346: Chapter 281: Persuading with Reason, Dissolving Obsessions Through Discussion of Various Schools of Thought

"Pfft—!"

Pale golden Divine Blood splattered on the inner wall of the dim light of civilization barrier, spreading out in desolate, brilliant spots. Lin Zhou's body shook violently, his complexion rapidly shifting from a paper-gold pallor to a morbid flush, then fading just as quickly, leaving only a nearly transparent weakness. Forcibly peeking into the core of the God King's remnant, and touching that sealed, resentment-soaked ancient memory, brought a backlash far beyond imagination. His Divine Soul felt as if it were being repeatedly pierced by billions of red-hot steel needles, and the resonance link with the river of civilization experienced a momentary disorder and fluctuation.

Lin Zhou's Current Status (Rapid Deterioration):

Divine Power Reserve: 28800 / 95000 (continuously high-speed consumption)

Godhead Load: 94% (nearing overload, divine fire flickering unsteadily)

Stability of the river of civilization: 65% (continuously declining due to Divine Soul injury and high-load operation)

Divine Soul Trauma: 【Severe Mental Backlash】, 【Law Contamination (Minor)】, 【Consciousness Oscillation】

Estimated Time of Consciousness Maintenance (if trauma is not treated immediately): < 10 minutes

Integrity of the light of civilization barrier: 82% (accelerated decay due to Lin Zhou's deteriorating state)

"Lin Zhou!" Su Yueyao exclaimed, disregarding her own consumption, condensing the last of the pure moonlight in her palms, about to press it against Lin Zhou's forehead in an attempt to stabilize his turbulent Divine Soul.

Qin Qing also rushed forward. Although her Law brilliance was weak, it carried an unquestionable, stable will, attempting to help Lin Zhou sort out his chaotic perception of Law.

However, the crisis outside the barrier had escalated to an unprecedented level!

The wraith aggregate—or rather, that core of the God King's remnant bearing the final madness and resentment of the 'Sole Master of My Dao', after being touched at the deepest memory scar by Lin Zhou's Fire of Civilization, had fallen into hysterical rage!

"Ant... thief... inheritor of heresy!!! How dare you peek into the cause of my fall?! You... you are just like those 'heretics' who besieged me... all of you should be completely erased! Completely disappear from the meaning of existence!!!"

The thought, overlapping with the roars of countless vengeful Souls, contained monstrous hatred and paranoia, like an invisible tsunami, impacting the light of civilization barrier, causing the miniature scenes of civilization on the barrier's surface to dim and shatter in large swathes! The entire barrier emitted an unbearable creaking sound, and its light dimmed at a speed visible to the naked eye!

Wraith Core Status:

Energy Reaction: Rapidly climbing, breaking through the LV650 threshold, approaching LV700 (Mid-Tier Divine Power high-stage)!

Law Condensation: Core Laws such as 'Termination', 'Resentment', 'Sole Master', and 'Erasure' are highly activated and beginning to merge, brewing unknown changes.

Locked Target: Precisely focused from 'all living beings within the barrier' to 'Lin Zhou (and the river of civilization connected to his Divine Soul)'.

Attack Omen: The core 'Black Sun' shrinks inwardly to the extreme, forming an infinitely deep Dark Singularity, emitting terrifying suction and destructive fluctuations that cause the spatial structure to distort and disintegrate!

【Warning! High-level destructive energy accumulation detected!】

【Skill Prediction: Unknown mixed Law attack (based on 'Sole Master · Termination · Resentment'), Intensity: God King level (remnant's full-force strike)!】

【Estimated Tolerance of the light of civilization barrier: Less than 30%!】

【Countdown to attack release: 10... 9... 8...】

The scarlet warning flashed crazily in Lin Zhou's blurred consciousness. The auxiliary Divine Power from Su Yueyao and Qin Qing was like a clay ox entering the sea, almost unable to alleviate the sharp pain and Chaos in his Divine Soul. The shadow of death had never been as solid and imminent as it was now!

