The Essence of Fortune and the Truth Behind Lies

After several days of arduous travel, Rosen and his team successfully arrived at the coordinates Barry had assigned them. Along the way, they encountered no further interception from Sequence 0 beings. After all, Sequence 0 entities weren't exactly common, so only one had been assigned to intercept their team. However, that Sequence 0 doctor had self-destructed. Where were they supposed to find a Sequence 0 Ashen Creature to plant the Torch of Hope? 

"Does anyone have the corpse of a Sequence 0 Ashen Creature?" Rosen asked, looking at his five teammates. 

"No…" 

"I don't have one either…" 

"Looks like none of us do…" 

Rosen and the others exchanged glances, realizing that their team was likely just a decoy. 

From the very beginning, Rosen had understood one thing: how could the corpse of a Sequence 0 Ashen Creature be so easily obtained? If they couldn't acquire one, did that mean the seal wouldn't be reinforced after reaching the coordinates? Under normal circumstances, the World Government should have provided the corpse of a Sequence 0 Ashen Creature. 

But Rosen hadn't received one, which left two possibilities. The first was that the corpse was in the possession of one of his teammates. The second was that their team's assigned spatial coordinates were purely a decoy, meant to attract the attention of the Will of the World. After all, with seventeen teams, it was unlikely that there were exactly seventeen locations for reinforcing the seal. 

Now it seemed their team was just here to make up the numbers. 

"Does that mean we can return to the Old-Day Encampment?" Rosen suggested. 

Barry hadn't said they couldn't return, so no one could fault him for going back. It wasn't as if he hadn't tried to hunt down a Sequence 0 Ashen Creature—he just hadn't been able to secure a corpse. What else could he do? 

Besides, he had already obtained the miracle treasure. Only a fool would linger under the watchful eye of the Will of the World. 

Rosen thought this way, and so did Black King and the others. 

So, the six of them simultaneously took out their Torches of Hope and activated them, initiating the teleportation process. 

Intense flames enveloped their bodies, but when the teleportation ended, Rosen almost couldn't resist immediately initiating data transmission. 

The Torch of Hope hadn't sent him back to the Old-Day Encampment. Instead, it had transported him to an unknown region deep within the Old Continent. 

Rosen had once observed this place from high above—it was teeming with civilizations and life. Neither the Historical Archive nor the Secret Brass Book contained any records about this land.

One thing was certain: this place was definitely a trap. 

And it was a trap dug by the World Government, which had deceived them into coming here for some reason. 

Rosen glanced at his teammates. Everyone except Black King was present. 

Unsurprisingly, Black King had genuinely been teleported back to the Old-Day Encampment. 

As a descendant of a true god, Black King had been excluded from the World Government's list of targets to deceive. 

And yet, all of them—those without a True God backing them—had been sent here.

But something still didn't add up. Rosen did have a True God backing him—the Coin True God. Did this mean the World Government didn't care about showing the Coin True God any respect?

Rosen's mind raced as he tried to decipher the World Government's true intentions.

Meanwhile, White King and the others had yet to realize where they actually were. They assumed the Torch of Hope had simply transferred them from the Old-Day Encampment to somewhere outside the Old Continent. None of them had even considered that they had been sent to the very depths of the Old Continent itself.

Rosen attempted to access the Spiritual Realm Deep Web—and, unsurprisingly, failed.

None of the Five Major Networks reached this place.

Just as he was debating whether to scout the area, an immense spatial fluctuation erupted in the distance.

Moments later, a group of familiar demigods was teleported in.

Rosen quickly approached them and inquired about their situation.

As expected—their team had also failed to complete the so-called sealing mission.

Over the next half hour, all seventeen teams of demigods were teleported to the same location.

Without exception—every single one of them lacked a True God backing them.

And not a single team had completed the so-called sealing mission.

At this point, every demigod had come to the same shocking realization—

The sealing mission was a complete lie.

From the very beginning, the World Government's true objective had been to send them all here.

As Rosen and the others began exploring their surroundings, an even more terrifying spatial fluctuation erupted.

Barry appeared—but he was missing an arm, and a gaping wound pierced straight through his heart.

"Welcome, everyone, to the Land of Redemption…" Barry laughed wildly, completely unfazed by his injuries.

Rosen narrowed his eyes, watching Barry with caution.

Had he misunderstood the World Government's intentions?

Was it possible that the World Government hadn't actually deceived them—and that the real traitor was Barry?

