Survival for All: I can deconstruct projections and synthesize everything.

In the void, gray and rainbow lights collided continuously.

Each collision triggered violent fluctuations in the rules, which spread in all directions, shattering stars and collapsing the void wherever they passed.

The high priest hovered high above, with gray power of rules surging wildly around him.

His hands swung out continuously, and beams of gray light surged from his palms, crashing down on Lin Xiao below.

The beams of light were like a torrential downpour, so dense that it was hard to breathe.

Lin Xiao's miniature universe had shrunk to two-thirds of its original size, and a seven-colored barrier condensed around him, enveloping his entire body.

The beam of light slammed into the barrier, shattering into countless points of light.

The barrier trembled violently, and cracks kept appearing, but Lin Xiao gritted his teeth and used the Myriad Manifestations True Self Rule to repair those cracks again and again.

Blood was already seeping from the corner of his mouth.

But his gaze remained resolute.

The high priest looked at him, his anger growing stronger.

"How much longer can you hold on?" His voice was as cold as frost. "Your miniature universe is powerful, but it has only just taken shape. With your current strength, you can only last another half an hour at most before you are exhausted."

"When the time comes, I will make you watch your Eternal Alliance turn to ashes in my hands."

Lin Xiao did not speak.

He was simply operating the omniscient rules at full power, capturing the High Priest's every move, the trajectory of every attack, and every possible weakness.

He is waiting.

Waiting for an opportunity.

Although the high priest's attack was fierce, it was not without precedent.

Under the capture of the omniscient rule, Lin Xiao could clearly see the trajectory of each beam of light, predict their landing point, and calculate the most effortless defense method.

Moreover, he was also analyzing the High Priest's power of rules.

Those gray rules of power share the same origin as the power of the misty world.

They decayed, withered, and devoured everything, but deep within their core, Lin Xiao discovered a certain pattern.

That pattern is somewhat similar to the power of the Five Elements.

The five elements—metal, wood, water, fire, and earth—generate and restrain each other in an endless cycle.

The High Priest's gray rules also follow a certain cycle—only that the cycle is distorted, modified by the God of Mist.

If we can find the node of that loop, if we can break that loop—

A glint flashed in Lin Xiao's eyes.

There is a chance.

But he needs time, more time to analyze.

The high priest seemed to sense something, and his brow furrowed slightly.

"Analyzing my rules?" he said coldly. "Overestimating yourself."

With a wave of his right hand, a thicker gray beam of light crashed down.

That beam of light was three times more powerful than before.

Lin Xiao's pupils contracted slightly, his miniature universe was operating at full power, and the seven-colored barrier in front of him condensed to its maximum.

The beam of light slammed into the barrier.

click-

The barrier shattered.

Lin Xiao's body was hit by the beam of light, and he was sent flying backward like a meteor, crashing into several stars behind him before he could barely regain his footing.

A deep, bone-revealing wound appeared on his chest.

The gray power of the rules frantically eroded the edges of the wound, attempting to spread throughout his entire body.

Lin Xiao gritted his teeth, and the rules of the Myriad Realms were operating at full power. Seven-colored light flowed around the edge of the wound, dispelling the gray rule power.

But those forces were too stubborn to be dispelled very quickly.

The high priest hovered in place, looking down at him.

"Do you see that?" he said softly. "That's the difference between the eighth and ninth tiers."

"You couldn't even withstand a single blow from me, yet you dare to challenge the Dark Eclipse Order?"

"Lin Xiao, you're too arrogant."

Lin Xiao wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth and stood up.

His body was trembling slightly, but his eyes remained firm.

"Arrogant?" he said softly. "Perhaps."

"But your attack wasn't that scary."

The high priest frowned slightly.

Lin Xiao continued, "Your power of rules is indeed very strong. But deep within it, there is a fatal flaw."

The high priest's expression changed slightly.

"Your cycle is incomplete." Lin Xiao's omniscient rules were operating at full power as he spoke his analysis, word by word. "Your power of rules depends on the power of the Mist World. When you are far away from the Mist World, your power will be greatly weakened."

"And the reason you can unleash such power now is because this place—the headquarters of the Dark Eclipse Order—is one of the places in the Mist World where the power is most concentrated."

In other words, you can't leave here.

A cold glint flashed in the high priest's eyes.

"You're right," he said coldly, "but do you think knowing this will change anything?"

Even if you know my weaknesses, what can you do about it?

"Your miniature universe is almost at its limit; your power is dwindling, and your wounds are eroding your body—"

"You have already lost."

Lin Xiao shook her head.

"not yet."

He took a deep breath, and the miniature universe unfolded once more.

This time, instead of shrinking his defenses, he unleashed the power of the entire universe.

Those forces gathered around him, transforming into a seven-colored pillar of light that shot into the sky.

Wherever the beam of light passed, the gray mist dissipated, and the decaying aura was swept away.

The high priest's pupils contracted slightly.

"Are you insane?" he said in a deep voice. "Burning the power of your miniature universe like this will cause your universe to collapse!"

Lin Xiao did not speak.

He was simply operating the omniscient rules at full power, trying to find the last flaw in the high priest.

There—

He noticed an extremely subtle fluctuation. In the High Priest's cycle of rules, there was a node—that node would pause for an extremely brief time in each cycle, a pause that was only a momentary occurrence, but it did exist.

That was his chance.

Lin Xiao took a deep breath and concentrated all his strength in his right hand.

Then, he moved.

His figure vanished from the spot, and in the next instant, he appeared in front of the high priest.

The high priest's pupils suddenly contracted.

He didn't expect Lin Xiao to take the initiative to attack.

In his expectation, Lin Xiao would continue to defend and stall for time until he was exhausted.

But Lin Xiao chose to attack.

Seven-colored light condensed on Lin Xiao's fist; it was the full power of a miniature universe, the ultimate power of the five elements.

He threw a punch.

That punch seemed to carry the weight of the entire universe.

The high priest had no time to dodge and could only raise his hands to shield himself.

Fist collides with palm.

boom--!

The entire void was collapsing.

The high priest's body jolted violently, his feet leaving two long trails in the air as he retreated hundreds of feet before regaining his footing.

His hands were trembling slightly.

A trickle of blood oozed from the corner of his mouth.

He looked down at the wound on his palm that was slowly healing, a look of disbelief flashing in his eyes.

"You...hurt me?"

His voice trembled slightly, not from fear, but from shock.

How could an eighth-level being injure him?

How could a ninth-rank high priest be injured by an eighth-rank priest?

The high priest raised his head and looked at Lin Xiao.

The anger in those grey eyes was fading, replaced by a chillingly calm scrutiny.

"Interesting," he said softly. "Really interesting."

He wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and took a deep breath.

His aura changed at that moment.

It was no longer a furious rage, but a calm, profound, abyssal terror.

"Since you can hurt me, then I won't hold back anymore."

He raised his hands, and gray power of rules slowly circulated around him.

This time, it wasn't a frenzied attack, but something far more terrifying.

Lin Xiao's pupils contracted slightly.

He sensed that the high priest's aura was rising, and at an alarming rate.

This is the true power of the High Priest.

His attack, while injuring the high priest, also brought him back to his senses from his rage.

A calm ninth-ranked being is ten times more terrifying than an angry ninth-ranked being.