464: Chapter 399: Returning Severely Injured, Gaining Great Benefits but Paying a Heavy Price

On the green grasslands of the New Universe, Lin Zhou emerged from the deep blue light of the jump.

He knelt on one knee; his Divinity integrity plummeted from 95% to 85%. The side effects of the jump caused tiny cracks to appear in the Origin of his Divinity. But he had no time to rest—although Marbas had temporarily lost his trail, with the ability of an Abyss Duke, he would be able to track down the entrance to the New Universe within a month at most. He had to prepare to fight before that.

[Lin Zhou · Status (After Jump)]

- Divinity Rank: LV6500

- Divinity Integrity: 85%

- Divine Power Reserves: 900,000

- river of civilization Water Level: 5050%

- Side Effects: Divinity Origin slightly damaged (repairable, requires ten days)

Su Yueyao rushed over and supported him.

"Your Divinity..."

"I'm fine." Lin Zhou stood up. "Marbas cannot catch up. But he will find the entrance to the New Universe. We need to take the initiative; we cannot remain on the defensive."

He summoned everyone and held an emergency meeting at the Watchtower.

"Brothers, Marbas has one thousand personal guards, all at Rank LV500 or above. He himself is LV5200, a Peak high-tier divine power. We are no match for him in a head-on collision. However, his space teleportation array needs an anchor point to lock onto a precise location. If we can destroy the anchor points he left near the entrance of the New Universe, he won't be able to teleport his army and will have to come alone."

"Where are the anchor points?" Qin Qing asked.

Li Mo pulled up the detection data: "The spatial fluctuations around the entrance to the New Universe are abnormal. There are seven spatial anchor points distributed within a diameter of one thousand kilometers. Each one is obscured by Abyss Devilish Qi, making them difficult to detect."

"But we can use the Fire of Civilization to detect them," Lin Zhou said. "The Fire of Civilization has a restraining effect on Abyss Devilish Qi. Yue Yao, accompany me. Your Moon Radiance can shine through the concealment."

Su Yueyao nodded.

"Wang Meng, Zhao Hao, General Rex, Li Mo, Chen Xuan, you lead fifty elites and set up defenses near the entrance. If Marbas arrives early, hold him off until I return."

"Yes!"

Two hours later, in the Void Realm outside the New Universe entrance.

Lin Zhou and Su Yueyao stood at the bow of the projection of the ark of civilization, the deep blue light illuminating the surrounding Void Realm. Su Yueyao unleashed her Moon Radiance, the silver-white light spreading out like a giant net.

[Moon Radiance · Detection]

- Coverage: 1000 km diameter

- Detection Precision: Can identify spatial anchor points obscured by Abyss Devilish Qi

- Consumption: 1000 Divine Power per minute

- Estimated Completion: Approx. 3 hours

The first anchor point was three hundred kilometers directly in front of the entrance. Moon Radiance shone upon an inconspicuous asteroid; the rocks on the asteroid's surface were stripped away layer by layer, revealing the dark red anchor crystal inside.

Lin Zhou raised his hand, and the Fire of Civilization condensed into a sword.

"Break."

The sword light struck the crystal, shattering it into dust.

[Anchor Point · Destroyed (1/7)]

The second, third, fourth...

When the sixth anchor point was destroyed, a low roar echoed through the Void Realm.

Marbas's voice came from the direction of the Abyss.

"Mortal... you dare to destroy my anchor points!"

"He's here." Su Yueyao's expression changed.

"There is one left." Lin Zhou gritted his teeth. "You go back first and lead the defense. I will destroy the last anchor point and return immediately."

Su Yueyao looked at him, silent for a moment.

"Be careful."

She turned and returned to the New Universe.

Lin Zhou flew alone toward the last anchor point. The distance was about two hundred kilometers; the Moon Radiance had already detected its location—inside a floating meteorite. He accelerated, the Fire of Civilization condensing in his hand.

But when he was only ten kilometers away from the meteorite, a huge spatial rift tore open in the Void Realm.

Marbas walked out from the rift.

The cracks from the previous battle still remained on his armor, but his aura was even more violent. Behind him, there were no guards—six anchor points had been destroyed, so he could not teleport his army and had to come alone.

[Marbas · Solo Pursuit]

- Divinity Rank: LV5200

- Divinity Integrity: 100%

- Troops: None

- Status: Enraged

"Mortal, do you think destroying the anchor points can stop me?" Marbas raised his longsword, the tip pointing at Lin Zhou. "This Duke alone is enough."

He leaped forward, his sword light slashing toward Lin Zhou.

