153: Chapter 153 I Believe in You

Su Bai stepped out of the world pod, and the pillar of light for the winners' passage lifted him up to the rest area.

As the silvery-white light dissipated, he stepped onto the floor of the circular corridor, the metal floor vibrating slightly beneath his feet. Most of the lounge doors on both sides of the corridor were open; the eliminated Creators had already left, leaving only the top eight contestants here.

He walked to the door of Lounge 019 and pushed it open.

The door closed behind him.

Su Bai sat down on the sofa and closed his eyes. The battle from just now was still replaying in his mind. The Transformation of Ten Thousand Demons into Dragons, the golden dragon, the Six Paths of Reincarnation dismantling and devouring it, and the new effect of the Dragon Might suppression.

It was worth it.

Just as he was about to sink into the Netherworld World to check the detailed changes of the Six Paths of Reincarnation, his communication terminal vibrated.

[Chu Zhentian (Chief Executive of Qinglin Province) is requesting a call]

Su Bai tapped to accept.

Chu Zhentian's holographic projection solidified in the center of the lounge. This time, he wasn't wearing formal attire or a house robe, but a team uniform from the Qinglin Province delegation, with the characters for "Qinglin" embroidered on his chest. His hair was messier than before, and there were more bloodshot streaks in his eyes, but his gaze was as bright as a burning star.

"Su Bai." Chu Zhentian's voice was as raspy as sandpaper rubbing together, but his tone carried an irrepressible excitement. "The semifinals. The national top four. In the eight hundred years since Qinglin Province was established, no one has ever gone this far in the Zhuangyuan Competition."

Su Bai didn't speak, just looked at him.

Chu Zhentian took a deep breath and swiped a few times on the light screen in front of him. A new light screen unfolded before Su Bai, showing a line of golden numbers.

[Transfer: 300,000,000 federal credits]

[Remarks: Qinglin Province reward, Su Bai advances to the semifinals]

Another three hundred million.

Su Bai's eyebrows twitched slightly.

Chu Zhentian looked at him, the corner of his mouth curving upward.

"Three hundred million, same as advancing to the Points Race. But what follows is different."

He swiped a few more times on the light screen, and a new line of text emerged.

[Follow-up Reward Standards (Qinglin Province Official):]

[Advancing to Semifinals (Achieved): 300 million federal credits]

[Advancing to Finals (3rd/4th Place): 500 million federal credits]

[Runner-up: 800 million federal credits]

[Champion: 1 billion federal credits]

Su Bai looked at the numbers and remained silent for two seconds.

"The Chu family's money?"

"Correct." Chu Zhentian corrected him, "Although our Chu family has tens or even hundreds of billions in assets, the most liquid cash we have is only five billion. Do you know what that means?"

Su Bai didn't speak.

A glint flashed in Chu Zhentian's eyes.

"I sold some Chu family real estate overnight. As long as you can keep advancing, the money will definitely be provided."

He paused.

"I believe you won't lose."

Su Bai looked at Chu Zhentian's bloodshot eyes and was silent for a moment.

"Money received."

Chu Zhentian nodded, and the holographic projection screen began to flicker. He hesitated for a moment before speaking again.

"Su Bai, there's something I need to tell you."

"Speak."

"How much do you know about Ye Qingxue's Chaos World?"

Su Bai thought for a moment.

"Left eye as black as ink, right eye as pure white as snow. Chaos World, peak of Rank Six. Thirty wins out of thirty matches in the Points Race, with an average match time of six minutes."

Chu Zhentian shook his head.

"That's public information. What I'm going to tell you is a secret known only within the Ye family."

He tapped his finger on the light screen, and a new information panel expanded.

[Ye Qingxue · Chaos World · Undisclosed Intelligence]

[Eyes of Chaos: Ye Qingxue's eyes are not just for decoration; they are the manifestation of the core rules of the Chaos World. The left eye represents 'Extinction,' and the right eye represents 'Creation.' When both eyes are open simultaneously, she can activate the 'Chaos Domain' within her world. Inside the domain, all rules are invalidated, all order collapses, and everything returns to chaos.]

[Domain Range: Centered on Ye Qingxue, with a radius of fifty li.]

[Duration: Thirty breaths (approximately three minutes).]

