408: Chapter 343: Seizing the Opportunity for a Fierce Attack, A Hundred Schools of Thought Shatter the Throne

Within the cracks of the eternal throne, the Fire of Civilization continued to burn.

Weak, yet firm.

Elios leaned against the armrest of the throne, his face as pale as paper.

His Dao Heart had wavered to a critical point—stability remained at only 50%, the output of his divine fire had fallen to 60% of its normal state, and the structural rules of the entire Eternal Divine Kingdom had loosened visibly to the naked eye.

【Eternal Divine Kingdom · Status】

- Rule Integrity: 78% (dropped to 82%, due to throne damage and wavering Dao Heart)

- Time Dilation Domain: Automatically disabled (maintenance consumption too high)

- Heroic Spirit Legion resurrection frequency: dropped to less than three hundred per minute

- Elios Divine Power reserve: 87,000 / 500,000

- Current combat power assessment: only 55% of peak period

"Captain, do we... really have to admit defeat?" the adjutant's voice carried unwillingness.

Elios did not answer.

His gaze remained fixed on that crack, on those warm, golden rays of light.

"Wait a little longer," he finally said.

Wait for what?

He didn't know.

Perhaps, waiting for an answer.

Perhaps, waiting for the young man lying in the medical pod to stand up again.

Xinghai University preparation space, medical pod.

Lin Zhou's body trembled violently.

He opened his eyes.

It wasn't the weak, hazy awakening from before, but a real, clear, and Battle Intent-filled opening of his eyes.

【Lin Zhou · Status Update】

- Divinity Integrity: 51% (Divinity repair fluid continuously taking effect)

- Divine Power reserve: 5000 / 200,000 (still extremely low)

- civilization furnace durability: 35% (slowly repairing)

- Current status: barely able to fight, but cannot sustain

"Captain!" Qin Qing was the first to notice Lin Zhou waking up and rushed over, "How do you feel?"

"I'm fine," Lin Zhou sat up and moved his stiff arms, "What's the situation outside?"

"The Eternal Divine Court hasn't admitted defeat yet," Qin Qing quickly reported, "Elios's Dao Heart is wavering, and his Divine Power output has dropped significantly, but he is still holding on. He seems to be... waiting for something."

"Waiting for me," Lin Zhou's mouth slightly curled up, "He is waiting for me to give him an answer."

"An answer?"

"The answer regarding 'eternity'."

Lin Zhou stood up from the medical pod. Although his body was still trembling slightly, his eyes had regained their usual sharpness.

"Prepare for battle."

"But your Divine Power..."

"It's enough," Lin Zhou interrupted Qin Qing, "We don't need too much Divine Power. This battle isn't about Divine Power; it's about the 'Dao'."

He looked up, looking outside the preparation space at the phantom of the eternal throne spanning the Void Realm.

The cracks on the throne were clearly visible.

The Fire of Civilization within the cracks was still burning.

"He is already doubting his own Dao," Lin Zhou muttered, "Now, only one last fire is needed."

He took a deep breath and closed his eyes.

His consciousness sank into the Temple of Civilization.

In the sanctuary, the river of civilization was still flowing. Although the water level had dropped significantly, the flow speed of the river was faster—as if the previous battle had washed away the "Impurities" in the river, leaving only the purest and most firm civilization beliefs.

【river of civilization · Status】

- Water level: 63% (dropped 37%)

- Purity: 91% (increased 6%, due to battle tempering)

- Flow speed: +20% (due to firmer belief)

- Currently callable civilization power: equivalent to a full-force strike of a Mid-Tier Divine Power (LV600)

"Enough," Lin Zhou opened his eyes, "Li Mo, Qin Qing, Wang Meng, Zhao Hao—follow me into battle!"

"Yes!"

Void Realm battlefield.

In front of the eternal throne, Elios suddenly raised his head.

He felt a familiar aura approaching.

Warm, firm, and unstoppable.

That was the aura of the Fire of Civilization.

In the distance, at the edge of the Star Sea Divine Kingdom projection, five-colored light lit up again.

Although much dimmer than before, the will contained in the light was even purer and more condensed.

Lin Zhou stood at the core of the Hundred Schools Myriad Phenomena Array, behind him were Qin Qing, Wang Meng, Zhao Hao, Li Mo (projection), and Su Yueyao's slightly dim lunar projection.

The five-colored halo slowly rotated. Although the coverage was only 60% of before (about sixty kilometers), every ray of light was like substance, exuding unquestionable rule power.

"Elios," Lin Zhou's voice came from afar, calm yet firm, "What are you still waiting for?"

Elios was silent for a moment, then slowly stood up.

