488: Chapter 424: Civilization

The palace of the Void Realm Divine Kingdom was collapsing.

The ash-gray walls were peeling off piece by piece, like weathered bones. Dark red veins surged from the cracks, the embers of Void energy flickering in the Void Realm like the final gasps of a dying person.

Lin Zhou knelt on one knee amidst the ruins. The river of civilization still flowed around him, its cyan-gold light appearing exceptionally lonely in this soon-to-perish Void Realm Domain. His Divine Kingdom Core integrity had dropped to eighty-five percent during the previous battle, but that was not his biggest concern. His greatest worry was that in that instant—a mere few seconds of existence erasure—a void had appeared in his memory.

He could not remember his mother's name.

[Lin Zhou · Status]

- Divine Kingdom Core integrity: 85%

- Memory loss: Partial (Mother's name, childhood fragments)

- river of civilization water level: 50.35%

- Current status: Mild memory impairment

"Captain, you look terrible." Su Yueyao walked over, moon radiance sweeping over him. "Your memory…"

"A bit was lost." Lin Zhou stood up, not avoiding the topic. "My mother's name, I can't recall it."

Su Yueyao was silent. She knew what this meant—existence erasure was not a simple mental attack, but a negation of a person's "existence" at the level of Law. The erased memory was not sealed, but deleted. Unless the Fire of Civilization was used to reshape the rule structure of that memory, it could never be recovered.

"Can it be recovered?"

"Yes. But it takes time. The Fire of Civilization can reshape erased existence, just like repairing a damaged Divine Kingdom." Lin Zhou raised his hand, a wisp of cyan-gold flame coalescing in his palm. "Every memory is a rule structure. As long as there is enough essence of order, it can be rebuilt."

He put away the flame and looked at the collapsing Void Realm Divine Kingdom. In the ruins of the palace, the purified heart of Order had already been retrieved, but there was something else deep within the ruins—not energy crystals, but fragments of Law. Although the Void Realm Divine Kingdom had been destroyed, its rule structure had not completely dissipated. Those fragments floated in the Void Realm, emitting a faint ash-gray light, each fragment recording the "memory" of the Divine Kingdom.

[Void Realm Divine Kingdom · Rule Fragments]

- Quantity: Approximately three hundred

- Content: The rule structure of the Void Realm Divine Kingdom, the operational method of Void energy, the principle of existence erasure

- Value: Can be used to research countermeasures against existence erasure

"Li Mo, collect these fragments. Bring them back for research."

"Yes." Li Mo's projection accessed the collection equipment via the communication link and placed the fragments into containers one by one.

Lin Zhou turned and looked at his team members. Of the fifty Civilization Sword Cultivators, ten had sustained minor injuries, but no one had fallen in battle. Wang Meng's battle axe was chipped, Qin Qing's Net of Law had cracks, and Chen Xuan's ancient School of Names book had been eroded at one corner by Void energy. But they were all still standing.

"Brothers, thank you for your hard work."

"Captain, you worked harder." Wang Meng grinned. "Your memory…"

"It can be recovered." Lin Zhou did not explain further and looked at Qin Qing. "Qin Qing, was any of your memory lost?"

Qin Qing shook her head. "My Net of Law has been constantly reinforcing its own existence. Defining oneself as 'existence' is the basic skill of the Legalist school."

Lin Zhou nodded. "After we return, everyone must learn the Legalist 'Holding Names Responsible for Reality'. Not for law enforcement, but to guard yourself."

After returning to the fortress, Lin Zhou did not immediately rest. He walked into Li Mo's laboratory and looked at the collected rule fragments. Li Mo had already begun the analysis, and the fragments were slowly releasing the recorded information under the burning of the Fire of Civilization.

[Rule Fragments · Analysis Progress]

- Parsed: 50 pieces

- Content: The rule structure of the Void Realm Divine Kingdom, the operating mechanism of existence erasure

- Countermeasure derivation in progress

Lin Zhou sat in the corner of the lab and closed his eyes. His consciousness sank into the Divine Kingdom Core. Inside the Temple of Civilization, the river of civilization was still rushing, and the Heavenly Pillar still stood tall. He walked to the riverbank, crouched down, and reached out to touch the water. The water was warm, but the water level in several sections had noticeably dropped—these were the areas eroded by existence erasure. He saw the void; in the middle section of the river, the water level in one area was one-third lower than elsewhere. That was his erased memory—his mother's name, childhood fragments, and other things he hadn't yet realized he had lost.