Lin Zhou dodged, striking back at the same time. The zhan nian sword collided with Marbas's longsword, erupting with blinding light.

[Duel · Data]

- Lin Zhou Attack Power: LV6500 full-strength strike

- Marbas Attack Power: LV5200 full-strength strike × 2 (Rage bonus)

- Stalemate: Lin Zhou has a slight advantage

However, Marbas's combat experience far exceeded Lin Zhou's. He constantly changed his attack angles, each sword strike aiming for the weak points in Lin Zhou's Divinity. Although Lin Zhou was of a higher Rank, his Divinity integrity was only 85%, and the side effects of the jump had not completely vanished, causing him to gradually fall into a disadvantage.

[Lin Zhou · Status (In Combat)]

- Divinity Integrity: 85% → 80% → 75%

- Divine Power Reserves: 900,000 → 800,000

- Marbas Divinity Integrity: 100% → 95%

"You cannot hold on for long." Marbas sneered.

Lin Zhou gritted his teeth.

He could not retreat. If he took one step back, Marbas would charge into the entrance of the New Universe, and the hundreds of billions of the Human Race in the New Universe would face annihilation. He had to stop him here.

"ark of civilization — Summon!"

The deep blue ship silhouette emerged in the Void Realm, the Fire of Civilization burning at the bow. Ten Fire of Civilization cannons aimed at Marbas simultaneously.

[Fire of Civilization Cannon · Volley]

- Power: great divine power mid-tier full-strength strike × 10

- Consumption: 1,000,000 Divine Power

- Cooldown: Cannot volley again (Energy depleted)

Ten beams of light shot toward Marbas. His expression changed drastically; he tried to dodge, but the speed of the beams was too fast, sealing off all directions. He had no choice but to take it head-on.

The beams hit his armor, shattering it, and dark red blood sprayed out.

[Marbas · Status]

- Divinity Integrity: 95% → 60%

- Armor: Shattered

- Left Arm: Hit, unable to lift

But he did not fall.

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

"Abyss — Sacrifice!"

[Marbas · Ultimate Skill — Abyss Sacrifice]

- Effect: Burns own Divinity to summon a projection of the Abyss Will

- Consumption: Divinity integrity - 50%

- Cost: Divinity Rank permanently lowered after the battle

His Divinity integrity plummeted from 60% to 10%. In the Void Realm, a huge phantom emerged—a projection of the Abyss Will, larger and stronger than the one encountered on the 888th level of the Endless Abyss.

[Abyss Will Projection · Data]

- Rank: LV6000+

- Form: Indefinite

- Characteristics: Void Devouring, Rule Distortion, Existence Erasure

- Duration: Approx. ten minutes

"Mortal, return to nothingness with this Duke!" Marbas laughed wildly.

Lin Zhou's blood turned cold.

He looked toward the entrance of the New Universe. There, Su Yueyao, Wang Meng, Zhao Hao, General Rex, and the others were already setting up defenses. But the Abyss Will projection was Rank LV6000+, they could not hold it.

He had to block it.

He took a deep breath and took the ark of civilization core out of his Divine Kingdom.

The crystal glowed in his palm, the deep blue light intertwined with the cyan-gold Fire of Civilization.

"ark of civilization core — Overload."

[ark of civilization core · Overload Mode]

- Effect: Briefly increases energy output by 500%, lasting three minutes

- Cost: After overload ends, the crystal enters hibernation (requires one year to recover)

- Side Effect: User Divinity integrity - 30%

Determination flashed in Lin Zhou's eyes.

"Overload — Activate!"

The deep blue light surged violently, illuminating the entire Void Realm like daylight. The ark of civilization core's energy output soared, and the ship silhouette transformed from a phantom into a physical entity—although not a complete ark of civilization, just a section of the bow, it was enough to serve as a weapon.

[ark of civilization · Bow Cannon]

- Power: great divine power Peak full-strength strike

- Consumption: All energy of the ark of civilization core

- Range: 1000 km

The bow cannon aimed at the Abyss Will projection, and a deep blue beam of light shot out.

The beam collided with the projection, and the projection's integrity plummeted from 100% to 30%. It let out a silent roar and began to collapse.

Marbas's eyes widened.

"Impossible..."

His Divinity integrity had dropped to 5%, and his body began to turn transparent.

Lin Zhou was not faring well either. The side effects of the overload caused his Divinity integrity to plummet from 75% to 45%, and the cracks in his Divinity Origin expanded to an extent that could not be ignored.

[Lin Zhou · Status (After Overload)]

- Divinity Integrity: 45%

- Divinity Origin: Moderately damaged (requires several months to repair)

- Divine Power Reserves: 100,000

- river of civilization Water Level: 5050% → 4500%

The Abyss Will projection collapsed completely.

