The clamor on the Epoch Order Heavenly Balance Platform gradually subsided, and the battles on the five high-dimensional arenas came to an end. The twenty prodigies who successfully advanced were now listed on the main ranking, attracting worldwide attention. Qin Yu, Yan Yue, Yunyi, and Zi Xue returned together to their high-domain residences arranged by the Eternal Evolution Realm Hall.
The night breeze stirred the curtains hanging in the silent domain. As soon as the four stepped into the main hall, they saw a familiar gray-silver figure standing quietly on the steps in front of the courtyard.
"Elder Shu?" Zi Xue raised an eyebrow, a hint of surprise flashing in her eyes.
She wore an unmarked robe of judgment, her long hair cascading over her shoulders, and three grey-silver swirling rings constantly rotating in her eyes. Her entire being was solemn, as if the laws of the universe were manifesting. She did not move, yet it seemed as if she had already traversed several layers of soul realms, her divine aura and the rules of the chronology disk already unified.
"I'm here to remind Qin Yu," Shu Xunyan calmly, his voice seemingly emanating from the depths of discipline, carrying an unyielding authority, "You may have stood out in the first round, but the second round—that's the real abyss."
Her gaze slowly swept over Qin Yu and Yan Yue: "In the Ring Erosion Ruined Realm, it's not about the outcome of the arena, but about true 'erasure.' In past competitions, too many prodigies have perished there, their names even wiped out."
Qin Yu's expression remained unchanged, but a thoughtful glint appeared in his eyes. Yan Yue stood quietly beside him, saying nothing, but slowly took his hand in hers, her fingertips as cold as moonlight against snow.
"Those three items are rare artifacts that can only be unearthed from the remnants of Epoch Battle throughout history. If you try to compete for them, you will inevitably be targeted by other prodigies from the Origin Palace, who may even set traps to kill you."
Yunyi leaned against a stone pillar, her dragon eyes half-closed, and whispered, "If anyone dares to touch Qin Yu, I'll devour his soul first."
Zi Xue chuckled softly, but her eyes were serious. "Just what I wanted."
Shu Xunyan nodded, flicked his finger, and a pale silver soul chain appeared, which he slowly handed to Qin Yu.
"This is a [Ruined Realm Outer Projection Map] that I compiled from the observation remnants. It only has rough spatial markings, but it's enough to help you avoid the first structural trap."
She paused, her three-ringed eyes darting slightly. "There's one more thing... Four people have been secretly tasked with targeting you."
Qin Yu's gaze sharpened slightly. "Is it Yu Yuance?"
"He's only responsible for 'deriving' it; the real execution is done by those few prodigies whose cultivation levels are close to yours," Shu Xunyan, his expression slightly cold. "You should know how to deal with this."
Qin Yu nodded slightly, his gaze fixed on the desolate heavenly gate that was about to open in the distance, his expression serene. "Then... let's go."
Shu Xunyan turned and left, his gray-silver robe transforming into a streak of light that vanished into the night sky beside Heavenly Balance Platform. Time Silence over the room.
Yan Yue quietly stepped forward and stood in front of Qin Yu. Her long, white hair fluttered slightly in the night breeze. She gazed at Qin Yu, her voice soft yet cool:
"You must be extremely careful on your journey to the Ring Erosion Ruined Realm."
Her tone was not heavy, yet it was like jade sinking into water, carrying an undeniable certainty.
"We can't go with you," Yan Yue continued. "The rules of this competition were perhaps set up this way specifically to separate us."
She shifted her gaze slightly to Yunyi beside Qin Yu, her tone softening with an unprecedented gentleness. "I'm not worried about our fighting strength if you go with Yunyi, but you must remain vigilant regarding Yu Yuance."
Qin Yu raised an eyebrow slightly, but before he could speak, Yan Yue slowly said:
"Those four— Heng Nian, E Zhen, Yuan Zhi, and Lü Tan —are the most skilled in sealing off, misleading, ambushing, and deducing within the Source Palace. They won't confront you head-on; their strength lies in breaking through stalemates."
"Yu Yuance may not participate in the game, but he is skilled at strategizing."
She turned and glanced at the Eternal Star Chart that was faintly visible in the night sky, her tone icy:
"You don't need to worry about this place. If Yu Yuance to make a move outside, Zi Xue and I... will protect you."
