463: Chapter 398: Engine Starts Up, Civilization Leaps Through the Siege

The blue-gold light in the Void Rift returned to tranquility three days after the King of Deception's fall.

Lin Zhou sat cross-legged by the Fire of Civilization, holding the deep blue ark of civilization core in his hand. The crystal glowed slightly in his palm, resonating with the Temple of Civilization inside him. He had completely mastered the engine's controls but had never truly activated its core function—Space Jump. According to The Transcendent's memories, the ark of civilization core could open a temporary passage in the void, teleporting a ship (or a single person) up to a hundred light-years away. It consumed a massive amount of energy but could be a lifesaver in critical moments.

[ark of civilization core · Jump Function]

- Jump Distance: Maximum 100 light-years

- Consumption: 1 million Divine Power

- Cooldown: One month

- Side Effect: After jumping, Divinity Integrity -10% (temporary, restorable)

- Capacity: Can carry ten people or a small boat

Lin Zhou put away the crystal and was about to continue merging the last bit of The Transcendent's memory when he suddenly felt violent energy fluctuations coming from the edge of the rift. It wasn't Guixu, nor the abyss, but—Space Folding. Countless spatial cracks tore open at the edge of the rift, with dark red light gushing out from them. That was Marbas's spatial teleportation array.

[Spatial Teleportation Array · Data]

- Caster: Abyssal Archduke Marbas (LV5000+)

- Teleportation Capacity: Approximately one thousand people

- Teleportation Distance: 50,000 kilometers

- Consumption: 500,000 Abyss Crystals

- Objective: Hunt down the remnants of the King of Deception and seize the heart of the abyss

Lin Zhou's pupils contracted sharply. Although the King of Deception was dead, the third layer of "Lies Become Truth" he released before his fall had exposed Lin Zhou's location to the entire abyss. Marbas followed that trace of aura and tracked him to the edge of the Void Rift.

He stood up and flew toward the edge of the rift.

At the edge of the rift, within the spatial cracks, Marbas's figure slowly emerged.

He was taller than the King of Deception, clad in dark gold armor, wearing an Archduke's crown, and holding a longsword burning with abyssal fire. Behind him were a thousand abyssal elites—not ordinary demons, but Marbas's personal guard, all above LV500, well-equipped, and high-spirited.

[Marbas · Status]

- Divinity Level: LV5200 (Peak high-tier divine power)

- Divinity Integrity: 100%

- Military Strength: One thousand personal guards (LV500-LV700)

- Target: Seize the heart of the abyss, kill Lin Zhou

"That trash, the King of Deception, actually died at the hands of a Mortal." Marbas's voice was low and filled with disdain. "Good, it saves this Archduke the trouble of acting personally. The heart of the abyss belongs to me."

He raised his hand and pointed into the depths of the rift.

"Attack."

A thousand guards leaped into the rift simultaneously.

Lin Zhou stood at the edge of the rift, with the blue-gold sealing light behind him. He couldn't retreat—if he took a step back, the Seal might loosen. He gritted his teeth and summoned the ark of civilization projection.

The ship's shadow emerged, its deep blue light illuminating the rift.

[ark of civilization Projection · Combat State]

- Length: Three hundred meters

- Weapons: Fire of Civilization Cannons ×10 (100,000 Divine Power per shot)

- Shield: Can withstand high-tier divine power attacks

- Capacity: Ten people (Lin Zhou + nine statues)

But the statues were all in the New Universe; there was no time to summon them. He was alone.

"Fire of Civilization—Ten Thousand Swords Return to Origin!"

Fifty thousand light swords flew out from the depths of the rift, shooting toward the abyssal guards. The light swords pierced the armor of dozens of guards in the front row, who fell screaming. But the guards in the back quickly filled the gaps; there were simply too many of them.

[Combat Data · First Wave]

- Abyssal Guards: One thousand

- Kills: Approximately fifty

- Remaining: Nine hundred and fifty

- Lin Zhou's Divine Power Consumption: 100,000

Marbas stood at the edge of the rift, coldly watching the battle.

"A Mortal's struggle."

He raised his longsword, the tip pointing at Lin Zhou.

"Abyss—Devour!"

A dark red beam of light shot from the sword's tip, heading straight for Lin Zhou.

Lin Zhou dodged, the light beam grazing his shoulder. The Civilization Armor on his shoulder melted, revealing charred skin.

