Since all these rules and superstitions are outdated, what's wrong with me indulging in some me

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What a powerful tool!

Lu Changsheng immediately realized that An Zhiyu had used a prop.

First, pretend to have exhausted all means to confuse the enemy, then use the item to create a clone and strike with a single blow.

Items are extremely rare in the Rules of the Strange Tales, yet An Zhiyu displayed more than three items in this dungeon alone. As expected of someone who can leave an SS dungeon, both her combat awareness and her ability to use items are terrifying.

Lu Changsheng stood in front of the door, reached out his hand, and grasped the doorknob.

The brass felt cool to the touch. He turned his head and looked at Shen Ye.

"Are you ready?"

Shen Ye took a deep breath and nodded. Lu Changsheng pressed down, and the doorknob turned.

Click.

With a soft click, the door opened a crack.

Although the door was open, Lu Changsheng couldn't walk out at all. Only Shen Ye was there because he didn't belong to the castle; he was just invited as a guest.

Shen Ye took a deep breath and strode out. As Lu Changsheng had expected, he passed through without any hindrance.

He turned his head and looked at Lu Changsheng.

"Mr. Lu, aren't you coming with me?"

Lu Changsheng shook his head.

"My path isn't here, it's inside the castle," he said. "Besides, I can't get out. Don't worry, not a single person in the castle will survive."

Shen Ye looked at him for a long time, then bowed deeply.

"Mr. Lu, thank you."

"You're welcome."

Shen Ye turned around and walked into the moonlight.

His figure receded further and further away on the stone path, growing smaller and smaller until it finally disappeared into the shadows of the forest.

Lu Changsheng stood at the door, looking in the direction Shen Ye had disappeared, then he turned around and looked at An Zhiyu.

An Zhiyu stood behind him, her sword already sheathed. Her face was a little pale, and fine beads of sweat glistened on her forehead, but her eyes were bright.

"Let's go," Lu Changsheng said.

"Where to?"

"Go find Xiao Yuheng."

An Zhiyu nodded.

The two of them turned around at the same time and walked deeper into the castle.

Behind me, the door slowly closed.

The moment the door closed, Lu Changsheng heard two voices.

The first sound came from outside the door. Shen Ye's footsteps echoed on the stone path, fading into the distance.

The second sound came from inside the door. A dull thud, like a giant hammer striking an anvil.

An Zhiyu stopped and looked back. The two wooden doors, carved with dancing figures, were now quietly closed.

"The door is sealed shut," An Zhiyu said.

Lu Changsheng didn't turn around. He looked ahead, and the sounds of fighting coming from the hall had changed. It was no longer the performative fighting to gain points, but a more primitive and savage battle.

The dull thud, the hissing sound of a sharp blade piercing flesh, and the groans emanating from the throats of the dying.

"The ninth-level ceremony is over," Lu Changsheng said in a low voice, "but the fighting continues."

They arrived at the corridor and slowly walked towards the hall.

The scene in the lobby was even worse than Lu Changsheng had anticipated.

The numbers disappeared, and not only that, the chains that appeared every ten minutes also vanished. Those black chains that once surged from the ground and devoured the lowest-scoring players were now nowhere to be found.

There were at least a hundred corpses lying on the ground, scattered haphazardly on the stone slabs.

Fewer than thirty people were still alive, and they were tearing at each other in various corners of the lobby.

Lu Changsheng stood at the top of the stairs, his gaze sweeping across the lobby.

Then he saw Xiao Yuheng in the center of the hall.

He took off his black robe, leaving him in only a white shirt. The shirt was covered in blood, and he gripped a short blade in his right hand.

There were at least a dozen corpses lying around him. Each corpse had a small wound in the same spot—the carotid artery. A single, precise, clean cut, leaving no room for error.

Xiao Yuheng's face remained expressionless.

That gentle, jade-like face, always adorned with a perfectly timed smile, now resembled a mask soaked in water; all expression had dissolved, leaving only coldness.

He looked up and saw Lu Changsheng.

His grey eyes looked eerie and terrifying against the backdrop of moonlight and blood. Then, the corners of his mouth curved slightly.

"Mr. Lu." Xiao Yuheng's voice was exactly the same as usual, unhurried and calm, like a still pond. "You've arrived."