Zi Xue stepped forward, her smile radiant and her spirits high.
"You're right! I've disliked that Yu Yuance for a long time. Don't worry, go get your treasure. Yueyue and I will team up and make sure he doesn't leave the Eternal Evolution Realm Hall."
Yunyi stood quietly watching Qin Yu from the side, her eyes silent, but the aura of the Annihilation Abyss Illusory Dragon emanating from her body was quietly surging.
Qin Yu nodded slowly, his tone firm:
"Don't worry, now that I've entered the Ring Erosion Ruined Realm... I won't leave empty-handed."
As everyone was talking, a steady knock came from outside the door.
"It's me, Wang Long."
Qin Yu opened the door and saw Wang Long standing there, still wearing his dark blue battle robe, dust still clinging to his shoulders, clearly having just returned from the Heavenly Balance Platform. His expression was much calmer than usual, and his eyes held a solemnity different from before.
He paused slightly, his gaze falling on the people in the room before finally settling on Qin Yu, and he spoke:
"There are some things I feel I should say now."
Qin Yu stepped aside to let him in, and the others made way for him.
Wang Long stopped, looked directly at Qin Yu, and spoke with his usual frankness:
"Qin Yu, I... really didn't know you before."
"I've heard you come from the Eternal Evolution Realm Hall and have passed the Observer's Trial. While I admire you, I also have some doubts—after all, before truly standing on the same battle platform, no one knows the other's true strength."
He paused here, his fist clenching slightly.
"But in the first round, I witnessed firsthand how you assessed your opponent's fighting style, anticipated the rules of the arena, controlled the pace, and orchestrated a counterattack—only then did I realize that fighting alongside you was my good fortune."
He bowed with his hands clasped and head lowered, his tone solemn:
"In the second round, even if it means stepping into the Ring Erosion Ruined Realm, I will obey your command."
"If you draw your sword, I will shatter realms and destroy souls; if you remain still, I will pinpoint and seal the enemy. You are the master, I will assist."
A moment of silence fell over the room.
Qin Yu chuckled and shook his head, his voice calm yet resolute:
"I neither rule over you nor assist you."
"We stand shoulder to shoulder."
Wang Long was stunned for a moment, then smiled, a smile that now held genuine conviction and fighting spirit.
Zi Xue hummed softly, "That's more like the demeanor of our Eternal Evolution Realm Hall."
Yan Yue silent, but a hint of approval flashed in her eyes.
Yunyi merely glanced at Wang Long and nodded indifferently.
Even before the battle began, the momentum of unity and cooperation was already evident.
As night deepened and the mirror's light dimmed, Qin Yu sat quietly in the room, surrounded by complete silence. Occasionally, a shooting star streaked across the sky outside the window, and whispers seemed to drift from the void.
He slowly closed his eyes, his soul sinking into his sea of consciousness.
In an instant, in the silent sea of consciousness, a green ring appeared, with countless patterns of annihilation and reconstruction swirling within it. That was his innate source of world-building— the Azure Ring.
Within the Azure Ring, a familiar thought slowly resounded, like a whisper from the depths of endless Epoch Origin:
"Qin Yu, you... have reached a critical juncture."
Qin Yu within the sea of consciousness, his brows and eyes cold and stern, and calmly said, "You had a premonition?"
"Of course." Azure Ring trembled slightly, emitting a faint resonance, "Do you know who Yan Yue is?"
Qin Yu turned slightly serious.
Azure Ring's voice suddenly deepened. "She is an evolution of the will of the Annihilation Abyss First Light."
"...!"
Qin Yu was startled.
"She is essentially a being similar to you—neither of us is a being in the traditional sense, but rather a manifestation of Fate-Cause. You are me; I am you—this is the closed loop we form."
"But she—is not a closed loop in our dimension."
"Her existence originates from a higher source—the radiance of the 'Beginning of the End' in the Annihilation Epoch Realm —a fragment of will that can truly be deduced beyond the principles of annihilation."
Qin Yu said in a deep voice, "So... she possesses two Fate Soul?"
"Her first Fate Soul, [The Annihilation Abyss First Light], is the primordial soul structure; her second Fate Soul, [The Final Origin Annihilation Breath], is the sealing component of time and destiny. At this moment, she is only one step away."
