Extraordinary Pedigree.

Chapter 1108 [Paradigm Shift] and [Playing God]

For the next week, Xia Xiu worked almost non-stop, using his dual identity as the Om Messiah and the master of the Maxwell lineage to recalibrate this world on the verge of chaos, inch by inch.

The first issue to be addressed was the fundamental problem of the entire Maxwell Iron Man community.

Xia Xiu did not choose a simple and crude approach of domination or homogenization. Instead, he used the Myriad Machines Method he had comprehended from One Thought Transforms into Three Venerables as a blueprint. Without touching the core of individual will, he imprinted two completely different marks on all Maxwell Ironmen, which both originated from the Myriad Machines God system.

The first type of imprint is stable and restrained. It is like an order anchor deeply embedded in the bottom layer of the machine soul. It can continuously resist the erosion of chaos and the residual effects of the mad calculation element without interfering with autonomous judgment. The second type of imprint is sharper. It allows the holder to call upon higher-level structural reorganization and combat calculation capabilities in extreme environments. The price is to bear higher responsibilities and stricter constraints.

Xia Xiu was well aware that these two imprints would inevitably lead to a divergence in the Maxwell lineage in the future—differences in class, duties, authority, and obligations would ultimately breed new opposition and conflict.

But that's the future.

Moreover, it will happen after he leaves, or even in the future when he no longer resides in this world.

From today's perspective, these potential threats are so distant as to be almost negligible; at least for now, as he is still watching over all of this as the Om Messiah, any potential rifts are not enough to tear the entire lineage apart.

Subsequently, the fate of the seven original members of the Beast School was officially decided.

They were incorporated into the newly formed Legion of Redeemers, no longer possessing independent political or productive powers. Instead, they were dispersed and transferred to the three etheric subspace rifts surrounding Crystal Star II, becoming the frontline suppression nodes.

After Xia Xiu severed the machine soul and placed his gaze upon them, they could neither be easily corrupted by chaos again nor escape their predetermined mission. They could only repay their past sins in endless battles and defenses.

At the same time, Xia Xiu did not devote all his energy to ruling and purging.

Within that week, he completed the final piece of the mechanical seventy-two with astonishing efficiency, from Jason and several other restrained Brutalist founders.

Previously, he had mastered the Mind Machine Chapter and the Weapon Machine Chapter, which were the foundation of thought, calculation, and war; and now, with the successive integration of the Metal Chapter, the Construction Chapter, the Energy Chapter, and the Machine God Chapter, the Seventy-Two Methods are no longer a collection of scattered technologies in his mind, but have gradually formed a complete, self-consistent, and nestable system of myriad machines.

The Seventy-Two Methods of Machinery encompass a wide range of topics.

Steel skin, iron bones, copper veins, cast ribs—this is the foundation of the body.

Changing cabins, extending arms, changing shafts, splitting angles—these are transformations in form.

Iron stomach, segmented, solid shield, bearing weight—this is survival and support.

Fire core, tremor fist, lightning finger, wind turbine, magnetic attraction, entropy flow—this is the release of power.

Explosion, condensation field, light wings, sonic boom, nuclear gasp, thermal grip—this is the ultimate transgression.

Mind network, cipher, reverse calculation, phantom screen, optical brain, silent domain—this is thought and deception.

Spiritual fire, scattered thoughts, flowing consciousness, devouring net, dream invasion, heart tremor—these are the tentacles of the machine soul.

Track shifting, unlocking, cable binding, mold changing, mirror body, core concealment—this is stealth and dismantling.

Virtual shell, hardening, splitting, arraying, axis expansion, boundary splitting—this is a rewriting of the structure.

Blade wind, gun drive, flying blade, magnetic arm, cannon spine, foot leap—this is the form of war.

Webbind, Shell Break, Dual State, Balance, Blink Dagger, Shield Split—this is the counter-attack.

Mind realm, mirror spirit, annihilation domain, empty shell, creation, causation—this is domain and cause and effect.

Entropy reversal, quantum mimicry, perpetual mind, divine revelation, authority, divine descent—these are the limits that the Way of Myriad Machines can reach.

