His arrival

The words of Diviner should not be taken at face value.

Lin Yu knew this clearly.

The other party is a completely unreliable narrator, and every sentence must have been "processed"—even when he is stating facts, the "angle" he chooses often carries some kind of implication and expectation.

Talking to a "Diviner" is like watching a movie directed by a highly skilled and masterful Director.

Every shot deserves careful consideration and analysis of the other party's intentions.

Just like now, the "Diviner" mentioned the "emperor" and revealed that the "emperor" might be related to Sister Zhao's death...

This may be true, because it does explain why the "emperor" would target him.

Moreover, both he and Lin Zhao were top "Player" in the Previous Version, so it's quite normal for them to have some contact.

But...

Why is the "Diviner" telling me these things at this particular time?

His intention was almost obvious.

"You want me to hate the 'Emperor,' is that it...? Actually, you don't need to remind me; I don't have any friendly illusions about him anyway."

Lin Yu looked at the Diviner and said calmly.

The Diviner shook his head. "Of course you know you and the 'Emperor' are inherently opposed. I'm telling you this only to... raise your guard."

"Don't underestimate the Emperor's determination to deal with you—although if you die at his hands, it won't be a big problem for me, but the [Fragment of Fate] scattering back into the Ten Realms will still cause some trouble."

The Diviner said with a smile, "If possible, I still hope you can survive."

"Moreover, it's not just the 'Emperor,' the 'Player' from the Previous Version, the 'Player' who have Becoming a God... every single one of them is dangerous to you."

He pointed to the sky above. "What follows is my irresponsible personal speculation, the 'Director'... all the 'Player' who 'survived' in the Previous Version did not truly pass the Ultimate Trial, but rather used some kind of 'shortcut' to barely survive."

"They used 'Authority' to survive... some even went further, using it to become 'Deity' or beings close to Deity."

"And all these abilities are insufficient for the 'Player' who truly pass that final 'Trial.' The reason they were able to succeed through trickery and gain Authority... is because they, like the 'Emperor,' all benefited from your family's connections, Lin Yu."

"Or, if I were to guess... each of them is actually the murderer of your sister."

"Each of them stole your sister's achievements in order to survive and to achieve Becoming a God and a higher level of existence."

The Diviner whispered, as if recounting some secret. "It's not just the 'Emperor' who harbors Killing Intent towards you, but also the 'Hacker' out of guilt, and the 'General' who dares not show himself."

Do you really think that with their own abilities, "Hacker" and "generals" can acquire and control Authority over "Rule" and "power," or even become Deity?

"I'm actually quite pleased to see that you don't trust 'Order' —because there's nothing to trust about this organization to begin with."

Lin Yu raised an eyebrow as he listened to the "Diviner's" words. "So all that buildup, all that beating around the bush, was just an attempt to use my suspicions about the 'Emperor' to extend to the 'General' and the 'Hacker,' thereby sowing discord between us?"

The Diviner wasn't surprised that Lin Yu reacted negatively to his words: "It's understandable that you don't believe me. With your personality and intelligence, if you were to show any trust in what I just said... I wouldn't even need to completely believe you; just the slightest wavering would make me suspect that you have ulterior motives."

"But it's alright. I'm just offering you a completely new perspective, one that you might subconsciously overlook, Lin Yu... It's precisely because I believe in your intelligence that I'm certain you'll realize something's wrong with them in the future."

Lin Yu said in a low voice, "You don't actually think that doing this will achieve something... Hmm, what's that saying again, 'The seed of doubt has been planted'?"

The Diviner shook his head. "What foolish talk. We're not that kind of fool, so let's not say such stupid things... I'm just very certain that you will eventually discover the 'Truth' —I haven't fabricated anything; I'm just saying what I've seen and thought, or at least what I believe to be 'true'."

As he spoke, the Diviner gently folded up the oil-paper umbrella, letting the wind and rain fall.

But his hair and clothes were not wet at all—he was like some kind of hydrophobic structure, and the rain fell on him as if through a smooth, transparent membrane, rolling right off.

The Diviner picked up the Long Banner, gave it a gentle shake, and the Compass flew back into his hand.

"Alright, I should get back to my own business... Now that we've reached some preliminary agreements, and since I never intended to kill you anyway, I won't stop you any longer."

"You can leave now," the Director.

Diviner spoke, Lin Yu remained rooted to the spot.

"Do you really not know what I'm planning to do? Set me free... I will definitely stop and sabotage your plans within the Shenzhen."

Do you think I, a mere "Tier 2" being, am insignificant?

The Diviner shook his head. "Before you ruined my plan to release the Demon Ancestor in the Prison Mountain Realm, I might have still harbored such illusions, but after the Prison Mountain Realm... I only have respect for you," the Director.

