Chapter 358: Preparations for Breakthrough

Chapter 358: Preparations for Breakthrough (Subscribe)

"Good, good, good!" Xia Qin, the Overarching Being, exclaimed with enthusiasm, growing more pleased with Lin Yuan the more he saw.

Over the countless years, he had nurtured a few offspring, pouring his heart and soul into their development.

These offspring possessed the bloodline of a twelfth-order being, and with the cultivation of an Overarching Being, they had achieved remarkable success.

But compared to Lin Yuan? Xia Qin felt a bit embarrassed.

So far, the only thing Xia Qin, the Overarching Being, had done to cultivate Galaxy Master was to take him on a trip to the banks of the Time River.

And that was it.

The Divine God-pacifying Bead, capable of defending against ultimate attacks from beings of the same level, was something that every exceptional genius of humanity had received after being summoned by an Overarching Being.

The only difference in Xia Qin's treatment of Lin Yuan compared to other geniuses was allowing Galaxy Master to witness the entirety of the Time River when he was at the ninth-order.

This opportunity could be considered significant or insignificant.

For a mediocre talent, there wouldn't be much difference whether they saw it or not.

Even for an exceptional evolutionary genius, it would only make their path to comprehending the rules of time slightly smoother.

But Lin Yuan?

After merely witnessing it for a while, he had comprehended the rules of time in less than thirty years?

Even Xia Qin was astounded by this outcome.

He had indeed hoped for Lin Yuan to comprehend the rules of time at the ninth-order, but he hadn't expected it to happen so quickly.

"Good, good, good?" Lin Yuan looked at Xia Qin, seated on his throne.

The first time he had been summoned by Xia Qin, the Overarching Being, he had only received a few approving glances, even after revealing that he was the founder of the martial arts evolutionary path.

And now, to hear three 'good's in a row, Lin Yuan could sense the Overarching Being's excitement.

Before this day, Lin Yuan had never imagined that an Overarching Being would display such emotional fluctuations.

"It seems that the harvest brought about by comprehending the rules of time at the ninth-order and breaking through to the tenth-order will exceed even my imagination?" Lin Yuan thought to himself.

"When will your metamorphosis be complete?"

Xia Qin observed Lin Yuan for a moment before asking.

He was naturally well-versed in the details of breaking through from the ninth-order to the tenth-order.

The cultivator's physical body, soul, mind, will, and inner world would all undergo a slow metamorphosis.

Once this metamorphosis reached a critical point, they could proceed with the final breakthrough, fully entering the tenth-order.

During this period, it was best for the cultivator to refrain from using their full power, as it could disrupt the progress of their transformation.

That was why Lin Yuan had waited until after the Xuan Huang Secret Realm to break through, even though he had completed the ninth layer. He wanted to avoid any potential accidents during this metamorphic phase.

When transitioning from the ninth-order to the tenth-order, not only would Lin Yuan's main body undergo a transformation, but his two primordial spirits would as well.

"Originally, it would have taken sixty years."

"Now, at most, it will take twenty years to reach the pinnacle of metamorphosis, and then I can break through."

Lin Yuan replied without hesitation.

Why did a ninth-order cultivator need to open up at least ten million layers of space before reaching the threshold for breaking through to the tenth-order?

Because only with this number of layers could one barely manage to undergo the constant metamorphosis required to enter the tenth-order.

However, this was just barely sufficient. The more layers of space one opened up, the easier the metamorphosis process would become.

"Now that you've comprehended the rules of time and control both space and time, with your inner world complete and independent, the speed of your metamorphosis will naturally surge." Xia Qin nodded.

It was like comparing a vehicle with two wheels to one with four or eight wheels—the more wheels, the faster and smoother the ride.

And with the integration of the rules of time into his inner world, the difference was not just a matter of adding a few more wheels; it was a qualitative leap forward.

"When breaking through from the ninth-order to the tenth-order, even an ordinary cultivator needs to endure the infusion of the universe's origin energy and must not be disturbed during this process."

Xia Qin looked intently at Lin Yuan.

Ordinary cultivators had to withstand the infusion of the universe's origin energy.

But Lin Yuan would have to endure the infusion of the origin energy of the chaotic void—an even more critical and undisturbed process.

"Where do you intend for me to break through, Overarching Being?" Lin Yuan asked proactively.

The Overarching Being would undoubtedly have the best understanding of such matters.

"Then, you can break through within the Galaxy Domain."

