Chapter 254 - 215: Overthinking

Chapter 254: Chapter 215: Overthinking

The Divine Realm.

This was not Zhang Ji’s first visit to this realm.

However, his previous visits had been back when he was playing a game.

This world, much like the capital of Su Ya’s kingdom within the Sea of Taboos, was a sub-plane—a space carved out of the original dimension.

In truth, even for a Demigod, slicing off a fragment of independent space to create a Ruins Realm was an extremely difficult task. It had to be compressed to a minuscule size and a complete, self-sustaining system had to be built. The resulting world-space was still tiny, making the effort completely outweigh the reward.

It was far more convenient to simply isolate a section of space and create a sub-plane.

The prototypes for Divine Countries were essentially these kinds of sub-planes.

Only when they decided to ascend would they sever it completely, raise their Divine Country, and escape into the void.

The Divine Realm was vast—considerably larger, even, than the Lan’er Mortal Realm.

After all, it had to accommodate eight Demigods and their retinues, so of course the space couldn’t be small.

In the Divine Palace of Light, amidst the massive palace structures, one could see traces of many Demonal Creatures, including the rare Light Elves.

Tens of thousands of years ago, this race had been on the verge of extinction.

Their exquisite beauty and their special talent for affinity with the Light Element made them a coveted prize for all the major powers.

Unfortunately, the Light Elves were of a noble and proud temperament, refusing to suffer humiliation. They would often choose suicide over serving others, which was why this already slow-breeding demi-human race had been nearly driven to extinction.

Zhang Ji’s aura shifted, and he moved as if he were invisible. The surrounding Light Elves seemed not to see him at all, allowing him to step into the divine palace and make his way to the building where the God of Light resided.

Beside a pool of water that glowed with a pure white light, the God of Light was holding a bottle, drawing water from within.

The water inside was called Holy Water.

It was a high-concentration condensate of the Light Element, infused with Divine Power. It could easily wipe away all sorts of negative energies, making it incredibly useful for healing illnesses and dispelling negative statuses.

He handed the bottle to a divine attendant and waved him away before turning to face Zhang Ji, who had been waiting for some time.

Only now did Zhang Ji see his full appearance.

He had short golden hair. His features weren’t particularly delicate, but they gave off a healthy and trustworthy impression.

Peaceful, benevolent, kind, sunny... In a word, he was like the big brother from next door.

You would never imagine that such a person could be the ultimate mastermind behind a plot for the entire world.

In that plan, more than eighty percent of the world’s living beings would become the price for his ascension to godhood.

"I’ve heard your backstory," Zhang Ji said. "It’s said you were once a physician who saved the dying and healed the wounded. Later, to save a country suffering from a plague, you sacrificed yourself, using your own flesh and blood to end the disaster that swept the continent. After your death, your soul was reforged under the power of faith, and you became a god."

"Light is the most selfless of all things," Archer said. "Not because of good, nor because of evil, but simply because it exists, and therefore must shine."

Zhang Ji understood what he meant.

This God of Light did not shine because of his believers’ faith; he shone simply for the sake of shining.

The sun hangs in the sky. It doesn’t exist for you living beings; it simply is, and you just happen to share in its light.

As the great sun, it never cares whether you slander or love it. It is indifferent, just as a god is indifferent to the love and hatred of their believers.

"So you manufactured that plague to complete your ritual?" Zhang Ji asked, shaking his head with a smile.

That’s right. From the very beginning, Archer himself had created that plague.

He laid the groundwork for a long time, all to create an opportunity for himself to shine. Then, he took the stage to perform. It was as simple as that.

It was a ritual of divine ascension!

And the price was the end of hundreds of millions of lives.

"The people of the world are always foolish," Archer said. "They can’t distinguish right from wrong, or good from bad, nor can they comprehend the benefits and drawbacks. The truth itself doesn’t matter. As long as you provide the right emotional appeal, they will move in the direction you desire."

"I agree with you on that point," Zhang Ji said.

The power of the masses, when gathered, is indeed extraordinary.

