As someone in sequence 001, I also want to give up today.

Li Xian stood firmly on the red soil of the Australian outback.

The sun was so scorching it felt like it was baking you, and the air was so dry you could hear your own breathing.

Looking around, all you can see is the red Gobi Desert and the distant, undulating barren mountains; you can hardly find even a blade of grass.

"This place..."

Li Xian looked around and muttered something to himself.

"Is the God Emperor afraid of the heat or the cold? Why is he hiding in this godforsaken place?"

He didn't rush to move.

Close your eyes, and the lines of cause and effect reappear in your mind.

The thickest and darkest line extending from the Jiangcheng stronghold was now not far ahead, like a nail driven into the darkness.

At the other end of the line, the cold and obscure energy fluctuations were as clear as a campfire in the dark night.

S-class.

And it's not your average S-class.

Li Xian took a step and walked in that direction.

After walking for about five minutes, a low hill came into view.

At the bottom of the hill, there is a cave entrance half-covered by wind and sand, which looks like a naturally formed rock crevice.

There are traces of residual energy at the edge of the cave entrance.

Li Xian stopped at the cave entrance and glanced inside.

black.

A black so thick it couldn't be dissolved.

"The decorating style is quite consistent."

He muttered something to himself and stepped inside.

The passage was deep and meandered downwards.

The surrounding rock walls were inlaid with dark red crystals at intervals, making the whole space look gloomy and eerie.

After walking for about five more minutes, the passage suddenly opened up.

A huge underground space.

The dome was so high that its top was invisible, and the surrounding rock walls were densely covered with twisted runes that emitted a faint red light.

The air was filled with an energy that instinctively repelled people; it was cold, gloomy, and carried a strong smell of blood.

In the center of the space, there is a raised stone platform.

A person was sitting on the stone platform.

A long black robe, long hair flowing down her back, her face hidden in shadow.

He was surrounded by a thick, almost impenetrable black mist that constantly churned and shifted, occasionally coalescing into distorted human faces before quickly dissipating.

Beside him floated seven fist-sized spheres emitting an eerie glow.

Those were the energy cores of seven A-level ability users, which were forcibly extracted and refined.

Below him stood three people.

Two men and one woman, all dressed in dark red robes, their energy fluctuations were all at the peak of A-level.

Of the five elders of the God Group, apart from Tu Yan who died in Jiangcheng and the A-level who was taken down by Li Xian, the remaining three are all here.

All five people turned to look at the entrance of the passage, at the uninvited guest.

Li Xian ignored the three A-level students.

He looked at the figure shrouded in black mist on the stone platform and slowly spoke:

"It was quite a hassle to find you."

The black mist churned.

The God Emperor raised his head, revealing his face from the shadows.

Pale, almost transparent skin; eyes as black as ink with no whites.

He stared at Li Xian, and a hint of doubt appeared in those eyes that had always been filled with indifference and madness.

"You are... that person from Jiangcheng."

It's not a question, it's a statement.

Li Xian raised an eyebrow: "You know me?"

"I don't know him."

The God Emperor's voice was deep and hoarse.

"But your causal lines... just now, they were so bright. So bright that I couldn't help but notice them."

He paused, a strange smile creeping onto his lips: "You're the one who broke through the 'Void Mist'."

"A pervasive mist?"

Li Xian recalled the thin layer of gray fog at the Jiangcheng stronghold earlier.

"Oh, that one. It's pretty ordinary; it breaks easily."

The God Emperor's smile froze for a moment.

The expressions of the three A-level individuals beside them also changed.

"You're Li Yu's brother?"

One of the women spoke up, her voice shrill.

"That B-level member of the rapid response team?"

Li Xian glanced at her, ignored her, and continued to look at the God Emperor.

"I came to ask you something," he said. "Why?"

"Why?" The God Emperor was taken aback for a moment, then smiled.

It wasn't a sneer or a malicious grin; it was a genuine laugh, a laugh that came from the heart.

"You traveled all the way from Jiangcheng, across half the globe, just to ask me this?"

"Hmm." Li Xian nodded. "Since I'm free anyway, I might as well ask."

The God Emperor stared at him for several seconds.

Then he spoke.

Why? Because that's just how the world is.

He raised his hand, pointed to himself, and then pointed to Li Xian.

"You're S-rank, I'm S-rank, and those below are A-rank. What about the ordinary people? F-rank, E-rank, even those who haven't awakened—what are they?"

"They are the weak."

The God Emperor's voice was as calm as if he were stating a fact, or perhaps it was simply the fact.

"The weak are resources in the eyes of the strong. Just like when you eat meat, you don't ask why the pig deserved to die."

Li Xian paused for a moment.

"So that's why you're using the people of Jiangcheng as sacrifices?"

"Yes." The God Emperor readily admitted, "Jiangcheng's karma is special, close to the world of the gods, making it most suitable as a sacrifice. It's that simple."