Azure Ring paused, then slowly uttered the truly crucial sentence:
"This mission into the Epoch Construct Wasteland, the Ring Erosion Ruined Realm, actually has a hidden objective."
"An item that only consciousnesses of our level can detect— the Key of Annihilation Judgment."
Qin Yu's gaze narrowed slightly. "That legendary... wondrous object that can 'annihilate the rules of battle once'?"
"For you, it was the key to turning the tide of the battle and saving your life."
But for Yan Yue--
"That was the sole catalyst for the fusion of [The Annihilation Abyss First Light] and [The Final Origin Annihilation Breath]."
"If she obtains this key, I can use its Annihilation Origin fluctuations to fully awaken her Third Fate Soul— "
"The Recognition Annihilation Final Realm - The Severed Dawn Sealing Wheel"
As soon as he finished speaking, ripples of azure blue spread across the depths of his consciousness.
That was a sign that the Third Fate Soul was dormant.
Qin Yu slowly opened his eyes, and the starlight outside the window shone into his dark, unfathomable eyes.
He knows.
This battle is not just about winning or losing.
It is also for the true awakening of Yan Yue.
Qin Yu gazed at the vast emptiness outside the window for a long time, and after a moment, slowly took something out of his pocket.
It was a scroll painting.
Unsealed, untitled, unpatterned, yet forming its own distinct domain.
It was the strange object that Shu Xunyan had given him— the Ruined Realm Outer Projection Map.
This map was not drawn on paper. When unfolded, there were no ink marks, but countless twisted "reflection lines" were entangled within it like soul threads. Each line was a "possible place" that once existed but was completely annihilated by the Epoch Construct Wasteland.
This is not a map.
It is a spatial projection remnant forgotten by the world.
The moment the scroll unfolded, a silent vibration spread out, the surrounding space trembled slightly, and the light and shadow in the room were stripped off the walls and sucked into the scroll.
Qin Yu stared intently at it, his pupils slowly Entering Stillness blue soul light.
--The scroll does not indicate the "location". Instead, it shows pieces of "boundary fragments" that are constantly twisting and piecing together. They are like broken mirrors, constantly overlapping. Finally, in the center of the scroll, a circle of extremely blurry "boundary erosion patterns" slowly emerges.
It is precisely the core ring of the Ring Erosion Ruined Realm.
Qin Yu formed a hand seal with two fingers, his sea of consciousness trembled, and the light of the Azure Ring transformed into flowing flames that poured into the diagram.
In an instant, a barely perceptible glimmer of azure soul light appeared on the entire map of the lost world.
Azure Ring's voice rang out again from her sea of consciousness, carrying solemnity and certainty:
"... Found it."
"That fluctuation is the coordinate reflection mark of the Key of Annihilation Judgment."
"But... it's circumventing positioning; the coordinate chain is broken."
Within the scroll, the Azure Soul Points flickered and writhed like snakes, as if some force was actively concealing their existence rather than passively hiding them.
"It is being actively rejected by the world's structure," Azure Ring said in a deep voice. "In other words... its existence should never have been recognized in the first place."
Qin Yu lightly touched the Soul Point with his fingertips, and a blue light surged between his fingers.
Even without pinpointing the exact coordinates, he already knew—
That place was roughly located at the core of the remnant fracture zone of the Ring Erosion Ruined Realm, a wasteland area that had almost never appeared in any historical records.
"Location... I understand."
Qin Yu spoke in a low voice, a flicker of solitude in his eyes.
"But I'll keep this picture." He folded the scroll again and hid it close to his body.
--That was not just a map, but also a Soul Realm Mirror that could communicate with the remnants of higher dimensions. With each subsequent "Soul Realm Fluctuation," he could potentially use this map to further pinpoint the location of the Key of Annihilation Judgment.
Within her sea of consciousness, Azure Ring calmly replied, "I will alert you when it approaches... Once it appears, I can immediately lock onto it and completely freeze its destiny logic, then you can directly seal it into your sea of consciousness and take it away."
"Wait for it to come?" Qin Yu's voice was extremely soft. "No."
"I need to find it first."
He stood up, his gaze deep and unfathomable.
"The Key of Annihilation Judgment... is her key."
The night was as still as ever, with clouds pressing down and the stars dimmed.
After carefully putting away the "Ruined Realm Outer Projection Map," Qin Yu walked slowly towards the end of the corridor without lingering.
