180: Chapter 180: Small-Scale Recalculation Experiment

The wind in the Withered Bone Wasteland seemed to still at this moment.

It was not that the vengeful spirits had given up, but rather the final dead silence before the storm.

Shen Xingzhou stood in the center of the ruins littered with white bones, his finger suspended in mid-air. As long as he let his finger fall, it would be like reaching his hand into the throat of the Heavenly Dao to gouge out a piece of flesh that did not originally belong to him.

" This is no child's play. "

Shen Xingzhou looked at the " Recalculation " button flickering with dangerous red light in front of him and said in a low voice, " Once it begins, there is no turning back. The time window the System calculated for me is only a few breaths. If we do not escape, we will both become a part of these bones covering the ground. "

" Then we shall finish the task in those few breaths. "

A cold, clear voice came from the side. Peak Master Luo Qingyi stepped forward with her sword, and with a single stride, the rock beneath her feet instantly cracked. She did not look at Shen Xingzhou, but instead raised her head to look at the gloomy sky that seemed almost heavy enough to crush one's spine.

" You move the ledger, I will block the lightning. "

The long sword in Peak Master Luo Qingyi's hand slowly left its sheath; the blade lacked luster, yet it exuded a heart-palpitating sense of heaviness. As she flicked her wrist, a visible ring of Sword Qi centered on her suddenly expanded outwards, instantly enveloping the ancient battlefield for a hundred zhang around.

Hum—!

The Sword Qi hummed, transforming into a translucent golden shield that locked firmly onto the ground.

[ System Monitoring: Protective Formation Activated ]

Formation Type: Divine-Grade · Absolute Defense · Sword Intent Cage

Formation Strength:

Physical Defense: S

Spiritual Power Defense: S+

Karma Defense (Resist Heavenly Dao Strike): Extremely High (Estimated Value)

Warning:

Peak Master Luo Qingyi has burned her own Origin Sword Intent.

Can withstand Heavenly Dao lightning strikes: Limited (Estimated 1 – 2 times).

* Exceeding twice, the formation will surely break, and the caster will surely die. *

Shen Xingzhou looked at the glaring " 1-2 times " and took a deep breath. This was simply gambling with their lives.

" Good. "

Shen Xingzhou did not hesitate any longer and pressed the button hard.

" Initiate local Karma Recalculation! "

Boom—!

In an instant, the world before Shen Xingzhou changed. The gloom of the ancient battlefield, the wailing of vengeful spirits, and the ghastly white of the bones all vanished. Replacing them was a virtual space constructed from countless iridescent lines.

This was the [ Source Code Audit Room · Local Version ].

Here, all " Spells ", " Karma ", and " Heavenly Dao " were reduced to the most fundamental code and logic.

In the center of that Void Realm, countless lines of rules representing the " Karma distribution logic " of the old campaign were flowing like a waterfall.

function distributeMerit :

Input : Soul count of the deceased, Rank of killed enemy

Process :

IF Identity == Divine-Grade / High-Rank -> Karma = Total Amount * 80%

IF Identity == Mortal Cultivator / Cannon Fodder -> Karma = Total Amount * 0.01%

ELSE -> Marked as lost, merged into Ownerless Karma Pool

End

Looking at these lines of cold, extreme logic code, Shen Xingzhou sneered.

" So this is what is called the Will of Heaven. So the so-called ' lost ' was a parameter written in on purpose. "

Shen Xingzhou's fingers danced rapidly in the Void Realm, as if playing a passionate piece of music. His fingertips touched those hidden data blocks.

" I am going to change it. "

Step one: Data recovery.

Shen Xingzhou grabbed those massive data streams marked as lost. Inside them were the IDs of fifty-two thousand four hundred mortal cultivators, and the spiritual flames of thirty-six divine personnel. They were suppressed in the bottom-layer recycle bin by an invisible force, unable to make a sound.

Shen Xingzhou yanked hard.

" Come out! "

Rip—!

The Void Realm tore. Those lines of dark red code representing the deleted war casualties were forcibly dragged out of the recycle bin by him and rewritten back into the main ledger.

[ Operation: Rewrite Yellow Springs Ledger ]

Progress: 30% ... 60% ... 100%

Status:

Ownerless Grievous Souls → Registered (Identity ID restored)

Deleted War Casualties → Restored (Karma chain reconnected)

With the completion of this operation, the ancient battlefield outside underwent an astonishing change.

Those vengeful spirits that were originally roaring crazily and trying to break through Peak Master Luo Qingyi's sword formation suddenly froze.

The twisted expressions of pain on their faces began to fade, and in those hollow eye sockets, a faint, dim light unexpectedly reignited. It was like an orphan who had wandered for a thousand years, finally hearing someone call out his name.

" I... I am Zhang San? "

" I didn't desert... I have a name? "

" My merits... are they still there? "

The heart-wrenching wailing of ghosts disappeared, replaced by a Soul-shaking, low sobbing. It was the grievance suppressed for a thousand years, finally finding an outlet for release.

Step two: Flow fine-tuning.

The data was recovered, and the next step was the most dangerous one—returning the money.

