Sui Xiong, who was back in action upon recovering, headed straight towards Chaos once again and stood in front to block its path.

  The gods all heaved sighs of relief.

  The power of chaos was clearly too overbearing for the gods. Even if they tried with all their might, they might not necessarily be able to block it effectively. Earlier on, it had obviously advanced a great distance within that short period of time. If it were to continue progressing as such, it would not be long before it got close to the boundary line between the Negative Plane and the Matter Plane of the Ring of the World.

  Once Chaos stepped into the Matter Plane of the Ring of the World, it would immediately cause serious damage. If its power was released and allowed to spread to the surroundings, even if it was just a little bit, it would nonetheless give rise to the birth of countless monsters. They would then stage a horrifying scene of monsters dancing about chaotically.

  Not only that, but it was also highly possible that the part of the Matter Plane that was contaminated by Chaos would undergo a transformation inclined towards the Negative Plane. If the amount was small, perhaps there would not be much cause for worry. But if the amount was bigger, it might destroy the balance among the four great planes, and thus destroying the overall structure of the Great Circulation.

  That was really the scariest thing that could happen!

  The Great Circulation was the foundation that everything in the world depended on for survival, and there was no exception for both mortals or gods. If the structure of the Great Circulation was destroyed, it was highly likely to lead to an extremely serious disaster. It was no exaggeration at all to say that it was the end of the world!

  No one would want something like that to happen.

  As members of the world, the gods had their egos, but also their principles. If things had become so terrible to the extent of the possible destruction of the Great Circulation, the gods would have no other choice but to use themselves as material for fixing up the Great Circulation.

  Of course, they would not wish for things to develop to this stage. But if there was really the need to, even the evil gods would not oppose to self-sacrifice to save the world. But when the situation was not all that bad, who would be willing to sacrifice themselves!

  Even the good gods or the pure good gods who were always so courageous enough to sacrifice themselves for the sake of helping others were no lunatics who simply sought death!

  So the gods certainly hoped that Sui Xiong could return earlier and help them with defense at the front so that this world of theirs would not be destroyed. And also, no one would need to go to the extent of sacrificing themselves to repair the world.

  And again, Sui Xiong managed to block Chaos. When he brought Chaos’ advancing steps to a halt, more than one god let out shouts of cheer.

  \r \r \r

  “Good going!”

  “Our lives are in your hands, Void Mask!”

  “Great Jellyfish, if you win this battle, I will find you a beautiful jellyfish bride when we return!”

  Sui Xiong rolled his eyes discreetly upon hearing that last line. He really wished he could charge back, turn his tentacles into a thread and needle and sew up that annoying mouth of Her Majesty, the well-respected Goddess of Joy—the teacher who taught him about architectural construction.

  At this point in time, she ought to be saying things that were more useful and reliable!

  And over at the Positive Plane of the Ring of the World, close to the Wheel of Order that was glowing with great splendor, the Master of Order could not help but nod slightly.

  “Auscar, the Void Mask, is indeed a god that is most reliable at the most critical moments,” he said. “If he was the one leading the new rules of this world, maybe I could even put my mind at rest.”

  “He is someone with a golden heart that’s simply much too kind, so he most certainly won’t be able to come up with any suitable rules befitting of a leader!” said the God of Light with a cold laugh. “Asking him to lead the world would be the same as allowing the notions of equality of all people and common prosperity for all to continue lingering around us…… Such ideas are not trustworthy at all!”

  “I find this way of thinking pretty good. At least in terms of actual practice, relevant areas on the Main Plane have shown a significant increase in the pace of progress since he had first advocated the actual practice of these ideas.”

  “What’s the use of making progress? Stability is the key!”

  “If progress is so pointless, how did the humans defeat the other races?”

