144: Chapter 144 Arbitration Arrives: I Heard You Have Objections to My "Setting"?
Midway Island, Free Trade Zone Plaza.
The originally bustling “Tianhe Street Stall” had now quickly packed up and withdrawn. General Gu carried his brick, the Emperor of Great Zhou put away his abacus, and the Tentacle Monsters pushed their barbecue carts, all scurrying back to the ship. Only a mess remained in the center of the plaza, and the lingering scent of cumin in the air.
At this moment, the pristine white spherical spaceship, the **[Whitelist Number]**, was hovering above the plaza. A pure white beam of light projected downwards, forming a light ladder. Three figures emerged from it. They had no physical bodies, but were light-beings composed of pure **“logical code”**. Their faces had no features, only a constantly flickering QR code (or some kind of high-dimensional rune).
“This place... is very dirty.” The leading Executor emitted a cold voice that didn't travel through the air but directly vibrated the mind. “It's full of chaos, disorder, and the desires of low-level creatures.” “Especially that smell... the grease released by high-temperature heating of carbon-based creature corpses (barbecue smell).” “This is an insult to the 'Pure Universe'.”
The surrounding onlookers were so frightened that they retreated. They recognized the identities of these three light-beings—the **[Cosmic Arbitration Tribunal · Logic Guardians]**. Legend has it that they are the maintainers of the Universe's Law. Any civilization that violates 'physical constants' or 'causality' will be judged as 'abnormal' and then formatted (completely erased) by them.
“Target confirmed.” The Executor raised its hand, pointing at the massive blue planet docked in the port—pangu-003. “Civilization ID: Unknown.” “Anomaly Rank: S-class (Extremely Dangerous).” “Charges: Tampering with cognition, disrupting spatial stability, abusing causality, and... severe stylistic inconsistency.” “Verdict: Format.”
Before its voice fell, a dazzling white light sword, the **[Logic Correction Sword]**, condensed in the Executor's hand. This sword did not cut the Physical Body, only settings. Once struck, all 'unscientific' settings on the ship (such as cultivation, zombies, Spells) would be forcibly corrected to ordinary matter conforming to physical Laws. In other words... everyone would instantly become Mortals, or even die directly.
“Execute.” The Executor swung its sword. A white ripple, spanning space, shot straight towards the ship.
...
ship, Tianhe Command Room.
“Dean! That's a conceptual strike!” Lei Wanjun looked at the white ripple on the screen, his face pale, “Physical defense is useless! Energy Shields are useless! It's directly targeting our 'basis of existence'!” “Once hit, our spiritual power will disappear, Flying Swords will fall, Corpse Soldiers will turn into rotten flesh, and Tentacle Monsters will turn into squid!”
“What are you panicking about?” Li Mo sat in his chair, unmoving. The small notebook in his hand was open. “Logic correction?” “Want to turn my Cultivation World into a Physics world?” “Good idea, but... your authority isn't enough.”
Li Mo picked up the **spring and autumn brush** and wrote a large “NO” in the Void Realm. [Administrator Command: Access Denied.] [Firewall Policy: Logic Rebound.] [Entry Loaded: You talk about your science, I cultivate my immortals (mutually exclusive).]
Buzz—!!! Outside the ship's atmosphere, a layer of faint golden light film suddenly lit up. Countless ancient Chinese characters flowed on this light film: Dao, Law, Spell, Artifact...
When the white “logic ripple” collided with this light film. Ding! A crisp sound. The ripple not only failed to penetrate but was bounced back fiercely like a rubber ball. And it bounced back even faster than it came!
On the plaza.
The Executor was stunned. Its code-composed body experienced a freeze for the first time. “Logic... rebound?” “This is illogical!”
Before it could react, the rebounded white ripple had slammed fiercely into the **[Whitelist Number]** spaceship. Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle—! This spherical spaceship, representing the highest order of the Universe, pristine and flawless, underwent a strange change after being hit by its own attack. Its originally smooth surface began to become rough, growing... moss. Its originally pure white color began to become mottled, showing... rust. Even the spaceship's engine port spewed out black smoke, emitting a roar similar to a tractor: chug-chug-chug-chug...
“This is...” The Executor looked at its vehicle in horror. “My spaceship... rusted?” “How can an energy body rust?!”
“Because I added a setting to it.”
A lazy voice came from the ship, echoing throughout Midway Island. Li Mo's figure appeared out of thin air above the plaza, looking down at the three light-beings. He held the brush in his hand, a benevolent smile on his face.
“Don't you like to talk about logic?” “Then I'll tell you about my logic.” “On my territory, if I say it will rust, light can also rust.” “If I say it will mold, fire can also mold.”
Li Mo pointed at the three light-beings. “And you.” “Don't think I can't deal with you just because you don't have physical bodies.” “System, add an entry for them.”
Li Mo waved his brush. [Entry Generated: Materialization.] [Side Effect: Sensitivity to physical attacks increased by 1000%.]
Buzz! Three golden lights struck the three light-beings. Their originally illusory bodies instantly solidified, turning into... three bald, burly men in white suits. And they looked plump and elastic.
“Entity? I have an entity?” The Executor touched its face in horror, “No! This isn't just an entity, this is... a weakness!”
“Correct.” Li Mo snapped his fingers. “Director Xiao, these guys not only want to dismantle our home but also want to turn us into scrap metal.” “What do you think we should do?”
“Roar!!” Butcher Xiao, leading a group of Civil Engineering Department students armed with wrenches, steel pipes, and folding chairs, rushed down from the ship with a sinister grin. “What to do?” “Of course, physical persuasion!”
Crackling! “Ah! Don't hit my face! Don't hit my logic core!” “Help! This is unscientific! How can cultivators hit people so hard?!”
On Midway Island Plaza, a jaw-dropping scene unfolded. The “Arbitration Tribunal Executor,” representing the highest order of the Universe, was being rubbed on the ground by a group of cultivators. The surrounding alien civilizations watched in stunned silence, then erupted in enthusiastic applause. “Well fought!” “These Logic Guardians usually bully us a lot!” “Tianhe Academy is awesome!”
Li Mo stood in the air, watching the scene, and put away his spring and autumn brush. “Arbitration Tribunal?” “Before I became the Author, no one had the right to judge my settings.”
He glanced into the depths of the starry sky. This farce was just the beginning. The real race, or rather the real war, had only just begun with his “counter-kill.”