The judge spoke:

    [Are you Tang Xian or Eden''s Master? How are you even alive?]

    "You''d never guess what I''ve been through, even if I killed you trying."

    Tang Xian was pleased. The judge wasn''t foolish, but Tang Xian believed that even the Master of Eden would be shocked to see him.

    Though Eden''s Master might figure out why, the judge would not.

    That was where the judge was weaker than Eden''s Master.

    "You really should have spent these past centuries learning more from humanity. As the Beast God, are you really weaker than Eden''s Master? Hardly, isn''t it?"

    In this situation, Tang Xian was absolutely confident he could kill the judge. However, he avoided wasting time with endless taunts before a deadly strike, instead leaving behind this rhetorical question.

    It was undoubtedly meant to ensure the judge died with unresolved bitterness.

    It had dominated its existence, despite beings stronger than it appearing in the world. In the end, all those beings eventually succumbed to time.

    But now, it realized everything had been calculated by Eden''s Master.

    At this moment, with its life hanging by a thread, it found itself slain at the hands of a human it had always looked down upon. And worse, it couldn''t comprehend why this human was still alive.

    "Jing, step back."

    Tang Jing obeyed, retreating as ordered. Even at the judge''s weakest, this battle was not one he could participate in. Simply bearing witness posed significant risks.

    The judge''s final desperate counterattack in the face of death could undoubtedly prove dangerous.

    ...

    ...

    The entire island was trembling. The chaos of the elements intensified, growing increasingly unstable.

    The enormous Zudun Giant statue began to crack under the immense vibrations.

    The island seemed on the brink of destruction.

    The six-hundred-meter-high giant statues crashed down one after another. Waves outside the island grew turbulent.

    Tang Jing lingered at a safe distance, focusing on one task: preventing the judge''s escape.

    Evidently, Tang Xian wouldn''t let the judge escape either.

    At twilight, the island finally settled into calm.

    Half of the Zudun Giant statues were destroyed, yet, remarkably, the island hadn''t sunk despite the ferocious tremors.

    Tang Jing was certain the island''s structure was extraordinarily intricate, likely specially altered by Eden''s Master. Otherwise, it wouldn''t have chosen the island as the location for its library.

    As the smoke cleared,

    Tang Jing approached Tang Xian once more.

    The judge''s corpse lay at Tang Xian''s feet.

    In this battle, Tang Jing was the sole spectator.

    If someone asked him to describe the fight, he could hardly find words. Tang Xian''s victory was utterly unquestionable.

    At present, Tang Xian was no longer at the peak power of the Orderkeepers.

    But the judge by now was exceedingly frail as well.

    "Is it really dead? Why does it feel… too easy? There''s something surreal about this."

    Tang Jing sighed. A Beast God, dead in what seemed far too simple a manner.

    Yet, not long ago… the judge had pushed them dangerously close to the brink of defeat.

    Tang Xian remained silent for a long time, then slowly shook his head and said:

    "Jing, this journey hasn''t been easy for us."

    Tang Jing froze for a moment, then understood what Tang Xian meant.

    The battle itself might have been straightforward, without much turbulence.

    But reaching this point was an immensely arduous path.

    Every human still alive had survived things only they could understand.

    Tang Xian spoke:

    "We''ve truly slain a Beast God. It''s a pity—the judge refused to pass on its inheritance even in the end. Even though deep down, it knew its end was inevitable, it resisted the chance of delivering one final act of vengeance against Eden''s Master."

    "Because we''re human. It hated humanity," Tang Jing remarked, with a tinge of irony.

    The two of them stood gazing at the judge''s corpse as the twilight faded, and night fell.

    At the canyon bottom, the gray crystals shattered into scattered fragments, looking like stars shining amidst the night''s darkness.

    In the end, Tang Xian desecrated the judge''s corpse.

    His goal: retrieving its Soul Crystal.

    Tang Xian held the crimson Soul Crystal firmly in his hand.

    Tang Jing asked curiously:

    "This… how does it work?"

    "You eat it."

    "Really, you can eat it?" Sear?h the ηovelFire.ηet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "We can''t eat it, but the Dark Crow can. He eats Soul Crystals with gusto—Lost God even fed him quite a few."

    "Wait, so this means spreading the Beast God''s power around?"

    "Exactly. The old Beast Gods are being erased from the era, but new Beast Gods will inevitably arise in their place. Based on what you''ve been telling me, I have a general understanding now."