  The two greater Divine Powers were having a conversation while fighting an intense battle. Their combat means might have seemed very ordinary, where not even a subtle move could be seen. Yet in truth, time and space were distorted by every hit they threw at each other. Any opponent whose power was not on the same level as them would have been torn to shreds by their merciless attacks and lost their lives without even some time to wrap their minds over what really happened.

  Sui Xiong found himself in a similar situation when he received Chaos’ attack just now. But Chaos had already lost a great part of its ability of reason; thus, it could only rely on its instincts to execute its means. Compared to the precise and dexterous means of the two greater Divine Powers, its crude methods were simply nothing more than child’s play.

  Just as the Master of Order had previously told the Dragon of Chaos, so long as he defeated the God of Light, he would be readily available to render his help. By then, beating off Chaos would nothing much.

  But the problem was, the God of Light was much more difficult to defeat as compared to Chaos.

  “By pestering me like this, you are actually helping Chaos. Do you know? This is as good as betraying the whole world!”

  “Betraying the whole world? Since when did the great Master of Order pick up the ways of the earthly pettifoggers and resort to playing such tricks of sophistry? It’s very simple if you wish to save the world. You just have to concede defeat now and hand over to me, the power to dominate and lead the world order. And I will crush Chaos as soon as I turn around.”

  “You were the one who started this war.”

  “Why are you bothered over such a trifling matter! Can’t you just give in a little to save the world?” said the God of Light as a deriding laugh was heard coming from under his visor. “Could it be…… Your determination in wanting to save the world is only just up to this degree, after all?”

  The Master of Order was silent for a moment, then answered coldly, “I disagree with your rules!”

  “Over and over again, it’s still nothing more than this line. You’re really one stubborn old mule who’s stuck in a rut!”

  Though the two greater Divine Powers had temporarily stopped for a moment, being unable to see eye to eye with each other meant that ultimately, they had to fight again. Neither side would yield an inch.

  And at the border between the Matter Plane and the Negative Plane of the Ring of the World, Sui Xiong had, once again, waged a ferocious war on Chaos.

  Chaos’ combat means had not changed much from before and that clever technique of distorting time and space seemed to be nothing more than a flash of inspiration. But Sui Xiong did not dare show any hint of negligence. He exercised great caution and stood guard against any bizarre means that Chaos would possibly use.

  The strange thing was, this time when they exchanged blows, Sui Xiong felt that Chaos’ prowess seemed to have dropped.

  Its attacks were no longer as heavy as before, and its defensive ability was not as high as before. Every time Sui Xiong’s tentacles collided with its dirty mud, he could clearly feel this weakening trend.

  And…… it seemed to be getting weaker and weaker.

  “What on earth is going on? Why is Chaos becoming weaker? What the hell is happening to it?”

  Sui Xiong was secretly puzzling over these questions, but he did not dare to let his guard down. He had suffered a great loss earlier on and that made him clear on how powerful and dangerous Chaos was. Now, even if there were a thousand ducks cackling by his ears, he would never get distracted again!

  As time went by, Sui Xiong gradually realized that the situation did not seem to be the same as what he speculated earlier on.

  Chaos did not become weaker. And the attacks by the other gods still did not have any effect on it. Even his big brother, Yorgaardman’s light blade, was only something that was visible without practical use.

  Sui Xiong was more and more doubtful. And he felt that within his surrounding time and space, this doubt seemed to be undergoing some changes. Immediately, he pulled back and retreated, and was just in time to dodge a hit from the repeated attacks of Chaos. He watched the blackness of the dirty mud before him. It was building a cage to encircle him. But when everything finally fell apart, it became the definite answer for Sui Xiong’s doubts.

  The one who changed was not Chaos, but he himself.

  It was not that Chaos had become weak. It was him, he who had become stronger!

  Chapter 964: Over and Above Common Sense, The End of Chaos (Part 1)

  Why could he suddenly be able to see through Chaos’ means? Why had he suddenly become stronger?

  Sui Xiong could grasp no understanding.

  But this was no hindrance to his battle.

