First Step: Good and Evil

You have activated the Stairway: Binary Paradox.

You may now ascend the First Step: Good and Evil.

Ascending...

Ascent complete.

You have obtained the trait Good Intent (Extremely Rare): Any damage dealt to you by targets you deem good will have its effects additionally reduced by up to 50%.

You have obtained the trait Evil Intent (Extremely Rare): Any damage dealt by you to targets you deem evil will have its effects additionally increased by up to 50%.

You have obtained the ability Good-Evil Reversal (A+): You may actively reverse the effects of your own Good and Evil Intent.

You have obtained the Heartlight: All Things Re-emerge (Cannot be improved): Rule over all things with the mentality of a king, commanding the abilities, energy systems, and authorities of all those subdued by you.

Special mission: Trial of Qi and Force completed.

You have obtained the Authority: Qi and Force (Adaptability 98%): You may amplify Qi and Force by 100%, gaining priority in the dual domains of Qi and Force. (In contests of strength or Qi, the opponent must possess strength or Qi exceeding yours by 100%; otherwise, they cannot pass any related ability checks.)

Prompt after prompt that had long appeared before Bai Cangshu clearly displayed themselves in his eyes.

He lazily rose to his feet, as though he were stepping on a sponge.

Familiar sensations gradually returned—first Qi, then vibrations, Magnetic Field Rotation…

Using only the strength of his toes, Bai Cangshu easily lifted his entire body from the ground. The shift of his center of gravity had long since become as natural as flowing water.

He should have continued sleeping for a while longer and found a way to lure Uchiha Madara onto the Throne of the Heart as well.

Unfortunately, White Face’s performance had ultimately been far too deliberate. Or perhaps the impression Bai Cangshu had left on Uchiha Madara before had simply been too profound.

That man had not fought for control of this body.

Bai Cangshu stretched his body and snapped the fingers of his right hand.

Sizzle!

Shamanic Power rubbed against reality in the air, and Azure Flames gradually emerged all around him.

Buzz! Buzz! Buzz! Buzz!

Dozens of Soul Fires ignited in succession. This energy was as natural in Bai Cangshu’s hands as it had been when White Face controlled this body.

Bai Cangshu naturally floated up from the enormous crater. His half-black, half-white long hair drifted skyward under the intense force of Qi.

Accented by Qi, it seemed as though it had been edged with gold.

Bai Cangshu opened his eyes. First, glows of various colors spiraled away within them. Then they transformed into Six Eyes resembling blue skies and white clouds, followed by the Three Tomoe Sharingan, then the Eye of Chronos. At last, all traces of the mystic eyes vanished.

His eyes slowly returned to their normal black.

Yet this sight still made the group of top-tier Reincarnators closest to him frown deeply.

Mercenary Tao’s changes had clearly revealed the truth. His previous abnormal state had not been a loss of control after suffering the Mad King’s attack.

Rather, it had been the result of Mercenary Tao stepping onto an exceedingly mysterious and terrifying stairway.

Now, Mercenary Tao had successfully entered the stairway and gained entirely new power.

Even though they still did not know what that power was, when Mercenary Tao killed the Mad King earlier, he had likely already possessed the peak power below that of a Supreme Expert.

And now he had gone a step further… Didn’t that mean that, even without the Crown of Supremacy, Mercenary Tao already possessed combat power at the level of a Supreme Expert?!

Tap.

Footsteps sounded. Mahakala’s entire body shook, and he raised his head to see that Mercenary Tao had indeed appeared before him.

His speed was almost comparable to when he had activated that state resembling a Saiyan transformation.

At the same time, Mahakala’s hand went empty. ICE had already been lifted by Mercenary Tao.

"Honestly, did a guy like this beat the two of you controlling my body so badly? You’re really useless~"

Black Curses filled the white Consciousness Space. Atop the enormous broccoli, a pitch-black figure still crouched there, while Bai Cangshu’s voice simultaneously emerged from its mouth.

Beneath the Throne of the Heart, which had risen high again, Gilgamesh and White Face had nearly begun fighting once more. But when that voice rang out, both of them glared furiously.

Golden Flash’s gaze turned cold. He knew very well that he had probably been schemed against by these two. Those two were plotting for his power.

With his arms crossed, he simply did not believe that his miracles and treasures could be taken by people like them.

But the next moment, golden radiance lit up from the broccoli. That intense magical power was undoubtedly the stance he took when using the Gate of Babylon.

"Mercenary Tao, are you still going to fight among yourselves at a time like this?"

Seeing the real Mercenary Tao awaken, Tan Zhishan no longer tried to seize or control him, as though nothing had happened just now.

Moreover, as Mercenary Tao and Life of Silence stood in the same space, he began to feel immense danger. Fortunately, the swordsmanship monster Azure Sky behind him was also drawing closer step by step.

The four formed a balance of sorts.

Bai Cangshu’s eyes shifted in their sockets as he looked at Tan Zhishan, the Great Sun of Finality, with a mocking smile.

"At a time like this?"

"Is this some dangerous moment?"

Tan Zhishan frowned.

"You’ve never entered a Native World, so perhaps you don’t understand. Void Paradise is an Observer whose progress far exceeds that of Infinite Dimensional Space. Those Contractors can innately form contracts with all kinds of gods, and their control over Authorities is also…"

"Tsk, tsk, tsk."

Bai Cangshu wagged a finger, interrupting Tan Zhishan.

He knew no less than the Great Sun of Finality about the Observers—perhaps even more clearly in some respects. Thus, he understood very well.

If the current situation had truly become that critical, Infinite Dimensional Space would likely have already begun issuing more specific mandatory extermination missions.

For example, based on regions, it would force the Reincarnators in a particular area to kill a certain Contractor.

That efficient method was the most effective one.

But although the current mission appeared urgent, it merely implied to the Reincarnators through the absence of a failure penalty that the consequences would be extremely severe if they failed.

Clearly, however, for Infinite Dimensional Space, things had not yet reached a life-or-death stage.

In other words, this batch of Contractors and the so-called beacons were still within Infinite Dimensional Space’s range of detection.

It was confident it could eliminate them at any time.

Or perhaps some high-level Reincarnators had already been deliberately guided by the Space to locations near each Contractor.

Bai Cangshu could not be bothered to explain any of this. He merely looked mockingly at everyone.

In Bai Cangshu’s eyes, this group—the people the Mad King considered outstanding citizens—were still far too lacking.

He did not need Reincarnators like this.

He wanted the Reincarnators to be crueler and stronger.

The indistinct Black Crown above Bai Cangshu’s head grew increasingly clear.