42: Chapter 42 One Punch Decides the Outcome, I'm the Rule

Dead silence.

The wind on the tenth floor carried a metallic stench and a bone-chilling cold as it swept across the boundless high platform.

This was the apex of the Thousand Layered Pagoda, the destination yearned for yet feared by countless challengers.

In the center of the high platform, an ancient bronze crown and a pass radiating soft silver light floated quietly. They were symbols of power and qualification, the keys to stepping into a higher realm.

Brother Dao stood before that radiance, like a deity suppressing this place.

He was not flesh and blood, but the ultimate guardian condensed from the Tower's rules and the power of order.

Dark gold chains, condensed from pure battle intent, coiled around his body like living things. With every steady breath he took, the light on the chains grew stronger, and the invisible pressure caused the entire space to stagnate.

His combat power was escalating limitlessly, climbing at the terrifying speed of one-hundredth per second.

His eyes, devoid of any emotion, locked onto Chen Fan at the other end of the high platform.

He slowly raised a hand, not to attack, but to tear open a waterfall of data in the air.

Within the flowing, colorful data, every battle Chen Fan had experienced since entering the Tower was clearly displayed, with every heart-stopping critical hit marked by a glaring red warning symbol.

"Every critical hit you land is a trampling of the system's balance, an ugly loophole under the rules," Brother Dao's voice, like the friction of metal, was cold and absolute. "And I am the executor of order, here specifically to eliminate anomalous data like you."

Chen Fan did not respond.

Words were superfluous at this moment.

He merely raised his right arm slowly, his five fingers curling inward one by one, forming a fist.

The instant he clenched his fist, the blood-colored energy long accumulated within him began a violent fusion reaction, as if thrown into the core of a star!

The originally immense red light violently collapsed toward his fist's center. On the first compression, the light solidified; on the second compression, the surrounding space let out a groan of unbearable strain; on the third compression, his entire right fist seemed to transform into a miniature supernova, ready to erupt!

[Charged Critical Hit x 3 (Max)]!

This was the trump card he was staking everything on!

"Purge initiated."

The moment Brother Dao's voice fell, he vanished from his spot!

The next instant, a cascade of blade light, seemingly capable of severing heaven and earth, descended upon Chen Fan, carrying an unparalleled divine might of order!

No technique, no flashiness—only power and speed refined to the absolute extreme!

Chen Fan's pupils constricted, but he did not dodge!

He chose the most direct, and perhaps the craziest, method—to meet it head-on!

He raised his left arm, blocking in front of him.

"Crack!"

The crisp sound of breaking bone was clearly audible on the dead-silent high platform!

The terrifying slashing force blasted Chen Fan backward dozens of meters. His left arm was twisted at an unnatural angle, and pale white Bone Breaker even pierced through the skin.

The life bar on his wrist instantly plummeted from full to the critical red line, less than ten percent!

However, at the very instant his life value dropped below the threshold, a stream of emerald green data surged out from within him, instantly enveloping his broken arm!

[Defense Critical Hit x 2] triggered!

Under Brother Dao's indifferent gaze, the protruding broken bone retracted back into the flesh at a visible speed. The twisted bone realigned and healed within three seconds; the shattered muscle tissue regenerated wildly, and in the blink of an eye, his entire left arm was perfectly restored!

"Hmm?" Brother Dao's expression, unchanged for ten thousand years, showed a trace of minute surprise for the first time.

Chen Fan gave him no time to ponder.

Not only did he not retreat due to this severe injury, but he stomped his foot fiercely, actively charging toward Brother Dao!

The madness and determination in his eyes made even Brother Dao, the incarnation of order, feel a sliver of incomprehension.

The second blade light was faster and fiercer!

It sliced toward Chen Fan's chest like a silver lightning bolt!

Chen Fan neither dodged nor avoided!

He allowed the incomparably sharp blade edge to tear open his chest, blood splashing out like a fountain, tracing a tragic arc in the air.

Agony surged through his body like a tide, but he gritted his teeth, even curving his lips into a grim sneer.

Amidst the splashing blood, the red light core compressed to its extreme within him, instead of dissipating due to the master's severe injury, actually absorbed this immense damage and pain, its light becoming deeper and more dangerous!

[Charged Critical Hit Storage Maintained]!

"Warning... Trial participant damage absorption rate... 173%... Exceeded standard."

The Tower Spirit's mechanical whisper echoed in the empty top floor.

Far above, observing everything from the Tower's peak, the silhouette of Shadow Crow—a cold glint flashed in the eyes hidden beneath his hood. His finger was already hovering over the virtual button representing 'Forced Erasure.'

If there was one more display of power beyond the standard, he would press it without hesitation.

Meanwhile, outside the Thousand Layered Pagoda, in a silent plaza.

Su Shuang's face was as pale as paper. She stared fixedly at the Tower's summit, as if she could see the battle raging inside through the walls.

She suddenly bit her fingertip, and crimson blood flowed out.

