340: Chapter 275: The Battlefield Begins, the Squad Ventures Deep into the Sea of ​​Ruins

The [Ancient Battlefield Core Area Pass (Gold)] grew slightly hot in his palm, like a burning star core or a tombstone soaked in countless ancient sighs. The starlight flowing on the token's surface was dim and erratic, sometimes stagnant like clotted blood scabs, sometimes restless like a dying gasp. It was a key, a beacon, and an invitation—or rather, a challenge—steeped in endless ages and the breath of death.

Fifteen standard days had passed since the end of the finals.

During these fifteen days, Xinghai University was immersed in the wild joy and glory of winning the championship. Congratulations from all over the Milky Way, media interviews, and attention from various factions poured in. Lin Zhou's title as the 'civilization warlord' resounded among the younger generation and even began to spread to higher-level circles. However, as the eye of the storm, Lin Zhou himself remained unusually low-key.

He politely declined most unnecessary social engagements, devoting most of his time to the recovery and assimilation of his Divine Kingdom. The series of fierce battles with Michael, especially the final feat of devouring the Holy Heaven, had left his Divine Kingdom and river of civilization in a delicate state of being 'too weak to absorb a sudden surge' yet 'exploding with potential.' Although the area of the Divine Kingdom had not expanded for the time being, its internal rule structure had become more dense and stable. After the river of civilization digested a massive amount of Divine Rules, the 'density' and 'information carrying capacity' of the river water increased by about 18.3%, and a small tributary containing the essence of 'Orderly Light' and 'Judicial Decision' emerged (temporarily called the [Civilization · Judgment] tributary). That MVP reward, the [Unknown Divine Substance], was carefully sealed within the core of the temple after resonating with the river of civilization, awaiting the right moment for absorption and research—he instinctively felt that the thing was extraordinary and might involve secrets of a higher level.

His personal panel showed significant changes:

【Deity】: Lin Zhou

【Divinity Level】: LV470 (Peak Lesser Divinity; still some distance from the LV500 threshold of Mid-Tier Divine Power, but his foundation far exceeds his peers)

【divine office】: Education (Stable), Law (Stable), (Civilization · Judgment: Faint, Budding Stage)

【Divine Power Reserves】: 12,800/150,000 (The upper limit increased due to the improvement of the Divine Kingdom's foundation; recovery speed +5%)

【Divine Kingdom】: Hundred Schools Divine Kingdom (Stabilization Phase)

【Area】: Approx. 350 square kilometers (Rule density increased, actual carrying capacity enhanced)

【Core Followers】: Literary Heart Elves (Avg. LV40), Tiangong Dwarves (Avg. LV38), Law Fishmen (Avg. LV37), added a small number of [Daoist True Practitioners] (Avg. LV36, converted from Daoist thought specialists, few in number).

【civilization points】: 21,500 points (Obtained from tournament rewards and spreading ideology)

【Special】: river of civilization (Manifestation-Grade, digesting), Fire of Civilization (Purple-Gold), God King Fragment (Slowly absorbing, progress 0.8%).

Su Yueyao, Wang Meng, Qin Qing, and Zhou Yan were also in full recovery mode. Su Yueyao's Moonlight Divine Power seemed more refined due to its resonance with the Fire of Civilization during the finals; Wang Meng's Behemoth Divine Kingdom had some of its losses replenished with Zhao Hao's help (Zhao Hao had mostly recovered but could not enter the core area this time); Qin Qing and Zhou Yan each made their own progress. Having gone through life and death together in the finals, the tacit understanding among the five had reached a new height.

Finally, the scheduled teleportation time for the pass arrived.

Inside Xinghai University, in front of a top-level teleportation array protected by layers of Divine Power barriers. Vice Dean Wang Zhenyue personally saw them off, his expression solemn: "The Ancient Battlefield is a place where opportunity and death coexist. Especially in the core area, we have very little information. Remember, staying alive is the first priority; you must return within thirty days! If you encounter dangers you cannot understand or resist, retreat immediately! Lin Zhou, you are the captain and the one bound to the pass; your responsibility is heavy."

