Lord of the Truth

Chapter 1963 Raising expectations

The Great Hall-the place that gathered tens of billions of elites, monarchs, merchants, cultivators, and rulers from every corner of the universe-was normally a realm of overwhelming noise.

A place where even breathing, the subtle hum of artificial life-support fields, and the synchronized rhythm of countless enhanced hearts were enough to turn the air itself into a constant roar.

Yet now- it had fallen into absolute, unnatural silence.

Not a single whisper.

Not a single careless breath. ”.....?!” ”Did you hear... what I just heard?” ”I heard it clearly. Thereʼs no mistake- he said the Soul Society shut everything down because of Lord Humanʼs projects!” ”Has something like this ever happened before?” ”...Never. Not once.” ”Just what in the universe did Lord Human create to force the Soul Society to close all of its factories?” ”Thatʼs absurd. Completely illogical.” ”The Soul Societyʼs factories are effectively endless. The number of sellers reaches the billions, the number of products surpasses that, and the number of potential buyers can only be expressed with terrifying figures filled with dozens of zeros...” ”Yeah, and nearly half of those products are manufactured directly by the Soul Society itself!” ”Exactly. The daily output of their factories alone is enough to sustain thousand sectors.” ”No-whatʼs truly terrifying is that they mentioned stock depletion and being forced to wait in line.” ”Right. Factories capable of supplying the entire universe shut down for a full month-do you realize how many products could be produced in that time?” ”And yet theyʼre openly saying itʼll still run out, and weʼll have to wait our turn?” ”What is this now-will the Soul Society be rationing bread to the entire universe next?!” ”Hey did you catch that last part?” ”He said Lord Human now has a private section.” ”He absolutely did.” ”But only the Tyrant Interas has ever had a dedicated section of its own!!” ”Do you think the Tyrant will lose his temper when he hears about this arrangement?” ”Why would anyone be angry?” ”Heʼs the Great Truth Chosen of this generation-if anyone deserves it, itʼs him.” ”He hasnʼt officially become a Great Truth Chosen yet!” ”The Soul Society in its current form has existed through three Great Truth Chosen.” ”How many of them were granted their own section?” ”...As far as I remember, none.” ”Exactly. This is the first time a Great Truth Chosen has ever been given a personal section inside the store!” ”He still hasnʼt become one yet!!” ”But this development makes sense, in a way” ”The previous Great Truth Chosen werenʼt producers. They achieved one or two earth-shaking feats-then vanished without a trace.” ”Doesnʼt that mean weʼre witnessing the birth of history itself?” ”The Great Truth Chosen of this generation is extraordinary. Weʼre incredibly fortunate to live in his era.” ”He hasnʼt beco-agh, why am I even arguing anymore.” ”So... what do you think those four products actually are?” ”Something massive. Something that will shake entire sectors.” ”Maybe martial arts that incorporate fundamental laws-like the legendary Breath of the Ages martial art.” ”Or maybe he solved humanityʼs internal energy bottleneck and created the fifth cultivation path, hehe.”

Thud ”This is not the time for jokes, you idiot.”

Beneath the metallic mask, sweat streamed down Robinʼs face.

He knew-better than anyone-that these four innovations would reshape the universe itself, without the slightest exaggeration. Entire markets, power structures, and future paths would shift because of them.

But did the Soul Society really need to announce them on such an apocalyptic scale?

A month-long store shutdown.

A scheduled reopening broadcast across the universe.

Lord Morvalʼs personal appearance.

All of it had driven expectations to unimaginable heights.

At this point, people might genuinely expect Robin to have created domesticated dragons, or rewritten reality itself.

What if when they finally saw the real products-their imaginations had soared too far?

Would disappointment follow?

Ding

Ding ding ding ding ding

The sound of store interfaces opening echoed billions of times within the same second, overlapping into a single overwhelming chime that made Robinʼs scalp prickle beneath his metallic mask.

Instinctively, he shut his eyes tight, bracing himself for the storm he was certain would follow.

For a brief moment, he simply stood there, motionless, letting the noise wash over him.

