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Chapter 414 The Divine Puppet Resurrected, Its Whereabouts Revealed in the Apocalypse (Double Update Today)
Wang Quan clasped his hands together, facing the sky. Nearly half of the pure white sky was now shrouded in darkness, and the approaching celestial bodies emitted the whispers of stars. Those sounds reached the material world, transforming into a thin, ethereal black moonlight. The light flowed along Wang Quan's side, as if a deity had draped a veil of majesty over him.

Moonlight flowed over the man, lingering behind him. A blood-red speck of light emanated from the king's chest, merging into the divinely bestowed moonlight. The moonlight then grew larger and more solid, like a jet-black tear. When that single tear fell, the entire Black Sea boiled!
The seawater's flow accelerated instantly, transforming from tears into icy blood. The entire sea of ​​blood began to swirl, and Velvet immediately reinforced the ark with the tolling of her bells; otherwise, this only foothold would be submerged by the Black Moon's tears. The ark swayed precariously in the tsunami, but it wasn't an attack aimed at them; it was merely the cry of something about to be born.

Chu Hengkong saw countless "faces" in the waves. Points of light emanating from Wang Quan's heart shaped themselves in the sea of ​​blood, becoming artificial life forms under the influence of divine magic. Among those faces, a considerable number felt familiar to him: assassins he had dealt with before, passersby he had brushed past on the street, loyal underlings from his family…

He suddenly understood what it was: every face was one that Wang Quan had once imitated. He had sacrificed all the personalities he had ever faked, using memories to create extremely evil beings!
"The protector of the original dream, the guardian of the forgotten cradle, the generous and loving benefactor."

"I offer you my memories, grant me the essence of divinity, respond to my prayers and reveal the future!"

—Child, are you really sure you've decided this way?
The old man's laughter echoed across the sea.

—You know better than anyone that ignorance is the greatest happiness.

Wang Quan brushed a stray hair from his forehead and smiled, “Some people are destined not to sleep soundly in their cradles; they can only know the happiness of the present moment by experiencing pain. So even if they hate me, I will still fulfill their wishes.”

—Then, as you wish.

The old man bestows his blessing, a sign of the future. The king points to the surging sea and calls forth the names of man-made creatures.

"Animated Dead Body: Reminiscence of the Divine Puppet Sacrifice to the Corpse Dragon!"

And so many faces sang in unison, the sacrificial memories converging and combining into a living being, using the entire ocean as a vessel. It was a "dragon" so ugly it was almost deformed, with a beautiful head and horns as beautiful as glass, but its body was extremely obese, and its claws and teeth were rotten and decaying.

Its scales are countless devout and blissful faces; its blood is the merciful tears shed by the gods. It coils high on the battlefield, roaring like a totem supported by moonlight!

"Gu Long..."

Vilbert frowned, sensing an eerie familiarity emanating from the Corpse Dragon, like an ancient dragon totem from the Candlelight pantheon. But Wang Quan was clearly the son of the Dark Moon, and should have no connection whatsoever to Dragon Spring Village.

"Boss, don't overthink it!"

The assassin's shout abruptly cut off their thoughts. Now was no time to ponder the root of the matter, for the divine magic of the king had already taken shape. The battlefield shifted amidst the roar of the corpse dragon; the empty sky transformed into earth and scattered islands—a microcosm of the familiar, turbulent world.

They saw the city-state of Thorn Robe, the city of Huilong, and the Dragon Spring Village, Shura Island, and the Dustless Land, which they had not yet visited... All the dust islands were trembling, as if the world itself had become a floating boat about to shatter, and everything on board would fall into the vast ocean.

In this ever-changing world, there are six unchanging "anchor points": the spiraling Tower of Babel, the pure white mechanical capital, the illusory fairyland shrouded in floating clouds, the dark moon in the deep sky, the deity in the gray fog, and the unspeakable king beneath the abyss.

The source of the change originated from the "Tower," with the spiral tower transforming into a pillar of light rising from the Mysterious Realm of Senluo.

—The Supreme Master's madness shattered the barrier between above and below.

The world was driven mad as a result, the hell deep within the mist opened, and countless immortals opened their eyes.

—The seal of the heavens has been broken, and the glorious immortal who tore apart the heavenly prison has returned to the world.

The emperor returned from beyond the heavens, and the sky was illuminated by enormous stars.

—The philosopher-emperor attempted to correct the world's mistakes.

However, the world was already beyond saving long ago.

High above, a benevolent old man showered gifts upon the earth, and the moon of flesh and blood fell to earth.

Deep within the gray fog, eternal time etches the final chapter, and the funeral god buries all beings in solitude.

At the bottom of the ocean, an invisible demon sings a jest.

Finally, the King of the Abyss opened his eyes, and thus everything came to an end.

"————————"

Chu Hengkong temporarily lost his ability to think.

The overwhelming amount of information and the incomprehensible presence at such a high level nearly shattered his consciousness. He felt like a primitive human gazing up at the sun, unable to comprehend what he was seeing, only instinctively grasping the grandeur of what he witnessed.

