Chapter 2666 - Who Set the Rules?

The Five Elements Altar was an arena, but it was naturally formed. No human hands had been involved in its creation.

It was roughly thirty thousand feet across and shaped like a lotus. It was bathed in five-colored divine radiance and condensed out of chaos source energy.

In a sense, the Five Elements Altar was an enormous Fragment of Heaven’s Will. It was just the biggest and most complete, making it the cradle of the natural order and the source of the God Domain’s myriad Daos.

That was why the Battle for Order was fought here.

The basic structure of the Battle for Order was simple. Five participants would fight in each match. matches could continue, round after round, until just one combatant was left standing. The winner was whoever triumphed until the very end!

But when it came time to fight, there were additional rules, those of a clash of the Grand Dao.

Su Yi was the first to reach the summit. Others arrived afterward, one after another. Soon, they’d completely encircled the Five Elements Altar, each group occupying their own territory.

Su Yi stood there too, but unlike the others, he was all alone.

Five-colored auspicious clouds covered the sky, and chaos power billowed from the Five Elements Altar. Anyone who stood there could clearly sense the mysteries and secrets of ten thousand Daos, as if they were resonating with them all at once!

“What a wondrous place... I can sense Eternal source power deep within...” murmured Cang Lingzi.

He was dressed in a feather coat, and he carried an old-fashioned treasure tower in the palm of his hand. It was emblazoned with all manner of blood-red markings.

As a member of Sevendeaths Court, his position was much like Huo Yunhu’s in Limitless Palace, or Yu Chiyang’s in the Court of the Southern Heavens. All of them were prominent authority figures, and all of them drew a lot of attention.

Because they were backed by Heavenly Sovereigns Yaoguang, Wen, and Changhen respectively. That the three of them had come to participate in the Battle for Order was, in and of itself, proof of the three Heavenly Sovereigns’ attitude!

“It’s the presence of Eternity that connects the past, present, and future in the natural order of the Epochs,” an old-timer said gravely. “That’s what makes this epoch’s Battle for Order so special. Whoever wins will seize control of that Eternal source power, becoming the sole ruler of the epochs!”

“Hah. That isn’t necessarily the case,” said Wang Zhiwu, pointing at the five-colored auspicious clouds covering the sky. “Even if someone emerges as the ultimate victor of the Battle for Order, if they want to become the sole ruler of the epochs, they’ll have to make those old-timers give their approval first.”

His voice echoed throughout the area. Everyone’s expression shifted.

All of them knew that Wang Zhiwu was referring to those old-timers watching from the endless void beyond the God Domain.

They couldn’t take the stage personally, but when the Battle for Order ended, they’d be able to intervene by force!

When the time came, even if someone managed to win the Battle for Order, those old-timers could crush them to death with ease!

Many of them looked at Su Yi pityingly. After all, who could possibly have failed to realize that Su Yi had practically no hope of turning things around under these circumstances?

No matter how well he performed in the Battle for Order, even if he won and survived to the very end, there was no way the old-timers from the River of Destiny would let him go. Even if he died, they’d extract the full extent of his Dao Fruit from his corpse!

When the time came, it would ultimately come down to which of them managed to eat his Dao Fruit first.

Su Yi disregarded all this. He just stood there, unperturbed, holding a jug of wine aloft.

“Patrolling Spirit, is there anything special we need to know about the rules of this Battle for Order?” asked Di E.

The yellow finch hovered over the Five Elements Altar. As tiny as it was, it was the center of attention.

“The rules are the same as in the past,” said the yellow finch. “Use your Five Aggregates Talismans to draw lots and determine the order of combat. Five people will participate in every match. Each match will have only one victor. The four losers will be disqualified.

“The winner can continue to the second round of matches. Whoever makes it to the end, wins.”

Here, the bird changed tacks. “The only difference is that this time, the winner shall become the master of the Five Elements Altar and assume control over Red Pine Mountain’s chaos source.”

The crowd stirred. Many of the participants started transmitted amongst themselves.

Su Yi stood there, looking thoughtful. The Battle for Order might have seemed like an ordinary tournament, but it was different in that each match had five participants!

All five fought, but only one could emerge as the final victor.

The difficulty was far too great. Moreover, Su Yi knew that when he competed, his four opponents were sure to gang up on him. There’d be no room to maneuver!

The finch’s last comment openly stated the greatest good fortune available in this Battle for Order, the chance to become the master of the Five Elements Altar and assume control over Red Pine Mountain’s chaos source.

That was starkly different from before.

“Must we fight to the death?” asked Wang Zhiwu.

“It’s enough that you’re capable of killing your opponents,” said the yellow finch. “Whether you ultimately kill or spare them is up to you.”

It paused, then added, “Also, I’d like to remind you that no matter who you are, anyone who uses external items or power will be considered the enemy of Red Pine Mountain. You won’t just be disqualified; you’ll be executed on the spot.”

Its bright eyes canned the crowd. “If you don’t believe me, you’re welcome to test it.”