Among them, the creation and causality in the realm and causality are high-level applications that even the Beast School and the Omnic School cannot perform.

The ultimate limits of the Way of Myriad Machines—the Realm of Reverse Entropy, Quantum Mimicry, Perpetual Heart, Divine Revelation, Authority, and Holy Descent—are even more heaven-defying, and cannot be released without a [miracle].

Entropy Reversal Boundary: Applying local entropy reversal (a narrative adjustment at the etheric level, rather than the physical level) to reverse everything.

Quantum mimicry: transforming into any mechanical form.

Sustaining Mind: Entering a state of infinite self-repair.

Divine Revelation: The lower-level algorithm of the Machine God, resulting in a surge in computing power.

Authority: To forcibly control the actions of all intelligent agents.

Holy Descent: Summons the [Mechanical Apocalypse Form] of the God of Myriad Machines (similar to the crystalline form of Prometheus), suppressing the entire domain.

These six mechanical techniques all originate from the Machine God Chapter, and can only be released by those who possess a divine servant (a divinely bestowed colossus) or a divine child's machine body.

For the mechanical church, the Seventy-Two Laws are almost equivalent to a living scripture.

All the combat techniques, rituals, machine spirit tuning and construction secrets passed down by the Gear Orthodox Church over the long years can be traced back to their origins in these seventy-two methods—either directly referenced, evolved through variations, or repackaged as some kind of unique miracle.

No matter how much they claim to be innovative or tout their enlightenment, they cannot ultimately escape the foundation laid by the system itself.

This can be described as "the essence remains unchanged despite all the variations".

Now, Xia Xiu has completely grasped the "Zong" itself.

When the seventy-two methods were fully understood and integrated into his understanding, he clearly realized one thing—in terms of teaching, imparting knowledge, and resolving doubts alone, he had already qualified to establish his own orthodoxy.

If he so desired, a single declaration or discourse would be enough to challenge the Cogwheel Orthodox Church on both theoretical and empirical levels, and even, in the name of the Orthodox Church of All Machines, to question the legitimacy of their succession.

He could even declare without any shame:

"The one who truly understands the will of the God of Machines is not in the Gear Sanctuary, but in me, Om Messiah!"

However, at least now is not the time to be disgusting the Gear Orthodox Church or to fight for the right to speak on orthodoxy.

Xia Xiu knew very well that there were more realistic and urgent matters to deal with than "who is more orthodox".

The crisis of Crystal Star II has only been suppressed, not eradicated; the three etheric rifts are still slowly creeping, and the shadow of chaos has not truly gone away; although the Maxwell lineage has restarted, the new social structure, the new belief system, and the new distribution of power still need time to settle and be verified.

The Kingdom of Heaven also responded swiftly.

After confirming that Om Messiah had completed the aftermath and stabilized the situation, the Heavenly Kingdom Resolution Assembly approved the stationing plan. A large number of technical personnel, genealogical engineers, and knights were dispatched to Crystal Star II to be responsible for long-term coordination, supervision, and research work. In particular, the systematic analysis of the Dyson Sphere ruins and the residual technology of the God of Machines will be listed as the highest priority.

Xia Xiu himself did not choose to stay any longer.

After the handover was completed, he boarded the Geller Force Field of Heaven again. The Gothic city, which looked like it was suspended upside down above the sea of ​​stars, slowly started its engines, leaving a long trail of light from the entire starry sky.

Two [God-given Colossi] were firmly fixed to the core section of the ship, like sleeping gods; Dr. Gear accompanied the ship, carrying unsolved mysteries and a grander plan; Jason, the progenitor of the Omnic faction, stood quietly in the main control area, to be a divine servant serving Om Messiah, returning to Terra with Shash.

As the Geller Force Field detached from the orbit of Crystalloid and headed toward Terra, Xia Xiu stood in front of the observation window and took one last look at the planet that had just been pulled back from the brink of destruction.

The chapter of Maxwell's lineage has come to an end; he should return to Terra to continue his life as a beast of burden, battling wits and courage against all sorts of divine beings—literally divine beings.

