Above the Shangguan Lineage camp, in the airspace where Emptiness traces of the Primordial Reversal, a very faint pale aftertaste still lingered. Where Mystic Deconstruction had stood, a complete human figure could not be formed for a long time, leaving only dozens of almost transparent colorless light traces suspended in the void.
Each trace of light holds a half-finished deduction: some stop at the question of the origin of new life through Wanyan attacks and tribulations, some touch upon the Dao structure that Eligibility for Derivation, and some completely lose their previous support, leaving only a lonely conclusion floating in the void.
Shangguan Lineage rose from their seats, their faces still showing shock. The family head sat upright with his eyes fixed on the armrest, never intervening from beginning to end. Only after Nalan Yanqing's judgment of the battle was settled did he slowly raise his palm, his five fingers gently guiding the void where the Mystic Deconstruction remnant was located.
In an instant, the Shangguan Lineage's ancient protective origin, dormant for millennia, was awakened. The ancient Dao veins hidden in the sky unfolded layer by layer, without encroaching on the Mystic Deconstruction origin in the slightest. They gently surrounded the scattered traces of light in the void, slowly gathering them and guiding them back to their proper places.
A low, subtle tremor of primordial energy spread throughout the entire venue, causing a gentle tremor in the Fate Soul. The stagnant colorless light traces gradually revived and flowed, converging in large patches.
The blurry humanoid outline slowly solidified, shoulders, neck, limbs, robes, eyebrows, and eyes becoming clear one by one. Mystic Deconstruction's transformed body returned to the world. However, at this moment, he had lost the composure and clarity he once possessed in analyzing all laws. A void remained deep within his eyes, lingering with the ethereal echo of the Primordial Reversal and erasure of all laws. For a brief moment, he was lost in thought, unaware of his surroundings, until the last trace of his existence returned to his Fate Soul, and only then did his gaze regain its clarity.
Mystic Deconstruction silently lowered his eyes, gazing at his palm, his five fingers clenching and unfolding, reviewing the entire battle. Every detail of the fight was vivid in his mind, except for the last moment Primordial Reversal its descent, leaving a blank that his thoughts could not fill. He understood perfectly: it was not that he could not see through that Ultimate divine power, but that Wanyan had directly removed all the legal foundations that could be analyzed.
His brow furrowed slightly, his lips pressed tightly together, and his resentment was palpable. In the first round, he had firmly suppressed Wanyan with his logical foundation; in the second round, he pressed forward relentlessly, breaking through all the differences and locking in Wanyan 'Eligibility for Derivation, pushing him to the brink of defeat several times. But in the end, he was still the one who lost.
The most terrifying thing is that the Primordial Reversal technique was something that even Wanyan himself had not comprehended before the battle. It was a reversal of the original path that was forcibly unearthed in a desperate situation.
A glint of light flickered in Mystic Deconstruction's eyes as he looked up at the Dao Pivot Platform opposite him. Wanyan's recovery was even more mysterious and unpredictable.
There was no massive backflow of primordial energy, no earth-shattering phenomena. Most of the previously scattered silvery-white dust had dimmed, leaving only a single primordial Source Dao, reborn from the brink of death, quietly suspended in the void. Its form was minuscule, almost indistinguishable atop the ninety-nine-foot -Wordless Heavenly Disc, yet it held the gazes of the four judges and the two Ultimate beasts firmly in their grasp.
The seed of Dao trembled slightly, and the first new possibility was quietly born. With another tremor, the second possibility transcended the previous one and independently emerged.
Third, fourth, myriad paths... Countless delicate silver-white string marks stretched, intertwined, differentiated, and renewed from around the Dao Seed. No longer replicating the vast and domineering power of the past sky-filling string network, it cautiously and resolutely restarted the Great Dao. Each evolution was a confirmation of that fundamental truth— Wanyan can still give rise to myriad "what ifs."
The human form solidified once more. First, a slender, silver-white silhouette appeared, then his robes coalesced, his silver hair fell down, and his features became clearly defined. Wanyan once again stood on the Dao Pivot Platform. However, at this moment, his Dao aura was far less vast than before the battle, and the string net behind him had only returned to its original form, consisting of only a few strands. He lowered his eyes and gazed at his palm, a strange contemplation arising in his eyes. That move against the Dao just now was a fundamental transformation forced by a desperate situation. He had won the battle, but he had personally experienced the supreme Dao tribulation of "shedding the original nature of Wanyan and returning all derivatives to zero."
Two gazes met across the high platform. Wanyan smiled faintly, his competitive edge fading, revealing only a solemn and insightful understanding born from the interplay of the Great Dao: "You almost touched the core."
Mystic Deconstruction remained silent for a moment, his gaze hardening. "It wasn't just a little bit. I already encountered it."
He raised his eyes to look directly at me, his words clear and deep. "But you were faster than me. You didn't patch up the flaws, you directly reclaimed the foundation that had given rise to them. Wanyan, in this battle, I lost with dignity."
As he finished speaking, his jaw tightened slightly, his resentment evident in his eyes, yet he made no attempt to shirk responsibility for the outcome of the battle.
Wanyan's smile vanished, his expression growing increasingly solemn. "If you had locked away Ke Yan's foundation half a breath earlier, I would be the one reduced to nothing today. Your Definition Deprivation has forced out my previously unrevealed, unorthodox origin."
Upon hearing this, Mystic Deconstruction's resentment slowly subsided. He gazed at the still-unrecovered silver-white string net and calmly said, "Next time, I will first resolve this seed of your Dao."
Wanyan's lips curled into a slight smile, his sharp edge returning. "Then next time, I will ensure that even this very first seed has no fixed method of birth."
