The Dead Were Not the Enemy; the Calamity Rose Without a Sound

"Has it really been that long..." Qin Wangchuan repeated softly, as if confirming the accuracy of the number.

After a full three breaths, he slowly exhaled a breath of stale air.

"I wonder if Sixth Brother has found her yet." He spoke softly, as if to himself.

He then shook his head. "Fortunately, she sent a message to my Second Brother before she fainted. With him watching over her, even if I'm not around, she shouldn't be able to cause any major trouble."

As for Tan Lingfei...

Qin Wangchuan's eyes darkened.

"It will probably end the same way as in the simulation."

Not all outcomes need to be changed.

The blood on Tan Lingfei's hands should be repaid with blood.

Death—that was the best ending he could have written for himself.

"Thinking too much is useless."

The voice was soft, yet carried a calm that came after the dust had settled.

"It's time to go out and take a look."

701 days.

Enough for an era to begin, enough for countless people to rise or fall, enough for many things to happen, and enough for many people to forget a once-renowned Prodigy.

After adjusting for a moment, Qin Wangchuan walked towards the stone gate.

Halfway through, his steps suddenly stopped.

Etc--

He suddenly remembered something.

"Although I'm back, can the methods I used before still be used?"

Once the thought arises, it's hard to suppress.

Qin Wangchuan suddenly raised his hand, his five fingers loosely clenched, and his mind instantly sank into the depths of his memory—the trajectory of Chu Wujiu's destiny, and the Heaven-Opening War Halberd that shattered illusions and was incomparably domineering.

"Get out here!"

He focused his mind, attempting to forcibly seize the illusory image of the battle halberd from the River of Karma.

However...

My palms are empty.

Nothing appeared.

"So it really didn't work..."

Cause and effect are threads, connections, and weight, but ultimately they are not keys that can directly unlock another's treasure trove.

The instant this thought crossed his mind—

The Wheel of Fate slowly moved in front of him, its Hidden Pattern patterns flowing like water, as if silently reminding him.

As Qin Wangchuan gazed at it, he suddenly remembered the most fundamental function of the Wheel of Fate.

Using this wheel as a medium, following the thread of cause and effect, we can borrow the law of the future.

Summoning Future Self is merely using one's own karma to borrow assistance from one's future self.

Now, the Wheel of Fate has swallowed the karma of millions, linking the destinies of countless people...

"I see."

His gaze suddenly sharpened, and his voice carried a clarity that pierced through the fog.

"Why did you suddenly lose control? Why did I get caught up in that Dream of All Living Beings? And--"

"It's not that I can't use their power, but that I'm using the wrong method."

"Relying on memory is useless; we should summon our Future Self selves—through the bridge of the Wheel of Fate —to Borrowing Law from the 'future possibilities' pointed to by those causal trajectories."

Qin Wangchuan raised his hand again, but this time, he tried to activate the Wheel of Fate.

"I Borrowing Law, the Heaven-Opening War Halberd!"

The moment the words fell, an elegant curve, winding like the dividing line of a yin-yang symbol, suddenly appeared in the center of the Wheel of Fate!

The curve divides the roulette wheel in two, with one half slowly opening.

Buzz--

A deep hum echoed in the Quiet Room, and a familiar feeling returned.

Qin Wangchuan almost instinctively clenched his fists, and his palms suddenly felt heavy.

A pair of short halberds, entirely dark gold in color and with Heaven-Opening Dao patterns wrapped around their blades, materialized from the void!

It was as if they had always been there, only that he had just grasped them.

Most importantly, the shape of this pair of halberds is completely different from the Heaven-Opening War Halberd that Chu Wujiu is currently using.

It is more ferocious, more solid, and contains even greater power.

Qin Wangchuan stared at the twin halberds in his hand, momentarily stunned, then an uncontrollable smile crept onto his lips.

"... It's done."

He whispered it aloud, his voice filled with disbelief, yet also with an unquestionable certainty.

