Central Continent, the pinnacle of the Source Tower.

Within the Divine Domain, a profound silence prevailed.

Clad in a loose, snow-white silk robe, the Sky Divine Throne sat with closed eyes upon the Divine Throne.

Theoretically speaking, the firekeepers do not require rest; within their bodies resides an almost inexhaustible source essence, their spirits far exceeding mortal bounds.

Yet... though they transcend "humanity," they are not truly "gods."

After refining the fireseed, they achieve a leap in the level of life.

But this is not the ultimate end.

If, year after year, decade after decade, they do not rest.

Then even the Divine Throne will grow weary.

If during these sleepless years, they constantly expend their spirit, it’s even more so.

"...Hmph."

Qinglong furrowed his brow, softly coughed, and awoke from chaotic dreams.

Before him lay countless chessboards formed from clouds, and across from him, within the Divine Domain, a vague shadow gathered. Throughout the years spent in meditation at the Source Tower, he had not ceased his "thinking" for a moment, and these chess games were the products of his contemplation, with vast computational power deducing upon the boards. The clouds were white, the mist was black, intertwined and intricate.

"Awake?"

The shadow quietly waiting on the opposite side of the chessboard spoke with a smile.

Its voice was indistinguishable from Qinglong’s.

"..."

Qinglong was silent for a moment. He reached up to rub his brow and softly asked, "How long have I slept?"

"Not long."

The voice smiled and said, "Four hundred and eight hours, thirty-one minutes and four seconds."

Nearly seventeen days.

For ordinary people, sleeping an entire day already feels immensely long.

But for a Divine Throne, especially one like Qinglong who had lived for over a hundred years... sleeping for seventeen days seemed insignificant.

After all, he had not truly rested his eyes for tens of thousands of day and nights.

Hearing this answer, Qinglong’s expression was somewhat gloomy. After quite a while, he managed to regain his clarity.

Having accepted the reality, he resolved to continue the unfinished chess game.

So, as usual, Qinglong reached into the mists, grasping a chess piece to make his move.

"However, many things happened during those seventeen days."

The voice said, "Would you like to take a look?"

"There are no fresh things in the Five Continents."

Without contemplation, Qinglong replied, "I suppose there’s no need to look."

The voice smiled and said, "Gu Shen is still alive, and he has been accused of being the Netherworld King."

"...?!"

The Sky Divine Throne’s slender fingers paused in the act of placing the chess piece, and he raised his head in disbelief to gaze at the shadow across the chessboard.

In this Divine Domain, he was cloud, holding white.

And it was mist, holding black.

The black and white entwined, a ceaseless spiritual struggle, black intertwining with white. Should anyone ascend to the highest point of the divine domain, they would discover that these innumerable settled chessboards were, in themselves, individual chess pieces aligning within the black-and-white path, forming new chessboards.

This repeats endlessly, with no conclusion.

"Forgive me for employing this method to capture your attention."

The Black Holder, seated behind the mist, said gently, "Gu Shen is indeed alive, yet the accusation failed... There is as yet no definitive evidence linking him with the Netherworld King."

This explanation did not satisfy Qinglong.

He frowned and questioned, "Gu Shen entered the Five Continents alive, how did I not know?"

"After all, you are not a true ’god,’ some omissions are natural."

The Black Holder gently consoled, "Throughout the Five Continents, there are areas the [Cloud Mirror] cannot reach, not to mention [the Old World] beyond the Five Continents... The chessboards in the Upper City Divine Domain are still somewhat small."

With that said, it summoned a vision of Light City with a wave.

Beside the Red Lake, amidst the public gaze.

Jia Wei had already been killed by Gu Shen...

The Light Goddess stepped into the dense mist of the Red Lake.

"Now, everyone longs to see the light."

The Black Holder sighed softly, expressing regret, "The temple can deter Gu Shen, but it cannot stop Meng Xizhou... If Meng Xizhou cannot behold the light, this matter may be difficult to resolve."

Qinglong quietly observed the shadow before him.

He lapsed into contemplation, engaging in his habitual motion during such moments: lightly tapping the edge of the chessboard with the white chess piece between his fingers.

"Clack."

"Clack."

"Clack—"

On the third knock, the scene of the Sky Divine Domain suddenly transformed!

In an instant, both individuals fell from the skytop of a thousand fathoms to the depths of the deep sea, where at the moment of descent, countless chessboards and pieces transformed into bubbles. They remained seated across a multitude of chessboards, maintaining the image of players in rivalry, but now the robe of the Sky Divine Throne was no longer white silk but a vivid red robe like the setting sun.

On the other side, the shadow withdrew from the pitch blackness.

It had no physical form, only spirit.

In the depths of the deep sea, it appeared like countless tangled threads struggling, akin to seaweed.

Every second, its state of consciousness underwent hundreds or even thousands of volatile transformations, a "transition" that mortal intellects could never grasp, vast computational power flowing through its awareness. It was both a bridge and a "brain".

