While I was chanting a curse, the system said I was Xiao Yan?

Chapter 178 Confirming the Target

Riko Tenn sat on a chair next to the stone table, wearing a loose white robe, her long hair draped over her shoulders, holding a cup of tea in her hand, her posture as casual as if she were sitting in her own living room.

Hearing footsteps, she looked up, her gaze sweeping over everyone's faces, and a smile curved her lips.

"You guys are so slow."

She said, with a tone of self-righteous complaint, "I've been waiting here for ages."

Tianyan paused, "Tianxia? What are you doing here?"

"That's a good question."

Riko put down her teacup, placed her hands on the edge of the chair, and leaned forward slightly: "I was supposed to be at Kuroi's place, but that person said I needed to come here."

She paused, then tilted her head towards a certain direction deep within the hall: "And He said that if you come, He will take you straight in."

Following her gaze, everyone saw an even smaller door deep inside the hall. The door was made of the same material as the bronze door outside, with no runes on its surface, as plain as if it had been forgotten in this space.

"Is Lord Tengen inside?"

Riko Tenchi stood up and patted non-existent dust off her robe: "Yes, come with me."

She walked ahead, her steps light and quick, almost exactly like the girl who ran on the beach in Okinawa when they last met, except that her eyes seemed to have lost some of their confusion.

She pushed open the small door, stood sideways by the door, and gestured for them to enter.

Behind the door was an even smaller room, about twenty square meters, like a traditional Japanese tatami room. However, after everyone entered, they found that the space had become much larger.

There was only one person in the center of the room.

No, that doesn't look like a person.

Its entire body is white, but the white is not the color of skin; rather, it is more like the warm luster that appears after countless years of polishing of some kind of ceramic or jade.

Its body shape is similar to that of a human, but the proportions are not quite right. Its head is larger than normal, and the most striking feature is its head shape, which looks like an upside-down bucket. It has no nose, four eyes, arranged in pairs on the upper half of its face, and a very large mouth.

It sat upright on a stone chair, its hands folded on its knees. The white of its robe blended almost seamlessly with its skin, making it impossible to distinguish where the fabric ended and the body began.

Everyone stopped in their tracks the moment they saw this unusual posture.

Tianyan stood at the front. He could feel the aura emanating from that white body. It wasn't a curse, nor was it a sense of oppression; it was more like a fundamental sense of existence.

It didn't exude any hostility, but simply sitting there made the entire space feel like an extension of itself.

Tianyuan tilted its head slightly, and all four eyes turned towards the doorway. Then it spoke, its voice low and steady, like an echo rising from the bottom of a deep well: "You've come."

"Lord Tengen."

With the Night Moth Path absent, the group was momentarily at a loss as to how to greet each other. Tianyan took the lead and bowed slightly, followed by the others, their movements uneven. Some bowed, some nodded, and Riche Kuanjian, standing at the very back, looked somewhat bewildered, but he also bowed slightly.

Tengen's gaze swept over everyone, finally lingering on Tennori Riko for a moment before returning to the group: "Tennori Riko is here because, if possible, I need a contingency plan."

Tianyan's brow twitched slightly: "A contingency plan?"

"If I am unable to maintain my own existence this time, Tengen Riko will become the new Tengen to maintain the operation of Japan's barrier. This time it is not assimilation, but inheritance."

Tianyuan's voice was calm, as if he were saying something very ordinary: "The aptitude of the Star Magma Body will not disappear because of her refusal to assimilate. She is still a candidate who can resonate with my spell."

Tianyan glanced back at Tianlizi, whose expression remained unchanged, seemingly indicating that she had already agreed to the arrangement.

Nanami Kento spoke first, his voice steady: "Lord Tengen, this is the deepest part of the academy, protected by the strongest barrier in its history. When you said 'it may be unable to maintain its own existence,' do you mean that the scale of this annihilation migration has exceeded expectations?"

"The extinction migration itself does not directly threaten me."

Tianyuan's four eyes narrowed slightly at the same time, an expression that resembled deep thought: "But the person behind it, the Lu Suo Society."

Nanami Kento: "What exactly is the purpose of the Rokuro?"

