After the giant black metal ruler trembled slightly, the entire area marked by the ruler suddenly fell into a deeper level of "stillness." It was not a superficial stagnation, but an absolute halt where even the "possibility of change" was temporarily sealed off.
In that instant, the originally separated scale strips suddenly contracted, and billions of golden threads collapsed toward the center of the void as if flowing against the current. The next moment, an oppression of a higher level than "measuring" descended without warning.
Without any announcement or hierarchical progression, the second level [Dao Measuring] and the third level [Timelessness] were simultaneously activated.
In an instant, space was torn apart.
Countless Ultimate "Dao traces" simultaneously appeared in the void: the Dao of slaughter flowed like a river of blood, the Dao of cause and effect shrouded all realms like a net, the Dao of time was like an inverted roulette wheel, the Dao of space was like layers of refracted mirrors, and even the fundamental principles of "destruction," "creation," "nothingness," and "existence"...
They also transformed into streaks of light that traversed the heavens and earth. These paths were no longer the "techniques" comprehended by cultivators, but rather Ultimate forms that had been "measured" and recorded. Each path was complete, pure, and flawless, as if it were the "answer" of the heavens and earth themselves.
At the same time, light disappeared—not darkness, but the very concept of light itself was erased; time, too, disappeared.
It's not that time stops, but rather that "the flow of time" is taken away, and space begins to collapse, yet there is no process of collapse, because "distance" itself no longer exists.
The third level of Timelessness has arrived, and the entire domain of measurement has become an indescribable "nothingness."
Yet, even within this void, those traces of the Dao still remain.
They are not bound by time, nor by space, nor by existence or Does Not Exist; they simply exist, compelling all cultivators who have not yet been erased—
Using their own path to "confront" each other. "Boom--!!!" The first group of cultivators who reacted instantly made their move.
A cultivator at the Profound Mystic Void Realm roared, his chains of cause and effect surging as he attempted to cover the Ultimate causal scale with his own Dao traces. But in the next instant, the scale threads reversed course and pierced through him, directly "measuring" his causal path. Each segment of his cause and effect was dismantled into cold, impersonal scale markings, and then—
His resolve wavered. "My path... is it merely... one of many?"
The moment this thought arose, "whoosh—" the entire person transformed into a faint marking, engraved on the giant ruler.
Vanished without a trace. "Stay calm!! Don't fight against its way!! Protect yourself!!"
Someone screamed wildly, but the sound Does Not Exist in this "Timelessness" space; it was just the vibration of "thought."
But this thought was also being rapidly devoured, and the Fate Soul of the remaining hundreds of cultivators were simultaneously trembling.
They no longer face a single test; they are stripped of their "sense of existence" while being forced to use their own path to contend against the "Ultimate scale path."
Some closed their eyes, guarding their single thought; some unleashed their supernatural powers, manifesting their own Dao; some roared, transforming their Dao heart into a barrier of will.
But many more people, under this dual pressure, simply don't have time to make a choice.
"Ah--!!!"
A cultivator had just condensed his own Dao trace, but in the "Timelessness" realm, he lost the foundation for "maintaining the Dao." His Dao trace collapsed directly, and his Fate Soul, having lost its support, was annihilated on the spot.
Another person attempted to resist with the "Way of Nothingness," but when he stepped into "Timelessness," he was horrified to discover...
Here, even "nothingness" Does Not Exist his Dao; it has lost its definition, and his entire being dissipates along with it.
This was not a battle; instead, a tiered selection process took place, and within a few short breaths, dozens more were eliminated.
The remaining cultivators all clung tightly to their last shred of Dao heart, daring not to engage in any further confrontations, and could only rely on their willpower to withstand the onslaught in this void.
Deep within the crowd, Qin Yu remained unmoved; at this moment, his presence was no longer completely locked onto by the scale.
He didn't confront those Dao traces, nor did he try to prove his own Dao; he was doing something else—analysis.
He followed the flow of those Ultimate Dao traces, the weaving of the scale threads, and the core fluctuations of the Xuanjin giant ruler, examining its composition bit by bit.