"Additionally, try to recall your external incarnations during the breakthrough as well."

Xia Qin thought for a moment before speaking.

Breaking through from the ninth-order to the tenth-order had to be done in the safest possible location.

There were only a handful of truly safe areas within human civilization.

One was the Central Domain, the heart of human civilization, fortified with numerous clan-protecting weapons.

Even if an Overarching Being from another race were to venture there, they wouldn't gain any advantage.

The second option was the various evolutionary towers.

The evolutionary towers were places where Overarching Beings resided, and being within one of these towers was akin to being under the protection of an Overarching Being.

It was equally safe.

However...

The rate of metamorphosis within Lin Yuan's inner world was astonishingly fast.

In less than twenty years, he would reach the pinnacle of this transformation.

Whether it was the nearest evolutionary tower or the Central Domain, they were both countless light-years away from the Galaxy Domain.

For Lin Yuan to travel there, he would inevitably spend a significant amount of time en route.

This concerned Xia Qin.

Lin Yuan was, so far, the only cultivator in human civilization to have comprehended the rules of time at the ninth-order.

He might even be the only one in this universe, from its birth to its destruction, across an entire cosmic epoch.

Naturally, there was no need to waste his precious time before the breakthrough on traveling.

"I will send an incarnation to the Galaxy Domain. You can focus solely on your breakthrough." Xia Qin spoke.

Although the Galaxy Domain was covered by the virtual world network, allowing the Overarching Being, Hu Die, to descend at any moment, Lin Yuan was someone Xia Qin valued greatly.

Usually, it was fine for Hu Die to oversee matters.

But for this critical moment of breaking through from the ninth-order to the tenth-order, Xia Qin wanted to be sure.

"Thank you, Overarching Being," Lin Yuan expressed his gratitude.

Having the protection of an Overarching Being during his breakthrough was a privilege rarely afforded to anyone in human civilization, except perhaps for an eleventh-order cultivator breaking through to the twelfth-order.

The fact that Lin Yuan was receiving this treatment while breaking through from the ninth-order to the tenth-order spoke volumes about how highly Xia Qin valued him.

And given the potential Lin Yuan had displayed thus far, in terms of importance, he was by no means inferior to the peak eleventh-order evolvers of human civilization.

In fact, in Xia Qin's eyes, Lin Yuan was far superior.

For an Overarching Being like Xia Qin, there wasn't much difference between the ninth-order and the eleventh-order.

What truly mattered was the potential to reach the twelfth-order.

So far, Lin Yuan had shown more promise in this regard than any of the peak eleventh-order evolvers.

To receive the irrigation of the origin energy of the chaotic void during both his ninth and tenth-order breakthroughs, privileges usually reserved only for eleventh-order cultivators breaking through to the twelfth-order, was unprecedented.

It meant that by the time Lin Yuan reached the eleventh-order, his physical body, soul, mind, will, and inner world would be able to overwhelm those of most eleventh-order powerhouses.

Even if his understanding of the rules fell short of the peak eleventh-order evolvers, his foundation alone would be enough to ensure his survival and even allow him to hold his ground against them.

And once Lin Yuan reached the peak of the eleventh-order, his chances of ultimately ascending to the pinnacle would be far greater than those of his peers.

This increase in probability was entirely due to Lin Yuan's own capabilities and had nothing to do with external factors.

If he were to also receive support from human civilization and utilize their key ultimate artifacts, Lin Yuan would undoubtedly be the evolutionary genius with the highest chance of reaching the pinnacle in the past two million years of human civilization.

Such a once-in-an-epoch genius was worth nurturing and protecting.

"Try to enter a deeper layer of space during your breakthrough," Xia Qin advised.

"Okay," Lin Yuan nodded.

When he had broken through to the eighth-order, he hadn't yet opened up any layers of space, so he had chosen to do so in a desolate star field to minimize the impact of his breakthrough.

Xia Qin's suggestion to break through in a deeper layer of space was based on a similar principle.

The impact of Lin Yuan's eighth-order breakthrough had been limited to a few dozen to a hundred light-years.

But with his ninth-order breakthrough, the depth of his inner world alone had increased by over a thousand times.

If he didn't break through in a deeper layer of space, the impact would be unimaginable.

And the main source of this impact would be the infusion of the origin energy of the chaotic void, something that even Xia Qin would be hard-pressed to stop.

Stop the infusion of the origin energy of the chaotic void?

