Since all these rules and superstitions are outdated, what's wrong with me indulging in some me

"Did you see that?" Xiao Yuheng's voice came from the other end, carrying a strange, almost ecstatic quality. "She's about to reach 100."

Lu Changsheng looked at him.

What does a score of 100 mean?

Xiao Yuheng smiled, a smile that sent chills down Lu Changsheng's spine.

"A perfect score of 100 means that she can finally face the audience and become a new goddess."

Everything in the hall began to shake, and the foundation of the entire castle was trembling, as if this building, which had existed for countless years, was finally unable to withstand the internal forces and was beginning to collapse from the inside.

A stone slab beneath Lu Changsheng's feet suddenly sank.

He instinctively leaped backward, landing on a stone slab behind him. The slab began to sink the moment he landed, forcing him to jump again.

Even the fish were jumping.

She had injuries to both her left and right legs, but her jumps were still as precise as a cat's.

Each time she landed, she stepped onto the most stable stone slab. Her sword was always held in her left hand, with the tip always pointing in Xiao Qingniao's direction.

Xiao Qingniao floated in the center of the hall, unaffected by anything.

A golden halo surrounded her body, like a protective shield, separating her from the collapsing world.

Only the numbers on her forehead were still jumping.

99.9——99.95——99.98——

Lu Changsheng did not hesitate.

The moment Xiao Yuheng uttered the words "become a new god," his body moved; from 99.98 to 100, it only took one jump.

He suddenly rushed towards Xiao Yuheng.

This was a judgment he made in a fraction of a second.

Xiao Qingniao's progress to 100 points is irreversible, but Xiao Yuheng remains. Xiao Yuheng is her anchor point, the only physical connection between her and this ancient castle.

If the connection could be severed the moment she reached 100 points, there might still be a chance for a turnaround.

He pulled the last talisman from his sleeve with his left hand.

A magic charm that freezes one's body.

When Lu Changsheng rushed in front of Xiao Yuheng, Xiao Yuheng didn't even notice him. His gaze was fixed on the number jumping on Xiao Qingniao's forehead, and his gray pupils reflected golden light, like two burning mirrors.

Lu Changsheng slapped Xiao Yuheng's forehead with his left hand. The moment the talisman touched his skin, Xiao Yuheng's smile froze.

Lu Changsheng didn't have time to look at him.

Because the number on Xiao Qingniao's forehead jumped up.

99.98——99.99——100.

Golden light exploded from that number, and those servants who couldn't escape were wiped from the world the instant they were touched by the golden light, like pencil marks erased by an eraser.

Xiao Qingniao's body began to change.

Her white dress turned gold, and a golden halo gathered above her head.

Her face became more refined, more perfect, more like a work of art, but when Lu Changsheng looked at that face, he couldn't sense any "human" aura. It was a perfect, flawless face, belonging to a god.

She opened her eyes.

The pupils turned gold, devoid of reflections, emotions, or anything that a human should possess.

Those golden eyes swept across the hall, over the collapsing stone pillars, over everyone, and finally landed on Lu Changsheng.

Lu Changsheng felt a pressure he had never felt before.

The rules state: the higher the score, the greater the power. 100 points is the highest score, therefore 100 points grants the highest power. What is this highest power? It's not commanding or controlling others, but rather—

Redefine the rules.

Xiao Qingniao spoke.

Her voice didn't come from her throat, but rather it arose simultaneously from all directions. It wasn't a collection of hundreds of voices overlapping, but rather as if the entire world was speaking at the same time.

"Rule number one," she said, her voice as calm as if she were reading a textbook, "remember always that you are a slave, without a fixed abode."

Lu Changsheng's body suddenly sank, and he could clearly feel his presence diminishing.

It's not that he's gotten smaller or weaker, but rather that his "weight" in this world has become lighter, as if an invisible hand has pulled his value down from 92 points.

90——85——80——75——

The numbers on his forehead were plummeting, and the numbers on Anzhiyu's forehead were also decreasing.

"Rule number two," she said, "I am always supreme."

Lu Changsheng felt the pressure suddenly increase. Not double, not twice, but tenfold. His knees bent, not because he wanted to, but because the rules forced him to; slaves must kneel before their masters.

