The Contract Locks Ten Thousand Ages, The Cage Seeks to Collapse

The cold Will of the Heavens, like an invisible frigid tide, instantly permeated the entire shattered world.

There was no sound, no pressure, not even a ripple of energy, yet the airflow, spiritual essence, and the remaining origin of the world across the entire Earth froze at this moment. The wind ceased, the waves stilled, the dust settled, and the devastated land fell into a deathly silence, even the breathing of those present subconsciously halting for a heartbeat.

Beyond the dimensional barrier, those seven supreme auras that had been dormant for billions of years finally stirred.

It was not a massive descent, nor a crushing display of power; merely a sliver of will sweeping down was enough to pierce through layers of chaotic obstruction, precisely locking onto the core foundation of this universe.

Lin Chen sat at the eye of the terrestrial formation, the ancient golden light of his bloodline trembling violently. The images of the Ancient Sacrificial Contract he had just unlocked in his mind were branded deep into the depths of his soul, shaking his spirit so profoundly that he could not calm himself for a long time.

He had finally pieced together all the mysteries of the ages.

During the ancient war, this universe rebelled against the Heavens, suffered defeat, and stood on the brink of total annihilation. To ensure the survival of their race and the continuity of the universe, their ancestors sacrificed all dignity and future, signing a horrifying, eternal contract.

The souls of every generation of living beings, the fortune of heaven and earth, and the vitality of the origin were to be perpetual sacrifices, placed under the guardianship of the Chaos Clan for generations.

The Chaos Clan guards the boundary, and the universe survives.

As long as the Chaos Clan remains, the contract continues.

For billions of years, the Chaos Clan had never completely wiped out this universe—not because they lacked the strength, and not because the time was not yet ripe, but because they were bound by the Ancient Sacrificial Contract. They were both jailers and beneficiaries, devouring the vitality and origin fortune of this universe's living beings generation after generation, harvesting slowly and consuming eternally.

And the Seven Outer-Domain Supremes were the ultimate beneficiaries of this contract.

The Chaos Clan guarded the cage, consumed the universe, and offered all accumulated origins to the Heavens. For billions of years, this universe had thrived, silently sacrificing itself, becoming the longest-lasting and most stable source of nourishment for the myriad worlds of the Heavens.

This was the so-called Eternal Original Sin.

The so-called "cleansing" by the Heavens was never a momentary slaughter, but a chronic plunder that had lasted for billions of years.

"Ridiculous... truly ridiculous."

A low murmur escaped Lin Chen's lips, carrying endless desolation and resentment.

They had fought against outer-domain invasions for generations, desperately protecting their mountains, rivers, and stars, believing themselves to be warriors defending justice and their homes. In the end, all their thriving, all their reproduction and survival, were merely nourishing the outer-domain Heavens.

To live is to be a sacrifice.

To reproduce is to provide for the enemy.

The birth of every living being and the recovery of every wisp of spiritual essence was merely channeling nutrients to the Seven Supremes and the Chaos Clan.

High in the sky, Kallen, who had been mending the spatial rifts and stabilizing the vitality of the land, suddenly stiffened, his purple battle aura instantly turning chaotic and dissipating. He vaguely sensed an invisible rule-based shackle tightening between heaven and earth, and a faint, stripping pain emanated from deep within his Saiyan bloodline.

It was a sign that the fortune of living beings was being extracted by some mysterious force.

"Something... is draining the roots of this world." Kallen's voice was hoarse, his eyes filled with absurdity and coldness.

The Golden Full-Power Super Saiyan hovered above the clouds, his long-settled state of mind completely shattered, his pupils churning with unbelievable shock.

He had lived through endless years, witnessed the cycle of planets and the shifting of civilizations. He had often wondered why the beings of this universe possessed such exceptional talent and infinite potential, yet could never transcend dimensions or break through their limits.

The ultimate combat power of the Saiyans, the natural Emperor bodies of the Frieza Clan, the heaven-defying talents of countless mutant races... the potential of the beings in this universe far exceeded that of many high-dimensional worlds, yet they were always locked tightly within a low-dimensional circle.

The root cause was not the barrenness of the Heavenly Dao, nor an inherent inferiority of the dimension.

It was the Ancient Sacrificial Contract, which had locked the path of transcendence for all living beings.

Every creature born in this universe had been branded with a sacrificial mark on their soul, fortune, and origin from the moment of birth.

No matter how strong their talent, how high their combat power, or how extreme their cultivation, all their final achievements would be extracted by that mysterious force to nourish the outer-domain Heavens.

Food for generations, livestock for eternity.

"No wonder... no wonder I swept through the galaxy, broke through countless limits of combat power, and reached the pinnacle of the universe, yet still could not touch the threshold of the higher dimensions."

