159: Chapter 159: The Liquidator's Additional Conditions

The air inside the great hall seemed even heavier than yesterday.

Although Su Ciyao's livestream had caused a massive uproar in the outside world, it didn't bring even a hint of noise to this hall, which represented the Qingheng Sect's highest authority. On the contrary, because of that livestream, everyone realized that Lord Bai Heng's judgment was no longer a far-off legend, but a Sword of Damocles hanging over their heads.

High atop the platform, Lord Bai Heng remained standing with his hands behind his back, his chaotic gray eyes reflecting the faces of the crowd below.

He had just finished watching the replay of Su Ciyao's livestream. Regarding that program, which was full of commoner flair and even a hint of provocation, he wasn't angry; instead, he showed a trace of inscrutable interest.

“Merger and Acquisition.”

Lord Bai Heng softly uttered those words, his voice echoing through the hall, as cold as if he were discussing the weather.

“This is indeed a method unrecorded in ancient texts. Exchanging 'negative assets' for the 'right to survive'—though crude, logically... it barely manages to close the Karma.”

The Elders below breathed a slight sigh of relief. Since the Liquidation Envoy had relented, did that mean this path was viable? Sect Leader Ning Chenzhou also slightly tightened his fists, a glimmer of hope flashing in his eyes.

However, in the next second, Lord Bai Heng's tone suddenly shifted.

“But, you seem to have forgotten one thing.”

He raised his hand, his slender finger tapping lightly in the air.

Buzz—

The space above the hall instantly distorted, and countless golden runes descended from the Void Realm like chains, connecting respectively to the Luck nodes of the nine peaks.

“The Heavenly Dao only recognizes Karma, not excuses. A merger is, in essence, a secondary distribution of resources. And in the process of distribution, what is most likely to breed?”

Lord Bai Heng's gaze became sharp as a blade.

“Fraud.”

As his voice fell, a glaring permission request box instantly popped up on the System interface before Shen Xingzhou's eyes, appearing so fast it nearly covered his entire field of vision.

[System Warning: Powerful External Intervention]

Source: War Debt Liquidation Bureau (Authorized by Lord Bai Heng)

Action: Requesting establishment of highest-level data monitoring channel.

Status: Compulsorily taken over (no consent required)

Current Status:

The War Debt Liquidation Bureau's data call frequency for the host's V2.0 System is rising exponentially.

“Since you want to play at mergers and acquisitions, playing with a set of new rules I don't understand, then you must play by my rules.”

Lord Bai Heng's voice held no warmth. “From this moment on, the War Debt Liquidation Bureau will monitor every single account and every data entry of the Qingheng Sect in real-time. I don't care what you say; I only care about what the System records.”

The hall fell into a dead silence. Real-time monitoring? This meant that from now on, any minor trick or any attempt to beautify the data would be instantly exposed under the eyes of the Heavenly Dao.

But that wasn't even the most terrifying part.

Lord Bai Heng paused, his gaze passing through the crowd and pinning precisely onto Shen Xingzhou's face.

“To ensure this 'merger' isn't meant to cover up even greater corruption, I am adding an additional condition.”

The corner of his mouth curled into a cruel smile.

“If, during the merger period, any form of data falsification is discovered, or if the calculation logic for the 'war loss/profit ratio' is found to be intentionally misleading...”

Lord Bai Heng extended a finger, pointing slowly at Shen Xingzhou.

“I will not abolish the peaks, nor will I destroy the Sect.”

“I will directly send the mastermind of this merger to the Sacrificial Altar.”

Boom—!

These words were like a heavy hammer, smashing hard against Shen Xingzhou's chest.

The hall instantly broke into an uproar.

“Heavens... directly sacrifice the mastermind?”

“That's sending Shen Xingzhou to his death!”

“This is too ruthless...”

“But... if Shen Xingzhou is gone, won't the merger fall apart?”

In Shen Xingzhou's vision, the System interface was instantly stained blood-red. The 'Personal Risk' column that had always been there suddenly broke through the threshold, turning a shocking crimson.

[Highest Level System Alarm]

Subject: Shen Xingzhou

New Clause: [Data Falsification = Sacrifice of the Mastermind]

Risk Assessment:

Trigger Condition: Any non-authentic account entry / Any statement attempting to mislead Lord Bai Heng.

Consequence: Immediate execution of sacrifice (Direct obliteration, Divine Soul destroyed).

Note: This is not a threat; this is a Heavenly Dao Contract. Once triggered, no one can save you.

Shen Xingzhou stood in the center of the crowd, his face pale, but his back ramrod straight. He could feel that invisible noose already tightening around his neck.

The merger was already a dance on a blade's edge; now Lord Bai Heng had scattered a handful of glass shards directly under his feet. If he took even one wrong step, he wouldn't just fall—he'd be strangled to death by the rope.

“What? Scared?”

