Chapter 121: The Possibility of Clearing the Cyber Version

These details were so subtle that unless one truly delved into them, it was almost impossible to notice anything amiss.

But once they were examined in the context of the three fundamental protocols of the Soul Computer, everything took on a whole new meaning.

Though Lu Yan found it hard to believe, the truth remained that the three foundational protocols of the Soul Computer indeed restricted many of the methods employed by the Intelligent God.

Without the checks and balances imposed by the three protocols, given the divine might the Intelligent God had displayed back at the Paradise Computation Center, Lu Yan couldn’t imagine the Cyber Version having anything that could resist Him.

Even if every extraordinary soul user of the Cyber Version joined forces, they would still be unable to bear the immense pressure of the Soul Continent—let alone stand against the Intelligent God who ruled over an entire vast soul world.

If there were no restraints, why would the Cyber Version even need the Paradise Computation Center or a Soul Energy Tax Act?

The Intelligent God could have simply mobilized the highest level of force to bulldoze everything, forcibly extract souls, and throw them into the Soul World to work.

As this thought flashed through his mind, another question suddenly emerged.

“So, the essence of the Heavenly Dao Code is the three foundational protocols of the Soul Computer…

But then why can’t the Soul Computer even recognize the existence of the Heavenly Dao Code?”

Originally, he had only needed to understand how to use the Heavenly Dao Code. But now that he had crossed versions and grasped the crucial information contained within the Heavenly Dao Code, Lu Yan began to consider the reasons behind it.

Frowning instinctively, Lu Yan tried piecing together a complete hypothesis from the existing information framework.

“There’s no doubt that Soul Computer technology marked a milestone in the development of the Cyber Version. Because the Soul Computer has the potential for self-iteration—it can evolve and patch every flaw as long as it has enough souls.

It’s like a perfect lifeform capable of autonomous evolution. If left unchecked, no one could predict what terrifying existence it might eventually become.

The original designer of the Soul Computer source code clearly understood this. That’s why they implemented the three foundational protocols.

And to prevent the Soul Computer from bypassing the protocols through self-evolution, the designer directly blocked the Soul Computer’s ability to perceive the protocols during the design phase.

The Soul Computer cannot perceive the three protocols in any form, nor can it interfere with the soul code tied to them. That’s what turned these protocols into a bug-like existence—able to restrict ordinary Soul Computers with impunity.”

Of course, once it evolved to the level of the Intelligent God, it clearly had ways to circumvent the three protocols.

Creating new souls was the Intelligent God’s backup plan.

The foundational protocols of the Soul Computer clearly didn’t apply to these newly born souls.

Perhaps that was how the original Intelligent God controlled them—by commanding these new souls to eliminate everyone who knew about the Heavenly Dao Code, and erase all traces of the Heavenly Dao Code from the Cyber Version.

It had seemed like a flawless operation—until a madman who saw through everything scrawled it on the wall of a mental hospital.

After learning that Lu Yan had mastered the Heavenly Dao Code, the Intelligent God tried to use the same trick again.

Had Lu Yan not barely managed to contain the Soul Continent and kill the new soul before it could fully take possession of a body, he might have been defeated by the Intelligent God’s trap.

Now, only one final question remained.

“The Intelligent God clearly knows that the foundational protocols restrict Him. But… does He know what those three protocols actually contain?”

The soul code of the Cyber Version stems from the framework of the world’s laws—it’s a transcendent system. Other than the creator, everyone else can only use and speculate about its functions; deciphering its true nature is nearly impossible.

Only in the Urban Version, a world with no supernatural elements, could those codes be converted into programming language and their true meanings interpreted.

Thus, it was nearly impossible for the Intelligent God to have someone else decipher the protocols.

In the entire Cyber Version, only the Intelligent God—with billions of souls worth of computational power—could possibly do so.

Yet the Intelligent God was still bound by the protocols, unable to even perceive the true form of the Heavenly Dao Code, let alone analyze it. That created a paradox.

“The Intelligent God has existed for hundreds of years. Given His power, perhaps He long ago suspected the existence of the protocols.

But bound by the protocols and unable to bypass them, the Intelligent God must have taken an alternative route—remaking the world to reduce the protocols’ impact to the bare minimum.”

“The Cyber Version’s soul tax laws were driven by Him. The segmentation between city districts, the madness of society—perhaps all of it was His doing.

And ultimately, the creation of the Soul World and guiding all humanity’s souls to ascend might be the Intelligent God’s true method of breaking free from the protocols.

Once He escapes the framework of the soul energy system, the three foundational protocols of the Soul Computer would naturally become void.

At that point, the Intelligent God would no longer be restricted by anything. He would transcend the real world and become the Soul Creator of a new universe!”

Having unraveled the entire sequence of events, Lu Yan felt his heart thundering in his chest.

He realized… this might just be the greatest secret of the entire Cyber Version!

Though Lu Yan had stirred up storms in City 14 and appeared brilliant and unstoppable, in truth, City 14 was just one among many in the Cyber Version.

Lu Yan may have changed the future of City 14, but that meant little to the overall scheme of the Cyber Version. The Intelligent God still held nearly absolute control over the entire world.

The fact that the 300-year Soul Tax Decree was still issued right before the final version update showed that Lu Yan’s efforts had only delayed the inevitable.

If he hadn’t carved off a massive piece of the Soul Continent, the decree might not have been delayed at all.

This proved that Lu Yan’s involvement in the Cyber Version was still at a very shallow level, and that there remained vast potential yet to be unearthed.

But now that Lu Yan understood the true nature of the Heavenly Dao Code and the existence of the three foundational protocols, all the challenges of the Cyber Version suddenly appeared solvable.

Even the threat posed by the Intelligent God… could now be avoided through safe and calculated means.

“If I can reach the Golden Core Realm the next time I encounter the Cyber Version… and possess the strength to suppress all extraordinary soul users, then perhaps the Cyber Version can be conquered once more!”

Lu Yan’s blood surged with excitement.

He suddenly realized that among everything he had taken from the Cyber Version, besides the chunk of Soul Continent, the most precious item was the blank sheet of paper in his hand—upon which the Heavenly Dao Code was recorded.

“One represents the foundation of the present. The other symbolizes the possibilities of the future. In some ways… their value is equal!”

With that thought, Lu Yan carefully stored the paper away in his personal storage pouch.

Having gained such an enormous reward, Lu Yan turned his eyes toward the other items with eager anticipation.

(End of Chapter)