[Lin Zhou · Status]

- Divinity Integrity: 100%→95%

- Left Shoulder: Minor injury (automatically repairing with Fire of Civilization)

The nine hundred and fifty guards continued their charge, less than a kilometer away from Lin Zhou. Lin Zhou gritted his teeth and activated the Fire of Civilization again. Fifty thousand light swords shot out once more, killing another fifty or so. But the remaining nine hundred had already surrounded him completely.

"Captain!" Su Yueyao's voice came through the communication link. "I see it! Marbas is besieging you! I'm coming right now!"

"Don't come!" Lin Zhou roared. "You're in the New Universe; it will take time to get here. Besides, your lunar radiance has limited effect against Marbas."

"But..."

"Trust me."

Lin Zhou withdrew the light swords and took out the ark of civilization core. The deep blue crystal glowed in his palm. He took a deep breath and injected 1 million Divine Power into the crystal.

[ark of civilization core · Jump Initiation]

- Charging: 10%...20%...30%...

- Consumption: 1 million Divine Power

- Estimated Completion: Approximately ten seconds

- Target: Random direction, maximum distance 100 light-years

"He's charging up!" Marbas's expression changed. "Interrupt him!"

Nine hundred guards lunged at Lin Zhou simultaneously.

Lin Zhou raised his left hand, and the Fire of Civilization condensed into a shield in his palm.

[Shield of Civilization · Defense]

- Durability: 100%

- Attack Tolerance: Approximately thirty high-tier divine power attacks

The guards' attacks landed on the shield, and its durability plummeted. 100%...80%...60%...

[Jump Charging: 40%...50%...60%...]

Marbas leaped into the air and slashed his longsword at Lin Zhou. The moment the sword light fell, the shield's durability plummeted from 50% to 10%, covered in cracks and on the verge of shattering.

[Jump Charging: 70%...80%...90%...]

"Die!" Marbas roared, striking with a second slash.

The shield shattered.

But, the moment the sword light touched Lin Zhou, a deep blue light enveloped him.

[Jump · Initiated!]

Lin Zhou's figure vanished from the edge of the rift.

The sword light struck empty air, leaving a deep crack in the void.

Marbas's face turned ashen.

"Space Jump? How could he..." He turned and looked at the spatial crack behind him. "Pursue him! He can't have gone far!"

The guards poured into the spatial crack, attempting to track Lin Zhou's Jump trajectory.

But the Jump from the ark of civilization core was random—there was no trajectory to follow. Unless Marbas could conduct a carpet search within a hundred-light-year radius, he wouldn't find him.

[Jump · Parameters]

- Jump Distance: Approximately 80 light-years

- Destination: Unknown (Random)

- Marbas Tracking Difficulty: Extremely High

In the New Universe, atop the Watchtower.

Su Yueyao watched as the blue-gold light trace toward the rift suddenly dimmed, and her heart sank.

"Captain!"

There was only static in the communication link.

She turned and rushed down the Watchtower.

"Qin Qing! Gather everyone! Something happened to the Captain!"

Qin Qing was training soldiers in the square; her expression changed drastically upon hearing this.

"What?"

"His aura has vanished! Not fallen, but... teleported to a very distant place. I can't sense him."

[Su Yueyao · Sensing Range]

- Lunar Sensing: Approximately one light-year

- Lin Zhou's Jump Distance: 80 light-years

- Sensing Result: None

Li Mo pushed his glasses up and calculated quickly.

"The Captain activated the Jump function of the ark of civilization core. The Jump distance is at least dozens of light-years, possibly further. We cannot determine his current location."

"Then what do we do?" Wang Meng asked anxiously.

"Wait," General Rex said. "He'll come back. His Seal is still in the rift; he must return to maintain it. In a month at most, he will definitely find a way back."

Everyone fell silent.

Su Yueyao walked to the top of the Watchtower and looked toward the rift.

There, the blue-gold light trace was still present, but much dimmer than before.

"One month... I'll wait for you."

Approximately eighty light-years away from the New Universe, in a patch of unfamiliar void.

The deep blue light dissipated, and Lin Zhou's figure emerged. He floated in the void, surrounded by unfamiliar stars—constellations he had never seen, energy fluctuations he had never sensed. This was the edge of the Old Universe, further than the Chaos Star Domain and deeper than the abyss.

[Jump Destination · Data]

- Distance from New Universe: Approximately 80 light-years

- Environment: Edge of the Old Universe, Guixu has not yet eroded it

- Rule Stability: 70%

- Number of Stars: Approximately one billion

- Presence of Civilization: Unknown

Lin Zhou's Divinity Integrity had dropped from 95% to 85% due to the side effects of the Jump. His Divine Power reserves were also down to less than a million points.