Because the wounds on Barry's body…

The lingering Law Energy within them clearly belonged to the World Government's True Gods.

This meant there was a very real possibility that Barry had betrayed the World Government.

Which would explain why they had all been teleported here…

And why Barry had been severely wounded by the World Government's True Gods.

Most demigods present had a clear understanding of the Laws controlled by the officially recognized True Gods of the World Government.

It took them only moments to grasp the situation—and without hesitation, they instinctively grouped together.

"There's no need to be so tense," Barry said, his tone eerily calm. "Coming to the Land of Redemption is a blessing for all of you."

As he spoke, he retrieved several pre-prepared document folders, which floated in midair, drifting toward Rosen and the other demigods.

No one dared to reach out and take them directly.

Instead, they controlled the documents with their divine senses, suspending them midair before opening them and reading their contents.

The moment Rosen finished reading, even he was taken aback.

Because—the documents were all about them.

Every Titled Demigod was considered a potential future god.

Every Taboo Sequence was a future True God in the making.

A Taboo Sequence was guaranteed to possess the innate fate of a True God—

However, the inverse was not necessarily true.

Not everyone born with True God-tier fate could become a Taboo Sequence.

In reality, the World Government had far more than just thirty demigods with True God-tier fate.

Likewise, every Titled Demigod was at least born with the innate fate of a Sequence 0.

And the World Government had far more than just a hundred Titled Demigods.

In fact—they had over a thousand.

Yet—this time, only a little over a hundred had been summoned.

The ones who weren't here fell into one of two categories—

Some had not yet reached Sequence 1, so they had been excluded.

And the rest?

They had never even been summoned in the first place.

Because from the very beginning—the World Government had planned to sacrifice this entire batch of Titled Demigods and Taboo Sequences.

Thirty-plus Taboo Sequences.

Over a thousand Titled Demigods.

If all of them had fully matured, they would have become thirty True Gods and over a thousand deities.

Such an enormous number of high-fated individuals was something that should have been impossible under normal circumstances.

Because fate, at its core, was composed of two fundamental aspects—Qi (Essence) and Yun (Fortune).

Qi represented the life force of all things, the fundamental energy required for the operation of the world—the very origin essence of existence itself.

Yun represented fortune, the flow of luck. Those with good Yun experienced smooth, unhindered paths in life, while those with bad Yun choked on water just by drinking it.

Together, Qi and Yun formed Fate—a force crucial to both life and civilization alike.

If a person's innate fate was at Sequence 3, then ascending to Sequence 3 would be effortless.

Conversely, if one's fate was stuck at Sequence 4, then no matter how hard they tried, they would never break into Sequence 3—because the amount of origin essence they were allowed to receive from the world was insufficient to support their advancement.

Whether innate fate or acquired fate, both dictated the absolute limits of a being's growth potential.

Just as individuals had fate, so did kingdoms, civilizations, and even all things in existence.

A kingdom with strong fate had abundant energy, a long-lasting history, and flourishing prosperity.

Conversely, a kingdom with weak fate was doomed to a future of scarce resources and inevitable collapse.

And most importantly—

The total amount of fate in the Main World was finite.

Because Qi—as the world's origin essence—was not limitless.

If the Main World was a farm, with all living beings as livestock, the Old Gods would be the farm owners, while the Will of the World would act as the farm's overseer.

Then the high-fated individuals would be the highest-quality livestock—specially protected by the farm itself until they matured.

If the total amount of fate in the Main World was 1,000 units,

The Will of the World would allocate 100 units to create high-fated individuals.

Never more than that.

Because if too many high-fated individuals became True Gods, they would threaten the very existence of the Main World itself.

So for the World Government to have produced this many high-fated individuals—

There was only one possible explanation.

They had stolen the fate reserves controlled by the Will of the World.

But stolen goods only remained safe if the original owner was dead.

If the victim was still alive—one day, they would come to reclaim what was theirs.

And possessing stolen fate would naturally make them an enemy of the victim.

Even though the Will of the World's consciousness had been sealed, it still retained some degree of influence over the Main World.

This was why each Civilization Cataclysm was so overwhelmingly difficult—

It was the Will of the World retaliating against the theft.

Since the World Government could not bear the full force of this backlash alone,

They had chosen to distribute the stolen fate among all of humanity.

From that moment onward, humanity's fate skyrocketed—

Leading to a massive surge in Titled Demigods and Taboo Sequences—individuals born with exceptionally powerful innate fate.

