159: Chapter 159 One Punch Opens the Heavens, But It Opens a Crack, Not a Door

When Chen Fan's fist, wrapped in violent astral power, broke through the wind, only the sound of his own heavy heartbeat remained in his ears.

He could clearly sense the heat within his spiritual body surging wildly along the pathways of the star patterns—it was the energy of the critical hit system resonating with the Star Dome Palace, every line burning like a fuse soaked in strong liquor.

The Shadow King's thousand-faced phantoms twisted and deformed in the wind of the punch, the pupil of the central phantom suddenly shrinking to the size of a needle.

Chen Fan "saw" a pale gold countdown explode over the opponent's heart: 0.3 seconds, 0.2 seconds, 0.1 seconds!

The moment the system notification rang out in his sea of consciousness, his fist accurately struck that mass of purple light—not a phantom, but the true body!

"Crack!"

The imperial phantom, forged from Star Iron and human faces, was blasted back three stumbling steps, sparks flying from the Amethyst Terminal embedded in its chest.

Chen Fan panted heavily, the tip of the hammer of the thunder god already pressed against the other's throat, sweat dripping from his chin onto the star patterns on the floor, evaporating with a sizzle.

"You break the illusion array, slay the false god, but have you ever wondered... without rules, the mortal world will fall into eternal chaos?" The Shadow King's voice was no longer as cold and stern as before, the amethyst's light dimmed slightly, and some of the forged human faces were crying while others were laughing, like a disturbed mirror.

Chen Fan wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and spun the hammer handle half a turn in his palm: "It's better than being fuel for you to collect souls." He thought of Old Zhang, who had been erased by the system at the construction site, and Su Shuang's words about how her clansmen were crushed into stardust by the rules. His Adam's apple bobbed. "I've seen too many people eaten clean by the rules. These damn rules should have been smashed long ago."

Before his voice faded, the shadows in the hall suddenly surged.

The blade light of the Fate Breaker was faster than the shadows.

Chen Fan didn't even see how the opponent leaped out; he only felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up—the pale gold countdown of Critical Hit Foresight had already appeared on his right shoulder: 1.0 seconds.

His sideways movement was faster than his brain's reaction; the handle of the hammer of the thunder god swung out horizontally, accurately clashing against the spine of the blade.

"Clang!"

The metallic explosion shook Chen Fan's webbing until it went numb, but he saw web-like cracks burst out on the Fate Breaker's "Fate Severing" blade.

The system notification followed immediately: [Equipment Critical Hit × 7.6].

Chen Fan shook his numb wrist and grinned at the opponent: "Now, I can even calculate fate accurately."

The Fate Breaker's pupils shrank into the shape of blades, his knuckles turning white as he gripped the hilt.

He looked at the cracked blade, then at the glowing star pattern on Chen Fan's chest, and finally sheathed his sword and retreated into the shadows—this was his intuition as an Executioner: the person before him no longer had a fate that could be severed by "Fate Severing."

"IHe could have become a god.... IHe could have become a god...."

A hoarse whisper suddenly echoed in the corridor.

Chen Fan looked up and saw a translucent remnant soul floating in the star mist, its face blurred yet carrying a bone-deep malice.

It was the Echo King, the remnant soul of a previous intruder, trapped in this Star Dome Corridor for untold years.

"Become a god?" Chen Fan curled his lip, twirling the hammer of the thunder god in his palm. "I don't want to become a god; I only want to smash gods." He spoke lightly, but the ruthlessness in his voice made the star patterns in the corridor rustle and fall.

The Echo King's remnant soul suddenly shook violently, as if gripped by an invisible hand, and finally dispersed into dots of fluorescent light. The last whisper before disappearing was as light as a sigh: "...Then smash them..."

The amethyst on the Shadow King's chest went completely dark.

The forged human faces disintegrated one by one, revealing the rust-covered Star Iron skeleton beneath.

He looked at Chen Fan and suddenly smiled: "You won... but the rules will eventually consume you."

Before he finished speaking, the entire Star Dome Palace rumbled.

At the moment the Gate of Kings swung open, Chen Fan felt something pierce through from the top of his head—it wasn't pain, but a resonance with some more ancient power.

The starry sky was like a torn curtain; a golden light shot straight into the sky, illuminating the entire hall as bright as day.

"Ding—"

A lagging system notification sounded simultaneously in the ears of players worldwide.

Someone was killing monsters in a Newbie Village and looked up to see the sky splitting; someone was dodging traps in a Silver Dungeon and looked up at the countdown within that crack; even the elderly at the construction site who hadn't been chosen by the system rubbed their aching temples, looking at the sky and muttering, "What is that?"

Chen Fan squinted at the horizon, where a crimson countdown floated in the rift: [Alien Descent: 89 days, 23 hours, 59 minutes].

The critical hit system in his chest suddenly vibrated violently, and a clearer notification than ever before surfaced in his sea of consciousness:

[Critical Hit Foresight Formed: Can predict the position and timing of a critical hit within 1 second]

[Critical hit rate permanently increased to 30%]

[You... are becoming the rules themselves]

The hammer of the thunder god trembled slightly in his palm, the lightning patterns on the hammer body seeming to come alive, crawling along his arm onto the back of his hand.

Chen Fan touched the hammer handle and suddenly felt that this old partner, who had accompanied him from the Newbie Village to the Gold Instance, now actually seemed to have a heartbeat.

"Chen Fan..."

An extremely soft voice, mixed with star mist, drifted into his ear.

Chen Fan turned his head abruptly; Su Shuang in his arms had her eyelashes trembling slightly, her previously closed fingertips now gently resting on the back of his hand.

Her soul fire was no longer dissipating; although she was still weak, she had the warmth a living person should have.

"Don't... smash it... alone." Her voice was like a dandelion blown by the wind, but Chen Fan heard it clearly.

His Adam's apple moved, and he reached out to cover her fingertips—they were the calluses he had earned from moving bricks at the construction site, but now they were so light as if afraid of breaking something.

"I won't smash it alone; I'll take you with me to smash it." He looked down and smiled at her, sweat dripping into her hair. "When we go in later, if you think it's too noisy, just cover my ears."

Su Shuang's lips moved slightly, and she fainted again.

Chen Fan pulled her closer onto his back and turned to look at the opened Gate of Kings.

There was no light inside the gate, only a deep purple "Alien Mother Core" slowly rotating, its surface covered in runes he was all too familiar with—Thunder Pulse, Holy Fire, Star Patterns—all the power sources he had seen in various dungeons.

"This punch is not to become a king." He whispered toward the gate, and as he shouldered the hammer of the thunder god, the hammer's spiritual body suddenly vibrated, the word "Infinite" faintly appearing. "It is only to avoid being defined."

In the distance, a red glow rose from the direction of the Shadow Pavilion.

The Third Seat of the Red Robes looked up at the sky rift and crushed the communication jade talisman in his palm: "Activate the 'Finality Protocol'—hunt down the greatest variable!" His voice was filled with killing intent, blowing toward the Star Dome Palace with the wind.

Standing before the gate, Chen Fan could hear the faint sound of footsteps coming from behind—the remnants of the Shadow Pavilion were assembling.

He touched the top of Su Shuang's head on his back and gripped the hammer of the thunder god tightly.

The Mother Core inside the gate brightened for a moment, as if responding to his gaze.

"Let's go," he said softly, and carrying Su Shuang on his back, he stepped into the Gate of Kings.

The golden light abruptly vanished.