Marbas's body also turned into points of light, dissipating in the Void Realm.

[Marbas · Fallen]

- Method: Divinity burned to exhaustion

- Relics: Longsword (damaged), Abyss Duke Crown, Space Teleportation Array Core

- Impact: Lord of the 555th level of the Abyss vacant, Abyss Council shaken

Lin Zhou knelt on one knee in the Void Realm, panting heavily.

"Captain!" Su Yueyao rushed out from the New Universe entrance, Moon Radiance expanding to cover him.

"I'm fine..." Lin Zhou's voice was weak.

"Your Divinity integrity is only 45%!" Su Yueyao's tears burst forth.

"I can still hold on."

He stood up and looked at the entrance of the New Universe.

"Let's go, let's return."

The two returned to the New Universe.

On the Watchtower, Qin Qing, Wang Meng, Zhao Hao, General Rex, Li Mo, and Chen Xuan were all waiting for him.

"Captain!" Wang Meng rushed over. "Your Divinity..."

"It's damaged," Lin Zhou said calmly. "But Marbas is dead. The threat of the Abyss is temporarily lifted."

He walked to the Super civilization furnace and placed the ark of civilization core into the furnace to nurture it. The crystal needed a year to recover, but during this time, it could still serve as the core of the Seal.

[ark of civilization core · Hibernation]

- Status: Hibernating after overload

- Estimated Recovery: One year

- Function during hibernation: Maintain Void Rift Seal

Lin Zhou turned and looked at the crowd.

"Brothers, Marbas has fallen. Both Lords of the Abyss, the King of Deception and Marbas, are dead. The Abyss Council will not elect new Lords for the time being, and the threat of the Abyss Will weaken for at least ten years."

"But the price was high."

He looked at his own palm, the cracks in the Divinity Origin slowly healing under the nourishment of the Fire of Civilization.

"My Divinity requires several months to recover. Yue Yao, your Moon Radiance was also over-consumed."

Su Yueyao's Moon God Origin had been over-consumed in the previous battle and required a century of sleep to recover. But she shook her head.

"A century is nothing. As long as you are alive, I will wait."

Lin Zhou nodded.

"Old General, your Divine Kingdom..."

General Rex's Divine Kingdom had been shattered by the Abyss Will projection while covering the retreat and needed to be rebuilt.

[General Rex · Status]

- Divine Kingdom: Shattered

- Divinity Rank: LV880 → LV500 (dropped due to shattered Divine Kingdom)

- Rebuilding required: About three years

"Three years, it's fast," General Rex said indifferently. "Compared to three hundred years of guarding the Abyss, it's nothing."

Lin Zhou was silent.

He walked to the Super civilization furnace and threw Marbas's relics into the furnace to refine them.

[Refining · Marbas's Relics]

- Longsword Fragments: Can extract Abyss Magic Gold × 50 units

- Duke's Crown: Can be converted into Order Essence × 500 units

- Space Teleportation Array Core: Can research space folding technology

- river of civilization Water Level: 4500% → 4550%

"These Materials will be used to reinforce the defenses of the New Universe," Lin Zhou said. "Li Mo, you are responsible for researching the space teleportation array. If we can master space folding technology, we can quickly support any direction."

"Yes." Li Mo nodded.

Lin Zhou walked to the top of the Watchtower and looked at the starry sky of the New Universe.

In the starry sky, that cyan-gold streak of light was still there—that was the projection of the Void Rift Seal.

"Captain, you should rest." Qin Qing walked over.

"Yeah." Lin Zhou nodded. "I'm returning to the Rift Core. The Fire of Civilization there can accelerate the repair of my Divinity."

"How long?"

"Maybe a few months, maybe a year. The Seal is stable, so I don't need to come back every month. But if something happens, summon me at any time."

Qin Qing nodded.

Lin Zhou turned and looked at Su Yueyao.

"Yue Yao, your Moon God Origin is over-consumed and you need to sleep."

"I know." Su Yueyao smiled. "I will sleep in the Moon Radiance Jade Pendant. When you return, wake me up."

Lin Zhou took the jade pendant and held it against his chest.

"Alright."

He turned into cyan-gold light and disappeared into the starry sky.

The deep blue ship silhouette carried him as he sailed into the Void Rift.

Su Yueyao stood on the Watchtower, watching the distant light.

"Waiting for your return."

She sank her consciousness into the Moon Radiance Jade Pendant and fell into a deep sleep.

In the towns of the New Universe, the Fire of Civilization burned.

It illuminated the New Universe and also illuminated those who waited.