The two Ultimate beasts gazed at each other from afar, speechless. Mystic Deconstruction turned around and, guided by the protective origin of the Shangguan Lineage, slowly returned to his seat; Wanyan also stepped onto the newly formed silver string and silently returned to his position. In this battle, neither the victor nor the loser lost his composure. For both of them, the outcome of this battle of tracing back to the origin and mutually eroding the Great Dao was an opportunity for transformation and rebirth.
On the high platform, Nalan Yan waited quietly for the two to take their seats before raising her palm. Four primordial marks rose from the four corners of the wordless celestial disc, and the first round's scores reappeared. Her clear voice resounded throughout the Graveyard of Myriad Realms: "In the first battle of the second round, Wan Yan defeats Xuan Jie. According to the rules, the winner takes all the loser's points. Xuan Jie accumulated two points in the first round, all of which go to Wan Yan; Wan Yan originally had one point, for a total of three points."
As soon as he finished speaking, the Wanyan Origin Marks stacked up to three layers, and the Mystic Deconstruction Light Patterns completely dimmed and disappeared. The leaderboard was updated instantly: Wanyan Marks 3 points, Nameless Marks 3 points, Mystic Deconstruction Marks 0 points, Boundless Abyss Huang Marks 0 points.
The entire arena erupted in uproar and discussion. Only now did the cultivators realize the ruthless and cruel nature of the second round's rules. With this battle, Wanyan completely reversed the disadvantage and took the lead alongside Nameless. The subsequent duel between Nameless Boundless Abyss Huang would completely rewrite the final outcome.
Nalan Yanqing flicked his sleeve, dispelling the remaining traces of origin energy within the platform. His gaze fell upon the remaining two Beast Emperors, his expression returning to solemnity. "The first battle of the second round is over. After a short rest, the next battle— Nameless —will face Boundless Abyss Huang."
The noise in the hall suddenly subsided. After this battle, no one regarded this exchange as an ordinary battle of supernatural powers. This was the Ultimate contest between the four fundamental Daos. Every Ultimate pressure gave birth to unprecedented Dao truths, and every life-and-death tracing back to the source was a reshaping and rebirth of the Dao Path.
Qin Yu sat cross-legged in the Chi Lineage camp.
His Fate Soul, still wounded from the battle with Hua Jingmeng, was deeply concealed within the Nine-Wheel True Evolution Dharma Wheel, circulating at a low speed. He restrained the urge to activate the [Fate Soul Silent Beginning - Ring Master Soul Diagram] to trace and replicate its origin, refusing to pry into the origin of Wanyan or to imitate the Primordial Reversal. Such a transformation of origin belongs unique to Wanyan themselves; forcibly dismantling and borrowing it would only lead to being trapped in the Dao Path others and losing one's true self.
He simply observed and contemplated quietly.
Observe the endless web of strings that originates from the infinite Return to the Ruins; observe the profound explanation that traces back to its source Mystic Deconstruction, ultimately finding nothing that can be explained; observe how, after all the "what ifs" have dissipated, that single seed of the Dao is reborn in absolute desolation.
After a long while, the Daoist aura in Qin Yu's eyes subtly shifted, and a brand new thought arose in his heart: If everything in the world that can be explained, traced, and analyzed were collected, could the Dao of Unborn?
His past cultivation relied on the Silent Beginning · Ring Master Soul Diagram and the Book of Fate Law · Realm-Severing Source Pen, all of which were reverse-engineered from the already achieved results, existing traces, and born principles. No one ever told him that the way of deconstruction can go against the grain, or look ahead; it can explain what has already happened, or glimpse what will not happen.
Deep within his pupils, a faint ray of Dao light quietly flowed. There was no breakthrough, no new supernatural power, no predetermined answer, only an Ultimate question hanging in his heart, rooted in his Dao heart, waiting to be comprehended.
Qin Yu was not the only one who attained enlightenment in this battle.
Millions of cultivators watched the battle, and countless others immediately sat down in meditation. Some reviewed the profound truth of Definition Deprivation of the Mystic Deconstruction, while others pondered the choices of the Great Dao of Wanyan to zero and restarting. Countless old cultivators who had been trapped in predicaments for thousands of years suddenly awoke—the shackles were not due to a lack of the Great Dao, but rather to the accumulation of obsessions. Everyone sought to increase the Dao and its methods, yet no one dared to abandon the redundant constraints that bound them.
The Lineage were shaken. The younger generation witnessed the outcome of the battle of supernatural powers, the elders saw a turning point in their Dao Path, and the family heads were already re-evaluating the future landscape of the four great beasts. The four judges each had their own thoughts: Xuanyuan Canglan gazed intently at the Wanyan, comprehending the principle of returning to zero and rebirth; Murong Yunche focused on the Mystic Deconstruction, observing the boundaries of the Dao of deconstruction; Nangong Xingyun pondered silently, carefully considering the choices in the game of the Great Dao; Nalan Yanqing stood quietly, taking in the transformation of the Dao's essence throughout the entire scene.
On the dueling arena at this moment, victory or defeat, ranking or position, is no longer important. Some people glimpse the limitations of strategy in defeat, while others comprehend the derivative inversions in victory.
Some people know how to make choices, some people know how to restart, but Qin Yu alone glimpsed the void before all things returned to zero and the Dao Seed Unborn —that boundless, uncharted sky where no one could write anything. He slowly closed his eyes, burying this innate question deep within his Fate Soul and Dao heart. The Dao Pivot Platform · Wordless Heavenly Disc became completely clear and bright, awaiting the next Ultimate Dao game.