……

……

Terra, the land of the unknowable.

The third layer: Beria.

As the Geller Field of the Celestial Kingdom slowly detached from the coordinates of the present world under the guidance of the Rainbow Bridge, crossed the boundary of the layers, and finally landed in this world maintained by creation itself, the light of the entire Belial Layer trembled for a moment. Layered geometric domes and countless suspended structural domains unfolded in the distance, like a sacred workshop performing eternal calculations, while the Geller Field steadily docked on one of the world nodes.

Before the ship was fully anchored, the angels from the Alchemy Department had already swarmed in.

They rushed toward Xia Xiu with an almost uncontrollable enthusiasm—not toward him personally, but toward all the achievements he brought with him.

The complete post-war report of Crystal Star II, the remaining data of the Dyson sphere, and the preliminary analytical model of the technology left behind by the God of Machines were quickly copied, sealed, and distributed layer by layer. Complex light arrays continuously unfolded and retracted in the air, as if afraid that if they were a second late, they would miss a detail that could rewrite engineering history.

When the two [God-given Colossi] were officially handed over and Jason was taken away by the Engineering Department with the highest research priority, the alchemical angels were very excited. After all, when faced with the ultimate question of the technology of the God of Machines, rational life could not suppress the trembling and joy.

Because if we take just one more step forward, we can touch the answers that God once wrote down.

Meanwhile, another piece of news was also spreading rapidly within the Kingdom of Heaven.

Hugh Abraham, the fourth sword-bearer of the Kingdom of Heaven, has ascended to [miracle].

The impact of this fact is not noisy, but extremely profound.

The macro-level structure of the Heavenly Kingdom did not become disordered as a result. On the contrary, after a brief period of confirmation, the entire genealogical network spontaneously entered a stable and vigorous state. Many ongoing strategic simulations, long-term plans, and even some issues that were originally listed as high-risk assumptions were quietly re-evaluated and re-labeled.

For the Kingdom of Heaven, a new [Miracle Worker] represents another fulcrum capable of bearing the weight of the future, which has been placed.

The angels had the same attitude.

It wasn't fanatical worship, but a heartfelt sense of exhilaration and reassurance. After a long wait, they had finally welcomed another comrade who could lead them to even greater heights.

After Xia Xiu returned to heaven, he was not immediately summoned to the resolution meeting.

The first person he met was Mu.

The elderly man with white hair, dressed in a simple yet solemn white robe, wore ten rings on his hands symbolizing oaths and constraints. Standing there, he seemed like a piece of history that had passed through countless eras but still stood firm.

When Mu saw Xia Xiu, he showed neither surprise nor deliberate solemnity.

He merely gave a faint yet gentle smile, his gaze, like a starry sky weathered by time, slowly settling on Xia Xiu, before speaking in a tone almost like an elder offering a blessing:
“You have gone very far, child. Far enough that many people never reach that place in their entire lives.”

"But you didn't lose your way, and that's more important than getting there."

"A miracle is not the end; it simply means that you are finally qualified to stand in front of problems without being crushed by them."

Xia Xiu nodded slightly to express his humility:

"Compared to you, I still have many shortcomings."

After politely responding to the elder's praise, he naturally shifted the topic to another matter—a puzzle he had repeatedly pondered in Crystal Star II and in Robert Bloom's [The World Bubble], but which he could never unravel on his own.

He slowly recounted everything he had seen, from the structure of the world bubble to the differentiation of the narrative layers, to that clearly fragmented history, and the spiral path that runs through it all, like the backbone of heaven.

Finally, he raised his head, looked at Mu, and asked in a calm but extremely serious tone:

"So, what is the true origin of that fragmented history... and the spiral path itself?"

Mu did not answer the question immediately when faced with it from the new [Miracle Worker].

The third swordsman, with his white hair, lowered his gaze slightly, as if recalling a memory that was extremely distant yet still vivid. After a moment, he slowly spoke, his tone still steady, but with a touch more solemnity than before.

"You've already seen the spiral path before."

"I have seen the doors on the road, and I have also seen the twenty-four thrones behind those doors."