Before that door, there was a faint aura of purple-gold Annihilation Abyss, surging behind the door like a silent tide.
He raised his hand and tapped lightly.
The door opened slightly.
Yan Yue stood by the window, dressed in plain purple clothes, not in battle attire, yet the aura she exuded remained unfathomable. She seemed to have already sensed it, and a glint of light flashed in her eyes as she turned her head.
"... What's wrong? It's so late."
Qin Yu entered and closed the door behind him.
He didn't exchange pleasantries, his gaze fixed on her, his tone steady yet carrying an unprecedented solemnity.
"The Key of Annihilation Judgment-- "
"This is the only item you can use to awaken your Third Fate Soul."
In an instant, Yan Yue trembled slightly, a rare look of astonishment appearing in her eyes:
"... What did you say?"
Of course she knew about the Key of Annihilation Judgment, a legendary forbidden artifact that could annihilate the rules of a battle and rewrite the cause and effect of the battle.
Can--
She never imagined that it was related to her unawakened Third Fate Soul.
"Are you sure?" she asked slowly, her voice trembling slightly.
Qin Yu nodded, his gaze unwavering. "Azure Ring told me."
"Your first Fate Soul is [The Annihilation Abyss First Light]; the second is [The Final Origin Annihilation Breath]... and your Third Fate Soul has remained dormant."
"Because its awakening requires a catalyst from the primordial cause of the Annihilation Epoch Realm."
"The Key of Annihilation Judgment, that is it."
Yan Yue silent, her soul energy fluctuating slightly, her fingers unconsciously clenching.
She whispered slowly, "I... always thought it was just some kind of magical artifact Epoch Construct Wasteland. Although I sensed a certain resonance between it and me, I never... truly understood it."
"Now you understand." Qin Yu looked at her, his tone calm, yet like a writer slowly laying down the weight of fate.
She lowered her eyes, pondered for a moment, and then suddenly chuckled softly.
The laughter carried a hint of helplessness, yet also revealed an undisguised joy:
"So... I didn't lose the key to awakening; it's just... it's always been waiting for me ahead."
After a moment of joy, her smile slowly faded, and a hint of worry crept into her eyes as she looked at Qin Yu.
"You're going to find it yourself, right?"
Qin Yu didn't speak, he just nodded.
Yan Yue lowered her eyelashes and slowly said, "I know that place... is no ordinary realm. The Ring Erosion Ruined Realm is broken and unbalanced, and the logically collapsed domains are scattered everywhere. The closer you get to the core, the more it feels like entering a Does Not Exist illusion."
"And the Key of Annihilation Judgment... since it is hidden within, it must attract the desire of all realms."
"It's too dangerous for you to go alone."
Qin Yu said calmly, "I won't be alone. Yunyi and Wang Long will also be accompanying me, but I will retrieve the key."
"Sister Yan Yue, you don't need to worry."
The door was gently pushed open a crack, Yunyi peeked out. The triple dragon seal light trail flowed gently around her feet, just like her signature dazzling entrance.
She blinked, a smile playing on her lips, yet with a rare seriousness in it:
"We will definitely bring the Key of Annihilation Judgment back intact."
"Don't worry, with Qin Yu and me here."
As she spoke, she gracefully entered the room, walked to Yan Yue's side, her expression suddenly becoming more composed, her eyes sharpening:
"I know this isn't just about awakening your Fate Soul... it's also about your own destined path."
Therefore, neither of us will fail.
Yan Yue taken aback, looking at Yunyi before her, and remained silent for a long time before finally letting out a soft laugh:
"... Okay. I believe you."
Upon hearing this, Yunyi smugly waved her fist. "Hmph, then you just wait until you awaken your Third Fate Soul. I'll be the first to see you amaze everyone then."
Yan Yue gazed at him, a faint purple flame flickering in her eyes, and finally nodded gently.
"Good."
"Then let me and you all witness the arrival of my Third Fate Soul."
But you must come back.
Qin Yu smiled, turned around, and slowly said before pushing open the door:
You are one end of my Fate Soul.
"I won't stop."
The door closed softly, and silence returned. Yan Yue stood there, motionless for a long time. Outside the window, a star quietly fell into the distant sky.
As if in response, her Third Fate Soul had begun to awaken slightly from its slumber.