491: Chapter 426: The Iron-Faced Judgment, the Just Clergy Shatters Illusions

After Karon fell, the ruins at the edge of the Return to Ruins completely collapsed.

However, Lin Zhou did not leave immediately. He hovered in the Void Realm, the river of civilization still flowing around him, its cyan-gold light purifying the residual energy of the Return to Ruins bit by bit. The Dragon Vein Golden Scale coiled beside him, its golden pupils vigilantly scanning the surroundings. The information within the fragment of the Void Mark—the contract between the Lord of Nothingness and the Return to Ruins—still echoed in his consciousness. As long as there were people who feared death, the Lord of Nothingness would never truly perish. Fear was the source of his power and his anchor in the Universe.

"Captain, what are you thinking about?" Iron Face's voice came through the communication link. The shuttle of the Inspectorate commissioner landed at the edge of the ruins. He stepped out of the cabin, his black inspector uniform standing out sharply against the gray-white light. His Divine Power was [Justice], and his talent could see through all lies, making him the best candidate for interrogating Void Sect captives.

"I'm thinking about how to completely eradicate the Lord of Nothingness." Lin Zhou turned around. "Karon is dead, but there was a piece of information in his Void Mark fragment—the power of the Lord of Nothingness comes from humanity's fear of death. As long as fear remains, he will not die."

"Fear is an instinct; it cannot be eliminated."

"Therefore, we need to change our approach—let Justice cover fear."

Iron Face was silent for a moment. "How do we do that?"

"Use your [Justice] Divine Power. The essence of Justice is 'Order,' and the essence of Order is 'Existence.' When a person believes that Justice exists, their fear of the Void will diminish. If we can combine the Justice Divine Power with the Fire of Civilization, perhaps we can create a new power to restrain the Lord of Nothingness."

"Combining Justice with the Fire of Civilization..." Iron Face was thoughtful. "My Justice Divine Power is 'Judging Right and Wrong,' and the essence of the Fire of Civilization is 'Affirmation of Existence.' Combining the two could allow for an 'Existence Judgment' on the Void. If it is judged as 'Non-existent,' the Void will be dispelled."

Lin Zhou nodded. "Let's try it."

He raised his hand, and the Fire of Civilization condensed in his palm. Iron Face placed his hand on Lin Zhou's palm, and the power of the Justice Divine Power surged out, merging with the Fire of Civilization. Within the cyan-gold flames, pale gold chains of rules emerged—that was the manifestation of the Justice Divine Power.

[ Fire of Justice · Fusion ]

- Fusion Subject: Fire of Civilization + Justice Divine Power

- Fusion Progress: 10% ... 20% ... 30% ...

- Effect: Can perform an "Existence Judgment" on the target. If judged as "Non-existent," the target is dispelled.

- Consumption: 10,000 Divine Power per minute

- Duration: Ten minutes

The flames stabilized, no longer purely cyan-gold, but an interweaving of cyan-gold and pale gold. Lin Zhou held this nascent flame and looked at Iron Face.

"Call it the 'Fire of Justice.'"

"Good."

Iron Face took the flame and integrated it into his divine spark. His Divine Power [Justice] began to evolve—upgrading from "Judging Right and Wrong" to "Judging Existence."

[ Iron Face · Divine Power Evolution ]

- Original Divine Power: [Justice]

- New Divine Power: [Justice · Existence]

- New Skill: [Existence Judgment] — Performs an existence judgment on the target; success rate is related to the target's existence intensity.

- Consumption: 10,000 Divine Power per use

"Return to the fortress. There is still one Void Sect captive left. Use him to test the fire."

The two returned to the fortress. In the interrogation room, the last Void Sect captive was tied to a chair, his divine spark locked, unable to resist. His eyes were hollow, with only two faint dark-red flames still burning. Iron Face walked up to him, raised his hand, and the Fire of Justice burned in his palm.

"In the name of Justice—Existence Judgment!"

The pale gold chains of rules shot out from the flames, wrapping around the captive's body. The chains seeped into his divine spark, searching for the existence of "Void."

[ Existence Judgment · In Progress ]

- Target: Void Sect captive

- Judgment Content: Existence of Return to Ruins energy pollution

- Judgment Progress: 10% ... 20% ... 30% ...

- Consumption: 10,000 Divine Power

When the judgment progress reached 100%, the Return to Ruins energy within the captive was "marked" as "Non-existent." Dark-red patterns emerged from the surface of his skin and then shattered. Gray-white mist poured out from his pores and evaporated. The captive's eyes closed, and when he opened them again, the dark-red flames had vanished, revealing his original brown pupils.

