489: Chapter 424: Showdown with Kalon, a Bizarre Battle with the Void Divine Fire
The silver-white light of the teleportation array dissipated at the edge of the Old Universe ruins.
The moment Lin Zhou stepped out of the teleportation array, the Fire of Civilization ignited automatically, its blue-gold light pushing away the surrounding energy of the ruins.
This place was twelve thousand kilometers away from the Seventh War Zone; it was deep within the ruins of the Old Universe, an area that even in the memory fragments of The Transcendent, only had vague records.
The gray-white void was like an eternal fog, with no up or down, no left or right, no sound, only absolute silence.
The Dragon Vein Golden Scale poked its head out from the Divine Kingdom, its golden pupils exceptionally bright in the gray-white expanse.
Its perception was warning Lin Zhou—there was a powerful source of ruin energy ahead, not a "dead object" like the Void Sect's Divine Kingdom, but something alive.
It was conscious, malicious, and waiting for him.
Lin Zhou did not hesitate and flew toward the direction of his perception.
The projection of the ark of civilization compressed to a diameter of ten meters, its deep blue light like a ghost in the fog.
He traveled through the Void Realm for about three hours before finally seeing his target.
It was a floating ruin.
It was not a stronghold of the Void Sect, nor was it the wreckage of a corrupted Divine Kingdom, but a massive fragment of a Divine Kingdom that had been half-eroded by the energy of the ruins.
The fragment was about fifty kilometers in diameter, its surface covered in dark red veins that contracted and expanded like a heartbeat.
In the center of the ruins sat a figure cross-legged—Karon.
He was not dead.
His divinity integrity was only sixty percent, and his divine fire was no longer dark gold, but gray-white—the color of the energy of the ruins.
His eyes opened, his pupils two clusters of dark red flames.
His left arm was still there, his right arm as well, and he looked younger than before, but that youth was false, a "presence" forcibly maintained by the energy of the ruins.
[Karon · Corrupted Form]
- Divinity Rank: LV850 (high-tier divine power, early stage)
- Divinity Integrity: 60%
- Divine Fire Form: Gray-white (Contaminated by the energy of the ruins)
- Skill 1: [Existence Deletion] — Does not cause damage, directly deletes a certain segment of the target's existence or concept.
- Skill 2: [Void Divine Fire] — When the divine fire burns, the sense of existence of all units within the range continuously drains.
- Skill 3: [Ruin Reshaping] — Can absorb the energy of the ruins to repair itself, recovering 1% integrity per second.
- Weakness: Fire of Civilization (Damage to the ruin faction +2000%)
"Mortal, you still came." Karon's voice was no longer the sound of metal friction, but an echo in the void, hollow and distant. "I have been waiting for you for a long time."
Lin Zhou hovered at the edge of the ruins, the Sword of Civilization in hand, but he did not rush to attack. "You are not dead. General Rex personally buried you."
"That was just one of my Clones. The Void Sect used the energy of the ruins to reshape my Physical Body." Karon stood up, gray-white divine fire burning around him. "I am stronger than before. And, I am no longer afraid of your Fire of Civilization."
He raised his hand, and a gray-white beam of light shot toward Lin Zhou.
[Karon · Attack — Existence Deletion]
- Effect: Deletes a certain segment of the target's existence or concept.
- Target: Lin Zhou's right arm.
Lin Zhou dodged, and the beam of light grazed his shoulder.
There was no pain, no wound, but he felt his right arm become "light" — not physically light, but light on the level of existence.
His right arm was still there, functioning normally, but on the level of rules, it no longer belonged to him.
It was as if this arm had never been used by him and was only temporarily attached to his body.
[Lin Zhou · Status]
- Right Arm: Existence deleted (Conceptual level)
- Impact: Right arm cannot use skills (can move normally)
- Duration: Requires reshaping with the Fire of Civilization.
"Your Fire of Civilization can purify the ruins, but it cannot reverse existence deletion." Karon sneered. "Things that have been deleted have never existed. What will you use to reshape it?"
Lin Zhou did not answer.
He raised his left hand, the Fire of Civilization condensing in his palm, and pressed it against his right shoulder.
The flames seeped into his right arm, and gray-white mist poured out from his pores.
The sense of existence of his right arm returned, but it needed time to fully recover.
[Fire of Civilization · Reshaping Existence]
- Target: Right arm
- Progress: 10%... 20%... 30%...
- Consumption: 5000 Divine Power per minute.
Karon did not give him time.
He leaped up, and the gray-white divine fire turned into a giant sword, slashing at Lin Zhou.
Lin Zhou blocked with his left hand, the blue-gold sword light colliding with the gray-white blade, erupting in blinding light.
[Confrontation · Data]
- Lin Zhou Attack Power: Full-force strike of great divine power (middle stage)
- Karon Attack Power: Full-force strike of high-tier divine power (early stage) × 2 (Ruin enhancement)
- Standoff: Lin Zhou has a slight advantage.
But Karon's method of attack was treacherous—he did not damage the Physical Body, nor the divinity, only deleted "existence."
With every collision, Lin Zhou felt a segment of his memory, a skill, or even an emotion being stripped away.
He remembered he knew Sword Control Technique, but the details of the sword moves became blurred.
He remembered Su Yueyao's name, but her face became hazy in his memory.
[Lin Zhou · Existence Drain]
- Lost: Sword Control Technique proficiency -10%, Su Yueyao's face blurred, mother's name blurred again.
- Fire of Civilization reshaping speed: Cannot keep up with the drain speed.
"You won't last long." Karon swung his sword again.
Lin Zhou retreated, widening the distance.
He needed to change tactics.
Karon's existence deletion was not an attack, but a negation on the level of rules.
Fighting head-on would only result in his existence being chipped away bit by bit.
