Meanwhile, following the conclusion of the war on Jigua Island—as the students headed toward the city of Yuspeakers to take a well-deserved rest—the final Board Venerable, Bing Tao Xin, remained on the Western Continent. He sat upon the clan leader's throne within the Bai Ting Clan.
His gaze held a hint of boredom as he played a game of chess.
The slow pace of events left him increasingly restless; furthermore, the sheer weakness of the entities in this world was so extreme that it led him to marvel at the rigid hierarchy imposed by its rulers.
Bing Tao Xin's expression remained composed as he studied the chessboard for several seconds, before a subtle shift crossed his features.
A faint glint flickered in his eyes for a split second, followed by a barely perceptible, amused smile. His hand, which had been holding a chess piece, froze in mid-air for a moment.
These were clear signs of one thing: he had suddenly become intrigued.
He crushed the chess piece, and in its place—perfectly matching the dimensions of the destroyed piece—appeared a white envelope.
Staring at the envelope, he murmured in a low voice:
"Venerable of the Heavenly Blessing, Elizabeth—what is it that you want?"
The final Board Venerable, Bing Tao Xin, opened the envelope with a look of skepticism and a degree of caution. After all, the Venerable of the Heavenly Blessing, Elizabeth—also known as Normana—was one of the most powerful and influential figures within the Path of the Ruler. For this reason, receiving an envelope imbued with a property that rendered its contents invisible—concealing what lay inside until the very moment it was opened—was a strange and unusual occurrence, even for an absolute entity such as himself.
It made one thing clear: the Venerable Elizabeth, a being of immense celestial grace, wanted him to do something—though he did not yet know what.
[Date: May 28, 675, 10:00 PM. Location: The Garden of the Angel of the End, where destinies converge. I request the presence of Mr. Bing Tao Xin—known as the 'Venerable of the Final Board.']
Bing Tao Xin stared at the letter for several seconds before attempting to burn it. Finding it completely fireproof—a fact that mildly annoyed him—he tucked it away into his own personal dimensional space.
He realized there was something peculiar about the letter—a quality he had yet to discern—which was preventing it from being consumed by flames.
A faint smile graced his features as he glanced toward the gate leading out of the Bai Ting clan estate.
"Very well. Let us see what my 'dictator in angel's clothing' wants from me."
He rose to his feet, the faint smile still lingering on his face—though, in an instant, both his expression and his smile turned as cold as frost.
Far away, in the Arctic, the Demonic Ice Venerable, Leghard, presided over a place regarded as the most perilous location of all. In the Central Continent, there resided the Venerable Elizabeth of the Blessed Heavens, the Great Architect Yuto (or Yuta), and the twelve sacred Tree-Guardians. In the Eastern Continent, there was the Star-Hunter Venerable Zendaya; the same held true for the Northern and Southern Frozen Continents.
In total, there were twenty entities who had reached the fourth stage of their ascension—possessing authority, experience, and power that could not be ignored—all gathered within a single world.
This caused the final "Board-Game" Venerable, Ping Tao Xin, to sense a looming danger. A grand assembly of such entities was set to take place at the Palace of the Supreme Venerable Alliance—an event held every million years, with only two centuries remaining until the next gathering.
It was a unique occasion, bringing together figures of such immense significance and power.
A deep sigh escaped the lips of Ping Tao Xin as he departed the palace of the Bai Ting clan.
"Three years—a span that feels longer than millions of years. Absolute power, concealed behind a mask of weakness... Hahahaha! This world is truly a strange place."
Ping Tao Xin tapped the air three times; the fabric of reality began to shatter, revealing a rift.
"Let us see what the Venerable Elizabeth of the Blessed Heavens wants from me."
With a hint of mockery in his tone, Ping Tao Xin stepped into the existential rift, which sealed shut the moment he passed through. In a beautiful forest, an existential rift appeared, through which Bing Tao Xin stepped. The atmosphere grew uneasy for a few seconds before returning to normal.
As he wandered through the Garden of the Angels of the End—a place where destinies converge—his gaze remained calm. His arms were clasped behind his back, his posture as straight as a spear, entirely unmoved by the beauty of the garden.
After all, his mind was occupied by a summons from the august and venerable Elizabeth of the Heavenly Blessing.
Though the message was framed as an invitation, it was, in truth, a mandatory command. He was a ruler of one of the fruits of this world's Sacred Tree of Existence and the master of a fourth-tier pavilion—yet the very thought of challenging her would be sheer madness.
The being he was about to meet had fully unified the Ruler's Path; she had engaged in battles against opponents who surpassed her in both experience and strength, only to emerge victorious. That alone was enough for him to grasp the true extent of her capabilities.
