Chapter 19: Fate-Gear Envoys and the Final Settlement!

Chaos stands for ultimate disorder, the mortal enemy of order, and that makes perfect sense.

So Chaos keeps infecting one world after another with calamity in order to turn more and more order into disorder?

And Order, by contrast, strives to send out Wanderers like itself to contain, and even end, the further descent of those infected worlds into chaos, restoring them to order?

Whether his conjecture was correct or not, Zhou Yan now simply took it as a fact that he was working for Order.

From this point on, he also decided not to call it some interface, golden finger, or system anymore, but to refer to it collectively as Order.

Still, those lofty matters could wait. Zhou Yan had more immediate business to attend to.

First, after ascending to star rank, his rune slots had been wiped clean and expanded to twenty, meaning that he would need to find twenty one star runes to fill them before he could advance again.

Just so happened that killing both Shuten and the Great Ogre had rewarded him with a number of one star runes, so he could fill some of them now.

He opened his item inventory, and as expected, another prompt appeared.

An unused zero star rune had been detected in the inventory, including nine rune factors and five rune circuit cores.

Due to the rise in the rank of the life-bound equipment, those zero star runes could now be replaced with three specified one star runes and one one star rune circuit core.

From now on, killing Chaos monsters or completing tasks would no longer award zero star runes.

The next moment, an exchange interface popped up before Zhou Yan.

He understood what it meant: his life-bound equipment had reached one star, and from now on it could only hold one star runes. Those zero star runes were therefore useless, and the great Order was proactively offering him a conversion option so nothing would be wasted.

Not bad.

Though those five circuit cores were a little regrettable.

But the reason he had never chosen them through so many promotions was that Zhou Yan had never treated those circuit cores as a priority.

Now that five lower grade circuit cores could be exchanged for one designated higher grade core, it was absolutely a bargain.

So Zhou Yan began quickly browsing the circuit display interface provided by Order through his mind.

This chance was truly rare. Although he already had an exchange function before Order offered this compulsory conversion, the types of circuit cores available through that function were very limited. Aside from the circuits he had personally obtained, everything else on offer was plain, standard backup fare.

It was basically there only as a safety net for when he was truly dissatisfied with the rune circuits he had acquired himself, and it required two cores plus five thousand spiritual essence for one exchange, so he had never bothered.

This time, however, the circuits Order made available for exchange were numerous: a full hundred kinds.

After browsing for a long while, he found many top tier circuits that made his mouth water.

In the end, though, he still chose the most perfect one for his own plans: Immortal.

Rune Circuit Core, Immortal 2

Rank: 1 star

Effect: When attached to the life-bound equipment, increases physique, sensitivity, and spirit by 3 points each, and activates Immortal Circuit 2.

Immortal Circuit 2: When three one star rune symbols of Blessing coexist in the same life-bound equipment, gain the additional effects of continuous life recovery of 1 percent per second, continuous stamina recovery of 1 percent per second, and forced survival for 3 seconds after receiving a fatal blow, with a cooldown of one day.

At first glance, Zhou Yan completely ignored all the other top tier circuits he had memorized while browsing.

He was certain this was the one most suited to his needs.

True endurance. True resistance against death.

With this circuit, he would no longer need to worry about dying from carelessness or some inexplicable sudden burst from an enemy.

So long as he was not killed instantly, those three seconds of forced survival would give him at least enough time to activate Super Fusion.

At that point, whether to fight or flee, he would at least have a choice.

After selecting the circuit, Zhou Yan immediately designated the three one star rune exchanges as the Blessing runes required by the circuit.

Then he equipped all the runes in one go: 2 physique, 2 agility, 2 spirit, 3 Blessing, and the Immortal circuit.

At this point, all the runes in his item inventory had been used up, and every special piece of equipment was now fitted to his body. Only the life essence remained as consumables.

No, there was still something else. He had also received three one star rune circuit essences from killing Shuten and the Great Ogre.

After some study, Zhou Yan learned that each use of this item would raise a lower rank circuit already absorbed by his life-bound equipment up to one star.

So, after a brief examination, he used all three circuit essences without hesitation.

He directly raised the most critical circuits, Survival, Absorption, and Resolve, to their corresponding one star levels.

