505: Chapter 503 This world is in your hands

"The spirituality value gain from slaying Specters has increased by 20%..."

Chu Xuan also had doubts in his heart as to why he was not on the leaderboard.

Compared to the contributions of Yan Guofa and Yang Yu, he might be slightly inferior.

Even for the third-place Zhang Ziyang, who at least had a '?' contribution, being ranked ahead of him would be acceptable.

Even if he failed to break into the top three, he should at least be qualified for fourth place.

On the current leaderboard, the fourth place was shown to have killed three S-rank Specters. While the contribution was certainly significant, it shouldn't have exceeded his no matter what.

However, when Chu Xuan immediately received the prompt for "Highest Authority" and saw that the spirituality value gain from slaying Specters had increased from "40%" to "60%," he stopped dwelling on it.

Compared to the other rewards on the leaderboard, the share of spirituality value earned was the most important.

On the System page, the "World Channel," "Regional Channel," and various online platforms were still heatedly discussing these successive prompts.

Everyone was especially passionate about the leaderboard.

Back in the Capital, outside the dilapidated Great Hall, everything had returned to tranquility.

Only the middle-aged man who had pointed a sword toward the sky now had a few more streaks of white at his temples.

With one step, he arrived before Chu Xuan. With a strange light in his eyes, he smiled gently and said, "Chu Xuan, long time no see."

Chu Xuan quietly looked at the newcomer and noticed a slight resemblance to Lin Jie. He couldn't help but ask, "Is Lin Jie still around?"

"I am Lin Jie; Lin Jie is the most important part of me," Yang Yu replied. "I had to guard the Central Dark World region. To successfully sacrifice today's sword strike, I had no choice but to divide myself."

Chu Xuan raised an eyebrow slightly. "So, back when I returned from the War Dragon World and met Lin Jie at St. Lianna Hospital, was that your arrangement?"

Yang Yu shook his head, his gaze deep. "That was the guidance the world gave me—to protect you, and of course, to protect Lin Jie."

Chu Xuan immediately thought of Lin Jie's status as the Child of the World and his "Heavenly Secret" Talent.

Back then, they were able to successfully escape from St. Lianna Hospital.

And after slaying the Debt-Collecting Ghost, when faced with the threat of a nuclear strike, it was precisely because of Lin Jie's guidance that the most critical problem was solved.

Otherwise, if it had been just him alone, it probably wouldn't have been that easy...

"However, your appearance at St. Lianna Hospital was certainly no coincidence. The 'Child of the World Lin Jie' I divided was influenced by the rules of The Gloom, guided step by step into the hospital and into a death trap. That's what caused you to arrive at the hospital right after your return."

Yang Yu's gaze was profound as he spoke slowly. "Otherwise, if Lin Jie had died, even if I could still have used this sword strike to slay the Evil God Projection, I might not have been able to strip its authority. The world might even have instantly plunged into a great horror; the speed of the Gloom Invasion would have increased significantly, and the future situation would have been extremely dire..."

Hearing this, Chu Xuan immediately thought of the scenes before "Dream Return."

The sky-blotting rain of blood, where not just living creatures, but even plants, buildings, and the earth itself became bizarre and terrifying.

And the massive expansion of the dark mist of The Gloom.

Perhaps that was the arrival of the great horror mentioned by [Future Tang Zheng].

Amidst his thoughts, Chu Xuan suddenly thought of a question and asked immediately, "Is there really a Talent called 'Heavenly Secret'?"

As he spoke, Chu Xuan had already activated his Eye of Insight.

[Your spirituality value -10]

[Name: Yang Yu

Race: Human

Talent: Mandate of Heaven

Rank: 0

health points: 0

stamina: 0

Strength: 0

agility: 0

spirit: 0]

Chu Xuan's eyes flashed.

Not only because this observation only consumed 10 points of spirituality value, but what surprised him even more was that he could only see the name, race, and Talent. Everything else was actually "0."

This was the first time Chu Xuan had encountered this.

"Are you observing me?" Yang Yu smiled. "There is no such thing as Heavenly Secret. I simply obtained power bestowed by the world based on your description. Of course, the most important purpose was naturally to attract your attention so you wouldn't accidentally kill Lin Jie."

Chu Xuan asked, "So, what is Mandate of Heaven?"

Yang Yu's smile faded as he spoke leisurely. "The destiny of the Dominator of Heaven and Earth; everything about me is predestined. I am the Child of the World, watched over by the world, a person born to counter the Gloom Invasion."

"Unfortunately, I failed..."

"This is a game between worlds, a collision of rules. I received the Mandate of Heaven, but I am also suppressed and shackled by the rules of The Gloom. I have tried countless times and failed countless times. My path is a dead end..."

"You should be able to see that my current state is quite special. You could say I am a dead man, or you could say I am a living one. The reason I can still exist is to wait for today's sword strike; this is the 'Mandate of Heaven' I ultimately chose. The reason I can still speak to you now is because my sword strike succeeded in severing the authority belonging to the Evil God."

Yang Yu looked at Chu Xuan with deep meaning and said softly, "You have stepped onto the only remaining supernatural path in this world. You are also the one extra lamp of hope in this world besides me..."

"I cannot give you much help; I can only block the curses and calamities for you..." Yang Yu raised his hand and gently patted Chu Xuan's shoulder.

Chu Xuan's body suddenly jolted.

At the same time, a System prompt arrived.

[The Dark World has lost its focus on you. The Evil God's kill-order guidance has been transferred. You may travel to any world without your identity information being instantly known...]

Scene after scene echoed in his mind.

Back in the War Dragon World, after completing the mission, a giant hand had reached down from the sky...

In the Tianxing Mountains, the Immortal Longevity Turtle, which had been invaded by the bizarre, had similarly fallen into a frenzy, wanting to kill him...

All of this was because of the Evil God's kill-order guidance.

And now, this kill-order guidance had been transferred.

Chu Xuan felt an indescribable emotion in his heart.

Yang Yu raised his hand and turned to leave.

"Although the Evil God Projection has been slain by me, The Gloom of this world has ultimately erupted. Especially the Central and southwestern Dark World regions—someone must go to guard them."

"You must not enter at will; that is not your battlefield."

"If possible, we will come back to find you... if we are still alive..."

"Cangyun World is about to invade."

"I'll leave this place to you."

"This world... I entrust it to you..."

As the words fell, Yang Yu strolled down the long street, looking around with eyes full of reluctance. He took one last look at Chu Xuan, then at Yan Guofa, and his figure vanished.

Yan Guofa had already risen from the bench.

His hair was still white, but his aged face had somehow become much younger.

His skin was no longer sagging but was instead as ruddy and tight as a baby's.

He stood in the distance looking over, smiling and nodding to Chu Xuan. Then, he stepped out toward the Southwest, one step at a time, until he disappeared.

At the same time.

On the leaderboard.

The rankings belonging to Yang Yu and Yan Guofa disappeared.

Zhang Ziyang was now ranked first!