The entire world is a spiritual realm realm—a simulation. I've always lived within this simulation... Then, what's the difference between me and the NPCs in this realm? Hm, perhaps there is none. Zhang Yuanqing found it hard to accept at first. He couldn't believe that he himself was merely an NPC within the simulation, which made him feel personally disrespected. As a spiritual realm traveler and a person from the real world, he had always viewed the inhabitants of the realm—those who were ignorant and unenlightened—with a sense of superiority, seeing them from a divine perspective. Now he realized: the clown was himself. Yet, considering that all the antagonists are also parts of himself, becoming an NPC no longer feels so difficult to accept. Before the gods, ordinary mortals are merely low-level beings that can be easily created—what difference is there between the NPCs in the realm and the wild humans? Only that sense of wonder remains, lingering in his heart. The non-metaphysical items promised not to be brought into the realm—well, I see now. You've built the realm around the cosmic essence, with divine graces as a supporting element, and this very planet is part of that realm. To disrupt the orderly plans, the chaotic deities must invade the realm. It's precisely this realm's protection that allows us ordinary beings to survive amidst the constant presence of the chaotic forces. As I speak, a thought comes to me, and I furrow my brow: "But isn't the realm itself a modern creation?" I've seen it depicted in the murals of the Bronze Tree—divine power originates from meteorite falls, and evil likewise stems from such celestial events. Of course, if the entire planet is part of a grand realm-level instance, then a breach in the realm could be equivalent to a celestial leak, with evil forces descending from space. Yet, if the realm has existed since ancient times, it should not contain such modern elements as instances, character progression, or attribute interfaces. The Heavenly Emperor smiled and said: "In ancient times, we taught humanity the ways of cultivation. As the mortal beings' status grew higher, their battles gradually overwhelmed this planet's capacity. To provide them with richer arenas for trials, the administrators established one after another immortal realms—known as the Spiritual Realms! Some of these realms were eventually reclaimed and transformed into the current instances, while others remained in the world due to certain reasons. The Merit Scroll in ancient times served as a means of maintaining order, recording the moral virtues of the strong, and the most virtuous were often elected as leaders. The current functions of the Spiritual Realms existed in ancient times as well, though expressed differently. After the revival of the Spiritual Realms in modern times, the previous systems of order could no longer function. Thus, I adapted them to suit contemporary realities, and thus the present-day Spiritual Realms came into being." "Ah, so that's it... Zhang Yuanqing accepted this explanation and then asked a different question: "Since the Waha Deity is the divine embodiment of scholars and musicians, does that mean She is stronger than ordinary deities?" Heaven's Sovereign gently nodded: "Indeed, the Waha Deity, the Mother Goddess, the Wind and Thunder God, the Earth Sovereign, and the God of Magic are the most elite among the deities. The others are slightly less powerful. However, there are exceptions—some deities are inherently stronger than others, such as myself." Zhang Yuanqing glanced at the dashboard behind Heaven's Sovereign and asked cautiously: "Is your rule... time?" Heaven's Sovereign smiled: "You may call me the 'God of Time.'" "Why are there no professions in the Spiritual Realm directly related to you?" "I must remain in peak condition to sustain the Spiritual Realm with the power of a single deity, resisting the encroachment of intruders," Heaven's Sovereign sighed. "Energy is conserved—whenever the spiritual energy dispersed into the outside world increases, the strength of the divine essence diminishes." In fact, besides the currently known lawful professions, there are still many divine essences left behind by lawful deities in the Spiritual Realm. However, due to the limited operational capacity of the Spiritual Realm, incorporating all these divine essences into established professions would make the realm overly complex and introduce significant flaws and errors. "Perhaps, when the sun, moon, and stars align and the Cosmic Sovereign emerges, the Spiritual Realm will evolve to a higher level, at which point it will be able to generate more professions," Zhang Yuanqing remarked. "I still don't understand—among the known evil professions, each is associated with a demonic deity. Yet these deities have not perished; how then can they split off their divine essences to form semi-divine artifacts?" Hao Tian Emperor replied, "The Spiritual Realm was created by us based on the divine essences left behind by positive deities. How could the divine essences of negative deities, who perished in great battles, become the foundation for professions within the Realm?" The very reason the existing evil professions have become professions within the Spirit Realm is precisely due to the invasion of the evil deities into the Spirit Realm. However, they can only fragment and channel a portion of their rule-based power into the Realm, resulting in incomplete divine forms—thus creating half-gods who oppose the lawful factions. Strictly speaking, these evil half-gods merely possess half-divine strength and do not qualify to influence the Spirit Realm, since they are not administrators. Nevertheless, as long as the holders of the Sun, Moon, and Stars choose to align themselves with the evil faction, they can establish themselves as administrators of the Spirit Realm's core, expand the number of administrators, and formally integrate the evil professions into the system. Consequently, the evil deities beyond the Realm will naturally evolve into administrators of the Spirit Realm, ultimately defeating the entire lawful faction—and even the Realm itself. In their eyes, their actions are simply upholding the order established at the very inception of the universe. Hence, the absence of "half-gods" among the evil faction is precisely what this means. Zhang Yuanqing asked curiously, "After the universe developed its will, can it truly reshape the rules and alter its fate of extinction?" Haotian Emperor sighed, "It's possible that it might choose to align itself with the forces of evil, upholding the existing order—this is the unique aspect of the Ye You Shen profession. 