[river of civilization · Memory Deficit Area]

- Location: Middle section

- Deficit degree: 30%

- Repairable: Yes

- Required essence of order: Approximately 1000 units

He took one thousand units of essence of order from the Divine Kingdom warehouse and cast it into the river of civilization. The essence melted in the river water, and the cyan-gold light illuminated the deficient area. The water level began to rise slowly, and the deleted memory rule structures reconverged under the burning of the Fire of Civilization—not restored, but rebuilt. Because the original version had been deleted, the Fire of Civilization could only infer the most likely original version based on the connections of other memories in the river of civilization, and then rebuild it.

[Memory Reconstruction · Progress]

- Mother's name: Rebuilding (10%...20%...30%)

- Childhood fragments: Rebuilding (5%...10%...15%)

- Estimated completion: Approximately seven days

He opened his eyes and walked out of the Temple of Civilization. Li Mo was still analyzing the rule fragments.

"Captain, I found it." Li Mo's voice carried a hint of excitement. "The existence erasure of the Void Realm Divine Kingdom has a fatal weakness."

"What weakness?"

"It can only erase the existence of an 'individual', but cannot erase the existence of a 'group'. If the existence of multiple individuals is mutually anchored, the erasure will fail."

Li Mo pulled up the analytical model—when two people remember each other's existence, the effectiveness of existence erasure drops by 50%. When ten people mutually anchor, the effectiveness drops by 90%. When fifty-four people (the size of Lin Zhou's team) mutually anchor, the effectiveness is almost zero.

[Existence Anchoring · Data]

- 2-person anchor: Erasure effectiveness -50%

- 5-person anchor: Erasure effectiveness -70%

- 10-person anchor: Erasure effectiveness -90%

- 54-person anchor: Erasure effectiveness -99%

"So, as long as we remember each other, the Void Realm cannot erase our existence?"

"Correct. And, it's not just about 'remembering', but also 'confirming'. Confirming the other's existence, confirming one's own existence. The Legalist 'Holding Names Responsible for Reality' is essentially confirmation. When the name and reality match, existence is solidified."

Lin Zhou nodded. "Starting tomorrow, the entire army will train in the Legalist 'Holding Names Responsible for Reality'. Every morning, everyone must state their name, rank, and the names of at least three comrades."

"Yes."

The next morning, on the fortress training ground, the entire Civilization Guardian Legion lined up. Lin Zhou stood on the reviewing stand, with the furnace of the Fire of Civilization burning behind him.

"Brothers, you all experienced yesterday's battle. The Void Realm Divine Kingdom's existence erasure caused our memory loss. My mother's name, I cannot recall it. There are other things that may never be recovered."

Silence fell below the stage.

"But there is a way to resist existence erasure—mutual anchoring. Remember your own name, remember your comrades' names. Confirm each other's existence. As long as someone still remembers you, you exist."

He looked at the formation. "Starting today, every morning, everyone must state your name, rank, and the names of at least three comrades. This is an Order."

"Yes!"

The soldiers began to call out their names one by one.

"Wang Meng, Brigadier General, Vanguard Commander. Comrades: Lin Zhou, Qin Qing, Su Yueyao…"

"Qin Qing, Brigadier General, Military Judge. Comrades: Lin Zhou, Wang Meng, Chen Xuan…"

"Su Yueyao, Major, Moon Radiance Blessing. Comrades: Lin Zhou, Qin Qing, Wang Meng…"

One after another. The names echoed across the training ground like the tolling of a bell.

Lin Zhou listened to those names and felt that the recovery speed of the deficient area in the river of civilization had quickened by a fraction.

In the following days, the Civilization Guardian Legion purified corrupted remains while conducting "existence anchoring" training. Every morning, the chanting of names echoed over the fortress. A month later, Li Mo's analysis had a new Breakthrough. He combined the rule fragments of the Void Realm Divine Kingdom with the anchoring data of the river of civilization to develop a new skill—Civilization Anchor.

[Civilization Anchor · Skill Data]

- Type: Passive/Active

- Effect: Use the river of civilization as an anchor to solidify one's own existence and that of friendly forces within range

- Passive: Friendly forces within range have +80% resistance to existence erasure

- Active: Consume 10,000 Divine Power to anchor the existence of one friendly unit in the river of civilization; even if that friendly unit is erased, they can be reshaped via the river of civilization

- Learning condition: Legalist "Holding Names Responsible for Reality" proficiency level A or above

"This skill can make us unafraid of existence erasure," Li Mo said.

"Not just that." Lin Zhou looked at the skill description. "The active effect can resurrect someone who has been erased?"

"Theoretically, yes. But it requires consuming a large amount of essence of order, and the time since erasure cannot be too long. It is best within one hour."

"That's enough." Lin Zhou added the skill to the army's training curriculum.