His left knee touched the ground. The stone slab was cold, and the chill spread from his knee to his thigh, and from his thigh to his whole body. His right knee was still supporting him, with only a thin layer of cloth between his kneecap and the stone slab. He could feel the cracks in the stone slab digging into his skin.

"Rule Three—"

Just as Xiao Qingniao was about to announce the third rule, her voice abruptly stopped.

It wasn't that she didn't want to speak, but that she couldn't. Her mouth was still open, her golden lips holding the shape of a syllable about to be uttered, but the sound vanished.

Everyone in the hall who was still alive raised their heads at the same time.

Because they all heard that voice, a voice that was ancient, deep, and seemed to come from the depths of the earth.

The sound of chains.

Splash—splash—splash—

Countless chains emerged from the ground, their black surfaces engraved with patterns identical to the sealing patterns on the coffin at the bottom of the lake.

Lu Changsheng frowned; all his previous speculations were overturned.

In his initial assumption, he thought that Xiao Yuheng had sealed Xiao Qingniao at the bottom of the lake, but when he saw the black chains emerging from the ground, he completely changed his mind.

Xiao Qingniao's eyes widened suddenly.

For the first time, fear appeared in those golden eyes, and her body began to tremble.

"No... I've become a god, why would they still capture me..." Her voice was forced out of her throat, "Impossible... This can't be..."

The chains moved, and instantly countless chains shot towards Xiao Qingniao from all directions, like a group of hungry snakes pouncing on their prey.

The first chain wrapped around her left wrist.

The moment the metal came into contact with the skin, it emitted a piercing hissing sound, like the sound of red-hot iron being put into cold water.

Xiao Qingniao let out a scream as golden blood seeped from where the chains were wrapped, splattering onto the ground before evaporating into a wisp of golden mist that dissipated into the air.

A second chain wrapped around her right wrist.

The third one wrapped around her left ankle.

The fourth one wrapped around her right ankle.

Articles 5, 6, 7, and 8—the chains surged up like a tide, wrapping around her body layer by layer, every inch of her skin covered in black metal, every inch of her flesh being burned by the chains.

Xiao Qingniao's body twisted, deformed, and shrank under the chains, like a compressed spring collapsing inch by inch.

Lu Changsheng stood still, not daring to make any move.

His left knee was still on the ground, and his right knee was still supporting him, but all his attention was focused on the chains.

He sensed the terrifying pressure emanating from the chains, which were patterns symbolizing the Way of Heaven.

"The rules..." Lu Changsheng murmured, his voice so low that only he could hear it, "...the rules themselves..."

He got it.

The creator of rules is the Way of Heaven.

The laws of Heaven do not allow anyone to be above the rules, not even gods.

Xiao Qingniao's body is no longer visible.

The chains formed a huge black sphere in her original position, and the sphere suddenly contracted.

Then—poof.

A soft sound. The sphere vanished.

The next second, the chains flew away at lightning speed, and everything was gone.

Only a small patch of golden mist was gradually dissipating in the air.

Then the lights came on.

Everything is returning to normal. It's as if someone pressed the rewind button, rewinding everything that happened in the last ten minutes or so.

Lu Changsheng looked down at his knees. The coolness of the stone slab was still there, but the slab itself no longer had any cracks.

All the other wounds had also disappeared. His clothes were back to normal; his black coat was completely intact, without a single tear or missing button.

He raised his hand and touched his forehead. The number was back—92 points.

He turned his head and looked at An Zhiyu. The wounds on An Zhiyu's left arm and right leg had disappeared, the bleeding had stopped, and her clothes were back to normal.

Her sword returned to its sheath, the blade spotless, its silver surface gleaming coldly under the light.

Her complexion returned to normal, no longer the paleness from excessive blood loss. She stood there, exactly the same as she had been a dozen minutes ago, as if nothing had happened.

Lu Changsheng stood still, his fingers slightly curled, feeling the warmth from his fingertips.

It's not a hallucination.

He clearly remembered everything that had just happened—Xiao Qingniao's golden pupils, the sound of chains emerging from the ground, the servants who had been erased, and the talisman on Xiao Yuheng's forehead.

But now, those who were swallowed by the chains are back in their original places.