She was not like Zendaya, the Star-Hunting Venerable—someone before whom he might feign ignorance or simply disregard her words. With this woman, he could perish in an instant, without even realizing he had been killed.
Bing Tao Xin, the "Final Board" Venerable, paused for a few moments, his eyes resting upon a statue of an angel holding a book in its left hand and a quill in its right.
He then continued on his path toward the location of the august Elizabeth of the Heavenly Blessing.
A few minutes later, he found himself before a beautiful greenhouse, inside which sat a woman who appeared to be in her twenties. She was elegantly dressed, with golden hair and green eyes that gazed at him with an expression difficult to decipher.
He walked toward the greenhouse with steady, purposeful strides, exuding both strength and confidence.
After all, standing before one of the "Six Unifiers"—one of the twelve "Exalted Reverends"—demanded careful attention to one's speech and appearance, if only to ensure one's own survival.
The "Last Domain Reverend," Bing Tao Xin, bowed, cupping his hands in a formal salute, and said:
"It is an honor to meet one of the Six Unifiers, the Exalted Reverend of the Heavenly Blessing, Elizabeth. I am Bing Tao Xin, the Last Domain Reverend and master of the 'Fruit of Existence' realm belonging to this Sacred Tree of Existence."
Elizabeth, the Exalted Reverend of the Heavenly Blessing, regarded him with a mischievous glint in her eyes, then gestured for him to take a seat.
He sat there in silence; the expression on her face confirmed that something was wrong—that he was in real trouble.
"I've heard that the Venerable Star-Hunter Zendaya intends to kill my son—the Venerable Great Creation Yuto, or 'Yuta,' as they call him in this world. I'm telling you this directly: why haven't you killed her, Lord Ping Tao Xin—the last of the Venerable Board-Game Masters? I expect a convincing answer, or else you know what will happen to you."
Ping Tao Xin, the last of the Venerable Board-Game Masters, gazed at the Venerable Heaven-Blessing Elizabeth for several seconds without a word.
After all, unlike him—who had been born in the natural way—Yuto's origin was unique. He had been created through the union of twelve "Wing Masters"—known as the "Unified Wings"—who had joined their paths as Sovereigns during the 13th Era. Their union had endured for three full eras—the longest such alliance in history—and they were revered as "Venerable Sovereigns," or the "Royal Wings."
Furthermore, the Venerable Heaven-Blessing Elizabeth—also known as Normana—had been one of those very figures. It was only natural, then, that she would be deeply disturbed by someone's desire to kill her son; she was, after all, a mother, and she would stop at nothing to protect him.
"The reason I haven't taken any action is that Yuta himself chooses to leave them be. If he had wanted to kill the Venerable Star-Hunter Zendaya, he could have simply returned to his own body and finished her off—but he didn't. That implies he has other plans for the future." "And you know your son well, Lady Elizabeth."
The words of the Final Domain Venerable, Ping Tao Xin, were measured; the mindset of the Six Unifiers is, to some extent, difficult to predict.
The Exalted Heaven's Blessing, Elizabeth, gazed at him for several minutes—as if attempting to discern what lay between the lines—before letting out a sigh and saying:
"You are right. I have known Yuto well since the moment he was born, seventy thousand years ago. He has accomplished a great deal."
"He has made the Empire of Imagination an unconquerable force among the current twenty-six paths of existence—and yet, he shows no interest in expanding his territories."
The Exalted Heaven's Blessing, Elizabeth, fell silent, fixing him with a sharp, piercing look that signaled the gravity of what she was about to say next.
"Do you recall that there are forty-four eras, divided into three distinct phases? The events of only twelve of these eras are known; as for the other thirty-two, everything pertaining to them has been erased—wiped from existence and the annals of the world. Not a single being who lived during those times remains, save for the Guardians of the Tree of Existence and the keepers of the twenty-seven paths. And yet, that is not to say that even *they* remember what transpired within them."
A look of surprise crossed the face of the Final Domain Venerable, Ping Tao Xin. This was information known to all the Rulers of the Fruits of Existence, the Rulers of the Sacred Trees of Existence, and their followers. But why did she phrase it as a question—*do they remember?*
Her words seemed ordinary enough, yet to him, they carried a hidden layer—something he did not yet grasp, something tied to the context that was to follow. He could only reach one conclusion: there was a distortion in the information known to everyone.
Speaking with a hesitant tone, he looked toward her:
"Yes, I remember. But what are you trying to get at?"
A faint smile appeared on the face of the Venerable Elizabeth as she sipped her tea.
"Do you know the 'law' of the novel—*I Am Inside My Own Novel: Dragon-Angel Fantasy World*—or not?"