[Lin Zhou · Status (Post-Jump)]

- Divinity Level: LV6500

- Divinity Integrity: 85%

- Divine Power Reserves: 900,000

- river of civilization Water Level: 5050%

- Location: Unknown

He looked around, trying to use the Star Map to locate himself. The Star Map's light emerged in his palm, but most of the stars were unfamiliar. Only one in the far distance glowed faintly—that was the direction of the New Universe.

[Star Map · Positioning]

- New Universe Direction: West-northwest, approximately 80 light-years

- Current Coordinates: Unknown Star Domain

- Nearby Ruins: None

He needed to go back.

But eighty light-years, at his current flight speed (one thousand kilometers per second), would take about twenty-four thousand years. Impossible.

He had to rely on the Jump function of the ark of civilization core, but the cooldown still had thirty days.

"Thirty days..." Lin Zhou murmured.

He needed to find a place to stay for thirty days while waiting for the Jump cooldown. He looked around, and his gaze landed on a pale blue planet—not the cyan of the New Universe, but a deeper, more ancient blue. The planet had oceans, land, clouds, and—the aura of civilization.

[Unknown Planet · Detection Data]

- Size: Approximately 1.5 times that of Earth

- Atmospheric Composition: Nitrogen, Oxygen, Carbon Dioxide (suitable for Human Race survival)

- Civilization Level: Early Industrial Age (steam engines, telegraphs)

- Population: Approximately five hundred million

- Energy Fluctuations: None (no deities, no faith)

A planet without deities. Only Mortals.

Lin Zhou was silent for a moment, then flew toward that planet.

He landed in a wilderness on the planet. Surrounded by forests and rivers, smoke rose in the distance—that was a Mortal village. He put away the zhan nian sword and green lotus sword, transformed his Civilization Armor into ordinary cloth clothes, and walked toward the village.

The villagers saw him and were initially wary, then friendly—he looked like just an ordinary traveler.

"Young man, where are you from?" an old man asked.

"From a very distant place," Lin Zhou said. "Can I stay for a night?"

"Of course," the old man nodded. "I have a spare room at home."

Lin Zhou followed the old man into the village.

The village wasn't large, with about a hundred households living off farming. There were no deities, no faith, only the ordinary life of working at sunrise and resting at sunset.

He settled down here.

Every day, he helped the villagers plow fields, repair houses, and treat illnesses. He used the Fire of Civilization to purify the village well, making the water sweet. He used the knowledge of the School of Medicine to cure the old man's rheumatism. He used Mohist techniques to help the blacksmith forge a sharper hoe.

[Villagers · Favorability]

- Initial: 50 (Ordinary)

- Current: 90 (Respectful)

- Reason: Cured the old village chief's illness, purified the well, helped repair houses

One month later.

Lin Zhou stood at the village entrance, looking at the villagers who had come to see him off.

"Young man, are you really leaving?" The old village chief held his hand, his eyes full of reluctance.

"I have to go," Lin Zhou nodded. "Someone is waiting for me at home."

"Then take care."

"Take care."

Lin Zhou turned and transformed into a streak of blue-gold light, disappearing into the sky.

The villagers all knelt on the ground, thinking they had encountered an immortal.

He flew to the planet's orbit and took out the ark of civilization core. The crystal's cooldown had ended, and deep blue light flowed in his palm.

[ark of civilization core · Jump]

- Cooldown: Ended

- Jump Distance: Maximum 100 light-years

- Target: Direction of the New Universe

- Consumption: 1 million Divine Power

"Jump—Initiate."

Deep blue light enveloped him.

Eighty light-years away, in the New Universe, atop the Watchtower.

Su Yueyao watched as the blue-gold light trace toward the rift suddenly brightened.

"He's coming back."

Just as she spoke, a deep blue light tore through the void in the sky.

Lin Zhou's figure emerged on the Watchtower.

Su Yueyao rushed over and hugged him.

"You're back."

"I'm back," Lin Zhou smiled. "A day late."

"One day isn't late."

He walked down the Watchtower and into the town square.

In the center of the square, the Super Civilization Furnace was burning.

The Fire of Civilization atop the furnace illuminated the entire town.

Lin Zhou stood before the fire and was silent for a moment.

"Brothers, I'm back."

"Marbas can't catch up for now. But, he won't give up."

"We need to be prepared."

"Next time, we will take the initiative to attack."

"Yes!" everyone responded in unison.

Lin Zhou nodded.

He turned and looked toward the rift.

There, the blue-gold light was burning.

It illuminated the New Universe and the path ahead.