Chapter 342: Lin Yuan's Threat Level

Chapter 342: Lin Yuan's Threat Level (5000 characters, please subscribe)

Countless ninth-tier aliens fled towards the inner region of the Xuanhuang Secret Realm.

The main continent of the Xuanhuang Secret Realm was divided into three areas: the outer region, the inner region, and the core area.

The outer region was the smallest in area, which was why the ninth-tier evolvers of human civilization were able to form a blockade and drive all the ninth-tier aliens into the distant canyon.

Compared to the outer region, the inner region was much more vast.

With the current number of evolvers in human civilization, it was impossible to cover the entire inner region.

Those ninth-tier aliens who escaped to the inner region could quickly shake off the pursuit of human civilization.

Of course, the safety of the inner region was only temporary.

Once a hundred years had passed since the secret realm opened, and it was about to close, any strong beings outside the outer region would be eradicated by the realm.

Lin Yuan stood in the void, watching the countless aliens fleeing in madness, but he did not give chase.

With thousands upon tens of thousands of ninth-tier aliens scattering in different directions, even if Lin Yuan pursued them while maintaining his strength at the two hundred millionth layer of space, it would be difficult to kill them all.

Secondly, those alien strongmen had taken the initiative to escape to the inner region, which was in line with Lin Yuan's intentions, saving him the effort of taking action.

"Galaxy Master Lin, those ninth-tier aliens have fled into the inner region, and we're afraid there's not much we can do about it," Dokko said as he walked up to Lin Yuan and stood behind him, his tone embarrassed.

The vastness of the inner region was one thing.

Moreover, this region was home to numerous indigenous life forms that were exceptionally powerful.

If human civilization were to make a fuss and set up a blockade like they did in the outer region, those ninth-tier aliens might not even be found, but the humans would likely be harassed by those indigenous life forms.

"It doesn't matter," Lin Yuan shook his head.

Hearing this, Dokko breathed a sigh of relief.

He had been worried that Galaxy Master Lin would be displeased.

After all, according to their previous plan, for every ninth-tier alien killed, Galaxy Master Lin would take ninety percent of the benefits.

But now, with all the aliens fleeing into the inner region, the number of deaths was minimal, which meant that Lin Yuan's final gains would not be significant.

"However, with Galaxy Master Lin's strength, it is entirely possible to pursue them. It will take some time, but we should still be able to take down several hundred ninth-tier aliens," Dokko thought to himself, though he dared not ask further. In fact, he had his own speculations on the matter.

Galaxy Master Lin had faced four legendary ninth-tiers, including the Child of the Tree World and Dragon Scale King, and had defeated them single-handedly by using some kind of explosive secret technique.

Such secret techniques usually came at a cost afterward, such as a period of weakness. Perhaps this was why Galaxy Master Lin had not given chase? After defeating those four legendary ninth-tiers, had Galaxy Master Lin not paid any price at all?

Thinking of this, Dokko felt that it made much more sense.

"Since these aliens have fled to the inner region, let's just keep them from coming out," Lin Yuan said, his hands clasped behind his back as he spoke softly.

"Of course!" Dokko nodded.

He turned his gaze towards the fleeing ninth-tier aliens, his eyes filled with killing intent.

Dokko could understand the aliens' actions very well.

Even in death, they would not let human civilization benefit.

If he were in their position, he too would have made the same choice.

But understanding was one thing, and actually doing it was another.

Since these aliens were so eager to die in the secret realm, then so be it.

Although the aliens' escape into the inner region had reduced the gains of the ninth-tier evolvers in human civilization, it was only a decrease in profits. For the aliens, it was a devastating loss.

Not only had they gained nothing from entering the secret realm, but they had also lost an avatar.

In the distant canyon.

The many ninth-tier strongmen who had been watching the spectacle from afar had mixed emotions.

When the Child of the Tree World, Dragon Scale King, and the other three legendary ninth-tiers had appeared, they had thought that the situation would change.

At the very least, the invincible Galaxy Master would be restrained.

But now, it seemed that those four legendary ninth-tiers had not lasted long against Galaxy Master Lin.

"How did Galaxy Master Lin cultivate to such a terrifying extent?"

"It's a good thing my tribe doesn't have any major conflicts with human civilization."

"The peak tribes must be feeling the pain now."

The emotions of the ninth-tier strongmen varied—some were astonished, some were shocked, some found it incredible, and some took pleasure in the misfortune of others.