"'Survival of the fittest' and 'cheapened family life'—that's what the novel's synopsis claims."
She continued, quoting the story's summary:
"'Reborn into a fantasy world of my own creation, I decided to live within it—embarking on adventures that blend innocence and domesticity with darkness and a merciless reality. This is the story of my life in a world called "Dragon-Angel"—a fantasy realm that fuses angelic beauty and peace with the savage, unbridled cruelty of dragons. It is a world where only the strong survive, born from the womb of chaos, where creation and destruction converge. But the question remains: what will the lives of the protagonists—Botaleb, Nobara, Yuta, Yuto, or even the Creator—truly be like?'"
The Venerable Elizabeth kept her gaze fixed on him, saying nothing.
That was, indeed, what was presented to the public as the story's synopsis.
"No, the 'law' of the novel isn't actually 'survival of the fittest.' Don't believe everything that's written; after all, the power granted to the 'Masters of the Wings' is the ability to manipulate the narrative itself—isn't it?" "Furthermore, the summary might not be the truth; it could merely be a fragment of the story, rather than a synopsis of the entire narrative."
Ping Tao Xin, the latest 'Venerable of the Patch,' narrowed his eyes as he gazed toward Elizabeth, the 'Venerable of the Celestial Blessing.'
It seemed trivial, naive, and foolish—yet, at the same time, it felt like an exaggeration.
"I'm joking—or perhaps I'm not. Don't take my words too seriously. As for the eras..."
Elizabeth's expression shifted instantly to one of utter seriousness as she looked at him. It made him realize that the jesting had ended; the time for gravity had arrived.
"In truth, there have been 675 eras, divided into three distinct phases. The 'Pre-Beginning' phase consists of fifteen eras, each of which is further subdivided into fifteen smaller eras. Only 52 eras are known to the world at large, while 245 are known to the 'Supreme Authority'; another 185 remain entirely unknown to us. As for the remaining 193 eras—they have been erased. Everything pertaining to them—their existence, their place in the world's narrative—has been wiped away, leaving no trace of any being who once lived within them."
"Throughout these past eras, the 'Path of the Ruler' has been unified fifty-six times. However, records obtained by Astratus—the 'Venerable Messenger of the Outcast'—reveal that five individuals were known to possess 'minor narratives,' as they went beyond merely unifying the twenty-seven paths of existence." "They even managed to occupy other stories and expand their empires to an unimaginable degree—becoming some of the most powerful empires within the narrative of *I, the Great Outcast*, which serves as the true story of the world. As for the story *I, Inside My Own Novel*, it is merely a tale contained within that larger narrative—nothing more."
Ping Tao Xin, the last 'Revered of the Board,' gazed at her, remaining silent.
He was well aware that the world was rife with secrets, hypocrisy, and monopolization—but why would she reveal such dangerously sensitive information to him?
This realization led him to understand that they were in the fifteenth era—Era 15.
Yet, the question remained: why had history been falsified and monopolized?
While many might ponder this, to him, it seemed logical; knowledge is a weapon far more dangerous than raw power.
Those who possess knowledge can become stronger and more formidable than the ignorant. In this world, an untutored talent might develop, but only at a natural, limited pace. Conversely, someone weak—if armed with knowledge—can sometimes reach, or even surpass, the level of a truly gifted individual.
Monopolizing history serves a similar purpose. If people were told, "So-and-so did this," or "Such-and-such happened," it would inevitably spark countless conflicts as individuals sought to reclaim what they perceived as their rightful legacy from past eras. In such a context, ignorance is preferable to knowledge.
Furthermore, there is the universal, well-known adage: history is written by the victors.
Ping Tao Xin, the Venerable of the Final Domain, spoke as he sipped his tea at a leisurely pace:
"Why are you telling me all this? Is there something you want me to do? And does this mean Yuta is unaware of the truth—that he has been feeding his friends false information?"
Elizabeth, the Venerable of the Exalted Heavenly Blessing, laughed heartily at his words. Then, with a mocking tone that still carried the remnants of her laughter, she replied:
"The gap between Yuta and me is as vast as the distance between heaven and earth. It's not that Yuta is ignorant; rather, entities capable of reading the 'Narrative' might be spying on him—which is why he lies about the truth."
"The Narrative itself functions in precisely this way..." "It essentially presents what the inhabitants of the fantasy world *believe* to be true. Take Reinhardt, for instance: the narrative labels him a 'Master of Rulers,' but in reality, he is ORR-05. Do you follow me?"
"As for why I'm telling you this—well, as one of the 'Rulers of the Fruits of the Sacred Tree of Existence,' it's only logical that you should know. Besides, we aren't trapped inside a novel where we're bound by the readers' perceptions. Anyway..."