A glance showed that the effects of these circuits had basically become three times what they had been at zero star.

And so, every benefit from his life-bound equipment’s promotion to one star had been fully realized.

Zhou Yan even felt that he was stronger than before by more than a few times.

After sorting out his own condition, Zhou Yan came back to himself and turned to the new functions unlocked now that he had officially become an Order Wanderer: Life-Bound Attendants and Communication.

The Communication function was marked as unavailable during Chaos World walks.

Zhou Yan immediately looked toward the long awaited Life-Bound Attendants function.

Order Wanderers can bind a corresponding number of fated companions as exclusive Life-Bound Attendants according to the star rank of their life-bound equipment, obtaining their absolute loyalty.

After binding, the Life-Bound Attendants reside in the Wanderer’s Hall of Heroes and enter a state of void, with their thoughts suspended.

During each Chaos World walk, the Order Wanderer may unconditionally choose one Life-Bound Attendant to summon and bestow a lesser life-bound equipment upon them, so they may complete the walk together.

Life-Bound Attendants may also be summoned outside Chaos World walks, but the price paid by the Order Wanderer depends on the attendant’s strength rating.

If a summoned Life-Bound Attendant dies or loses consciousness, they will return to the Hall of Heroes.

Amid this series of plainly stated messages, Zhou Yan quickly grasped the function of these Life-Bound Attendants.

So that was what it meant.

It was not a matter of bringing someone directly back to the main world and keeping them at one’s side, but of turning the target into a summon that existed by virtue of his own power.

In other words, if Zhou Yan bound Lumo as his Life-Bound Attendant, he would become, without a doubt, her god.

Would that girl truly be willing to follow him in such a role?

His expression shifted uneasily.

After hesitating for a while, Zhou Yan gave a wry smile and shook his head.

In any case, this was a choice he had gained unexpectedly.

All he needed to do was offer the option to Lumo and let her decide for herself.

For now, he should finish the task at hand.

Come to think of it, the Great Ogre had already been slain by him. So how should this Gate of Hell be closed?

Zhou Yan raised his head and stared at the towering, hundred zhang infernal gate wreathed in flame, yet still unreal and blurred at its edges.

The next instant, he realized there was no need to struggle over it.

With the Great Ogre’s death, the massive Gate of Hell was becoming increasingly ethereal at a speed visible to the naked eye, while the flames blazing upon it weakened further and further.

At last, the moment the flames went out, the terrifying gate vanished completely as well.

Immediately afterward, Zhou Yan heard cracking sounds like breaking glass all around him.

Before he could react, everything in this borderland of hell shattered with a thunderous crash.

Space peeled away and dissolved like fragments of glass.

In a daze, Zhou Yan found himself standing at the crater of Mount Fuji.

The black hollow, like a black hole, vanished quietly the moment he appeared.

Additional Task 3: Expel the Great Ogre, close the Gate of Hell. Completed.

All additional tasks completed. You may settle and return at any time.

Would you like to settle and return? Yes or No.

No.

Zhou Yan chose no, then smiled as he raised his head.

He just managed to catch the girl as she hurled herself into his arms.

“Master Yan, you have finally returned!”

Zhou Yan smiled and patted the girl on the head, then looked around again.

Mikadenin Seimei, together with the other four, had come over.

This fox-faced man no longer had the bearing of the head of the Demon Exorcist Bureau. He was trembling with excitement as he asked Zhou Yan in a shaky voice, “Master Yan, the black hollow is gone... you succeeded?”

Zhou Yan smiled faintly at him.

“The Great Ogre has already been slain, and the Gate of Hell has disappeared. From now on, this world should no longer give birth to new monsters.”

Although Mikadenin Seimei had already guessed as much, hearing Zhou Yan confirm it still made his whole body jolt.

He murmured, “A bloodshed of nearly a thousand years... ended in our generation?”

Not only him, but the four warriors from the ancient schools also exchanged looks, each feeling that all of this was like a dream, almost too unbelievable to accept.

Everything had gone too smoothly, so smoothly that they almost thought they were dreaming.

The next moment, the stunning bow priestess from the Mirror Clan led the way by tossing her great bow high into the air and letting out a shrill cry to vent her excitement.