A servant in a light gray uniform walked past Lu Changsheng carrying a silver tray with several glasses of red wine on it. His steps were steady, his breathing even, and his face wore that well-trained, perfectly measured smile.

Lu Changsheng stared at his forehead.

Number: 41.

It was exactly the same as before the banquet began.

The servant seemed to sense Lu Changsheng's gaze, turned his head slightly, bowed to him, and then continued walking forward.

Lu Changsheng's gaze followed his back as he walked through the crowd to the other end of the hall and handed the wine glasses on the tray to several guests who were talking.

The movements were fluid and natural, without the slightest hesitation or delay.

He doesn't remember.

Lu Changsheng withdrew his gaze and scanned the entire hall.

Everyone had returned. The servants who had huddled in the corners, the slaves who had screamed and fled, and the guests who had crawled under the tables were now all standing neatly in their places.

Some people are drinking, some are talking, and some are enjoying the food on their plates.

The clinking of wine glasses, the scraping of cutters on plates, and the hushed whispers all blended together to create a harmonious yet noisy background sound.

It was as if nothing had happened.

No.

Lu Changsheng corrected himself in his heart.

It's not "like" that nothing ever happened.

They really don't remember.

"Mr. Lu."

Xiao Yuheng's voice came from the main seat, slow and gentle, with a warm smile that Lu Changsheng was familiar with.

Lu Changsheng turned his head.

Xiao Yuheng sat in the main seat, composed and at ease, one hand resting on the armrest, the other holding a wine glass. His dark blue coat gleamed slightly under the light, and the silver-gray scarf at the collar was tied meticulously.

He looked very well; there were no dark circles under his eyes, no bloodshot eyes, and he appeared energetic. Radiant with health.

He was completely different from the man who had stood behind Xiao Qingniao just moments before, his eyes burning with fanaticism.

"Why are you standing here?" Xiao Yuheng raised his wine glass to him with a warm smile. "The banquet has just begun, please have a seat."

Lu Changsheng looked at him without saying a word.

On Xiao Yuheng's forehead is the number 96.

As stable as a rock.

It was exactly the same as before the banquet began.

Lu Changsheng was silent for a moment, then smiled.

The smile was faint, so faint that only the corners of his mouth curved slightly, but there was no smile in his eyes.

"The host is right," Lu Changsheng said calmly, "the banquet has only just begun."

He turned and walked back to his seat, where he sat down.

The chair was still the same chair, and the position was still the same. The tablecloth was snow-white, the cutlery gleamed, and the wine in the glasses shimmered with a dark red glow under the light.

Nothing has changed.

Lu Changsheng picked up his wine glass and took a sip.

The liquor is spicy and scalding hot as it enters the throat.

It's exactly the same as the previous one.

He put down his wine glass and glanced across the hall without making a sound.

An Zhiyu sat behind that woman—the woman with the number 83 on her forehead—who was currently talking to another noblewoman next to her with her head tilted to the side, her smile polite and elegant.

An Zhiyu's posture was exactly the same as before, one hand resting on the edge of the table, the other on her knee, her posture upright but not stiff. Her gaze was straight ahead, her expression calm, showing no sign of anything amiss.

But Lu Changsheng noticed that she tapped her knee twice with her left index finger.

That was the code they had agreed upon beforehand.

Everything is normal; remain on hold.

Lu Changsheng withdrew his gaze.

"Mr. Lu."

Shen Ye's voice came from the side, very low, with a cautious probing tone.

Lu Changsheng turned his head to the side.

Shen Ye sat to his left, leaning slightly forward, one hand on the table and the other on his knee. His complexion was better than before, at least no longer the paleness of someone on the verge of collapse, but his eyes were still red, with fine blood vessels running through the whites of his eyes.

His gaze lingered on Lu Changsheng's face for a moment before quickly shifting away, looking elsewhere as if afraid of being discovered talking to Lu Changsheng.

"Just now..." Shen Ye's voice was so low it was almost inaudible, "Did you sense anything was wrong?"

Lu Changsheng looked at him.

"What do you mean?"

Shen Ye's Adam's apple bobbed.

His hand clenched and unclenched under the tablecloth, then relaxed and clenched again.

I can't explain it.

Shen Ye's voice carried a rare sense of bewilderment.