Led by Kalen, Zhou Huai and Chun continued to ascend along the black stone steps.

"Is there a possibility," Chun suddenly lowered her voice, interrupting Zhou Huai's contemplation, "that the will of heaven has been consuming so much energy recently that its control is becoming increasingly weak?"

Zhou Huai tilted his head slightly: "What do you mean?"

"Think about it. First, Mr. Duan caused such a huge commotion in the Free Federation, and then you and the Extreme Ice Empress fought until the earth cracked in Sakura Country. To inflict punishment, the Heavenly Dao System mobilized massive amounts of computational power and Law Origin."

Chun tugged at the corner of her clothes and pointed overhead, "It's like a server with limited bandwidth. When the data volume in one area explodes, monitoring in other areas will naturally develop loopholes."

"Look at this sky. Forget about the Purple Lightning of Heavenly Punishment; there isn't even a single cloud. This indicates that the will of heaven can no longer fully cover all the ancient ruins."

Zhou Huai looked up at the sky.

The azure sky was as clean as a mirror. The heavy, oppressive terror that felt like one could be locked onto by heavenly lightning at any moment in other ruins was indeed extremely faint here.

"Your theory actually makes some sense," Zhou Huai mused.

No matter how strong the Heavenly Dao System is, it is ultimately a set of operational rules. As long as it is a set of rules, there will be an upper limit to its computational power.

Soon, led by Kalen and several attendants with dazed expressions, Zhou Huai and Chun passed through the towering palace gate and entered the great hall inside the pyramid.

The great hall was resplendent in gold and jade. The floor was covered with thick Persian carpets, and the surrounding walls were embedded with countless fist-sized night-luminescent pearls, illuminating the spacious area brightly. In the center of the hall, a dozen young women with graceful figures and veiled faces were singing and dancing to melodious ancient music. Although their movements were beautiful, their eyes, like Kalen's outside, were hollow and devoid of life.

On the golden throne in the center sat an old man wearing a white linen robe. He had graying whiskers and a somewhat gaunt face, but he looked vigorous. He was holding a glass of dark red wine, quietly savoring it.

Seeing Zhou Huai and Chun enter, the old man showed no hostility; instead, he smiled and nodded slightly.

He waved his hand, and the attendants who had been standing to the side immediately stepped forward, placing exquisite low tables in front of Zhou Huai and Chun, laden with various tempting roasted meats, fresh fruits, and wine emitting a faint fruity aroma.

"Two honored guests, having come from afar, please sit. Taste this date wine unique to my desolate land; the flavor is passable." The old man's voice was gentle, carrying a touch of an elder's magnanimity.

Zhou Huai looked at him, filled with surprise.

When this person was fighting him earlier using spatial projection and Styx poison gas, his attitude didn't seem this easygoing. That overwhelming killing intent and chill were completely different from the kindly old man before him.

Before he could react, Chun had already sat down casually.

She grabbed a large date from the low table, tossed it into her mouth, chewed it without any decorum, and then raised her glass to the old man at the head of the table: "Thanks for the hospitality. I've been traveling for half a day, and I am indeed a bit hungry."

Zhou Huai was speechless at the sight.

As the Goddess of Nature, how could this woman have absolutely no sense of precaution?

But seeing that Chun had already taken her seat, if he remained standing there with his body tense, it would instead make him seem petty.

He had no choice but to sit down as well, though he did not touch the food in front of him.

The old man on the throne smiled indifferently at this. He gently set down the golden wine glass in his hand and swept his gaze back and forth over Zhou Huai and Chun.

"Let me introduce myself formally," the old man said slowly, his voice echoing in the great hall. "For you Professionals of the current world, you may have heard many legends about me. However, I prefer the title I held in The First World—the God of the Underworld, Anubis."

Upon hearing this name, Chun, who was sitting to the side peeling a banana, revealed a smile of anticipation.

She swallowed the fruit in her mouth, clapped her hands, and laughed: "It really is you, you old fox. Back in The First World, in order to escape the pursuit of the Temple of Order, you even went so far as to strip away half of your core data and Seal it within the Book of the Dead. I didn't expect that after so many eras, you would actually still be alive."

Zhou Huai sat to the side, brow furrowed, looking at Chun with confusion.

"The First World... isn't that the era you were in before? Why would he be in this ruin?"

According to his previous deductions, there should be strict timelines and era divisions between the ruins. If Anubis was a deity of The First World, shouldn't he have died in the Great Purge of The First World like Chun? Why would he become the Dominator of the Sixth World's ruins?

Hearing Zhou Huai's question, the old man on the throne—Anubis—chuckled and took the initiative to answer.

"I can answer that question."

He pointed to himself, his tone as flat as if he were discussing a trivial matter: "The fact is indeed as this Goddess of Nature says. The Anubis of The First World was already completely dead when that era was destroyed. Both his Physical Body and the majority of his Professional Origin were wiped clean by the destruction Law of the Heavenly Dao System."

"However..." Anubis changed his tone, a glint of pride flashing in ★ 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ★ his eyes, "During my life, I controlled the Laws of Death and Reincarnation. I used some methods known only to me to disguise my core data as junk files the moment the Heavenly Dao performed a System reboot, storing them in the System's underlying database."

"Then, as the Heavenly Dao re-evolved the Second World, the Third World, and now the Sixth World, whenever a loophole appeared in the world's rules, I would use this residual data to resurrect myself."

He spread his hands: "So, this ruin is the Sixth World. And I am merely a resurrected one who has re-condensed a body in this era."

Zhou Huai's pupils constricted, and unconcealable surprise appeared on his face.

"Data disguise? Cross-era resurrection?"

In this gamified world of universal class advancement, wasn't this just exploiting a System bug to achieve cross-version "save file reconstruction"?

This top-tier Professional from the old era could actually manipulate Laws to this extent, even deceiving the underlying logic of the Heavenly Dao System?

"There's even such an operation..." Zhou Huai couldn't help but exclaim in a low voice.

Anubis smiled noncommittally, picked up the golden cup, took a sip of wine, and said in a deep tone: "Of course. Otherwise, how do you think that guy 'Duan' managed to live from The First World all the way to this world?"

"Mr. Duan?"

Zhou Huai's heart jolted violently, and the terrifying figure of the Dawnbreaker Guild leader flashed through his mind instantly.

Mr. Duan's strength and control over high-dimensional Laws had always been the greatest shadow in his heart. He had assumed that Mr. Duan had only reached the Realm of a Transcendent in this era, but now, listening to Anubis's tone, could it be that the other party was also a monster who had survived across eras from The First World?

Zhou Huai looked at the old man in front of him with increasing astonishment, his voice tight: "Is it because of you?"