Without hesitation, she used her finger as a brush and her blood as ink, rapidly sketching a complex and bizarre rune in the air before her.

"With my blood, I confuse the enemy's heart... Heart Confusion · Critical Hit!"

She chanted softly, her voice trembling slightly with weakness.

As the last syllable fell, the blood-colored rune suddenly brightened, transforming into an invisible wave that instantly pierced through the barrier of the Thousand Layered Pagoda!

[Charm Critical Hit x 2] triggered!

On the high platform, Brother Dao, who was about to swing the third blow to completely finish Chen Fan, suddenly shuddered.

The dark gold chains wrapped around him, representing absolute order and battle intent, showed a momentary, unprovoked disturbance!

His right arm, which was about to swing down, experienced a half-second of rigidity because of it!

Half a second!

For top-tier combatants, this was eternity!

It was in this instant!

All the madness and restraint in Chen Fan's eyes burst forth!

His right fist, which had accumulated triple power and had long transformed into a reddish-black singularity, was finally unleashed without reservation!

[Coordinated Critical Hit + Rule Critical Hit Stacked]!

There was no earth-shattering roar, only an instant of absolute silence.

Immediately following, centered on Chen Fan's fist surface, the air shattered like glass, and a visible white air wave violently expanded!

Then, the light core compressed to its extreme completely detonated, turning into a miniature nuclear explosion sweeping the entire area!

The red light devoured everything, and it also devoured Brother Dao's indestructible Blade of Order.

The instant the blade edge contacted the fist surface, the battle blade, condensed from rules and theoretically immune to wear, couldn't even emit a single mournful cry before it began to disintegrate from the tip, inch by inch, turning into the most basic data light points, completely shattering and vanishing!

The terrifying power did not diminish and struck Brother Dao's chest full force!

Brother Dao shot backward like a fired cannonball. The dark gold chains of battle intent along his path snapped like fragile glass!

He crashed heavily against the invisible barrier at the far end of the high platform with a muffled thud, then slowly slid to the ground.

The core of order in his chest was completely shattered, and his body was dissipating into data.

He stared wide-eyed in disbelief, fixedly looking at the figure bathed in the afterglow of red light, resembling a demon god.

"You... you are not human... you are not a loophole..." His voice was intermittent, filled with unprecedented shock and fear. "You... are 'Critical Hit' itself..."

Before his words finished, his body completely turned into light points and vanished into the air.

The entire tenth floor returned to dead silence.

A moment later, the Tower Spirit's cold, mechanical voice sounded again, but this time, it carried a barely perceptible fluctuation for the first time.

[Final Trial complete, First Place: Chen Fan]!

As soon as the voice faded, an unprecedented announcement instantly resonated throughout the entire city, appearing on every player's wristband!

[Global Announcement: Player [Chen Fan] has successfully broken the historical record of the Thousand Layered Pagoda, clearing time 01:03:11, becoming the 999th record breaker globally, officially entering the Top 1000 of the Global Leaderboard]!

[Global Announcement: Player [Chen Fan]...]

The announcement repeated three times, plunging the entire city into a brief silence, which was then followed by a tsunami-like uproar!

In the center of the high platform, the bronze crown seemed to respond to a summons, transforming into a stream of light, slowly descending, and finally settling firmly on Chen Fan's head.

Chen Fan reached out and caught the 'Silver Pass' that floated down with it; the touch was warm.

He looked up toward the position where the dark figure of Shadow Crow had just been—Shadow Crow had already disappeared.

At the edge of the high platform, the white mask belonging to the Tower Spirit slowly turned towards him, its hollow eye sockets seeming to gaze into the depths of his soul.

"...Next time we meet, I will no longer be the referee."

After leaving these words of ambiguous meaning, the mask also slowly faded away.

Chen Fan paid no attention; he turned and walked off the high platform.

As he walked, in an inconspicuous cloth bag at his waist, the fragment of the cassock obtained from Monk Xuan Zhu flickered almost imperceptibly, and a faint lingering bell sound flashed past.

He saw Su Shuang in the distance.

She leaned against a stone pillar in the plaza, her face pale, but she gave him a weak yet brilliant smile.

Chen Fan's gaze instantly softened, and he quickly walked toward her.

"I have the Pass now," he dangled the silver card in front of Su Shuang, then lowered his voice, carrying a hint of icy flame, "Next—it's time to burn your Tower."

No one noticed that the moment his words fell, deep beneath the unfathomable depths of the Thousand Layered Pagoda, a faint spark that had been dormant for unknown ages seemed to sense something and pulsed extremely faintly...

Like the heartbeat before a sleeping giant awakens.

On the high platform, the red afterglow had not yet completely dispersed, flowing slowly in the air like the sunset.

The bronze crown above Chen Fan's head flowed with a deep, faint light, mirroring the flames in his eyes.

His personal terminal on his wrist was still vibrating wildly. Messages and attention from all over the world were surging in like a tide, heralding the prelude to a new era, which he had brutally ripped open with the most savage means.