All Things Are Contracts

In an underground palace, where sunlight never reaches, a series of mirrors were carried out by puppets and arranged in two neat rows. Soon after, black shadows appeared in the mirrors as the Great Lords gathered once again.

“The Illumination Goddess is really still alive?! The Strategist’s guess was correct!”

“Sigh, was our sudden attack right or wrong? Not only did we fail to achieve good results, but we also exposed our strength, putting them on guard.”

“Besides the Illumination Goddess, a batch of new experts has emerged among humans. They’re powerful, seemingly no weaker than the Four Symbol Lords of the past. Should we wait for His Majesty the Corpse Emperor to awaken before making a decision?”

“Human talents keep emerging, geniuses appearing one after another. If we give them another hundred years to develop, I’m afraid we’ll be at a disadvantage.”

The Great Lords expressed their views, all dissatisfied with the current state of the war. The ability to ignore Illumination Towers wasn’t something everyone had, and this trump card had been countered by the Illumination Goddess.

Amidst the clamor, one mirror lit up, and everyone instantly fell silent.

“Greetings, Strategist,” everyone said in unison.

“No need for formalities,” the Strategist’s calm voice came through. “I played a trump card, and they responded with one of their own. This isn’t a loss, so don’t worry too much. Proceed according to the previous plan, eliminate all living beings outside the range of the Illumination Towers.”

“Yes,” everyone responded. Now that the great war had begun, Nightmares’ large-scale actions were no longer concealed. Previously, humans could still have some village outposts in the wild, but this time the Nightmares planned a large-scale cleansing operation. Villages, outposts, relay stations – none would be spared. They would cut off human trade routes and eliminate any possibility of human survival in the wild, forcing all humans to be confined within city walls, daring to venture out only during the day.

“Human geniuses are numerous, and it’s uncertain when His Majesty the Corpse Emperor will awaken. We can’t afford to wait. That’s all, everyone organize attacks according to the original plan,” the Strategist never dragged things out, quickly ending the meeting.

Although the Illumination Goddess protected human cities with the secret technique of Celestial Star Wheel Illumination, villages and various outposts and relay stations outside the cities all suffered massive destruction. Humans retreated from the wilderness back into the cities, no longer daring to step out. Resources became tight everywhere, prices soared, and trade routes were cut off. An unprecedented crisis loomed over all races, not just humans; other races weren’t faring well either.

Deep underground, a pale-skinned man ventured in, with a strange bird perched on his shoulder. The man and bird walked for a long time, finally arriving at an underground cavern. Here, cold winds blew constantly, the temperature extremely low. Underground water froze while lava spurted from cracks. The cold and heat created an eerie atmosphere.

In the center of the cave, several giant spiders circled. These spiders had twelve blood-red eyes on their backs, and their webs were woven into a giant cocoon, which these spiders guarded. The cocoon pulsated rhythmically, like breathing. Sealed within this demonic cocoon was naturally the leader of the Nightmares – the Corpse Emperor.

The Strategist looked at this giant cocoon with an extremely solemn expression. The strange bird on his shoulder excitedly asked, “Is His Majesty the Corpse Emperor about to awaken?”

The Strategist nodded. The cave’s light came entirely from the lava’s glow, casting everything in a red hue. In his hand appeared a white sword, pure white throughout, emitting something like holy light. The sword hilt was carved with the image of a strong man holding a torch to illuminate the darkness. The strange bird, seeing this sword, flew far away in fright.

“It’s the Holy Sword!” It recognized this sword as the Nightmares’ bane – the Holy Sword.

“Strategist, why is this legendary holy object in your possession?” The bird was astonished; this thing shouldn’t exist in this world.

The Strategist leapt towards the giant demonic cocoon. Several demon spiders noticed his movement and were about to attack. The Strategist uttered a single word – “Freeze!” The demon spiders truly froze in place.

“True Word Technique! The Strategist has mastered the True Word Technique!” The bird was again surprised.

The Strategist plunged the Holy Sword directly into the giant demonic cocoon. The cocoon shook for a long time before settling. Its originally powerful aura now became weak.

“This way, it will take at least several decades to awaken,” the Strategist said, pulling out the Holy Sword and returning to his original position.

“Strategist, why did you do this?” The bird, though a Nightmare, was loyal to the Strategist rather than the Corpse Emperor. It was just puzzled by the Strategist’s motives.