    Holding the judge''s Soul Crystal, Tang Xian headed toward the entrance of the tomb.

    "What have you understood?" Tang Jing followed, asking.

    "Tang Feiji''s atavistic phenomenon, Junlin''s persistent breakthroughs, humans like the Dark Crow with unique constitutions, and even myself—maybe this world lacks deliberate consciousness, but there''s a set rule to maintain balance. When powerful beings die, new ones inevitably emerge."

    Eden''s Master feared this unconscious order of the world and sought to become the rule itself. It sought to give the world consciousness, to control and command all things personally.

    Through his experience in the Sacred Land, through the confrontation between Qi Yuan and Eden''s Master, Tang Xian had come to understand Eden''s Master''s true ambition.

    The more Eden''s Master resented the resurgence of Beast Gods, the more determined Tang Xian was to foster their rebirth.

    Or perhaps they shouldn''t be called Beast Gods—after all, Dark Crow was human.

    "With the strength you possess now, can''t you defeat it?"

    "Hard to say. The enemy we face is also growing stronger. But the final battle… it''s approaching fast."

    Tang Xian felt a weight and tension pressing on him.

    His hand now touched the door that had repelled the judge.

    When the judge touched this door, it was overwhelmed by the negative energies of Lost God.

    But as Tang Xian placed his hand upon it, the door suddenly swung open.

    "This… was too easy to enter."

    "Because Lost Bird knows the judge hated humanity, and its successor is also human. Though our physical bodies are not entirely human, this door evidently only intended to block the judge. Its criteria for humans were… lenient."

    The burial tomb of Lost Bird finally opened wide.

    The world inside the tomb closely resembled the one Tang Xian had seen under the Destroyer. Only here, numerous steles sat within, their surfaces carved with human script.

    Chinese characters.

    Tang Xian didn''t immediately read the inscriptions. He was aware there was a special place inside the tomb.

    This was where Dark Crow had been confined to train.

    Tang Jing, however, was more intrigued by the content of the steles.

    But the writing on the steles seemed oddly disordered. The sentences lacked fluency, rendering their meaning cryptic—like reading randomly arranged characters.

    "Dark Crow was brought to this world before the great calamity occurred. So, are these steles written by him?"

    Tang Jing wasn''t certain; it seemed unlikely.

    Tang Xian responded:

    "If you were Dark Crow and could easily push open that door, would you stay here idly carving letters?"

    "Certainly not. If I had his personality, I''d have left immediately."

    "You focus on studying the stele inscriptions. I''ll head deeper inside."

    Tang Xian pointed toward the interior of the tomb, and Tang Jing nodded and said:

    "Be careful."

    With Tang Xian''s current strength as an Orderkeeper, there was no concern that the Beast God''s lingering thoughts could harm him.

    As he ventured deeper into the tomb, Tang Xian indeed located a room.

    From the outside, there was no indication of its contents.

    The door to the room was immensely heavy, sealing whatever lay inside as though to prevent something from escaping.

    Tang Xian hesitated briefly, then ultimately pushed open the heavy stone door. Instantly, a sensation flooded over him, freezing him in place, preventing him from stepping inside.

    He stood motionless at the doorway, simply feeling the distinctive aura within.

    The room turned out to be extraordinarily plain—four square walls, perfectly symmetrical, with nothing inside.

    But etched into the walls were countless marks.

    Taking it all in, Tang Xian slowly shook his head, the movement unusually deliberate.

    After nearly half a minute, Tang Xian shut the door.

    In the end, he didn''t go inside. Though logically he should have investigated further.

    As the stone door shut, it emitted a weighty sound.

    Tang Jing heard the noise and hurried over, asking, "What happened? What was that sound?"

    "An intriguing cage."

    "A cage?" Tang Jing examined the room, noting how tightly sealed it was.

    Tang Xian explained:

    "Dark Crow used to be locked here. Once inside, it was nearly impossible to leave. By the time he managed to escape, centuries had already passed. And only then did he gain the recognition and powers of Lost Bird."

    "Is it some kind of special space?"

    "Uncertain. Curiosity kills more than just cats. We can''t afford to waste time. There are things best left in reverence, without needing to fully understand them."

    "So what''s next?"

    "Opening the coffin, retrieving Lost Bird''s inheritance."