Resist head-on? Absolutely impossible! If not for his Epiphany of the true meaning of 'Civilization is Indestructible' during the previous 【Godfall Gaze】, using the method of merging into the river and stimulating the imprints of the sages to form a conceptual defense, they would have been wiped out long ago. And now, the opponent was unleashing their final strike, exhausting all remaining power and fusing their core obsession! Even if the barrier could barely withstand it, the remaining impact and Law contamination would be enough to completely collapse the heavily injured Lin Zhou's Divine Soul, causing Su Yueyao, Qin Qing, and the others to be instantly annihilated!

Escape? The surroundings were completely sealed by black fog of resentment and the resentment of divine remains. Space was solidified by the 'Termination' Law, and the civilization ark's engine was far away in the Divine Kingdom, and its energy was insufficient to force a jump here.

Martial confrontation? The gap was despairingly wide.

Just at this critical moment, in this desperate situation where it seemed only closing one's eyes and waiting for death remained, deep in Lin Zhou's eyes, which were nearly unfocused due to extreme pain and Chaos, a weak but incredibly tenacious Fire of Civilization suddenly flickered!

Fragments of the memory he had just glimpsed flashed rapidly through his mind:

— "My Dao is the truth! You heretics, with your ant-like strength, dare to block my heavenly army? You shall be executed!" (The paranoid roar of the Sole Master of My Dao)

— "Different Daos, no common ground? Yet in this world, is there only one Dao? Your Dao is solitary, isolated, it is not the Dao of all living beings!" (The questioning and sighing of the Huaxia sages)

— In that tragic siege, the predecessors did not seem to rely purely on brute force to suppress others, but kept trying to 'Discuss the Dao', attempting to conquer with reason...

— Deep within the wraith core, that trace of 'loneliness' and 'obsession' with an extremely high essence, masked by madness...

— And, the river of civilization surging endlessly, encompassing everything. Its most powerful strength might never be destruction, but understanding, Legacy, and Enlightenment!

A daring, even whimsical idea, like lightning splitting the Chaos in the dark, suddenly illuminated Lin Zhou's thoughts!

Cannot fight with force, cannot escape.

Then... Discuss the Dao!

With the brilliance of my Hundred Schools civilization, dialogue with your solitary obsession of the 'Sole Master'!

This is not a battle, but a clash of thoughts, a debate of paths, a final attempt by civilization to save a lost Soul!

"Cough..." Lin Zhou forcibly swallowed the bloody sweetness surging in his throat. Under the stunned gazes of Su Yueyao and Qin Qing, he struggled to stand straight again. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath (even though there was no real air here), and then gathered all his remaining Divine Thought, all his insights into Way of Civilization, and all his understanding of the memory of the 'Sole Master of My Dao' he had just glimpsed... all together.

He no longer tried to reinforce the crumbling light of civilization barrier, but instead voluntarily lowered the barrier's defensive strength, maintaining only the most basic 'existence anchoring' function. At the same time, he transformed his Divine Soul consciousness, which was deeply fused with the river of civilization, into a clear, peaceful, yet profound 'voice' containing the vast Foundation of civilization, and actively met the wraith core that was condensing its final strike.

"Sole Master of My Dao—" Lin Zhou's Divine Thought voice pierced through the violent roars of resentment and rang directly around the Dark Singularity, "Your Dao is wrong."

Not a provocation, not an insult, but a calm statement, like a historian recording a fact.

The crazily gathering destructive energy suddenly paused.

"Ant... what did you say?!" The intent of the wraith core was filled with incredulous rage, but within it, there seemed to be a trace of an extremely weak... palpitation that even it had not noticed? How many years had it been? Since it fell and turned into this aggregate of crazy resentment, no other existence had ever said the three words "The Dao is wrong" to it in such a calm, even slightly... compassionate tone. Its past enemies had either been afraid, hateful, or had tried to destroy it.