Then slowly-he cracked one eye open and began scanning his surroundings. ”I found it! Lord Humanʼs section!” ”Hm? Whatʼs this tiny disc? Second Chance? A second chance for what exactly? And-why is it this expensive?!” ”This small device looks like an add-on for the Youth Restoration Device, hehe.” ”Oof...”

Robin slapped his forehead with his palm and shut his eye again, his shoulders sagging slightly.

His worst expectations had come true. The absurd level of anticipation had inflated peopleʼs imaginations far beyond reason, and now the backlash was inevitable. Sarcasm, ridicule, dismissal-it was all arriving at once.

All of it... because of that damned Morval and his grandiose announcement.

At this point, the only thing Robin could hope for was that this wave of mockery wouldnʼt permanently stain his reputation across the Middle Belt-and ”Hm?”

Robin opened one eye again, more carefully this time, and looked around.

Whoosh

Whoosh ”...What?”

The sight before him made his breath hitch.

Large numbers of people were leaving the Soul Society outright.

Every single one of them followed the same pattern: they glanced at their screen, tapped it once-or twice at most-clack, and then vanished in a flash of spatial distortion-whoosh-without uttering a single word.

No insults.

No laughter.

No heated debates.

Just... silent departure.

Within two minutes, nearly half of the attendees in the Great Hall were gone.

The once-crowded space visibly thinned out, vast stretches opening where dense clusters of figures had stood moments earlier.

The remaining half, however, looked even worse.

They stood frozen in place, store windows still open in front of them, eyes widened to the limit, brows tightly drawn. Some looked pale. Others looked stiff, as if their minds had momentarily shut down. ”...Whatʼs happening here?” Robin muttered, unease creeping into his voice.

Clank

A faint popping sound rang out beside him.

A familiar fairy figure materialized out of thin air-small, luminous, and unmistakable. ”Lord Human,” Temari said quickly, her tone apologetic, ”Iʼm sorry I wasnʼt available earlier. The preparations over the past period were massive, and I was assigned almost everything personally.” ”Shhh!!”

Robin reacted instantly, clamping a hand over her mouth while darting glances in every direction. ”Why are you saying that title out loud?! Are you trying to get me exposed?!” ”Hehe~ relax,” Temari replied calmly, unfazed. ”No one can see me except you- just as you canʼt see the fairies assigned to others. And even if you stand right next to someone, you still canʼt see the contents of their windows.”

She winked playfully, then pointed upward with one finger. ”How about I transfer you to the Meditation Hall? The atmosphere here is... getting unpleasant.” ”...Heh~”

Robin let out a weary breath and took one final look around.

Angry faces.

Shocked faces.

Faces twisted in confusion and disbelief.

After a short pause, he nodded. ”Alright. Letʼs go.”

Whoosh

The scenery shifted instantly.

Robin reappeared in the familiar hall where he usually processed requests related to the Truth Chamber. The moment his feet touched the floor, his strength seemed to give out. He dropped into a seat with a dull poof, leaning back heavily.

He rubbed his face through the mask and shook his head. ”Damn these arrangements of yours, Temari,” he said bitterly. ”You raised peopleʼs dreams to impossible heights just to smash them in seconds. Did you see that? Half the crowd vanished immediately. They didnʼt even bother leaving sarcastic remarks behind.” ”Hehe~”

Temari laughed softly, floating in front of him. ”Thatʼs because youʼre part of the equation, Lord Human. You canʼt see the situation from the proper perspective.” ”...What do you mean?”

Robin straightened slightly and looked up at her. ”Didnʼt you see what I saw?

The ones who stayed behind are still staring at their windows in silence. Itʼs obvious theyʼre desperately searching for some hidden innovation-something big enough to justify all this hype. Theyʼre shocked. And disappointed.” ”Lord Humans,” Temari said gently, shaking her head, ”youʼre still underestimating what youʼve created. Youʼre underestimating the waves this will send across the entire belt from this day onward.”

She then raised a finger and pointed toward him. ”Why donʼt you open the profits tab? If words arenʼt convincing you, perhaps numbers will.”

Robin frowned, his brows lifting slightly in confusion. ”The profits tab?” he repeated. ”Why would I check that now? The products were only announced minutes ago. Thereʼs no way the numbers could already be mea-”

He froze mid-sentence. ”...Hah?”