Chapter 163: The Loser Should Submit

All hope was completely shattered.

What was the point of all this?

Old Man Sun had fought to the bitter end, and so many people from the Supernatural Disaster Bureau had died. What did it all amount to?

In the face of Xu Yuan's backup, they really were just a bunch of clowns struggling desperately.

Now that Xu Yuan had resurrected within the Artist's body, he could freely control tens of thousands of rules. He had essentially solved the problem of exploiting loopholes.

He had devoured the S-Level Fierce Ghost, the Woman in the Rain, and he had devoured Old Man Sun, who had been the number one ghost hunter in life. Who knew what kind of Killing Rule Old Man Sun's corpse would awaken.

It was utter despair.

At this stage, there was basically no point in even trying to salvage the situation.

Even if Old Man Sun were brought back to life and restored to his youthful peak, it would be meaningless.

Right now, in his every movement and gesture, what was the difference between Xu Yuan and a true god?

"Let me see what kind of Killing Rule is hidden inside Old Man Sun's body after his death.

"Generally speaking, the stronger a person's obsession in life, the more astonishing the Killing Rule they obtain after death. I hope he doesn't disappoint me."

The massive mountain of human heads churned. He sounded like he was muttering to himself, yet also like he was speaking to Gao Tian beside him.

He had noticed Gao Tian's presence long ago, but he simply didn't care.

A petty traitor was nothing more than a weed by the side of the road.

At this point, Gao Tian had given up on running away.

He simply stayed by Xu Yuan's side, waiting for fate's final judgment.

A moment later, Xu Yuan's calm voice echoed out once more. "Hm, not bad.

"The devouring of Old Man Sun's corpse is complete. The ability granted to me is called Temporal Harmonization.

"Its effect allows me to freely adjust the activation duration of any Supernatural Item or Killing Rule.

"It can be extended, or it can be shortened.

"For example, the immortal body you rolled from your dice originally lasted for only one day. Combined with my Temporal Harmonization, it could be extended up to ten times, sustaining it for ten days.

"A Fool's Dream delayed the Urn's activation time by ten years. Paired with Temporal Harmonization, its activation could be delayed until a hundred years from now."

Xu Yuan was very patient. Like a gentle teacher, he carefully explained the ability Old Man Sun yielded after death.

"Finally, there is this barrier covering the skies above Shanghai City that has yet to disperse."

It was the protective shield Ghost Cave had summoned by burning their life away on the Altar.

Its original purpose was to block the ghost hunter reinforcements from all over Xia Country from entering Shanghai City, buying time for the Galan Society's operation.

It was supposed to last for eight more hours.

With a casual wave of Xu Yuan's giant right arm, those eight hours were directly reduced by a factor of ten, down to forty-eight minutes.

Ghost Cave's domain was no longer needed. To the current Xu Yuan, it was a burden.

He deliberately wanted to let the ghost hunters outside into Shanghai City. This way, the god-like Xu Yuan could take advantage of the opportunity to annihilate the ghost hunters rushing in from across the country and the world in one fell swoop.

In the supernatural circle, everything boiled down to intelligence warfare. Xu Yuan had studied Old Man Sun's Ghost Gate, which was how he could set a trap specifically targeting his ability.

Right now, Xu Yuan had just acquired this spectral body, and the entire world's data on the King of All Ghosts was practically zero.

The instant the clueless ghost hunter reinforcements set foot in Shanghai City would be his best chance to completely annihilate them.

"This rule, when paired with other rules, can bring out a multitude of astonishing and bizarre effects.

"Old Man Sun's corpse really didn't disappoint me after all," Xu Yuan praised.

Gao Tian looked down at the densely packed mountain of heads beneath his feet. There was Old Man Sun's head, utterly expressionless, squeezed among the churning faces of men, women, and children. He was already no different from a ghost.

His heart was filled with mixed emotions.

Old Man Sun, who had fought ghosts his entire life, had become a part of the King of All Ghosts after his death. If he knew this in the afterlife, who knows what he would say.

The colossal Xu Yuan produced a terrifying sonic boom and instantly vanished from atop the Oriental Pearl, his whereabouts unknown.

A few seconds later, he returned to his original spot in the exact same hideous posture. The only difference was that he now held a Tobacco Pipe, as tiny as a hair in his massive hand.

The Tobacco Pipe that had plummeted from the towering skyscraper after Old Man Sun's death had been fished back up by Xu Yuan.

The moment he grasped it, he activated "Useless Love." Any Supernatural Item touched by it would be completely ruined and unable to be used again.

This Tobacco Pipe, which had accompanied Old Man Sun for decades, instantly crumbled into specks of dust and scattered in the wind.

During his epic battle with Old Man Sun, Xu Yuan had indeed been suppressed by this Tobacco Pipe.

Even having resurrected within the Artist's body and returned at full strength, and even with Old Man Sun dead and no one left to use this Tobacco Pipe...

It was clear that Xu Yuan still harbored some lingering fear deep down. He had always been cautious; even with victory firmly in his grasp, he absolutely tolerated no chance of a mishap.

