This ideal... is by no means a mistake...

"Think you're awake?"

The masked man lifted the chess box again, picking up a black piece and rolling it between his fingers. "Awake? And who defines what that means?"

"Going along with you counts as being awake? Opposing you means deluding yourself?"

"Jiang Xia, tell me."

"What’s the real state of the 'Abyss' on Great Xia’s frontlines?"

Jiang Xia remained silent.

The masked man seemed to have anticipated his reaction. "No comment, right?"

"It doesn’t matter if you won’t say it."

"Because I already know."

"We have many like-minded comrades. Secrets like these can’t be kept from us."

"The Abyss was established 362 years ago. Twelve twelfth-tier predecessors used their souls as torches and their bodies as barriers, erecting twelve layers of defense."

"Before this line, all invaders faced an insurmountable chasm, as if plunging into an abyss."

"Ever since, whenever an unsolvable Source Realm appeared, its entrance could be drawn into the Abyss."

"For 340 years—until 21 years ago—the first barrier was shattered."

"Fifteen years ago, the second."

"Ten years ago, the third."

"Six years ago, the fourth."

"Three years ago, the fifth."

"Two years ago, the sixth."

"One year ago, the seventh."

"This April, the eighth broke. Now, in June, the ninth is already half-gone."

"Tell me, can the remaining four and a half barriers last three more years?"

"Barring unforeseen circumstances, humanity’s defeat is inevitable."

"Jiang Xia, you chose to become a guardian of order."

The masked man raised his head, his gaze piercing through the mask to meet Jiang Xia’s eyes. "You cling to the fortress they built with lies and hypocrisy, deceiving yourselves."

"The fortress will crumble." He slammed the black piece onto the ground with a sharp clatter. "Rather than waiting passively, why not give it a push?"

"Only when the old is utterly destroyed can the new be born."

"This year’s Martial Exam is just the beginning." The masked man’s voice brimmed with fervor. "I want all of Jiang Xia—no, all of human society—to witness the... beautiful spectacle when the order they’re so proud of collapses."

"And I, along with my like-minded comrades, will seek refuge under my Lord’s protection."

"To preserve..."

"Humanity’s last hope."

Jiang Xia sighed. "You’ve changed..."

"I haven’t changed," the masked man corrected. "I’ve simply seen more clearly. It’s all of you who are still lost in your self-spun dreams."

"Reforming the Martial Exam?"

"Do you really expect these children to step up in three years and resolve sins that have piled up for over three centuries?"

He took a step forward, his aura turning dangerous.

"Old classmate, let’s end the reminiscing here."

The masked man cracked his neck with a soft pop.

His spiritual energy surged, clashing against the soul force radiating from Jiang Xia.

The visible shockwaves rattled the already dilapidated factory walls, sending more debris crashing down.

Two once-like-minded classmates, now sworn enemies.

Standing at odds in this ruined factory, tension thick enough to cut.

Jiang Xia shook his head. "Shen Qiheng, you talk too much."

The masked man mirrored the gesture. "That person died when his thesis was rejected."

"My name is now 'Yu Hui.'"

"I respect your choice to call you Jiang Xia. I hope you’ll extend the same courtesy to me."

"As the earthly emissary of the Lord of Embers."

"And as the final flicker before humanity burns to ash."

"My sins are momentary, but my benefits eternal."

"In three years, humanity will fall."

"It is I who have preserved the last spark of hope for mankind!!"

"The weak should submit to the strong!!"

"You’ve waited long enough. Your people must be here by now. Why not make your move?"

Yu Hui’s voice echoed through the empty factory, laced with manic excitement.

His gaze swept over Jiang Xia.

Yes.

He himself was the bait.

Nothing else could have drawn Jiang Xia away from the Martial Exam grounds.

All he needed was to buy time with his life—until the Source Realm sealed shut.

Then, no one could interrupt the ritual within.

Jiang Xia didn’t immediately refute Yu Hui’s ravings. "I’m waiting for people. What about you? Why stall?"

Yu Hui paused, then burst into wild laughter. "Because I’m here to die!"

At that moment, outside the factory, two vastly different auras surged forth like tidal waves—one after the other.

Reinforcements had arrived. Jiang Xia spoke no more. "I leave it to you both."

One aura was ancient and immense, carrying the weight of mountains. The very dust in the air seemed to freeze under its pressure.

The other was ethereal and elusive, yet brimming with the flexibility and unpredictability of water—like mist, formless yet pervasive.

The factory, unable to withstand the combined pressure of the four, disintegrated into a cloud of dust.

One figure stood—short but solid as a boulder.

His hair and beard were white, his skin like gnarled bark.

Clad in a plain gray tunic, hands clasped behind his back.

"Shan Cheng," the old man said softly.

Another figure appeared almost simultaneously on the opposite side.

A woman in a pale green dress, tall and graceful, her features delicate, her demeanor icy.

"Yun Cheng."

Her voice was clear, like jade beads striking a plate.

Yu Hui showed no fear. "How kind of two Guardians to travel so far just to suppress me."

"You can’t hold it! The Abyss can’t hold, Great Xia can’t hold, the entire human world can’t hold!"

"Rather than rotting in despair, embrace my Lord! Find rebirth in destruction!"

He stomped his foot, and a black ripple exploded outward.

The scattered rubble and metal fragments around him trembled as if alive, their surfaces crawling with eerie black patterns.

They coalesced into a flying sword.

"Kill!"

...

It took only two minutes.

Under the combined assault of the three Guardians, Yu Hui was already riddled with wounds, his clothes stained red.

Yet he didn’t evade Jiang Xia’s direct strike—he charged forward!

Ducking under Shan Cheng’s fist, he took a slash from Yun Cheng across his back.

He kept moving.

The tendon in his right calf was severed.

A punch landed near his left temple.

After paying such a price, he finally stood before Jiang Xia.

Unexpectedly—

He didn’t attack.

He only removed his mask.

Tears streamed down his face. "Jiang Xia... humanity is beyond saving..."

"I can take off this mask easily."

"But can those in power remove the masks in their hearts?"

"Clutching at straws..."

"There’s no shame in it..."

Shan Cheng’s fist struck his back. Yun Cheng’s dagger pierced his heart.

He could no longer hold the mask.

"Let time be the judge."

"Someone will..."

"Weep for me at my grave..."

"This dream... was never a mistake..."