[Cost: Every time the Chaos Domain is used, Ye Qingxue's world core suffers irreversible wear and tear. She never used this ability during the Points Race.]

Su Bai's gaze fell on the line "all rules are invalidated, all order collapses," and his pupils contracted slightly.

"Will the Six Paths of Reincarnation also fail within the Chaos Domain?"

Chu Zhentian's expression became solemn.

"It will. The essence of the Chaos Domain is the 'opposite of rules.' Your Six Paths of Reincarnation is a rule of order, and the Chaos Domain is the opposite of order. In the Chaos Domain, there is no reincarnation, no good or evil, no judgment—only a void of chaos."

He paused.

"Your Six Paths of Reincarnation is the foundation of the Netherworld World. If the Six Paths of Reincarnation fails, your Hero Units will lose the empowerment of rule power, your Eight-Race Allied Army will lose their structural support, and your entire Netherworld World will..."

He didn't finish.

But Su Bai already understood.

"I understand."

Chu Zhentian looked at him, his lips moving as if he wanted to say something, but in the end, he just nodded.

"Three hundred million faith crystals will be delivered within two hours. The semifinals start in three days. Use these three days to prepare well."

The holographic projection dissipated.

The lounge fell silent again.

Su Bai sat on the sofa, staring at the number "300,000,000" on the light screen, silent for a long time.

Ye Qingxue. Chaos World. Chaos Domain. All rules invalidated, all order collapses.

His Six Paths of Reincarnation would fail in the Chaos Domain.

But his Netherworld World was more than just the Six Paths of Reincarnation.

There was also Meng Po's River Lethe water, the City God's Judgment of the Underworld, the Ghost King's Yellow Spring Road, Ox-Head and Horse-Face's Eighteen Levels of Hell, and Golden Shackles and Silver Locks' soul-arresting power.

Rules might fail, but heroes would not.

Su Bai withdrew his gaze, closed his eyes, and his consciousness sank into the Netherworld World.

Greyish-white Yin Qi surged like an ocean.

Su Bai's conscious avatar stood at the world core, and the panel in front of him displayed his current Power Of Faith balance.

[Current Power Of Faith: 17,811 points]

[faith crystals to be extracted: 3,000 (300,000 points)]

[Total after extraction: 317,811 points]

Another three hundred and seventeen thousand.

Su Bai took a deep breath. Instead of rushing to extract them, he first pulled up the construction list for the Eighteen Levels of Hell.

[Eighteen Levels of Hell Construction Progress: 7/18]

[Completed: Tongue-Pulling Hell, Scissors Hell, Iron Tree Hell, Mirror of Retribution Hell, Steamer Hell, Copper Pillar Hell, Knife Mountain Hell]

[Creatable Building: Eighteen Levels of Hell · 8th Level · Ice Mountain Hell]

[Consumes Power Of Faith: 70,000 points]

[Description: Specifically punishes the sins of murdering husbands, committing adultery, and malicious abortion. Upon completion, all attributes of Ox-Head and Horse-Face will increase by 30%. Simultaneously, the chill of the Ice Mountain Hell will permeate the Underworld Space of the Netherworld World, enhancing the forgetting power of the River of Oblivion.]

[Creatable Building: Eighteen Levels of Hell · 9th Level · Oil Pot Hell]

[Consumes Power Of Faith: 80,000 points]

[Description: Specifically punishes the sins of theft, robbery, abduction, bullying the weak, and malicious false accusations. Upon completion, all attributes of Ox-Head and Horse-Face will increase by 30%. Simultaneously, the boiling oil of the Oil Pot Hell will transform into the punishment power of the Netherworld World, enhancing the ghost-apprehension efficiency of the Ghost Catching Hall.]

[Creatable Building: Eighteen Levels of Hell · 10th Level · Ox Pit Hell]

[Consumes Power Of Faith: 90,000 points]

[Description: Specifically punishes the sins of torturing animals, arson, and destroying the ecosystem. Upon completion, all attributes of Ox-Head and Horse-Face will increase by 30%. Simultaneously, the cattle in the Ox Pit Hell will transform into the punishment power of the Netherworld World, enhancing the effect of Ox-Head and Horse-Face's escort skills.]

Su Bai looked at the three lines of building information, the corners of his mouth turning up slightly.