In the depths of the vast universe, within a certain layer of space, there existed another cosmic secret realm. This realm was incredibly vast, and at its center stood a towering ancient tree with deep green foliage that reached towards the sky.

The ancient tree's canopy covered the entire secret realm, and beside it stood another tree, noticeably shorter than the first.

Upon closer inspection, one would find that the taller ancient tree had a unique temporal flow on its surface, vastly different from the flow of time in the main universe.

While millions or even billions of years might pass in the main universe, for this ancient tree, perhaps only a day or a month would have gone by.

Suddenly, the smaller tree's aura began to change subtly.

"Child, what's wrong?" The towering ancient tree immediately noticed, and its temporal flow returned to normal as it emitted a gentle spiritual ripple, its tone filled with indulgent affection.

It was the Mother of the Tree World, an eleventh-tier life form capable of negotiating with the strongest beings.

There were indeed some eleventh-tier life forms in the vast universe, but it was rare for even the strongest beings to be unwilling to force their hand. How domineering were these strongest beings?

Perhaps they were gentle elders or predecessors to their own kind, but to other tribes, they mostly held the attitude of "obey or perish."

This was true for human civilization, the insectoid race, and the Celestial Feather Tribe.

The Mother of the Tree World looked at the smaller tree with a gentle gaze. It was a unique life form in the universe, and after reaching the eleventh tier, it had never had the concept of its own kind.

Until the birth of this small ancient tree.

"Of course," the towering Mother of the Tree World replied with a smile. "The universe is vast and infinite, giving birth to countless lives, but our Tree World race is unique. Our talents and innate gifts naturally surpass all others."

"What about the strongest beings?" the little ancient tree asked immediately.

The reason the strongest beings were unwilling to force the Mother of the Tree World was that she possessed abilities that prevented them from gaining any advantage over her. However, in terms of strength and other aspects, the Mother of the Tree World was far inferior to them.

"The strongest beings..." The Mother of the Tree World was at a loss for words.

There were indeed numerous strongest beings in the universe, many of whom had not lived as long as she had.

"The strongest beings are the exception," the Mother of the Tree World thought for a moment. "Becoming one of the strongest beings has little to do with innate talent and gifts."

"However, aside from the strongest beings, our Tree World race will surely look down on all others. Perhaps there are some other unique lives in the universe whose talents and gifts are not inferior to ours, only slightly stronger, but overall, they are still on the same level as us."

The Mother of the Tree World spoke with confidence.

"But Mother, not long ago, the envoy of the Insectoid Race asked me to send out a clone to go to the Xuanhuang Secret Realm to deal with the Galaxy Master of Human Civilization."

The little ancient tree continued.

"Mhm," the Mother of the Tree World nodded. She was unaware of the Galaxy Master of Human Civilization, as his rise to power had been too brief—less than a century.

Most of the time, the Mother of the Tree World maintained a vastly different time flow from the outside world, seeking to prolong her life for as long as possible.

Indeed, the Tree World race had terrifyingly long lifespans, but without reaching the level of the strongest beings, they were still mortals in the river of time, unable to achieve eternity.

The last time she had awakened was over a million years ago.

"As a result, my clone died at the hands of the Galaxy Master, and he did not rely on any external power." The little ancient tree's tone carried a hint of doubt.

Even after watching the video of the Galaxy Master's battle, when it actually faced him, it began to question: Which one of us is the unique life form?

"Died at the hands of the Galaxy Master?" The Mother of the Tree World fell silent. "He did not rely on any external power?"

Here, external power referred to higher-level secret treasures or life-saving artifacts.

For example, Maha Traveler's 'Time Black Hole'.

"The Galaxy Master..." The Mother of the Tree World immediately extended her consciousness beyond the Tree World, absorbing all the information that had occurred during her slumber, including numerous intelligence reports about the Galaxy Master.

Breaking the eighth-tier myth.

The youngest ninth-tier in the history of Human Civilization.

"Child," after a long while, the Mother of the Tree World finally sent out another mental ripple. "Pay no heed to the Galaxy Master."

"So what if the Galaxy Master has extraordinary talents and gifts? As long as he doesn't become one of the strongest beings, he will surely not live longer than you."

The Mother of the Tree World thought for a long time before finally coming up with a comforting reason.

The Tree World race had incredibly long lifespans; a ninth-tier like the little ancient tree had already lived through hundreds of times more years than a normal eleventh-tier being.