"I said, your Dao of 'Sole Master' has gone astray, narrowed, and finally led to a dead end of self-destruction." Lin Zhou's Divine Thought continued to transmit, accompanied by countless interpretative fragments about the "Dao" flowing from the river of civilization, "Are you willing to listen to what is 'Dao'? What is 'civilization'? What is... true 'coexistence'?"

"Absurd! My Dao is the only truth! Why listen to the nonsense of you heretics!" The wraith core fluctuated violently, and the destructive energy continued to gather, but the speed seemed to slow down imperceptibly. The deeply buried residue of rationality belonging to the 'Sole Master of My Dao' was gently touched by this familiar yet strange posture of 'Discussing the Dao'. Once upon a time, it seemed that there was also a group of "heretics" who tried to "Discuss the Dao" with it before destruction descended...

"Truth is never afraid of debate. If your Dao is truly the only truth, why fear hearing the words of another Dao?" Lin Zhou seized that hint of hesitation and immediately continued to push forward with the Confucian spirit of "Knocking on both ends and exhausting them", "You hate civilization, thinking that the diversity of civilization is illusory and chaotic. Then I ask you: If there is no Legacy of civilization, how can knowledge be accumulated? How can wisdom be increased? How can living beings transcend ignorance and recognize themselves and the world?"

In the river of civilization, scenes of ancient ancestors drilling wood for fire, tying knots to record events, and making tools and building houses appeared—that was the initial glimmer of civilization.

The wraith core was silent (destructive energy was still gathering, but the expansion speed of the singularity had significantly slowed down).

"You think 'Sole Master' is supreme, and all things should operate according to your will." Lin Zhou changed his angle, cutting in with Taoist thought, "However, 'Tao Follows Nature'. The operation of heaven and earth, the alternation of the four seasons, the birth and death of all things, all have their own Laws and measures, which cannot be completely dominated by any individual will. Forcing it, going against the heavens, how can it last?"

In the river, the Yin and Yang fish rotated, the scenes of the four seasons reincarnated, and the galaxy flowed, showing the grand and harmonious "Way of Nature".

A trace of disorder appeared in the fluctuations of the wraith core. Deep within that "Black Sun", some deeply sealed initial realization about the "Dao" (perhaps at the beginning of its Enlightenment, it had also observed the nature of heaven and earth) was faintly touched.

[part:gemini-3.0-flash]

"You rule your divine kingdom with a 'Sole Order,' obliterating all autonomy and dissent." Lin Zhou's voice gradually became magnificent, blending the philosophies of the School of Legalism, the School of Mohism, and the School of Military. "Legalism says: 'The Law does not favor the noble, and the line does not bend for the crooked.' Laws should be public instruments, not the private tools of one person. Mohism advocates for 'Universal Love and Non-Aggression,' seeking Universal Love and peaceful coexistence. The School of Military also says: 'The best military policy is to thwart the enemy's strategy, the next best is to disrupt his alliances.' To subdue the enemy without fighting is the superior strategy. Your rule is filled with fear and coercion rather than recognition and cooperation. Such an Order may seem stable, but it is actually a castle built on sand, its Foundation hollow."

Within the river, legal codes emerged, a Mechanical City rose from the ground, and a strategic sandbox evolved tactics for winning without battle.

"Because your Dao is different, you view thousands of civilizations as enemies and launch so-called 'purification' wars." Lin Zhou's Divine Thought carried a deep emotion—the sorrow of one civilization for another lost path. "Have you ever truly understood the civilizations you destroyed? They might have been weak, or their paths different, but they also flickered with the radiance of wisdom and life. Only when a Hundred Schools of thought contend can ideas burst forth; only when ten thousand flowers bloom is the garden truly filled with the colors of spring. Your 'Sole Self' has devoured diversity and the possibility of progress, ultimately trapping yourself in a cage of loneliness and paranoia!"

Within the river, sparks of civilization from different styles, races, and faiths emerged. Though weak, each was beautiful, together forming the vastness and splendor of the Universe.

