Sea of Consciousness, the Plan's "Version Iteration"

Night was as dark as ink. Huo Yuhao sat cross-legged, his consciousness slowly sinking into the vast, boundless Sea of Consciousness.

This was his foundation, and also his greatest secret.

At the center of the milky-white Sea of Consciousness, four enormous figures floated quietly. One was a massive silkworm chrysalis, adorably plump yet emanating a majestic aura. Another was the gorgeous and imposing Ice Jade Emperor Scorpion, radiating Extreme Ice. There was also a phantomlike yet sacred golden figure.

Above them, a huge gray eye that seemed to contain the cycle of life and death slowly opened.

"Little Yuhao, you're here." Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's honest voice echoed through the Sea of Consciousness. "Your emotions were... extremely turbulent today. Did that kid named Ji Juechen scare you that badly?"

"More than that." Ice Empress's cool voice rang out, carrying a trace of displeasure. "It was simply the greatest humiliation! The power of our Extreme Ice was actually 'dismantled' in that manner by a mere two-ring Soul Master! Yuhao, let me take action tomorrow and freeze him into an ice sculpture!"

"Calm down, Ice Empress." Huo Yuhao's voice was exceptionally calm, yet filled with an unprecedented gravity. "If he can even predict the structural weaknesses in your attacks, the result will be the same."

"What?!" Even Ice Empress's scorpion tail shot upright. She could not understand how her Extreme Power, possessed by a mighty Seven-Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast, could possibly have "structural weaknesses."

Ignoring her shock, Huo Yuhao turned his gaze toward the silent golden figure—Electrolux.

"Elder Yi, did you see it?"

A trace of approval appeared in Electrolux's all-seeing eyes. "I did. A very interesting young man. He walks a path of using 'reason' to command 'power,' treating all things as a solvable 'chess game.' Yuhao, what you encountered today was not an opponent, but a mirror."

"A mirror..." Huo Yuhao savored the word, his gaze becoming incomparably sharp. "That's right—a mirror that revealed the greatest flaw in our God Creation Plan!"

Sky Dream Ice Silkworm and Ice Empress were both stunned.

"Little Yuhao, what are you talking about? Our plan is perfect!" Sky Dream Ice Silkworm grew anxious. "I'm giving you Million Years of spiritual origin, Ice Empress is giving you the Extreme Ice martial soul, and in the future you can obtain Hundred-Thousand-Year soul rings and soul bones... You'll possess the strongest soul ring configuration in history, the strongest combination of soul skills. You'll become a mobile nuclear weapon. How could that have a flaw?"

"It does!" Huo Yuhao said decisively. "The greatest flaw is ourselves!"

He took a deep breath and constructed an image within the Sea of Consciousness of Ji Juechen fighting.

"Tian Meng, your Mental Probe Sharing is an information 'broadcast,' but it has 'nodes' that can be disrupted and severed!"

"Ice Empress, your Extreme Ice is the 'extreme' of energy, but it has a 'structure' that can be dismantled through logic!"

"We've always been doing 'addition'! Constantly adding powerful 'components' to you, turning you into an increasingly complex 'machine'!"

Huo Yuhao's voice grew louder and louder, filled with unprecedented passion and enlightenment.

"But Ji Juechen told us that no matter how complex a machine is, as long as it has blueprints, it can be dismantled! He isn't fighting us—he's 'dismantling' us! Every soul skill, every ability we possess, is an open book in his eyes!"

The Sea of Consciousness fell into Deathly Silence.

For the first time, Sky Dream Ice Silkworm and Ice Empress, these two peak Soul Beasts who had lived for hundreds of thousands of years, felt a chill rise from the depths of their hearts. The power they had been so proud of seemed so... fragile before another, higher dimension of "wisdom."

"Then... what should we do?" Even Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's voice trembled slightly.

"We revise the plan." Wisdom blazed in Huo Yuhao's eyes. "From today onward, our God Creation Plan enters Version 2.0!"

"Version 2.0?" Ice Empress frowned.

"That's right!" Huo Yuhao's gaze swept across the three presences. "We will no longer pursue mere 'stacking of power.' We will pursue Structural Optimization!"

"Tian Meng, your Spiritual Power can no longer be a simple 'broadcast'! I want you to help me transform the Sea of Consciousness into a Distributed Neural Network! There will be no central node. Every part will be a core. Sever one, and countless others will immediately take its place! I want my Spiritual Power to become a 'net' that cannot be dismantled!"

Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's enormous chrysalis shuddered violently, and unprecedented light burst from his eyes. "Distributed... Neural Network! My god, Little Yuhao, this idea of yours... If it succeeds, your Spiritual Power will become truly 'indestructible and immortal'!"

"Ice Empress!" Huo Yuhao turned toward her. "Your Extreme Ice can no longer be mere energy impact! I want you to teach me how to integrate 'rules' into it! Not to freeze with 'cold,' but to use the 'rules' of Absolute Zero to 'define' space! Let my ice no longer be an element, but a 'law'!"

For the first time, Ice Empress's exquisite face revealed an expression woven from shock and wild delight. "Ice of laws... Yuhao, you... you actually thought of this! This is already approaching the domain of gods!"

Finally, Huo Yuhao looked toward Electrolux and bowed deeply.

"Elder Yi, the key to all of this lies in 'me.' In the upgrade of me, this 'Core Processor.' I need your wisdom to help me construct a brand-new Combat Operating System! One that no longer relies on soul skill 'shortcuts,' but can integrate all power, all wisdom, and all perception into one, instantly calculating the Optimal Solution—an OS!"

Electrolux's phantomlike golden figure let out a relieved and resounding laugh.

"Hahaha... Good! What a 'Combat Operating System'! Yuhao, you finally understand. True strength does not lie in how much power one possesses, but in the 'wisdom' to command that power!"

"My remaining divine consciousness will serve as the underlying architecture of your OS. Go, child. From today onward, you are no longer our 'creation.' You are our shared 'creator'!"

God Creation Plan 2.0 officially began!

That night, in a corner of Shrek Academy, within a young soul, an unprecedented "version iteration" concerning the path to godhood quietly began.