It's not about looking at appearances, but about "why it can measure." "Dao Measuring... is not about strength," but rather... who is closer to the 'source of definition'."
Qin Yu's faint presence suddenly trembled slightly. He didn't try to prove "my Dao is stronger than yours," he simply bypassed the proposition.
He began to dismantle the "scale itself," and an extremely faint fluctuation emanated from his body—it was not a supernatural power.
It's not about force, but a touch upon the "definition of structure," "You use a scale as a ruler..." "But what determines that scale?"
As soon as he thought this, one of the graduated lines beneath his feet shifted slightly, and in the next instant, the second and third lines began to show subtle irregularities.
On the massive black gold ruler, a section of the scale briefly blurred; at that moment, Qin Yu touched the "origin of the scale."
It's not about control, but about interference, and this interference isn't about violence, but about shaking its foundations from the level of "definition logic".
For the first time, instability appeared in the entire domain of scales. Meanwhile, among the hundreds of cultivators struggling to hold on...
A very small minority of people suddenly stabilized; they neither resisted nor collapsed.
Instead, it was in the midst of "Timelessness" that he stubbornly held onto an "unshakable conviction."
"I am here." "My way is here." "Even if all is nothing—" "This thought will not perish."
The next instant—"Buzz—" A golden light slowly shone from between their brows.
That wasn't a reward, but rather a recognition of their achievements; they weren't measured and reset to zero, they became the "exceptions."
Of the hundreds of people, only a little over two hundred remained.
Among these two hundred-plus people, a few, under the combined effect of the second and third layers, experienced a slight tremor in their Dao heart, instantly disintegrating and being directly erased.
In the end, only a little over a hundred people remained. Golden light slowly emerged between their brows, and the entire realm of markings returned to silence.
But at that moment, Qin Yu's gaze suddenly sharpened slightly. He sensed that there was something deeper in this space.
These three trials are not the end, but merely a selection process. The true "core" has yet to appear, and the Xuanjin Giant Ruler remains.
At this moment, it slowly turned its direction as if beginning to "watch" them. After the domain of markings gradually fell silent, the giant black gold ruler that stretched across the void seemed to temporarily retract its sharpness. The countless golden markings returned to their original positions, like a newly woven web of warp and weft between heaven and earth, with the remaining hundred or so cultivators standing within it.
Their expressions were weary, yet tinged with the relief of surviving a calamity. Most of them were now at the Mystic Void Realm, with only a handful still Realm Breaking. Qin Yu was among them, standing in a corner of the void, his aura restrained, his gaze calm and unfathomable. The other cultivators, however, unanimously believed the trial was over, and no longer suppressed the churning injuries and cracks in their Fate Soul.
Each person took out their most treasured possessions and resources to begin recovery. Some activated protective barriers, some sat cross-legged in the void to set up Dao arrays, and some directly took out crystal-clear God-Level Resonance Crystal. As soon as the crystals appeared, endless Dao patterns flowed out from them, as if the energy of all the heavens and myriad worlds was being drawn in.
A flowing sea of primordial energy gathered around it, and as its aura trembled, strands of Annihilation Structure light flowed back up along its Fate Soul meridians, rapidly stabilizing its origin and even subtly improving it. However, some cultivators whose cultivation had not yet reached the True Annihilation Realm changed drastically the moment they touched the crystal, their Fate Soul violently trembling.
As if unable to withstand that level of primal resonance, it still gritted its teeth and persevered, just to fight for a sliver of survival in this deadly situation. For a moment, the entire Domain of Scale presented an eerie tranquility, a brief buffer after Ultimate danger, like the last breath of calm before a storm.
However, at that very moment, without any warning or indication, the silent, dark gold giant ruler suddenly moved.
"Buzz--!!!"
A deep, almost inaudible tremor, yet one that resonated deep within the Fate Soul, suddenly spread. In the next instant, the void tore open, and countless gilded scales, as if awakened by an invisible will, burst forth from all directions. At that moment, they were no longer static scales, but transformed into true blades of Order Adjudication, traversing heaven and earth.