For the first time, the destructive energy of the wraith's core showed clear signs of dissipating! The Dark Singularity stopped expanding and instead began to shrink slightly inward. Deep within the core, amidst the thoughts of frantic resentment, more memory fragments struggled to surface: the prayers and cries of those civilizations in their final moments; the numb and rigid eyes of the followers under his "Sole Order"; and... during that ultimate siege, the eyes of the "heretical" civilization powerhouses, which held not just opposition, but an incomprehensible sorrow for his "Dao" and a complex desire to guide him...

"No... wrong... My Dao... is supreme... They... are all wrong..." The wraith's thoughts began to grow chaotic and contradictory, filled with the agony of self-argument. The madness was receding, but the paranoia rooted in its very marrow and the resentment born from it were still putting up a desperate struggle.

Lin Zhou knew the most critical moment had arrived. He no longer simply criticized but began to attempt "Establishing the Dao," expounding the core of Way of Civilization.

"The Dao is not a solitary path. Civilization values Legacy and development." Lin Zhou's Divine Soul reached its peak resonance with the river of civilization, and the phantom of the Hundred Schools Temple within the barrier behind him projected a magnificent radiance. "The School of Confucianism speaks of 'Harmony without Uniformity,' acknowledging differences and pursuing harmony. The School of Taoism speaks of 'Supreme Good is like water; water benefits all things without contention,' embracing and nourishing without forced assimilation. The School of Mohism speaks of 'Promoting the world's benefits and eliminating the world's harms,' blessing all beings with pragmatism and Universal Love. The School of Legalism establishes Order with Law, the School of Military ensures peace with strategy, the School of Agriculture strengthens the Foundation, the School of Medicine protects life, the School of Names distinguishes logic, the School of Diplomacy connects the grand trends, and the School of Miscellaneous integrates a hundred rivers..."

With every school he named, a corresponding wave lit up in the river of civilization. The phantoms of ancient sages reappeared; though not as clear as when the barrier was first activated, the philosophical radiance they contained was purer, pointing directly to the Origin.

"This is civilization! Inclusion rather than exclusion, Legacy rather than fragmentation, development rather than stagnation, coexistence rather than supremacy!" Lin Zhou's voice was like a great bronze bell, carrying the power to cleanse the Soul. "Your path of 'Sole Self' might have once allowed you to reach the summit, but that summit is a lonely peak, a precipice with no scenery around it, only the biting cold wind and endless solitude. To keep walking is only to fall."

"But Way of Civilization," Lin Zhou's Divine Thought became incredibly gentle, like a spring breeze turning into rain, "is a continuous range of mountains, a rushing flow of rivers, the passing of a spark. Even in the lowest valleys and darkest nights, there is always someone holding a torch high to light the way and pass the flame to those who come after. This road may be winding and full of challenges, but it leads to true prosperity, to the magnificence of all things competing for freedom under the frosty sky, to... hope."

"Hope..." the wraith core repeated the word. The light of the "Black Sun" shifted drastically as madness and resentment receded like a tide, revealing at its deepest point a faint, pure, yet infinitely weary, lonely, and... bewildered glimmer of light. That was the last bit of unpolluted True Spirit Residue of the "Sole Master of My Dao."

The destructive energy completely dissipated. The Dark Singularity vanished without a trace. The black mist and divine corpse resentment churning around lost their core driver and began to slowly drift away and fade.

The massive collective of wraiths, like a sandcastle with its framework removed, began to collapse and dissolve. Under the light of civilization, the ferocious expressions on the countless wailing wraith phantoms faded into peace, and they turned into specks of light dust, returning to heaven and earth. The shattered rules and scenes of the divine kingdom also vanished like bubbles.

Only that speck of pure True Spirit Residue remained suspended in place.

Inside the barrier, Su Yueyao, Qin Qing, and all the surviving team members held their breath, looking at this miraculous scene in disbelief. The violent and overbearing God King wraith had actually... been "talked" down? Had it dissipated?