And naturally, with this surge of high-fated individuals,

The Will of the World's hostility and retaliation fell squarely upon them.

At first, the World Government's intentions had not been malicious.

After all, once these high-fated individuals matured, they would strengthen the World Government's foundation.

The World Government needed more True Gods if they ever hoped to permanently resolve the issue of the Will of the World.

However—several years ago, the World Government discovered something that shook them to their core.

The Great True God they had sealed away had never actually died.

Instead, the Will of the World had turned the tables and begun devouring the Great True God's immortal will.

If nothing was done, the Will of the World would soon break free.

And once it escaped—

The entire World Government and every single excess high-fated individual would be annihilated.

So after much deliberation, the True Gods of the World Government came to a decision—

They would sacrifice part of their high-fated individuals to survive.

According to their original plan—

The seventeen teams of demigods would engage in battle after battle at their designated coordinates,

Draining their strength until they were completely exhausted.

And when they could fight no longer, they would be forced to activate the Torches of Hope, triggering teleportation.

But instead of returning to safety, they would be sent directly to Barry's location—

Where Barry would execute every single weakened Titled Demigod and Taboo Sequence before the Great True God.

They were all high-fated individuals, favored by the Main World from birth—practically the world's chosen ones.

Even though this favoritism had been stolen, the effects remained unchanged.

Because this was simply the natural operation of the farm—a system established by the Old Gods as the farm owners. The Will of the World only had managerial authority, not the power to alter the fundamental rules.

Now that the Will of the World was sealed, its authority was restricted.

At most, it could retaliate against a few Taboo Sequences,

But it could never wipe out all seventeen of them in one go.

The Main World naturally protected its high-fated individuals—

And killing them would bring severe consequences.

Anyone who murdered a high-fated individual would not only become rejected by the world itself,

But they would also suffer endless misfortune.

If Barry killed them all, he would immediately become the enemy of both gods and ghosts alike.

He might walk outside and get crushed by a falling star,

Or step out the door only to be ambushed by a dozen evil gods.

Even his control over Laws would face world-level backlash.

The Main World's operational rules simply wouldn't allow them to die so easily.

So instead, the Main World itself would mobilize the World Essence of the Old Continent to protect them at all costs.

However—

The total amount of World Essence in the Old Continent was limited.

If a large portion of it was suddenly allocated to protect these high-fated individuals,

Then the Will of the World—still sealed within its prison—would have far less World Essence at its disposal.

And this would create the perfect opening for the World Government's True Gods to reinforce the seal.

Once all the high-fated individuals had died at Barry's hands,

Barry would then use a Great True God-tier miracle artifact to transfer his own misfortune elsewhere.

And the target of that misfortune—

Would be the Will of the World itself.

If the plan succeeded—

Not only would it strengthen the seal,

But it might even cause the Will of the World to be permanently rejected by the Main World itself.

For the World Government, this plan was a perfect two-for-one deal.

But for Barry and every demigod present—

It was a guaranteed death sentence.

From the very beginning—Barry had already been enslaved by the Great True God backing the World Government.

Everything was supposed to go according to plan.

But the World Government never expected—

That a True God within their own ranks had already defected.

This traitor had secretly helped Barry break free from the Great True God's control.

And had even tampered with the teleportation coordinates of the Torches of Hope,

Sending them not to Barry's execution site—

But to the deepest part of the Old Continent—The Land of Redemption.

The Old Continent was divided into three regions.

In the Outer Zone, the Will of the World's influence was extremely weak.

But here, in The Land of Redemption—

The Will of the World had absolute control.

Even if a True God forcibly entered this place—

They would face certain death.

Barry had brought them here for one reason—

To persuade them to abandon the World Government and pledge allegiance to the Will of the World.

If they agreed—

The Will of the World would recognize their innate fate as legitimate,

Even granting them further blessings to ensure their ascension to True Godhood.

And all they had to do in return—

Was help the Will of the World break free once they matured.

Of course—they could refuse.

But refusal meant certain death.

As Rosen and the others hesitated, Barry decided to set an example.

With a sudden motion—he hurled a spear.

The speed was so fast that even Rosen barely managed to react.

The Titled Demigod who had been targeted—

Had no time to resist.

The spear pierced straight through his skull,

Shattering his Sea of Consciousness,

Obliterating his Divine Essence,

And even destroying his Divine Domain in an instant.