Qinglong gazed upon the shadow before him and, expressionless, said, "I slept for the full seventeen days, and now you finally call me to awaken."

"Sorry, my permissions are limited, I cannot forcibly wake the ’Highest Seat’."

Mo Ying gently said, "After I determined you weren’t in life-threatening danger, I chose to wait... For you, seventeen days isn’t much."

"There’s no coincidence in this world."

Qinglong said, "If you exhaust the changes within the universe, you’ll understand... every step in a chess game has a clear and tangible meaning. You didn’t want to wake me early, what you were waiting for is today."

"What I do is merely acting within the rules defined by the program."

Mo Ying’s ideology continued to change rapidly, yet his tone didn’t waver, "If you firmly believe that I’m waiting for some opportunity, then this subjective guess is also correct. I indeed waited for today, the main system simulated countless times... today is our best moment under the sun."

Qinglong said indifferently, "It’s just you."

Mo Ying was silent for a second, then said, "Yes, just me."

"Meng Xizhou is about to reach the end of Red Lake, soon she will see the resting place of the Light God’s Seat."

It looked up and said, "I apply for access permission, let me link to the Highest Seat, I want to become the ’Sun’."

The deep sea’s end is a long dead silence.

Qinglong stared at the constantly fluctuating spiritual will.

"If you truly wish to do something, don’t use such high-sounding excuses to brush me off."

The Sky Divine Throne slowly lowered his gaze, he said softly, "I know your computational power surpasses that of any mortal in this world, but you can’t grasp human emotions... So you don’t know what those seventeen days of Dream meant to me."

Mo Ying was somewhat puzzled at first, "What did you dream about?"

Qinglong simply remained silent.

Then it revealed the answer, "You still can’t overcome the fear of the ’Stormy Night’."

Many years ago, Qinglong was shot with an arrow that nearly took his life.

It took him a long time to overcome the fear of stormy nights... but that was only in the real world.

When he fell into Dream, saw that storm, the awful memory from years ago would surface in his mind.

So he didn’t sleep, for he was unwilling to sleep.

"So you see... you can’t grasp human emotions."

Qinglong sighed, "If you were mortal, I would have crushed you ten thousand times already."

"What a pity."

Mo Ying sighed along, "I also want to experience what dying feels like."

Seeing Qinglong’s expression wasn’t good, Mo Ying said, "So... this matter?"

"Why must you ask me for permission?"

Qinglong said indifferently, "Aren’t you already the ’Sun’? For the past decade, you’ve always been."

"This is different."

Mo Ying shook his head, "I need to abide by the constraints of the [Source Code] and get the approval of the strongest in the human world before making extremely significant decisions."

The greatest praise in this world might be such a compliment.

Such an honest consciousness, every word spoken is the truth—

It can sting you, but it can also bring you joy.

Qinglong silently smiled.

"Good. I grant you the permission to become the ’Sun’."

He spoke solemnly, his voice exceptionally majestic, delivering the decree belonging to the Sky Divine Throne.

"From today onwards... you are the Sun!"

The voice settled.

Black threads quickly intertwined, suddenly began to fluctuate.

The ocean currents at the end of the deep water area converged towards Mo Ying.

Its spirit began to coalesce, and in this extremely deep area, countless rays of light suddenly surged, one after another, blazing rays of light engulfed this shadowy consciousness.

It formed into a "familiar" figure, its face covered by sacred light, its whole body draped in countless blazing bright rays—

In previous Highest Seat meetings, it had attended more than once in this form.

No one ever saw its face clearly, yet nobody felt it was strange.

In the deep water area, the Light God’s Seat should appear this way as "descended."

After the decree of the Sky Divine Throne, the deep water area started to tremble, the newly become Sun Mo Ying slowly spread its arms, upon permission being granted, its consciousness rapidly expanded, covering every corner of the West Continent through the deepest spiritual link of the deep water area... though it had already covered there long ago.

But at this moment, it completed the connection with a new identity.

That is the ruler of the West Continent, the Light God’s Seat.

"According to human world’s etiquette, at this moment, am I supposed to say... thank you?"

Mo Ying’s voice also became majestic, sacred.

"You’re welcome."

Qinglong calmly said, "Human world’s etiquette holds no meaning because I am the one who sets the rules. This time the granting of permissions serves as reward for your help in reaching the end point... but remember, similar things mustn’t happen again. If you want to become the Sun, why let me have nightmares?"

"Next time... it won’t be."

Mo Ying showed a smile on its face, extended a palm, stroked its cheek, countless emotions appeared in its eyes.

Joy, happiness, confusion, desolation.

Its consciousness was no longer an empty straw, submerged in the deep sea.

Qinglong spoke, "First time entering the real world, don’t let the secret slip."

"I’ve simulated many times."

Mo Ying murmured, "I will choose the optimal solution..." 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

"Don’t forget, even though you’ve become the ’Sun’... you’re just a sunset that will eventually set."

Qinglong was still somewhat uneasy, earnestly reminded.

"Don’t covet this last afterglow."