Huai Shi had never imagined that Ye Xueya's destructive power could be this terrifying.

When clouds above the Vault of Heaven were torn asunder, countless condensed iron-like meteorites burst forth with roars, trailing flames as they hurtled downwards. The thunderous booms of Space Break were ceaseless.

How long had the Social Security Office been preparing for this? Ye Xueya had actually advanced to the Fourth Stage Peak in just one day! With support from all over, she alone was like a mortar battery, her firepower astonishingly devastating.

With a wave of her hand, stars fell like rain.

The large ones were the size of trucks, the smaller ones the size of tables and chairs. Even if their sheer mass couldn't match the terrifying density of metal, was the sight of a sky full of stars falling like rain merely for impressive sound and light effects?

The fog shrouding the Imperial Palace was torn apart in an instant.

Then, after breaking through layers of invisible membranes, the red-hot phantom meteorites formed sharp blades, screaming with a shrill whistle as they plummeted to earth.

The Palace City trembled violently. Each meteorite that struck the ground overturned all buildings within dozens of meters, leaving a deep fissure in the land. From these fissures, fountains of blood soon spurted.

In the deepest part of the Imperial Palace, an infant's cry rang out.

Accompanied by the thunderous roar of something slithering, the gigantic, rotten face that Huai Shi had once glimpsed suddenly rose from the darkness. It opened its mouth to spew malevolent solar flares at Ye Xueya.

The concentrated beam of intense light swept across, instantly extending for hundreds of meters, severing all tall buildings in its path.

Even without forming its own consciousness, the completeness of the Sun Witch Stigma itself was enough to respond to external stimuli. Especially now, parasitizing the remains of the prematurely deceased child, it was equivalent to a Sublimator possessing divine nature. If it had its own consciousness and combat experience, Ye Xueya's overwhelming attack would likely be crushed in an instant, and she would then be ground to death here.

Unfortunately, now only instinct remained.

Under the aegis of the Big Dipper's stars, Ye Xueya continually split into countless phantoms, luring the Sun Witch Embryo to attack her. Meanwhile, in the shadows, the power of Shen and Shang always enveloped them both, allowing them to narrowly and 'thrillingly' dodge the fierce counterattacks as the starfall grew ever more intense.

The struggle at this moment was earth-shattering.

And in the midst of the chaotic court, countless figures screamed and fled, constantly crushed by meteorites falling from the sky or ensnared by tendrils sprouted by the Sun Witch Embryo, drained, and instantly turned into skeletons.

Amidst countless fleeting bursts of light, Huai Shi agilely leaped through the shadows. The concealing darkness of the Yin Soul granted him an excellent advantage, allowing him to quickly approach the deeper parts of the Imperial Palace. Mountain Ghost's sensitivity to plant vitality further helped him avoid the tendrils erupting from the soil by interpreting the network of life force beneath his feet.

He was like an ant beneath the feet of two giants.

Using Death Perception, Huai Shi began to repeatedly zigzag on the brink of crisis.

The cracks on the Fan were still slowly expanding. The moment the Fan shattered, he would likely be exposed to the surrounding horde of demons, waiting to be either torn asunder and devoured or drained by the Sun Witch Embryo's tendrils and turned into a withered corpse.

In a flurry of panic, Huai Shi stumbled as he ran, still not forgetting to question Raven, scarcely believing what was happening before his eyes.

"You knew all along that Ye Xueya was coming?"

"Why wouldn't I know?" Raven retorted from his shadow. "The people of the Yingzhou Phylogeny injected the son of the Rotten Dream Queen into the Border, unhesitatingly turning this place into Hell, intending to recreate an incomplete Sun Witch Stigma. Now, the Sun Witch has become one with this Hell. If the Dongxia Genealogy wants to pluck the fruit and seize Xiematai, they must target the Stigma. How can they control Himiko's Stigma without coming here? This place has long been what they must seize..."

"But how could you be sure of the timing?"

Huai Shi ducked, dodging a sweeping tentacle, and was nearly caught by the shockwave. His vision blackened for a moment. Then, hearing Raven's reply, he couldn't help but spit out a mouthful of old blood.

"It was a guess," Raven said calmly. "Ye Xueya went through great pains to enter here and advance just for an absolute advantage, right? There are only two days and one night left in the contest. If they don't come tonight, they'll come tomorrow night. Besides, the longer it drags on, the more transformations arise, so naturally, they'd hurry—"

"So you're saying you had no certainty at all?!"

Thinking he had nearly served himself up on a platter, Huai Shi's face turned deathly pale.

"This is called venture capitalism, you get it?" Raven sighed helplessly. "It's a gamble. Risk a moped to win a Land Rover. If you can't bear to part with the child, how will you ensnare the wolf?"

Huai Shi rolled his eyes. "So I'm that foolish child, huh!"

"Er... don't sell yourself short, young man. You're much smarter than a foolish child!"

Seeing Huai Shi's expression darken again, Raven promptly changed the subject. "Never mind all that. We need to move faster. It's not often we have someone tall taking the heat for us up front. Let's hurry and grab some good stuff—"

BOOM!