  He was becoming stronger. That was a good thing. In the face of this great cause of “protecting the world,” how much more powerful he could become was always not going to be enough.

  He waved his tentacles about speedily and continuously warded off Chaos’ attacks. Even though Chaos’ means of attacks were becoming swifter and more violent. It would not let allow Sui Xiong any chance of gaining an advantageous edge over it.

  The gods at the back were gradually gaining some inkling about what was going on. Earlier on, when Sui Xiong was battling against Chaos upfront, though he could still withstand Chaos’ blows, he did fight in a relatively confounded manner. He was constantly taking steps backwards and was always getting injured. It was really only by virtue of him being unafraid of being polluted by Chaos, as well as his ability to repair his body upon injury, that the fight went on.

  But now, when Sui Xiong faced Chaos, he was no longer as pathetic as before. He was still at the losing end often enough. From time to time, he would suffer a blow or two and sustain some injuries. But as compared to before, he seemed to be an entirely different man.

  Especially after he successfully escaped another “siege” launched by Chaos via another distortion of time and space. Many gods’ eyes were squinting. On the one hand, they were happy that their chances of winning were greatly increased. On the other hand, they were also secretly keeping vigilant.

  The Void Mask had become so powerful that he could almost arm-wrestle with Chaos. If he made up his mind to find trouble with them all, who could possibly deal with him?

  No one was certain.

  No, this was not a question of “uncertainty,” but rather one of a “zero chance of winning.”

  The Void Mask was originally very strong. He was far stronger than any of the other great Divine Powers in general. Previously, to protect the Ancient Forest and the elves, he had stepped forth to resist the attacks of the God of Light, who was a greater Divine Power. As a result, he sustained serious injuries and even spewed out blood. But at least, that made everyone feel that he was not overly powerful. And now in his fight with Chaos, another greater Divine Power like himself who might be even stronger than the God of Light, Sui Xiong was able to exchange blows with his opponent in a to-and-fro manner. This made everyone feel that he was simply overwhelmingly powerful.

  The scariest thing was, from being heavily injured by a mere light pat of the palm of a greater Divine Power, to being able to exchange attacks in a battle against a greater Divine Power, did not take Sui Xiong much time at all to achieve.

  If he were to continue growing at this rate, would it not be long where even a greater Divine Power would not be his match?

  \r \r \r

  Thinking of such a possibility made many of the gods feel their scalps tingling out of fear. Many gods were even secretly worried, in particular, those gods from the evil camps.

  The Void Mask was officially known to be a good god. And he had been quite active in fighting against evil. If he became a greater Divine Power or even someone more powerful than a greater Divine Power, then the end of the evil gods would most likely not be far away!

  But worrying would not help matters. No matter how worried they were, it would not solve anything at all.

  The power of the Void Mask had long exceeded the extent to which they could figure out ways to counteract.

  Moreover…… even if the Void Mask became even more powerful, they were in fact, not the ones who needed to worry. It was the one before them, Chaos, and the other two greater Divine Powers who were still engaged in a fierce and endless battle.

  If the sky collapsed, there were the tall ones to prop it up. What was there to fear!

  Thinking of this made the evil gods feel a little better. But it was only a little bit better.

  In contrast, the good gods were in a great mood. If not they were not still engaged in a fierce battle against Chaos, they would have wanted to cheer and celebrate here and there. They wanted to celebrate the fact that their Good Camp would have their own greater Divine Power.

  Having one’s own people as officials made light work. So having a greater Divine Power in one’s own camp would definitely allow things to be more convenient in the future!

  Of course, it was impossible for Sui Xiong to know the thoughts running through the minds of the gods behind him. At that moment, he was carefully dealing with the various kinds of attacks of Chaos. At the same time, he was meticulously pondering the means and reasoning that these attacks encompassed.

  The real body of Chaos was the depraved God of Evil. The reason for the latter’s depravity was because he tried to design and scheme against the God of Chaos and devour him. In the end, he was unable to digest the God of Chaos well and even fell into a state of insanity.