"I've gotten a bit of a clue about Lu Suo's purpose."

Tianyuan paused for a moment, as if recalling some distant past: "Suo and I have been fighting for a thousand years. He wants to break the existing system of magic and rebuild a completely new order, and I am the core of this order. As long as I exist, he cannot truly achieve his goal."

"So he probably had a lot of confidence in making such a big fuss this time."

"This time, he must have found a way to assimilate me into all of humanity, to make everyone a sorcerer!"

"Assimilation of all humanity?"

Upon hearing this, everyone was stunned. Then, Haibara Yu asked his question: "But isn't Lord Tengen only able to assimilate with astral matter?"

Tengen glanced at Tennatsu Riko and Tsukumo Yuki: "Assimilation with the asteroid was to stop my further evolution, but this failure to assimilate has already allowed me to evolve, becoming an existence between a sorcerer and the next unknown stage. And in this state, it's possible for me to assimilate with everyone."

"But if that's the case, if even one person has a problem, then everyone will have a problem!"

"That's why we must stop Lu Suo."

Tianyuan's voice remained steady, but Tianyan could detect a hint of solemnity beneath that calmness: "The Osaka Death Migration is just the beginning. Those incantations have already spread outwards, and now the entire Japan is covered."

39

Haibara Yu couldn't help but ask, "Then what should we do?"

Tianyuan's gaze swept over everyone again: "I called you here for this. A few people need to stay here to protect this place, and the rest of you need to quell the spreading barriers."

6

"Does this area still need protection?"

Shoko Ieiri raised an eyebrow, her gaze lingering for a moment on Tengen's white body: "This is the core of the entire world of sorcery."

"It is precisely because it is core that it needs protection."

Tianyuan's voice remained calm: "With the barrier being eroded, I cannot mobilize my full power as usual. If Lu Suo forces its way into this secret chamber in an unknown way, I alone cannot withstand it."

After a moment of silence, Tianyan's mind raced. He needed to go outside to calm the barrier, accumulate points to complete the system task and obtain the Three Thousand Thunderbolts; he couldn't stay behind.

Nanami and Haibara also need to continue their missions. As a healer, it is obviously more appropriate for Shoko to stay at the high school. As for Hiromi Higurashi, he has only recently awakened. Although he is exceptionally talented, it might be safer for him to stay and study.

Just as he was about to speak, a voice suddenly came from afar, carrying that unique languor and composure: "I'll do it."

All eyes turned simultaneously to the direction from which the sound came. At the entrance of the hall, a tall figure leaned against the doorframe, her long golden hair gleaming softly in the dim light, the collar of her leather jacket slightly open, her long legs encased in dark jeans, and a half-smile playing on her lips.

Ninety-nine yogis.

She stood at the doorway, hands in her pockets, as casually as if she were strolling around her own living room. Her gaze swept over everyone, finally settling on Tianyuan, and the corners of her mouth curved into a wider smile.

"Long time no see, Tengen."

She said, her voice carrying the casualness of a long-awaited reunion: "I heard you were having trouble, so I came to check on you."

Tengen's four eyes simultaneously turned in her direction, their gaze lingering on Tsukumo Yuki for a moment: "You've come at just the right time."

"What's so special about it? I came here specifically for this."

Yuki Tsukumo straightened up from the door frame and walked into the hall: "I heard about the commotion throughout Japan and thought you must need a reliable bodyguard."

She glanced at Tianyan and blinked, "Junior, we meet again."

Tianyan nodded: "Senior Ninety-Nine."

Yuki Tsukumo walked to the stone table, placed her hands on it, and looked at the map of the entire territory of Japan engraved on the surface: "Regarding the operation of the fine, I have some news here, to be precise, it was sent to me by my friend in the United States a few hours ago."

Tianyan's gaze narrowed slightly: "America?"

"right."

Tsukumo Yuki's expression finally became more serious: "Rosso, along with a few people, caused a huge disturbance at the White House."

The hall fell silent for a moment.

Haibara Yu's eyes widened: "The White House? That White House?"

"It's the White House you're thinking of."