"You should know that Meng Boyuan is dead," Lu Changsheng said, looking at him. "He was killed by us."

Xiao Yuheng raised an eyebrow. The movement was so subtle it was almost imperceptible, but Lu Changsheng caught it. It seemed Xiao Yuheng truly hadn't expected Meng Boyuan to die.

"Really?" Xiao Yuheng said, his tone as indifferent as if he were asking about the weather. "What a pity."

"It seems you've seen Shen Ye off," Xiao Yuheng continued. "Very good. I was going to see him off too, just in a slightly different way."

He lowered his head and looked at the scalpel-like short blade in his hand.

Lu Changsheng's brows twitched slightly, but he didn't say anything. He continued to look at Xiao Yuheng, waiting to see what he could say.

"But it's alright. Mr. Lu, do you know why Meng Boyuan wanted to kill those people?"

Lu Changsheng remained silent.

"Because he wanted to escape," Xiao Yuheng said. "He thought that as long as he killed everyone, the last survivor could leave. He thought he was helping himself. Actually, he was helping me all along."

He raised his head and looked at Lu Changsheng, the molten light in his right eye flickering.

Do you know why?

Lu Changsheng remained silent for a moment.

"Because you also want to kill everyone," Lu Changsheng said, "but not to escape."

Xiao Yuheng's eyes lit up.

"Mr. Lu is indeed clever," Xiao Yuheng said, his voice filled with genuine admiration. "You guessed it. On the surface, Meng Boyuan and I have the same goal—to keep this fight going until only one person remains. But our goals are completely different."

He took a step toward Lu Changsheng, and An Zhiyu's sword was drawn an inch from its sheath. The silver blade gleamed coldly in the moonlight, and the edge was still stained with Meng Boyuan's blood, dark red and half-dried.

Xiao Yuheng glanced at An Zhiyu, then at her sword, before turning his gaze back to Lu Changsheng.

"Meng Boyuan's goal is the ninth-level ritual, to become the last living person besides the castle's owner, so he can leave. Therefore, he is the one who most wants to kill Shen Ye, not me. I just helped him out."

He smiled, but it was a cold smile.

"My goal is to leave only me in this castle, whether I am killed or everyone else escapes."

"Because once I'm the only one left, everything in the castle will reset."

"Then Xiao Qingniao will reappear. Not resurrected, but refreshed. Like an NPC in a game, she regenerates at a fixed location after she dies. Her score is still 99, her body is still intact, but her memories are all gone."

His voice suddenly became very low, so low that it sounded like he was telling a secret that only he could hear.

"Then I will become a slave. Ninth rank. Starting from scratch, I will follow the same path that Meng Boyuan walked, lie low until the ninth rank ceremony, then kill everyone except the castle's owner, and then walk out."

Lu Changsheng's pupils contracted slightly.

"Is this what you wanted?"

Xiao Yuheng looked at him, and there seemed to be a strange light flickering in his eyes.

"So, Mr. Lu, Meng Boyuan killed people to help himself escape. I killed people to prevent everyone from getting out. He thought he was helping me, but he was actually making things worse. But it doesn't matter, he's dead, it's the same if I do it myself."

He turned and killed the man who lunged at him, then slowly walked towards Lu Changsheng.

When Xiao Yuheng took his first step, Lu Changsheng felt that power.

It was a more fundamental force. His knees sank slightly, as if an invisible hand had pressed down on his shoulders. The force was not heavy, but it carried an irresistible majesty.

That is the power of rules.

Xiao Yuheng is still the owner of the castle. Shen Ye has escaped, the numbers have disappeared, but the audience is still there, the rules of rating are still there, and Xiao Yuheng is still the apparent owner of this castle.

Because the last person who could strip him of his master status has not yet appeared, and Xiao Qingniao has not yet been refreshed, he is still the person with the highest score in this ancient castle.

Even though the scores no longer exist, the rules still remember. The rules are like a snake with its head cut off, its body still writhing, still attacking, still executing those meaningless instructions.

"Mr. Lu," Xiao Yuheng's voice was unhurried, each word as if carved into a stone slab, "Have you ever considered this question?"