  Perhaps because he had been heavily traumatized during the process of depravity, his grasp of power was obviously heavily impeded. Within the power that he executed, it was not the power of “evil” that occupied his real body, but the power of “Chaos.”

  This was all very strange, but it gave Sui Xiong a very good opportunity.

  Though both were different in terms of good and evil, at least they were on the same page when it came to the areas of Order and Chaos.

  While the camp of Chaos was “chaotic and evil,” the camp of Sui Xiong was “chaotic and good.”

  This meant that Sui Xiong could probably anatomize and acquire the power of Chaos. At least, he could learn the means in the area of “chaos,” and allow himself to become much stronger.

  That was not a skill of ordinary gods. That was the capability of a formidable greater Divine Power!

  So long as one could learn something about the power of Chaos, one might even be able to find the path to becoming a greater Divine Power. This was why, so long as he could become a greater Divine Power, Sui Xiong could be on an equal footing with the God of Light and Master of Order. Then he would have the confidence to have a good round of negotiation with them.

  Besides, having more greater Divine Powers was good for the whole world. There were only two greater Divine Powers, but they were fighting each other with such enthusiasm that they completely paid no heed to the crisis the entire world was facing. That was truly terrible!

  These thoughts flashed through his mind at lightning speed. Sui Xiong simply had not spared any time to carefully consider them at all, so they remained a blurred concept. That was all.

  Now he had to put his mind into the careful deliberation of two matters. One was how to resist the attacks of Chaos, and two was how he could find ways to learn something from Chaos.

  When Chaos once again waved the tentacles formed with his “dirty mud” to whip lashes at Sui Xiong, Sui Xiong slightly changed his means of response to adjust to the changing circumstance.

  He no longer fought against Chaos’ attacks with a head-on approach. Instead, he used a more flexible method. When placed in the context of martial arts novels, this could perhaps be known as the “pester, cling, follow” method. First, he lightly stuck himself onto Chaos’ tentacles, then he applied some force to exert influence on its direction of movement. Next, he brought it turning in a big circle and finally, with a great huff, he tossed it flying away.

  In this process, he succeeded in cutting off a small piece of Chaos’ tentacle. After a moment of hesitation, he swallowed it into his stomach.

  Previously, the “dirty mud” of Chaos penetrated his body and caused that terrifying burning sensation. But it was due to the situation that he was caught unprepared. Now, he was amply prepared. By right, wrapping this pile of “dirty mud” with a power of pure chaos would not go so far to the extent of causing any violent changes.

  Even if it did cause any violent changes, he would still have time to spit it out.

  With this in mind, Sui Xiong decided to try devouring a small piece of “chaos.”

  Then he was greatly shocked.

  That small piece of “dirty mud” contained more than 90 percent of the power of chaos and less than 10 percent of the power of evil.

  This was actually not surprising. There was nothing puzzling about the power of chaos. What really surprised him and what he himself found quite strange as well, was that even for that power of evil, he could still try to anatomize and absorb it.

  This, to him, was no different from saying that evil could similarly be understood and accommodated.

  “This is impossible!”

  If it had not been for the prior mental preparation, which made Sui Xiong decide to retreat a great distance in advance, he would most probably have, once again, fallen into Chaos’ prison because of the shock.

  He was greatly astonished. He tried his best to anatomize that chaotic body as he wished to find something that was completely incompatible with him.

  However, there was nothing.

  There was no power of Chaos, no matter in what percentage of its total composition that he could not anatomize. There was also nothing that could be incompatible with him.

  Chapter 965: Over and Above Common Sense, The End of Chaos (Part 2)

  “Why am I actually compatible with the power of chaos? It is right to say that we are indeed on the same page from the perspective of “chaos,” but at least in terms of “good” and “evil,” we should be just like fire and water, completely incompatible! I’ve clearly burned up just now, haven’t I?”

