The King of Curses

Chapter 334 Pre-arranged Harmony
Everything returned to its original state in a short period of time.

Not only were they physically restored, but even those citizens whose life energy had been taken away by "Gods and Demons" and who had fallen into a deep coma and whose physical condition should have been very weak, returned to their original health.

Ignoring the laws of physics and the natural laws governing the human body, a miraculous sight.

“...remarkable power.”

Wan Dugu squinted his eyes.

From his perspective, he can naturally see the immense value of this scene.

Those who made the move did so to prove their abilities, and also to be the first to intervene in the battle between several top-tier curse masters, drawing attention without being surrounded.

Because the remaining people would be wary and unwilling to make an enemy with unpredictable abilities.

It was a calculated and clever move, and he didn't dislike it. The world of curse masters was a purely hierarchical society; since the other party possessed this ability, they deserved everyone's respect.

Wan Dugu's gaze fell upon the source of this power that reversed time—

A figure stood quietly under the streetlight.

After seeing the other person's appearance clearly, he felt a surge of emotion.

Although at their level, appearance has lost its meaning, as they can change their appearance at any time; and the use of some abilities will change their appearance, just as he transformed himself into a monster...

But the other person's appearance was still beyond my expectations.

The figure wore a heavy bronze mask that completely obscured its facial features; the mask itself was composed of more than a dozen exquisite key-lock structures of varying sizes, with gears rotating at a constant speed, resembling a machine symbolizing eternal motion.
Below the figure was a miniature "universe": a pitch-black void filled with countless twinkling stars.

Wan Dugu found it difficult to describe his feelings upon seeing this "person"; from a physiological perspective, the other person might seem less like a person than he, a "ghost."

This wasn't some kind of illusion; he didn't think the other person would be that bored. It was this person's curse that fundamentally altered their existence.

Wan Dugu sensed coldness, majesty, and solemnity from the void that formed his body; it was as if he were the embodiment of some kind of cosmic law.

Furthermore, he could see that the opponent's move not only blocked Yi Qingyan's attack but also cleverly reversed his attempt to possess those ordinary people.

After this "person" appeared, Wan Dugu's original plan had failed. So he simply stopped using "Gods and Demons in Emptiness". Countless scattered fragments gathered back together and turned into a cloak to cover the ghost's body, waiting for the situation to change.

……

"Time travel? No, not really."

Behind the star high in the spiritual world, a series of strange phenomena occurring in Kowloon are reflected in a pair of eyes that see into people's hearts.

"Time in the present world still flows; only that particular area has been interfered with."

The spell that interferes with time belongs to the "Celestial" category, and has always been considered one of the most mysterious and unpredictable abilities, as well as one of the most burdensome. In this era, it is extremely rare.

The Super Committee's roster lists only eight people with expertise in this field, including suspected cases, and only two of them are officially employed.

As Cen Dongsheng said, the scope and physical phenomena that these two individuals could interfere with were far too limited.

While this groundbreaking discovery is enough to excite researchers, it still has significant shortcomings in practical application.

The amount of true qi required to propel the flow of time is enormous; only a naturally born top-tier curse master could possibly withstand such a level of consumption.

but now……

"To achieve this level of skill is undoubtedly top-tier."

Creation and restoration are always hundreds or thousands of times more difficult than destruction, and this sudden disruptor, this mysterious person who has been secretly watching, possesses this power.

"Qingyan, you..."

……

Everyone saw the person composed of the body of the void universe. He took a step, flew into the air, and stood between Yi Qingyan and Wan Dugu.

Impartial and even, the distance between "he" and the other two is exactly the same, forming a stable triangle. This position seems to implicitly indicate the other party's attitude.

"Ah."

Upon hearing An Zhizhen's reminder, Yi Qingyan responded with only one word.

She stared at the strange "person" with curiosity for a while, and then the corners of the girl's mouth turned up slightly.

Without hesitation, she raised her finger again.

……

The terrifying wave formed by the spatial slashes swept towards the corners of the city, determined to shatter everything in sight.

