As the chess pieces shattered.
A mournful cry rang out, as if someone had died.
Li Chen's fingers trembled slightly. "A Jin..." The student he had met at the Canglan Academy, with whom he had a slight relationship, was now reduced to shattered pieces.
He knew these chess pieces were definitely not just for show.
I never expected it to be this terrifying; Li Chen is trying to kill the chicken to assassinate the Marquis.
Li Chen picked up another chess piece, his tone still flat and indifferent. "Do you want to ascend to godhood?"
Li Chen hesitated for a second before answering, "I want to... of course I want to." But Li Chen chuckled lightly, clenched his fist, and another mournful cry rang out.
"Too slow to answer." Li Chen then picked up another chess piece, this time looking at him and asking, "What do you think is the one Forbidden to possess?"
"Is it emotion, or bondage, or something that certain people should have, such as 'desire'?"
Li Chen hesitated for a few seconds before answering, "Forbidden things should be abandoned..."
Li Chen smiled and nodded, but still crushed the chess piece in his hand, turning it into a cloud of powder that drifted into the void.
"Indeed, Forbidden shouldn't have feelings or emotions. Now it's your turn."
"Since that's your opinion, why don't you crush all the chess pieces in front of you with your own hands?"
Li Chen's pupils contracted slightly, but he hesitated to make a move.
The moment the fingers touched the light, they burst into flames, but not because of pain that they hesitated.
Li Chen seemed to have lost interest in speaking, "I can't bring myself to do it. Do you want me to help you?"
"If you can't even get past this hurdle, how will you ascend to godhood?"
Li Chen fell silent... looking at the chess pieces on the board, one after another, as if seeing each familiar face appear before him. He knew Li Chen's purpose.
Cut ties with the past?
To completely abandon everything...
If it were just in the real world, and he encountered familiar people and faces, he might have let them go. But now, Li Chen wanted him to destroy everything and sever all ties.
Li Chen's soft voice came through, "Is that not allowed?"
"Now that you are about to ascend to godhood, are you unwilling?"
"Then what's the point of even talking about stepping into the Forbidden? You might as well just sink into the abyss..."
Li Chen's eyes hardened, and he suddenly gripped a chess piece, squeezing it tightly. A sharp pain shot through his palm, as if his very soul had been bitten.
Li Chen laughed loudly, "Good, good, good."
"Keep going!"
Li Chen picked up another chess piece and crushed it once more.
This time he was decisive, but as the number of pieces on the chessboard dwindled, the moment of truth finally arrived.
Five chess pieces are suspended above.
If these five pieces are ordered according to their distinct auras, they are Su Zhe, Mu Hen, Su Xian, Ji Shao, Yu Qingnian... while the other pieces turn into powder and dissipate.
Li Chen chuckled meaningfully twice and remained silent.
Li Chen remained silent for a long time... Were these five people important to him?... Undoubtedly, they were. Su Zhe was his childhood playmate and his first friend. Mu Hen, Su Xian, Ji Shao were friends he made later, but he considered them family. Yu Qingnian was, needless to say, his mentor...
Now he has to choose among these five people... no, crush them all. Can he do it?
His memory hadn't faded, nor had it been completely lost. If he hadn't known these things, he could have done it, but now... his inner choice was to give up.
But the Path to Godhood is right before our eyes!
Just one step away, just one step.
Suddenly, Li Chen looked at Li Chen and asked, "Why... can't you just tell me?"
Is this what you wanted to see?
"Is this what you wanted to see—that I lose everything?"
Li Chen leaned back in his chair, letting the light shine on him, and laughed heartily, "Puhahaha," for an unknown amount of time before stopping.
What I want to see?
"I'll tell you straight, Li Chen, the reason people can't ascend to godhood is because they have too many distracting thoughts. You're not like them, yet you're like them, but you're not them either."
Are there many people in the world who want to become gods?
"Of course there are many."
But do they possess the ability to ascend to godhood?
Do they possess the Authority to control it?
"And you now possess all these qualities; there are countless people who aspire to become gods."
"You're the only one with emotions? You're the only one who wants to protect something?"
So what exactly are you doing right now?
"The end of the world? Or is it just a deception of everyone?"
Li Chen's face was almost touching Li Chen's, and he whispered, "You want to die, don't you?"
Li Chen clutched the chess piece tightly in his hand and remained silent.
Li Chen continued, "I know that your desire for freedom has never been for yourself, but rather to free others from this cage."
You can fool others, but you can't fool me.
"Your heart is too soft, so soft that it breaks at the slightest touch. Once someone shows you a little kindness, you'll silently remember it, but you're not good at expressing it. You can only rely on your own efforts to achieve your desired goals."
Am I right?
"The Tenderhearted Eerie Lord Li Chen?"
Li Chen stared silently at the chess pieces in his hand, his head slightly bowed.
Li Chen was right; he had hesitated and dared not... He dared to fight the whole world alone, but he didn't dare to kill the few people he knew.
Others can't see his face because he always wears a mask... but there will always be a moment when he takes off the mask.
Li Chen understood that if he really went to do it, his last vestige of humanity would vanish, and at that moment he would truly have no weaknesses left.
"Li Chen, where... is my final destination?"
"Is it the Forbidden that is devouring me, or am I devouring the Forbidden? And why do you want to help me so much?"
"I once questioned you, doubted you... etc., but now the final moment has arrived, and it's time for you to tell me." Li Chen suddenly crushed the chess piece in his hand, which carried a trace of Su Zhe's aura, his body trembling uncontrollably, yet he still questioned him.
Li Chen smiled, stood up, looked at Li Chen, took out a black key from his pocket, and said, "Isn't the finish line right under your feet?"
"I haven't moved."
"Have you even seen it?"
Have you noticed?
At this moment, the dark stripes danced gracefully.
The surrounding void began to shift, and a dark staircase appeared before Li Chen. Li Chen stood beside him, smiling slightly, and said, "Let's go."
"Isn't this the Path to Godhood you wanted?"
"Isn't what's right in front of you what you want?"
"Didn't you want to become God?"
Just as Li Chen was about to take his first step, a furious shout suddenly rang out.
"No, you can't leave!!"
"Li Chen, the Forbidden... is devouring you!"
Is that voice Eldritch God?
Why is his voice here?
Li Chen looked around at the void, where a huge face appeared, glaring angrily at Li Chen beside him.