Intermittently, he heard the voice of the king. Black tears of blood streamed from its eyes, and its body, strained from the overload of divine magic, was on the verge of collapse, making its voice weak and almost a groan.

Have you ever considered the future direction of the world?

"In an era before the path of ascension was passed down, there was only despair in the dark world."

“In this age of candlelight, countless lives are still struggling in suffering.”

"The Allied forces are united, and heroes of the righteous path emerge in great numbers, yet the number of heretics only increases with each war. Why is the world, which should be thriving, always getting worse?"

Wang Quan was still smiling.

They are like mediocre people who are indifferent to others' misfortunes and find joy in them.

"Because the Submerged Realm has been broken for a long time."

"The world has a fundamental problem; the two sides were never on the same level from the beginning. The Primal Spirits made too many mistakes, yet they were unable to make amends on their own."

"Mistakes don't disappear; they only accumulate, and then new mistakes arise from them. The more you fight, the more enemies you encounter; the harder you struggle, the more you fall into depravity. I've always said it's meaningless because no matter how much you struggle, all that's left in the end is despair."

The illusion of the future shattered with the announcement, and their consciousness returned to reality. Chu Hengkong and Velvet were almost incapacitated, while Wang Quan was covered in wounds from divine magic that far exceeded its limits. On the battlefield, where both sides were momentarily silent, only the corpse dragon, piled high with living sacrifices, roared with its head held high.

Wang Quan clapped his hands and smiled at the two: "Yes, you have won. You have helped the Jing Sha City-State win this battle, and the Divine Tree has survived the impending apocalypse. Congratulations!"

"But so what? What has this victory actually changed? Do you know how long until the mage's experiment will begin? Do you know how far the emperor's plan has progressed? You once broke through a layer of the Heavenly Prison, thinking it was a great achievement that would change your destiny, but you didn't expect that the Heavenly Prison also imprisoned another heretical being. Your breakthrough also means that it will come to reality even faster."

"Even if one survives this moment, the future is destined to be shattered. At that time, who can save lives except for those who have forgotten the cradle?"

Wang Quan crossed the Black Sea to the warship's deck, and while the effects of the doomsday prophecy still lingered, he reached out and grabbed Chu Hengkong by the throat. He stared into the eyes of both friend and foe.

“Friend, I know you resent me for keeping this from you. But now that I’ve told you, what can you do?” it whispered.

"The future of the Submerged Realm is the same as the future of Earth. If I told you everything on Earth, could you change the final outcome? How much happiness would you have left in your life? Would you live in agony like me, or numb your mind and wait for the end?"

Chu Hengkong stared intently at him, while Wang Quan responded with a sorrowful smile. "See? You can't change anything."

"You know nothing. You don't know your own meaning, you don't know your own essence, you are still unaware that you are in someone else's game. You are just deceived by those hopes and dreams, thinking that you have the power to change the world."

"But you understood the ways of the world long ago. The world won't turn according to your delusions, and one person can't change anything."

Wang Quan blinked, as if looking at a pitiful child: "You're still looking at me with that kind of gaze, as if you still think you have a future. How did you become like this? You were originally an utterly empty person. What made you so stupid? What made you charge towards the abyss of despair? Your relationships? The past? Love?"

Chu Hengkong managed to speak with difficulty: "You better stop now...!"

"It's alright. I'll save you. I'll help you destroy all this meaninglessness and give you a happiness that will never fade!"

Chu Hengkong forced himself to break free from the shock and swung his fist at Wang Quan's head. Wang Quan grabbed his fist and flung him off the deck into the sea. At that moment, the sacrificial dragon received a command and swooped down from the sky, crashing into the clock tower in the center of the ark.

The great bell tolled, like a death knell announcing a funeral. The rotting claws of the Corpse Dragon clawed at the deck of the Ark, nearly bending the silent ark. The metal that made up the Ark was being transformed into decaying flesh and blood. The rules of the earth had been broken by the blessing of the Benevolent One. Velvet stood alone before the dragon's claws, facing the creation of the gods, with no help by her side.

"Vilbert!"

Chu Hengkong became truly desperate. He desperately reached out towards the sea, wanting to return to her side. But the Wang Quan's blows were relentless, locking his joints and dragging him into the sea with a brutal, indiscriminate attack.

His vision was almost swallowed by the waves, and just before he sank to the bottom of the sea, he saw the girl turn around and smile at him.

"This is our battle."

He could see the girl's lip movements.

"Don't hesitate. Go for it."

The dragon's giant claws slammed down on the girl, while Chu Hengkong was dragged towards the seabed by Wang Quan. He closed his eyes for a moment, then mustered his strength again, bending his elbow and striking Wang Quan's back with all his might. Wang Quan's blood splattered on his face, but the bastard was like a lifeless corpse, clinging on no matter how he attacked.

"Persistence is one of my specialties," Wang Quan said flippantly. "If you keep struggling, you'll drown, won't you? Shouldn't you take a step back and calmly assess the situation?"