  Sui Xiong was grumbling inwardly but on the outside, his hands did not dare show any signs of slacking off. He was still putting in his best to defuse Chaos’ attacks, and at the same time, he was repeatedly trying to cut small pieces from its body which he would swallow, analyze, dissolve, and then absorb.

  Completely absorbable, without any residue.

  “What the heck!”

  Sui Xiong felt that a problem had arisen from the common sense that he had accumulated in this world for so many years. Could it be that in this world, order and chaos, as well as good and evil, were not two sets of contrasting attributes?

  Why was such a bizarre situation appearing before him?

  “I think…… I may have met with a fake Chaos. Or maybe…… I’m in fact, not a good god?

  Sui Xiong could not help starting to feel a little doubtful about his life.

  Fortunately, at this point in time, the traditional “self-comfort” skill played its role in warning him that he should cast these doubts aside for the time being.

  It did not matter whether this Chaos before him was an imposter or not. And it also did not even matter whether he himself was not a good god. Anyway, so long as people led safe and stable lives every day, so long as there was world peace, what else mattered?

  The great mentors had taught us that the doctrines would not put food on our plates—ahem, did the great mentors really teach this? Would it not be like those ridiculous sayings like, “the most terrible thing in the world is to lose the courage to face up to difficulties—Einstein,” which were purely gimmicks to hoodwink the people?

  For a moment, Sui Xiong was also slightly shaken.

  If he was in a safe situation, perhaps he would ponder it for a few hours with a worried expression, or maybe a few days. It would not be surprising if he were to spend a few years pondering. But at this moment, he was at the frontline of the battle, protecting the world against Chaos. Even if he had a thousand doubts, ten thousand distractions, he had to finish this fight with Chaos first.

  “Yes! I will finish this battle first. After I’m done with this battle, I’ll return home to get married……”

  “Ptooey, ptooey, Ptooey!”

  Sui Xiong spat several times in his heart to drive away these thoughts and re-focus his attention on the battle.

  \r \r \r

  But now, the battle with Chaos was no longer as difficult as before.

  Because he did not have to worry about being eroded by the chaotic attributes, he could even turn the tables and devour the power of Chaos. Throughout the battle, he continuously cut off pieces of Chaos and swallowed these morsels into his stomach. The pieces he swallowed were then transformed into his own power.

  His approach was becoming increasingly apparent. Even the gods could see that something was wrong.

  “That Void Mask fellow…… What is wrong with him? He seems to be cutting pieces off of Chaos and stomaching everything……”

  “Ah, you saw that too. And here I am thinking that it was just an illusion……”

  “Chaos’ power is just like lethal poison to us gods, why doesn’t he seem to care at all?”

  “Who knows. He has already done so many weird things anyway. I won’t be surprised if he does something strange again.”

  “That’s quite true.”

  Yorgaardman managed to find time to return to the Dragon of Chaos, and with the use of divine thoughts, he asked, “Old Dragon, my brother, he…… Is everything alright?”

  “Could it be that you wish for something to go wrong?” the Dragon of Chaos asked in return.

  “Of course not! It’s just that…… Won’t he be poisoned if he swallows those pieces of Chaos’?”

  “Though you are human and he’s a jellyfish, his brain is far more useful than yours. Something like this that even you can think of, why wouldn’t he have also thought of it?” the Dragon of Chaos asked bluntly in return without bothering to be polite at all.

  The God of Justice wrinkled his brows a few times. He felt that this remark was indeed justified, so he no longer struggled to dwell on this matter.

  Something that even he could figure out, for someone as smart as Auscar—or rather, for such a smart jellyfish, how could he have not thought of it?

  It had to be because Yorgaardman was too simple-minded, and he neglected something important. That was why he would have such a doubt.

  Yes, that was right!

  And now, outside the Wheel of Order that was far away from him, the Master of Order suddenly gave a little smile.

