268: Chapter 203: A Shocking Advancement, Grammar Enters the Finals for the First Time

Dead silence.

After the river of civilization, carrying the prototype of "principles of civilization," had overwhelmingly encroached upon 30% of Xuanyuan Hong's divine kingdom territory, transforming that desolate land of War into a pale golden cradle of civilization, causing over a thousand Spartan War Souls to abandon their weapons and embrace books, the entire Dome Arena fell into an absolute, pin-drop silence that lasted for ten seconds.

All the commotion, shouts, and discussions seemed to be suddenly choked by an invisible hand. The audience stared wide-eyed, mouths agape, disbelievingly "watching" the absurd yet incredibly shocking scene in the simulated battlefield—Xuanyuan Hong, who represented the pinnacle of Xinghai University students and believed in absolute War power, now had nearly one-third of his vast and majestic divine kingdom shrouded in a soft yet stubborn pale golden light. Inside, the War Souls stood bewildered, and the rules were peaceful and just, forming a glaring and strange contrast with the surrounding main body, which remained dark red and murderous.

This had exceeded their cognitive scope of understanding divine battles, power, and rules. This wasn't a defeat; it was more like... pollution, transformation, a conquest on another level!

Immediately after, the dead silence exploded!

"What... what did I just see?!"

"Xuanyuan Hong's divine kingdom... was colored?!"

"What are those War Souls doing? They threw away their weapons? Are they reading?"

"The river of civilization... that river! It came alive just now! It took over Xuanyuan Hong's territory!"

"30% reverse erosion! My heavens! How is this possible?!"

"Won?! Lin Zhou is going to win?! He... 'civilized' Xuanyuan Hong?!"

"Crazy! This world is crazy! The School of Literature and Law is going to the finals!"

Gasps, screams, and incoherent roars swept through the entire arena like a tsunami. The blue area of the School of Literature and Law completely erupted; students jumped up, embracing and shouting, many moved to tears. Students from other academies, regardless of whether they had been optimistic or pessimistic before, were now in a state of immense shock and bewilderment. The outcome of this battle overturned too many ingrained notions.

In the judges' stand, several senior professors and military observers had also lost their composure.

"Large-scale reverse erosion at the rule level... with Faint Divinity, shaking the core divine office Domain of a Lesser Divinity at Advanced level... this is simply a miracle!"

"That wasn't a simple power confrontation; it was a clash and overlay of ideas, of the essence of rules! That pale golden network... contained an extremely complex rule structure; I couldn't fully analyze it for a moment!"

"The Jixia Academy phantom... War Souls holding books... this applied 'enlightenment' and 'rule rewriting' to an incredible degree! This child's understanding of the concept of 'Civilization' far exceeds his current Realm!"

"Xuanyuan Hong's War divine office is too pure and extreme; facing this all-encompassing 'principles of civilization' that directly targets the fundamental, it instead exposed the weakness of being too rigid and lacking flexibility... This battle is of great significance!"

And sitting at the very center of the judges' stand, the headmaster of Xinghai University—a lean old man with eyes as deep as the starry sky, who had been silently observing the battle—now had divine light fiercely flickering in his eyes, as if countless stars were being born and dying within them. He gazed at the pale golden area in the battlefield and the faint yet stubbornly existing phantom of the river of civilization, his lips moving slightly, muttering in a voice so low it was almost inaudible, yet seemingly carrying immense weight:

"The sea embraces all rivers, thus it is vast... embracing all, forging the Foundation... is this the prototype of the 'Way of Civilization'? I never thought that in my lifetime, I would witness such a Dao manifest in a student... the future of the Human Race may have gained another possibility."

No one heard the headmaster's whisper, but the undisguised admiration and deep expectation in his eyes caused a huge shock in the hearts of the several vice-deans beside him. They knew full well what the "Way of Civilization" and "another possibility" in the headmaster's mouth truly meant.

In the simulated battlefield, time quietly passed for over ten seconds amidst the silence and clamor.

For Xuanyuan Hong, these ten-odd seconds felt like centuries.

He exerted all his strength, finally forcefully suppressing the conceptual conflict caused by the "Sophist's Dialectic" within the core of his divine office, repairing the physical damage caused by the spatial storm, and stabilizing the War rules of his remaining 70% divine kingdom. However, the 30% territory covered by the pale golden civilization network became a huge, constantly radiating "heretical" aura, a collection of paradoxes and an abscess in his divine kingdom!