Chu Hengkong sighed deeply. He pulled out the Divine Slash and stabbed it into Wang Quan's shoulder, his anger and rage transforming into a dark needle that pierced through Wang Quan's limbs and bones.

Shadow Appears in the Sky: Yin Corpse!
Wang Quan instantly released his grip, decisively slashing off nearly half of his own body, using the murky black sea to replace his physical form. At the same time, he copied memories, dissected his ghostly body, and used divine power to construct a labyrinthine defensive barrier, suppressing the rampant and malevolent emotions spreading within his heart at the fastest speed.

This series of emergency maneuvers took him a full second, a second enough for Chu Hengkong to gather his strength, break free of his restraints, and unleash a lightning-fast blade. Yang Yi evaporated the surrounding seawater, causing both of them to fall to the seabed. Chu Hengkong intended to seize the opportunity to fight, but his steps suddenly halted.

The soles of his feet felt unusually dry, not like the seabed but more like a summer asphalt road. As this thought crossed his mind, he actually saw sunlight, shining so brightly on the glass curtain wall outside the building that it hurt his eyes.

People came and went around them, the large screen in the square was playing news from long ago, and impatient taxi drivers were honking their horns and weaving through the streets. Wang Quan, wearing a casual T-shirt, leaned against the wall, looking at the logo of the Verus Building across the street.

"It's so hot! I must have been naive to believe you to go out in this weather," it sighed. "Want to go get some ice cream? My treat."

Without a word, Chu Hengkong swung his sword, but Wang Quan caught the blade as if it were a toy knife, his eyes wide with surprise: "Friend, are you alright? Does playing too many games really lead to violent tendencies?"

Chu Hengkong almost laughed in anger: "What the hell is the point of all this?!"

"Hey, are you out of your mind from staying up all night? Do I need to remind you of reality? It's summer 2012, and we've skipped class to wait in line to buy the new 3DSLL. Life is simple and foolish, how wonderful!"

Chu Hengkong drew his sword and slashed without listening. Wang Quan dodged with an exaggerated backflip, as if performing a skit. The world around them changed with each strike, and they found themselves back in the damp and messy rented room.

"Looks like you don't really like cloudy days, so how about we move forward a bit?" It plopped down on the messy little bed. "It's a gloomy, rainy night, and you've downloaded a few old movies to watch after you finish an animated series to kill time. No one's nagging you right now, so you can smoke as many cigarettes as you want..."

Chu Hengkong closed his eyes tightly, then suddenly laughed and asked, "Does your Yin Corpse hurt?"

Wang Quan was taken aback: "A little."

Chu Hengkong immediately swung his sword at himself, dark energy surging across the blade, as if preparing to unleash another Yin Bone attack. Wang Quan, lying on the bed, waved his hand dismissively: "Could your imagination be any more barren...? It's not an illusion, it's real. With my abundant divine power, is it strange that I could create a simulated Dust Island?"

"If you don't like it, we can change it!"

The scene changes again, from a rented room to an old-fashioned courtyard house. The wind blows the sand in the yard, swirling around, and old Peking opera plays softly on the radio. Wang Quan stands with his back to him, stroking the mottled paint on the wall.

"How is it here? This was a long time ago, when you had just started learning martial arts, and Grandpa Chu was still in good health. You don't need to think about anything else, like the meaning of life or anything like that, those are things for later. Right now, just focus on learning from someone stronger than you to make yourself even stronger. Isn't that wonderful enough?"

Wang Quan turned around and said seriously, "Or do you think you were happiest when you were with Velus? That's fine too. I'll bring her in as well. I'll tailor-make a slice of happy times from the past for the two of you. You can spend it however you want. Are you satisfied with that?"

Chu Hengkong was too lazy to even get angry. Holding his knife, he sighed and said, "Is all you Fallen Ones can do besides deceiving yourselves?"

"Then what do you want?"

"I'm going to kill you."

"What happens after you kill me?"

Wang Quanzhen twisted his head off, cradling it as he earnestly pleaded, "You've seen the future. No matter how much trouble you cause now, the whole world is doomed. Why do you insist on living in hell?"

"You say I'm deceiving myself, but why don't you think about it seriously? Have our lives really gotten better and better? Haven't the few moments of happiness we've had all passed?"
Environments change with time, and character deteriorates with time; in a world devoid of hope, only despondency piles up like mountains. That's why everyone so sincerely prays to the moon, prays for the blessing of the Black Moon, because they know that nothing good awaits them ahead; the very depravity you despise is the happiness of this world!

"That's all we humans have left. What's wrong with living in the past?"

Chu Hengkong surveyed his surroundings and put away the Divine Slayer. He seemed to have suddenly made up his mind and walked towards Wang Quan empty-handed.

"If you ever considered me a friend, then listen to my advice."

Wang Quan's eyes were filled with confusion.

"Stop lying," Chu Hengkong said.

Wang Quan's eyes were completely empty.

　(A friendly recommendation from a fellow reader: a Japanese-style road trip adventure fantasy harem story. The final battle chapter even has an eight-character chapter title—ah, so familiar!)
　　

(End of this chapter)