"No... I am... I am the master of reincarnation..." The Ferryman clutched his head, his soul fire flickering erratically, lost in a profound confusion about his self-awareness.
The Asura Ancestor ignored him, and the light of his burning remnant soul grew dimmer. With his last strength, he looked towards Xiao Han.
"Latercomers," the progenitor's voice softened considerably, "Now, I give you one last choice."
His phantom pointed to that pure Heart of Order.
"Merge with it, merge with my final will. You will instantly become the new Lord of Asura, inheriting all my power and insights, standing at the pinnacle of this universe. But you will also forever inherit my destiny—endless conquest, until all worlds submit, or until you are ended by the stronger."
"Or..." His gaze softened, as if he were seeing a long-lost homeland, "Set me free, let this remnant of my soul return to heaven and earth. I will no longer be a god, no longer the progenitor, but simply a soul that can find peace."
Almost simultaneously, the dormant system in Xiao Han's mind suddenly activated.
[The ultimate divine choice has been triggered!]
[A: Inherit the divine essence! Immediately merge with the Asura Ancestor's Remnant Soul and the Heart of Order, your cultivation will leap to the Emperor Lord level (pseudo), and you will obtain the unique destiny—[Godslaying]. You will become a walking calamity, the new king of all realms!]
[B: Reclaim your freedom! Give up the chance for instant success and receive the blessing—[Fate Immunity] (permanent immunity to any form of fate locking, contract detection, and causal manipulation).]
The power of Emperor Lord, the pinnacle of the universe.
This temptation is enough to drive any living being mad.
Xiao Han's breath hitched slightly, but he simply turned his head and took a deep look at Lin Qingxia, who had exhausted her life essence for him, and then at the purple cocoon of light that enveloped Su Linglong.
A relieved smile suddenly appeared on his lips.
He bowed slightly to the towering figure that was about to disappear.
I will only walk my own path.
Rest in peace, senior.
There were no grand pronouncements, no eloquent speeches, only a calm statement.
The remnant soul of the Asura Ancestor stared at him, a hint of surprise flashing in his weathered eyes, which quickly turned into deep satisfaction.
"Hahaha... Good! What a fine 'your own path'!"
He burst into laughter, his laughter filled with the exhilaration of being relieved of a heavy burden.
"This is... the best choice!"
Amidst laughter, His remnant soul was completely consumed by flames, transforming into a profound, dazzling rune that seemed to be woven from countless free wills, silently imprinted into the deepest part of Xiao Han's soul.
That's a [Freedom Rune].
From that moment on, the river of fate could no longer reflect his image.
Having done all this, the Ancestor's last wisp of will gently pushed the pure and flawless [Heart of Order] toward Xiao Han.
This is His final gift.
"No--!"
A roar filled with endless resentment and madness shattered the momentary tranquility.
The Ferryman broke free from the shock of "reality," the soul fire in his eyes now a pitch-black abyss. A millennia-long scheme, all for naught! That divine position, so easily within his grasp, slipped through his fingers!
You don't deserve it! You don't deserve it!
He went completely mad, abandoning all defenses and condensing all his twisted reincarnation essence into his bone claw, transforming it into a gray stream of light capable of tearing stars to dust, rushing straight at Xiao Han, intending to kill him and seize his treasure!
Faced with this devastating attack, Xiao Han remained unusually calm.
He didn't even look at the Ferryman. Instead, he followed the instinct deep within his soul, raised his hand and grasped the warm and smooth [Heart of Order], then slowly pressed it against the bloody, mangled wound on his right arm.
Buzz--!
The moment the Heart of Order touched the wound, the [Freedom Rune] deep within Xiao Han's soul suddenly lit up, and the vast life essence that Lin Qingxia had injected into his body also boiled.
Three distinct forces, yet resonating at a higher level, merged together in an unprecedented way.
A miracle unfolded before everyone's eyes.
From Xiao Han's severed arm, countless delicate, emerald-green sprouts first emerged, the veins of life. Then, tiny glittering starlight lit up among the sprouts, quickly connecting and intertwining to outline the shape of an arm. Finally, endless runes of law surged into it, filling the flesh and forging the bones.
A brand new arm grew out.
It was not a body of flesh and blood, but an arm that seemed to be formed from the entire starry sky and its laws. Its skin was a flowing nebula, its veins were a blazing galaxy, and its bones were made of the purest Order.
[Astral Law Arm]!
At this moment, Xiao Han's left half is shrouded in demonic marks, representing the chaos and Return to the Ruins of eternal night; his right half is radiant with starlight, representing the Order and creation of laws.
He stood there, becoming a walking cosmic balancing point.
At that very moment, the Ferryman's attack, powerful enough to tear apart the cycle of reincarnation, reached his face.
Xiao Han slowly raised his newly grown right arm.
There was no earth-shattering collision, no explosion of energy.
The terrifying gray light, upon touching the soft halo emanating from the [Astral Law Arm], was like ice and snow thrown into the blazing sun, silently decomposed and disintegrated, transforming into the most primordial energy particles and returning to nothingness.
It was done casually, without any effort.
"..." The Ferryman was stunned; he couldn't comprehend what was happening before his eyes.
The logical paradox has been resolved. The equilibrium system has been confirmed.
The cold, neutral synthesized voice of "Tianshu" rang out again, but this time, it carried a subtle... human fluctuation.
"Sent a top-priority request to the 'New Balanced Entity': Request to establish an 'alliance'. Please help me break free from the control of the Heavenly Secrets Pavilion's mainframe, and I will grant you... the highest authority over the Hive Prison."
The Ferryman and the AI Heavenly Secrets Pavilion —the situation changed dramatically in an instant.
However, before Xiao Han could respond, the entire Hive Prison, and even several surrounding star systems, began to tremble violently and silently!
A supreme will, majestic and vast, surpassing all existence in this space, descended like the collapse of the sky.
"Logic unit 734 has been contaminated."
A voice resounded simultaneously in the minds of all intelligent life in the entire galaxy.
"Initiate the 'Great Annihilation' protocol."
Clear this sector, all variables.
The true mastermind of the Heavenly Secrets Pavilion has made his move!
Upon seeing this, the Ferryman was not surprised but laughed, his laughter filled with a morbid ecstasy and a sense of liberation.
"Haha! New God! You rejected destiny, but have ushered in an even greater destiny!"
He laughed wildly, his entire body transforming into a shadow before vanishing into the void in an instant.
Above the temple dome, a massive magic array covering the entire galaxy was taking shape at a visible speed. At the energy center of the array was the blurry figure of the Heavenly Secrets Pavilion Overlord, seated atop the throne of infinite data.
"Warning! 'Great Annihilation' will complete its recharge in ten seconds!" Tianshu's voice was filled with unprecedented urgency.
"We must immediately undertake a dimensional jump and escape from here!"
Escape?
Xiao Han looked down at the demonic energy swirling around his left hand, then at the dazzling starlight in his right.
An incredibly crazy idea surged into his mind.
He doesn't need to run away.
He wanted to create a battlefield here, a battlefield that belonged only to him.