"This woman is really crazy."

This time, a mysterious person intervened, and Wan Dugu did not intend to make a move again.

If a powerful expert of the same level suddenly appears, a normal person would choose to communicate with him first; even if he is hostile, shouldn't he test his level first?
However, it seems that such thoughts never existed in the girl's mind.

And this time, people really did die. Before the people who had just woken up could even recover, a terrifying disaster swept in like a storm, and their vision was swallowed up by a white light, as if they were seeing the world at its birth.

The area Yi Qingyan's finger was aiming at—a corner of the city formed by the merger of several blocks, and the tens of thousands of people living there—was all wiped out by this one strike, and all the myriad things in the world were lightly erased into blankness.

No one could survive the torrent that shattered space. People didn't even have time to feel the pain before everything, from the smallest nerve endings to the muscles and bone marrow, turned to ashes at the same time.

Yi Qingyan killed tens of thousands of innocent citizens in one go; but in the next second, time rewound, the world returned to its origin, and the citizens who had just died did not have time to experience the underworld before they returned to the present world.

After experiencing a "resurrection," those in the crowd with the most acute senses felt an inexplicable and immense pain and fear, their hair standing on end, yet they had no idea what had happened, and simply looked at each other blankly.

The vast majority of the remaining people were not even aware that they and those around them had just gone through a life-or-death ordeal.

"Stop it."

The figure spoke.

His voice was mechanical and inhuman, like a turning gear, devoid of any human emotion.

……

"Oh, so you're not mute after all."

Yi Qingyan smiled.

The wind ruffled her pristine, shoulder-length black hair, and she smiled brightly; but the next moment, the girl's tone was once again tinged with a chilling murderous intent, and she raised her hand once more.

"Who do you think you are, daring to order me around?"

*
Seventh time.

If viewed from above, Kowloon City resembles a giant cake, with its overly thick urban buildings like too much cream, making the foundation below loose and unstable; the houses scattered across it are like a chaotic array of decorative patterns.

Now, a large chunk of this enormous yet fragile cake has been scooped away with an oversized spoon. The destruction caused by the spatial slash is no longer limited to the areas that have been directly erased into blank spaces; its immense power and repeated destruction and reconstruction have left the entire city teetering on the brink of collapse. A kind of hidden fragmentation, difficult to digest and resist, has begun to spread from the corner that Yi Qingyan targeted to other areas.

The steel and concrete skeletons shattered on the road surface, the asphalt road surface softened and collapsed like damp biscuits, crisscrossed with cracks the width of a thumb; the high-rise buildings exposed their chest-like structures, and the water sprayed from the fire hydrants on the street washed the debris into black streams.

Yi Qingyan's offensive became increasingly fierce and exaggerated, drawing in a wider range of people. With each move she made, the death toll rose from tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands.
This unexpected troublemaker also displayed incredible power, restoring all the damage caused by Yi Qingyan each time, repairing broken roads and buildings time and time again, and pulling the victims back from the void of death.

This tug-of-war between destruction and restoration continued until the seventh time.

The disruptor's seventh restoration is nearing its limit. He resurrected hundreds of thousands of dead and wounded in one fell swoop, but failed to restore the ravaged region to its original state.

People who had been through countless deaths and resurrections opened their eyes again, only to find themselves lying in ruins. What was once a familiar and commonplace scene was now nothing but wreckage, causing immense chaos and panic.

The mysterious man finally ran out of power; even so, the power he displayed was far beyond imagination, like a miracle.

"It seems your power is still limited."

Yi Qingyan said.

The murderous intent emanating from her dissipated quietly, and she lowered her hand.

……

“Children who act recklessly because of their strength...both are examples of this.”

Wan Dugu, observing from afar, made his own assessment. But in any case, to survive, he had to win over one side; for now, he had no choice.

“Hey, don’t waste your time on this pointless attempt. Let’s join forces and teach her a lesson.”

The ghostly figure extended the invitation.