Frieza stood in the void, the pale white Emperor Energy around him flickering, his usually arrogant and cold face now completely covered in frost.

He had considered himself the master of the galaxy, spending his life in war and conquest, seizing star domains and controlling life and death, believing he held the fate of myriad beings in his hands. In the end, his rise, his hegemony, and his peak were merely a growth process for the nourishment planned by the Heavens.

The stronger he became, the more prosperous the fortune of this universe, and the richer the harvest for the outer-domain Heavens.

His life of conquest and his peak were nothing more than a grand joke.

Above the firmament, the massive shadow of the Chaos King slowly turned, his hollow, cold eyes no longer looking down with indifference for the first time, but with a cold, profound meaning that saw through everything.

"The Ancient Sacrificial Contract has loosened; the eternal cage is about to break."

The vast voice echoed slowly through the world, no longer carrying the previous mockery or playfulness, leaving only the cold pronouncement of fate.

"The Supremes of the Heavens have sensed the disturbance in the contract and have awakened early. The three-day countdown is now reset to zero immediately."

With those words, it was settled!

The final three days originally left for the living beings to struggle on in death and exhaust their remaining potential were directly voided!

There was no buffer, no room for maneuver; the chessboard had suddenly accelerated.

The Chaos Legion, lurking beneath the rifts, saw their killing intent surge instantly!

Countless pitch-black shadows churned and roiled, the terrifying aura that annihilated all things layering upon itself, enveloping the entire Earth. The flood of world-destruction, which had previously stalled, began to surge forward once more, suppressing the vitality of the entire world.

"Why start the cleansing early?" Kallen roared in a deep voice. "The contract has not yet fully loosened, and the foundation of the universe has not been exhausted. Why have the Heavens struck so suddenly!"

Lin Chen slowly stood up, his ancient golden eyes terrifyingly calm, and softly spoke the truth: "It was me."

"I awakened the deepest taboo memories of the ancestral bloodline and touched the origin of the contract."

"The Ancestral Remnant Soul deliberately sealed the ancient secrets, fearing that if future generations learned the truth, they would refuse to be sacrificed, harbor rebellion, and prematurely pry at the rules of the cage. The moment I unlocked those memories, it was equivalent to actively triggering the contract's alarm, alerting the Seven Outer-Domain Supremes."

Ignorance allows one to linger in survival for a time.

To know one's fate is to have calamity arrive at the doorstep.

They originally had three days to secretly seek a chance to break the deadlock, but the moment the truth was exposed, the patience of the Heavens was utterly exhausted.

To the Seven Supremes, only a cage-universe that willingly offers sacrifices and provides steady sustenance holds any value.

Once the prisoners know their destiny, harbor rebellion, and attempt to break the cage, they are no longer fodder, but a hidden danger that must be eradicated immediately.

"Since the chess game has begun ahead of schedule, there is no need to continue hiding and biding our time."

Lin Chen looked up at the pitch-black firmament, the confusion and despair in his eyes fading away, leaving only the sharp, cold edge of one reborn in a desperate situation.

"Since we are born as livestock for generations and devoured for eternity, obeying fate is death, and resisting fate is also death. Rather than being fodder for the Heavens for ten thousand years, it is better to overturn this eternal chess game!"

To retreat is a slow sacrifice; the world will gradually wither, and all living beings will turn to dust.

To advance is to defy the Heavens and strike back, facing the Seven Supremes and the Chaos Royal Clan head-on. It is a life-and-death gamble, yet it offers a glimmer of a chance to break the shackles.

Either way, it is a dead end; only by defying fate can there be a path to survival.

"Well said."

Frieza's crimson eyes erupted with unprecedented, sharp killing intent. The Emperor's power that had been dormant within him was instantly unleashed, and the domineering, majestic energy caused the surrounding chaotic black mist to crumble layer by layer.

"My territory, my living beings—it is not for the gods of the outer realms to manipulate and toy with! An eternal sacrifice? Today, I shall shatter this damn contract!"

Kallen's purple battle aura soared into the sky, the pride of the Pure-blooded Saiyan Race fully ignited. Dying on the battlefield, he would not fail his race, nor would he fail the world: "We Saiyans have guarded this world for generations. I would rather be a skeleton that defied fate than a lamb for the Heavens!"

The Golden Super Saiyan's long hair fluttered, his golden origin slowly reviving. In eyes that had witnessed the vicissitudes of eons, a long-lost fighting spirit burned: "The path to breaking the game that our ancient ancestors could not finish, today, we shall continue."

The four of them were now fully united, their fighting spirits coalescing into one.