The crowd was instantly solemn. Although they’d long since known this rule, the finch’s warning made them considerably more cautious.

“You hear that, Su Yi? The Patrolling Spirit is saying that for your benefit,” said Huang Yanleng. “On the Five Elements Altar, you cannot use any external power or treasure. Unless you manage to prove your Dao mid-combat and enter Eternity, you have absolutely no hope of victory.”

Cang Lingzi couldn’t help but laugh. “Prove his Dao mid-combat? With those powerful experts watching from on high, how could he possibly find an opportunity to break into Eternity during the Battle for Order?”

Many of the others had strange looks in their eyes.

To prove your Dao and achieve Eternity, you had to sense the aura of the River of Destiny and undergo the baptism of a Tribulation of Destiny.

But how could the experts of the River of Destiny possibly give Su Yi such an opportunity?

Last time, in the Borderless Mountains, they’d joined forces to sever the God Domain’s connection to the River of Destiny. They were sure to do the same this time, all for the sake of ensuring that Su Yi had no chance to break through!

Su Yi paid this no heed. Actually, he hadn’t said a single word since reaching the summit.

He’d been so quiet that even now, no one knew what he was thinking.

“I’d like to know who decided the rules of the Battle for Order,” the Dipankara Buddha said out of nowhere. “The fate of the God Domain is on the line. We’re supposed to determine the victor through a series of duels? The very idea is unreasonable."

The crowd was stunned, but they quickly realized what he was getting at.

It was true. The power of the Laws of Red Pine Mountain made sense. After all, this was the source of the myriad Daos of the God Domain.

But the rules of the Battle for Order obviously had nothing to do with the natural order. Someone had clearly put them into place.

But who was it? Was it the yellow finch?

No, it couldn’t be, because the finch was just an incarnation of the Laws. It couldn’t possibly have set the rules.

Su Yi couldn’t help but glance at the Dipankara Buddha.

The old bald donkey is obviously after something. He isn’t simply here for the Battle for Order.

All the finch had to say in response to this question was, “Assume control over the Laws of Red Pine Mountain, and you’ll naturally learn these secrets.”

The crowd stirred.

It’s true. There really are secrets hidden behind these rules!

“Everyone, you can take out your Five Aggregates Talismans and draw lots now,” said the yellow finch. It rose into the air, then left the arena and perched on a distant auspicious cloud.

From its current vantage point, it could count the participants: one hundred and forty-nine people in total. That meant that one match would have just four participants, but that wouldn’t affect the final result.

No matter how many vacancies were, the matches would continue until the very end.

Everyone promptly drew lots and examined them with their divine sense.

Meanwhile, a mysterious, inscrutable energy fluctuation emanated from the thirty-thousand-foot Five Elements Altar.

The results of the lot drawing appeared on the Five Aggregates Talismans shortly after.

Su Yi looked at his talisman. He’d be fighting in the fifth match.

Boom!

The Five Elements Altar rumbled and boomed, and an unbelievable scene followed. The five participants chosen to fight in the first match vanished into thin air, then reappeared on the Five Elements Altar.

The platform was shaped like a five-petaled lotus, with one combatant on each petal. Each petal was shrouded in a different-colored rain of chaos light corresponding to one of the five elements.

Su Yi looked over. Much to his surprise, the Dipankara Buddha had been chosen to fight in the first match!

He stood in the region representing metal, but he remained calm and detached even as his entire body was bathed in golden chaos light.

Su Yi didn’t recognize the other four combatants, but he could tell that three were from the River of Destiny, and that they were true Unfettered Realm Dao Lords.

The other was also an Unfettered Realm Dao Lord, but he was from the Central Divine Continent.

Su Yi couldn’t help but be curious.

Just... how strong is the Dipankara Buddha now?

The Dipankara Buddha had been his enemy across multiple lifetimes. He was unquestionably among the people Su Yi wanted to kill most.

But Su Yi knew that the old bald donkey’s identity was extraordinary. He’d once been a cultivator of the River of Destiny, until a Karmic Tribulation made him plummet out of the Eternal Dao. He then went on to found the Western Paradise Spirit Mountains in the God Domain.

Su Yi had no idea what kind of Eternal the Dipankara Buddha had been, or how high his cultivation base was at his peak.

Still, he could say with certainty that the Dipankara Buddha was different from before.

Back in the Boundless Battlefield, Su Yi slew Old Man Heart Demon, ridding the Dipankara Buddha of his negative karma.

The Dipankara Buddha had been different ever since.

That aside, Su Yi suspected that the Dipankara Buddha of the past, the Buddha of the Future, and the Buddha of the present were originally part of the same person!

Of course, this was just Su Yi’s hypothesis.

Now, it seemed he might well catch a glimpse of the Dipankara Buddha’s true strength during the Battle for Order!

All eyes converged on the Five Elements Altar.

Meanwhile, several pairs of eyes watching everything happening here from the foot of the mountain.