Beneath the bronze mask, a deep gaze scrutinized the other person.

"Question: Can we win by joining forces?"

"At least we won't lose."

Wan Dugu replied.

"If you, like me, are unhappy with her actions, we can stand on the same side; just be wary of another lurking threat..."

"negative."

The masked mystery man denied it calmly.

“I have never felt unhappy. I am here simply to stop a killing that should never have happened and to ensure that there are no losers in this game.”

Beside Yi Qingyan, a figure took shape; the woman who had always used mental interference to shield her presence was now visible to the naked eye for the first time.

As she reached out and grasped Yi Qingyan's hand, she asked:
"who are you?"

……

An Zhizhen, Yi Qingyan, and Wan Dugu all had their eyes on the same person, each with their own thoughts.

"Explanation. What I possess is not the ability to interfere with time, but merely to restore this place to its original state."

The mysterious man doesn't seem to intend to hide his secret.

"In the 'universe' of 'predetermined harmony,' the citizens of Kowloon City spent a day just like any other, instead of being caught up in a war between several top-tier curse masters."

"Confirmed. Originally, you wouldn't have had any conflict today. The ecstasy on the Mirage has successfully come to an end."

"……interesting."

Wan Dugu smiled slightly.

That's utterly delusional. If it were anyone else, they'd definitely be considered crazy. Of course, even if the other party were a top-tier curse master, he still didn't intend to believe them completely.

There are more than one or two people with mental problems among the top-level spellcasters, and everyone thinks their obsession is correct, including himself.

Although he didn't believe it, he could pretend he did.

"Can I simply understand this as you being able to see the 'future'?"

Wan Dugu continued speaking, following the other person's train of thought.

“Partially certain. All entities appear to be connected either by free will or by specific actions, but they do not influence each other by chance. The ‘preordained harmony’ contains all the information of the entire universe and all the states at all times. What I can see is merely that unchanging trajectory. Once the real universe deviates from its trajectory, it could have serious consequences.”

"So in your opinion, these two people suddenly went crazy and inexplicably wanted to kill me... They're not on the 'track' you're talking about. Don't you think we should eliminate this unsettling factor as soon as possible?"

"They are indeed unconventional, but they are not the culprits. Every change has a trajectory, and the 'force' that initially propelled them forward is the root cause of the derailment."

……

"...What are they babbling about?"

Yi Qingyan's hand was held by An Zhizhen.

Although she looked displeased, she didn't make another move. After all, the previous attack was also a test for her, but Yi Qingyan's method was too brutal, and most people couldn't accept it.

"'Predetermined harmony' is a somewhat complex philosophical term... However, I can explain this person's purpose for coming; he has come for 'destiny'."

An Zhizhen replied.

"To summarize, he possesses a certain ability to see the future. However, because everything that happened in Kowloon City today is inconsistent with the future he saw, he believes it is a mistake that violates what he calls 'predetermined harmony,' and he is determined to correct it."

"What kind of excuse is that? Have you lost your mind?"

"I Qingyan complained. As a high school girl who never focused on grand ideas and simply enjoyed her youth, she couldn't understand this kind of talk at all."

……

An Zhizhen, however, had already understood.

What the masked woman saw was most likely not a hallucination or a sign of madness, but a genuine glimpse into the future; she even clearly understood why events were deviating from the path she had envisioned.

Furthermore, the nature of the power he displays and his obsession with fate are enough to make one guess his identity.

"King Ku Rong, whose innate life restriction is 'Life, Prosperity, Death, and Extinction,' possesses the 'great power to interfere with fate.' Furthermore…"

He was the first "ancestor" to be born in the world, and the first human to defeat the awakened evil god.

Just like someone who always gets first place in exams, but one day finds themselves in second place, out of ambition and pride, An Zhizhen has always regarded this person as her biggest rival.

As for the purpose of the other party's trip, she actually agreed more with Qingyan's words from any perspective.

"You're right, he's a madman."

(End of this chapter)