I gain ten years' worth of cultivation every day, and even geniuses will only see my doorstep!

As the sword energy passed, the timelines on the Time Remnant broke off one by one. Not cut off, but naturally detached, like autumn leaves falling from a branch.

The lingering shadow of time screamed in terror: "You severed my timeline, I will disappear!"

"You should never have existed in the first place," Qin Yuan said. "Time is not a weapon; time is a process. You have distorted the meaning of time."

The final strike. The Time Remnant's body shattered completely, transforming into countless fragments of clocks scattered in the void. The fragments slowly deformed, becoming normal clocks—some hanging in the void, some falling to the ground, some floating. The hands turned at a normal rhythm, tick-tock, tick-tock.

Time returned to normal.

Qin Yuan stood there, his hair white, his body covered in blood. But he smiled.

[Ding! The second gatekeeper above all realms has been defeated—Time Remnant. Reward: Unlimited Energy Points.]

[Cultivation Breakthrough: Origin Saint Venerable Ninth Level → Origin Saint Emperor First Level.]

[Lin Qing'er's advancement: Origin Saint Venerable Level 7 → Origin Saint Venerable Level 9.]

[Obtained Special Item: Time Fragment (briefly accelerates or decelerates time for ten breaths).]

[Obtained: Second Heaven Pass.]

A breakthrough light enveloped Qin Yuan. Golden light surged from within him, enveloping his entire body. His white hair began to turn black from the roots, his wrinkles slowly smoothed out, and his hunched back straightened again. In just a few breaths, he regained his youthful appearance, even more energetic than before.

Lin Qing'er rushed over and hugged him. She buried her face in his chest and didn't say a word.

Qin Yuan patted her on the back. "It's alright."

He released her and looked at the third light curtain that appeared in the void.

"Let's go. There are still seven more heavens to go."

The third level is a giant chessboard.

The black and white squares stretched to infinity, their boundaries invisible. The chessboard wasn't drawn on a flat surface, but rather floated in the void. Each square was an independent plane, varying in height and shape. Countless puppets stood on the squares—humanoid, beast-like, monster-like. Some were only the size of a palm, others as tall as mountains. Each puppet was connected by transparent threads that extended into the void, their connections unknown.

Above the chessboard, a giant wooden puppet floated. Its body was pieced together from various types of wood—oak, peach, sandalwood, ebony—in varying shades of color, like a patched-up garment. Its joints were connected by iron chains, producing a grating grinding sound with every movement. Its body was wrapped in a dense web of threads, like prey ensnared in a spiderweb.

The puppet spoke. Its voice was mechanical, devoid of emotion, like a rusty spring turning.

"The nothingness of the first heaven and the time of the second heaven are both worthless," it said. "Fate is the master of all things."

Qin Yuan said, "I have already killed the three goddesses of fate."

The puppet laughed loudly. The laughter was shrill, like metal rubbing against metal. "They are merely servants of fate. I am fate itself."

It raised its hand. Countless transparent lines shot out from its fingertips, spreading out like a spider web and surging towards Qin Yuan.

Qin Yuan swung his sword and severed the threads. The threads broke and rejoined endlessly. He cut one, and two more sprouted; he cut two, and four more appeared. The threads multiplied, growing denser and denser, like a net being pulled in.

The puppet's target wasn't Qin Yuan. It was a thread as thin as a hair that bypassed Qin Yuan's sword and wrapped around Lin Qing'er's wrist.

Lin Qing'er's body stiffened. She felt her body was no longer under her control. She raised her sword and took a step forward. Tears streamed from her eyes, and her lips moved, but the sounds that came out were intermittent.

"Brother Qin Yuan... let's go..."

Before she could finish speaking, her eyes became vacant.

Lin Qing'er raised her sword and thrust it at Qin Yuan.

Qin Yuan dodged to the side. Her sword grazed his arm, tearing his sleeve and leaving a shallow bloodstain.

She swept her sword horizontally again, and Qin Yuan bent down to dodge. Her sword grazed over his head, severing several strands of his hair.

Qin Yuan dared not retaliate. He could only dodge. Each dodge took him further away from Lin Qing'er and closer to the puppet.

The puppet laughed loudly in the distance. "You can't do it. That's fate. You will die at her hands, and she will spend the rest of her life in regret. That's the most wonderful script."

Lin Qing'er's sword pierced Qin Yuan's left arm. Blood gushed out, staining his sleeve crimson. Qin Yuan groaned, not dodging. Looking into Lin Qing'er's tearful eyes, his heart ached.

He stopped hiding.

Qin Yuan stood still, arms outstretched.

Lin Qing'er's sword pierced his right chest. Blood gushed out, staining his clothes red. Qin Yuan did not retreat, but instead took a step forward, driving the sword even deeper. The blade passed through his body, with a section protruding from his back.

He reached out and pulled Lin Qing'er into his arms. His blood stained her clothes. Her tears dripped onto his shoulder, her lips moved, but she couldn't speak.

Qin Yuan whispered in her ear, "It's okay. I won't blame you."

His Eye of Termination has been activated.

In the black pupils, the world turned black and white. The source of all the puppet strings was clearly visible—not the puppet's body, not the puppet's hands, but a heart suspended in the void above the chessboard. The heart was the size of a fist, completely transparent, with countless threads entwined, intertwined, and knotted within. With each beat, a new thread sprouted from the heart, extending towards a particular puppet.

That is the core of the puppet of fate.

Qin Yuan released Lin Qing'er and gripped his sword in his right hand. Golden sword energy surged from the Xingtian Sword, condensing into a condensed pillar of light.

He slashed at the heart with his sword.

The sword energy pierced through countless puppet strings, precisely striking the heart. The heart shattered, countless transparent fragments scattering like broken glass. Within each fragment was a string, which struggled a few times before snapping.

All the puppet strings snapped simultaneously. Like severed harp strings, they emitted a synchronized hum.

Lin Qing'er was free. The sword fell from her hand, and she threw herself into Qin Yuan's arms, bursting into tears. Qin Yuan gently patted her back without saying a word.

The puppet's body began to crumble. Wooden fragments fell, chains snapped, and strings scattered. It let out a final, mechanical roar: "You...you severed fate...but you cannot sever...the rules of all realms..."

Qin Yuan said, "The rule of all realms is that there are no rules."

The puppet shattered completely. The fragments fell to the ground, turning into ordinary blocks of wood, indistinguishable from ordinary timber.

[Ding! The third gatekeeper above all realms has been defeated—the Puppet of Destiny. Reward: Unlimited Energy Points.]

[Cultivation Breakthrough: Origin Saint Emperor Level 1 → Origin Saint Emperor Level 5]

[Lin Qing'er's advancement: From the ninth level of Origin Saint Venerable to the first level of Origin Saint Emperor.]

[Obtain Special Item: Puppet Strings (Can briefly control one enemy for five breaths, requires a large amount of spiritual power).]

[Obtained: Third Heaven Pass.]

[Obtained: Fragment of the Heart of Destiny (Permanently increases Spiritual Power).]