Chapter 1 The Lucky One

The Empress stood before the massive bookshelf.

Torrential wind and snow swept through every corner of the attic. The [Melting Furnace] Divine Domain had already expanded, and this wind and snow fell upon Qinglong, seemingly freezing and solidifying... but in reality, they didn't even reach Qinglong's skin.

This wind and snow was blocked by Qinglong's authority outside his body.

They froze, they solidified, they became stern and chilling—

But they could never reach him.

"Worthy of being a lucky one who has mastered the 'power of fate'."

Qinglong waved his hand casually, then slowly leaned back, tearing apart countless winds and snows. A throne materialized out of thin air behind him, and he sat comfortably and contentedly upon it.

Lucky one.

That was his evaluation of Lin Lei.

Having lived for so long, he had witnessed the changes in the Five Continents over the past century. Standing at the highest position, he naturally had the farthest view. To master the ethereal supreme power of "fate," one could only rely on luck.

Qinglong had made many attempts, also wanting to master "fate," but each attempt ended in failure.

This was also the reason why "Mister Yan" could live to this day.

All the Source Tower's divinations needed to rely on Mister Yan.

However…

If one could master enough mental strength, perhaps one could artificially control fate. If this world was a net, then if the mental strength was strong enough, one could calculate every landing point of this great net—

To perform fate divination, one needed to consider the dimension of time as well.

When every landing point of this great net began to fluctuate, the difficulty of calculating fate began to increase exponentially.

The moment a glass fell to the ground, everyone knew it would shatter.

But what if time was reversed to ten seconds ago, ten minutes ago?

The computational power consumed by "divination" performed at different moments was also different.

"But even if you calculate it, what can you do?"

Qinglong looked at the woman in front of him, propping his elbow up, and smiled, "You can't leave this manor."

"I never thought of leaving this manor."

Lin Lei turned around, and she said calmly, "I'm just waiting for the person who should come."

"And then?"

Qinglong raised his eyebrows.

"And then... I want to see how strong the so-called 'Number One Person of the Five Continents' really is."

The bookshelf behind Lin Lei began to twist. The entire second floor of the attic was within her Divine Domain. Everything here was actually fake. The bookshelf never existed. It was just a symbol of the manifestation of the power of fate.

Just like in the forbidden library under the Red Lake, there were never any real books.

The silence and snow in the [Melting Furnace] began to flutter.

Millions of swords condensed behind Lin Lei.

"Interesting."

Qinglong released the hand propping up his chin, watching the confined space on the second floor of the attic constantly expand outward, eventually transforming into a void snowfield of ten thousand meters. He gradually changed from lazy to dignified, finally sitting upright and asked seriously, "Do you want to provoke a Divine War?"

"No need to be nervous."

Lin Lei said gently, "I just want to see how strong you really are, whether you are as powerful as the 'fate' divination shows. As the saying goes, when in Rome, do as the Romans do. Since you've come to the Northern Continent, you must abide by the rules of the Northern Continent."

"That's very reasonable."

Qinglong sighed and said, "After all, my original purpose was just to prevent you from leaving this attic."

"Buzz!"

The Empress stopped talking nonsense. She stretched out two fingers and put them together, and a clear sword cry rang out!

Countless sword energies entwined and condensed on her fingertips!

The scene of her killing the traveler was now re-enacted in the attic.

It was just that after six years of cultivation.

The Empress's control over the power of the source was more proficient and more skilled. Those tens of millions of sword energies containing the meaning of the Great Cold and Silence of the Northern Continent were even sharper than they were back then!

Tens of millions of swords hung over Qinglong's head.

"It's really chilling."

Qinglong looked up, staring directly at the dazzling cold light, and said with a smile.

"...Please."

Millions of sword energies pierced through the Divine Domain, turning into a snow-white waterfall, falling on Qinglong's head!

…

…

The Red Lake lakeside was as peaceful as ever, but after Meng Xizhou led his people away from the temple, the brilliance enveloping the wooden house dissipated a lot.

The old man, withered and decayed to the extreme, walked out of the wooden house and came to the lake, squatting down.

"Buzz."

With a soft tremor, the lake water rippled countless ripples.

Boundless mental strength gathered into a line, passing along the old man's palm to the bottom of the lake.

The water pattern spread.

In the distant port of the Southern Continent Holy City, the frequency of the water pattern's spread formed a regular synchronization with the Red Lake in Guang Ming City. The calling effect of mental strength was manifested at this moment. Two strands of powerful will agitated in the water pattern—

The Storm God sat with his hands behind his back, standing before the port coast.

He looked at the constantly trembling water surface.

The next moment.

A towering figure condensed on the surface of the Red Lake, and the Storm's will was transmitted through the water pattern of the [Tide] authority, successfully appearing in Guang Ming City.

"Storm, it's time. Everything we've done before has now reached the 'final stage'."

The old man sat in the reclining chair by the lake.

Now, the way the two meet through mental connection is no different from holding a meeting in the deep water area. They can only feel each other's "existence" and cannot carry out substantial attacks or touches.

"Now I need you to go to the Qingzong Cemetery and stop Bai Shu."

Shen Hai said calmly, "In any case, don't let him leave the Eastern Continent."

