Chapter 105

As the Jiuli Liquid continued to be absorbed,

Lin Yuan’s physique was constantly improving.

Streaks of black impurities began to appear on the surface of his skin.

Previously, the transformation technique for the flesh Lin Yuan cultivated, from ‘Loulan He’, had already metamorphosed his entire body once.

However, now the effects of the Jiuli Liquid were penetrating deeper, cleansing his flesh once more.

Half a day later,

Lin Yuan opened his eyes.

“My body,”

Lin Yuan felt an astonishing strength within him, “is at least thirty to fifty percent stronger than before I used the Jiuli Liquid.”

The flesh is the foundation of everything, a strong body fosters a strong soul.

“Unfortunately, the Jiuli Liquid is only useful the first time it’s used.”

After a moment of reflection, Lin Yuan opened his eyes, a tinge of regret on his face.

In fact, it wasn’t just Jiuli Liquid,

the vast majority of treasures that could greatly strengthen the body or soul came with many restrictions, effective only upon the first use—it couldn’t be more normal.

…

Virtual World.

Sparring Zone.

This area was specifically designed for Evolvers to spar with one another.

“I can’t take any more. I can’t…”

Fang Qing’s voice trembled, and his body was sent flying backward, spitting out mouthfuls of blood.

If this were not in the Virtual World, such an event in reality would have left Fang Qing severely injured, requiring months of rest to recover.

“Brother Lin, you’re too powerful. Even when suppressing your strength to a Third Rank level, I still can’t beat you…”

Fang Qing’s injuries rapidly healed as he looked at Lin Yuan and said with a bitter expression.

“It’s okay, try a few more times.”

Lin Yuan smiled slightly.

The reason he was sparring with Fang Qing was entirely because Fang Qing took the initiative to seek him out.

Not long after moving to the Central Continent Manor, Fang Qing, who had also relocated there, took the initiative to approach Lin Yuan.

Fang Qing’s manor was located several dozen miles away from Lin Yuan’s manor, essentially making them neighbors.

As they went back and forth, they became acquainted and often sparred in the Virtual World.

Lin Yuan was indeed very willing; the ‘Ancient Gods’ Evolution Path that Fang Qing cultivated was an Evolution Path surpassing the Sixth Rank.

During the previous scoring competition, Lin Yuan had a moment of insight, but due to the time constraints of the competition, he had to end it hastily.

Now that Fang Qing was presenting himself, Lin Yuan saw no reason to refuse.

Every time he fought with Fang Qing, Lin Yuan gained something from him.

Of course, Fang Qing was completely unaware of this. Not only Fang Qing but even his intelligent life mentor, the white-bearded old man,

would never imagine that Lin Yuan’s insight was so terrifying. After only a few exchanges, Lin Yuan could almost completely learn his opponent’s strengths.

They thought Lin Yuan was just a very enthusiastic Evolver, actively helping Fang Qing to practice.

“Okay.”

Fang Qing seemed to think of something, immediately regained his motivation, and charged at Lin Yuan once again.

As he charged, an ‘Ancient God’ phantom faintly appeared, mimicking the same movements behind Fang Qing.

“Ancient God…”

Lin Yuan looked at the phantom behind Fang Qing with a slightly solemn expression.

Through so many exchanges, Lin Yuan had realized that these so-called ‘Ancient Gods’ were also a form of powerful life.

This life was so strong that it merged its life marks into the rules of the world.

As a result, any creature that cultivated according to the laws it left behind could invoke the power pervading the universe.

Of course, to summon an ‘Ancient God’ phantom, there must be a certain degree of similarity with the corresponding Ancient God.

This threshold doesn’t seem high, but it’s very difficult to achieve; what kind of existence were the Ancient Gods? To reach a certain degree of similarity with an Ancient God, out of the billions of creatures, there might not even be one.

Boom.

The ‘Ancient God’ phantom behind Fang Qing raised its right fist, preparing to smash it down.

But Lin Yuan grabbed it with his hand and gently crumbled it to dust.

“What?”

Fang Qing spit out blood once again and flew backward.

“No more, I can’t fight anymore.”

Fang Qing was almost in tears.

The white-bearded old man once told him that only through constant combat with an opponent could one ultimately overcome them.

With that in mind, Fang Qing actively sought out Lin Yuan to try his luck.

The result was clear, he simply couldn’t win. Not at all.