Her example set the others off, and even Seimei, together with the rest, began cheering wildly.

And just as the crowd was rejoicing—

Zhou Yan held the少女 by the waist with both hands, his gaze earnest and calm.

“Lumo, I am about to leave.”

Hearing this, the girl’s expression changed from blankness to panic. It seemed she understood what his “leave” meant, and she immediately threw herself tightly against him.

“Master Yan! You promised you would take me with you!”

Zhou Yan quietly watched her anxious face, his own expression gentle.

“Lumo, I have a way to take you with me. But it will completely change the course of your life from this point on.”

The girl suddenly looked up.

“My lord, my life was changed the day I met you. I, I cannot imagine a life without you from now on. No matter what you ask, Lumo agrees! Please, do not leave me behind!”

As she spoke, she no longer cared about her image at all, tears and snot streaming down her face like a cub about to be abandoned.

From her reaction, Zhou Yan could feel her resolve, yet he still asked seriously, “Even if it means becoming a servant who lives entirely by depending on me, with life and death no longer under your own control, and having to face endless danger together with me in the future, would you still be willing to accept such a life, Lumo?”

The girl did not answer. She only nodded frantically, face covered in tear tracks.

Zhou Yan gave a soft sigh and gently wiped the tears from her cheeks.

Then he silently sent her the invitation to bind as a Life-Bound Attendant.

“Huh?”

The girl was startled by the invitation that suddenly rose in her heart. She looked dazed for a moment, seemingly trying to understand the rules of this Life-Bound Attendant.

Zhou Yan did not urge her, and simply waited quietly.

A few seconds later, no hesitation or struggle as expected appeared at all. The girl put aside her sorrow and looked up at Zhou Yan with overflowing delight.

“Yan no—Master Zhou Yan, I, I am willing!”

“Lumo is willing to become your attendant, to follow you, to live for you, to fight for you, to die for you!”

Speaking words of loyalty in the tone of a confession, the girl’s face was filled with joy.

She gazed at Zhou Yan in a trance, her body gradually becoming translucent, until at last she turned into a beam of light that sank into the center of Zhou Yan’s brow.

You have bound Life-Bound Attendant Lumo.

Current number of Life-Bound Attendants: 1/1

Zhou Yan watched everything in silence, let out a soft sigh, and chose to return.

Walk No. 289762 in the Chaos World has been completed.

Basic Task: Survive for thirty days. Completed ahead of schedule.

Additional Task 1: Go to Edo in Musashi Province and attend the Demon-Subjugation Imperial Assembly. Completed.

Additional Task 2: Slay three renowned great demons. Completed.

Additional Task 3: Expel the Great Ogre, close the Gate of Hell. Completed.

This Chaos World walk has been completed beyond the standard requirement.

Final rating for this walk: 100

Rating Reward 1: Class Seed

Rating Reward 2: Path Secret Record

Settlement complete. Returning shortly.

Zhou Yan’s gaze turned vacant, and his body shattered and vanished.

On the summit of Mount Fuji, a breeze passed by, stirring a little dust.

Several people in the midst of their celebration seemed to sense something. They quickly turned around, only to see that where Zhou Yan and Lumo had stood, there was now nothing at all.

The few of them looked at one another in silence for a long time.

The unrivaled swordsman of the Lumo School, Yan, cut down Ibaraki, subdued the Great Tengu, slew the demon god Shuten Douji, and, alone, descended into hell to exterminate the Great Ogre and seal the Gate of Hell. In the end, at the summit of Mount Fuji, he vanished silently with a beautiful girl. Was he a god or a demon, or perhaps a visitor from another world? No one knew.

The white-haired onmyoji sat before his desk, trembling as he held his brush and wrote the final line in his notebook.

From that point on, history became the one we know.

He set the writing brush aside and reread the words he had penned. In his eyes, he seemed to see once more the proud, one-eyed figure of the Lumo School swordsman from those years ago, and could not help but reveal a foxlike smile.

Then he coughed a few times and slowly rolled up the scroll recording this secret tale.

Upon the outer cover of the scroll, several large characters were written vertically:

The Secret Legend of the Divine Sword and Demon Subjugation

***

This volume is complete.