Xia Qin would never consider such a foolish idea.

Whoosh!

Lin Yuan's figure disappeared.

Xia Qin, seated on his throne, sent a thought from his mind.

An incarnation of his appeared outside the Evolution Tower and, with a single step, made his way towards the Galaxy Domain.

The distance between the Evolution Tower where Xia You resided and the Galaxy Domain was vast, spanning countless light-years.

But such distances meant little to an Overarching Being like Xia Qin.

Galaxy Master Star.

Lin Yuan sat with his legs crossed, his main focus on the slow metamorphosis occurring within his body.

The transformation originated from his inner world and gradually affected his physical body, soul, mind, and will.

Thus, his comprehension of the rules of time and the independence and integrity of his inner world played a crucial role in this entire process.

"Twenty years," Lin Yuan mused.

Even though he had only twenty years before reaching the tenth-order, he didn't intend to waste a single moment.

Instead, he recalled and reviewed the Martial Arts Evolutionary Path, from the first stage to the ninth.

Every detail flooded his mind.

While Xia Qin valued his comprehension of the rules of time, Lin Yuan was well aware that the foundation of everything he had achieved lay in the Martial Arts Evolutionary Path.

It was the cornerstone of his journey.

By revisiting the Martial Arts Evolutionary Path, Lin Yuan was retracing the evolutionary path he had walked thus far.

"Can the Martial Arts Evolutionary Path be further improved and refined?" Lin Yuan asked himself as he started from the beginning, scrutinizing every word.

Compared to when he had just finished his ninth traversal, Lin Yuan had made significant progress, even though he was still at the ninth-order.

But now, having comprehended the rules of time and mastered control over space and time, his understanding of the essence of power and the rules had evolved considerably.

As he reviewed the Martial Arts Evolutionary Path, new insights and understandings emerged.

"The first stage should place more emphasis on fundamentals. The physical body is the foundation of martial arts, and without a robust physique, it will be challenging to reach the final stages," Lin Yuan thought as he made his way through the first stage.

"Second stage..."

"Third stage..."

Lin Yuan began to make subtle 'changes' to the Martial Arts Evolutionary Path.

These changes didn't involve any major transformations but were minor adjustments to make the path more refined and perfect.

At the very least, these changes would reduce the confusion that martial arts cultivators might encounter when practicing the Martial Arts Evolutionary Path.

Time passed.

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

Finally, Lin Yuan had thoroughly reviewed and reorganized the Martial Arts Evolutionary Path from the first stage to the ninth.

From the first stage to the ninth, every part had been improved.

"The Martial Arts Evolutionary Path is now easier for evolvers to understand, and the essence it conveys is clearer," Lin Yuan smiled.

The Martial Arts Evolutionary Path was something he had created from scratch, drawing upon countless cultivation systems and evolutionary paths.

As for the first martial art that allowed him to traverse worlds? Lin Yuan's current Martial Arts Evolutionary Path bore little resemblance to that initial martial art.

That first martial art was a rudimentary application of physical body and qi, with a limit that barely reached the first-order.

Whereas the Martial Arts Evolutionary Path held the potential to become a path to the pinnacle.

"I'll update it directly," Lin Yuan decided as he uploaded the revised Martial Arts Evolutionary Path, replacing the previous version.

Countless evolvers and high-ranking citizens chatted casually.

Just at that moment—

"Look, the Evolution Leaderboard rankings have been updated."

"The Martial Arts Evolution Path has risen to 42nd place."

"How terrifying! A ninth-tier evolution path has entered the Star Zone rankings at 42nd place?"

"The founder of the Martial Arts Evolution Path is definitely one of the top evolution scholars in our human civilization, having reached an incredible level of insight in the field of evolution."

"At this rate, once he uploads the tenth tier and it becomes a Tenth-Tier Evolution Path, won't it shoot straight into the top ten of the Evolution Leaderboard?"

The evolvers and high-ranking citizens discussed animatedly. The Martial Arts Evolution Path had become the most legendary evolution path in the Southern Star Zone.

Its influence even surpassed that of the top eleven-tier evolution paths on the Star Zone leaderboard.

The eleventh-tier peak evolution paths had existed for around one to two million years, and their potential was already at their limit.

However, the Martial Arts Evolution Path was only at the ninth tier. One could only wonder what its ranking would be if it reached the tenth or even eleventh tier.

* * *

Galaxy Master Star.