But with too many minds in the mix, clarity is lost. They end up just repeating what others say. This is the herd mentality.

That is why a guide with great power and a clear mind is needed to integrate that swarm of countless individuals—who constantly waste their energy on internal strife—and make them move in a single direction.

"I thought you came to criticize me," Archer said with a faint smile.

"Of course not," Zhang Ji said. "In fact, I’m more extreme than you. If it were me, I wouldn’t have stopped at killing so few intelligent beings."

"But if too many die, you can’t gather enough faith," Archer said, shaking his head.

"I’ve never played with your side’s system, so I don’t really get the calculations," Zhang Ji said. "But you’re the professional, so I imagine your arrangement is reasonable enough."

"Then, are you here to ask for my teachings, Your Excellency?" Archer asked.

"No." Zhang Ji shook his head. "I’m here to kill you."

The words were spoken calmly, naturally, as if he were talking about eating a meal or drinking water.

Archer, however, was not surprised. Zhang Ji had made no effort to conceal his killing intent.

From the moment Zhang Ji appeared, the two of them had already been clashing.

It was a clash that transcended the ordinary material plane.

Within the realm of future possibilities, they had already exchanged countless blows.

Of course, that was merely a simulation; it didn’t mean any of it would actually happen. But it was like a person facing a knife pressed against their throat—you know with absolute certainty that if the blade pierces your neck, you will die.

Right now, Zhang Ji was that knife.

Between them, two different energy fields were already fluctuating, causing the entire space to twist and distort.

The Zhang Ji present here was only a portion of his true self—about sixty percent of it, to be precise.

But his combat power could not be calculated as a simple sixty percent.

That was because an extra point in an attribute doesn’t just produce an extra point of effect; it stacks with the previous attributes, unleashing far more extreme possibilities.

Thus, the current Zhang Ji only possessed about one-tenth of the combat power of his complete self.

This was why he almost never considered using clone techniques in battle.

But to fight the God of Light, sixty percent of his self was more than enough.

Without any warning, Archer was the first to attack.

Berserk, Demigod-level energy surged forth. A majestic Gathering of Divine Power of light erupted from his Divine Format, extremely condensed, and then was unleashed directly upon Zhang Ji.

The platinum-gold pillar of light, seeming to connect heaven and earth, completely enveloped Zhang Ji.

This power was enough to punch through the planet’s surface, strike its very core, and destroy everything.

Indeed, the Divine Realm itself trembled from the attack. The grounds of the Divine Palace of Light were shattered and destroyed, and countless amounts of matter were annihilated by the Divine Power of light.

Yet across from Archer, a dark red Primordial Energy surfaced around Zhang Ji, whose body remained as steady as a mountain.

’Such a feeble attack. And this is a god?’

Zhang Ji was a little disappointed. To think he’d even been cautious enough to consider the possibility of failure and prepare an escape route for himself.

But clearly, it wasn’t needed.

A sword materialized in Archer’s palm.

It was the Sword of Light, the weapon he had once used in battle, later sublimated by Divine Power and faith into a Divine Artifact.

As the sword slashed down, its trajectory was profound and impossible to trace. In an instant, the blade itself disappeared, its light vanishing into the void as it entered a sub-atomic state.

This one sword strike had transcended the Extraordinary and entered the realm of the sacred!

Across the entire world, even a Demigod would be hard-pressed to say they could certainly dodge it.

Unfortunately, in front of Zhang Ji, this display was rather pathetic.

Stretching out his hand, Zhang Ji summoned a Demon-Subduing Pestle into his palm. It was inscribed with the vicious visages of asuras, created specifically to slay evil demons.

The Demon-Subduing Pestle spun and, in an instant, shot forward.

This strike had locked onto its target from the very source of causality.

During his previous chat with Archer, Zhang Ji had gleaned all of his target’s information.

Therefore, Archer could not avoid it, could not dodge it, and could not defend against it.

Duels between low-level Extraordinary beings are mostly a contest of power levels. At higher levels, however, the contest is not just about power, but also about the degree of information one has mastered.

