Chapter Twenty-Six: Fortress of Logic… and the Tremor of Distant Continents
As the remnants of the Seven Sages continued to dissipate into the air above Tianlong City, Zhou Fan wasted not a single second celebrating victory. To him, erasing seven Nascent Soul cultivators was no triumph—it was merely a maintenance procedure, necessary for stabilizing the equation.
He stood atop the highest balcony of the imperial palace. The fierce winds battered his green robe, yet each gust curved away mere centimeters from his body, as if the air itself feared intruding upon his computational domain.
"Zhang Song," Zhou Fan called out without turning around.
The young emperor—formerly the Third Prince—stepped forward with trembling strides. The crown upon his head suddenly felt unbearably heavy, not due to its gold, but because of the presence standing before him.
"Yes… Master Zhou?"
"Bring me all the Spirit Stones stored in the imperial vaults," Zhou Fan said calmly, his eyes tracing the emerging ley-line patterns beneath the city. "Every rare metal reserved for national emergencies as well. We are converting Tianlong from a stone-built city into a Central Processing Array. From this moment onward, this city will no longer serve humans—it will become the mind of the continent."
"But… Master," Zhang Song protested weakly, "this will consume the wealth accumulated over a thousand years!"
Zhou Fan turned toward him. Within his nebula-filled eyes reflected a future so terrifying that Zhang Song's breath caught.
"Gold and stone do not protect thrones, Zhang Song," Zhou Fan said flatly. "Data and arrays do. Within days, news of the Seven Sages' annihilation will reach the Sacred Cloud Continent and the Heavenly Sword Sect. If this city is not shielded by Void Logic, it will be reduced to dust by their first strike. Tell me—would you rather be a bankrupt emperor ruling an invincible city… or a wealthy emperor seated atop a golden grave?"
Zhang Song swallowed hard, nodded silently, and rushed off to carry out the orders.
Sacred Cloud Continent — Azure Lightning Sect
Thousands of miles away, within the Star-Observation Hall atop a mountain cloaked in eternal snow, a scream of terror rang out.
"They're extinguished!" a monitoring disciple cried, pointing toward the ceiling where seven spiritual lamps hung. "The lamps of the Seven Sages—all extinguished at the same moment! This is impossible!"
An old man entered the hall, his waist-length beard crackling with arcs of scorching lightning. This was the Thunder Sect Master, one of the most powerful figures across the Four Continents.
"What did you say?" he demanded. "All seven? Even if they faced an Ancient Dragon, at least one should have sent a distress signal!"
He turned toward the spiritual mirror displaying a map of Tianlong Continent. Normally glowing with a pale golden hue, it was now covered by a translucent black stain—one that was rapidly expanding.
"This isn't spiritual energy…" the sect master whispered, dread seeping into his voice. "This is Absolute Void. Who is this 'Zhou Fan' the spies keep mentioning? And how did he alter the laws of the world in a sealed region like this?"
Back in Tianlong
The transformation began.
Under Zhou Fan's guidance, thousands of cultivators and workers placed Spirit Stones at precise geometric points around the city walls. He was not constructing fortifications—he was planting computational nodes.
Zhou Fan raised his hand. The Lost Celestial Calculations unfolded to its maximum extent. Thousands of golden and black symbols burst forth from its pages and embedded themselves deep into the city's foundation.
The earth trembled violently.
Buildings began to change.
Ordinary stone became coated in layers of Logical Steel, while the streets lit up with cold blue filaments of light, linking every home and alley to the central array beneath the palace.
Alert: Void Guardian Array at 60% completion… Activating Predictive Sensory System.
Every citizen suddenly felt an eerie calm. The city fell silent—not into emptiness, but into a single rhythm, pulsing within their minds.
Zhou Fan had linked the city's inhabitants to the array—not to control them, but to convert them into secondary processing units, amplifying his computational capacity.
As Zhou Fan immersed himself deeper into the array's core, Ling'er appeared before him. She stared at him in fear, as if unsure whether the person before her was still human.
"Zhou Fan…" she said shakily. "Are you still there? Or have you become… just another part of this machine?"
Zhou Fan paused. For a single second, the symbols in his eyes stilled.
"Ling'er," he said softly, "humans fear machines because they do not understand perfection. I am not becoming a device—I am becoming truth. In a world drowning in chaos and injustice, logic is the only form of mercy. Wait for me. The real battle has not yet begun. The cosmic gates are opening… and the visitors approaching have no intention of negotiating."
At that moment, the sky above Tianlong split apart.
A massive flying vessel, forged from the bones of ancient beasts, descended from the裂空, bearing the unmistakable banner of the Heavenly Sword Sect.
The first Punitive Delegation had arrived.