After dealing with all this, with forty-six minutes remaining, Xu Yuan slowly turned his head, finally taking the time to acknowledge Gao Tian. "Do you have anything you want to say to me?"

Gao Tian had used the dice in the Mirror to disperse the Woman in the Rain and forcibly drag the Artist away. He had intervened at several critical moments; if he hadn't done so, Xu Yuan would have long since diced Old Man Sun to pieces. He wouldn't have been suppressed by the old man in the first place.

Now that Xu Yuan had secured a total victory, it was time to deal with the traitor.

Gao Tian knew that his life had reached its end.

No one could face death without fear.

But at the very least, he could maintain his dignity.

"From the very beginning, it was impossible for me to join your plan.

"Haven't you noticed, Xu Yuan? After you became a ghost, your personalities started changing, too. In your eyes, ordinary humans are no longer considered the same species.

"Ghost Cave and Ghost Infant slaughtered so many people at random just to vent their anger. What's the difference between ordinary living people and the sheep and cattle in a slaughterhouse to you?

"The Ghost Nation you promised, this brand new world—I have never believed in it. In a world ruled by those with supernatural abilities, what difference is there between the fate of all humanity and livestock in a breeding farm?"

Xu Yuan smiled.

To be precise, the heads covering his body seemed to sense Xu Yuan's mood. They uniformly split their mouths open and let out laughter that sounded like a sitcom's laugh track. The overwhelming, mocking sneers of tens of thousands of people completely drowned Gao Tian out.

"So, what are you going to do?

"Come now, Young Master Gao, please, tell me about your plan to save the world.

"Let's leave aside the exact form my future Ghost Nation will take.

"You aren't just going to stand on the moral high ground and point fingers at others while being completely incapable of doing anything yourself, are you?

"What viable plan actually appeals to you? Russia's Permafrost Project, which will kill half the population before it's even implemented? Or America's elite immigration plan, where only a meager hundred thousand people can leave this planet?

"Or perhaps you'd prefer Old Man Sun's approach, simply leaving it to future generations? Just trusting that a genius ten or a hundred times stronger than him will appear among his descendants. Then he can comfortably let go, close his eyes, and just die in battle, completely washing his hands of everything that follows."

Gao Tian was left speechless.

It had only been a few months since he first came into contact with the supernatural world. He had only just learned many of the rules. For Xu Yuan to ask him for a plan to save the world was akin to asking an elementary schooler to solve one of the world's greatest mathematical conjectures. It was simply impossible.

"I plan to use the Mirror Ghost's ability to exile all Fierce Ghosts to—"

Before Gao Tian could finish, Xu Yuan calmly cut him off again. "And so, who will be responsible for putting these ghosts into the Mirror?

"To imprison S-Level Fierce Ghosts inside, you'd need strength on par with Old Man Sun at the very least, wouldn't you?

"I've said it before. As the supernatural revival progresses, even the combat power of S-Level Fierce Ghosts will begin to devalue in the future. A massive number of Super S-Level Fierce Ghosts will emerge.

"The Killing Rules of those ghosts have reached the conceptual level. Even if Old Man Sun were twenty years younger, he couldn't possibly send them into the Mirror. Much less you trash who can't even compare to him. Each generation is worse than the last.

"Who will execute your exile plan? You? Ye Jiu? Or the Eighth Young Master in Beijin City?

"Isn't your logic basically the same as Old Man Sun's 'trusting in the wisdom of future generations'?

"Kneeling on the ground and praying that an omnipotent successor will appear to forcefully put an end to all the problems.

"Even now, are you still unwilling to wake up?"

The fact that Xu Yuan was still standing here talking calmly with Gao Tian was nothing more than a sick hobby of his.

Swatting Gao Tian to death would be like squashing an ant. The boy wouldn't have the slightest room to resist.

Gao Tian's life depended entirely on Xu Yuan's mood. Whenever he had his fill of fun and was ready to leave, that would be Gao Tian's time to die.

"Is there something wrong with your brain? Have you had a lobotomy?"

Xu Yuan slowly manipulated his massive body and continued, "I said before, you've rendered great merits in this battle. In the future Ghost Nation, you will be the person I trust the most.

"All you had to do was nothing at all. You just had to wait for me to finish off Old Man Sun, and that would be it. What did you want in my Ghost Nation? Money, power, status, fame, women, wealth, more Supernatural Items and strength, even immortality—all of these things could be given to you. You could have as much as you wanted. You would have become the greatest noble in the Ghost Nation, a king second only to one.

"Why did you have to make an enemy out of me? Why did you have to do such unnecessary things?

"Simply because of your stupidity, all of these things are gone, vanished into thin air.

"Even if Old Man Sun had won, so what? Could Old Man Sun have given you more?

"It was a freebie question. How could you possibly choose the wrong side on this? Did you genuinely believe that Old Man Sun was stronger than me?"

Xu Yuan bent his giant body, closing the distance to Gao Tian. "Fortunately, I am a very merciful ruler.

"I can forgive all your betrayals and pretend none of this ever happened. The new world of the future still welcomes you. As long as you do one thing.

"Admit with your own mouth that you were wrong. That you regret it, Gao Tian."