Dimensional Invasion: I Can Fish for All Heavens

Chapter 53 The contract is binding; those who break their word shall be punished by being devoured by the Rock.

While Ye Xuan was heading to the Kunlun Mountains, inside a courtyard house in the capital.

On the sandalwood chessboard, the black pieces have nowhere to escape.

"I lost."

Li Chengan sighed softly, put the black piece back into the chess jar, and looked up at the person opposite him with a complicated expression.

The "young man" sitting opposite him was dressed in a long, dark gold robe with dragon scale-like patterns embroidered on the hem. His long hair was tied up with a jade scepter, and a few strands of hair fell down, fluttering slightly in the wind.

His handsome face was unlike that of an ordinary person, and his eyes contained a sense of vicissitude that did not match his age. His expression was calm as water, yet it inexplicably reminded people of towering mountains.

"Should I call you Shan Hai now, or Zhong Li?"

Li Chengan sighed inwardly.

He and Zhong Shanhai grew up in the same courtyard and had a good relationship when they were young. Although they had different beliefs and support for different reasons and had difficulty agreeing on some issues after they grew up, their relationship was not affected.

They thought that as the two of them grew old, they would gradually relinquish their power and enjoy a peaceful life, drinking tea, fishing, and chatting every day. They never expected the world to change like this.

Spiritual energy resurgence, dimensional invasion.

All things begin to evolve under the nourishment of spiritual energy, awakening special abilities; and even things from human-created fantasy works appear in reality.

The two, who were both nearing sixty, ended up on different paths in life because of this.

His hair was completely white, but Zhong Shanhai looked like a young man.

Li Chengan was not envious.

For the sake of the Great Xia, he voluntarily suppressed his own will and forged himself into a vessel that fits "Zhongli"; although his strength became more and more formidable and his lifespan became longer and longer, even his aging face returned to youth.

But is he now Zhong Shan Hai, or the Geo Archon of Liyue?
Although Li Cheng'an did not say these words aloud, the other party had already understood his thoughts.

"You always have this expression during our games."

Zhong Shanhai, or rather, Old Zhong, gently pressed the chess piece onto the chessboard, his tone calm.

"The world doesn't need another Zhong Shanhai, but it does need someone who can truly see this land as his own child, not as his own god."

"We all know where our problems lie: power corrupts people's hearts. Even if you are clean and upright, what about your family? What about your friends? What about your students?"

"No one is truly clean under the sun; neither you nor I are clean."

After placing the chess pieces, Elder Zhong continued:
“But it’s different now.”

"I have the ability to change all of this, and I am also determined to see it through to the end."

"I used to be weak and vulnerable, and I would make exceptions for old friends because of emotions; but I won't do that now."

"We are the signatories of the contract, and also the perfecters of the contract. If even we don't abide by the contract we set, who will we expect to abide by it?"

“The contract has been made, and those who break their word shall be punished by being eaten by rocks.”

Li Cheng'an remained silent for a moment. How could he not understand these principles?
However, this murky world is never simply black and white; even if they remain true to their original intentions, they are still bound to be corrupted by power in their positions.

They do not seek personal gain, but always think about paving the way for their descendants; they do not covet wealth and status, but cannot resist requests from relatives and friends.

Zhong Shanhai has now transcended human nature and naturally feels that everything can be dealt with in a single stroke; but this human world is a quagmire where yin and yang coexist.

As a deity existing only in fantasy, imbued with countless beautiful words in human works, Zhong Shanhai's complete transformation into Zhongli, his divine arrival to reshape the universe, is undoubtedly a blessing for all living beings. But what about those whose livelihoods are cut off and whose careers are ruined because of Zhong Shanhai?
Those who are currently lying low are simply lacking the power to contend with it. If they do gain power in the future, they will undoubtedly do everything in their power to restrain it.

A god who loves humanity more than humans themselves is a salvation for ordinary people, but for some, he is the worst nightmare imaginable.

Li Chengan shook his head and did not continue the topic.

At least in his heart, he was grateful for the appearance of "Zhongli".

In this turbulent era unlike any before, Great Xia needs a guardian who transcends humanity, even if it means that those who have benefited from the past must relinquish some power.

But what if we give up?
Those in high positions already lived very well.

The generous treatment, the high status, and all sorts of benefits that ordinary people want but don't have—aren't these enough?
Human greed always makes them dissatisfied with what they have and want more.

“Yesterday I saw a new future, different people, dying in different ways.”

"Being run over by an out-of-control truck on a zebra crossing, suffering a sudden heart attack in a conference room, and having a tree branch pierce one's brain after falling on the road."

Old Zhong's previously calm gaze suddenly sharpened, and his rock-gold pupils contracted slightly.

Li Chengan continued speaking.

"Logically speaking, this is not a special place. Nearly 10,000 people die from accidents every day in the entire Great Xia Dynasty. These are just a very small part of them."

"But I don't think my powers will suddenly allow me to see these futures that seem to have no special meaning to me."

"So, I remembered what some of them looked like, and after I woke up, I had someone investigate them based on my description."

He took out a stack of documents from his pocket and slowly pushed them toward Elder Zhong.

"Slander, withholding, bullying, and assault."

“Everything caused a little ripple, but everything was quickly quelled in a short period of time.”

Even when some results were achieved, they were not satisfactory.

“We are standing too high up, so we often can’t see these things. Now that we can see them, we naturally have to deal with them.”

"Otherwise, we might not be needed for long."

Zhong Lao shifted his gaze from the documents, his dark, golden pupils fixed on Li Cheng'an.

"You believe that your prediction of their deaths was not an accident?"

Li Cheng'an nodded slightly and said calmly:
"If it were an accident, that would be the best outcome, but you and I both know that there is no such thing as evil people getting their just desserts in this world."

"Therefore, it is most likely man-made."

“They were in different cities, thousands of miles apart, and the time interval between their deaths was generally no more than ten minutes.”

"If it was done by an ordinary person or someone with superpowers, then there must be a force behind it that spans a large part of the Great Xia Dynasty and can accurately track the whereabouts of these people."

"I am more inclined to believe that their deaths were the effect of some celestial artifact."

Unlike today's young people, Li Cheng'an has read mostly works written by authors of his generation, whose imaginations were far less extensive and whose genres were also quite different.

Therefore, many of the treasures of the heavens are completely unfamiliar to him.

(End of this chapter)