Yuki nodded, her tone devoid of any unnecessary exaggeration: "I don't know the specific details yet, but my informant said quite a few people died there, even the president was taken hostage. Whether he's actually dead or not is still uncertain, but the important thing is..."

""

She paused, her gaze sweeping across everyone's faces: "According to the information coming from over there, the US military's movements are a bit strange; their target should be Japan."

"Could it be that they're planning to attack this place together with the United States?" Nanami Kento's voice was a few decibels faster than usual.

"My people can't confirm the specifics."

Yuki Tsukumo said, "But considering the huge commotion Rosso caused in the United States, and the fact that he has already activated a nationwide barrier here, the two things must be related."

She withdrew her hand, straightened up, and looked at Tianyuan: "So I think instead of running around everywhere, it's better to protect you, the core. As long as you're alive, this system still has a foundation. If something happens to you, then neither the US nor the Dead Extinction Migration will be able to handle it."

Tianyuan's four eyes blinked slightly: "I feel at ease knowing you're staying."

Yuki Tsukumo smiled, a hint of smugness in her smile: "Of course, I'm a reliable beauty."

After Tsukumo Yuki finished speaking, the hall was quiet for a moment. Tengen Riko's lips twitched, as if she wanted to say something, but after looking at the expressionless Tengen-sama beside her, she swallowed her words.

Tianyuan didn't respond to her boast. He turned his four eyes to Tianyan and the others, his voice still steady, but a few degrees deeper than before: "The barrier in Osaka is an incomplete version."

Tianyan's brow twitched slightly: "Incomplete?"

"The complete version of the Death Journey has rules that are far more complex than what you have experienced."

Tianyuan paused for a moment, as if sorting out the intricate chain of rules. "The barrier in Osaka has only one rule: any player who accumulates 100 points can leave. Simple and straightforward."

It raised a slender white hand, its fingertips tracing a line in the air. A fine incantation appeared in mid-air, like an unfurled scroll with dark red characters flowing across it.

"But the extinction migration that is currently covering the entirety of Japan is the whole picture."

Tianyuan's voice deepened: "It has many rules, but the core rule we can use is: any player who accumulates 100 points can add a new rule to the Death Migration."

Haibara Yu paused for a moment, then asked, "Add a rule?"

"right."

Tian Yuan withdrew his hand, and the cursed rune slowly dissipated in the air: "As long as someone gets 100 points, they can change the rules of this game, provided that it doesn't threaten the perpetuation of the 'Death Return' game."

Tianyan's eyes narrowed slightly: "So, what are the existing rules?"

Tianyuan explained the current rules of the Resurrection and Extinction Journey, and then emphasized one of them: "The eighth and most crucial rule is that if a player's score does not change within a certain period of time, their spell will be forcibly removed."

"Forced dissection procedure?"

Haibara Yu scratched his head: "It doesn't sound too serious."

"No, the person will die immediately after the removal of the technique!"

Tianyuan's four eyes narrowed slightly, his expression becoming almost solemn: "This rule is the engine of the entire Death Journey. Rosso designed it in order to force everyone to keep killing or fighting. As long as the points don't change, there is no way out after nineteen days."

An invisible heaviness filled the hall. Haibara Yu bit his lip, Hiromi Hinoki's brows were furrowed, and Ieiri Shoko took the cigarette from her lips, unusually not putting it back in her mouth.

Tianyan's voice broke the silence: "So, we need to get a perfect score, and then add a rule that can dismantle this mechanism from within."

"That's right."

Tianyuan turned his gaze to him: "As for that rule, I've already thought of it. I'll add a rule that allows players to freely transfer their points."

Tianyan's eyes lit up slightly, and he immediately understood the significance of this rule.

If points can be transferred, then players who don't want to kill can pool their excess points with one person. Once that person accumulates 100%, more rules that benefit everyone can be added. In this way, Death Journey will no longer be a simple game of mutual killing, but a system that can be gradually cracked.

Tianyuan added, "Furthermore, if multiple of you get 100 points, you can add several more rules. Ideally, you can finalize the rule about 'point transfer' first, and then add the rule that all ordinary people can leave the barrier."

Haibara Yu clenched his fist: "So, we need two hundred points?"

'

"Yes, that's what we need right now."