He tried to mobilize the vast War rules to "cleanse" and "purify" that area. But as soon as he made contact, he discovered that the pale golden principles of civilization network was more stubborn and... cunning than he had imagined!

It wasn't a head-on defense, but rather like the most resilient vines, layer upon layer. If you attacked strongly, it would disperse the force, guiding the impact to the transformed War Souls (now more like phantom Civilization apprentices) and the Jixia Academy phantom, even using these "hostages" and "cultural symbols" to weaken the aggressiveness of the War rules ("Does attacking schools and scholars violate the 'honor' of War?"—such thoughts would subtly interfere with the pure attacking will). If you tried to use rule penetration to dismantle it, you would find its internal structure incredibly complex. The rule network interwoven by the Hundred Schools of Thought had extremely strong self-adjustment and anti-interference capabilities, making it impossible to start in a short time.

What was even more fatal was that this 30% encroached area was continuously and faintly emitting that kind of "Civilization Order" rule fluctuation, like a radiation source, constantly "polluting" the adjacent War rule areas, delaying his speed in regrouping. And those transformed War Souls, although temporarily losing their combat power, also had their mental links with him become extremely weak and full of "noise," not only making them unusable but also becoming "anchors" and "amplifiers" for the opponent's rule network!

Continue fighting?

He could. He still possessed far greater Divine Power reserves and stronger frontal combat power than Lin Zhou (the remaining 70% of his divine kingdom and War Souls). Lin Zhou was clearly exhausted and unconscious, and the Hundred Schools Divine Kingdom was tottering. If he were to harden his heart, regardless of the cost, even risking the complete loss of that 30% territory to launch a full-scale assault, there was a high probability that he could completely crush the core of the Hundred Schools Divine Kingdom before the opponent's teammates could react.

But was it worth it?

This was a competition, not a fight to the death. His goal was to prove his Dao, defend the dignity of "pure War," and crush this junior who played with "Evil Path." But now, the situation had completely changed.

Not only did he fail to crush the opponent, but he was also "polluted" in 30% of his divine kingdom's Foundation by the opponent using an inconceivable method! At the rule level, this was already a major "battle damage" that would be difficult to repair in a short period! Even if he ultimately won by force, what "purity" and "dignity" could a divine kingdom, one-third of which had been encroached upon by "Civilization," still claim? This might even shake his Dao Heart and affect his crucial step in advancing to an intermediate divinity in the future!

Moreover, the opponent's strange power (principles of civilization) had already shown terrifying potential and targeting. If he continued to get entangled, what if the opponent had some hidden trump card, or if the unconscious Lin Zhou suddenly woke up and launched another attack... the consequences would be unimaginable. He dared not gamble, especially when his proud faith in "pure War" had just been severely torn open.

Reason and pride clashed fiercely.

Ultimately, the precise assessment of risk and cost, honed through countless battles and belonging to a top-tier expert, overcame the momentary anger and unwillingness.

Xuanyuan Hong took a deep breath (simulated), and that cold and majestic Divine Thought once again resounded throughout the battlefield. This time, however, it carried an unprecedented mix of emotions—shock, unwillingness, a hint of frustration, and... resolve.

"Referee System." His voice returned to calm, but no longer with the previous absolute indifference, "I, Xuanyuan Hong, representing the 'Unyielding Bulwark' squad... concede."

"In this battle, our divine kingdom suffered special rule erosion, and the core area was severely damaged, having lost the conditions to continue fair competition and contend for victory. According to Article 7, Paragraph 3 of the competition rules, I request to terminate the match and declare our side defeated."

As his words fell, the entire arena once again fell into a brief silence, then erupted into an even more violent roar!

"Conceded?! Xuanyuan Hong personally conceded!"

"They really won! The Hundred Schools Squad won! The School of Literature and Law is in the finals!"

"Upset! An epic upset! The weak overcoming the strong!"

"Lin Zhou! The Way of Civilization! Absolutely amazing!"

"History! This is the history of Xinghai University! The School of Literature and Law has never made it to the top four, and now they're directly in the finals!"

Buzz—

As Xuanyuan Hong's concession was confirmed by the Referee System, the simulated battlefield slowly began to dissipate. The projections of the two divine kingdoms gradually blurred and separated. The pale golden encroached area also gradually dimmed and disappeared as the link was severed, but the impact it caused and the "legend" it left behind were deeply imprinted in the heart of every witness.