Not only did it succeed.

Moreover, what is borrowed is a more perfect form than the current one.

"Strictly speaking, this phantom isn't 'law,' but if we can borrow even this, wouldn't we also be able to borrow the Heaven and Earth Law?"

Qin Wangchuan's mind stirred slightly, and his twin halberds trembled gently in response.

A subtle yet sharp glint burst forth from the halberd's blade, silently slicing through the air in front of it, leaving two brief but quickly healed spatial rifts.

"Interesting..."

He was about to try again when he suddenly groaned in pain.

Without warning, a bloody gash appeared on his left shoulder blade, deep enough to expose the bone!

The twin halberds in his hands suddenly disintegrated with the intense pain, turning into streaks of light and disappearing.

"Tsk, is there a price to pay...?" Qin Wangchuan glanced down at his wound, his expression unusually calm. "That's to be expected."

"It would be strange if such a heaven-defying technique of Borrowing Law came without a price."

He then tried it out and figured out a few rules.

First: The borrowed "method" can only last for a very short time.

Second: After each instance of Borrowing Law, a wound will inevitably appear on the body. The location is random, the depth varies, and the cause is unknown.

Third: It can not only borrow the laws of others, but also the laws of one's own in different times and spaces.

Fourth: Only two methods can be used at a time, corresponding to the left and right halves of the Wheel of Fate.

"This is my unique Divine Ability— "

"" Borrowing Law "."

As Qin Wangchuan spoke, he looked down at the wound on his shoulder that had almost healed, his voice carrying a sense of relief and certainty.

"Despite the many limitations, it's enough."

"At least, those 701 days of 'dreaming' weren't in vain."

After saying that, he didn't linger and turned to walk towards the stone gate.

This time, the steps were steady, without any hesitation.

The heavy stone door slowly opened with a low, grinding sound.

The first thing Qin Wangchuan saw was Qin Zhaoer sitting in a chair, propping her head up and looking towards the stone gate.

The moment their eyes met.

Qin Zhaoer's eyes suddenly lit up, and she almost jumped up from her chair.

"You brat! You finally—"

She rushed towards him like a gust of wind, but suddenly stopped a few steps away.

That familiar arrogance still lingered on his brow, but his eyes gradually darkened, as if weighed down by something.

She opened her mouth, then pursed it again, looked away and stared at the ground for two seconds before raising her eyes to glare at him—still with that "I'm not afraid of you" attitude.

But his voice lowered:

"... Hey, listen up."

Qin Zhaoer took a breath, her tone still harsh, but she enunciated each word softly:

"Your friend, he..."

"Dead."

Upon hearing this, Qin Wangchuan was slightly taken aback, then a look of understanding flashed in his eyes.

"Is it Tan Lingfei?" he blurted out almost immediately.

Having been in seclusion for over 700 days, if we were to name the person most likely to die during that time—it would undoubtedly be Tan Lingfei.

That was the predetermined cause and effect, an outcome foreseen in previous simulations.

Qin Zhaoer frowned, instinctively about to ask, "Who is that?", but she abruptly stopped herself from speaking.

She pursed her lips tightly, swallowing back the inappropriate question, and simply shook her head gently.

"... It wasn't him."

Qin Wangchuan frowned very slightly.

"It's not Tan Lingfei, it's..."

Before he could finish speaking, he suddenly froze.

A detail he had completely overlooked, like an icicle lurking in the shadows, unexpectedly pierced his thoughts and crept up his spine inch by inch—

The simulation repeatedly mentioned that the reason the two sides of the Academy went to war was because Human Race Prodigy missing one after another, so they retaliated by killing an important Alien Race another Prodigy.

This became the trigger, and the war could no longer be reversed.

Qin Wangchuan originally thought that as long as he prevented Prodigy from disappearing, none of the subsequent events would happen.

But the key point is...

Was the slain Alien Race Prodigy truly killed by Human Race?