"Waiting for you to give me an answer."

"What answer?"

"Does... eternity mean stagnation and death?"

Lin Zhou smiled.

Not mockery, but relief.

"You finally asked this question."

He took a step forward, and the five-colored light behind him moved with him.

"If eternity is just 'unchanging', then it indeed means stagnation and death. Because the Universe is changing, civilization is changing, even time itself is changing. Something 'unchanging' in this 'ever-changing' Universe is destined to be eliminated."

"But, eternity can also have another definition."

"What definition?" Elios's voice carried a hint of urgency.

"Legacy," Lin Zhou said word by word, "The Legacy of civilization is another kind of 'eternity'. Civilization changes, evolves, and grows, but the core of civilization—those pursuits of 'truth, goodness, and beauty', those principles of 'benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom, and trust', those concepts of 'freedom, equality, justice, and rule of law'—will be passed down from generation to generation and will never perish."

"This is not a 'static' eternity, but a 'flowing' eternity. Like a river, the water flows, but the riverbed remains unchanged. Like stars, the starlight changes, but the starry sky is eternal."

Elios was stunned.

"Flowing eternity..."

"Yes," Lin Zhou nodded, "Your 'Dao of eternity' is not wrong in 'eternity', but in 'stasis'. You equate 'eternity' with 'unchanging', which is why your Dao Heart is wavering. True eternity is 'unchanging within change', it is 'Legacy'."

He raised his right hand, palm facing up.

The five-colored light gathered in his palm, condensing into a brilliant longsword flowing with the classic characters of the Hundred Schools—the Sword of Civilization.

On the blade, Confucian "Benevolence", Legalist "Public", Mohist "Universal Love", Daoist "Nature", School of Military "Courage"... the brilliance of the Hundred Schools of Thought intertwined to form an indestructible blade of civilization.

"Elios, watch carefully—this is 'flowing eternity'!"

Lin Zhou grabbed the sword fiercely, his figure turned into a stream of light, rushing straight at the eternal throne!

【Sword of Civilization · Hundred Schools Sing Together】

- Effect: Condenses the brilliance of the five schools of Confucianism, Legalism, Mohism, Daoism, and the School of Military to deal a fatal blow to "eternity" and "immortality" type rules.

- Power: All currently callable civilization power is poured in, equivalent to a full-force strike of a Mid-Tier Divine Power (LV600), but has an additional 300% damage bonus to eternal rules.

- Consumption: All of Lin Zhou's remaining 5000 Divine Power is burned, and the water level of the river of civilization drops by another 5%.

"Stop him!" Elios ordered instinctively.

But the speed of the Heroic Spirit Legion could not keep up with Lin Zhou.

Because, behind Lin Zhou, the five-colored halo of the Hundred Schools Myriad Phenomena Array expanded sharply, enveloping all the Heroic Spirits!

"Qin Qing!"

"Net of Law—bind!"

Pale golden rule chains probed out from the array, entangling the Heroic Spirits rushing to the front, restricting their actions.

"Wang Meng, Zhao Hao!"

"Behemoth Legion—open the way!"

"Dragon Legion—cover!"

The Behemoth Giant Beast and the Giant Dragon charged simultaneously, tearing a gap in the defense line of the Heroic Spirit Legion.

And Lin Zhou passed through this gap!

Twenty kilometers... ten kilometers... five kilometers...

The distance was rapidly shortening.

Elios watched Lin Zhou getting closer and closer, looking at the Sword of Civilization flowing with the brilliance of the Hundred Schools, a strange feeling suddenly welled up in his heart—not fear, not anger, but... anticipation.

He looked forward to seeing whether that sword could truly shatter "eternity".

"Come on," he opened his arms, without dodging, without defense.

"Captain!" the adjutant exclaimed.

"Stand down," Elios said calmly, "This is a battle of 'Dao' between him and me, it has nothing to do with you."

The adjutant gritted his teeth and finally retreated to the side with the Heroic Spirit Legion.

Lin Zhou's sword was getting closer.

Three kilometers... one kilometer... five hundred meters...

"Civilization—slash!"

Lin Zhou swung the sword!

Not slashing at Elios, but slashing at the eternal throne!

The sword light cut through the Void Realm, like the first light of creation, slashing fiercely on the throne!

Crack—!!!

The silver-white light shield on the surface of the throne had already shattered at Lin Zhou's first sword, and at this moment it was like paper, instantly torn apart by the sword light!

The sword light fell on the main body of the throne, falling on that crack from before!

The crack expanded violently!

From the thickness of a thumb to the thickness of an arm!

