Chapter 106 Master Of All

It was greatly unfortunate, but no matter how hard Xuan tried, he could not comprehend the Ninth and Tenth layers of the Water/Ice Law. Rather than wasting more time on that here, he figured it was best to move on. As much as he knew there was a good chance he would never be able to come back here again, it was a necessary sacrifice. After all, he couldn't say for sure there wasn't a time limit or something similar in place. The prime course of action right now was to breeze through the other rooms as quickly as possible.

And then, as if on cue, a loud alarm suddenly blared through the room, and a gentle announcer's voice spoke.

[Attention. Arena closing in one hour. Contestants, please manage your time wisely.]

'So… there is someone—or something—monitoring this place after all?' Xuan frowned. 'But just who can create a dimension this special…'

Had Xuan been at his peak, it may have been possible for him—but even then, with extreme difficulty. He found it hard to believe he'd ever go out of his way to construct a place like this to help other lower-ranked cultivators comprehend the power of Laws, which was why he was baffled. What was the creator's motive?

Enough. There wasn't time to be thinking about that right now. Xuan needed to move.

In total, there were eight known Laws in the world of cultivation. Fire, Water/Ice, Earth, Wind, Lightning, Causality, Space, and Time. Of them, Xuan had already conquered the first two… which meant the next one was Earth. And indeed, following his expectations, after walking through the gate, Xuan found himself inside a desert.

There was no time, however. He didn't care about the Earth Law, Wind Law, or even Lightning Law. Given that there was only one hour remaining, Xuan could at most choose two more Laws to comprehend. And of course… the deeper in a Law's chamber was, the more advanced of a concept it was.

Naturally, Xuan chose to go straight for the crown—Space and Time.

Skipping past all the rooms before it, he soon found himself within a void of deep space. All around him, planets and other astronomical bodies drifted across the cosmos, but Xuan could not reach out to them. He was currently confined in a transparent box of some sort, and unlike the other rooms, there was no visible door in sight.

'So… I can't just skip ahead, huh?'

Well, that was fine. He hadn't been planning on skipping anyway.

The first layer of the Law of Space was titled the 'Aspect of Comprehension'. In other words, it was the ability to understand what space, as a concept, truly was. Unlike the other Laws, things like Space and Time were quite abstract, and difficult to say what exactly they were. How would one describe space or time in words? It was hard. And so, the first layer of both these Laws involved comprehension.

For Xuan, this was easy. Having already achieved enlightenment on the topic once before, getting past this step was hardly of any concern. As if on cue, several seconds later, the invisible box encasing Xuan expanded, allowing him more room to move.

The second layer was the Aspect of Travel. Xuan, focusing his gaze and his Qi, slowly drew his sword. Then, carefully yet decisively, he cut the air with the tip of his blade. It was a gentle but swift strike, not meant to cut physical objects but space itself. Immediately, a small crack of a rift appeared in the air, and inside was filled with what seemed like an endless black void.

Xuan took a deep breath. The Law of Space was dangerous. If one did not have the proper aptitude and tried to learn it by force, they could easily end up lost in the void forever. Many have tried. Many have failed.

Xuan had faith, however. His Chaos Devouring Body should, theoretically, allow him to have a decent aptitude for any Law, plus his inherent knowledge from his previous lifetime. On the off-chance that he was unable to tear open a second rift in the void to return back to the real world, he could still be reborn using the Ember of Rebirth… wait, no. In that case, he would simply be spawned back in the void… causing an endless loop of death and rebirth. If that happened, Xuan would rather simply die.

But all that is under the assumption Xuan wouldn't be able to make it out of the void, of course.

Calmly, Xuan stepped one foot into the rift, and felt a chill run through his very body. Such was the power of the void—one misstep, and you're gone forever. But Xuan was undaunted, and followed through with the rest of his body. The moment he did so, the rift behind him closed, and he was left in the abyss, alone. The empty void here was very different from the cosmos outside. Whereas there were planetoid and astral bodies to gaze upon in the real realm, here, there was nothing but an endless black.

There was no oxygen, no air, and henceforth no sound. Even if a person learned techniques that let them survive without breathing, they'd soon go insane in an environment like this. Even the strongest-willed of cultivators could not last in a place like this forever—Xuan needed to act quickly.

Drawing his sword out once more, he cut through the air in the same manner he did moments before.

Only this time, it did not work.

'… Seriously?'

For the first time since starting life anew here in this world, Xuan felt himself get nervous and his heart tighten. The clock was ticking, and Xuan could feel himself running out of oxygen. Even so, he did not falter. Calmly and carefully, he repeated the action, concentrating his Qi harder than before.

Yet even then, a rift refused to open.

'Did I take step too far over the edge…?'

Xuan wondered to himself as he seriously considered the possibility of death. But just then, he realized something. Although this place was technically the void, it was a void within a pocket paracausal dimension, which was made of Qi. In other words…

Slowly, he reached out his hand. Only this time, there was no blade between his fingers. He simply channeled his Qi, and for a brief moment, the world around him seem to glitch a bit, confirming Xuan's theory.

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The edges of his lips curved up into a grin.