Volume 1, Chapter 59: I'm Done Playing, This is Boring

On the level of fate, the Void Anchor had already broken through layer after layer of barriers, remaining just a final step away from the core origin of the Gu family's fortune. Under the erosion of its power of nothingness, that Origin representing the glory and existence of the Gu family began to dim.

The hearts of Fu Bo, Ye Qingxian, and Ji Rushe leapt into their throats.

They could feel that the malice originating from the unknown had climbed to its absolute peak! It felt as though, in the very next second, the eternal foundation of the Gu family would completely collapse.

Yet, they could do nothing; they could only watch with wide eyes.

"Alright, the final strike decides the victor!"

In the courtyard, Gu Changsheng narrowed his eyes and placed the final—and largest—"invader" marble upon his thumb: that iron marble of "Absolute Annihilation" which had previously wiped out three fleets.

His target was that solitary, beautiful "King" marble.

He intended to end this game with his strongest attack.

When Gu Changsheng aligned the black marble containing the law of "Absolute Annihilation" with the emerald marble representing "Life and Prosperity," the atmosphere of the entire courtyard shifted instantly.

Fu Bo, Ye Qingxian, and Ji Rushe all felt a simultaneous pang of heart-palpitating dread.

In their perception, this was no longer a game.

This was a showdown between "End" and "Origin."

It was the ultimate judgment of the Dao of "Annihilation" against the Dao of "Creation."

What on earth was the Young Master... or rather, the Patriarch... trying to do?

Was he演化 (simulating/enacting) the ultimate destiny of the universe? Was he demonstrating the inevitable process of all things moving from birth to destruction?

The three of them held their breath, their expressions taut to the extreme, staring fixedly at Gu Changsheng's finger.

Meanwhile, deep within the River of Fate, the Void Anchor launched its most fatal strike. It condensed all its accumulated power into a pure "Law of Nothingness," transforming it into an invisible blade that slashed toward the Gu family's already dim origin of fortune.

This single strike was enough to sever the national fortune of an immortal divine dynasty in an instant!

The Sovereign of the God-Devourer Civilization sat high upon his throne, awaiting the news of victory. He felt as though he could already see the Gu family's brilliant River of Fate being chopped in half by his Void Anchor, plunging into an endless abyss from that moment onward.

A cold, victorious smile had already crept onto the corners of his mouth.

Inside the courtyard.

Gu Changsheng narrowed his eyes and took a long aim.

His thumb was about to exert force.

Yet, at that fraction of a microsecond, he suddenly hesitated.

"Sigh..." He sighed, put down the black marble in his hand, stood up, and stretched lazily.

"Not playing anymore, boring."

He curled his lip, his face revealing an expression of utter insipidity.

"This black marble is too powerful, and this green marble is too pretty. Using something this powerful to hit something this pretty brings no sense of accomplishment if I win, and it's even more embarrassing if I lose (miss). If I broke it, it would be such a pity."

"Forget it, forget it. Better just let them stay nicely right where they are."

Muttering to himself, he bent down and, like tidying up toys, picked up all the marbles on the ground—whether "invaders" or "kings"—scooping them all up in one go and tossing them back into the unadorned wooden box.

Then, with a crisp snap, he closed the lid.

The game was over.

Ended in the most unexpected and thoroughly "Gu Changsheng" manner possible.

Rather than choosing which side won, he simply felt that the "showdown" itself was "boring" and "troublesome," and thus, he terminated the duel.

The exact moment he closed the box lid.

Within the River of Fate, that "Law of Nothingness" that had been on the verge of slashing the Gu family's origin of fortune suddenly lost its "target" and its "meaning."

Because the supreme will that had defined this "offense and defense battle" had unilaterally declared—game over, everyone go wash up and sleep.

In that case, the "attack" itself became a meaningless joke.

However, things did not end there.

Before declaring the game over, Gu Changsheng had also uttered one sentence: "Better just let them stay nicely right where they are."

This single sentence once again manifested as an absolute "Edict of the Heavenly Dao."

[Edict Content: For all "negative concepts" related to the "King marble" (the Gu family) (the invader marbles / the Void Anchor), their "aggressive actions" are hereby defined as "meaningless harassment" and shall now be "set right."]

Those four words—"set right"—triggered an unprecedented, terrifying storm on the level of fate!

That "Law of Nothingness" which had already been unleashed did not dissipate upon losing its target. Instead, swept up by that higher-tier will of "set right," it abruptly reversed its direction, hurtling back along its own causal thread at a speed billions of times faster than when it had arrived!

It was much like throwing a punch with all your might, only for it to strike a mirror made of "concepts." Your own power was reflected back at you a hundred, a thousand, or even ten thousand times over!

...

God-Devourer Civilization, Mobile Fortress.

The Sovereign sat with his eyes closed in meditation, quietly savoring the impending joy of success transmitted back by the Void Anchor.

Suddenly, his eyes snapped wide open, and upon his face—constructed of pure energy—flashed an unconcealable, ultimate terror for the very first time!

"No! This is impossible!"

He let out a heart-rending roar.

For he could sense that the causal line connecting the Void Anchor to himself and to the entire God-Devourer Civilization was being inversely invaded by an irresistible force!

A pure power of "nothingness" imbued with the will of "set right" was tracing that very line, counter-attacking directly toward him and the entire civilization!

"Sever it! Quick! Sever all ties with the Void Anchor!" the Sovereign roared frantically, attempting to cut off his own arm.

Yet, it was too late.

Attacks on the causal level transcend spacetime.

The moment he perceived it, the attack had already descended.

That rebounded power of "nothingness" did not destroy a single warship, nor did it kill a single God-Devourer.

It merely... descended.

And thereupon, the entire God-Devourer Civilization—whose foundational existence was built upon "devouring" and "plundering"—began to be rapidly... "negated" from the conceptual level.

Inside the grand hall, a commander watched in horror as the core runes he used to siphon energy suddenly ceased to function. It wasn't that the energy was depleted, but rather that the very concept of "siphoning" represented by those runes had become invalid.

Another commander found his body, composed of laws, beginning to grow unstable. Those "plundered laws" that made up his form suddenly seemed to recall their original owners and began scrambling to "leave home."

The power core of the mobile fortress, that enslaved heart of the universe, abruptly stopped beating. It wasn't that it refused to beat; it had simply forgotten what the purpose of "beating" was.

The entire civilization plunged into an unprecedented, catastrophic collapse originating from the level of "meaning"!

The "meaning" of their existence was forcibly redefined as "meaningless."

Their civilization, their history, their plunder, their might—at this very moment, all of it dissolved into a hollow dream.

"No... my Dao... my existence..."

High upon his throne, the Sovereign of the God-Devourer Civilization emitted the final will of his life, filled with utter bewilderment and incomprehension.