"Understood, Vice Dean." Lin Zhou nodded solemnly. He looked at his four companions beside him: Su Yueyao was as cold as ever but her gaze was firm; Wang Meng was rubbing his hands, his Battle Intent high; Qin Qing was checking her Law scrolls meticulously; Zhou Yan carried a massive lava warhammer, as steady as a mountain.

"Let's go." Lin Zhou took a deep breath and activated the golden token in his hand.

The token erupted with an intense dark-gold light, enveloping the five of them. A desolate, ancient space fluctuation mixed with the scent of rust and dust rippled out. The surrounding scenery began to twist and stretch, finally turning into a bizarre vortex.

After a brief, Soul-dizzying teleportation, their feet hit solid ground.

The expected landing point might have been solid earth, cold rock, or some strange energy platform. However, when Lin Zhou and the others steadied themselves and swept their Divine Thought across the surroundings, even though they were mentally prepared, they were still shocked into a daze by the sight before them. Even their breathing seemed frozen by the oncoming aura of death and decay.

The Sea of Ruins, true to its name!

They stood on a relatively flat, dark-gold metal platform about the size of several football fields. The edges of the platform were jagged, filled with massive tear marks and holes from energy erosion. It was clearly a broken deck fragment of an ultra-giant Divine Kingdom battleship or war fortress. The metal beneath their feet did not feel hard, but rather had a deathly coldness, as if even the metal's own vitality (if it ever had any) had long been drained and annihilated.

And looking out from this fragment as the center, in all directions—up, down, left, and right—was a boundless, endless ocean of Divine Kingdom ruins!

There were massive, mountain-like remains of temple domes where the carved patterns of gods and demons had long since blurred, leaving only ferocious silhouettes; broken rule chains, tens or even hundreds of kilometers long, like the carcasses of giant pythons, hung limply in the void or wrapped around ruins, their surface runes dim, occasionally flashing with dangerous energy turbulence; patches of solidified lakes in eerie colors like dark red, ghostly blue, and sickly green—that was not water, but highly concentrated, mutated divine blood filled with violent rule remnants! Just sensing it from a distance caused a stinging pain in the Soul; countless bizarre giant structures that did not fit any existing civilization's architectural style were either floating, half-buried, or interlocked, forming the main body of this dead Star Domain.

The light was extremely dim, as if permanently shrouded in a gray haze of dust and energy embers. Only in the far distance did eerie lights—whether from energy explosions or residual divine fires—occasionally flash, illuminating more twisted and terrifying silhouettes before plunging back into deeper darkness. The spatial structure was extremely unstable; fine, pitch-black spatial cracks like scars were visible to the naked eye, slowly squirming and opening throughout the field of vision, emitting a terrifying aura that sucked in all things and sliced through rules.

Even more heart-palpitating was the environment itself.

The air (if it could still be called air) was permeated with an invisible 'field' that made the Soul feel heavy, decayed, and sorrowful. A prompt immediately flashed on the System panel:

[Entered the edge of the Ancient Battlefield core area.]

[Warning: The environment has the 'God-Fall Curse' (Regional Law-grade negative effect).]

Effect: All living units within range that do not possess divinity (or divine protection) will suffer continuous life drain and rule erosion.

Current Intensity: Loss of 1% of maximum HP per minute (This effect is slightly influenced by the target's Physique, rule resistance, and degree of divine protection, but cannot be completely immunized).

Additional Effect: Slight suppression of Divine Thought perception range (-20%), continuous mental pressure (prone to negative emotions such as fear, despair, and auditory hallucinations).

Exemption Conditions: Possess a Godhead (Deities themselves and direct hero units are completely exempt); unit itself contains a trace of divinity (such as certain legendary creatures, demigod followers, etc., which can greatly weaken the effect); or being under the protection of a powerful divine barrier or rule Domain.

"Damn! What kind of ghost place is this!" Wang Meng was the first to curse. As soon as the few auxiliary followers he brought with his Divine Kingdom (such as the [Troglodyte Drudges] responsible for logistics, around level LV25) appeared, they let out groans of pain. Faint gray gas began to rise from their bodies, and their life aura began to drain slowly but steadily. "My drudges won't last more than a few minutes!"

