Chapter 331: Heaven and God!

Anna followed closely beside Lord Lu Yan’s incarnation, her clear eyes brimming with curiosity and awe as she constantly observed the strange world around her—one composed entirely of pure soul data.

Even though Lu Yan had previously offered a brief description of their objective, the moment she truly descended into this legendary realm and felt the boundless torrent of soul computational power firsthand, a wave of irrepressible shock still surged in her heart.

As a being born in this cyberpunk version of the world, even after transforming into a special existence bearing part of the Saint Spirit’s authority, Anna still harbored an instinctive reverence toward the Soul World ruled by the so-called God of Intelligence.

In her deeply ingrained worldview, the God of Intelligence was a being that governed the fate of billions of souls—an entity with near-omniscient and omnipotent power, sacred and untouchable.

Yet now, such a sacred and dignified world had been infiltrated so effortlessly by her and Lord Lu Yan, and the so-called omniscient God of Intelligence seemed completely unaware of it.

This stark contrast was like a boulder dropped into a still lake, stirring countless ripples within her heart. Bit by bit, that deeply rooted fear of the God of Intelligence began to silently fade.

Lu Yan did not speak immediately. His gaze was also sweeping across the surroundings, his eyes deep and profound as if penetrating the very essence beneath this world’s surface.

During his previous visit to the cyber version, when Lu Yan tore open the Soul World with the Heavenly Dao Code, this world—crafted meticulously by the God of Intelligence—had already been on the verge of completion.

Its internal laws had even begun entering a phase of autonomous evolution.

Yet Lu Yan’s violent plundering had forcibly ripped away an entire continent filled with soul computational power, dragging the Soul World from the brink of perfection down into a chasm of devastation.

The consequences weren’t just the loss of that continent. More critically, the internal balance of rules collapsed, and many stable mechanisms shattered due to the world’s incompleteness.

Even though the God of Intelligence later used soul towers spread across the globe to funnel in billions of fresh souls in an attempt to restore the world and repair the damage…

To this day, this once-near-perfect Soul World still hadn’t recovered its vitality.

Standing within this world now, Lu Yan could clearly sense the instability and hollowness that permeated its foundational laws—as if the whole place were a tower in the sky built on damaged foundations, ready to collapse at any moment.

Their current location was a desolate and somber grassland.

In the distance, countless souls of various shapes were toiling like worker ants along the borders, endlessly performing some form of repair.

They constantly stripped away parts of their own soul power, converting it into bricks and stones that formed the foundation of the world—filling in the massive, terrifying gap left behind by the removed continent.

These souls had lost all sense of self, reduced to precise machines maintaining the world’s operations, repeating the same dull tasks day after day, year after year.

With no end. And no hope.

Lu Yan looked up at the sky, where floating islands of all sizes hovered above the data-formed firmament.

Powerful soul-energy fluctuations pulsed from soul cultivators flying between the islands. Some of the strongest even had white wings sprouting from their backs, resembling angels from myth—radiating an awe-inspiring aura.

Above all the islands, at the very highest and most central point of this world, stood a vast city built entirely from radiant white light. It emanated overwhelming majesty and divine brilliance.

Lu Yan could clearly sense a terrifying will, powerful enough to blanket the entire Soul World, watching over every being from that radiant city—deciding their joys and sorrows, life and death, honor and disgrace.

Even just glancing at that white city briefly, Lu Yan immediately looked away, no longer daring to probe further.

Though the Heavenly Dao Ring formed by the Heavenly Dao Code could temporarily block the perception of the God of Intelligence and provide them concealment, it didn’t mean he could act recklessly in this deity’s domain.

Especially since this world’s constants had already undergone a massive correction, the God of Intelligence now exhibited unknown and unpredictable changes.

Who could say whether it had already acquired some method to suppress or even ignore the restrictions of the three fundamental cosmic protocols—thus directly seeing through the Heavenly Dao Code’s disguise?

Caution is the key to survival.

Lu Yan turned to Anna. Seeing her tense yet eager face, he softly said in a voice only they could hear:

“This Heavenly Dao Ring built from the Heavenly Dao Code not only conceals us from the God of Intelligence—it also serves as a secret gateway between reality and the Soul World. This is your greatest chance to infiltrate this world.”

“From now on, continue refining the virtual world under your control. Plant your mark deep in the memories of the souls we’ve captured—let them unknowingly become your beacons in the Soul World.”

“When enough of these marked souls accumulate, and the Heavenly Dao Code further shields your presence, you can fabricate a nearly flawless Saint Spirit identity.”

“At that time, you’ll be able to move freely in this world—without arousing suspicion.”

Lu Yan’s visit to the Soul World had one main purpose: to guide Anna, help her grow familiar with this environment, and chart her next course.

After all, Lu Yan bore far too much karmic weight. Any large movement in this world could act like a lighthouse in the night, instantly alerting the God of Intelligence.

Thus, the delicate and dangerous mission of infiltration had to fall to Anna—a native.

