His Word Was Law

There was no movement, no warning.

Just as Cui Yan's heart pounded wildly under those eyes and he instinctively wanted to back away, Lu Yuan simply raised his left hand.

The movements were slow, even somewhat weak. But the entire underground space stopped "breathing."

The slowly rotating void vortexes with their ancient, dim yellow glow, the fragments of rules bound to fixed orbits and floating like stardust, even the invisible and intangible aftershocks of Soul Power permeating the air—all of it froze for a moment with that gesture of raising his hand.

Then, they "heard" the instructions.

The direction of energy flow changed silently.

It wasn't a forced reversal by Soul Power, but rather a slight disturbance to the "order" of this space itself. Countless fine, invisible energy threads emerged from the void, intertwining before Yun Youzi, Shen Moxin, Mo Chen, and Shi Jian, layering upon layer to form an invisible barrier as thin as a cicada's wing yet incredibly resilient. On the other side of the barrier, Cui Yan and his four Soul Saint were subtly separated by a more subtle yet omnipresent sense of "alienation," as if their small area was being slowly "repelled" by the entire space.

All of this happened in less than the time it takes for one heartbeat to pass.

Cui Yan's expression changed drastically. He had lived for over a hundred years and had never seen such a method before. There was no burst of Soul Power, no manifestation of Martial Soul, and not even any obvious energy fluctuations. It was as if... as if the world itself was submitting to the young man's will.

"Playing tricks!" A Soul Saint couldn't contain himself any longer and let out a low roar. His Seventh Soul Ring suddenly shone brightly, and his Martial Soul Avatar was activated, transforming into a ferocious Shadow Giant Wolf. It charged fiercely at the invisible barrier, carrying a monstrous black aura.

They collided.

There was no loud noise, no burst of light.

The Shadow Giant Wolf seemed to have crashed into a bottomless, viscous substance, its forward momentum instantly swallowed up. The immense Soul Power that made up the giant wolf's body, like water poured into the desert, "dissipated" at a visible speed—not shattered, but rather disassembled, neutralized, and reduced to the most basic, docile energy particles, merging into the slow vortex of the surrounding space.

The Soul Saint let out a muffled groan, his Martial Soul Avatar was forced to dissipate, he staggered backward, all color drained from his face, his eyes filled with horror.

"What... what is this?" His voice trembled.

Cui Yan didn't answer. He stared intently at Lu Yuan, trying to sense the barrier with his Soul Power. His spiritual power was like the sharpest probe, but the moment he touched the barrier, all he got in return was emptiness. It wasn't hard, it wasn't soft, it was non-existent. His Soul Power probed forward, like trying to grab flowing water with his hands. He clearly felt the resistance, but he couldn't grasp anything. Instead, a trace of his own Soul Power quietly flowed away upon contact.

What chilled him to the bone was that as he probed, the "repulsion" from the surrounding space intensified significantly. A subtle yet real stagnation appeared in the circulation of his Soul Power.

It was as if this world did not welcome him.

Lu Yuan finally shifted his gaze from Cui Yan, glanced at the Soul Saint who had made the move, and then turned back. He spoke.

The voice was soft, even a little hoarse, as if he hadn't spoken in a long time. But every word seemed to carry a strange resonance, not transmitted through the air, but resounding directly into the depths of the souls of everyone present.

"Here."

The energy vortex in the void rotated slightly faster.

"This is not the place you should be."

Those floating, regular fragments glowed with an extremely faint pale green light.

"Back off."

As the last two words fell, Cui Yan shuddered. He clearly felt that the sluggishness in the circulation of his Soul Power suddenly intensified by three points! Not only him, but the four Soul Saint behind him also changed color, and their Soul Power became disordered to varying degrees, as if countless invisible threads Entanglement them, interfering with their most fundamental power circulation.

This is not an attack.

This is a denial at the level of "rules".

Cold sweat beaded on Cui Yan's forehead. He stared intently at Lu Yuan, whose face remained pale, his breath weak, and even his posture revealed the fragility of exhaustion. Yet, the calm in Lu Yuan's eyes was more terrifying than any violent killing intent. It was a condescending indifference born from a profound understanding of the underlying logic. In Lu Yuan's eyes, he, the Soul Douluo, was perhaps no different from those floating fragments of rules—both were objects that needed to be "sorted out" or "eliminated."

We can't beat them.

It wasn't a difference in the level of power, but a crushing defeat in the dimension of cognition. The opponent had mastered a way of operating power that he couldn't understand or even perceive at all. If he continued to stay here, his Soul Power would be continuously interfered with and weakened, and eventually he might not even be able to summon his Martial Soul normally.

The dignity of the Gloomy Eye Sect elders, the greed for the secrets of the Stone Gate, the punishment for failing the mission... these thoughts clashed fiercely in his mind. But in the end, the instinct for survival prevailed over everything.

Cui Yan clenched his teeth so tightly that his gums almost bled. He forced out a single word from deep in his throat, his voice hoarse and unpleasant.

"... Walk!"

The four Soul Saint, as if granted a pardon, turned and sped back towards the energy passage they had come from without hesitation, not daring to look at Lu Yuan again. Cui Yan gave Lu Yuan one last deep look, his eyes filled with resentment, fear, and a deep sense of apprehension. Without further hesitation, he transformed into a dark streak of light and followed his subordinates into the depths of the passage.