Maintaining an air of mystery is the key to battle at this level.

Of course, if you run into the type who can work miracles with brute force—someone who can shatter a star with a single blow—then mastering more information is probably useless.

The best solution is simply not to fight them.

The tip of the Demon-Subduing Pestle shot out, effortlessly piercing Archer’s Divine Power barrier and striking his sword. Instantly, the blade shattered at its weakest point.

This sword had originally been ascended from common iron. In terms of material strength, it was probably inferior to even the charred World Tree. Its true strength lay in its ability to bear the blessing of the Divine Power of light.

Unfortunately, that was ineffective against Zhang Ji.

The next moment, the Demon-Subduing Pestle vanished, and a hole appeared in Archer’s body.

Right in the center of his chest.

It had shattered the Divine Format within him.

The dark red Primordial Energy spread like fire, searing the edges of the wound and rapidly devouring his Divine Body.

The battle had already alerted the other seven Demigods, and they were on their way. Zhang Ji did not leave. He planned to make a few modifications to the story and "reveal" the Divine Emperor’s plot to control the God of Light, joining forces with the seven gods to execute the ultimate evil that sought to possess the world.

...

...

「The Mortal Realm.」

「Outside the temple.」

The one who had obstructed Zhang Ji, the Twelfth Seat of the Crown of Sinful Thorns, [Faceless Shadow], had already been vanquished.

As an avatar, his power was not great. A casual strike from Zhang Ji had already turned him to dust.

The Primordial Energy had destroyed him. Zhang Ji sent Mikhail away and walked into the grand hall alone.

Inside the grand hall, a massive body of flesh sat high upon a divine throne.

The word "powerful" could not begin to describe that physical form.

It was over thirty feet tall, clad in golden armor and wearing an imperial crown of seven-colored gems. Its aura was powerful, profound, and immeasurable.

A Divine Corpse!

This was a true Divine Corpse!

The Divine Emperor’s physical body had already stepped into the realm of a True God.

Unfortunately, this Divine Body had been severely damaged, leaving it broken and incomplete.

The Lord of Entropy had placed the core of the Divine Country into the chest of the Divine Emperor’s corpse to serve as its Divine Format and power source.

To be precise, Archer was not yet dead. Just as Zhang Ji had split in two, with both parts being himself, the Lord of Entropy here was also Archer.

At this very moment, Archer was sitting within the opened chest of the Divine Emperor. Inside, countless fine, fleshy tendrils were growing to envelop and consume him.

This was part of the incarnation ritual. Next, he would merge completely with this Divine Corpse and ascend to godhood!

In the Celestial Essence Realm, there were similar possession techniques that could be used by Nascent Soul cultivators, but they were not as powerful as this incarnation ritual.

After all, this was a true Divine Body!

Zhang Ji made a tentative slash, sending a Primordial Sword Gang flying. The dark red energy shot directly toward the Divine Emperor’s body, but it was intercepted mid-flight by an outstretched fist.

"BOOM!"

A single, simple punch directly shattered the Primordial Sword Gang, giving the energy no chance to explode, destroying it at an almost fundamental, material level.

Suddenly, the Divine Emperor’s eyes snapped open and looked toward Zhang Ji. At this moment, the Lord of Entropy was in control of the body.

"I know you are a Saint Spirit Warrior of the Moon God, but I am not the Divine Emperor of Su Ya. I have no intention of opposing that great existence. If you retreat now, we can avoid a meaningless battle."

The Divine Emperor’s mouth did not move; the voice came from the Lord of Entropy.

The Lord of Entropy had already constructed his own narrative.

He was certain that Zhang Ji was one of the Moon God Helrock’s Saint Spirit Believers, sent to pull up the weeds and dig out the roots—to help the Moon God completely eliminate any possibility of the Divine Emperor’s revival.

Even if he defeated Zhang Ji here, there were likely many more Saint Spirits waiting in the wings, perhaps even a True God ready to intervene. Unless absolutely necessary, he wanted to resolve this problem as peacefully as possible.