Zhou Huai withdrew his aura, suppressing the fluctuations of over a dozen Laws beneath his physical shell. The surrounding space could not withstand this mass, resulting in subtle distortions.

Chun stood a few steps away, her emerald eyes shifting. She waved her hand to dispel the vine barrier in front of her, looking at the young man who had completed his transformation.

"Now, we are qualified to discuss the next steps of the plan," Zhou Huai spoke.

Chun did not answer, slowly walking to the now-calm Lake of Life, looking at the reflections on the water's surface.

"Now, the strongest individuals within the eight great ruins are appearing one after another." Chun turned around, her dark green hair fluttering in the breeze, and looked at Zhou Huai, asking: "Why do you think we were able to revive again from a slumber of ten million years?"

Zhou Huai thought for a moment and said, "Isn't it to unite and jointly deal with the will of the heavenly way of this world? After all, you all belong to the remnants of the old era. The Heavenly Dao wants to purge this world, so the enemy of an enemy is naturally a friend."

"Friend?"

Chun shook her head and began to laugh.

"You think of Duan too simply, and too nobly." Chun stopped laughing. "That madman Duan would never place his bets on others."

"He went to great lengths, not hesitating to endure the backlash of the Heavenly Dao to break the shackles of rules, just to let us, these monsters of the old era buried by time, revive one after another. The reason was never to find some help!"

At this point, Chun stared into Zhou Huai's eyes and said, "There is only one reason he let us revive—and that is to absorb every single one of the top powerhouses who once existed in this world!"

Upon hearing this, Zhou Huai took half a step back.

"Absorb?"

"That's right!" Chun sneered. "What he wants is the power of the Origin that has settled in the blood and bones of people like us over countless ages! Only by devouring all these Laws and powers of the old era and integrating them into his already transcended shell can he have the capital to truly confront the will of the heavenly way head-on!"

Boom!

Zhou Huai stood stunned on the spot.

No wonder!

No wonder the System suddenly issued him that ultimate challenge task called 【Eight Directions of Chaos】, requiring him to quell the chaos in the eight ruins across the globe!

It turned out the System, or rather the will of the heavenly way of this world, had long ago seen through Mr. Duan's insane conspiracy!

This was using his hand to guide him to get ahead of Mr. Duan and deal with those ancient powerhouses who had just awakened in the ruins and were still in their weakened period one by one!

This was a blatant interception!

As long as he quelled the ruins, he would not only weaken the power of the old era monsters but also directly cut off Mr. Duan's supplies, stopping Mr. Duan's terrifying absorption plan at its source!

Zhou Huai summoned the System's task panel in his mind.

His gaze moved past the flickering asterisks and stopped at the task progress bar hidden at the very bottom of the panel.

Zhou Huai held his breath.

"Task Progress: 2/8..."

How could it be 2/8?!

Zhou Huai clearly remembered that he had only used Great Sage Li Er's Words Follow the Law at the bottom of the Abyss of Mist ruins to follow the Heavenly Dao lightning and strike down that skeletal monster calling itself the Human Sovereign.

Logically, his quelling progress should only be 1/8!

Where did this sudden extra number 1 come from?!

Zhou Huai swallowed hard, a thought forming in his mind.

Mr. Duan has also started moving!

During the time he was hiding in these Simon City Ruins to reshape his shell, that old monster in the gray trench coat had already gone to another ruin and successfully devoured an ancient powerhouse!

The Heavenly Dao System was fair, yet heartless.

The chaos of the ruin had been quelled, but because it wasn't resolved by his own hand, the System directly determined that the task for that ruin was closed!

What did this mean?!

This meant that he had lost an opportunity to draw a guaranteed profession orb!

"Fuck..."

Zhou Huai clenched his teeth.

That was an SSS-Class Profession orb!

Even though he had now stepped across the threshold of transcendence and was no longer limited by panel data, the Law Origin and those Heaven-Defying skills that came with an SSS-Class Profession orb were still priceless treasures!

One was gone just like that!

Zhou Huai clenched his fists.

He finally realized just how perverted the difficulty of this world-class challenge task really was.

Not only did he have to face those ruin powerhouses who had lived for who knows how many years, but he also had to race against time with that trans-dimensional monster, Mr. Duan!

If he was even half a step too slow, let alone the guaranteed SSS-Class orb, he wouldn't even get a drop of soup, and in the end, he could only watch as Mr. Duan devoured everything and then crushed the whole world along with himself!

He couldn't wait any longer!

Zhou Huai straightened ➤ NоvеⅠight ➤ (Read more on our source) his back.

His gaze shifted, landing on Chun, who was not far away.

Isn't the one in front of him also one of the strongest in the eight ruins?

Since time was so tight, and since the goal was to quell the ruins...

Should he... use her for practice first?

If he killed her here or forcibly performed Fusion and absorbed her, would he be able to complete one step of the progress and get that long-awaited SSS-Class orb?

As soon as this dangerous thought emerged, Zhou Huai's fingers curled slightly.

However, Chun, who had lived for countless ages, had incredibly sharp perception.

She noticed Zhou Huai's movement.

"Hehehe..."

Chun did not back down but covered her mouth and laughed, her pressure carrying the fresh scent of vegetation as it spread out.

"You guy, what's with that look?" Chun's emerald eyes stared at Zhou Huai. "What? Don't tell me you think the targets outside are too far away, so you want to use what's nearby and kill the donkey after it's done its work by getting rid of me?"

Having his thoughts exposed to his face, Zhou Huai remained silent, neither confirming nor denying.

"What a heartless and realistic man." Chun sighed, her fingers playing with a strand of hair hanging over her chest: "You just broke through the high-dimensional shackles and performed Fusion with so many Clones with my help, and now you want to sacrifice your benefactor?"

She took a step forward, leaning closer to Zhou Huai, a pleasant scent wafting toward him.

"You little fellow, you've forgotten one very important thing."

Chun's red lips parted slightly: "Your mother is the core of the origin sacred tree, and I am an ancient tree demon who took form by relying on the protection of the sacred tree. By that account, we share the same Origin and lineage."

"In terms of seniority, you have to properly call me Auntie, do you know? How can a nephew have murderous intent toward his aunt?"

Zhou Huai gave a dry cough and loosened his clenched fingers.

What she said was true; she had indeed helped him immensely.

Moreover, Chun knew the secrets of the ancient era like the back of her hand and was much clearer about the situation in the other ruins than he was. Since she was willing to cooperate with him against Mr. Duan, she was an invaluable super assistant for him.

Turning against her now would be the most foolish move.

"Enough, put away that seniority talk about taking advantage."

Zhou Huai said: "Mr. Duan has already started moving. My task progress just changed; he has already devoured one of the targets."