Shen Xingzhou's fingers trembled as he reached for the massive vault representing the Ownerless Karma Pool. Golden rivers of light flowed there; every drop was ownerless Karma, and also the private money of the Heavenly Court.

" System, cut off the conduit to the Heavenly Court's revenue pool! Forcefully import this portion of Karma into the ' Undead Compensation Pool '! "

[ Warning: Illegal Operation! ]

Hijacking...

Sizzle—!

The entire virtual space shook violently, as if the whole world were resisting Shen Xingzhou's will. The golden river of light that originally flowed towards the Heavenly Court was bent by an invisible giant hand, as if the riverbed had been forcibly twisted.

Boom!

A portion of the golden Karma flow no longer headed towards the clouds, but instead transformed into a fine golden rain, slowly sprinkling down onto the ancient battlefield below, onto those vengeful spirits who had just regained their names.

[ System Feedback: Local Recalculation Complete ]

Battlefield Status Update:

Vengeful Spirit Tranquility: From Extremely Violent → Tranquil (Sleeping)

Regional War Debt Pressure: Significantly Reduced (Karma loophole filled)

Side Effects (Irreversible):

Heavenly Court/Heavenly Dao Revenue: Slight Decrease (Approximately 0.03% of the total pool)

Audit System Fluctuation: Abnormal (Unauthorized account modification detected)

This 0.03% was insignificant in the vast Heavenly Dao ledger, but its nature was fatal. This was theft, this was tampering, this was blasphemy against divine authority.

At this very instant, far away at the War Debt Bureau headquarters.

The Heavenly Dao monitoring screen, which had always been operating smoothly, suddenly cracked open with a red fissure.

" Alarm! Alarm! "

The clerk on duty screamed in terror, his voice resounding throughout the entire hall, " Someone is tampering with the Heavenly Dao's base ledger! The data flow has reversed! "

" Where is the coordinate?! "

" Qingheng Sect! Northern Territory! That... Withered Bone Wasteland! "

At the same time, above the Withered Bone Wasteland.

The originally gloomy clouds instantly turned pitch black like ink. Deep within the clouds, a giant, cold eye seemed to open, carrying endless anger and pressure, staring fixedly at this small area below.

Crack—!

A purple lightning bolt carrying an aura of destruction accumulated crazily within the clouds. That was not an ordinary Lightning Tribulation; that was a Heavenly Punishment used to erase " Anomalies "!

" It's here! "

Peak Master Luo Qingyi raised her head abruptly; the golden light atop the protective formation trembled under the lightning's might like a candle in the wind.

" Deacon Shen! Are you not done yet?! "

" Done! " Shen Xingzhou withdrew the Audit interface, falling from the Void Realm, gasping for breath, " The accounts are balanced, the spirits are at peace! "

Rumble—!

The Lightning Tribulation did not waste any words and struck down directly. The momentum was such that it seemed it would turn the entire Withered Bone Wasteland into scorched earth.

Peak Master Luo Qingyi did not retreat. She gritted her teeth, gripped the sword hilt with both hands, and turned into a beam of light shooting towards the sky, heading straight to meet the thunder that was capable of destroying mountains.

" I have a share in this old debt! "

Peak Master Luo Qingyi's angry shout drowned out the thunder.

" If you want to settle accounts, settle mine first! "

Clang—!!

A deafening sound of metal clashing resounded through the Nine Heavens.

Sword light and lightning collided fiercely in mid-air. A terrifying shockwave swept in all directions, shattering countless white bones on the ground into powder. Peak Master Luo Qingyi's figure swayed violently in the air, a mouthful of blood sprayed onto the sword blade, but her sword never wavered in the slightest.

That seemingly arrogant Heavenly Thunder was actually forcibly slashed apart by this single sword strike!

The lightning dissipated, and the clouds temporarily retreated.

Peak Master Luo Qingyi knelt on one knee, leaning on her sword, covered in blood, yet her spine remained straight.

Shen Xingzhou stood inside the protective formation, looking at that teetering back, an unspeakable shock surging in his heart. This was the former War God, this was the person who would hold onto the last bit of morality even if it meant bearing infamy.

However, the threat had not ended.

Although the clouds had retreated, from far away in the deeper firmament, a gaze, colder and more devoid of any emotion than before, pierced through layers of the Void Realm and landed on Shen Xingzhou.

That was not anger; that was scrutiny.

It was like a hunter discovering a monkey that could use tools, no longer just treating it as a beast, but beginning to assess its danger.

Under the pressure of this gaze, Shen Xingzhou's main System interface flickered crazily, finally popping up a status bar that had never appeared before.

It was not red, nor was it yellow.

It was purple-black.

[ Status Update ]

Heavenly Dao Attention Level:

From " Background Monitoring "

♦

→ " Direct Gaze "

The note below contained only one sentence, every word piercing the heart:

[ War Debt Liquidation Month has entered its final ten days. ]

[ From now on, you are not playing a game with the War Debt Bureau anymore. ]

Shen Xingzhou looked at that line of text and clenched his fists.

The game was over.

The real war had just begun.