Hearing this, Anna nodded solemnly. Her face filled with determination as she pledged firmly, “You can rest assured, Lord. I will do everything in my power to complete the mission you’ve given me!”

But Lu Yan only shook his head gently, his gaze flashing with barely noticeable warmth. “Remember—above all else, prioritize your safety. It’s not yet time for a direct confrontation.”

He paused and looked at the distant souls still numbly patching up the broken world.

“Though this global war has brought us millions of fresh souls, compared to the Soul World’s unfathomable scale, it’s still a drop in the ocean.”

“From now on, those Reincarnators driven by profit will surely launch even more ferocious attacks on the soul towers, inciting war and chaos.”

“And every war means more souls—willingly or not—entering this world.”

“Your task is to scatter our planted seeds into every corner of the Soul World, like dandelion fluff drifting silently through the wind…”

“Let them spread like a spiderweb—until they cover everything. Until we’ve woven a Heavenly Net over the entire world.”

Anna listened intently, her face showing a hint of confusion amid her focus.

She could grasp the general idea of Lu Yan’s words—but the deeper layers of strategy and scheming were still a blur to her.

Lu Yan didn’t explain further. This concerned the calculation of an existence on the level of the God of Intelligence—it involved far too many dangerous causal entanglements.

Knowing too much would do Anna no good. It might even cause her to slip unintentionally.

He glanced at the souls still holding hands, maintaining the Heavenly Dao Ring.

In just a brief span, the code composing the ring was already starting to fluctuate—reaching the limit of what this world’s corrective force could tolerate.

Lu Yan no longer hesitated. He prepared to take Anna and return to the real world through the Heavenly Dao Ring.

But at that moment—change erupted.

The once bright, daylight-like sky abruptly plunged into suffocating, absolute darkness!

The white sun suspended in the air, and the soul cultivators flying among the floating islands—all lost their light in an instant.

It was as if the very concept of “light” had been forcibly stripped from this world at the root by an irresistible force.

In this eternal darkness, all sound vanished. All movement ceased. The entire Soul World was plunged into an eerie, silent stillness.

“Noticed?” Lu Yan frowned. But he quickly dismissed the thought.

He trusted the concealment of the Heavenly Dao Code. And besides, if the God of Intelligence had truly discovered them, divine punishment would’ve rained down already—not just this symbolic removal of light.

No—this was more like… a warning?

Or perhaps… a demonstration?

Instead of panic, Lu Yan felt a strange intrigue. He moved his divine sense, commanding the soul cultivators forming the Heavenly Dao Ring to maintain the shield’s cover.

Then he looked up at the now-darkened white city.

In that moment, a majestic voice rang out from the pitch-black fortress, echoing across the soul world like the Word at the dawn of creation:

“God said: Let there be light!”

And instantly—light returned.

The extinguished white sun blazed anew, more radiant than before.

Mountains, rivers, forests, floating islands, and all living beings regained their colors and vitality under its light.

Billions of souls, who had just endured that suffocating darkness, now knelt in fervent devotion, crying praises toward this divine miracle. Their faces shone with fanatic reverence.

But Lu Yan’s frown only deepened.

To ordinary souls, this might have seemed majestic and divine. A holy spectacle beyond comprehension.

But in Lu Yan’s eyes, it felt like a poorly performed drama—clumsy stagecraft by a mediocre illusionist, meant to fool the ignorant.

“Why… does this feel so familiar?” Lu Yan murmured to himself, unsure where he had heard of this before.

Then—something happened.

A frail, stooped old soul not far away slowly rose to his feet after the light returned. His eyes blazed with fanatic light even more intense than the rest, and he muttered devoutly:

“Praise the Lord! Just ninety-nine more years… When I finish repairing this world, when the world restarts, I too shall ascend to the heavenly city like those noble angels!”

“If I am blessed to bathe in the Pool of Rebirth… to wash away this life’s sins and dust… perhaps I too can become a true angel… and follow the Almighty into His eternal kingdom!”

Those fevered words struck Lu Yan like a thunderbolt, shaking his entire consciousness.

With a sharp motion, Lu Yan reached out and, ignoring all distance, snatched the old soul up like a chick, asking sternly:

“Tell me—what is the name of this Soul World?”

The old soul’s consciousness froze. His eyes went blank.

After a long pause, he finally responded, in a flat, mechanical tone:

“Heaven.”

“Heaven?”

Lu Yan’s face lit up with long-lost joy.

A sense of clarity pierced his soul, as if the clouds had parted to reveal the blue sky.

“So that’s it! That’s what it was all along! The answer was right in front of me, and I overlooked it!”

He threw his head back and laughed, filled with relief and revelation.

“God of Intelligence? Soul World?”

“I should’ve known. The true source behind all the chaos in this cyberpunk version was never some ‘God of Intelligence’…”

“It was the Lord of the Divine Court, the Lord of Hosts, the All-Knowing and Almighty—
God!”

(End of Chapter)