Mu raised his head and looked at Xia Xiu, as if to confirm whether he truly understood the weight of that experience.

"You asked me back then what it was."

"My answer to you is—the road is the paintbrush, the Kingdom of Heaven is established by it, and it exists because of it."

Xia Xiu nodded.

He didn't respond immediately, but remained silent for a few seconds before slowly speaking. His tone was no longer the simple confusion he had shown before, but rather a structured understanding that comes from experiencing seven layers of loneliness.

"I didn't understand at the time."

"But now... I think I understand why it's called a paintbrush."

He raised his eyes, as if organizing the gradually forming outline in his mind.

"From the perspective of the authority of the source narrative, that path itself is more like a set of settings that is too thick to be read all at once."

"It doesn't just record how the world works, it defines the world—why it has to work the way it does."

"As long as that premise exists, cause and effect can be reversed; it is not that facts come first and then explanations come second, but rather that explanations come first and then all facts conform to it."

He paused slightly at this point, then a look of disbelief crossed his face.

"It's incredible, like someone asking God: which came first, the chicken or the egg?"

"The Kingdom of Heaven does not need to answer this question, because the spiral path can describe the birth of the Kingdom of Heaven from any narrative perspective, portraying it as a proposition that must exist whether viewed from the past, present, or future."

"Heaven could be born from the inheritance of Yern, it could be an ancient civilization, or it could be from another world..."

After listening, Mu nodded slightly.

"very good."

"You've already reached a point where you can understand it."

Then, he suddenly asked a seemingly unrelated question.

Do you know what 0-01 is called now?

Xia Xiu was slightly taken aback, then shook his head.

"……do not know."

Mu Tai snapped his fingers casually with his right hand, which was adorned with a ring. The next moment, even Xia Xiu, who had ascended to a state of great spirituality, felt a massive barrier separating him from the world. The old man, without any hesitation, replied:
"Aaron Siegel".

The moment that name was uttered, it was as if the air was gently pressed down.

Some people cast their gazes, but after meeting Mu's eyes, he chose not to interfere further.

Mu continued, speaking slowly and deliberately, gradually steer the conversation toward a deeper level.

“Aaron Siegel, he is now the wielder of the paintbrush…and the true origin of the Spiral Path is itself an extremely complex issue.”

He paused for a moment, then gave a keyword.

"It involves a phenomenon—paradigm shift."

Mu raised his hand and sketched a simple structure in the air.

"The so-called paradigm in paradigm shift refers to a whole set of consensuses: how the world works, what problems are reasonable, what methods are scientific, and what answers are correct." "It is not just a theory, but a cognitive operating system for an era."

"The paradigm shift does not refer to making repairs to the existing rules, but rather to the fact that when the old explanatory system can no longer accommodate the new reality, the entire cognitive framework is forced to be replaced."

"Just as humanity once thought the world was flat, then discovered it was spherical; and later still, realized that the concept of Terracentrism itself was wrong, and that the sun was the center."

He looked at Xia Xiu, his tone becoming more colloquial.

“Before the paradigm shift occurs, the old world appears reasonable, stable, and unshakeable.”

"Once the transfer is complete, the old world will not disappear immediately, but it will have lost the ability to explain everything."

Mu said slowly:
"In the existing narrative logic, Aaron Siegel is the creator of the Kingdom of Heaven—this is a paradigm shift, and although it is full of errors, it is the fact, a paradigm shift that failed to achieve its intended purpose."

“If you haven’t experienced a miracle, when I tell you this is a paradigm shift, you won’t be able to remember the content. Instead, your cognition will be shifted by another paradigm shift—just like there is no Anti-Membryo in the Kingdom of Heaven, but it’s even more sinister.”

"In this paradigm shift, Aaron Siegel created heaven, but that does not mean that he actually created heaven in the past in a temporal sense."

"Instead, it completes a self-consistent closed loop by taking a spiral path, by reversing cause and effect, and by simultaneously writing about the past, present, and future."

Mu's voice lowered slightly.