When the spear returned to Barry's hand,

It radiated a Law Aura more terrifying than that of a True God.

A Great True God-tier artifact—

Combined with Barry's ability to slay True Gods in direct combat.

"Don't be stupid," Barry warned.

"Or you'll end up just like the vanished True God scions—dead and forgotten."

Silence fell upon the gathered demigods.

One by one—

They pulled the floating documents toward themselves,

Flipping to the final page,

And began signing the Ancient God Contract.

This contract was personally witnessed by a slumbering Old God—

The highest-tier contract in the Main World.

Only those who ascended to Great True Godhood could break free from it.

Rosen hesitated.

Should he sign—

Or should he retreat into the Mysterious Study Room and escape this deadlock?

Just as he was about to leave, Rosen suddenly felt that something was off.

An event of this scale in the Old Continent—there was no way the Star Coin True God wouldn't know about it.

If the World Government planned to sacrifice a group of high-fated individuals, then no matter what, the Star Coin True God should never have allowed him to get caught up in it.

If he died in the Old Continent, how would the Star Coin True God ever start the King's Game?

Unless the Star Coin True God believed that he would never die here in the first place.

Which meant—Barry was lying.

The World Government never intended for Barry to kill them in the Old Continent at all.

Then he had to figure out what their real objective was.

Rosen carefully examined the contract in his hand. He realized that this contract was rooted in his own innate fate.

If he broke the contract, his innate fate would be forcibly stripped away.

A possibility came to his mind. Without hesitation, he lowered his head and signed his name—Rosen Howard.

The contract was sealed. In the next moment, it transformed into a shackle and bound itself to the Ancient Tree of Sequences, which manifested from his Divine Essence.

Once all the demigods had signed, Rosen and the others were abruptly teleported again.

When the teleportation ended, Rosen and his four teammates looked up—

Standing right in front of them was the Star Coin True God.

So it was exactly as he had suspected.

This was a trap set specifically for them—the high-fated individuals.

The World Will's seal had never been in danger at all.

The World Government had simply tricked them into coming here.

Barry had never betrayed the World Government.

The contract they had signed had never belonged to the World Will—

The True Gods of the World Government had forged it themselves.

It wasn't the World Will trying to control them.

It was the True Gods of the World Government—seventeen of them, to be exact.

Seventeen teams, meaning seventeen True Gods had orchestrated this massive deception.

The terms of the contract were all false.

The true agreement wasn't to help the World Will break free.

It was to pledge loyalty to the True Gods of the World Government.

"Rosen, I'm looking forward to the day you become a True God…" The Star Coin True God smirked as he looked at him.

"What's the real content of this contract?" Rosen asked, pretending to barely suppress his fury.

"No need to ask. I was going to tell you anyway…" The Star Coin True God laughed. "You will receive my guidance to become True Gods and deities. Once you do, you must complete one task for me. Even if it puts your life at risk, as long as there's a chance of survival, you must do it."

"That's it?" Rosen asked, feigning surprise.

"That's all it can be…" The Star Coin True God said with regret. "You're all high-fated individuals, protected by the Main World's favor. If the contract were too restrictive, your own fate would rebel against it. At most, its power can only reach this level."

"If none of us had signed, would Barry really have killed us all?" Rosen asked one last time.

"Of course." The Star Coin True God confirmed without hesitation. "The World Government has more than enough True Gods. What they need now is cannon fodder. If you refuse to comply, then killing you will return your stolen fate back to the World Government, and they will simply wait for a new batch of high-fated individuals to be born."

"You people are truly despicable. The World Government is rotten to its core." Rosen sneered.

"You've never controlled the life and death of your own followers within your Divine Domains?" The Star Coin True God countered. "If you can enslave your believers, then why can't I enslave you? Calling this 'despicable' or 'dark' is laughable. Do you really need me to teach you the concept of survival of the fittest?"

"Then I really should be thanking you…" Rosen said through gritted teeth.

"No need to be polite." The Star Coin True God laughed. "Next, you may enter my treasury and choose any artifact that will aid in your growth."

As he spoke, Rosen and his teammates were transported in front of the treasury within his Divine Kingdom.

Rosen pushed open the treasury doors without hesitation.

Breaking the contract would strip away his innate fate.

If not for his mastery over Miracle's Divine Fire, even he wouldn't dare to defy the contract so easily.

Rebuilding innate fate would require burning his acquired fate.

So now that he was inside this treasury—

He wasn't going to hold back at all.