He paused, looked at Li Xian, and a mocking smile curled at the corner of his lips:

"With such immense power, you can't possibly be completely ignorant of this principle, can you? This world is ruled by the strong. If I'm weaker than you, you kill me. If you're weaker than me, I kill you. There's no 'why,' only 'whether I can or can't.'"

Li Xian listened and nodded.

That makes sense.

He took a step forward.

The three A-level individuals immediately assumed a defensive stance, their energy surging, ready to strike at any moment.

But Li Xian didn't even glance at them.

He looked at the God Emperor, his tone remaining calm:

"Since the strong are respected, if you displease me, it's okay for me to kill you, right?"

The God Emperor narrowed his eyes slightly.

The black mist around him surged even more violently, and the seven energy spheres began to tremble slightly, emitting a piercing buzzing sound.

"You can give it a try," he said.

Li Xian didn't move.

He simply stood there, his gaze shifting from the God Emperor to the three A-level beings, finally settling on the seven suspended energy spheres.

The power of all things quietly began to operate at this moment.

【Shadow Erosion】—Copied from that A-rank in Jiangcheng, Sequence 89, causes any matter and energy it comes into contact with to decay rapidly. Copying complete, in optimization... Optimization complete.

[Blood Flame Control] – Read from that shrill-voiced A-rank woman, Sequence 103, burning blood and life force to gain explosive power. Copy complete, optimizing... Optimization complete.

[Metal Storm] - Read from the burly man on the left, sequence seventy-seven, manipulates metal for a large-scale attack. Copy complete, optimizing... Optimization complete.

[Void Concealment] - Read from the tall, thin guy on the right, sequence sixty-two, short-distance void traversal. Copy complete, optimizing... Optimization complete.

【Soul Devouring Purgatory】—Read from the God Emperor, Sequence Thirty-Two, enhances perception, plunders souls and refines them into energy cores. Copying complete, optimizing... Optimization complete.

The entire process, from reading to copying to optimization, took less than five seconds for five people.

The God Emperor sensed something.

The black mist surrounding him suddenly froze, and a look of horror flashed in his dark eyes.

"you……"

Li Xian raised his hand.

A dark purple light appeared in his palm—it was the [Shadow Erosion] technique from that A-rank man.

However, its condensation and energy intensity are more than ten times greater than the original.

"This is your A-level ability in Jiangcheng," Li Xian said. "I've made some slight modifications."

He casually tossed the ball of purple light aside.

The purple light transformed into an arc, landing precisely on the seven suspended energy spheres.

"laugh--"

A soft sound, like an ice cube falling into hot oil.

The remains of the seven A-level ability users, which had been refined into energy cores, rapidly decayed, disintegrated, and dissipated under the influence of the shadow erosion.

It disappeared completely in less than three seconds.

"No—!" The three A-levels cried out in unison, rushing frantically toward Li Xian.

Blood flames, metal storms, and void concealment—they unleashed their strongest abilities.

Then they discovered that Li Xian also possessed these abilities.

And they use it better than they do.

The blood flames of the shrill-voiced woman had just ignited when Li Xian suppressed them with the same blood flames, causing her to spit out a mouthful of blood as a backlash.

The burly man's metal storm had barely taken shape when Li Xian used spatial folding to fold it directly into the void, leaving not even a trace.

The tall, thin man had just activated his Void Concealment technique, intending to slip into the void and launch a sneak attack.

He discovered that Li Xian was already waiting at his hidden coordinates. A Shadow Erosion attack landed on his face, and he collapsed to the ground.

Three people, three seconds.

All collapsed.

Li Xian patted non-existent dust off his hands and looked at the God Emperor.

"Your turn."

The God Emperor sat on the stone platform, and the black mist around him had completely stopped churning.

His face was so pale it was almost transparent, and in his dark eyes, there was only one emotion—

incredible.

"Who exactly are you..." His voice was hoarse and trembling slightly.

"You stole our abilities in just one encounter... I've never heard of such an ability before... I know... You are..."

Li Xian did not answer.

He simply raised his hand, his five fingers loosely clenched.

【Soul Devouring Purgatory - Optimized Version】.

The God Emperor's most proficient ability was now being used on himself.

An invisible force, like thousands of fine needles, pierced the depths of the God Emperor's soul.

The souls he had plundered and refined seemed to sense something and began to struggle wildly within his body.

The God Emperor's face turned deathly pale instantly, and his whole body trembled violently as if he had been electrocuted.

But he didn't scream.

Instead, he laughed.

"Hahahahaha..."

He laughed wildly, a heart-wrenching laugh.

Li Xian stopped what she was doing and looked at him.

"What are you laughing at?"

The God Emperor stopped laughing, raised his head, and in his dark eyes, there was no fear, no anger, only a kind of frenzied relief.

"You think killing me and destroying the God Group is the end of it?" he said.

Li Xian didn't speak.

"Lord Xumi has awakened."

The God Emperor's voice was deep and hoarse, as if it came from the depths of hell.

"The remaining gods will soon follow. When all the gods awaken, it will be the end of this world."