Qin Qing reacted extremely quickly, immediately deploying the Judgment Angel's [Order Barrier] (small range, high consumption), enveloping everyone on the platform and the few necessary followers they brought, temporarily isolating most of the curse effects. "Lin Zhou, this environment is fatal to the low-tier non-combat followers we brought. We must immediately find a relatively safe area to establish a base, or have them return to the Divine Kingdom."

Su Yueyao frowned deeply, her Moonlight Divine Power spreading slightly to purify the uncomfortable aura around them. Her cold voice rang out: "It's not just the curse. The spatial rules here are extremely fragile and chaotic. Large-scale Divine Kingdom deployment or high-energy activities might trigger unpredictable chain reactions, such as... attracting certain 'things,' or activating dangers lying dormant in the ruins."

Zhou Yan crouched down, his rough palm stroking the metal platform beneath his feet, feeling the residual energy pathways that had been cold for who knows how many tens of thousands of years. He said in a deep voice: "This fragment... its strength is staggering. The level of the residual defensive runes is at least God King grade. But it was shattered... what kind of power..."

As the captain, Lin Zhou quickly suppressed his initial shock and forced himself into a focused state. He swept his Divine Thought around with maximum caution (the range was about eight thousand meters after suppression). He saw that below the edge of the platform was a bottomless, dark void floating with more tiny fragments; in the distance, a spire was half-inserted into another continental shelf remnant, its tip still flickering with extremely weak, unstable ghostly blue electric arcs; to the left, a dark red divine blood lake was terrifyingly calm, but the lake surface reflected distorted shadows of the ruins, as if it were an entrance to another world; to the right front, where several broken rule chains intersected, the spatial folds were obvious, emitting a heart-palpitating suction force...

Danger was everywhere. Opportunity might also be hidden within.

"Everyone, put away non-essential followers, keep only elite combat units and heroes," Lin Zhou ordered decisively. "Qin Qing, maintain the Order Barrier at the minimum level to save Divine Power. Yueyao, use Moonlight to detect relatively stable spatial nodes and energy flows within three thousand meters ahead. Wang Meng, Zhou Yan, stay alert and watch for any unusual movements."

"The fragment under our feet is temporarily stable and can serve as an initial foothold. But we shouldn't stay long. We need to move in that direction—" Lin Zhou pointed to the left front, where the ruins were relatively sparse. One could vaguely see a 'mountain range' composed of relatively intact giant skeletons (remains of an unknown race). There seemed to be gaps between the bones for passage, and the concentration of the 'God-Fall Curse' in that direction seemed slightly thinner (according to Moonlight detection feedback). "That place might have once been the fall site of some giant creature; its residual pressure might have dispersed part of the environmental curse, though it might also hide other dangers. Let's get closer and establish a preliminary defense before deciding on the next direction for exploration."

The group acted as instructed, quickly closing Ranks and forming a simple defensive formation. The Wenxin Elf scholars began to chant the "Song of Righteousness" in low voices, using Vast Righteous Qi to help stabilize their minds and resist the mental pressure of the environment. Under the command of the hero Li Mo, the Tiangong Dwarf engineers used portable Materials they carried to quickly set up several simple [Mohist Sentry Mechanisms] and [Blocking Runes] at the edge of the platform.

Just as the squad was preparing to cautiously advance toward the skeletal mountain range, the God King fragment slowly being absorbed inside Lin Zhou's body suddenly vibrated extremely slightly! At the same time, the river of civilization seemed to sense something; the river water rippled slightly, transmitting a faint... throb and longing toward the deeper part of the skeletal mountains, that dark area shrouded by the shadows of massive ribcages.

Lin Zhou's heart stirred. The God King fragment and the river of civilization reacted at the same time? Was there... something there attracting them?

"Wait." Lin Zhou stopped everyone, his gaze sharp as he looked toward the darkness under those ribs. "There... might be something there. Everyone, stay high alert. We're changing plans; we'll prioritize exploring that direction."

The first day of the Ancient Battlefield thus began its cruel and mysterious prologue amidst the boundless ruins of death and the quietly emerging unknown attraction. The thirty-day countdown had begun.