"Do you know what consequences this will have?"

Storm did not directly agree.

"The rule between the highest seats is that the Gods cannot easily leave the territory of the Five Continents... Once I take the initiative to go to the Eastern Continent, I will violate the agreement of the highest seats."

Shen Hai said, "Qinglong is already in the Empress's Manor."

"...You want to keep both Lin Lei and Bai Shu in the Five Continents?"

Storm frowned. Although he didn't know the specific purpose of Guang Ming's actions, he vaguely guessed the target of this matter.

Obviously—

Guang Ming's real goal is the [Old World]!

Combined with the recent major event in the Northern Continent's Chanyi City, the context of this mystery seemed very clear.

"Don't forget, without my help, you might have died in the [Ice Sea], and the Holy City could not have entered the Eastern and Northern Continent Alliance so smoothly later."

Shen Hai said expressionlessly, "Aren't you clear about what Bai Shu and Lin Lei were planning before? If the opportunity allows, they will not hesitate to get rid of you... Even if you join them now, you will not get their heartfelt recognition. If you are still hesitating now, you will be the first to be sacrificed on the day the 'Divine War' breaks out!"

"..."

Storm was silent.

He was silent not because he didn't believe it.

On the contrary.

He knew that what the Guang Ming God said was right!

During the [Ice Sea] trip, he was wrapped in turbulent currents of time disorder, and it took a long time to return to the Five Continents... In fact, this time should have been even longer! When he was about to go deep into the [Ice Sea Ruins], the voice of the Guang Ming God sounded in his mind. It was because of this voice's reminder that he was spared from entering the ruins and encountering greater disasters!

Judging from the later situation.

That ruin was clearly the civilization fire left by the ancient humans!

In the Storm God's heart, he has always respected and feared the "ruins" left by the pre-ancient civilization.

The reason is simple.

The higher you stand, the farther you can see, and the clearer you can see the humbleness of today's humans.

It seems that today's Five Continents humans have developed very powerfully, but this is not the case. The technology and extraordinary power of the Five Continents humans cannot be compared with those of six hundred years ago... Storm himself has crossed the void of the [Old World], and he has personally witnessed the shattered huge starships. Even such a powerful civilization was extinguished by the source storm of the [Old World].

How can today's humans compare with it?

Leaving aside technology, even if it is just extraordinary power, the two are not on the same level!

The "Gospel Box" of that year was complete!

And the fireseeds held by the Seven Gods today are just fragments of the shattered Gospel Box... So from this point of view, if he had entered the [Ice Sea Ruins] back then, he might have fallen there.

It's just that the Storm God is afraid of Guang Ming's power, and also puzzled.

He has already left the Five Continents.

The Guang Ming God can still communicate with himself through mental power?

So far, Storm does not understand how Guang Ming did it. The only explanation he can think of is that at a time he did not notice, a "mental link" or something like that was built in his mind with the Guang Ming God, so as long as there is a void bridge, the two can talk.

Or there is another possibility.

Storm's intuition pointed this possibility to Shen Hai…

This huge network has swallowed up the Five Continents and spread to the outside. If there is anything that the Gods cannot do, then Shen Hai may not be able to do it.

However, these guesses have not yet been verified.

"I can take action."

Storm said in a deep voice, "But I have one condition."

"Huh? What condition?"

The old man frowned, showing dissatisfaction with Storm's words.

"I can help you hold Bai Shu back, and I can even give the Eastern Continent a painful lesson…"

Storm said calmly, "But the premise of all this is that my interests can be guaranteed in the war."

"If a war breaks out, no one's interests can be guaranteed."

The old man said indifferently, "The winner takes all. You only have the right to choose a camp, and this choice is only once. Storm, we are not negotiating now. If you refuse my request, then on the day the Divine War breaks out, Qinglong and I will be the first to uproot your 'fireseed'. Lin Lei and Bai Shu will definitely be happy to see this scene."

Storm narrowed his eyes.

After leaving the [Ice Sea Ruins], Guang Ming suggested that he plan the wind and waves of the joint fleet that tested the ruins.

The tragic scene of the fleet's destruction that time made him confirm the power of the pre-ancient civilization of the Ice Sea.

For the Holy City.

The annihilation of the [Ice Sea Ruins] fleet resulted in the smallest loss for them, and they also took the opportunity to bind themselves to the war front of the Eastern and Northern Continents. This event was a good thing for them.

But looking at it now, this is not a clever move.

The Storm Church needs time to gain the recognition of the two allies... At least at the current stage, once a substantial conflict of interest occurs, the Church will not be treated as a true friend.

The conflict on the Yuanding Island coastal defense line is a good example.

The Red Dragon easily broke through the Church's defense line.

In this event, both Central City and Nagano were in a wait-and-see state, and the two forces did not even send decent support to the garrison.

Storm can of course choose to continue to cooperate with the Northeast camp.

It's just that his relationship must be humble.

And if one day Qinglong takes action against him... Bai Shu and Lin Lei will only watch the show from the side, and finally reap the benefits.

After a long silence.

Storm spoke.

"Okay... I promise you."

…

…

(I'm too busy today, so that's all for now)