382: Ignite my true self, sever the causal chain.

Buzz!

The space within the entire Command Hall was like a piece of paper gripped by an invisible giant hand, frantically wrinkling and twisting!

The dark-gold shackle brand erupted with an unprecedented force of resistance under Lin Fan's palm, which was burning with illusory flames.

Two completely different supreme rules engaged in the most brutal and direct collision atop Li Hanyue's Soul.

On one side was the [Order] from the Anomaly Elimination Alliance Elder.

It was cold, absolute, and unquestionable. Anything defined by it had to follow its logic, sinking into eternal damnation with no hope of rebirth.

On the other side was the [Tampering] ignited by Lin Fan with his life and Soul.

It was frantic, chaotic, and unreasonable. Its sole purpose for existing was to tear apart established facts and change "is" into "is not."

"Ugh..."

Li Hanyue's suppressed mournful cry suddenly rose, becoming sharp and shrill.

Her body became the battlefield for this clash of gods.

The tug-of-war between the two forces caused her already fragile Soul Origin to develop fine cracks.

She was being torn apart!

"Lin Fan! Stop! Quickly, stop! Hanyue... she can't hold on anymore!"

Zhao Linger's cries were filled with despair. She rushed forward, wanting to pull Lin Fan away, but her hands passed through his extremely illusory body time and again.

She could do nothing.

She could only watch helplessly as the friend she had just regained headed toward true destruction in another man's arms.

Lin Fan did not respond.

His entire will was concentrated on that invisible war.

Not enough!

His power was not enough!

Although [Karma Tampering] was a Mythic-grade skill, he himself was too weak.

What he was burning was only the "upper limit" of his existence value, not the existence value itself. It was more like overdrawing from the future.

And what he faced was a true deity who wielded the truths of the Universe!

His power of [Tampering] was being crushed back inch by inch by the vast, sea-like Law of [Order]!

Right at that moment.

At the end of the Chaos Void Realm.

Atop a throne.

The Elder who had dripped divine blood suddenly snapped his eyes open.

His will pierced through infinite dimensions, descending once more with destructive fury!

"Under my Order, you dare attempt to tamper with Karma?"

"Die!"

The cold divine decree exploded within Lin Fan's Sea of Consciousness.

A force of Law ten times more majestic and ten times colder than before surged along the invisible thread of Karma, booming into the brand on Li Hanyue's forehead!

Buzz—

The light of the dark-gold shackle brand surged violently, almost transforming into a black sun.

Li Hanyue's entire body trembled violently as a clear crack spread from her brow to her cheek.

Her Soul Origin had collapsed.

"No—"

Lin Fan's Soul emitted a silent roar.

He had lost.

In this great gamble, he had ultimately lost.

Not only did he fail to save her, but he also accelerated her death, forcing her to endure the pain of Soul-tearing, which was more cruel than a mere "end."

Regret and despair turned into fuel.

A frantic fuel that could burn everything to ash.

Still not enough!

Then keep burning!

What else did he have?

What else did he have left to stake as a bet?!

[Rule Rebel]!

This Mythic-grade title he had just obtained, which he hadn't even had time to see the true function of!

It represented the System's highest award for Lin Fan's contravention of the rules.

It was, in itself, an embodiment of a rule!

Then... burn it!

Lin Fan's will turned into the most ravenous flames, sweeping without hesitation toward the title on the System panel that shone with the brilliance of uniqueness.

[Warning! Host is attempting to burn a Unique Mythic Title!]

[This action will result in...]

The System's warning came to a screeching halt.

Because its core had completely entered dormancy during that unprecedented illegal operation.

There were no warnings.

There was no obstruction.

Only Lin Fan's own crazed will remained.

Boom!

The [Rule Rebel] title, along with all the glory and potential it represented, instantly transformed into a stream of energy pure to the extreme, also containing the power of "rebellion," and poured entirely into the engine of [Karma Tampering].

The flames on Lin Fan's hand, pressed against Li Hanyue's forehead, surged again!

The retreating power of [Tampering] suddenly stopped its decline and even began to show signs of a counterattack.

"Hmm?"

Within the Chaos Void Realm, the Elder's will experienced a slight, unexpected ripple.

An ant could actually struggle a bit more before being stepped on?

"An interesting struggle."

He increased the output of his power.

Like a mountain pressing down on a blade of grass.

The newly ignited fire of the counterattack was suppressed once more.

The cracks on Li Hanyue's face spread even faster.

Lin Fan could feel her life aura rapidly fading away.

No!

It's still not enough!

Lin Fan's blood-streaked eyes swept across his completely darkened System panel and the despairing faces of Zhao Linger, Fatty Zhang, and the others around him.

Finally, they fell back onto the face of the woman in his arms, who was in extreme pain yet remained stubborn, not letting out a single plea for mercy.

He still had something.

He still had one last thing he could burn.

It was the most primal Immortal Soul that had fused with this body when he transmigrated.

It was what allowed him to endure infinite resurrections, the Foundation of his entire existence.

It was his "True Self."

If he burned it, he would no longer be the Lin Fan from Blue Star.

What would he become?

Perhaps he would dissipate completely, or perhaps he would become a hollow shell without memories.

He didn't know.

He didn't want to know anymore.

"I said it."

He lowered his head and whispered in Li Hanyue's ear with an illusory voice that only he could hear.

"In my presence, no one has the right to be enslaved."

"You are no exception."

His final will transformed into his final command.

Burn my True Self, sever Karma!

Boom!

This time, the explosion did not occur in the outside world but in the deepest depths of Lin Fan's own Soul.

His unique Soul Origin, belonging to a transmigrator, was ignited by his own hands in an instant!

A "will" that surpassed rules and logic, pure to the extreme, soared into the sky!

That will had only one thought.

Break!

Break this shackle!

Break this enslavement!

Break this bullshit Order of manifest heavenly principles!

Within the Chaos Void Realm, for the first time, an expression called "shock" appeared on the Elder's eternally unchanging face.

He felt a power that made even his heart palpitate.

It wasn't strength on an energy level.

It was a pure madness that dared to negate everything, destroy everything, and even negate "self" along with it!

"Madman!"

For the first time, he gave such a definition to an ant.

Inside the Command Hall.

The burning illusory flames on Lin Fan's hand, pressed against Li Hanyue's forehead, completely faded at this moment.

Replacing them was an indescribable, profound "nothingness."

That hand gently "pulled" outward.

As if forcibly gouging out a stain that shouldn't exist from a painting.

Crack.

A faint, almost imperceptible sound of cracking.

It didn't come from reality but from the level of Karma.

A hair-thin crack appeared on that indestructible, radiant dark-gold shackle.

Immediately after.

Crack! Crack crack crack!

Cracks instantly covered the entire brand like a spiderweb.

Finally.

Bang!

The brand exploded.

It turned into billions of dark-gold light particles, which were then completely erased and returned to nothingness under Lin Fan's overbearing and matchless will.

The cracks on Li Hanyue's face stopped spreading and began to heal at a visible rate.

The intense pain within her receded like a tide.

She slumped into Lin Fan's arms, completely unconscious, but her life aura was more stable than ever before.

She was free.

Lin Fan took one last look at the woman sleeping peacefully in his arms; on that cold face, there was no more pain, only tranquility.

He wanted to smile.

But he could no longer muster even a shred of strength.

Pfft—

A mouthful of blood mixed with golden fragments sprayed from his mouth, staining Li Hanyue's snow-white lapel red.

His world crashed into darkness.