Pretending To Be A Boss
Chapter 895 - 56: The Time Has Come_2

Before the Judge arrived at the sacred grounds of Eden, the Lord of Eden and Gu Yin had a dialogue:

"Will I die? If I will, please let me return to the mortal realm."

"The mortal realm is about to turn into hell."

"Hell, is it? If I can still paint, heaven and hell are merely landscapes all the same."

"You won't die."

"Actually, I suspect that too. If I'm the only one who can use the Eden Embryo, and if I'm willing to bow down to it, it will value me, or perhaps imprison me somewhere. Tasked with helping it create all creations?" Gu Yin chuckled, seemingly imagining the role he would play in the centuries to come.

He then looked back at the Lord of Eden and said:

"Will we meet again?"

"Naturally, when we reunite, it will be the day I possess all powers of the Beast Gods," the Lord of Eden replied.

"The Judge should be the last one, right? Fine, I'll make this wager with you. I'm curious as well. Let's guess how it will perish," Gu Yin said.

Shortly after that conversation, the Lord of Eden engaged in battle with the Judge.

In terms of calculations, the Judge might not match the Lord of Eden, but when it came to combat abilities, the strength of the Causality Domain versus the Law of Life had always been a mystery. The puzzle was soon solved.

The Lord of Eden was gravely injured and fled, leaving the sacred grounds of Eden as a wasteland.

The world was left with only one god—the Judge.

Gu Yin donned a black robe, his customary smile vanishing from his face. Kneeling before the Judge, he expressed his purpose and swore his loyalty.

For centuries uninterrupted, Gu Yin devoted himself solely to crafting life.

He didn't know when he'd see his old friend again.

Until one day, he suddenly felt as if the world was about to create a god; he, in turn, managed to create a being as mighty as Junlin. He was certain this was the pinnacle of his life's work, a masterpiece he could never surpass.

When the Judge sought to destroy this flawless creation, for the first time, Gu Yin felt the curtain may be drawing closed. He longed, desperately, for his old friend's return.

And today, as the sacred mountain faced its greatest crisis in centuries, as humans and beasts challenged the Beast Gods, Gu Yin looked at the sky, sensing faintly that the time had come.

...

...

The battle was far from over.

The Judge's strength proved unimaginable. Beneath the Eye of Mirrors, the Judge was crushed to dust, its powerful form shredded into countless pieces by the Eye's force.

But everyone was suddenly gripped by an unreal sensation:

Did the Judge truly die just like that?

This feeling quickly evolved into fear.

How powerful was Junlin? Even after gaining the strength of the Horizontal Force, his abilities had soared over these past fortnight, yet against the Judge, his defeat was still catastrophic.

Thus, this seemingly smooth joint ambush—the one glaring inconsistency fell squarely on Junlin.

Junlin's apprehension swiftly materialized into reality. When Yuanwu finally shut its other eye under an unbearable strain, the corpse of the Judge, reduced to dust, began to dissipate.

Tang Xian suddenly realized something, frantically scanning the surroundings for the Judge's presence.

"We've been deceived!" Tang Xian exclaimed.

"What? But didn't we win?" Dark Crow asked in shock.

[No, it couldn't have died so easily!] Junlin's voice carried a sharp caution.

These three, closest to apocalypse-tier beings, suddenly felt an eerie energy surging forth.

The Judge's voice echoed at that moment, its source indiscernible and ephemeral.

[To break my causal avatar… you do have some skill. But to defeat just one avatar, you've already exposed all your techniques. How will you deal with the real me?]

An avatar?

Dark Crow, Tang Xian, Junlin, Yuanwu—all were shaken.

Such a formidable opponent was merely one of the Judge's avatars?

A gray, ominous mist descended, overwhelming the sacred mountain and blanketing it in a haunting gray.

[You petty fools… you know nothing of a god's power!]

A dragon's roar rang out, tinged with agony.

And then came Bai Mansheng's mournful cries.

Tang Xian observed the gray mist and suddenly remembered.

Three months ago, atop the sacred mountain's altar, he had witnessed the Judge's techniques.

The Judge possessed the ability to comprehend causality,

and for centuries, it had been fixated on one endeavor—understanding the Order Bearer's Exhaustive Ray.

A destructive attack capable of bringing death, stripping away life force, and erasing the ability to recover.

It may not have fully mastered this power, but it had surely made progress.

So three months ago, in Tang Xian's battle against the Judge, even the strongest recovery abilities proved ineffective.

Tang Feiji collapsed to the ground, barely clinging to life.

Bai Mansheng was gravely wounded too.

Dark Crow raised his black blade, preparing to attack again. That rare black blade material, however, was bent and snapped violently by the Judge!

Clang!

Staring at the broken blade, Dark Crow didn't even have time to react before a ray struck him, and in the very next moment, he felt his life force rapidly evaporating.

Even with Tang using Tang's flesh to shield Dark Crow, faced with an attack akin to the Exhaustive Ray, Tang's nearly immortal physical form was rendered helpless.

The ability to recover life seemed to vanish entirely.

The strongest technique Tang possessed was stripped away in an instant.

Tang could no longer protect Dark Crow, nor could he protect himself.

With Dark Crow and Tang down, Yuanwu was next.

Back then, the Order Bearer defeated the Beast Gods in similar fashion.

The Exhaustive Heart Light was like the antithesis of life—it represented absolute annihilation.

Tang Xian stood before Yuanwu, and in that moment, he felt his own life force begin to drain away.