The Person on the Wall's force field and the City of Chains' power crushed against each other within the Great Ascendant. Two utterly different taboo powers used his metal skeleton as their battlefield, eerie green and darkness flickering alternately across his surface.
He walked slowly, every step seeming like a struggle against both powers at once, but he was indeed drawing closer.
The Great Ascendant was gambling. He was betting that the power the City of Chains had given him was enough to contend with the Authority in Lu Yuan's hand.
Lu Yuan watched him approach with an indifferent expression.
At the exact moment the Great Ascendant took his third step, something changed overhead.
Above the Tower of Erudition, the tributary channel of the Sea of Knowledge that had long hung in the sky was suddenly stirred. The River of Light, which had been flowing slowly, abruptly accelerated. Vast amounts of river water overflowed from the channel, passed through the Dome, and poured down without end.
The dreamlike river water fell upon Lu Yuan.
Warm and heavy, it flowed down his shoulders, soaking through his clothes and clinging to his skin.
The Authority deep in his left eye throbbed violently, resonating with the river water falling from the sky. With every drop that landed, Lu Yuan felt the power within him grow more solid. A force from somewhere unimaginably deep seemed to support his entire body.
The Sea of Knowledge was responding to the holder of the Authority.
Light spilled from Lu Yuan's body, even more intense than when the Authority had activated earlier.
The Great Ascendant stopped walking because he sensed something unsettling.
He watched the river water from the sky fall onto Lu Yuan, watched that glow brighten under its soaking, and the amusement and gambling intent in