  “This really surprised me,” he said. “Our dear little friend, the jellyfish, has once again surprised us.”

  The God of Light, of course, was also paying close attention to the battle against Chaos. And at this moment, he wore a somber expression and did not utter a single word.

  “If this goes on, who knows, we’ll soon be ushering in another greater Divine Power,” said the Master of Order. “And this will be an even more powerful existence. One that has the combination of three kinds of powers, the power of chaos, goodness and evil. It will be a greater existence that can cross insurmountable borders.”

  “So what?” the God of Light asked him back in a cold voice.

  “Nothing much, I just find it interesting,” the Master of Order said calmly. “Though this was out of my expectations, thinking about it carefully, this is actually not that bad. Let’s put it this way…… a greater Divine Power that can embrace both goodness and evil is a huge improvement for this world.”

  “You really believe that goodness and evil can be embraced together?” the God of Light asked him back.

  The Master of Order was silent and did not answer.

  At this very moment, it was meaningless to saying anything against his conscience.

  “Anyway, I don’t believe it,” the God of Light simply said. “Order and Chaos, goodness and evil, these are all natural enemies. Tolerating existences with hostile attributes does not mean that anyone can encompass them all into one body. Even if it’s Auscar, I don’t think he will be able to do so either.”

  “Perhaps you mean to say that a long, long time ago, during the era before that of the Great Circulation, the world was not divided into four camps. But even for that world, there still existed various kinds of attributes, and these attributes also did not go well with each other,” said the God of Light. Of course, he knew about this thing that happened “before this era.” He went on to say, “Earth, water, wind and fire—the relationship shared by these four fundamental elements was never compatible. Needless to say, that of the conflict between matter and spirit…… Previously, the reason as to why the earlier era would end and the era of the Great Circulation began, was it not due to the conflict between matter and spirit?”

  Speaking up to this point, he suddenly smiled mysteriously and asked in a low voice, “Am I right? The king of the spiritual world had abandoned himself to integrate into the world. Then finally, he became an existence that gained greater benefits than the King of Four Elements of the material world.”

  The body of the Master of Order shook violently as he took two steps back.

  “So it turns out you have already guessed who we are,” he said.

  “What’s so difficult to guess? Masters won’t be born without any reason. If you all really are existences given birth by the Great Circulation, then no matter what, you all should not venture further than the King of Four Elements, who’s a step ahead of you all in leaving. Since the kings of the material world could live through all the explosions and chaos caused by the Great Circulation, then there should be no reason for the kings in the spiritual world to be completely annihilated. With these two reasons in mind, the answer, of course, is apparent,” said the Master of Order as a look of slyness flashed in his eyes. “The only problem is, exactly what way you are going to use so that you will be a step ahead of the kings of the material world and dominate this new world?”

  The Master of God lowered his head. And for the first time, there was a light that shone brightly in his eyes.

  Grasping the gap where there was some chaotic confusion going on because the identity of the Master of Order had been disclosed, the figure of the God of Light suddenly shook and disappeared right before the eyes of the Master of God.

  The next moment, the God of Light appeared on the battlefield of the war against Chaos where he hovered in the air above Chaos.

  “You are already a completely old and useless thing. Contribute the last of your power and crown the king of the new era!” the God of Light coldly scolded and directly rushed over to Chaos. He paid no heed to the various attacks that Chaos was launching in his direction. He stuck an outstretched arm deep within Chaos’ body and pulled out a mass of substance that was like black ink.

  At this time, the figure of the Master of Order also followed closely behind and appeared on the battlefield. Ignoring everyone, he only yelled loudly, “Stop!” At the same time, he charged towards the God of Light, wanting to stop the latter’s next course of action.

  But the Master of Order was still a step too slow after all.

  Right before the moment he reached them, the God of Light shoved that mass of black stuff, which was still dripping with revolting and strange liquid into his mouth. Then he swallowed everything in one mouthful.