【eternal throne · Integrity: 78%... 65%... 52%...】

"Second sword!"

Lin Zhou did not stop, the second sword followed closely!

This sword condensed the belief of the Confucian "Benevolent are invincible"! In the golden light, phantoms of sages like Confucius, Mencius, and Xunzi appeared, they chanted classics in unison, shaking the Universe!

The sword light fell, and the cracks on the throne expanded again!

【eternal throne · Integrity: 52%... 40%... 35%...】

"Third sword!"

The belief of the Legalist "Law Shows No Mercy"! In the black light, phantoms of Legalist sages like Han Fei, Shang Yang, and Li Si appeared, they held laws and pronounced the "crime" of "eternity"!

The sword light fell, and the throne began to shake violently!

【eternal throne · Integrity: 35%... 28%... 22%...】

"Fourth sword!"

The belief of the Mohist "Universal Love and Non-Aggression"! In the white light, phantoms of Mohist sages like Mozi and Qin Guli appeared, they condensed into an indestructible blade with mechanism technology!

The sword light fell, and the surface of the throne began to crack!

【eternal throne · Integrity: 22%... 15%... 10%...】

"Fifth sword!"

The belief of the Daoist "Tao Follows Nature"! In the cyan light, phantoms of Daoist sages like Laozi and Zhuangzi appeared, they used the Dao of "Wu Wei" (non-action) to resolve the obstacles of the "action" of "eternity"!

The sword light fell, and the cracks on the throne finally penetrated the entire throne!

From the base to the backrest, from front to back, from left to right—the cracks intertwined into a spider web, covering every corner of the throne!

【eternal throne · Integrity: 10%... 5%... 2%...】

"Last sword—Hundred Schools Return to Origin!"

Lin Zhou condensed all remaining power!

Confucianism, Legalism, Mohism, Daoism, School of Military... the five-colored light merged into one, turning into a brilliant golden pillar of light like the sun!

In the pillar of light, the phantoms of the sages of the Hundred Schools appeared together, they were no longer acting on their own, but merged into one—as if the thoughts of the Hundred Schools were originally from the same source and connected!

"Slash!"

The sword light fell, and the eternal throne—shattered with a bang!

It didn't split, it didn't collapse, but—shattered into countless fragments!

The silver-white throne fragments scattered and splashed, each fragment remaining with frozen time fragments—those were the countless moments solidified by "eternity" accumulated by the throne for millions of years.

There was the glorious moment when ancient gods were crowned, the magnificent instant when the Eternal Divine Court was established, the focused moment when the eternal gods of past generations cultivated... These time fragments, at the moment the throne shattered, were like broken amber, releasing the time sealed within them.

The time fragments danced and flowed in the Void Realm, then dissipated rapidly, returning to the river of time.

"So... this is the true face of 'eternity'," Elios murmured, looking at those scattered time fragments, "Not immortality, not absolute, just... solidified time."

In his eyes, there was no sadness, no anger, only relief.

"I lost."

【eternal throne — completely destroyed!】

【Eternal Divine Kingdom — rules collapsed!】

【Elios · St. · Eternal — admits defeat!】

The tournament prompt echoed in the Void Realm.

Elios slowly knelt down, hands supporting in the Void Realm, head lowered.

His divine fire dimmed significantly at the moment the throne shattered. His Divinity Rank fell from LV580 to LV350, his Divine Power reserve returned to zero, and his entire aura withered to the extreme.

But, the corners of his mouth curled up slightly.

Because, he finally found the answer.

"Eternity... is not stasis, but Legacy."

He looked up at Lin Zhou, who was also tottering in the distance but still standing straight.

"Thank you."

Lin Zhou did not respond.

His Divine Power had been completely exhausted, the water level of the river of civilization had dropped to a historical low (only 58% left), and his Divinity integrity had dropped from 51% to 38% after swinging six swords in a row.

But he smiled.

"You're welcome."

The two people's gazes met in the Void Realm.

No hostility, no hatred, only respect for each other.

"See you again," Elios stood up, took one last look at the frozen time fragments that were dissipating, turned around, and disappeared into the Void Realm with the broken Eternal Divine Kingdom.

【Eternal Divine Court Main Team — all evacuated.】

【Xinghai University Team — advanced to the top 20!】

This time, there were no more accidents.

Lin Zhou watched Elios leave, then—his vision went black, and he fainted again.

But this time, the corners of his mouth always carried a smile.

Because, he knew he was not fighting alone.

Behind him, there was five thousand years of civilization accumulation.

In front of him, there were countless descendants who would continue to move forward.

And he was just a link in this endless Legacy.

This link, he did not fail.