Chapter Fifty-Six: The Will at the Heart of the World

“Our luck isn’t too bad after all.”

On the white snowy plain, two black dots moved one after the other toward the distant horizon.

After nearly a full day of walking, Mo Fangyuan and Zhang Lingyun found the storm had finally ceased; the snow no longer drifted down. Sunlight, absent for so long, pierced through heavy clouds and spilled onto the land, making the biting cold seem a touch warmer.

“Let’s take advantage of this good weather and cover more ground today!” Mo Fangyuan suggested.

“Your Majesty, you say that now, but last night you nearly drained me dry!” Zhang Lingyun’s face paled as she recalled the previous night’s ordeal. Mo Fangyuan was truly relentless; had her stamina not improved so much during her leveling up, she doubted she could manage to walk at all today.

Mo Fangyuan laughed awkwardly, realizing he had indeed been too much last night.

Compared to kings in his previous life, Mo Fangyuan was notably approachable—not at all like the stern, imposing rulers depicted in other tales. The truth was, he’d once been just a student, and mimicking those sovereigns was never something he could truly accomplish.

Moreover, the nature of a ruler among Block People was still undefined, a vague concept in this world. Most leaders governed small nations of seventy or eighty souls, struggling to survive, bearing no trace of noble aura. Here, the Block People hadn’t even reached a feudal era; there were no strict rituals or rigid hierarchies. Without clear distinctions of etiquette and status, it was difficult to create any sense of oppressive majesty.

Mo Fangyuan actually enjoyed this sense of closeness. It felt good. He needn’t keep distance from his people, nor live behind a mask. That would be far too exhausting.

While Mo Fangyuan’s thoughts wandered, in the deepest reaches of the Block World’s dimensional space, something earth-shattering was unfolding.

Sentient beings knew of dimensions only from legends, but none understood what a dimension truly was. Was it really a byproduct of some creator’s defense of their ideals, as the stories claimed?

No living being, not even the “Masters,” knew that at the world’s very heart, there was another dimension that defied description. It was intimately linked to the entire block system, connected to the world yet standing apart, capable of altering reality with ease. Even the Masters were as insignificant as insects before it.

Within this dimension, countless tiny white particles floated ceaselessly, clustering densely to fill the space, making it resemble a strange white ocean. If a great power were to look closely, they’d see these particles were not mere elements but unique shapes.

“1, 2, w, f, .cn, jv…”

These shapes were bizarre and varied, holding the power to create worlds.

At the surface of this white ocean, three deeper-colored white rivers drifted, suspended at the very summit of the dimensional world. They flowed independently yet were joined together, and as time passed, some grew darker, as if solidifying.

If Mo Fangyuan could witness these “divine rivers,” he would recognize the familiar script they formed as they twisted and turned—not formless, but forming characters he knew well:

[Village and Plunder Update (60%) Paused]
[Nether Update (69%) Continuing]
[Cave Update (3%) Continuing]

Suddenly, the middle river, the darkest one, shifted—the strange characters in its center abruptly became 70%. Below, the white ocean began to boil.

Countless particles gathered, then scattered. Some formed soul sand, as existed in the Nether, but then the soul sand clustered into a small soul sand plain. Others became pigmen, who then collapsed and morphed into other, pig-like monsters. Some turned into strangely colored trees… hulking monsters… and more.

After an indeterminate time, the white ocean slowly calmed. The Nether biome that had emerged scattered like sand, returning to the white sea. The entire dimensional space fell back into its eternal silence.

The creatures of the Block World were unaware of any of this. Mo Fangyuan walked on, the Skeleton King slumbered in his great hall, the Pigman Empire gazed toward the main world, the flames in their eyes burning ever brighter.

Everything was so real, yet utterly absurd.

Within the Block Kingdom, the kingdom’s high council sat together discussing matters.

“His Majesty is the child of the sun, his body precious as gold. If this continues, we’ll have failed the sun!” Old Fu, ever the sycophant, spoke first, his flattery reaching new heights.

“That’s right. His Majesty once said, ‘If you walk by the river often, your feet will get wet.’ If he keeps taking such risks, trouble is inevitable!” Lin Ye agreed, convinced disaster was only a matter of time.

“I believe His Majesty needs something to tie him down, so he won’t be so reckless. Have you noticed how desperately he throws himself into danger?” Old Duan, finished with disciplining the unruly children, chimed in as well.

“So what should we do? How do we give His Majesty something to care about?” Yali admitted she only knew how to fight, and was lost on the rest.

“I think His Majesty isn’t getting any younger! Perhaps we could…” Lin Ye, having spent considerable time in the trial space, had learned many methods—marriage alliances being a favorite tactic of the local nobility, as common as curly-haired baboons.

“But who should we choose?” Someone asked, and the room fell silent.

“Lin Ye, I think…”

“I’d gladly offer myself for His Majesty’s sake, but you all know, given my previous gender… His Majesty would likely be put off…”

“Well then…”

“I don’t think Zhang Lingyun is suitable either. She’s too indecisive. If she became queen, how could she help His Majesty manage the kingdom?”

Tradition held that the king was brave and heroic, the queen clever and shrewd; together, they governed the realm.

Thus, the council felt the queen should possess a sharp mind.

“But if His Majesty learns what we’re thinking, how will he take it?”

Once again, silence reigned.

Meanwhile, Mo Fangyuan and his companion had reached their first destination.

If not for the visible rooftops poking above the snow, Mo Fangyuan would have assumed the village had been wiped out entirely.

The entire village was nearly buried under snow.

“Let’s go in and take a look!” Zhang Lingyun, equipped with her rapid movement skill, reached the village entrance in a flash.

Mo Fangyuan struggled to lift his feet, careful not to sink into the drifts.

“This village doesn’t look promising,” he remarked.

Even at the entrance, no one came out to greet them.

“Zhang Lingyun, let’s go inside and check.”

Seeing the situation, Mo Fangyuan decided it was necessary to investigate. The Block Kingdom could survive the winter, but weaker villages might not. For the vulnerable, every day was a torment. If anything bad had happened, they needed to be prepared.

“This place is a bit too quiet,” Zhang Lingyun said, puzzled.

No one came to welcome them at the gate—clear sign that something was wrong.

“Don’t rush. Let’s check inside.”

“Knock, knock, knock!” Mo Fangyuan approached a nearby dilapidated hut and knocked on the door.

“No response. Something really has happened,” he concluded.

He couldn’t be sure if the villagers were victims of the weather or monsters.

Mo Fangyuan drew his diamond axe, alert, and kicked open the door.

“Don’t move! Water inspection!” he called.

With a kick, the wooden door swung open, revealing the hut’s interior.

On the bed lay a figure, their body pale, surrounded by white particle effects.

Clearly, the person had frozen to death.

The roof blocked out the sun, preventing him from turning into an experience orb and returning to the sun’s embrace.