The No. 1 Hunfen King in the Entire Server [Interstellar] Chapter 83

[Loading game… Load successful. Title: “Gods and Demons Unbound”]

[Clear Condition: Ensure the protagonist ultimately becomes a god, i.e., Justice Value > Evil Value]

[Clear Time Limit: None]

[Matching teammates… Match successful.]

[Dear player, Take Me as an Example. Good luck.]

After the cold, mechanical voice of the system disappeared, Lin Jing looked around in confusion.

To his surprise, he hadn’t entered the game.

He was still in the dark transition space between the game and reality.

Then, in front of him, a massive tree appeared.

It was tall and lush, its dense branches stretching far beyond sight. Its leaves were a soft pink, like the hues of a morning sunrise, exuding a dreamy, radiant glow. Dangling from its branches were numerous small wooden plaques strung with red cords.

“What is this? Has your game started introducing a matchmaking system now?”

This looked way too much like those “Red Thread Trees” couples used to hang their names on in TV dramas. Lin Jing couldn’t help but mock it as he reached out, tugging down a wooden plaque. He flipped it open in his palm and saw a line of text inside.

[Name: Beggar Old Three. Year: 200, Jinghong Calendar. Age: 78. Identity: Beggar. Location: Xishui Village.]

Lin Jing turned the plaque in his fingers. “Wow, which old heartthrob here is experiencing a late-stage romance?”

The system’s voice was as cold as ever. “This is your character card for this game.”

Lin Jing: “…”

Lin Jing: “Can I put it back?”

System: “No. Each player has five identity cards. You may still draw four more.”

Lin Jing let out a dry laugh.

He had thought this was some kind of dating selection, but it turned out to be his assigned character. A 78-year-old beggar??? Alright then, this game was already looking like a guaranteed failure.

Lin Jing was a “go-with-the-flow” type when it came to gaming. After staying at the top of the rankings for so long, he had started feeling a little too invincible. Thinking that he was already far ahead of others in points, he decided to just wing it this round. He casually reached out, swept his fingers across the tree branches, and four more plaques tumbled down to his feet.

Lin Jing picked them up and took a look.

Good grief—anyone witnessing this luck would have to admit it was absolutely ridiculous.

[Name: Cripple Zhang. Year: 207, Jinghong Calendar. Age: 57. Identity: Carpenter. Location: Xuyang Town.]

[Name: Hua Xuniang. Year: 208, Jinghong Calendar. Age: 34. Identity: Brothel Madam. Location: Nightcry City.]

[Name: Ji San. Year: 215, Jinghong Calendar. Age: 55. Identity: Third Elder of the Devouring Shadow Sect. Location: Nine Nether Abyss.]

Lin Jing pulled at the corner of his mouth, completely losing interest in this game.

But then, he flipped over the last plaque—and was met with a small but pleasant surprise.

First, this plaque was glowing gold. And second, the name on it was strikingly different from the others.

[Name: Shangguan Wan. Year: 220, Jinghong Calendar. Age: 24. Identity: Daughter of the Lingxiao Sect Leader. Location: Lingxiao Sect.]

Lin Jing twirled the small wooden plaque between his fingers, intrigued. “Why is this one glowing?”

The system’s voice remained icy. “It signifies an extremely rare draw.”

Lin Jing: “Meaning it’s a good card?”

System, still cold: “No, it is both a great blessing and a great curse. This card will automatically trigger story events with the protagonist, but the closer you are to the protagonist, the more likely other players will become wary of you and try to kill you.”

Lin Jing raised an eyebrow, chuckling. “Interesting.”

System: “Friendly reminder: This game has over five hundred players.”

The implication was clear—don’t be reckless and expose yourself.

Lin Jing: “Got it.”

The system was really underestimating him. He might seem carefree, but in reality, he always played by the rules. He had never done anything truly reckless.

Lin Jing clutched the five character plaques in his hand, still curious. “Wait, I still don’t quite understand how to use these.”

System: “Once you reach the corresponding character’s timeline, you must drip your blood onto the plaque to assume their identity. Each plaque can only be used once and cannot be reused.”

Lin Jing continued probing, “Do I have to use all of them? What if I die while in the body of Beggar Lao San? Can I still switch to Cripple Zhang?”

System responded icily, “If a character dies, the player is automatically eliminated—regardless of which identity they are in. There is no requirement to use all plaques.”

Lin Jing: “Alright then.”

Finally, Lin Jing glanced back at the game’s clear condition and pondered for a moment. “Wait a second. The condition says the protagonist must ‘ultimately’ become a god. Does this ‘ultimately’ have a fixed time point?”

The system’s cold, rigid voice echoed through the vast darkness.

“Yes. At the moment the protagonist ascends.”

***

By now, Lin Jing had fully grasped the rules of this game.

In simple terms, players were divided into two opposing factions, with good and evil as the battlefield.

One group had to do everything possible to ensure the protagonist became a god.

The other had to do everything possible to ensure the protagonist fell into darkness.

Players would draw different identity cards, portraying various characters in the protagonist’s life. They would approach him, influence him, and manipulate his morality score—until his ascension determined the final outcome.

