Core Protocol... Zero...
After Guan Tong finished reading this "Hidden Rule" that was not open to any civilization below level 10, a bone-deep chill immediately spread through his entire body.
The existence of a cosmic cycle was something he had already learned fragments of from the gambling round rules.
But back then, whether it was the Mysterious Gambler or the Life-Hunting Demon, they had only mentioned that the universe operated on a cycle, without saying how long each cycle lasted.
Now, however, based on the administrator's words and the contents mentioned in this protocol, it seemed this universe was not far from the "day of cycle restart."
And to ensure the restart timing was precise, these level-10 civilizations had actually initiated a "civilization elimination procedure"!
The purpose of this, as stated in the protocol, was to let "Authorities return to the True Tree."
In other words, that Starry Giant Tree covered in Authority Fruits that Guan Tong and Shi Jingyi had seen during their awakening, its true name was the "True Tree."
Moreover, according to the protocol's contents, it seemed the Authorities forged by various civilizations all originated from it. Could this be the reason why, after a civilization holding an Authority perished, the Authority would transform into a fruit and return to the tree to slumber?
What made Guan Tong even more deeply chilled was that if this 【Core Protocol】 was established by the seven level-10 civilizations represented by the seven Chief Justices of the Star Sea Court, then the purpose of establishing the court in the first place was to eliminate other intelligent civilizations.
Could it be... that the "Doomsday Bringer" was the program they used to destroy intelligent civilizations?
This thought was extremely terrifying, but it did have some supporting reasoning.
Precisely because the "Convention" and the "Doomsday Rules" came from the same source, his ability to see hidden rules had no effect on the Convention either, allowing him to see that core protocol?
The more Guan Tong thought about it, the more puzzled he became.
At first glance, it did seem so. The Fire Thief had apparently destroyed many civilizations through the Doomsday Rules, making it a well-deserved "civilization destroyer."
Moreover, the Fire Thief's information had not been entered into the Star Sea Court database, perhaps because the level-10 civilizations deliberately concealed it, not wanting other civilizations to know.
...However, this contradicted the final point of the Core Protocol, which was point 5.
Point 5 clearly stated that the protocol's contents had been amended, with the latest addition being the search for the Authority left behind by the mysterious civilization that had broken the cosmic cycle.
Without a doubt, this referred to the Authority corresponding to the key 【Wordless Book】 that Guan Tong possessed.
So the contradiction lay here: if the "Fire Thief" was a product created by the level-10 civilizations to destroy other civilizations, then why hadn't it informed those level-10 civilizations about Guan Tong possessing the 【Wordless Book】?
Everything that had happened in the Gambling Space proved that the key to this mysterious Authority was in Guan Tong's hands. The Fire Thief had even vouched for him and the Life-Hunting Demon to open the Ancient Gamble.
If one of the Fire Thief's tasks was to find the mysterious Authority, then why did it stay silent about Guan Tong possessing the key?
This contradiction left Guan Tong unable to determine whether the Fire Thief was truly a creation of the level-10 civilizations.
But setting that aside, this Star Sea Court and the ten level-10 civilizations that established it... had now plummeted dramatically in Guan Tong's estimation after reading this Core Protocol.
The Convention talked about "prohibiting cross-galaxy conflicts between registered civilizations," sounding all well and good, yet behind the scenes, they were secretly engaged in "civilization elimination."
Sequentially initiating elimination procedures according to the cosmic star map... The coldness and utter disregard for intelligent civilizations revealed in such protocol contents had reached a nauseating level in Guan Tong's eyes.
He was not a member of a level-10 civilization, so he didn't know how superior these so-called "arbitration civilizations" considered themselves.
But he did know that his own human civilization, whether it was Earth civilization or Tianshui Star civilization, belonged to the category of civilizations that would be eliminated.
After reading this hidden protocol, Guan Tong's illusion that "the Star Sea Court would protect registered civilizations" completely vanished.
Instead, he now felt a deep wariness toward this Star Sea Court.
The key to the Authority those level-10 civilizations were searching for was in his hands. If they ever found out, what would happen?
Guan Tong certainly didn't think he'd be fed and pampered like a prized pet.
"So, have you understood everything clearly now?"
The administrator's voice sounded at just the right moment.
Guan Tong knew he had been thinking for too long, all because the Core Protocol had delivered too great a shock to him.
He snapped back to reality and nodded. "I understand now. The Fire Thief wasn't recorded in the database, making it a special existence; and the Demon Race civilization doesn't belong to the Star Sea Court at all, so the Court has no jurisdiction over them either, right?"
The Star Sea Court's Convention only applied to registered civilizations, and he didn't think the Demon Race would bother registering.
From that perspective, the Demon Race was like pirates roaming the entire star sea, looting wherever they went.
Except pirates in human civilization looted wealth, while the Demon Race pirates looted civilizations rich in individual emotions.
"You're right," the administrator confirmed. "The Demon Race doesn't belong to the Star Sea Court, and because this race generally roams through the consciousness world without physical forms, they are also very difficult to guard against."
The fact that the Demon Race had no physical form was something the administrator had mentioned earlier.
Guan Tong thought about the information he had seen in the database and asked, "When I looked at the Demon Race's information earlier, it mentioned that they could attach themselves to chaotic matter to move around. Doesn't that mean they could wander the entire universe?"
Shi Jingyi had said before that through her Authority, she could sense that the universe was filled with chaotic matter.
If a bodiless Demon Race could attach itself to all of that, then they were practically everywhere, seeping into every crack.
The administrator replied, "Yes, that's also the important reason I mentioned earlier for why the Demon Race is spread across the universe. Therefore, to deal with them, equipment or Authorities capable of purifying chaos would be quite effective."
Purifying chaos...
Guan Tong thought to himself that Jingyi's 【Chaos Return to Origin】 Authority had exactly that effect. It seemed she would be a formidable expert against the Demon Race.
"May I ask what civilization level is required to produce equipment that can purify chaos?"
"Apologies, your civilization's level does not grant you sufficient authority."
"Alright."
Guan Tong considered what other information he still wanted to look up.
After reading that Core Protocol, there was no way he would mention a single word about anything related to the 【Wordless Book】.
Although this administrator before him had been friendly and approachable, it was still the database administrator of the Star Sea Court, serving the Court.
If it ever learned about the key to the mysterious Authority, it would most likely report the matter to the Chief Justices.
Setting those concerns aside, there were very few things Guan Tong wanted to know now.
However, since he only had one chance for a Deep Dive of Consciousness, he still wanted to take away as much information as possible.
"What would happen if I tried to take all the information within my authority limits?" he asked with a hint of greed.
The administrator gave a helpless smile. "The result would be that you'd turn into a madman."
"...Is it because the amount of information is too large?"
"Yes. Even if the information were compressed a million times, ten million times, the human brain still couldn't handle it. Information is something that should be pursued for sufficiency, not totality."
Guan Tong nodded. "Then what if I narrow it down, limiting the scope to key technological information in the aerospace field that low-level civilizations can grasp?"
He wanted this information, partly to help Tianshui Star civilization accelerate its space development, and partly for himself, to reach Meltstar as quickly as possible and obtain clues related to the Authority.
"That would still be too much, and..."
The administrator's words trailed off mid-sentence, then it suddenly paused before bowing deeply toward someone behind Guan Tong. "Chief Justice Seven, welcome. We are honored by your presence."