"Regarding the Venerable Star-Hunter Zendaya—she poses no threat to Yuta. Honestly, I can't quite figure her out: is she a child, or some absolute, transcendent entity?"
A look of utter bewilderment crossed the face of the Venerable Celestial-Blessing Elizabeth.
The behavior of the Venerable Star-Hunter Zendaya was, to say the least, bizarre and entirely unpredictable.
The final Venerable, Ping Tao-Xin, rubbed his eyes as he leaned against the table; he understood exactly what was being implied. That wretched woman—she'd try anything that caught her fancy, even if it meant killing or doing whatever else was necessary to get what she wanted.
"Let me guess. Did she change her mind about killing Yuta because she decided she wanted to sleep with him? He *is* exceptionally beautiful, after all—and as the Emperor of the Fantasy Empire, which governs the very paths of existence, he'd certainly be capable of satisfying her carnal desires. Am I right?"
The Venerable Celestial-Blessing Elizabeth remained silent for several seconds. It was somewhat hard to believe—especially considering Yuto is a married man, and the girl in question shares a mindset remarkably similar to his own whenever she isn't by his side.
But when she *is* with him... well, that's an entirely different story!
In any case, it was repulsive. Yet, because Yuto always acts in his own self-interest—and because he likely anticipated this outcome—he had continued to refine his "Soul-Manipulation Eye" and "Soul-Enslavement Eye" back when he was on Jeju Island.
Given this, the possibility of him having sexual relations with her was far from out of the question. This was precisely what was crossing the minds of both the venerable Elizabeth—blessed by the heavens—and the final "Venerable of the Realm," Bing Tao Shen.
After all, Yuto isn't the type to concern himself with the moral boundaries that others might set—those who view sex or indulgence in worldly pleasures as the folly of fools, believing one should instead strive for higher, transcendent pursuits.
Quite the contrary: Yuto does exactly what he wants, whenever he wants. He marries, he fathers children, he kills, he rapes women if the situation demands it, and he even turns other beings into whores—much as he did to the original Kaito Ishikawa before implanting the soul of a chameleon into his body.
"So, what will you do? Are you going to stop her, or what?"
The final "Venerable of the Realm," Bing Tao Shen, asked, his gaze scrutinizing her for the slightest hint of a reaction. Yet, his own expression remained unchanged—steeped in confidence, determination, and absolute authority.
"I couldn't care less. If something like that happens, it's because Yuto orchestrated it." "It is impossible for her to change her mind unless he seduces her; every girl who has ever rested her head upon his chest has ended up becoming attached to him. This holds true for Lucy Kethali, Previka, Beatrice, and Shira Yulin—who is currently being held captive by the Jinhai Union of Fantasy Realms. He is a monster by nature."
The Last Domain Venerable, Bing Tao Xin, continued to watch her in silence; this time, he found no words to offer.
Yet, he grasped one thing: he was facing an entity who would stop at nothing to achieve his goals—no matter how sordid or indescribable his methods might be.
He rose immediately, cupping his hands in a formal salute.
"Take care of yourself, Exalted Venerable of the Elizabeth Heavenly Domain. I apologize if any of my actions have displeased you."
The Last Domain Venerable, Bing Tao Xin, spoke with respect before straightening up.
The Exalted Venerable of the Elizabeth Heavenly Domain gazed at him, silent for several moments, before speaking softly:
A golden orb appeared in the palm of her hand. She looked toward the Last Domain Venerable, Bing Tao Xin, and said calmly:
"This is my blessing. It can be used only once, but it will either save you from death or grant you something you never dared to dream of possessing."
The orb drifted toward Bing Tao Xin and merged with his being, manifesting as a golden layer that lingered for a few seconds before vanishing. A look of sheer ecstasy spread across the face of the final Territory Venerable, Bing Tao Xin, as he examined his own body. The ability granted by the "Elizabethan Heaven's Blessing" Venerable's wing was exceptionally powerful—a wing designed specifically for support.
"You may take your leave, Territory Venerable Bing Tao Xin. I trust you will use it with care—unlike the founder of the Di Moliar family, who foolishly opted for a 'quadruple system' instead of a wing. A truly idiotic choice; in the end, he gained no wing at all."
The final Board Venerable, Bing Tao Xin, departed the scene. He was not like the founder of the Di Moliar family—who had prioritized his lineage over his own self, ultimately becoming an absolute entity, albeit one stripped of its wings.
The world offers no aid to fools. If you have the chance to develop or protect yourself, seize it.
In this world, the methods used to survive or evolve are of no consequence; only the outcome matters.
The final Board Venerable, Bing Tao Xin, understood this well—he would never undertake any action unless it promised long-term benefit to himself.