From Lin Jing’s understanding of Survivor‘s game mechanics, there was a high probability that, when the protagonist ascended, he would experience a life review—a montage of past events. The system would then evaluate which player had the greatest impact on his morality score and adjust points accordingly.

“This game is interesting. Can a person’s morality really be measured in numbers?”

Lin Jing scoffed, lifting his ragged bowl and stepping into a ruined temple to escape the rain.

Xishui Village was a poor and backward settlement. Beggar Old Three was a well-known widower in the village.

Having long passed his prime, he had no parents, no wife, and no children. His body was frail with sickness, and he survived by begging. His home was this long-abandoned, dilapidated temple. He didn’t mind its broken state, and it didn’t mind his poverty.

The ancient temple was weathered, with rain leaking through its eaves. Lin Jing, chewing on a hard-earned steamed bun, began reading the background story the system had provided to all players.

This world was one where humans, cultivators, and demons coexisted.

In the first year of the Jinghong era, the four great sects joined forces to seal the Heaven-Devouring Demon Lord underground, forming a grand demonic suppression array over the southern marshlands.

However, before his death, the demon lord self-destructed his primordial spirit, scattering his demonic energy across the world.

Once this Heaven-Devouring demonic energy entered a newborn’s body, it would manifest as a strand of “Dao Thought”—initially dormant, but later taking over the host’s mind, forcing them toward demonic transformation.

To protect the world, the immortal sects established the Immortal Alliance, appointing elite disciples as “Eradicators.” Under the guidance of the Astrologer, these Eradicators would roam the mortal world, eliminating any infants tainted by demonic energy before they could grow.

The story took place two hundred years after the establishment of the Immortal Alliance.

In Jinghong Year 200, the Astrologer of the Celestial Pavilion atop the Gui Ruins opened his eyes. Consulting his compass, he determined that a new demonic presence was awakening in a small village of the Chu Kingdom.

No need to guess—the protagonist was this very child.

Lin Jing, now fully aware of the setting, finally realized just how bad his starting hand was.

“Four Great Sects,” “Immortal Alliance,” “Eradicators,” “Astrologers”—without even thinking, those words alone guaranteed that a ton of players would be involved.

They were the ones who shaped this world’s framework and held the real power.

What could a beggar possibly do?

Serve the protagonist good food, teach him kindness—and then watch as an Eradicator shattered that belief with a single sword stroke?

“Also, the setting of this game is really absurd,” Lin Jing plucked a blade of grass from the ground. “Whether one becomes a god or a demon upon ascension, isn’t it just a matter of a single thought? Human emotions change so easily—can good and evil really be quantified into numerical values? I pity the protagonist.”

Lin Jing played with the blade of grass, then thought about it and found it quite amusing.

Good and evil formed the chessboard, and that child was just a piece upon it, manipulated by countless unseen hands.

As he grew, he would realize that along the way, many people treated him well for no apparent reason, while others treated him badly for just as little cause.

The players in the game varied in skill—some were strong enough to plan far ahead, setting up a scheme that spanned a lifetime, placing arrangements around the protagonist from childhood.

To make someone embrace evil, you must first drag them through h*ll. Humiliation, torture, and beatings were merely physical abuse—driving someone to madness required tormenting their very soul.

Nothing was more thrilling than tearing apart something beautiful.

In the end, perhaps the protagonist would discover:

The gentle and kind parents of his childhood had always coveted the blood in his heart.

The childhood sweetheart who once loved him deeply only ever wanted his life.

The longtime friend who knew him best had, in reality, always hated him to death.

With all these betrayals stacked together, how could a person not turn to darkness?

And those who wished for him to become a god would also make their moves.

So, the protagonist would then realize:

The person who always spoke harshly to him and hurt him in countless ways had, in truth, been protecting him all along.

The cruel and violent rival who had opposed him for years had secretly shielded him from countless evils.

Even the things he had stubbornly believed to be wrong concealed a different kind of truth.

Isn’t that fascinating?

In this life, family is not family, enemies are not enemies, friends are not friends. In the end, love and hate are reversed, right and wrong are blurred, and truth becomes indistinguishable. He stands at the center of fate’s absurd and chaotic whirlpool—becoming a god or a demon, just one thought away.

Lin Jing bit into his steamed bun and, the more he thought about it, the more he couldn’t help but laugh.

Fascinating.

It’s just a shame that such a spectacular drama has nothing to do with him.

Since he had ridiculed the game’s setting from the start, he had no intention of taking it seriously now.

After finishing his bun, Lin Jing sat cross-legged by the fire for warmth, idly playing with the four wooden tokens in his hand, even considering tossing them straight into the flames.

“A beggar, a carpenter, a brothel madam—what use are any of you? You probably won’t even get a chance to exchange a single word with the protagonist.”

As for Shangguan Wan, the daughter of the Lingxiao Sect’s leader—one of the Four Great Sects—her status was impressive, but unfortunately, she only appeared at the very end. By then, the protagonist would have already endured so much hardship—what could she possibly do?

Outside, the rain was gradually stopping. Lin Jing heard the croaking of frogs in the fields and then caught the scent of blood in the air.

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