"The Galaxy Master will not live longer than me," the little ancient tree repeated, feeling a sour taste in his mouth.

The Celestial Feather Tribe.

Numerous tenth-tier and eleventh-tier Heavenly Lords of the Celestial Feather Tribe were watching a 'video image' before them.

It was a recording of Lin Yuan in the Xuanhuang Secret Realm, slaying the 'Child of the Tree World', 'Dragon Scale King', and other legendary ninth-tiers.

"In this battle, the number of space layers the Galaxy Master opened up was indeed around two hundred million, consistent with the strength he displayed when he slew the Barbarian King," a tenth-tier Heavenly Lord said.

"In addition, the Galaxy Master also possesses an explosive secret technique that allows him to temporarily double his strength within a short period," another eleventh-tier Heavenly Lord added.

"This kind of explosive secret technique should have some drawbacks; otherwise, with the Galaxy Master's strength, he should have continued the pursuit. But in the end, he did not, and instead, let our tribe's strongmen escape into the inner region," a third Heavenly Lord analyzed.

One by one, the tenth-tier and eleventh-tier Heavenly Lords of the Celestial Feather Tribe studied the 'video image', trying to deduce the Galaxy Master's true limits.

They had paid a hefty price to invite a legendary ninth-tier to enter the Xuanhuang Secret Realm to test the Galaxy Master's true upper limits.

This was all in preparation for better countermeasures against the Galaxy Master on future large-scale battlefields.

In the eyes of the Celestial Feather Tribe's tenth-tier and eleventh-tier Heavenly Lords, the Galaxy Master would undoubtedly shine on future large-scale battlefields.

If they did not grasp his true strength now, their losses in the future would only be greater.

"Based on the Galaxy Master's current strength, if he were to step into the tenth-tier and undergo a transformative ascension, his threat level within a thousand years would reach 'Beta' grade. If we extend the timeline, there is a high probability that he will achieve 'Alpha' grade within five thousand years," an eleventh-tier Heavenly Lord spoke up.

Whether it was the evolvers of Human Civilization or the strongmen of other races, once they reached the tenth-tier, there were no specific standards to measure their strength.

For the ninth-tier, their strength was classified based on the number of space layers they could open up.

Upon reaching the tenth-tier, however, their life essence underwent a transformation, and while the number of space layers still affected their battle prowess, it was no longer the deciding factor.

The primary means of combat for tenth-tier lives lay in their mastery and fusion of various fundamental rules, such as the fusion of the space rule with a foundational rule.

For example, the fusion of the life rule and the death rule, two pillar rules, resulted in the creation of the reincarnation rule, a devastatingly powerful ability that could not be stopped by mere layers of space.

Of course, both the life rule and the death rule were pillar rules, and the fusion of pillar rules was no simple task.

Thus, there were no specific standards to measure the strength of tenth-tier lives; instead, their threat level was used as a gauge.

Not to mention the fusion of pillar rules with each other, but even the fusion of a pillar rule with an ordinary rule would only be possible if they had broken through to the Ninth Tier.

Among Tenth-Tier life forms, 'Grade F' is the weakest, while 'Grade A' is the strongest.

Generally, a 'Grade A' Tenth-Tier powerhouse has fused two pillar rules, and some extremely powerful 'Grade A' Tenth Tiers may even fuse the time rule with an ordinary rule.

The fusion of pillar rules with ordinary rules does not necessarily depend on comprehending that particular pillar rule.

For example, the fusion of the space rule with an ordinary rule only requires a partial understanding of the space rule to be achievable.

"To reach 'Grade B' threat level within a thousand years of entering the Tenth Tier, and with a high probability of attaining 'Grade A' within five thousand years?"

The numerous Heavenly Lords present were astounded. The Eleventh-Tier Heavenly Lord who spoke was giving Galaxy Master Lin an extremely high evaluation.

"I am merely making a prediction based on Galaxy Master Lin's current strength and his past growth rate," the Eleventh-Tier Heavenly Lord replied calmly, though his heart was also stirred. How long had it taken him to reach 'Grade A' after entering the Tenth Tier?

"This is also a good thing. Now we are aware of Galaxy Master Lin's future strength in advance," another Eleventh-Tier powerhouse said.

It was indeed beneficial to know his future potential; it would make it easier to deal with him, and they could at least prepare accordingly.

