92: Player Lu Guangming

The moment the "Destruction" vest passed through the Vortex Gate, an indescribable sensation of stripping and reconstruction hit simultaneously.

It was like passing through a viscous, cold film of water; the sound of the wind outside, the pressure of the S-rank confrontation, and even the familiar laws of the world receded and distorted in an instant.

Before his eyes was not the darkness he had expected, but a bizarre, highly saturated, and incredibly oppressive scene.

The sky was a congealed, dark red like dried blood, with no sun, moon, or stars—only countless shattered, mirror-like spatial rifts reflecting distorted scenery.

The ground was scorched black and riddled with bottomless fissures, through which flowed not lava, but a viscous, foul-smelling dark green energy stream.

The air was thick with the scent of sulfur, rot, and a... silent Aura of the end of all things.

This was the Echoing Abyss. Rules were shattered, energy was violent, and life was extinct; there was only endless chaos and the echoes of the end.

Lu Guangming steadied himself and immediately synchronized his Aura with the environment, blending into the deathly silent background like a chameleon.

Hiding behind a massive black crystal remnant that looked as if it had been torn apart by brute force, he scanned his surroundings with a sharp gaze.

In the distance, the dark purple pillar of light connecting heaven and earth remained conspicuous, emitting heart-palpitating waves of Destruction; that was where the core of the Fragment lay.

But Lu Guangming did not rush there immediately. He clearly sensed several extremely powerful Auras circling that pillar of light—some were from the abyss, and some were... from Guixu!

Clearly, the two Guixu Cultists who had infiltrated earlier, along with abyssal experts who might have been lurking in the core area all along, had gathered there, keeping each other in check and similarly not daring to approach the Fragment's core lightly.

"As expected, it's not that simple," Lu Guangming thought to himself. Charging in blindly was the worst option; before clarifying the situation, exposure was equivalent to suicide.

His Spirit Sensing spread out cautiously, avoiding those powerful Auras, as he perceived the more fundamental rule composition of this space. Soon, he noticed an anomaly.

In the air, besides the violent abyssal energy and chaotic rule Fragments, there was also an extremely thin but essentially high-level energy particle permeating the area.

They were colorless, odorless, formless, and substance-less, making them difficult to capture even with conventional Spirit Sensing. However, wherever they passed, even space exhibited a subtle sense of "wear" and "dissolution."

Annihilation Energy!

Lu Guangming's heart stirred as he attempted to use his spirit to touch and guide a tiny wisp of Annihilation Energy.

[Warning: Detected unknown high-dimensional rule energy annihilation property, intrusion! This energy possesses high exclusivity and existence-erasure properties!]

[System passive defense mechanism triggered! Consuming source energy for neutralization and counteraction!]

[source energy value -1... -1... -1...]

Red warning prompts immediately popped up on the system interface. That tiny wisp of Annihilation Energy was like the most overbearing virus, frantically eroding the spirit Lu Guangming used to touch it, even attempting to counter-pollute his core through the spiritual link!

The system had to continuously consume precious source energy to barely maintain a fragile balance and stop the intrusion of this energy.

"What overbearing power!" Lu Guangming was delighted rather than shocked. This was exactly what he needed! Personally experiencing, understanding, and even... mastering this rule power representing the "end" held incalculable value for his role-play as the Lord of Destruction, for his future confrontations with the Guixu Cult, and even for the completion of his own "System" rules!

"System, record this energy's characteristics! Analyze its rule structure! Simultaneously, using myself as an experimental field, attempt to establish a safe interaction channel with this energy!" Lu Guangming issued the command.

[Command received. Beginning deep scan and analysis of 'Annihilation Property' energy...]

[Analyzing... Rule structure is too low-level, resolution insufficient.]

[Attempting to establish a safe interaction channel... Warning: Energy exclusivity is too strong; conventional methods cannot contain it.]

[Suggestion: Requires higher clearance and a higher-level energy container.]

Higher clearance? Energy container? Lu Guangming looked at the pitiful source energy value in the system and the constantly ticking -1 prompts, his brow furrowing slightly. He needed a more efficient and safer way to handle this energy.

A thought flashed through his mind like lightning.

"System, add a new player," he said in a deep voice.

[Please specify player identity.]

"Lu Guangming."

[Command confirmed. Adding player: Lu Guangming (Main God). Identity Clearance: Supreme. Status: Hidden.]