[ Captive · Purification ]

- Return to Ruins Pollution: 100% → 0%

- Consciousness: Restored (Partial)

- Status: Weakened

"Where... am I?" the captive's voice was hoarse.

"You are at the Seventh War Zone fortress," Iron Face put away the flames. "You have been corrupted by the Void Sect for three years. Now, you are purified."

The captive was silent, lowering his head. "I... still remember some things. I killed my comrades... I attacked the supply lines... I..."

"You will face trial by a military tribunal." Iron Face turned and walked out of the interrogation room.

Lin Zhou followed behind him.

"The Fire of Justice is effective."

"It's effective. But the consumption is high. Purifying one person requires 10,000 Divine Power. There are hundreds of billions of people in the entire Universe; it's impossible to purify them one by one." Iron Face stood in the corridor, his brows furrowed. "We need to find a more efficient way."

"What way?"

"Let the Fire of Justice spread itself. Just like your seed of civilization."

Lin Zhou nodded. "I'll have Li Mo research it."

In the following days, Li Mo combined the Fire of Justice with the reproduction technology of the seed of civilization, developing a new type of spark—the Justice Spark.

[ Justice Spark · Data ]

- Effect: Can be absorbed by a divine spark to cultivate seedlings of the Fire of Justice in the divine kingdom.

- Characteristic: When resonating with the seed of civilization, the success rate of Existence Judgment + 50%.

- Maturity Cycle: About thirty days

- Reproduction Method: Same as the seed of civilization

The first batch of Justice Sparks was distributed to the investigators of the Inspectorate. They took the sparks and rushed to every corner of the New Universe, judging the remaining believers of the Void Sect. Each time one was judged, the Fire of Justice would absorb the "sin" of the judged, becoming brighter.

[ Inspectorate · Judgment Progress (One Month Later) ]

- Void Sect remnants judged: About 500 people

- Purification success rate: 100%

- Fire of Justice intensity: + 50%

The remnants of the Void Sect were cleared one by one. But the pulses from deep within the Return to Ruins still occurred every seven days, and their intensity was increasing. The awakening of the Lord of Nothingness was drawing closer.

One day, while Lin Zhou was instructing soldiers on the fortress training ground, he suddenly received an emergency communication from Iron Face.

"Lin Zhou, a massive energy source has been detected at the edge of the Return to Ruins. It's not a pulse, it's... a physical entity. It is moving towards the New Universe."

"What kind of entity?"

"Not sure. But its energy signature is similar to the Lord of Nothingness. It might be the vanguard of the Lord of Nothingness—a being at the Peak of high-tier divine power."

Lin Zhou's heart sank. Only half of the three-year period had passed; how could the Lord of Nothingness send a vanguard ahead of schedule?

"What is its speed?"

"Very slow. One hundred kilometers per hour. It will take about a year to reach the edge of the New Universe."

"A year... that's enough."

Lin Zhou assembled the entire army.

"Brothers, there is a powerful being moving from deep within the Return to Ruins toward the New Universe. It may be the vanguard of the Lord of Nothingness, estimated to be at the Peak of high-tier divine power. We have one year to prepare."

"One year from now, we will intercept it at the edge of the Return to Ruins."

"Yes!"

In the following days, the Civilization Guardian Legion entered an even higher intensity of war preparations. Purifying debris, collecting essence, strengthening furnaces, training new recruits, and promoting sparks. In the plazas of every town, the Fire of Civilization was burning. The Fire of Righteousness, the Fire of Courage, the Fire of Moonbeam, the Fire of Justice... various mutated sparks bloomed throughout the Universe.

[ New Universe · Spark Coverage (Six Months Later) ]

- Towns: About 100,000, 100% coverage

- seed of civilization: At least one in every town

- Justice Spark: Equipped by all members of the Inspectorate

- Fear aura cancellation rate: 90% → 95%

The vanguard deep within the Return to Ruins was 60,000 kilometers away from the New Universe. Its speed was increasing—100 km/h, 120 km/h, 150 km/h...

Lin Zhou stood on the fortress wall, looking in the direction of the Chaos Star Domain. In the gray-white mist, a dark-red point of light appeared. It was the vanguard of the Lord of Nothingness, slowly approaching.

"Captain, its speed is increasing." Qin Qing pulled up the data. "According to current acceleration, it will only take eight months to reach the New Universe, not one year."

"Then eight months it is. That's enough."

Lin Zhou turned and walked down the wall.

"Pass the Order down: the entire army is to enter the highest state of alert. Eight months from now, we will meet the enemy at the edge of the Return to Ruins."

"Yes!"