Lin Zhou's Divine Soul slowly withdrew from the river of civilization and returned to his body. His face was still as pale as paper and his aura was weak, but his eyes were as bright as stars, filled with the clarity and tranquility that follows exhaustion. He looked at the speck of True Spirit Residue and asked softly, "Now, do you understand?"

The speck of True Spirit Residue flickered slightly, transmitting a final, weak, intermittent, yet crystal-clear thought. There was no longer any madness or resentment, only deep exhaustion, endless regret, and a hint of... relief:

"Civilization... coexistence... Dao is not supreme... hope..."

"If I had heard of this Dao sooner... if back then... someone like you... had discussed this Dao with me..."

"How did it come to this... why did I... become so isolated... so resentful... destruction... is also self-destruction..."

"Thank... you..."

In the final, barely audible echo of "thank you," the speck of True Spirit Residue—carrying the last bit of clarity and regret of the ancient God King—flickered like a candle in the wind, then transformed into a wisp of the purest rule-light without any attributes. It flew toward Lin Zhou of its own accord and merged into the Fire of Civilization at his brow.

[Prompt: Absorbed the pure True Spirit Residue of the "Sole Master of My Dao" (extremely weak).]

[Effect: The Godhead Origin has received a slight supplement and cleansing; permanent increase in resistance to extreme rules such as "Sole Self," "Ending," and "Resentment." Obtained fragmented "God King-level Insights into the Path (Skewed Version)," which can serve as a negative reference to deepen the understanding of the inclusive nature of civilization.]

[The river of civilization records the epic event "Persuading the God King's Remnant Thought with Reason." The stability of the civilization brand has increased, and some exhausted branch streams have begun to slowly recover.]

With the dissipation of the True Spirit Residue, the oppressive atmosphere of the basin at the core of the Bone Mountains suddenly vanished. Although the "Godfall Curse" and the lingering breath of death still existed, the suffocating pressure of the mad resentment had disappeared. A very faint but real glimmer of light seemed to pierce through the grey sky.

"Is... is it over?" Qin Qing murmured. The longsword she held tightly finally lowered slowly. Her body went soft, and she could barely stand, supported by a nearby Tianxian Merman Inquisitor.

Su Yueyao let out a long breath. Her tightly wound nerves suddenly relaxed, and intense exhaustion and lingering fear flooded her heart. She looked at Lin Zhou, her beautiful eyes filled with complex and indescribable emotions: concern, shock, admiration, and a deeper sentiment that even she might not fully understand. "Are you... alright?" she asked softly, her voice a bit raspy.

Lin Zhou shook his head, then nodded. He wanted to say something, but felt the world spinning. The dual trauma to his Divine Soul and Physical Body erupted simultaneously. His vision went black, and his body slumped forward.

"Lin Zhou!" Su Yueyao cried out, rushing forward to catch him.

Feeling the coldness and weak breath of the body in her arms, Su Yueyao bit her lip and looked up at the bottomless dark pit left after the wraith dissipated, as well as the still-perilous Ancient Battlefield surrounding them.

The crisis was temporarily averted, but this was definitely not a place to stay.

She looked around at the remaining team members, all injured and exhausted, and a resolute light gathered once more in her cold eyes.

"Qin Qing, can you still move? Organize everyone and evacuate this place immediately! Return the way we came and head for the relatively safe edge area!" Su Yueyao ordered decisively, temporarily taking over command.

"Yes!" Qin Qing forced herself to respond.

The remnants of the squad, carrying the unconscious Lin Zhou, began their difficult but determined retreat along the path they had come. Everyone's heart was filled with the joy of surviving a disaster and a deep shock from the incredible "Discussing the Dao" just now.

Way of Civilization can not only build a home and fight on the battlefield, but it can even... transcend the remnant thoughts of a God King?

Just how many more miracles can this path bring?

As for Lin Zhou, who had absorbed that speck of True Spirit Residue, deep within his consciousness while he was unconscious, the river of civilization flowed quietly, its bed seeming to become wider and deeper. The harvest of a victory of thought might be far more profound than a conquest by force.