The Reignbow Arbiter Said Nothing—He Answered with Seven Lightspeed Arrows
To ensure fairness, Lin Yi had entrusted the Galaxy Rangers to notarize and oversee the entire process.
With the Rangers involved, he felt at ease.
Those hot-blooded people were dependable. They were exactly the sort who could not tolerate injustice.
Besides, many of them already held grudges against the Interastral Peace Corporation.
Lin Yi had already done everything he could.
If anyone still failed to make a living afterward, then it was no longer his responsibility.
A genius's gaze stretches too far into the future.
He cannot afford to stop for the same matter twice.
If one could zoom far enough outward, one would see pill after pill spreading through the stars in every direction.
The endless streams of bionic courier vessels traveling between worlds paused, if only for a moment.
...
A wandering immortal swordsman, who roamed the world slaying evil and saving the suffering, raised a cup of wine in the distance.
"Will all physicians finally be able to rest?"
"I look forward to the day when I, too, may rest... when I no longer need to draw my sword."
He drained the cup and walked toward the horizon.
There, a cruel tyrant awaited the edge of his blade.
...
Elsewhere, Argenti—still gathering companions—came to a halt and performed a knight's salute toward the direction of Lin Yi.
"My dear friend!"
"You succeeded!"
"Then that other great and beautiful undertaking must also succeed!"
"I must continue my trial in the name of Idrila."
With a sigh, Argenti resumed his journey.
The cause of beauty—and the promise he had made his friend—still awaited fulfillment.
...
Within the Xianzhou Alliance, Marshal Hua had just completed a session of Taixu Sword practice.
She slowly sheathed her blade and stood in silence for a moment.
"This is what Abundance truly means."
"Those monsters—and even Shuhu—are nothing more than tumors."
"And the duty of the Xianzhou..."
"Is to cut those tumors away."
"Without hesitation."
A voice sounded nearby.
"Marshal, you acted impulsively."
Another followed.
"Ten Lords, you have overstepped."
"For the eternal stability of the Xianzhou," Hua replied calmly, "I had to do it."
"My sword does not wish to point toward my comrades."
...
Countless beings across the universe each played their part in this bittersweet human drama.
Perhaps...
This, too, was Elation.
When one's perspective rises high enough—
High enough to stand beside the Aeons—
One sees something else entirely.
The Path of Abundance expanded slightly.
Only a little.
But it undeniably expanded.
Yaoshi, the Aeon of Abundance, lowered Their gaze upon the living beings of the universe.
After witnessing the countless forms of life, Their attention eventually turned toward Shenxiao Space City.
Part of that growth had emerged naturally.
Another part had torn away a fragment of the concept of Harmony, strengthening the weaker Path.
At that moment, Xipe, the Aeon of Harmony, also turned Their gaze toward Shenxiao Space City.
They watched all things with a gentle and compassionate smile.
"All beings possess joy."
"Can the multitude become one?"
"Thus shall universal harmony arise."
Yet beneath that benevolent gaze, the threefold head of Xipe slowly began to rotate.
Just as it was about to turn one hundred and twenty degrees—revealing another face of the thousand-faced Trinity—
"A~ha~~~"
Aha seized Xipe's head and twisted it back.
Xipe did not resist.
Perhaps, to Them, it made no difference.
At that instant, the Paths of Abundance and Harmony collided.
The Paths of Hunt and Elation collided as well.
Then a colossal hammer descended.
It belonged to Qlipoth, the Aeon of Preservation.
The strike made no sound.
Yet it erased the consequences that might have fallen upon the known universe.
It was as though nothing had happened at all.
Xipe showed no visible reaction.
But a faint whisper, audible only to Aeons, drifted through the void.
"Universal Harmony."
"One day..."
"You will become one with me."
After that murmur, the Aeon of Harmony vanished.
Meanwhile, Aha intercepted Lan, the Aeon of the Hunt, who had been pursuing Yaoshi's trail.
"Aha~"
"You still owe me revenge for that arrow."
"Beg me!"
"Come now—beg, and I'll let you pass."
The Reignbow Arbiter did not answer.
His arrows answered for him.
Lan drew the bow.
The divine arrow was already nocked.
Without hesitation, he loosed two arrows at once.
Aha did not counterattack.
He only laughed and kept dodging.
From the shadows, Fuli, the Aeon of Remembrance, silently observed everything.
"Hehe~"
"Missed!"
Yaoshi did not even bother to evade.
Meanwhile, the passionate cosmic laborer Qlipoth arrived, brought down a single hammer strike, confirmed nothing serious had happened—
Then returned to building the wall of the universe.
As for Aha?
This was normal behavior.
Once Xipe and Qlipoth departed, and Aha kept Lan occupied, no one remained to watch Yaoshi.
So the Aeon of Abundance quietly moved toward Shenxiao Space City.
Lin Yi, however, knew nothing of the chaos the Panacea had caused.
Nor did he know a divine war had nearly broken out.
At the moment, he was only confused.
He had just unleashed his ultimate attack against Polka Kakamu—
A layered bombardment of 3,792 planet-destroying strikes.
The attack had only just been launched.
He had not even seen the result.
And suddenly, he was dragged into the Path Interstice once more.
This time, it happened without warning.
Usually, when the Machine God of Erudition, the Trickster God of Elation, or even the Chocolate Sandwich of Destruction appeared, there was at least some sign beforehand.
Lin Yi looked up.
Before him stood a vast and sacred figure.
Sacred—
Yet carrying a faint trace of eerie otherness.
The figure possessed a thousand hands and a hundred eyes.
Its body held masculine majesty and feminine grace alike.
One leg rested in meditation.
The other hung down.
At the foot of that lowered leg, thorns had taken root.
They wrapped tightly around the calf and climbed upward along the divine body.
Yet something unseen prevented them from rising any farther.
Those thorns were the embodiment of all suffering in the world.
Through the Path of Abundance, every fragment of pain Yaoshi endured lessened the suffering of mortals by an equal amount.
All agony became fuel for miracles.
But today, the thorns looked unusually weak.
Perhaps Lin Yi—
Or perhaps everyone—
Had underestimated the significance of the Panacea.
No one truly understood what its birth represented.
Before today, Yaoshi had been healing constantly.
Without rest.
Without pause.
Yet the universe was simply too vast.
Even for an Aeon, endless effort was like pouring a cup of water onto a burning wagon of firewood.
But today—
Someone had taken up part of a god's burden.
Someone had shared the labor of healing.
Many who sought immortality did not do so because they desired eternal life.
They did so because they suffered from incurable disease.
They abandoned everything to chase the faint hope of finding Yaoshi.
But after enduring countless hardships and finally reaching the Aeon's trail...
Would they still cling to their original wish?
Or would they instead seek immortality itself?
"Praise be to Yaoshi the Glorious."
Lin Yi bowed respectfully.
Before an Aeon, regardless of his true thoughts, he would always show proper respect.
Unless it was Propagation or Voracity.
If it were those two, all one could do was wait to die.
Yaoshi's expression was gentle.
Their immense form shrank somewhat.
They extended a hand and lightly touched Lin Yi's cheek.
"You possess great compassion."
"You understand great righteousness."
"You perform great kindness."
"You have ferried countless beings across the boundless sea of suffering."
"Your heart is clear."
"Your innocence shines brightly."
Lin Yi lowered his head modestly.
"You praise me too highly."
"I do not deserve such words."
Yaoshi smiled.
"Such virtue deserves praise."
Then Yaoshi bent one of Their horns into a crown.
They plucked a flower for ornament.
And scattered droplets of divine blood.
Author's Notes:
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