Time Splitting, each streak of light was imbued with profound runes representing antiquity, birth and death, yin and yang, and the cycle of time. These runes surged along the streaks of light like living beings, tearing apart the very fabric of time wherever they passed. Layers of silver-blue ripples of time spread outwards, and space itself appeared as if cleaved by a chisel, revealing straight, cold cracks.
The edges of the crack shimmered with a blinding golden light, as if the entire world was being recalibrated—a profound golden timeline, a slash that severs life.
At that moment, there was no attack trajectory, no distinction between front and back, everyone was locked on simultaneously, "BOOM--!!!"
The first beam of light slashed directly down from above the head of a Mystic Void Realm cultivator. The beam didn't touch his body, but a pale golden "time coordinate" instantly appeared around him. His body then began to regress, his flesh and bones reversing, as if time had been forcibly reversed. But the next instant, it suddenly accelerated, and his white hair grew wildly.
His flesh and blood withered, and his lifespan was being drained away at a visible speed. He opened his mouth in terror, but no sound came out. All that could be seen was his existence being thinned layer by layer within the scale, until finally his entire body was swept into the golden vortex formed by the interwoven bands of light and completely crushed.
"What?!" "This is... a timeline slash!!" Horror erupted from the crowd, and this was only the beginning.
Tens of millions of scale-like light bands descended simultaneously, like countless golden blades piercing through time and space, sweeping in from all directions. Some cleaved through the past and future, some cleaved directly at the essence of Fate Soul, and some locked onto the very foundation of existence.
Once touched, "coordinates" are etched onto the cultivator's body. Once those coordinates are revealed, the cultivator has no chance of escape and is forcibly dragged into the scale's Order Adjudication.
"Defend!! Defend now!!" A roar suddenly exploded. "It's a supernatural spell!! Everyone, defend now!!"
At this moment, without the slightest hesitation, a hundred cultivators erupted simultaneously.
Some unleashed their natal divine artifacts, their ten-thousand-foot-tall dharma forms standing tall in the air, attempting to withstand the scaled strikes with their own Dao principles; others directly activated protective arrays, layers of light curtains stacking like a barrier between heaven and earth; still others forcibly constructed a time barrier at the cost of burning their Fate Soul.
They attempted to resist the power of that time order; some even directly integrated God-Level Resonance Crystal into their bodies, forcibly drawing upon their primordial power to briefly elevate themselves to a higher level in order to protect themselves.
The entire space instantly exploded, with light, principles of nature, cause and effect, temporal sequence, and fluctuations of Fate Soul colliding wildly!
Amidst the crowd, Qin Yu didn't hesitate either. His gaze sharpened, and the Silent Origin Stainless Sword appeared in his hand. The sword itself didn't move, yet an invisible "intent of severance" spread out. He didn't directly confront the scaled light band, but instead slashed at its "defined path."
The sword intent did not strike the light band itself, but rather severed the "cause of its landing point," causing several trajectories aimed at him to deviate slightly midway, grazing his side and slicing the void behind him into emptiness.
Even so, some people still didn't have time to react, "Pfft--!!!"
Just as a cultivator at the Realm Breaking Realm had gathered his protective power, he was simultaneously locked onto by three scale-shaped light bands. Golden coordinates suddenly lit up on his body, and his body instantly froze. In the next instant, his entire body "disappeared" inch by inch from head to toe, as if being erased bit by bit by an invisible hand with a ruler.
Another person attempted to escape into the void, but the moment he stepped into the space, he was directly "marked" by the scale light band, and the entire spatial path was severed. He was caught between "existence" and "non-existence" and then completely collapsed.
Within a few breaths, screams rose and fell, and the ten cultivators were killed on the spot before they could even fully react.
They were completely wiped out, and those who remained were all deathly pale and breathing erratically, yet they still stubbornly held on. Everyone knew...
This is not the end; the real test of killing has only just begun.