Facing an Ancient God for a Year

Chapter 2000: Chapter 1995: Heart Demon Deathmatch

Aha... this familiar scent.

With his hands raised, a motion resembling both a stretch and an embrace of the sun, Fu Qian leisurely walked through the fourth floor of the Sword Pavilion that had been restored to its original state.

It was not an illusion; every high-grade collection from the Swordsmanship Department was intact, including the one that had vaporized half of his arm.

Fu Qian stopped in front of a familiar short sword, carefully examining it.

To be honest, its appearance was utterly unremarkable compared to the others—even its interior was.

Standing here now, it was just an ordinary piece of Mortal Iron, utterly indescribable of the god-slaying power from earlier.

Everything seemed like an illusion, provided you returned my arm.

There was nothing much to see; Fu Qian looked away, observing his still bare elbow.

The Incense Fire Axe had just been casually thrown in the warehouse, so even in his other hand, it was equally empty.

Recalling the time he was also a guest of honor at the Swordsmanship Department here, the temporary leader from Heaven’s Commencement Institute ascended to observe, wielding a three-sword style with both hands and mouth, the majestic scene was still vivid in his mind.

In the blink of an eye, all that was left was a broken limb, yet the mountains and rivers remained unchanged; how could one not sigh deeply?

Dreams and illusions, why bother to grasp them?

The feeling when parting in tears with Old Master Veron earlier seemed, after all, not to be wrong.

Exile.

The methods experienced once in Akons reappeared before him now.

And it seemed he once again transformed into a bug blocked by a glass barrier.

However, unlike last time, the opponent seemed to come not to repel but to kill insects.

...

The scenes that appeared after testing all the way and causing a disturbance on the fourth floor of the Sword Pavilion gave a clear answer to the previous suspicions.

A power beyond common sense that should not exist in the Academy, and everything restored as new after leaving and returning.

These two behaviors were too typical, almost identical to the encounter in Akons.

The Divine Ashes Institute indeed seems already affected, or rather, the entire Academy might be under influence; only they appear the most obvious.

Truly accidents after accidents, how the founders of the Academy selected such a site is beyond comprehension.

Besides, Fu Qian was curious; the person suspected to be Jade Soul Master, what exactly was his purpose?

Seize the Academy and refine it in an instant? Just like in Akons?

Isn’t it a bit too aggressive, especially given the dimensional differences?

At the time, no matter how abnormal Akons was, it was still essentially a spiritual world, whereas this place is a genuine Extraordinary Academy full of talents.

Although it is known that idealism emphasizes things outside the mind, isn’t this appetite too great?

Take the Academy as a breakthrough, to begin the first step in idealizing the entire world?

Everyone will become nothing more than their own delusions and obsessions?

Let’s not mention whether it’s achievable, wouldn’t such a scene of doomsday attract the Night Watchman—hold on.

Not long ago, during discussions about the ”ark,” there seemed to be similar guesses about doomsday and beginnings?

Standing by the window, Fu Qian gazed in the direction of the Benevolence Institute through the gap and successfully constructed the magnificent meteor shower of the past in his mind.

Could it be that meteor shower at the time gave Jade Soul Master the enlightenment to believe some opportunity had arrived?

If that’s indeed the case, that impact truly unleashed a host of demons, and he could be considered deeply burdened with karma.

And Jade Soul Master might understand the Academy even more deeply than imagined.

Of course, these are matters for later; currently, there’s a pressing issue in front of him—how to navigate through this wave of idealism?

...

Truly pessimistic.

As mentioned earlier, this might be the difference between repelling insects and killing them.

Earlier in Akons, dealing with this troublemaker, Jade Soul Master’s approach was indeed treating him as an unyielding stone.

Expulsion, isolation, using temporary files similar to dreams prevented him from affecting the real Akons.

At first glance, the current situation remains the same.

The Sword Pavilion he was in, and the fourth floor of the Sword Pavilion he destroyed earlier, clearly both belonged to the realm of temporally generated files.

His return to the warehouse and then coming back was like the second visit in Akons.

And the real Academy had become completely untouchable to him.

Theoretically, the means he could employ now seemed to be more flexible than during the previous assignment.

For instance, fundamentally speaking, using either the Benevolence Institute or Divine Ashes Institute as the center, the influence area of this idealism spread should ultimately be finite.

As long as he kept walking outward, the expulsion would eventually fail.

Not to mention there’s no limitation on returning to the warehouse; he could even directly transfer to Shangjing or Half-step Moon, or the like.

The only cost would be exposing the people at the Academy to the risk of refinement—which is not that easy.

When he returned to the warehouse earlier, the unbreakable connection was for a reason.

Standing here now, the feeling had become even clearer—it was something that could almost be defined as a fate-binding bond.

More precisely, ”Jade Soul Master” entered the game personally, stamping a special concept on his forehead, thus locking the connection tightly.

His Heart Demon... this was the content perceived by Fu Qian.

The other party no longer evades the issue; he himself is the true target of Jade Soul Master this time.

Therefore, not just confining him behind the glass but attempting to encase him in a glass jar and burn him to ashes.

Even escape was impossible, the bond from his entering the game exceeded imagination.

The two of them were clearly in a special conjugate state, the Academy as a duel ground, each other’s Heart Demon.

Like split personalities, one viewing the current as reality, the other merely as a delusion.

If he took a step back, the opponent would take a step forward, a real zero-sum game.

For instance, theoretically speaking, no time had passed, but his act of returning to the warehouse had already caused a shift.

The surroundings and everything had further accelerated their fall toward the idealistic end, and the Heart Demon label on his forehead shone even brighter.

This bond was so transcendent, causing Fu Qian to deeply suspect escaping wouldn’t work.

Leaving in any manner would only result in failure, the Heart Demon label from Jade Soul Master would never peel off.

This was a genuine battle to the death, without a single step back.

Of course, he could transform into the Abandonment King, making the opponent feel the wrath of an ancient Superior Being.

But don’t forget, that method was also something the other party was very adept at.

Heaving a long sigh at the many hardships of the Academy, Fu Qian exerted strength in his hand, and the aged window sill in front of him was forcibly broken off.

”Indeed, this scent is still more familiar...”

With no consciousness of vandalizing public property, Fu Qian brought the broken piece close to his nose and took a sniff, sighing once more.

It was the scent of mushrooms.

Even on the broken surface, one could see the layers upon layers of intertwined mycelium.