In the blink of an eye, the formidable enemy had vanished completely, leaving only the slowly swirling vortex in the underground space and the ever-present pale green glow.

The barrier vanished silently, transforming back into gentle energy that merged with the surroundings.

Only then did Shen Moxin seem to have all her strength drained away; her legs went weak, and she almost fell. But she held on, tears streaming down her face, blurring her vision. She rushed towards Lu Yuan, clutching his torn sleeve tightly, her shoulders trembling violently as she sobbed uncontrollably.

Lu Yuan's body stiffened slightly, then relaxed. He raised his right hand and awkwardly patted Shen Moxin's back. The movement was very light, and he was clearly tired.

"It's alright," he said, his voice still hoarse, but warmer.

His gaze passed over Shen Moxin's shoulder and landed on his companions. Yun Youzi supported the nearly exhausted Mo Chen, the old man's face deeply wrinkled, his eyes filled with complex emotions as he looked at him. Shi Jian leaned against a pile of rubble, the cloth wrapped around his chest soaked with blood again, his face ashen, but his eyes were still open. When he looked at Lu Yuan, he managed to twitch the corners of his mouth with difficulty, as if he wanted to laugh.

Lu Yuan felt a tightness in his chest, a dull ache in his heart. He pushed Shen Moxin away, walked to Shi Jian, squatted down, and carefully examined the wound.

"The injury is severe, but the foundation hasn't been damaged," Lu Yuan said softly, his fingers lightly pressing on Shi Jian's chest. A wisp of extremely subtle Soul Power, mixed with pale green light, seeped in. Shi Jian groaned, feeling the burning pain in his wound instantly lessen by more than half, and a gentle life force slowly nourished his damaged internal organs. He looked at Lu Yuan in shock.

"I'm back," Lu Yuan said to Shi Jian, and to everyone else.

Yun Youzi walked over and carefully examined Lu Yuan, his brows furrowing deeper and deeper. He reached out his hand, seemingly wanting to check Lu Yuan's pulse, but then stopped in mid-air.

"Your Soul Power Level..." Yun Youzi hesitated, "It doesn't seem to have skyrocketed; you're still Soul Emperor. But it feels... completely different." The old man carefully chose his words, "Before, your Soul Power was pure and stable, like a polished crystal. Now..." He shook his head, "I can't see through it. It seems... more 'basic'? Or rather, closer to... 'essence'?"

Lu Yuan nodded, neither denying nor immediately explaining. He supported himself on his knees, struggling to his feet, and turned his gaze to the "Gate of Finality" that still stood in the void.

The pale green halo on the stone gate's surface was slowly receding, and its ancient, rough texture was reappearing, as if everything that had just happened was merely an illusion.

But Lu Yuan knew that wasn't the case.

He walked to the stone gate, stretched out his hand, and gently placed his palm on the cold stone surface.

It feels cool to the touch.

The next moment, the stone door emitted a deep, ancient hum. The entire underground space trembled slightly. Under the extremely shocked gazes of Yun Youzi, Shen Moxin, Mo Chen, and Shi Jian, the huge stone door, several meters high and incredibly heavy, began to slowly shrink.

It wasn't a collapse, but a "shrinkage." The stone structure seemed to come alive, flowing, deforming, and rapidly shrinking in volume. In just a few breaths, it transformed into a fist-sized, incredibly solid dark golden ball of light, with the outline of a miniature stone door faintly visible at its center.

The ball of light flickered, as if it possessed a spirit, and with a gentle leap, it went straight into Lu Yuan's brow.

Lu Yuan's body trembled violently, his face instantly turning as white as paper, and fine beads of cold sweat seeped from his forehead. He groaned, raised his hand to his forehead, and between his fingers, he could vaguely see an extremely faint, ancient Stone Gate Mark outlined by delicate light, which flashed by and disappeared beneath his skin.

"Lu Yuan!" Shen Moxin exclaimed in surprise, wanting to step forward to help him up.

Lu Yuan waved his hand, stopping her. He took a few breaths, lowered his hand, and the weariness in his eyes was almost overflowing, but the deep calm remained unchanged.

"Let's get out of here first." His voice was low and hoarse, but he spoke quickly. "We'll talk about it when we get back. Things aren't safe outside either."

Yun Youzi's heart skipped a beat, and he immediately understood his meaning. The people from the Gloomy Eye Sect had retreated, but what about those forces that were spying on the periphery of the ruins? The strange occurrence at the stone gate had subsided, and Lu Yuan had appeared. The commotion just now... had probably attracted even more attention.

"Let's go!" Yun Youzi made a decisive decision, looking at Mo Chen, "Can we still activate the short-range teleportation of the Stabilization Anchor? Let's go straight back to the secret chamber of the ruins' vault!"

Mo Chen gritted his teeth and nodded, struggling to operate the portable Stabilization Anchor with his uninjured right hand. The pale blue light shone again, forming a light shield that barely enveloped the five people.

Lu Yuan took one last look at the underground space, which had become "orderly" yet remained empty and desolate. His gaze swept over the slowly rotating void vortexes, as if trying to memorize every detail.

The light shield flickered, and the five figures blurred instantly, disappearing from the spot.

Only this "corrected" gap in the rules remained, operating silently. In the distance, in the deeper darkness, something seemed to be making a faint, dissatisfied wriggling sound because of the disappearance of the stone gate.