A player status bar representing his true self, visible only to him, appeared in a corner of the system interface. This wasn't for fun, but an experiment—he wanted to see if the system could bypass the exclusivity of Annihilation Energy through the medium of a "player" to safely touch and utilize it.

"System, using player 'Lu Guangming's' grasping as a medium, directly use the Main God's grasping to contact the Annihilation Energy. Prioritize analyzing its rule imagery of 'Destruction' and 'end' rather than forcibly absorbing the energy itself."

The moment the command was issued, a marvelous change occurred.

By using the identity of a "player" shrouded in system rules and then using the Main God's grasping to directly perceive that wisp of Annihilation Energy, the repulsion seemed to weaken! It was no longer a naked energy confrontation, but more like "observation" and "learning" across a firewall. This was the correct way to use grasping.

[Contacting 'Annihilation Property' energy through the player medium... Repulsion reaction reduced by 87%.]

[Beginning to perceive rule imagery with grasping...]

[grasping... Detected low-level rule Fragments such as 'Existence Erasure', 'Structural Collapse', 'Energy Zeroing', and 'Causal Termination'...]

[grasping is starting Operation... Refining relevant rule insights...]

[Successfully comprehended 'Destruction' rule branch concept: [Primary Annihilation Principles].]

[Obtained special insight energy: [Destruction Enlightenment].]

[source energy value: 45→150]

It worked! A sharp light erupted in Lu Guangming's eyes. The system really could bypass direct conflicts at the rule level! Through the universal interface of a "player," he had successfully stolen a trace of the true meaning of "Destruction"!

"Why did my source energy value increase so much?"

[The Main God becoming a player has linked the belief furnace and grasping; your belief and the perceived Destruction Enlightenment have been refined into source energy.]

[Before the system was created by the Main God, the Main God's Create Something from Nothing could only be completed using the Main God's current belief and insights. Before the Main God created the source energy tank, belief and insights would dissipate and could not be stored.]

"What a loss. No wonder I could Create Something from Nothing even without the system before. Is it because I'm directly using source energy values now instead of my own belief?"

"It seems I'll have to study the system more in the future."

grasping alone wasn't enough now; he needed actual power.

"System, based on the comprehended [Primary Annihilation Principles] and the analysis data of 'Annihilation Property' energy, consume source energy to generate a special energy tank independent of source energy—[annihilation energy value]! It will be used to safely store and invoke this characteristic power!"

[Command received. Deducting generation plan... Requires consumption of a large amount of source energy to construct rule firewalls and energy conversion matrices. Estimated source energy consumption: 100 points. Confirm?]

100 points! That's too much.

"Reduce the energy tank storage capacity to the minimum source energy value consumption!"

[Command received. Deducting generation plan... Estimated source energy consumption: 50 points. Confirm?]

"Confirm!"

[Beginning construction... Consuming 50 source energy points...]

[Construction successful!]

[Added new energy tank: [annihilation energy value] Current: 0/50]

[This energy tank can only be charged through specific methods and can be used to release skills with 'Annihilation Properties' or create related effects.]

A brand-new energy tank, emitting a gray-black hue, appeared on the system interface.

The final step!

"System, link [grasping] with [annihilation energy value]! Set: During the task execution process, whenever a player performs actions consistent with 'Annihilation' rule imagery—such as 'damage', 'Destruction', or 'termination'—the resulting [grasping Energy] will prioritize refining the 'Destruction' side of insights into the [annihilation energy value]!"

[Command received. Directional link between [grasping] and [annihilation energy value] established. Rules set. Requires 50 source energy points.]

"Confirm!"

With the series of Operations complete, Lu Guangming breathed a long sigh of relief and glanced at his energy values.

[source energy value: 50/200]

[annihilation energy value: 0/50]

He had successfully completed a crucial "fire-stealing" act right under the noses of the Guixu Cult and the abyss!

Not only had he personally perceived a trace of the rules of Destruction, but more importantly, he had forged for himself a "Source of Destructive Power" that could be safely stored and continuously charged through player actions! This provided the most solid foundation of power for his perfect role-play of the "Destruction" vest!

From now on, every bit of damage caused by the players' battles and every termination of a task would invisibly add bricks and tiles to his authority as the Lord of Destruction!

He glanced at the dark purple pillar of light in the distance, then sensed the empty but infinitely potential [annihilation energy value] within his body.

"Now then, it's time to give those true 'Believers of Destruction' a little shock from 'Destruction' itself."

His figure, like a cheetah blending into the shadows, began to stealthily advance through this shattered kingdom of death toward the center of the storm.