Symbolism

In the real world, beneath a clear and cloudless sky, a golden sun suddenly appeared. It was no more glaring than the real sun. Looking directly at it did not sting one's pupils or bring tears to one's eyes; it was as though this golden sun was shining down from an entirely different spacetime. If judged purely by "light," it was neither domineering nor blinding, resembling instead a rare cosmic spectacle. Yet on an instinctual level, anyone who looked straight at it or bathed in its rays found themselves unconsciously confessing in their hearts the wrongs they had committed, repenting the evil thoughts they had once harbored. Everyone felt as if they were walking on thin ice, trembling in trepidation. The golden sun hanging in the sky felt like order, like the law, like justice, like morality itself—it had appeared there to pass judgment upon mankind. So profoundly awestruck was everyone that not a single soul thought to take out a phone or camera to record this unprecedented marvel. ... The capital. In an old alleyway, Elder Sun was lying on a rocking chair basking in the warm sunshine when a solar crest abruptly illuminated his brow. The solar divine power within him surged into violent upheaval, and streams of scorching golden sunlight blasted from his nose and mouth. He sprang straight up from his rocking chair, which had instantly incinerated to ashes, and stared at the golden sun in the sky. His entire body trembled uncontrollably, unsure whether he was gripped by excitement, joy, or sheer terror and awe. The solar divine power within him surged with ever-greater turbulence, as though celebrating and cheering. "The Lord of the Sun has been born..." Elder Sun murmured in a shaking voice. At the same moment, the Day Wanderers across the Taiyi Sect were gazing up at the blazing sun, swept up in a shuddering thrill that arose from the depths of their souls. ... The Free Confederation. In a small town where plumes of smoke rose from dilapidated ruins, the Twin Gods of Wind and Thunder—having just purged the city of evil aura with lightning strikes and gale winds—stared blankly at the golden sun in the sky. She stood stark naked, cyan winds swirling around her frame. One eye condensed lightning into a vivid bright blue, while the other was crystal-clear like glazed glass. As she was bathed in the golden light, her sanity rapidly returned. The lightning in her eye lost its wild fury, turning deep and restrained, and the glazed pupil was no longer maddened. "I... I am Boreas... and... also the God of Thunder... Why... why did I become like this..." ... New York County. Donna Caroline, who had long since altered her appearance and lived in a suburban villa as a tycoon's mistress, had just used her Charm Art to manipulate the tycoon and send him out of the house. She stood up, headed into the bedroom, and changed into a sexy swimsuit, intending to take a soak in the courtyard's heated swimming pool. Dressed in her swimwear, she entered the living room, only to see the tycoon she had enchanted and controlled prostrating in the courtyard. Panic etched into his face, he muttered incessantly: "Lord, please forgive my sins. Forgive the evil deeds I have committed in the past..." What is going on? Donna frowned and walked toward the entrance of the living room. Only when her field of vision opened up did she see two suns hanging in the sky. One was bright and dazzling; the other, pale gold and awe-inspiringly majestic. Her heart skipped a beat, and she rushed out of the living room into the yard. To her shock, the second her body was bathed in the golden sunlight, she let out a piercing shriek. Like a snake spirit forced to drink realgar wine, she collapsed to the ground in agony. Her body hissed as black smoke billowed off her, and she clutched her head in torment, feeling as though her soul were being roasted over a bonfire. Her mental corruption rapidly dissipated, thoroughly purified. Similar anomalies unfolded simultaneously across Heaven's Punishment and the Five Elements Alliance, across major cities around the globe. Those who had been corrupted, controlled, driven insane, tainted by evil filth, or shrouded in yin energy... were all purified and rectified at this moment. The entire world seemed to have undergone a great cleansing. ... Pingsheng Residential Community. In Unit 402, Sect Master Chunyang was ejected from the dream. Sitting on the sofa, he bent forward and pressed a hand against his forehead as a memory that should never have existed resurfaced in his mind. It was an old, dated living room where a retired teacher with thinning silver hair, slightly drooping eyes, and reading glasses hanging around her neck lamented: "Sigh, that boy's family seemed reasonably well-off. How could he commit theft? Speaking of which, he's actually quite pitiable." "Pitiable?" "When he was in high school—first year, I think—he came back from summer break completely dull and vacant. No one knew what illness it was. His uncle said that over the summer, a high fever burned up his brain, damaging his intellect. I felt so bad for him at the time. The boy had been so sharp, eloquent, knew how to give gifts, and was good at socializing. He was prime material for a career in the civil service..." Though he did not understand why, Sect Master Chunyang was certain of one thing: the memories he had lost after entering the time loop had suddenly returned. Yuanshi Tianzun's true name was Zhang Yuanqing! ... Battle of the Gods scenario. With a golden sun rising behind his head, Zhang Yuanqing sensed and interpreted the power of the Sun origin. Upon becoming the Lord of the Sun, he felt his soul undergo a complete metamorphosis. He could perceive many things he had never been able to perceive before, from molecules and atoms on a microscopic level to the operation of universal rules on a macroscopic scale. The world was like a figure stripped bare of clothing, laid out naked before him. At a single glance, he could see through the rules governing the world's operation, the molecular composition of matter, and the presence and form of countless elements. These were things that ordinary humans, and even Spirit Realm walkers, could never "see." If he had to accurately describe his current state, it was an ascent in dimension. And this was merely a secondary change brought about by the dimensional elevation of his life form. His greatest transformation lay in "rules" and "will." He had become the symbol of a certain set of rules, and his will was now the will of those rules. The