'The Will of the Universe' does not belong strictly to Lawfulness nor to Evil; in fact, it can embody either Lawfulness or Evil. "When selecting the embodiment of 'The Will of the Universe,' we can only strive to choose those who are close to Lawfulness and who embrace its principles." "As to whether The Will of the Universe can eventually comprehend a way to change its fate—this is something even the deities cannot guarantee. However, as long as there is hope, we will continue to strive." Zhang Yuanqing nodded, indicating understanding, absorbing the information while simultaneously reviewing and filling in any gaps. Suddenly, he remembered something: "I once met the Badan Marshal, who denied being the First Emperor. As the second being throughout history to fully comprehend the mysteries of the Five Elements, where did the First Emperor go?" "... 【Ping! The arena match has ended; the lawful faction wins.】 【Ping! The evil faction's array has lost 24 hours of duration.】 【Ping! Array争夺 has begun!】 At the very moment the spiritual realm's notification sounds reached their ears, both sides immediately surged into action—each moving with such speed that they seemed to materialize in mid-air, converging on the evil faction's array domain, where the duration had just expired—a vast expanse of 500 square kilometers, blanketed in barren sand and soil. Kshatriya's violence can pierce through space, and even the ability to move through the void cannot fully withstand it. Fu Qingxuan, who arrived from behind, cried out in exasperation: "Five elements unified—I shall form the head!" As soon as she spoke, the central figure of the courtyard suddenly grew taller, transforming into a towering deity of earth yellow. Threads of earth spirit gradually peeled away from the ground, winding around the feet and forming a pair of bright yellow silk-cloud shoes. The graceful and breathtaking water deity, taking the form of a rolling mass of dark clouds, encircled the giant spirit, weaving a deep blue robe embroidered with subtle patterns. The young sapling stretched its body, its ribbon-like form winding around the giant's waist, becoming a jade-embellished green sash. Master Jiang summoned a vast sea of flames, roaring as it struck the giant spirit; the spirit caught the flame and, with a flick of its body, released it in a sweeping motion, the flames cascading into a flowing robe. Finally, Fu Qingxuan transformed into a blade of light, landing upon the giant's head and becoming a crown adorned with dangling jade beads. The giant's face instantly The five elemental spirits of Gold, Wood, Water, and Fire surged, mingling and blending into a hazy, primordial luminescence, causing the entire realm of the instance to reenact the age of chaos. A colossal deity stepped forward, compressing space to a mere inch, arriving at the War Lord's side and delivering a powerful punch. Boom! The impact of the punch against the War Lord's body was as if detonating a nuclear bomb—the sound alone could kill ordinary humans. The War Lord was hurled backward like a cannonball. The colossal deity then compressed space once more, pursuing relentlessly. Fierce combat erupted far off in the distance, with the swirling chaos and towering fog obscuring sight, leaving only the dense explosions and spatial ripples to signal the intensity of the battle. The celestial half-deity returned to the light column. The elders of the spiritual realms—the Sea Emperor, the Chairman of Heaven's Judgment, the Beauty Goddess, and the Lord of the Stars—coordinated seamlessly, forming a protective barrier in front of the light column, observing the evil half-deities with calm detachment. Only five half-deities remained in the evil faction. The Void Half-Deity looked up at the sky: "Hm, it seems your masters have withdrawn their forces. If I were you, I'd kneel now. When the battle is lost, surrender is the right choice." The Evil Half-Deity paid no attention, quietly communicating with the Supreme Presence beyond the veil, pleading for strength to descend. They were not afraid of death, but they certainly wouldn't die in vain. Time passed, second by second—five minutes flew by—until the core of the阵法 was seized by the Lawful forces, and the Supreme Presence still failed to manifest. Thus, the Evil faction was left with only one final array. Three days later, when the time limit expired, under current circumstances, it was certain to fall into the hands of the Lawful side. With the Lawful forces, the Deep Void could be opened, and the Sun's essence summoned. The distant battle gradually subsided, the Great Beings contracting their forms to return to the Lawful faction, splitting into five regional leaders. The War Lord, bloodied and stepping over the barren earth, came back one step at a time. Both sides remained silent, facing each other. Lingtuo furrowed his brow, turning to the evil half-gods: "Have they not yet responded?" The gudragon of the Lingneng Guild and the two phantom deities from the Southern School both shook their heads. The King of Fear, whose face betrayed no smile, touched his silver ear studs: "Perhaps they're still struggling to connect with the Spirit Realm. With two consecutive manifestations of power, the Realm's mechanisms will surely be patching up their flaws." The Southern School's phantom deity exhaled a gust of stale air: "We can only watch and wait." At that moment, a low voice from the Warlord echoed: "Retreat!" ... New Covenant County. Viny Burent stood by the window, enjoying the cityscape beneath a clear blue sky and white clouds. This week has been calm—the evil faction has been quiet, with only scattered incidents such as zero-cost purchases, street skirmishes, and temple sacrifices—conflict events have steadily declined. The orderly members, who had been under constant strain, finally have a chance to breathe. Though she knows well that this calm is merely the stillness before the storm, a moment of peace is peace, and it's better than enduring constant tension and danger. To be honest, since October last year, the chaotic and lawful factions have been at war, and members of the New Covenant County's Divine Judgment branch have suffered heavy casualties—so much so that the headquarters has had to draw personnel from various regions. When Winny Burnt prepared to head home after work, she intended to soak in a hot spring, wash away the fatigue of her duties, and enjoy the coming weekend. But just then, the phone behind her rang sharply and insistently. For some reason, Winny Burnt felt a sudden chill, instinctively sensing that this wasn't good news—perhaps she had been receiving too many negative updates lately. Frowning, she walked to her desk and picked up the receiver. A hurried voice from the speaker said, "Department,部长, we've just received word that the Wind and Thunder Deities have awakened." Winny Burnt stood motionless, as if struck by a bolt of lightning.