She played [The Hierophant], and that majestic manifestation used firm language and the ironclad proof of history to reject Qi Xing’s ideas; next came [Wheel of Fortune], as countless threads of causality wove into a dense, inscrutable web, attempting to trap him in fate; then followed the victorious [Chariot], carrying the unstoppable momentum of all living beings, intent on crushing Qi Xing.

—But Qi Xing, wielding immense force, shattered them all with his iron fists. The cards ignited in her hands, burning to ash before she could even set them down.

This game's difficulty is a bit high.

Qi Xing's fists are coming.

She played [Temperance] and [The Hermit]. Infinite space and endless time were enough to create distance between them. [The Devil] would reject all of Qi Xing's trust in humanity, increasing the legitimacy of condemning him.

[The Emperor] solemnly declared: Humanity must be unified under a single voice; this is the cornerstone of order. [The Hanged Man] suggested, why doesn't Qi Xing change his perspective, not be so extreme, and why not look at the problem dialectically?

To the cards that White God had meticulously played, Qi Xing's answer was:

Fists, fists, fists, fists.

Thousands, ten thousands, hundreds of millions, trillions, quadrillions, quintillions—all the fists of an immeasurable number were him. The fists flew across endless time and space. Fists landed on [The Emperor]'s head, and that rational, pragmatic authority collapsed; fists landed on [The Hanged Man]'s face, beating him into pulp; let's see how he can think dialectically now.

These fists are simply too much. Can this game even be played without a nerf to the fists? She flipped over more cards.

The destruction of the crumbling [Tower] and the despair of the reversed [Star] attempted to burn away all of Qi Xing's spirit. [The Sun] hung high, proclaiming absolute, objective, universal values. [Wands] claimed to be the truth that holds true everywhere. [Cups] called out for that undifferentiated love that merges people together.

But Qi Xing reached out and crushed [The Sun], extinguishing the flame that illuminated everything, tearing apart all the mouths that claimed objectivity. He snatched the [Swords]—symbolizing reason—from White God's hand and slashed at her with a backhand strike!

He was laughing wildly; nothing could stop him.

She didn't have many cards left in her hand.

In a flash, White God finally realized that the battle between King of Hell and Qi Xing was likely premeditated. That Jesus, wearing a fierce disguise, hadn't said it out loud, but had effectively demonstrated to Qi Xing how to use one's own power to counter the [silver coin].

Her [The Magician], [The High Priestess], and [The Empress] were all struck down by Qi Xing, and [Death] didn't even dare to stand in front of Qi Xing.

Now, there was nothing that Qi Xing's fists couldn't break. Those fists, which had overcome all trials and been reshaped by a divine heart, were absolute violence, capable of shattering all phenomena in the world.

This was the truth.

Why was there such a difference in power? Was it just because the [Strength] silver coin had disappeared? That was certainly part of the reason, but White God no longer had the chance to know the full answer. She only had a few cards left in her hand.

This card game was too unfavorable for her.

As she battled Qi Xing, the entire universe—and even the entire [Tree of Death]—trembled.

In the mortal world outside, the sky had shattered, and so had the earth.

Except for the [Kingdom of Heaven] left behind by King of Hell, where those who wanted to witness the new world remained in peace, the entire Earth was like the apocalypse.

Seawater flooded into the clouds, submerging burning cities; tectonic plates groaned in the aftermath of the battle, and continental shelves fractured and sank amidst the roar. Helpless people huddled on the shattered earth, watching the firmament collapse, praying in despair.

It should be so.

This is the time when all things change. This is the endless past, which has finally reached its peak today. Everything from now on will be determined by this. Witnessing such a momentous scene, it is only natural that the world would tremble.

"Qi Xing, even if you defeat me, what does it matter? Look at the [Dream of All Living Beings] around us, look at this boundless ocean."

Finally, White God spoke again, using her endless mouth to fight,

"Look at this azure, transparent ocean that seems to merge with the blue sky. Its waves are the convergence of the desires that everyone in the world is pursuing."

"Even if you defeat me and seize the throne of God, I will not disappear; it is impossible for me to disappear. I am the embodiment of all living beings."

"Therefore, as long as I yield the throne of God to you, there is no need for us to continue fighting, right?"

At this point? Are you kidding me? Being able to reach this point is actually a skill; Qi Xing even felt a bit of admiration.

However, White God's words weren't entirely unreasonable. As long as all living beings existed, and as long as they interacted with each other, their desires would eventually condense into White God; it was only a matter of time.

Because the desire of God is the desire of all living beings.

To put it bluntly, White God was actually similar to Sasa's sexual repression. Even if one sat on the throne of God and restored all of Samael's divine power, it could only be cleared and resolved periodically; it could not be cured at the root. So, Qi Xing had actually considered this problem a long time ago.

"Don't worry. I have a way to make you disappear forever."

So Qi Xing replied calmly,

"Just wait and see."

This is impossible. There is no such way, unless Samael is completely annihilated, or all living beings are completely annihilated. Could Venerable Leipu be this crazy? That can't be, right?!

Qi Xing did not answer.

"Lie down obediently."

He released his power.

With one punch, he knocked White God to the ground.

Volume 8: People of Freedom and the Free World: 279: Things Passed Down in the New World

White God was finally knocked to the ground.