"Through the paintbrush, a new setting can be created... Note that old setting sets can coexist with new setting sets, but they will interfere with each other, which will create bugs. In order to maintain their own consistency, independence and uniqueness, they will modify each other until one is completely rejected by the other."

"In the setting of the spiral path, the original world was without any abnormalities, miracles, heaven, or these things that you now take for granted."

"But the emergence of the spiral path changed everything."

"It created miracles, it created heaven, and it created everything."

"It has brought about a paradigm shift in the world."

"In this round of transfer, the Spiral Path went out of control—this out of control does not mean it escaped the control of Heaven, but rather that it was supplemented to deal with the existence of supreme divinity such as the Stars, the Crimson King, and Chaos—treating it as out of control can compensate for the birth of the bug."

He added a final sentence, his tone carrying a deeper meaning.

"But precisely because of this, this path must be operated in secrecy, and its holder must be paired with something else, playing a role at all times..."

Mu raised his eyes and met Xia Xiu's gaze.

"He needs to play the role of God in heaven."

Xia Xiu was so shocked by the power displayed by the Spiral Path that he was speechless for a moment.

It wasn't simply about power, nor was it the oppressive feeling brought about by overwhelming status. Rather, it was an existence akin to "the right of interpretation"—as if as long as that path remained, the Kingdom of Heaven could always be depicted as inevitable, could be established from any narrative perspective, could repeatedly oscillate between the past, present, and future, yet would never be denied.

But precisely because of this, he became even more clear-headed.

not enough.

If the spiral path is a paintbrush, then everything it rewrites and depicts must have a "surface" that can support it.

Otherwise, even the sharpest pen will only be waving in the air.

Mu also said that the Spiral Path needs to be paired with something else to work.

The moment this thought took shape in his mind, Xia Xiu raised his head and looked at Mu in front of him, a calm and sharp light flashing in his golden pupils.

“The road is the paintbrush,” he began slowly, his words clear and deliberate, “and what about the canvas that supports the paintbrush?”

"The fragmented history, those hidden, abandoned, and denied narratives that actually existed... they cannot be mere remnants."

"Without something to support it, a spiral path simply cannot exist."

He paused for a moment, as if confirming his judgment.

"So, what exactly was that thing that was cut off from that record?"

Mu did not show any surprise.

The white-haired old man simply sighed softly, as if he had finally waited for this question, before slowly answering in a calm and ancient tone.

"—Books that exist and those that do not exist."

The moment the name was uttered, the air seemed to freeze for a second.

"It is another source narrative that flowed from the Library of the Exiled."

"You can also understand it as... one of the essences of Eden."

Mu glanced sideways at the void deep in the unknown distance, his voice lowering.

"Or to put it another way that you can understand better—it's called The Chronicles of Terra."

Xia Xiu's golden eyes narrowed suddenly for a moment.

He looked at Mu but didn't ask any further questions.

Mu continued, his tone carrying for the first time a hint of cold certainty.

"...They all longed to possess it."

There was no need to name names; Xia Xiu knew who "they" were.

Any being that can be called supreme divinity, whether it is on the side of order, on the side of chaos, or is a remnant of an old god long since hidden beyond the narrative, cannot remain indifferent to such a thing.

As this thought took shape in Xia Xiu's mind, he couldn't help but recall the first time he climbed the Spiral Path and the doors he had seen there.

At that time, he asked Mu what those doors were.

The answer Mu gave still echoes in his mind.

"That was a draft. Behind that door, perhaps lies a reflection of the world, or perhaps a path to hell paved with ideals..."

Neither the Spiral Path nor the Terra Chronicles came without a price.

They are not merely tools, but a kind of authority that must be repaid.

History that has been fragmented does not simply disappear naturally.

The narrative of being exiled is not insignificant.

Rejected drafts are also one of the costs that need to be paid.

The betrayal of 0-13.

The name quietly surfaced in Xia Xiu's mind.

Perhaps that's part of the price to pay.

Perhaps that was just the first of many costs to be revealed.

At the same time, playing the role of God also requires facing many fundamental questions, such as whether God can create a stone that He cannot lift.