If they hadn't tested him this time, they wouldn't have known Galaxy Master Lin's true strength upon entering the Tenth Tier. If they sent 'Grade D' or 'Grade C' Tenth Tiers to face him on future large-scale battlefields, wouldn't that be sending them to their deaths?

Even at the weakest 'Grade F', Tenth-Tier powerhouses were the elite backbone of their race and couldn't be sacrificed lightly.

This was especially true for peak races; for powerful races, Tenth-Tier powerhouses were the very pillars that supported their race.

In the Xuanhuang Secret Realm...

Lin Yuan's figure vanished as he traveled to the deepest part of the secret realm.

At the same time, he was sensing everything within the secret realm, especially the inner region where countless alien Ninth Tiers had fled.

In order to not expose too much of his strength and to conceal the fact that he was the master of the Xuanhuang Secret Realm, Lin Yuan couldn't directly kill these Ninth-Tier aliens.

He could only wait for the secret realm to close and let the realm annihilate them, after which he could collect their remains.

"Eight thousand seven hundred and ninety-two Ninth-Tier aliens," Lin Yuan easily identified all the aliens in the inner region through his control over the secret realm.

"With so many Ninth-Tier aliens, how much will I gain from them?" A smile appeared on Lin Yuan's face.

Since the Xuanhuang Secret Realm had opened, there had been a total of over two hundred Ninth-Tier secret treasures obtained from aliens who had tried to stay within the realm but were ultimately annihilated.

This number didn't seem like much, but most of the Ninth-Tier powerhouses who attempted to remain in the secret realm had prepared for their deaths and found ways to send their treasures out.

Thus, the total number of Ninth-Tier treasures obtained was less than three hundred.

However, the situation was different with the over eight thousand Ninth-Tier aliens who had fled to the inner region.

They hadn't made any preparations at all, and the treasures and weapons they carried were still with them. Although they might not be extremely precious, the sheer number was astonishing.

"Perfect."

"I cultivate the Myriad World Body, and the thing I lack the most is various resources. Whether it's secret treasures or weapons, they can all become nourishment for the Myriad World Body."

Lin Yuan thought to himself.

Among the three great protective secret arts of the Myriad World lineage, the immortal and indestructible Myriad World Body not only required an enormous amount of Myriad World Crystals to cultivate, but it also needed all sorts of other resources.

Secret treasures and weapons could be devoured and transformed into the foundation of the Myriad World Body.

For secret arts like the Myriad World Strike and the Space-Time Step, Lin Yuan could rely on his heaven-defying comprehension talent to quickly cultivate them to perfection.

However, the Myriad World Body was fundamentally about accumulating resources, and his comprehension talent wouldn't help much in this regard. He truly needed to invest a large number of resources into its cultivation.

Not only did Lin Yuan's main body cultivate the Myriad World Body, but his two great avatars also needed to cultivate it, and their demand for resources was immense.

But with the contribution of nearly ten thousand aliens, Lin Yuan believed that his progress in cultivating the Myriad World Body would advance by leaps and bounds.

In fact, those secret treasures and weapons would be of little use to Lin Yuan even if he obtained them, as he wouldn't be able to use them casually without revealing his identity.

Thus, it was better to just transform them into nourishment for the Myriad World Body and save himself the trouble of acquiring other resources for its cultivation.

"The top priority now is to quickly refine the core of the secret realm."

Lin Yuan sat down with his legs crossed, and the yellowish-brown crystal appeared before him.

Even when he had faced off against the 'Tree World Child' and the other legendary Ninth Tiers, Lin Yuan had continued to refine this secret realm core.

The watching powerhouses had thought that Lin Yuan had gone all out to suppress the 'Tree World Child' and the others, even using a burst secret art.

Little did they know that Lin Yuan had been toying with them. He had only occupied over two billion layers of space, a mere two hundred million of which he had truly stabilized.

As for the burst secret art? Once he perfected the Myriad World Strike, he would be able to use it continuously, unleashing power beyond his limits with every strike.

Aside from consuming a bit more energy, there was no other cost.

As for why he didn't pursue the aliens, it was simply because he was going with the flow.

Those Ninth-Tier aliens who fled to the inner region would eventually be annihilated by the secret realm, and their treasures, weapons, and even their corpses would fall into Lin Yuan's hands.

Time passed.

In the blink of an eye, a year went by.

Lin Yuan's refinement of the secret realm core was also nearing its final stage.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end