Lord Bai Heng looked at him, smiling neither warmly nor coldly, like he was watching a rat driven into a corner. “Deacon Shen, don't you love calculating accounts the most? Don't you claim you can save the Sect? Then use your life as the guarantee for this ledger.”

“As long as you dare to fake a single number, I will dare to turn you into the 'landfill' for that bad debt.”

The two of them locked eyes across dozens of yards.

On one side was the high-and-mighty agent of the Heavenly Dao, controlling the power of life and death.

On the other was a low-level Demon Race servant, attempting to use data and rules to pry this heavy, giant wheel.

At this moment, the System interface automatically generated a high-contrast screenshot and saved it into the 'Critical Threat Log':

[Threat Level: Catastrophic Disaster]

Source: Lord Bai Heng

Content: “Use your life as the guarantee.”

Analysis: The Liquidation Envoy is applying pressure to test the host's stress limit and psychological quality. He doesn't care if the merger itself is just; what he cares about is whether the one holding the knife is worthy of the blade.

Shen Xingzhou took a deep breath and slowly raised his hands, cupping them toward Lord Bai Heng in front of everyone.

“In that case, Shen accepts.”

His voice was steady, without a hint of trembling. “Please keep your eyes wide open and watch, My Lord. My accounts—every single word is true. I have no need for fraud.”

The smile in Lord Bai Heng's eyes deepened. He didn't speak again, only nodding slightly, acknowledging the wager.

In a shadowed corner of the hall, Peak Master Luo Qingyi, who had been silent all along, was currently holding a cyan jade wine flask.

When she heard the word 'sacrifice,' her fingers gripping the flask suddenly tightened, her fingertips turning slightly white from the force.

Splash.

Because of that violent tremor, a small amount of wine spilled from the flask, drawing a crystalline arc in the air before landing on the hem of her robe, staining it like a dark plum blossom.

Peak Master Luo Qingyi didn't wipe it away. Those eyes that usually held a hint of drunkenness and laziness were now terrifyingly clear. She stared fixedly at that somewhat thin back standing in the eye of the storm.

The System silently captured this tiny movement.

[Character Status Monitoring: Luo Qingyi]

Action: Gripping wine flask tightly, wine overflowing (Extreme tension).

Target: Shen Xingzhou.

Judgment: Protection desire index rising again (Has broken through the 'Observer' threshold).

System Note:

This mysterious drinker from a higher realm doesn't seem to mind having a potential friction with the Heavenly Dao Liquidation Envoy for the sake of a 'Demon Race servant.'

But Shen Xingzhou didn't know any of this. At this moment, his world was filled with the sound of the System's alarms.

It was the highest-level red alert, screaming continuously in his mind, urging the secretion of adrenaline.

[Highest Level System Alarm: Continuously Blaring]

Liquidation Clause Final Confirmation:

Merger Failure = Host Death.

Data Falsification = Host Death.

Conclusion: This is a gamble where only victory is allowed; failure, and even 'mistakes,' are not permitted.

Status: Clause has been written into the Nine Provinces War Debt System core database; unalterable, irrevocable.

Beep—! Beep—! Beep—!

The alarm was sharp and piercing, as if it were trying to drill a hole in Shen Xingzhou's brain.

The surrounding Elders were whispering, watching the spectacle, and feeling fear. But Shen Xingzhou seemed isolated from the world; he just slightly tilted his head, looking at the red pop-up window flashing frantically in his vision.

A moment later, he raised his hand and made a 'mute' gesture in the air.

The world instantly became quiet.

The piercing alarm disappeared, leaving only the red warning box still stubbornly flashing. Shen Xingzhou looked at the box, a trace of a mad smile curling at the corner of his mouth.

This was exactly what he wanted to see.

Either don't do it, or do it to the extreme.

As the alarm vanished, at the very top of the System's main interface, the 'Personal Ending Branch' column that had always been gray finally lit up completely at this moment.

[Personal Ending Branch Updated]

Path A: [Reformation Model] (Success)

Description: The Qingheng Sect achieves Nirvana and Rebirth; Nine Provinces Sects scramble to emulate it. The host becomes the rule-setter of a new era.

Path B: [Sacrificial Model] (Failure)

Description: The merger collapses, and data falsification is discovered. The host is sent to the Sacrificial Altar, becoming a footnote to the Heavenly Dao's majesty, a warning to those who come after.

In the bottom right corner of the two branch choices, there was a small but exceptionally conspicuous skull icon.

In the empty eye sockets of that skull, two clumps of ghostly green fire burned, as if silently mocking Shen Xingzhou's arrogance.

It represented—Death.

Shen Xingzhou stared at the skull for a while, then softly closed the System panel, burying that immense pressure, along with the skull, deep in his heart.

“Sacrificial model, huh...”

He whispered to himself, his voice so soft only he could hear it.

“I refuse to take that path.”