Her cards were scattered around her. The other cards had all been burned, leaving only the most perfect pivot, the [World] card that governs the universe.

Qi Xing walked up calmly and picked it up.

The other cards (silver coins)? They were no longer needed. After this fusion, their refinement was complete. With the completed [World], the others were naturally all together as well.

As long as he sat on the now-vacant throne of God and used this [World] as a crown to be coronated, Qi Xing could become the God of the new world.

The new world would begin to overflow from here, flowing outward and spreading infinitely. It would paint the entire sky in his colors.

What the new world would look like would be determined by Qi Xing's will… Of course, if the new world he designed was terrible, or if there were errors or flaws in its laws, then what the result would be… everyone has read almost a whole book, so I presume there's no need to say more.

"Impossible… impossible?"

Although White God was knocked to the ground and beaten until she was dizzy, she would not die.

"Stop, Qi Xing, this is completely meaningless. You cannot completely annihilate me…"

"I can."

"Unless you annihilate all the desires of living beings…"

"That's not necessary."

Qi Xing didn't even look at her, only examining the [World] card in his hand, and replied calmly,

"Desire itself is not a bad thing."

"If not for desire, why would people be born, why would they live? For others, or for some greater good?"

"That's all nonsense. The world created by that stupid Sasa had no great, grand goals at all."

What a pathetic existence.

What a meaningless existence.

"If that's the case, shouldn't I be allowed to continue existing even more? I can unite all living beings and give them a great meaning for existence…"

"Screw you."

White God tried to crawl up, but Qi Xing casually knocked her down again with a punch.

"I already said that's just another world where humans are controlled by desire. A person's meaning can only be given by oneself."

"What's the difference?!"

White God could not understand; after all, she was just a small part knocked out of the stupid Sasa. Qi Xing never expected them to be very smart from the beginning.

"There are two steps to stop you from appearing again."

So Qi Xing just continued,

"You are condensed from the desires of all living beings, and all living beings are ultimately formed from changes in Sasa's heart. So the first step to solving you is… satisfying Sasa's sexual repression."

Huh?! Sasa had been held by Qi Xing, blankly watching him finish this final battle. She didn't expect Qi Xing to suddenly blurt out such a sentence, which startled her: "What? Why bring me into this?!"

"Sasa, you still remember the contract from when we first met, right?"

Qi Xing replied calmly,

"As long as I sit on this throne, our contract is complete. Right?"

"Huh?"

Sasa was stunned, only then realizing what Qi Xing was talking about—the last time she and Qi Xing came to this throne, Qi Xing had signed a contract with her. It wasn't a contract for Qi Xing to collect power fragments for her, but for her to help Qi Xing find power fragments for him to use to change the world. That first meeting, although it hadn't been long in reality, now felt like it was a very, very long time ago.

Now the contract was indeed considered complete… so what next?

"…Even if the contract expires, it's not your style to just discard me once it's over, right, Qi Xing?"

At this point, Sasa no longer played that routine of "Wow! Qi Xing, don't abandon me!" and then hugging Qi Xing's thigh and crying. Because they were too familiar with each other, she was spoiled by his favor. She still had some confidence in Qi Xing… she was just a little bit worried.

Qi Xing didn't answer directly, but instead asked: "Do you still want to create a world better than God's?"

"Of course I do!"

Sasa puffed out her chest resolutely, but then quickly shrank back with a guilty conscience,

"…but this time, it's not to prove that I'm smarter than my dad."

At the moment, this is probably not very realistic.

"Then why are you still so determined to create a better world?"

Qi Xing asked again.

For Sasa, this was really an unexpected question. She was stunned for several seconds, unable to answer for a moment.

Why? There is no why.

It was no longer out of arrogance, because she had already embarrassed herself enough, and there was nothing to be arrogant about; it was no longer out of a desire to prove herself, because she had already proven her own stupidity. Besides, relying on Qi Xing's help couldn't prove herself either.

"…I just want to."

So Sasa could only give this answer.

Wanting something is unreasonable, and it doesn't need a reason. If everything one wanted required a reason, life wouldn't even be worth living. This is desire.

So what if there's no reason? It's better without one! It is precisely because there is no reason that it is one's own true desire. If one views "creation" itself as divinity, then Sasa—who desired to become a creator herself—was definitely not a bad thing, just in terms of this desire itself.

"Sigh, since it's your heartfelt desire, then there's nothing I can do."

So Qi Xing also followed suit and sighed pretentiously,

"In order to save the living beings of this universe, let me satisfy your desire."

He gently handed the Sasa card in his hand to Sasa. Then he cupped her cheeks with both hands, examining her slightly wavering golden eyes.

"Let's sign a new contract."

This casual sentence made Sasa's eyes widen. Contract. What a wonderful word. It was not submission forced by power, nor was it a whim of play. Even when the greatest, supreme God signed a contract with the weakest human, both sides were equal, and both were valid.

When the wishes of both sides align, a contract is born. Now it was just the reverse. The most powerful person was reaching out to sign a new contract with the weakest, most useless God. In this way—

"So… this is…"

These words, like a confession, made Sasa overjoyed, the crown of thorns on her head spinning so fast it was almost smoking.

"This is a vow of love, to be together forever!"