A burning meteorite fell from the sky, smashing down right in front of Huai Shi.

The terrifying blast wave roared in all directions. Huai Shi was swept up like a dry leaf, hurled backward over the collapsing walls, and into the courtyard behind them.

Before he even landed, he lifted the Axe in his hand and executed a leaping slash!

The Snake-faced Attendant, mouth open to scream, was instantly split in two. But the green light that burst from the Attendant's eyes before death caused Huai Shi's left hand to rapidly shrivel and wither, looking as if it had aged to its limit in an instant.

Huai Shi rolled on the ground, vomiting blood violently, then suddenly lunged at a nearby large tree and began to desperately draw sustenance from it.

One meteorite, and he was severely wounded in an instant. Almost killed on the spot. Find some good stuff? He'd be lucky not to stumble upon his own corpse! This place was far too dangerous; it felt like carrying a family-size bucket of takeout across a battlefield. A moment's carelessness, and he'd be blasted to pulp. Even if he survived, he'd most likely end up serving himself on a platter. This was definitely not a place for a newbie like him.

Fortunately, amidst the impact, he had remembered to stow the Fan in his breast pocket, avoiding an instant explosion; otherwise, he would have been done for.

About ten precious seconds were wasted. When he finally scrambled up from the ground, his first reaction was to fling the fully recuperated Red Gloves out from Nibelungen. Then, he picked up a basket from the ground and thrust it into its hands.

"You head further inside. If you come across any interesting plants or flowers, grab a few handfuls and stuff them in there. Meet up with me later, and be careful not to get caught!"

Red Gloves lifted its eyes, gave him a look as if he were an idiot, but eventually, it reluctantly shouldered the small basket and set off, gathering plants as it went.

"Stay safe now!" Huai Shi, still uneasy, called out loudly after it. Soon, he turned and began to make his way deeper into the Palace City.

「Elsewhere...」

In that instant, he felt the earth tremble violently.

It was like a severe earthquake; the ground shook, the sky quaked, and the once dark and murky Vault of Heaven was suddenly illuminated by a fire that seemed to flare up from nowhere, turning it a bloody crimson that stung every pair of awakened eyes.

Huai Shi stared dumbfounded up at the heavens. Just as he was about to speak, a deafening, shrill noise of twisting steel pierced through the entirety of Xiematai.

Then he saw—

—the sky had split.

"Uh..." Huai Shi numbly covered his face. "Does anyone else remember this is supposed to be the rookie competition?"

The Joyful Framework's system interface suddenly materialized. The mission panel vibrated intensely, displaying the final mission:

[Survival]

—In the lengthy, arduous battle, you have proven your talent, strength, and fortune. Now, the competition has reached its ultimate test.

Survive this cataclysm of collapsing heavens and shattering earth.

There is only one condition:

Live.

The Gate of Glory will open for the victor.

.

.

"As expected, the competition is wrapping up..."

Under the same blood-red sky, in the silent Paradise, an arm extended from Little Cat's mouth. He flicked ash from a cigarette and gazed up at the massive crack that had split the sky dome, laughing with undisguised schadenfreude.

"Looks like it really is a battle royale now."

Ah, a battle royale indeed, he mused. Except the contestants are the ones fleeing, and the monsters are doing the killing... Recalling the delightful past few days, he felt a keen reluctance to see them end. He shook his head, sighing wistfully. Alas, good times are always so fleeting.

Staring into the pure darkness beyond the crack, Little Cat picked up the phone again.

"Hello? Where are you now?"

He listened to the reply, then nodded. "Oh, good. Please wait a little longer; I still have one thing to finish here... Ah, you're too kind. We'll be counting on everyone's support in the future."

After hanging up, he slowly raised his head, gazing at a fleeting glimmer of light beyond the crack, and chuckled softly.

Then, from the distance, came the roar of collapsing heavens and shattering earth.

"Judging by the time, it should be about now," he mused softly, fiddling with the phone in his hand. "No matter how long one waits for the opportune moment, it's surely time to act, wouldn't you say?"

As he waited, an aura belonging to Paradise suddenly surged forth from the darkness of the Central District, prompting a slight nod from him.

But then... another one?

"Hm?" Little Cat paused, freezing on the spot, and looked up in disbelief. "How can there be... two?"

Two? No matter how he tried to discern it, there was no mistake. Yet Little Cat found it utterly unbelievable: were there really two Sublimators there exuding the aura of Paradise? What in the world was happening? Besides Huai Shi, had someone else in this city received the inheritance of Paradise?

In his astonishment, he heard the rumbling roar of the city's periphery finally beginning to collapse.

A dim light emerged from the void, blanketing Xiematai from above and slowly contracting—it was the Joyful Framework, shrinking inward inch by inch.

The rules of the mortal realm were steadily receding.

Immediately after, a viscous, near-boiling darkness surged from the Abyss. It poured in from the outside like magma, sparing no inch of land, completely submerging everything.

Wherever it passed, all contestants caught within were silently reduced to ash.

Eliminated.

The final stage of the competition had begun.

And Huai Shi heard the clear ringing of a bell from within the darkness.

Behind the crimson torii gate, darkness danced to the sound of the bell.

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