He stared intently at Li Xian, a strange smile playing on his lips:

"You are strong. Stronger than any S-rank I've ever seen, even comparable to that Witch of Reason. But you can't stop the gods. You can't."

Li Xian raised an eyebrow.

"Gods?" he asked. "Do gods really exist?"

He paused, recalling the layer of mist at the Jiangcheng stronghold earlier.

"Speaking of which, that mist that attempts to sever cause and effect, is it the work of what they call the gods?"

The God Emperor's smile froze for a moment.

Li Xian nodded: "If that's all the methods you have, it's not that impressive. Lin Mo couldn't find you, but that's because you hid well, not because he's incompetent. As for that mist..."

He thought about it and gave his evaluation:

"They might fool ordinary S-ranks. But in front of me, they're no different from a piece of paper."

The God Emperor's expression changed.

He opened his mouth, as if to say something.

Just then—

"boom!"

A deep, muffled thud emanated from within the God Emperor's body.

His body began to swell violently, and countless dark cracks appeared on the surface of his skin, emitting a blinding red light.

Self-destruct.

Li Xian frowned and immediately stepped back.

【Spatial Folding & Instant Teleportation】

He retreated to the edge of the underground space in a fraction of a second, simultaneously erecting a spatial barrier to engulf the explosion.

"boom--!!!"

The entire underground space was filled with a blinding red light.

The self-destruction of an S-class high-level weapon is even more powerful than the strongest nuclear bomb.

The red light lasted for a full three seconds.

Three seconds later, when the light faded, Li Xian stood there, patting the dust off his clothes.

The spatial barrier in front of him was intact.

The location where the God Emperor once stood is now just a huge crater with a diameter of over fifty meters.

At the edge of the pit, the rocks, after being melted by high temperatures and then cooled, formed a smooth, glassy surface.

Those three A-levels, along with everything around them, vanished completely.

Li Xian stood at the edge of the deep pit, looking down at the void.

The God Emperor self-destructed too quickly; he didn't have time to trace back to that so-called "god" through the causal threads.

But he still managed to catch a glimpse of what remained.

In the last instant before the God Emperor self-destructed, a certain causal line within his body fluctuated violently.

The fluctuation pierced through space, passed through some unknown barrier, and pointed towards something...

It's not a place on Earth.

Completely unfamiliar coordinates.

Li Xian closed his eyes, trying to trace back along that last trace.

But the further you trace back, the more blurred the signal becomes.

It's like looking at something through thick frosted glass; you can only see a blurry outline.

The aura of that world...

It comes from the same place as those gold-devouring rats.

He opened his eyes, stared at the remaining traces of energy in the deep pit, and remained silent for a long time.

another world.

There really is another world.

Moreover, in that world, there is something called "gods".

Xumi.

This is the name the God Emperor mentioned on his deathbed.

The ability to create that mist comes from him.

If what the God Emperor said is true, then there is more than one such "god".

They are waking up.

They set their sights on the world.

Li Xian stood on the Australian outback, the scorching sun overhead, and a huge crater created by the God Emperor's self-destruction beneath his feet.

"It's best not to come looking for me again," he whispered, as if speaking to some unknown "god."

"I'm too lazy to chase you all to another world to kill you."

He paused, then added:

"But if you insist on coming..."

He didn't finish speaking.

He simply shook his head and walked away.

Behind them, the remaining energy in the deep pit gradually dissipated.

---

When Li Xian got home, it was already evening.

On the balcony, the chubby orange cat was still sunbathing. When it saw him come back, it lazily meowed as a greeting.

The golden flowers of the little gold plant sway in the breeze, their delicate pudding scent creating a relaxing atmosphere.

Lingdang hasn't come back yet—she's having a great time at Su Wenjin's house and probably won't be back until after dinner.

Li Xian sat down on the sofa and picked up his phone.

A message from Li Yu appeared on the screen:

"??? Where are you? Chen Zhe brought those four guys from the God Group back. How did you find them???"

There was also a missed call.

Li Xian thought for a moment and replied:

"I ran into them by chance while I was taking a walk. I'm going to sleep now, nothing else."

After sending the message, he tossed his phone aside, leaned back on the sofa, and closed his eyes.

The chubby orange cat jumped down from the balcony, walked to his feet, squatted down, and gently wrapped its tail around its paws.

"Meow."

Translation: Is the matter finished?

Li Xian reached out and rubbed its head.

"It's done," he said. "For now."

Fat Orange didn't bark anymore, but just quietly lay down at his feet.

Li Xian stared at the ceiling, lost in thought for a while.

The God Emperor is dead.

The remaining core members of the God Group are either dead or captured.

The God Group is completely finished, and there shouldn't be any threat to Jiangcheng anymore.

But about that "god"...

He thought about it for a while and decided to put it aside for the time being.

Being separated by a world, it's not so easy to come over.

The fact that the spatial rift could only remain open for a few seconds suggests that they had probably exhausted all the power they could currently utilize.

Without coordinates or a medium, they cannot get here.

And that medium—the God Emperor—is already dead.

So most likely, they won't come back.

Highly likely.