long brass straight sword. In an instant, the Void demigod's aura surged dramatically, stepping into the mid-stage demigod realm. Right after, another illusory female silhouette descended, attaching itself to his body. His aura skyrocketed once more, though without breaking through his rank. "Foolish!" the Xiahou demigod bellowed in fury. "You yellow-haired brat! Showing off for a fleeting moment of glory—what is the point?! What is the point?!" With demigod items of four professions gathered upon him, Void indeed possessed the ability to duel The Smoker alone. Even if outmatched, he had the abilities of the Void and Musician professions to preserve his life and sustain himself. Yet what was the point? His state had a time limit, whereas their side knew nothing of The Smoker's limit. Furthermore, the invaders hovered right outside the dungeon, ready to provide support whenever they wished. The Smoker's duration would undoubtedly last longer than Void's. Once Void's buff expired, he would still die, having wasted the authority of the Hurricane Origin for nothing. "Calm down," Fu Qingxuan said nonchalantly. "That old thief Void is cunning beyond measure. There must be a purpose behind this; just watch and see." Little Sapling bobbed his head: "Yes, yes..." Across the arena, Ling Tuo frowned slightly, feeling no joy at this development, because Void had made a choice that contradicted his predictions. At this juncture, surrendering and using points to waive the life-or-death battle was the most rational and secure choice for the orthodox faction. Colliding head-on with The Smoker was extraordinarily unwise and might even cost the orthodox faction any chance of competing for the array core. As a chess master, encountering a move that deviated from his calculations, his first reaction would never be delight. At that moment, on the arena, the myriad beast heads on The Smoker roared in unison. The ear-piercing, clamorous sound waves shook the entire dungeon; across a dungeon space comparable to a small country, bestial roars echoed everywhere. The bodies of both orthodox and evil demigods mutated once more; even with their high rank, they could not suppress the tendency toward mutation. And this was with the arena's ward restricting a portion of the power. Confronting The Smoker head-on, the President's body abruptly swelled, undergoing horrifying mutations as scales, feathers, and horny carapaces alternated across his flesh. This was a mutation that even Void Stealth could not evade. "Stop yelling, stop yelling..." The hideous mutated monster's belly bulged like a pregnancy. Then the flesh tore open, and out crawled the naked President. He relied on the authority of Empress Wa's Slough, allowing his old body to gestate a new self, thereby breaking free from the mutation's effects. Seizing the gap before a second wave of mutating roars struck, the Void demigod opened his inventory: "Let me show you all a true deity!" Under everyone's stunned gazes, he dragged out a glittering golden suit of armor. Flowing like water, the armor enveloped his entire body, equipping itself. The moment the armor, shield, and straight sword came together, each erupted with sky-piercing brass light, undergoing a qualitative transformation. Instantly, the entire Spirit Realm dungeon convulsed, setting off an earthquake. Since the birth of the Spirit Realm, the very first person to piece together a complete authority was born. The restrictive ward enveloping the arena cracked with dense fissures; unable to bear the power of a deity, the small landmass fractured and collapsed. The whole dungeon trembled violently, releasing heavy rumbles. The demigods of both factions were utterly horrified. Moving in tacit agreement, they distanced themselves from the arena and fled into the distance. At this moment, only one thought remained in their minds: flee. It was like humans encountering a fierce tiger or being caught in an inferno—knowing that in their insignificance, they could do nothing but run. Including Asura! Clad in golden armor, the Void demigod appeared diminutive in size, yet his aura overpowered everything. The eyes across The Smoker closed one after another; the beast heads fell silent; the nest of serpents upon his head coiled tightly inward, as if meeting a natural predator. Leaning on his sword as he stood, the Void demigod spoke in a voice majestic and devoid of emotion: "In the name of the Knight, I declare: here, no mutation is permitted; no petrification is permitted; no Smoker is permitted!" The rule was established! The Smoker's colossal body began to crumble and melt, pools of filthy sludge gushing from its blowholes. Amid the sloshing splatter of mud, it dissolved completely into a mire. The mire then dried up, devoid of all spirituality. "Two minutes left. Wipe them all out..." President Void cast his gaze toward the evil demigods fleeing into the distance. The instant that thought crossed his mind, his vision suddenly blurred. An eyeball rolled out through the slit of his visor, and then, inside the armor, his body began to melt like a wax figure, flesh and blood oozing like viscous wax. He was suffering a backlash! A demigod body wielding the power of a deity—and one not belonging to his own profession! Viscous flesh and blood trickled out from the seams of the armor. As flesh, blood, and bone dissolved, the straight sword and shield clattered to the ground, and the standing golden armor toppled over.