“Humans and Nightmares are two sides of the same coin; there will never be a true victory or defeat between them. The Corpse Emperor and those who call themselves ‘gods’ are the real enemies. Humans have finally produced a ‘sage’, who cannot die here. The Illumination Goddess achieving ‘godhood’ will certainly attract attention from above. This is an opportunity to break the deadlock. I just worry that this forgotten place of exile will be forever forgotten by them. Only if they remember do we have a chance,” the Strategist spoke mysteriously, words the bird couldn’t understand at all.

“Who are ‘they’, and what is our chance?” The bird asked, puzzled.

“The detestable beings who enslave all will. The chance? Naturally, the chance to regain free will,” the Strategist looked at the Holy Sword in his hand. “For that slim chance, this ruse must continue, no matter how many people die, it must go on.”

Everything the Strategist planned was unknown to the Nightmares, the Ghost Shark clan, the myriad races, the Illumination Goddess, and certainly not to Zhanyue. Yet all people, all forces were already entangled in it.

“According to my plan, that human ‘Holy Son’ should enter the Book World soon. The Illumination Goddess exposing her ‘divine nature’ will certainly put her on their ‘must kill’ list, so that ‘Holy Son’ will definitely not accept their recruitment. He will eventually stand before me seeking help. As the most important piece in the plan, I hope you won’t disappoint me,” the Strategist’s lips curled into a confident smile. Zhanyue’s sudden rise and his relationship with the Illumination Goddess were unexpected joys for him, giving him an even more weighty bargaining chip.

In the academy town, Zhanyue naturally didn’t know the Strategist was thinking of him. He was worrying about how to face Gong Xiaoyu in the future. Should he pretend nothing happened? Wouldn’t that be too scummy? But his relationship with her wasn’t that intimate, was it?

“Star Profound Realm now,” Zhanyue refocused, feeling the surging power within him. Then, he summoned three flames – gold, blue, and green: the Sun Prime Fire, Earth Vein Ghost Fire, and Human Desire Fire, expertly controlling them. He then used the “Three Mysteries Fire Fusion Technique”, instantly fusing the three flames into one milky white flame – the Three Talents Wondrous Fire. However, Zhanyue still didn’t know the marvelous uses of this fire.

“This flame seems to have an endless power, I wonder what amazing properties it has,” Zhanyue pondered, looking at the milky white flame in his palm.

“Kid, come quickly!” Soon after, Thunder Lord’s voice transmission reached Zhanyue’s ears.

When Zhanyue arrived, there were already eight people in the room, making nine including him. They were Thunder Lord, Sword Lord, the Alchemist, Wind Lord, Holy Maiden Lixi, Gong Xiaoyu, Mi Hongchen, and a middle-aged man wearing a yellow robe with a noble aura.

Gong Xiaoyu glanced at Zhanyue once before looking away, as if nothing had happened between them before. However, her realm had broken through to Spirit God.

“Zhanyue, you know everyone else. Let me introduce you to this person – he is the Eastern Kingdom’s Emperor,” Thunder Lord said, pointing to the middle-aged man.

Zhanyue’s pupils contracted slightly. No wonder this man had such a noble aura and somewhat resembled Mi Hongchen in his features. So he was the Eastern Kingdom’s Emperor, Mi Hongchen’s father.

“Greetings, Your Majesty,” Zhanyue said respectfully.

“No need for formalities. This isn’t the imperial court; we can address each other as uncle and nephew,” said the Eastern Kingdom’s Emperor, Mi Donglai. Everyone standing here was of high status; no one was nobler than the others, so only relationships of seniors and juniors applied.

Mi Hongchen looked Zhanyue over and praised, “Broken through to the Profound Realm?” Then she looked at Gong Xiaoyu with a troubled expression, “I’m not surprised he broke through to the Profound Realm, but why did you break through to the Spirit God Realm? Good sister, do you have some secret method? Can you teach me?”

Gong Xiaoyu was at a loss for words, not knowing how to answer. “Just good luck, I suppose. With your talent, breaking through to Spirit God Realm is just a matter of time.” Zhanyue noticed Gong Xiaoyu’s glance towards him, tinged with killing intent, and tried to appear calm. He knew she was threatening him not to mention what happened before.

“Alright, Hongchen, enough chatter. We’ve gathered everyone today mainly for two things. First, to inform everyone about the news from Dragon Lord. Second, matters related to opening the Book World,” Mi Donglai urged his daughter.

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