Chapter 212
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Chapter 212: Title
"Two worlds… Heavenly Inquiry, Outlets—what are these?"
"They must be the worlds’ names."
"Worlds have names?"
Kirin nodded solemnly. "They do."
"Judging by their literal meanings, these names bear distinct Eastern and Western influences…" Lin Jing mused, brows furrowed.
Xi Ning studied Lin Jing’s contemplative posture before sighing. "Why are you so certain the World War has begun? Beyond the Heavenly Tablet’s revelation, is there concrete evidence?"
Tu Shan Yue stepped forward, her voice crystalline. "Legacy records state celestial anomalies herald the World War’s commencement, accompanied by earthly omens. Moreover, there’s the selection of ‘warriors.’"
"Warriors?"
"We are all chess pieces in this grand design," she replied, pausing to gather her thoughts, "yet not every piece marches to battle. You deserve to know this truth."
"The World War unfolds through each realm dispatching warriors to infiltrate rival worlds. These chosen become our vanguard for securing initial victories…"
Celestial anomalies… earthly omens… Xi Ning’s mind flashed to yesterday’s predawn calamity—Zhongxia ravaged by cataclysms, entire populations vanished. While the disappearances remained enigmatic, the disasters were undeniable: earthquakes rocking Blue Star, tsunamis swallowing coastlines, twin volcanoes spewing fire across continents.
He connected these events to the missing—including the Special Bureau’s elite practitioners. Western nations too had empty seats at today’s exchange meeting finale. No practitioner would abandon such an important event without dire cause.
"Do these warriors… vanish permanently?"
"From our perspective, yes—until they triumph," Tu Shan Yue clarified. "Defeat seals their fate."
Though renowned for his composure, Xi Ning felt profanities burning his tongue. The cosmic cruelty of it all choked him—soldiers conscripted into a shadow war, families left wondering.
He inhaled sharply, crisis honing his focus. "Then what’s our role?"
While spirit cultivators possessed ancestral wisdom about the World War, the Special Bureau groped in darkness.
Kirin’s answer came blunt: "Nothing. Preserve normality until their return."
Di Yan stretched lazily, interjecting, "Mortals can’t meddle in clashing worlds. Should our realm fall…" He snapped his fingers. "Poof. Though by then, our worries would be over."
"Empress Nuwa, Your Highness Haotian, Your Highness Qingdi—our supreme deities safeguard us," he added with practiced nonchalance.
The chamber fell silent. Xi Ning’s jaw tightened. Maintain normality? Madness. Trusting deities felt like surrendering to fate—yet the spirit cultivators’ calm suggested this was routine.
Later, within the Special Bureau’s war room, debates erupted. "We need contingency plans," Xi Ning insisted. "And decide whether to alert the public." Other nations with their own demon lords surely knew. Global coordination was essential.
On the Battleground, Jiang Nan kicked pebbles restlessly. "How do we even prepare for this?" His murmur dissolved into the wind.
Now, Jiang Nan was the sole occupant of the virtual space that had served as the venue. After the exchange meeting concluded, all other participants had been forcibly ejected, leaving him unconcerned about potential observers.
"Hey system, any luck contacting that silver-haired little girl?"
"Do you think this Heavenly Tablet’s current state might cause complications?" Jiang Nan persisted in his muttered dialogue with the system.
Suddenly materializing before him appeared a silver-haired child of six or seven summers, her luminous tresses flowing like mercury to her waist.
The abrupt manifestation startled Jiang Nan into near-cardiac arrest—a natural reaction when one’s private musings materialize unexpectedly.
"I heard you sought audience," the silver-haired girl remarked, casually sipping cola from a condensation-beaded cup reminiscent of their initial encounter.
"From what shadowed corner did you—ahem—that is, how might this humble one inquire regarding your omniscient awareness?" Recovering his wits, Jiang Nan performed an obsequious gesture toward his vacated seat. "Please, honor this unworthy chair with your presence."
Though childlike in form, he harbored no illusions about her nature. The ruthless reputation of such entities was well-documented, and this particular specimen… Having navigated the Heavenly Law Battleground’s politics, Jiang Nan understood the true weight borne by the title of Champion.
Even the demon lords of spirit cultivators offered deferential nods, let alone the power blocs of Blue Star who’d prostrate themselves for his favor. Yet Jiang Nan knew his Champion status differed fundamentally from common perception—a crown donned through circumstance rather than conquest.
Not precisely ill-gotten, yet scarcely earned through merit.
His frequent laments about contractual entrapment and debt slavery to wealthy patrons remained precisely that—performative grievances. Were the position truly transferrable, queues of aspirants would form despite the trillion-point liabilities.
Ye Linlang settled into the proffered seat with regal nonchalance, the cola’s effervescence dancing across her lips. "You appear adequately functional. What crisis demands my intervention?"
Her initial attention had been occupied by geopolitical machinations within the virtual space until Jiang Nan’s persistent mental summons presented convenient timing for task delegation.
Truth-telling proved inadvisable—admitting repayment anxieties might see him conscripted into interdimensional labor camps. The naive novice who first ascended the Battleground had been replaced by a survivor versed in its cruel calculus.
This silver-haired enigma transcended mere former Champion status. True retirees didn’t maintain such overt presence, nor transfer authority while extending astronomical credit lines. Even his rudimentary system interface hinted at her deeper ties to the Battleground’s essence.
Historical records acknowledged only one preceding Champion. Reluctant as he was to concede, the timeline confirmed Ye Linlang’s primacy—her emergence during his inaugural profanity-laced tirade against the Heavenly Law and Battleground now chillingly contextualized.
"Who dares curse this one?" had been her opening salvo that fateful day. If not the Heavenly Law itself… The Battleground personified? An entity whose sentience explained both her unconstrained presence on Blue Star and immunity to divine restrictions.
His racing thoughts condensed to microseconds beneath Ye Linlang’s gaze—a gaze that missed nothing in this world she curated.
Jiang Nan adopted his most pitiable demeanor. "Esteemed benefactor, this lowly debtor implores—"
The childish visage complicated honorifics, reducing him to generic flattery.
Ye Linlang arched an eyebrow, carbonated beverage poised near smirking lips. "Calamity claims you not. The vanguard requires no sacrificial pawns."
Unlike the Special Bureau’s diplomatic consultations with spirit cultivators, Jiang Nan’s Champion status granted immediate comprehension when the Ancient Stone Tablet’s inscriptions finalized. Irrelevant theatrics—as she noted, frontline duties concerned others.
Were her limbs less spindly, he might have embraced them in theatrical despair. "Mercy! This mountain of debt crushes my spirit! Might extensions or reductions… or profitable ventures…"
His eyes gleamed with avarice. "Those point-generating missions taunt my poverty!"
"None bar your participation," she countered impassively. Current Battleground protocols restricted point tasks to organizational entities, their individual utility negligible compared to the merit system’s tangible rewards.
Past global crises had proven merit’s value—each annihilated catastrophe-beast contributing incremental gains toward divine favor. The recent world fragment incursion’s rapid containment stood testament to merit’s motivating power.
Ye Linlang remained unmoved by performative pathos. Debtors honoring obligations was cosmic law. That hundred-billion-point bargain for godly patronage already reeked of charity.
As for those coveted tasks…
Her lips curved in feline anticipation. The coming assignment would address multiple concerns simultaneously.