Lu Changsheng remained silent. His fingers gripped the talisman inside his sleeve, and spiritual energy circulated within his body. However, the power of the rules acted like a transparent membrane, adhering to his skin and pressing down on his meridians, making the flow of spiritual energy slow and difficult.

"You were using a power that doesn't belong to this world while you were in my castle," Xiao Yuheng took another step. "But have you ever considered—that the castle itself doesn't belong to this world either?"

Lu Changsheng's pupils contracted slightly.

"The castle was built by the audience. The audience built it using their rules, their logic, and their aesthetics. You are inside the castle—"

He stopped, less than ten meters away from Lu Changsheng.

"There is no chance of winning."

He raised his right hand, spread his five fingers, and gently pushed his palm towards Lu Changsheng.

The power of the rules exploded. Xiao Yuheng was issuing commands to this world, and the world obeyed. An invisible force surged from Xiao Yuheng's palm, like a transparent wall, crushing down on Lu Changsheng and An Zhiyu.

An Zhiyu's sword moved, the silver blade drawing a dazzling arc in the moonlight before slashing at the transparent wall.

The collision of metal and regularity produced a strange sound.

The blade cleaved a crack. The crack spread across the transparent wall, expanding outwards like a spiderweb. But the crack healed faster than it spread, disappearing almost as soon as it appeared.

"Very strong, but useless." Xiao Yuheng's voice came from the other side of the wall, with an inhuman quality. "Here, what I say goes."

He opened his mouth and uttered the first word.

"kneel."

The moment that word fell, Lu Changsheng felt as if his knee had been struck by two iron hammers at the same time.

His left knee hit 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 separating his kneecap from the stone slab. He could feel the cracks in the slab digging into his skin.

An Zhiyu was still holding on; her sword was stuck in the ground, and she was using the sword to support her body, her hands gripping the hilt.

Xiao Yuheng looked at the two struggling figures and smiled.

He stopped in front of Lu Changsheng and looked down at him.

The number of people still fighting in the hall had dwindled to less than twenty, tearing at each other in various corners of the hall.

Their eyes were red, their faces were contorted, and they emitted low growls like wild beasts.

"kill."

Xiao Yuheng coldly uttered a single word.

The moment that word was uttered, the sounds of fighting in the hall suddenly changed. Those who were still fighting moved mechanically, as Xiao Yuheng's command was imposed upon them like a rule.

"Mr. Lu, you see? At this moment, before Xiao Qingniao reappears and before the castle rules are restored, I am the rules themselves."

"Do you see that?" Xiao Yuheng's voice echoed in the hall. "This is the power of the castle's owner."

He turned around and looked at Lu Changsheng.

"I'm curious, what do you have left to turn things around at this point?"

Lu Changsheng did not answer.

He turned his head and looked at An Zhiyu.

An Zhiyu knelt on one knee a short distance away, her sword stuck in the ground, her hands gripping the hilt to support her body.

Their eyes met for a moment in the air, without saying a word, but An Zhiyu understood what was in Lu Changsheng's eyes.

Hold him off.

An Zhiyu nodded slightly.

Lu Changsheng withdrew his gaze and pulled a talisman from his sleeve. This talisman was different from all the previous ones; it was black. It wasn't drawn with cinnabar, but with his own blood mixed with some grayish-white powder.

He held the talisman between his index and middle fingers, closed his eyes, and let his spiritual energy flow wildly through his body.

His lips began to move, silently reciting something. With each syllable that escaped his lips, the temperature in the air dropped by one degree.

Xiao Yuheng sensed something, and when he looked down at Lu Changsheng, his pupils suddenly contracted.

"What are you doing?"

The increasingly cold and deathly atmosphere around him made Xiao Yuheng's temples throb. His sixth sense told him that something was wrong.

Lu Changsheng's abilities were completely beyond his capabilities. He had no idea what Lu Changsheng would do next or what abilities he would use.

Xiao Yuheng was always a very decisive person. Faced with potential risks, he suddenly raised his right hand, spread his five fingers, and pressed down hard on Lu Changsheng below.

"die."

However, his movements were stopped. The moment his expression changed, An Zhiyu stuffed a black pill into her mouth. She had already moved the instant Xiao Yuheng made a move.

Cola Novels: turn the page and you're in another world.