"You can even break the 'Life-and-Death Taboo,' I don't even think your idea and plan to Resurrection that relative is a pipe dream..."

"But this time in Shenzhen... no matter how unexpected you are, you can't possibly disrupt my plans," the Diviner said, his tone revealing a certain certainty that could no longer be called confidence, but rather the natural certainty of the Demon Ancestor. "Because you will soon discover that, fundamentally, I didn't 'plan' or 'arrange' anything... I merely used the power of heaven and earth to make what was bound to happen, through my influence, occur at the time and place I desired."

Diviner spoke, the end of the Long Banner gently tapped the stern of the boat.

"Knock knock."

The wooden planks rattled, and the Lone Boat floating in the air began to sail in the opposite direction from Lin Yu.

Just as the Diviner removed the Compass and the fine threads, seemingly indicating he was going to let Lin Yu go...

Lin Yu turned the tables and made the move.

[White Bone Flowing Light] was unsheathed, unleashing a strike that drained Lin Yu's strength, transforming into boundless Life Force, and slashing towards the direction where the "Diviner" had retreated.

The moment the blade was swung, before the tip had even fully fallen, Lin Yu already exuded an aura of exhaustion and even decay.

Where the bluish-white blade light passed, the wind and rain calmed down, and even tender green shoots quickly emerged from the raindrops swept by the blade light, creating a special slash mark in mid-air paved with new grass and green shoots!

The emerald green blade, carrying new life, chased after the direction the "Diviner" had fled, eventually engulfing the "Diviner's" body and the Wooden Boat.

"Pfft--!"

The "Diviner" was struck by the blade almost without any reaction. The next moment, wisps of green smoke rose from his body, and tender buds, vines, branches, and flower buds sprouted wildly all over his body.

Like a monster in a gay folktale that "reveals its true form," the Diviner's "skin," his human-like appearance, was rapidly evaporating in the rain.

"Really..."

Lin Yu watched this scene and said in a low voice.

The "Diviner" who comes to find you isn't even your true self!

After the "Green Smoke Illusion" dissipated, what was revealed was...

Mechanism Puppet covered in Talisman, wood, and straw!

Admittedly, the "Diviner" valued him highly, but judging from the fact that the other party did not attack him but instead negotiated with him, Lin Yu knew that now was not the time to reshape his "Destiny".

Therefore, he doesn't value himself enough to warrant the "original body" making a special trip to see him.

Or rather...

In a sense, it was precisely because the "Diviner" valued himself so much that he sent his Doppelganger to him.

Even when facing his own "Tier 2" self, the Diviner remains wary of some underhanded trick that he himself might not be able to conceive of, one that could cause him significant and substantial harm.

However, even if it is Doppelganger, this Doppelganger is clearly not something that is casually created temporarily, but rather something like a "Diviner's" trump card... This is already significant enough.

Having been struck by Lin Yu and revealing his true form, the "Diviner's" faceless Doppelganger turned around and even praised Lin Yu.

"Not bad, you actually saw through it... Choosing 'Life' is a good method. My main body isn't here; my Doppelganger senses danger by 'Talisman Art Qi Mechanism Lock'... Even if I use the 'Life' method to attack, it will look like I'm performing healing, and it won't trigger the automatically operating Formation on my Doppelganger."

Lin Yu asked, "If this is Doppelganger, then where is your true form?"

"Since this is Doppelganger, I certainly don't want you to know where my real body is!"

The Diviner's slightly amused words came from his Doppelganger, and then the Wooden Boat accelerated again, carrying him away into the wind and rain.

As Lin Yu watched the departing ship, new thoughts began to emerge.

To pursue... or not to pursue?

But the moment Lin Yu had this thought, a new change in the sky instantly disrupted Lin Yu train of thought.

"When--!"

The melodious sound of bells rang out, echoing from the depths of the golden passageway.

Then came a deep, resonant wail, like tens of thousands of horns being sounded in unison.

Beneath the golden light of the sky, twelve magnificent black horses pulling an octagonal Imperial Carriage emerged from the golden light.

Within the Imperial Carriage, the figure of a tall man, holding Black-Gold Scepter, wearing a long black robe, and Crown of Thorns, appeared in this world.

No, it's not that it "appeared"...

Instead, they were " on Imperial Progress" and ended up here.

Golden light instantly illuminated half of the sky Shenzhen, and the majestic figure, at a single glance, compelled people to prostrate themselves in worship.

Directly beneath the Imperial Carriage, Gu Mo stood up, and Jian Cunyi looked up.

"The Emperor... I've long admired him."

Jian Cunyi spoke softly, his voice drifting away on the wind.

Gu Mo, however, was far less polite, her voice booming like thunder.

"These feudal remnants who play tricks and spout superstitions have finally dared to show themselves!"