nature of the rule he wielded, "Sunlight," remained unchanged, but its rank and authority had undergone an earth-shaking ascension. Sunlight had acquired "symbolism"—symbolizing the supremacy of the universe, symbolizing order and majesty. This "symbolism" materialized into divine authority, allowing Sunlight to erase all power, matter, and rules—the former two permanently, and the latter temporarily. For though rules differed in hierarchy, they all shared one universal characteristic: they were indelible! Furthermore, Sunlight could rectify distortions in conceptual and mental domains, turning chaos into order and restoring sanity to madness. Zhang Yuanqing swept his gaze across the Lord of the Stars, Asura, the Fear Heavenly King, the two Illusion Gods, and the Venom Dragon. Instantly, golden flames erupted from the bodies of the evil demigods. The flames seemed sentient, possessing a will of their own. Once ignited, they would not be extinguished, burning relentlessly until spiritual power was exhausted and form and soul were utterly destroyed. The two Illusion Gods repeatedly cast "Nothingness," dispelling the golden fire into oblivion, yet the flames continually reignited, dealing grievous blows to both their souls and physical bodies. The Fear Heavenly King's face contorted as the fire roasted him, yet he burst into intermittent, exhilarated laughter: "You are free, Demon Lord! You are free... Haha, hahaha... You are finally free..." The Venom Dragon likewise roared amid the golden flames. Foul sludge seeped from between its scales to form a mud-like barrier, only to be instantly incinerated by the solar fire. Though also demigods, and practitioners of evil classes who never feared orthodox demigods of equivalent rank, they felt an unprecedented sense of powerlessness before the Lord of the Sun. It was the helplessness of exhausting every conceivable measure yet remaining utterly unable to escape suppression. Except to flee, there was no way out. This was absolute crushing on the level of universal rules. Their spiritual power and the rules they wielded were disintegrating. Only Asura endured the burning flames through his pure physical resilience. Expressionless, he turned his head to the Lord of the Stars and said, "Let's leave!" Now that the Lord of the Sun had been born, the barrier enveloping the exterior of the scenario had vanished. The Lord of the Stars said, "It is they who should leave!" As he spoke, starlight flared violently within his eye sockets, blazing like two high-powered xenon lamps. In the next second, the newly ascended Lord of the Sun, along with the Void demigod, the Goddess of Beauty, and Ancestor Xie, heard the Spirit Realm's notification ringing in their ears: [Ding! Congratulations on completing the multiplayer Spirit Realm quest—Battle of the Gods, ID 00, difficulty level unknown. Now calculating rewards...] [Rewards being calculated... Items/props acquired: None] [Reward experience points: Zero] [Main quest calculation complete!] [Calculation finished! Exiting the Spirit Realm immediately...] "It really is you!" Zhang Yuanqing said coldly as he looked at the Lord of the Stars just before vanishing. The Lord of the Stars offered no reply. Once the demigods of the orthodox faction had departed the scenario, the Lord of the Stars looked at the evil demigods and spoke: "Next, I will conceal this scenario and concentrate on accommodating Taiyin. With the status of both the Lord of the Stars and the Lord of Taiyin, I will engage in the final contest against him. "For now, leave this place and return to reality. Conceal yourselves in guild scenarios and communicate with your respective deities. Ten days from now, you must exit your guild scenarios, and I will summon you." Having escaped the blistering solar heat, the Southern School Illusion God exhaled gently, put out the golden flames clinging to his body, and asked, "What are your odds?" What were his odds of defeating the Lord of the Sun, and what were his odds of successfully assimilating the Taiyin origin? Under the watchful eyes of the gathered demigods, the Lord of the Stars spoke slowly: "The Sun origin is incomplete. Like Ling Tuo before he assembled the full Taiyin origin, he is an incomplete Lord of the Sun. That is why he did not resist and chose to exit the scenario. "He has no certainty of defeating me while I possess the Taiyin origin. If he had forced a battle, I would have assimilated Taiyin prematurely. At that point, I might have become another Twin Gods of Wind and Thunder—a maddened Lord of Taiyin and Stars would be far more troublesome. "If he had been a complete Lord of the Sun just now, all of you would have already returned to the Spirit Realm. "I am not confident I could defeat a complete Lord of the Sun, but I can engage in a race against him to see whether he pieces together the rest of the Sun origin first, or whether I finish accommodating the Taiyin origin first." Asura, who had been listening in silence, suddenly asked, "Where is the fragment of the Sun origin?" The Lord of the Stars turned to Asura and replied: "That is precisely the mission I need to entrust to you. The moment Yuanshi Tianzun became the Lord of the Sun, I foresaw it. I can discern its whereabouts in the real world. "Secure it, or prevent Yuanshi Tianzun from obtaining it, and we will secure victory. "However, I cannot leave this scenario, so this task must fall to you. You are the only demigod in the evil faction capable of contending with the Lord of the Sun." With that, the Lord of the Stars produced a leather scroll wrapped in starlight. The edges of the leather scroll were jagged and notched, looking ancient and weathered, inscribed with dense, intricate star charts. "This is the Luoshu. I have left a portion of my divine soul within it. When it divines the opportune moment, it will feed back to you in the form of a dream." The Lord of the Stars handed the Luoshu to Asura. Next, the Lord of the Stars looked at the evil demigods. "Communicate with your respective deities. My requirement is that you do everything in your power to counter and restrain the orthodox deity who sent Yuanshi Tianzun into this scenario. If possible, I want detailed information on that deity." Having made all the arrangements, he sent the evil demigods out of the scenario. The Lord of the Stars brought forth the black full moon, allowing its pure, pitch-black power to spread across the entire scenario, swallowing the desolate earth and the slumbering demigods. This "star" promptly vanished from the Spirit Realm.