Chapter 2751: Rules (1)

The black suns exploded, sending shockwaves of scorching darkness across the realm. When the smoke cleared, Yang Chen and Xing Wu lay broken—their divine bodies cracked, their auras flickering weakly.

Yun Lintian landed before them, his spear pointed at their throats. "You lose."

Yang Chen spat golden blood, his remaining hand trembling with rage. "This... isn’t over!" He raised his head and screamed into the void: "NIAN SHI! HELP US!"

Silence.

No response came.

Xing Wu, despite his injuries, had already begun calculating escape routes with his star divination. His violet eyes darted rapidly—left, right, up, down—searching for any possible path.

Nothing.

Every possible future led to defeat.

Yun Lintian watched them coldly. "No one’s coming for you."

Just as he raised his spear for the final strike—

CLANG!

A massive golden scale materialized between them, blocking the attack. The sound of iron chains rattled through the air as an oppressive, rigid aura descended.

Tian Gui, the God of Order.

His silver robes were perfectly symmetrical, every fold and crease aligned with mathematical precision. His eyes gleamed with cold, unyielding judgment as he stared at Yun Lintian.

"Chaos incarnate," Tian Gui intoned. "You disrupt the natural order."

Yun Lintian’s spear strained against the golden scales but couldn’t pierce through. "And you’re interrupting."

Tian Gui didn’t react to the taunt. He simply raised one hand—

CLINK. CLINK. CLINK.

Countless chains of order materialized from nothingness, wrapping around Yun Lintian’s limbs. Each one pulsed with restrictive power, sealing his abilities one by one.

The black suns flickered out. The scorching darkness faded.

Hei Xuan stepped forward, his shadow stretching unnaturally despite his weakened state. "Tian Gui! You rigid old fool! Nian Shi has been manipulating the timeline for eons—that’s the real threat to order!"

Tian Gui didn’t even blink. "Nian Shi’s actions follow predictable patterns. Calculable. Contained." His cold gaze shifted to Yun Lintian. "This... variable cannot be quantified."

Ping Heng’s fingers twitched toward his shattered teacup. "You’d ignore a wolf at your door to swat a fly?"

"Precisely." Tian Gui’s golden scales pulsed with judgmental light. "The Time God’s schemes are orderly in their chaos. This mortal?" The chains around Yun Lintian tightened. "This is true disorder."

Hei Xuan’s eyes burned with fury. "You blind, hypocritical—"

Yun Lintian chuckled.

All eyes turned to him.

Still bound by chains of order, still pinned beneath Tian Gui’s scales, he was... smiling.

Ping Heng’s brow furrowed. "Yun Lintian?"

"Senior Ping," Yun Lintian said lightly, "should we leave?"

Ping Heng hesitated only a moment before nodding. "If you wish."

Tian Gui’s chains rattled. "There will be no—"

"I’ll stay," Yun Lintian interrupted. His grin turned sharp. "This one’s fun."

Yang Chen, still crumpled on the ground, spat blood. "Tian Gui! Eliminate him already!"

The God of Order raised his hand—

CRACK!

Yun Lintian’s body glitched again.

One moment he was there.

The next—

He wasn’t.

Tian Gui’s scales crashed down on empty air as Yun Lintian materialized behind him, spear already in motion.

BOOM!

The White Dragon Spear struck Tian Gui’s back—and rebounded, as if hitting an indestructible wall.

"Foolish." Tian Gui didn’t even turn. "Order cannot be—"

CLINK.

The sound of a chess piece landing echoed through the void.

Yun Lintian stood where he’d first been chained, spear resting on his shoulder. "You’re right. Order can’t be broken." He pointed at the ground. "But it can be... redirected."

Tian Gui looked down.

A single black chess piece sat at his feet.

BOOM!

The God of Order’s own chains wrapped around him, his golden scales inverting into crushing weights. His perfect silver robes wrinkled asymmetrically for the first time in eternity.

"How—?!"

"Simple." Yun Lintian twirled his spear. "I didn’t fight Order. I used it." He pointed at the still-bleeding Yang Chen. "Against them."

Xing Wu’s starry eyes widened in realization. "The black suns... they weren’t attacks. They were markers."

"Exactly." Yun Lintian’s smile didn’t reach his eyes. "Every explosion laid down rules. And now..." He snapped his fingers.

CLINK. CLINK. CLINK.

Thousands of invisible chess pieces lit up across the void—a web of ordered power even Tian Gui couldn’t break.

The God of Order strained against his bonds, his usually emotionless face twisting in outrage. "This... this is perversion!"

Hei Xuan howled with laughter. "Hah! Serves you right, you inflexible bastard!"

Ping Heng, however, looked at Yun Lintian with something akin to awe. "You... you turned Order against itself."

Yun Lintian shrugged. "Fortunately, I met the God of Order’s disciple before. Although this one is powerful, it operates within the rules, and I have already mastered it."

Tian Gui’s silver robes billowed as he suddenly stopped struggling against his bonds. His cold eyes locked onto Yun Lintian. "You misunderstand Order, mortal."

CRACK!

The chains binding Tian Gui shattered - not by force, but because they simply ceased to exist. The God of Order raised both hands, and the entire realm flipped, the chessboard inverting colors.

Yun Lintian’s invisible chess pieces turned white - becoming Tian Gui’s pieces instead.

Hei Xuan cursed. "Shit! He reversed the rules!"

Ping Heng’s hands flew up to reinforce the crumbling realm. "Be careful. He’s getting serious."

Yun Lintian grinned. "Good."

He let Tian Gui take control - then twisted the rules at the moment of transfer.

BOOM!

The inverted chessboard exploded from within, sending shards of broken order flying. Tian Gui staggered back as his own power backfired.

"Impossible!" The God of Order’s perfect hair was now disheveled. "You can’t corrupt pure Order!"

Yun Lintian didn’t answer. He attacked - not with his spear, but with rules.

Clink.

A new rule imposed: "In this space, all attacks must come in pairs."

Tian Gui instinctively raised a shield against Yun Lintian’s spear thrust - only for a second, identical thrust to materialize from behind.

SLASH!

Silver blood - liquid order itself - sprayed from Tian Gui’s back.

Xing Wu saw his chance. While the two were locked in battle, he gathered his remaining power and blinked toward a spatial crack-

THUD!

He crashed into an invisible wall.

Yun Lintian’s voice echoed without him turning: "Rule two: No leaving until the game ends."

At the same time, Yang Chen was whispering urgently to a communication jade: "All Solar Legions, converge on my position NOW!"

The battle raged on.

Tian Gui counterattacked by imposing his own rule: "All weapons shall weigh as mountains!"

Yun Lintian’s White Dragon Spear suddenly became impossibly heavy - but he simply let go, allowing it to fall while kicking it upward with his foot in the same motion. The spear shot toward Tian Gui like a meteor.

BOOM!