Consciousness returned.

The five members of the Hundred Schools Squad "woke up" almost simultaneously, returning to the familiar preparation room.

Lin Zhou was the last to regain consciousness. He felt a splitting headache, and his godhead sent waves of illusory stinging pain. His body was empty, without the strength to even lift a finger. His vision blurred for a moment before gradually clearing. He saw Zhao Hao slumped in a chair, panting heavily with his mouth open, a silly grin on his face; Wang Meng leaned against the wall, eyes closed, but his chest heaved violently, clearly unable to contain his excitement; Li Mo's glasses were askew, his fingers still twitching unconsciously, seemingly from furiously recording data; Qin Qing was relatively calm, but her pale face and slightly trembling fingertips betrayed her inner turmoil.

"We... won?" Lin Zhou's voice was so hoarse it startled even himself.

"We won! Old Lin! We won! That guy Xuanyuan Hong conceded! We're in the finals!" Zhao Hao suddenly jumped up, intending to rush over and embrace Lin Zhou, but his legs gave out, and he almost fell, yet he still shouted excitedly.

Wang Meng opened his eyes, nodded heavily, and grinned. He wanted to say something but just let out a deep "Heh," everything unsaid.

Li Mo adjusted his glasses, his voice filled with the exhaustion after exhilaration: "The data... all the data has been recorded... the entire process of the principles of civilization's reverse erosion... the peak rule offset rate reached 71%... the War Soul transformation induction model has been initially established... this will be groundbreaking..."

Qin Qing walked up to Lin Zhou, looking at him deeply. Her usually cool eyes now held an unprecedented bright radiance. "You did it." She said softly, her tone more certain than ever, "You directly broke through the 'pure War' Dao Domain with the principles of civilization. This battle is enough to be recorded in the academy's annals."

Just then, the door to the preparation room was flung open, and the dean of the School of Literature and Law rushed in, his face full of excitement, followed by several equally thrilled academy professors and staff members.

"Good! Good! Good!" The dean repeated "good" three times, vigorously patting Lin Zhou's shoulder (though Lin Zhou felt like he was being hit by a sledgehammer), "You have created history! The School of Literature and Law is proud of you! Just now, the headmaster personally sent a message, highly praising your battle, especially the 'Way of Civilization' displayed by student Lin Zhou! The school will give you the highest level of commendation!"

The dean's words, like a final confirmation, completely injected the reality of victory into everyone's hearts.

Joy, fatigue, shock, bewilderment... various emotions intertwined. But more than that, there was a tremendous sense of accomplishment from breaking through shackles and proving themselves.

They, from the School of Literature and Law, which was jokingly called "battle-scum."

They, made up of a group of divine Domains with seemingly disparate, even "non-mainstream" styles.

They, faced top-tier experts they could only look up to in the past, and absolute power suppression.

They, with wisdom, with cooperation, with an unyielding will, and more importantly, with that unique Dao called "Civilization," forcefully carved open the iron curtain and created an impossible miracle!

The Hundred Schools Squad, Advanced to the finals!

This news, like the fiercest storm, instantly swept across the entire Xinghai University and, through various channels, spread to the broader Star Domain.

The special edition of the "Star Sea Daily" was published at light speed, its front-page headline changed to an even more shocking: [Myth Born! School of Literature and Law's 'Hundred Schools' Overthrows the King of War with the Way of Civilization, Historically Enters the Hegemony Tournament Finals!]

Subtitle: [Led by Lin Zhou, with thought as sword and rules as shield, opening a new chapter in divine battles!]

The campus forum completely crashed, all topics revolving around this battle, around keywords like "river of civilization," "Jixia Academy phantom," "War Souls holding books," and around Lin Zhou and his Hundred Schools of Thought.

The area where the School of Literature and Law was located celebrated all night. Students from other academies, whether willing or not, had to seriously examine this once-ignored academy and the emerging power known as the "Way of Civilization," which seemed to possess infinite possibilities.

As for Lin Zhou, after a brief celebration and receiving a flood of congratulations, he once again fell into a deep coma—an inevitable reaction to severe overexertion. He was urgently sent to the academy's highest-level medical divine Domain for recuperation.

But before sinking into darkness, a faint smile played on his lips.

The finals were within reach.

The Way of the Hundred Schools finally welcomed its own dazzling first ray of dawn.