Lin Yuan glanced at the latest rankings of the Martial Arts Evolution Path.

"It's risen by eleven places."

Lin Yuan nodded slightly.

This time, he had only made minor adjustments to the evolution path, and yet it had climbed from 53rd place to 42nd.

It was exactly as Lin Yuan had expected.

The rise in the rankings of the Martial Arts Evolution Path also earned Lin Yuan a reward of eight million merit points.

This was the joint decision of the three goddesses. While the updated evolution path didn't show a significant increase in potential, its adaptability had improved, and each tier was now nearly perfect.

"The Martial Arts Evolution Path has been developing quite well over the past few decades," Lin Yuan mused as he pulled up the latest cultivation data for the evolution path, encompassing the number of evolvers at each stage.

"First Tier: 800 billion."

"Second Tier: 9,200 billion."

"Third Tier: 9 billion."

"Fourth Tier: 80 million."

"Fifth Tier: 12 million."

"Sixth Tier: 103,000."

"Seventh Tier: 5,006."

"Eighth Tier: 0."

"The number of evolvers from the First Tier to the Third Tier has surged by several dozen times, but the rate of increase slows down significantly from the Fourth Tier onwards," Lin Yuan noted without any surprise.

No matter the evolution path, the early stages—from the First Tier to the Third Tier—were always the easiest to 'rush' through.

Before one had to start grappling with the essence of rules, evolution was merely about the accumulation of energy.

And with sufficient resources, energy accumulation was not a problem.

However, starting from the Fourth Tier of the Martial Arts Evolution Path, one had to begin comprehending rules.

This aspect couldn't be 'rushed', and external assistance could only make the comprehension process slightly easier.

But it was impossible to skip the comprehension and go straight to the next level.

The number of evolvers in the Sixth and Seventh Tiers had barely changed over the years.

"I've accumulated over ten million cubic meters of universe crystals in these past few decades," Lin Yuan noted as he glanced at the income generated by the Martial Arts Evolution Path.

Ten million cubic meters was a substantial amount, even for a Tenth-Tier evolver, and it would be the entire net worth of a typical Ninth-Tier evolver in the million-fold realm.

Yet, this was just the income the Martial Arts Evolution Path had generated in the last thirty years.

Thirty years was an extremely short time, not just for Ninth and Tenth-Tier evolvers, but even for Eighth-Tier ones.

* * *

Galaxy Star Domain.

Xia Qin, the Overarching Being, stood silently, his gaze encompassing not just the Galaxy Star Domain but also the surrounding star domains and star alliances.

Even as a mere incarnation, he possessed the baseline combat power of a Twelfth-Tier being, and as an incarnation in the form of a 'signpost', Xia Qin's main body could instantly descend upon this place.

"It's remarkable that he was able to comprehend the rules of time at the Ninth Tier," a voice said, and a figure appeared beside Xia Qin—the Overarching Being, Hu Die.

Among the nine Overarching Beings of human civilization, Hu Die's combat power was not the strongest, but she was indispensable. The virtual world network that covered all of human civilization was her creation.

The so-called 'virtual world that replicates reality with near-perfect accuracy' was Hu Die's meticulously crafted dream realm.

Combined with human civilization's clan-protecting weapon—the False Realm—it allowed the virtual world to emulate the fundamental operations of the main universe to a degree of 90%.

Through the virtual world, Hu Die could appear in any location within human territory in an instant.

"Indeed," Xia Qin agreed, a sense of pride evident in his voice.

It was extremely rare for an Overarching Being to praise someone as 'remarkable'.

As the Overarching Being of the virtual dream realm, Hu Die's standards were even higher than those of ordinary Overarching Beings, and her praise carried enough weight to astonish her peers.

"When Galaxy Master breaks through, the chaotic void's origin energy will pour into him, and at that time, we'll need to work together to conceal the spatial-temporal perception," Hu Die said.

Concealing the spatial-temporal perception meant hiding the specific location in the main universe where the chaotic void's origin energy was pouring into.

Other Overarching Beings of different races might sense that someone in the human civilization's territory was receiving the infusion of chaotic void origin energy, but they wouldn't be able to pinpoint the exact location.

Concealing spatial-temporal perception was a common tactic employed by Overarching Beings to mislead their peers.

"No problem," Hu Die nodded.

In truth, Xia Qin alone was capable of achieving the spatial-temporal concealment.

However, to be extra cautious, he had asked Hu Die to lend her aid.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end