In the second month, the Civilization Guardian Legion began large-scale purification of corrupted remains on the edge of the Void Realm in the Old Universe. Of the four hundred remains, one was purified every three days on average. Each purification produced dozens to hundreds of units of essence of order. The daily production of the civilization furnace increased from eighteen million Divine Power to twenty million.

[essence of order · Accumulation]

- Remains purified: 120

- essence of order obtained: Approximately 30,000 units

- civilization furnace daily production: 20 million Divine Power

- Lin Zhou Divine Kingdom Core integrity: 85% → 90%

- Memory reconstruction: Mother's name recovered, childhood fragments 80% recovered

One day in the third month, Lin Zhou was purifying a corrupted remain when he suddenly received a communication from General Rex. General Rex had officially stepped down as commander of the Seventh War Zone and was holding a nominal position at headquarters. But his voice carried an unprecedented gravity.

"Lin Zhou, headquarters sent news. The detection array on the edge of the Void Realm has captured an anomalous rule fluctuation."

"What kind of fluctuation?"

"It is not Void energy, nor is it Chaos energy. It is a kind of… rule that has never been recorded. It is very ancient, older than the civilization of The Transcendent. And, it is approaching the New Universe."

General Rex transmitted the fluctuation data. Lin Zhou looked at the curve—the frequency was extremely low, the amplitude was extremely large, and it fluctuated once every seven days. It was deep in the Void Realm of the Old Universe, about one hundred thousand kilometers away from the New Universe.

"What is this?"

"I don't know. But its fluctuation pattern matches the countdown to the awakening of the Lord of Nothingness. In three years, when the Lord of Nothingness awakens, this fluctuation will reach the New Universe."

Lin Zhou was silent. "Is it transmitting information?"

"Perhaps. Perhaps it is a summons."

Lin Zhou hung up the communication and stood on the city wall, looking in the direction of the Chaos Star Domain.

Qin Qing walked over. "Captain, what's wrong?"

"Deep in the Void Realm, something is approaching us."

"What kind of thing?"

"I don't know. But, in three years, it will reach the New Universe. It coincides exactly with the time of the Lord of Nothingness's awakening."

Qin Qing's expression changed. "Are they simultaneous?"

"Possibly. Or it could be the same thing."

Lin Zhou walked down the city wall and returned to the barracks.

He sat cross-legged and his consciousness sank into the Temple of Civilization. Among the memory fragments of The Transcendent, there was a record he had never noticed before—about the "call" from deep within the Void Realm. The Transcendent had also sensed this fluctuation back then, but he had no time to investigate. Because the erosion of the Void Realm had accelerated, he had to become a barrier himself to buy time for future generations. At the end of that record, The Transcendent left a sentence: "Latecomer, if you sense the call from deep within the Void Realm, do not go. That is the source of the Void Realm. If you go, you will not return."

Lin Zhou opened his eyes. Not go? If he didn't go, he would never know what the Void Realm was. Without knowing the source of the Void Realm, he could not completely oppose the Lord of Nothingness. In three years, when the Lord of Nothingness awakened, the New Universe could only defend passively. Go? If he went, he might not return.

He stood up and walked out of the barracks. Su Yueyao was waiting for him on the city wall.

"Captain, are you going to the depths of the Void Realm?"

"You knew?"

"Your expression can't hide anything."

Lin Zhou was silent.

"I will go with you," Su Yueyao said.

"No. You stay."

"Why?"

"Because if I go, I might not come back. The New Universe needs you. Moon Radiance can oppose the Void Realm; you are the barrier of the New Universe."

Su Yueyao looked at him, her eyes slightly red.

"Then what about you?"

"I will return."

"Do you promise?"

Lin Zhou was silent.

Su Yueyao turned and walked down the city wall.

"I will wait for you."

Lin Zhou looked at her back, not chasing after her. He returned to the barracks and began to prepare.

The Dragon Vein Golden Scale coiled in the Divine Kingdom, and the ark of civilization core had finished charging. Fifty Civilization Sword Cultivators were willing to accompany him, but he refused. This time, he was going alone.

"Captain, are you crazy?" Wang Meng rushed into the barracks.

"I'm not crazy."

"Going to the depths of the Void Realm alone? That is suicide!"

"It is not suicide. It is reconnaissance."

"Reconnaissance doesn't require going alone!"

Lin Zhou looked at him. "Wang Meng, if I go and cannot return, the Civilization Guardian Legion is handed to you. Defend the fortress, defend the New Universe."

Wang Meng's eyes turned red.

"Captain, you damn…"

"This is an Order."

Lin Zhou walked out of the barracks. Su Yueyao stood on the city wall, her back to him. He did not look back and walked toward the teleportation array. Silvery-white light enveloped him.

"Captain!" Wang Meng's voice came from behind. Lin Zhou did not answer. He disappeared into the light.