368: Chapter 368 can continue, I grant permission.

And she herself would be instantly torn apart by the backlash from infinite space-time. Her Profession Core would crumble, her soul would be extinguished, and she wouldn't even have a chance for reincarnation.

Was it worth it?

No, it wasn't a matter of whether it was worth it.

This was what she should do; she would bear the consequences of her mistakes.

Only...

Lin Yao's consciousness struggled to turn toward the other end of the Duel Arena.

To that figure who had been standing calmly from beginning to end.

Brother...

I'm sorry.

Yaoyao... I can't protect you anymore.

I can no longer bring you a cup of hot milk when you stay up late.

I can no longer clumsily comfort you when you wake up from a nightmare.

Never again...

Tears of regret, mixed with blood, slid from the corners of her tightly closed eyes.

Lin Yao mobilized her last shred of Spiritual Power, turning it into the sharpest blade, and ruthlessly slashed at the thread connecting her soul to the Infinite Starry Sky!

However, at the very moment the blade was about to fall.

An indescribable, warm energy abruptly appeared.

It wasn't injected from the outside, but instead emerged out of thin air from the deepest part of everyone's bodies.

That energy was like the warm sun of early spring, like a mother's embrace.

It possessed no violent power, yet with an irresistible gentleness, it instantly smoothed over the energy storm within the Duel Arena that was enough to tear the world apart.

On Wen Yan's charred arm, the piercing pain vanished instantly, replaced by waves of refreshing numbness. The necrotic flesh was falling off at a visible rate, and new skin was growing.

Behind him, the group of dying Researchers were all stunned.

Their sunken cheeks quickly regained their fullness. Their parched bodies were refilled with strength.

The Old Analyst adjusted the broken glasses on his face, his clouded old eyes filled with incomprehensible shock. He was still alive? Not only was he alive, but he felt at least twenty years younger.

That warm energy, like an endless river, circulated through their bodies once before finally converging on Lin Yao.

Lin Yao's blade of consciousness, which was about to sever the soul link, dissipated into nothingness upon a gentle touch from this warm current.

Her nearly collapsed body was gently lifted up.

The seven hideous bloodstains also healed rapidly under the nourishment of this energy, leaving no scar behind.

The energy cycle that devoured everything was forcibly halted.

But there was no backlash.

That Infinite Starry Sky that had already descended, that Infinite Legion enough to make gods tremble, did not go berserk due to the loss of energy.

They just floated quietly, like the most loyal guards, waiting for their monarch's command.

That warm energy continued to flow through everyone's bodies, repairing every injury.

Wen Yan looked in disbelief at the new pink flesh growing on his charred arm. The Researchers behind him also recovered from their near-death weakness one by one, their faces full of the daze of surviving a disaster.

What happened?

Who saved them?

Just then, a calm voice clearly reached everyone's ears.

"Continue."

Wen Yan jerked his head up, looking toward the source of the voice.

Lin Yu.

The man who had just stood there from beginning to end, watching his sister's antics.

What did he say?

Continue?

This thought made Wen Yan's heart, which had just settled, tighten once again.

Continue what? Continue that terrifying spell that almost sucked everyone dry?!

Lin Yao's body trembled slightly; her consciousness was fully awake. She heard her brother's voice, and that incomprehensible instruction made her already chaotic mind go even more blank.

"Brother!" Her voice carried a sob, weak and urgent, "No! It can't continue!"

"If it continues, it might lead to unavoidable consequences."

"It doesn't matter," Lin Yu responded.

"People will die! The energy... the energy isn't enough at all!"

She was afraid.

She was truly afraid.

She wasn't afraid that she would die, but that her brother would be like those Researchers, his life devoured by the monster she had created.

"The energy is enough."

Lin Yu's voice remained flat, yet it carried an unquestionable certainty.

No matter how Lin Yao tried to convince Lin Yu, he only had that one sentence—

"With your brother by your side, you can do anything you want."

These words, like a thunderclap piercing through time and space, ruthlessly shattered all the barriers in Lin Yao's heart.

The images of those five years flooded her mind uncontrollably once again.

Her brother being stepped on by debt collectors.

Her brother, emaciated beyond recognition in a sunless rented room.

Her brother, whose arms were full of hideous needle marks when he took off his shirt.

She had fought so hard to become stronger, wanting to cast this spell at any cost, just to tell him, to tell everyone.

I've grown up.

I can protect you now.

You don't need to do those things that hurt yourself anymore.

This obsession was the source of her power, but also the inner demon that shackled her.

And now, her brother told her a fact in the most direct and undeniable way.

Those five years were over.

He was no longer the one who needed protection.

He had become the person who could hold up the entire world for her.

She wanted to prove herself? Fine.

She wanted to defeat her brother? Fine.

She wanted to tear a hole in the sky? That was fine too.

Because her brother was here.

"Ugh..."

Lin Yao could no longer hold it back. All the grievances, heartache, regret, and that unspeakable joy suppressed deep in her heart turned into a flood of tears at this moment.

She hadn't lost.

She just... no longer needed to use such a paranoid way to protect the person most important to her.

So, this was what it felt like to be protected.

Lin Yao slowly raised her hand. Tears mixed with the blood on the corners of her mouth, tracing a tragic yet beautiful path on her pale little face.

She took back control of the spell's guidance.

But this time, there was no more pain or madness on her face.

Only a sense of relief and calm.

And an extreme focus on the battle before her.

She looked toward the other end of the Duel Arena, at her brother who remained calm.

Brother.

You created a world for me.

Then Yaoyao will present the most magnificent scenery in this world for you to see.

The moment this thought settled, a wisp of pure radiance burst from Lin Yao's fingertips as she raised her palm.

That Infinite Starry Sky, which had just been soothed by Lin Yu's warm energy, boiled once again.

Wen Yan felt his arm, which had just grown new flesh, suddenly sink.

A suction force even more terrifying and pure than before came from Lin Yao's back, instantly piercing through his body and connecting to the crooked human chain behind him.

"Holy crap! Again?!"