Even when Lin Yuan, seeing Fang Qing’s pitiful state, voluntarily offered to reduce his strength and fight at a Third Rank Realm,

he still couldn’t win.

The two were simply not on the same level.

“Go and rest well for a while.”

“Come back tomorrow.”

Lin Yuan’s mind was enlightened.

Through constant contact with the ‘Ancient God’ phantom.

“`

Lin Yuan had already vaguely understood what the essence of the Evolution Skill that transcended Sixth Rank was and how it differed from other evolution paths.

This was important.

Even though Lin Yuan was currently only Fourth Rank, as the founder who blazed a new evolution path, he needed a broader vision to judge the direction to take next.

Other Evolvers simply needed to practice according to a complete evolution path and did not need to do so.

But Lin Yuan was different; he needed to ascertain the next direction.

“Rules.”

“Still rules.”

“My direction is not wrong.”

“As for why the potential limit of the evolution path still has no hope of reaching Seventh Rank, it’s because my understanding of the rules is too superficial.”

Lin Yuan thought silently to himself.

The rules of the Main World were vast, and the bit of rule essence Lin Yuan had perceived in the Divine Arms World was insignificant compared to the Main World, not even amounting to dust.

…

Elsewhere.

Fang Qing also returned to her personal space, her mood heavy.

“Teacher, do you think I have any chance of surpassing Big Brother Lin… even if we include the very distant future?”

Fang Qing couldn’t help but ask.

Whoosh.

An old man with white beard appeared, sitting on Fang Qing’s shoulder.

The white-bearded old man was only the size of a palm, but his face showed an expression of disbelief.

“A genius, I never thought I’d see the day when I was wrong…”

The white-bearded old man muttered to himself in wonder.

“Ah?”

Fang Qing’s face slightly reddened.

“Idiot, I’m not talking about you.”

The white-bearded old man glanced at Fang Qing, “That Lin Yuan, he’s actually touched upon the Origin Rules.”

“Without guidance from an evolution path beyond Sixth Rank, to be able to touch the Origin Rules, such a genius, even an entire Star Domain might not see many…”

The white-bearded old man spoke with a tone of amazement.

During the ranking match of the competition, Lin Yuan suppressed Fang Qing with the Taiji Domain.

So the white-bearded old man didn’t realize, only feeling that Lin Yuan was rolling over her with the force of Fourth Rank, bullying the weak.

But after those dozens of sparring matches, especially when Lin Yuan suppressed his strength to Third Rank, the white-bearded old man immediately realized that Lin Yuan had begun to contact the Origin Rules.

With such comprehension, the possibility of stepping into Sixth Rank in the future was at least fifty percent, even greater than Fang Qing, who possessed the Ancient God Evolution Skill.

“Ah?”

Fang Qing looked utterly confounded.

“Don’t even think about defeating Lin Yuan; it’s unrealistic, unless you have some great fortune in the future…”

“With normal development, you have no such hope…”

The white-bearded old man fell into contemplation; he looked at Fang Qing, then thought of Lin Yuan from just before, and suddenly felt frustrated.

“Alright… alright…”

Fang Qing shrank his head slightly, somewhat unable to look the white-bearded old man in the eye.

He had the feeling that if it were possible to change the inheritor, the white-bearded old man would probably be thinking about how to replace him and choose Lin Yuan right now.

…

In the depths of space.

A colossal creature was wandering; it was entirely red and its size was dozens of times that of Canglan Star.

“Woo… where am I? I was just taking a nap…”

Just then, the colossal creature opened its eyes, and just the irises alone were comparable to half a planet.

Whoosh.

The colossal creature’s form shifted, suddenly beginning to shrink.

In the blink of an eye, it transformed into an old man over two meters tall.

He was dressed in a red robe, standing in the cosmos, with energy fluctuations nearly as powerful as those of a star.

“Chikun Star Lord, it’s time for you to return.”

Just then, a solemn and serene voice sounded.

“Goddess of Wisdom…”

The man in the red robe, the Chikun Star Lord, stretched lazily at this point.

“Right.”

“The competition should be almost over by now.”

Chikun Star Lord thought, connecting to the Virtual World.

“Last time, I picked the Nolan Star System; this time, let’s go with the Dawn Star System. I’ll see which geniuses have emerged from this competition…”

As Chikun Star Lord grumbled, he began to watch.

With each passing moment, nearly a hundred million matches flashed by.

Suddenly.

The competition footage froze.

Chikun Star Lord raised his eyebrows.

“Eh!”