The End? (First Update)

The air reeked of gunpowder and blood. The docks had descended into chaos.

Explosions and the rumble of collapsing caverns came from the passageway. Even the dullest among them knew something had gone terribly wrong.

Some knelt and kowtowed toward the north, sobbing. Others curled up in corners, babbling nonsense no one could understand. Most scrambled into the small boats at the docks and rowed aimlessly into the depths of the dream.

Through this apocalyptic scene, Xia Lun strode onto the pier, covered in blood. Beside several corpses whose heads had been smashed in with oars, he found the burly man holding an oar and the scholar gripping a long sword.

Behind them, in the boat, sat Little Green in a Nuo Mask and the old prefect, who looked calm.

"Oh, Master Danyang, you're finally here!" The old prefect sprang up at the sight of Xia Lun. He bowed repeatedly, his wrinkled face creasing into a smile. "Did everything go smoothly?"

"Not exactly, but they're all dead," Xia Lun said. "Let's leave directly from the first layer of the dream. I found a way out. It's time to return to reality."

Everyone perked up. Seconds later, they were all aboard. They lit the candle and pushed off with an oar, and the boat sailed through spreading ripples, away from the chaotic Nexus and into the lake.

"Master Danyang, your foresight is incredible. The plan went off without a hitch—not a single surprise. It went so smoothly," Little Green said sincerely.

The scholar opened his fan and shook his head. "The Man in the Flesh committed every evil under the sun. His crimes brought down divine punishment. Master Danyang acted on Heaven's behalf and followed its will, while the Man in the Flesh defied it. When Heaven's will meets defiance, all