The four top-tier origins that had once checked and balanced each other now cast aside all barriers, slowly resonating once more.

Although the Four-Force Heaven-Suppressing Seal was already shattered and their origins were heavily damaged, the fusion of four hearts defying fate at this moment birthed a majestic momentum that far exceeded their combat power levels.

Above the firmament, the Chaos King's shadow leaned forward slightly and spoke indifferently: "Ignorant."

"How could a contract sealed by the joint efforts of the ancient Heavens be broken by your broken bodies? Do you know what the price of the contract shattering is?"

"Once the eternal sacrificial contract is completely severed, all the rules and shackles binding the Chaos Clan will dissipate. We will no longer be the jailers of the Heavens, no longer bound by dimensional constraints; we will be able to devour the Heavens and plunder the universe at will."

"The moment this universe breaks free from the fate of sacrifice, it will personally release a Chaos Behemoth that spans the multiverse."

Lin Chen's heart tightened.

This piece of forbidden information was the final link he had missed when he first unlocked his memories.

To break the cage is to release the demon.

If they want to escape the control of the Heavens and break free from the eternal sacrifice, they must tear up the contract.

Yet, the contract is both the shackle trapping the universe and the cage locking away the Chaos Clan.

For billions of years, the reason Chaos only devoured this universe and did not wreak havoc upon the Heavens was solely due to the constraints of the contract.

Once the shackles are broken, Chaos will be unrestrained.

At that time, the Seven Supremes, having lost their source of sustenance, will inevitably be enraged and emerge in full force.

The Chaos Clan, having broken their shackles, will inevitably devour the Heavens wantonly.

On one side are the supreme Heavens, and on the other is the unrestrained catastrophe of Chaos.

And their universe will be caught in the middle of these two top-tier catastrophes, becoming the sole battlefield for the war between the Heavens and Chaos!

The old game has just been broken, and a new calamity is already arriving.

They have escaped the fate of lambs, only to instantly become bargaining chips on the battlefield between two supreme forces.

This is the most sinister final move of the eternal chess game.

Regardless of whether the prisoners submit or resist, the final outcome is annihilation.

"So that's how it is... the so-called chess game is fundamentally unsolvable." The Golden Super Saiyan sighed deeply, his heart fully grasping the malicious layout of the Heavens.

Submission means a slow sacrifice and a gradual extinction.

Resistance means tearing the contract, triggering the ultimate war between the Heavens and Chaos, and instant annihilation.

A layout spanning billions of years has blocked every path to survival, leaving this universe not a shred of luck.

Just as everyone realized the ultimate dead end:

Boom—!

The firmament of the entire Earth cracked open!

The void barrier, previously obscured by the chaotic black mist, split with countless fine black fissures. Strands of supreme, ancient, and majestic seven-colored divine light spilled into the mortal world through the cracks.

Unlike the deathly, pitch-black nature of Chaos, this divine light was vast and upright, yet it carried a cold will that judged all things and passed sentence on the ages.

The Seven Supremes of the outer realms were no longer watching from across the boundaries.

Taking advantage of the loosening contract, they tore through the dimensional barriers and descended with the light of Heavens Judgment!

Wherever the divine light passed, the chaotic black mist remaining on the earth dissolved, but the souls of all living beings in the world began to feel a faint, agonizing pain.

This is the Heavens Judgment, a reckoning for the remnants of rebellion, preparing to completely reclaim all the origin of this universe and erase a hidden danger that has persisted through the ages!

At the same time, deep within the Chaos Rift, the Chaos King, who had previously remained motionless, fully stretched his body as boundless Chaos origin surged violently.

The Chaos Supreme Power, suppressed for billions of years by an ancient contract, began to fully unseal!

On one side, the Heavens Judgment descended upon the world; on the other, the Chaos origin was unleashed.

Two top-tier, terrifying forces spanning the multiverse simultaneously focused on the tiny, low-dimensional Earth.

Lin Chen gazed at the dimensional rift tearing through the sky, feeling the suffocating sense of crisis as he was locked onto by two supreme forces within his body, his heart sinking abruptly.

Yet, before he could even move to resist or devise a countermeasure, the Ancient Universe Origin Core, which had long lain dormant within him, was suddenly jolted into self-awakening by the stimulation of the dual supreme powers.

A wisp of ancient, vast aura—far surpassing Chaos and transcending the heavens—slowly rose from the depths of the Earth, from the very core of this world.

That was... the Realm Lord God Remnant Soul of this universe, which had been completely sealed and never appeared since the ancient defeat!

The player of the eternal chess game had never been the heavens, nor had it been Chaos.

The true trump card, having slumbered for billions of years, finally opened its eyes!