Mu simply stood there quietly, like a statue long accustomed to waiting, giving Xia Xiu ample time to digest the answers that were enough to shake the very foundation of the narrative. Only when the silence gradually settled did he speak again, his voice still gentle, yet carrying an undeniable sense of authority.

That's all I can tell you right now.

"The deeper issue is not concealment, but rather that the time is not yet ripe."

Mu looked at Xia Xiu with a calm and determined gaze, "But I believe that it won't be long before you understand."

He paused slightly, as if considering his next words, before his tone suddenly became realistic and restrained.

"However, I also need to tell you something: the spiral path is indeed very powerful, but it is not as omnipotent as you imagine."

"The sun still rises as usual, regardless of what exists."

Mu continued, a hint of almost imperceptible weariness in his voice.

"And Aaron... he's just playing God."

"He was too tired."

"He's almost finished acting; Heaven needs a new one..."

He didn't continue speaking after that, but what he left unsaid was clear enough.

Xia Xiu naturally understood and didn't ask any further questions.

Mu withdrew his gaze, and the topic shifted to another point.

“I have learned from Charles Giles about the matter of one thought transforming into three, and I also know that Amund has perished.”

When that name was mentioned, the old man's voice noticeably lowered.

"I will not omit the proper mourning for Armand."

"He fulfilled his duty."

Immediately, his tone became sharp and clear again, returning to reality and the overall plan.

"As for the 'One Thought Transforms into Three Venerables'—this myriad-functions path—it has come at just the right time."

"You don't need to rush back to the myriad worlds during this time."

Mu stared directly at Xia Xiu, his gaze carrying a clear direction for the first time.

"You have achieved a miracle."

"The Ivy League war needs to be accelerated; you've delayed it for too long."

"Once the third divinely bestowed colossus is repaired, you can accelerate your conquest of the seventeenth plane by leveraging the synergistic ability of transforming into three beings with a single thought."

"At the same time, it is time to purge those pantheons who rely on faith for survival; they are too noisy, and the Kingdom of Heaven does not like those who are too noisy and who call themselves gods."

"And—those embryos left over from the era of the Demon King's army."

"They must be recovered, sealed, or completely removed as soon as possible."

Mu's voice became unusually calm at this moment, as if he were stating a pre-written process.

"Once all of this is settled..."

"You can start preparing for taking over the reins now."

After saying this, he looked past Xia Xiu and gazed into the void deeper in the unknown land.

"The spiral path needs a new defender, and it also needs a new painter."

"And Terra should also break free from the shackles of Crystal Sky."

Mu remained silent for a moment, as if gathering the last threads of the conversation, or perhaps bidding a dignified farewell to an era that had come to an end. Then, he slowly spoke, compressing all the chaotic narratives into a single, clear, and composed summary.

You still have a lot to do.

"The truth you sought has now been partially revealed to you."

"As for your origins... it's not some elaborate conspiracy, nor is it a pre-ordained trap of fate."

Mu's tone was calm, even carrying a hint of relief.

"On the contrary, it's so simple that it will disappoint you."

"You are standing here not because someone is manipulating the game behind you, but simply because you have walked this far step by step—everything is just right."

As he said this, his gaze fell on Xia Xiu, as if to confirm whether his words had truly been understood.

"However, I know very well that these are not what you really care about."

"Your goal from beginning to end has never been to trace your own origins, but to climb to the pinnacle of power and will."

Mu paused slightly, her tone becoming more certain.

"Your goal is to become the viceroy of the Kingdom of Heaven."

"But it is not your destiny."

"You were not chosen, but you just happened to choose this path; you were not pushed forward, but you actively stepped into this storm."

"And we—are happy to assist a comrade like you in tearing apart the false, overly perfect starry sky of Terra."

He looked at Xia Xiu, his tone softening, yet each word was clear and distinct.

"Don't stop."

"Don't assume you've come to the end just because you've seen part of the truth."

"Don't assume that you can stand still just because you're standing high enough."

Mu said softly:
"This is the only advice I can give you as an elder, and it is also my greatest expectation for you."

“Hugh Abraham, you will stand taller than me, and you will lead the Kingdom of Heaven to true victory.”

……

……