He had to find his "anchor"—every existence contaminated by the ruins had an anchor connected to the ruins themselves.
Destroy the anchor, and the ruin energy would go out of control.
He closed his eyes, perceiving with the Fire of Civilization.
Deep within Karon's divinity, there was a dark red mark—the same as the Void Mark he had found in the captive's Divine Soul, but larger, brighter, and more stable.
That was his anchor.
Lin Zhou opened his eyes, holding his sword in his left hand, and condensing the Fire of Civilization in his right.
"Civilization — Judgment!"
[Sword of Civilization · Judgment Slash]
- Target: Void Mark deep within Karon's divinity.
- Attack Power: Full-force strike of great divine power (middle stage) × 3 (Focused)
- Consumption: 100,000 Divine Power.
The sword light pierced Karon's chest.
Karon's body stiffened, the mark deep in his divinity trembling violently, dark red light surging.
[Void Mark · Status]
- Integrity: 100%... 80%... 60%...
- Karon Divinity Integrity: 60%... 50%... 40%...
"You...!" Karon widened his eyes.
"Your anchor is deep within your divinity." Lin Zhou withdrew his sword. "Destroy it, and you are finished."
Karon laughed wildly. "Destroy it? Then you will be buried with me!"
He burned his divinity, pouring all his power into the Void Mark.
The mark erupted with blinding dark red light, turning into a beam of light that shot at Lin Zhou.
The speed of the beam was too fast to dodge.
Lin Zhou blocked with the Shield of Civilization; the beam pierced through the shield and struck his chest.
[Karon · Ultimate Skill — True Name Deletion]
- Effect: Deletes the target's core of existence — True Name.
- Target: Lin Zhou.
- Consumption: All of Karon's divinity (remaining 40%).
Lin Zhou's body stiffened.
He felt his "root" being pulled out—not his memory, not his body, but the concept of "Lin Zhou" itself.
If his True Name were deleted, he would no longer be Lin Zhou, but a blank "existence" without identity.
The Fire of Civilization burned crazily within him, trying to resist.
But the rule level of True Name Deletion was too high, and the purification of the Fire of Civilization needed time.
[True Name Deletion · Resistance]
- Progress: 10%... 20%... 30%...
- Lin Zhou True Name Integrity: 100%... 90%... 80%...
- Remaining Time: About ten seconds.
Karon's divinity integrity had dropped to 10%, and his body began to turn transparent.
"Let's... die... together..."
Lin Zhou gritted his teeth, condensing the Fire of Civilization in his right hand, and forming a seal with his left hand—School of Names "Separation of Hard and White."
The technique of the School of Names, Separation of Hard and White, could strip away the attributes of things, separating "hard" from "white."
He dismantled his True Name "Lin Zhou"—"Lin" was the surname, "Zhou" was the first name.
Then, he dismantled "Lin" into "Wood" and "Wood," and "Zhou" into "Moon" and "Table."
Then further, breaking it down into countless synonyms—forest, wood, boat, small boat, ferry, sailing boat...
[School of Names · Separation of Hard and White]
- Effect: Dismantles a concept into countless synonymous fragments.
- Target: Lin Zhou's True Name.
- Consumption: 10,000 Divine Power.
- Duration: True Name cannot be locked after being dismantled.
Karon's True Name Deletion was locked onto the complete True Name "Lin Zhou."
When the True Name was dismantled into countless fragments, the lock lost its target.
[True Name Deletion · Failed]
- Reason: Target True Name has been dismantled.
- Karon Divinity Integrity: 10% → 0%
Karon's body turned into gray-white light particles and dissipated.
[Karon · Completely Fallen]
Lin Zhou fell to one knee, panting heavily.
His True Name fragments were still floating in the void like countless tiny golden light particles.
He raised his hand, and the Fire of Civilization retrieved these fragments one by one, reassembling them.
[True Name · Reshaping]
- Progress: 10%... 20%... 30%...
- Estimated Completion: About ten minutes.
Ten minutes later, the True Name reshaping was complete.
He stood up and looked in the direction where Karon had dissipated.
The ruins began to collapse, the dark red veins faded, and the gray-white mist evaporated.
The Dragon Vein Golden Scale flew out from the Divine Kingdom, coiling around him, its golden pupils fixed on the depths of the ruins.
"There is still something." Lin Zhou said softly.
Deep in the ruins, there was a dark red crystal—not a core of ruin energy, but a remnant of Karon's Void Mark.
Although the mark had been destroyed, a small piece remained.
Lin Zhou picked up the fragment, and the Fire of Civilization seeped in.
[Void Mark Fragment · Information]
- Source: Karon's Void Mark.
- Content: The last words of the Lord of Nothingness.
- Content: "In three years, I will awaken. Mortal, your time is running out."
Lin Zhou gripped the fragment and put it into his Divine Kingdom.
He looked deeper into the ruins—there, the gray-white fog was churning, and the energy of the ruins was gathering.
The place where the Lord of Nothingness slept was accelerating its rotation.
"Three years." He muttered, turning to fly toward the teleportation array.
After returning to the fortress, Lin Zhou handed the Void Mark fragment to Li Mo.
"Study it. Find the weakness of the Lord of Nothingness."
"Yes."
Lin Zhou walked out of the research lab and stood on the city wall.
Qin Qing walked over.
"Captain, is Karon dead?"
"Completely dead."
"What about the Lord of Nothingness?"
"Still sleeping. Awakening in three years."
Qin Qing was silent.
"Three years, what can we do?"
"Become stronger." Lin Zhou looked toward the New Universe. "Let the Fire of Civilization burn across the New Universe. When the Fire of Civilization is bright enough, the darkness of the Lord of Nothingness will be illuminated."
🔊 Text To Speech
Listen while reading