Chapter 435: Stepping into the Eleventh Stage
Chapter 435: Stepping into the Eleventh Stage (End of Volume, Please Subscribe)
The river of time flows endlessly, cascading from the ancient past into the distant future. Its eternal flow seems unchanging. Even the most brilliant and exceptional lives, without taking that ultimate leap, can do little more than create a fleeting ripple before eventually withering away with the river's ebb.
On the shore, majestic figures emerge, carefully observing the minutiae surrounding the river of time. When an eleventh-stage life force challenges the ultimate, outside forces are powerless to intervene. However, once the challenge is complete and the transition to the twelfth stage is achieved, a 'landing' is inevitable.
This is the opportunity that the Insect Clan and the Celestial Feather Clan's strongest beings have been waiting for. A newly ascended twelfth-stage life force is undoubtedly at its weakest. Even with the protection of the nine strongest humans, a sudden ambush could have a significant impact.
The strongest among the Insect Clan and the Celestial Feather Clan do not dare to entertain thoughts of killing the human civilization's strongest, but they are confident they can inflict some injury. This would greatly reduce the pressure they face in the future.
Ambushing a twelfth-stage life force during its 'landing' is an act of vengeance that demands retribution. Thus, under normal circumstances, none of the powerful beings standing on the shore would dare to make such a move lightly.
The main reason is that even a life force that has just entered the twelfth stage is not easy to kill. A life that has undergone an ultimate transformation in its essence is challenging to eradicate completely. And if one fails, they will undoubtedly create an implacable and formidable foe, not just for themselves but also for the forces they represent.
The ramifications of such an act are far-reaching and could even affect the ability of the twelfth-stage lives to 'cross over' and resist the forces of great destruction at the end of the cosmic epoch. However, these consequences hold little meaning for the Insect Clan and the Celestial Feather Clan.
The enmity between them and human civilization is irreconcilable. Even without their intervention, the hatred between them will not disappear. If an eleventh-stage perfect life force from the Insect Clan or the Celestial Feather Clan successfully transitions to the twelfth stage and 'lands,' the nine strongest humans will undoubtedly seize the opportunity to strike without hesitation.
In the struggle between races, there is no concept of the strong bullying the weak. In the current universe, amidst the myriad tribes of the galaxy, the strongest beings rarely make an appearance because when they do, it is tantamount to none of them acting at all. Additionally, excessively intense conflicts can hinder the development of the various peak tribal forces. Thus, the current balance is maintained.
However, if an opportunity arises to eradicate the forces of another tribe, there will be no hesitation.
"Just you wait," they said. "We'll be watching from the shore. Don't hold back when that human eleventh-stage evolutionist makes his 'landing'."
The strongest beings of the Insect Clan, the Celestial Feather Clan, and others exchanged glances, each vigilant for the traces of the nine strongest humans of human civilization. They knew that if they were contemplating an ambush on the banks of the river of time, the strongest humans would surely have taken precautions. Now, it was a contest of their respective strengths.
In the Galaxy Domain, deep within the spatial layers, Lin Yuan was drawing an infinite amount of chaotic void origin into his body. His physical body and soul, as well as his inner world, were like a starving man who had just been given a potent tonic, experiencing a frenzied enhancement.
Especially within his inner world, after enduring the infusion of chaotic void origin for twenty seconds, a sense of 'fullness' emerged. Along with this 'fullness' came a feeling of breaking free from the shackles of limitations. Thus, Lin Yuan did not stop absorbing the chaotic void origin.
Thirty seconds. The sense of 'fullness' intensified.
Forty seconds. The 'fullness' reached a certain limit.
Fifty seconds. The 'fullness' suddenly vanished.
At the same time, his inner world, which had originally spanned a mere 230 million li, seemed to tear through a thin layer of paper, and its area began to expand rapidly once more.
2.3 billion li.
3.3 billion li.
4.3 billion li.
11 billion li.
When three hundred seconds had passed, and the chaotic void origin continued to pour in, Lin Yuan's inner world had reached a staggering 60 billion li in area.
The vast world force nourished his physical body and soul, and with the continuous absorption of the chaotic void origin, Lin Yuan's strength had increased exponentially compared to before his breakthrough.
Soon, the 333-second time limit was reached. The hundred-light-year-long fissure in the sky began to heal rapidly, and the aura of the chaotic void origin quickly receded.
"Normally, when an eleventh-stage perfect life force challenges the ultimate, it should take that crucial step at this moment, using the opportunity presented by the retreat of the universal Dao rules during the descent of the chaotic void origin," Lin Yuan thought to himself.
When the chaotic void origin descends, the various restrictive rules within the universe naturally fade away temporarily, making it the optimal time for an eleventh-stage perfect life force to challenge the ultimate. Missing this opportunity would make it almost impossible to challenge the ultimate again.
Any life force challenging the ultimate seeks to break free from the universe's restrictions entirely, and in such a situation, the universe will inevitably do its utmost to prevent this from happening. Becoming one of the strongest, free from the constraints of the river of time, implies the potential to take everything absorbed from the universe and leave it behind.
"However, I don't need to do that," Lin Yuan shook his head. He still had one more chance to induce the infusion of chaotic void origin.
Although Lin Yuan's foundation was strong enough to skip the eleventh stage and directly challenge the ultimate, the risk was still too high. Lin Yuan had a lot of room for improvement. Aside from comprehending the legendary chaotic rules, the deeper the accumulation at the eleventh stage, the greater the advantage when challenging the twelfth stage.
"My inner world has now reached 80 billion li in area," Lin Yuan said as he descended his consciousness into his inner world. Compared to before his breakthrough, when it had only spanned a little over 200 million li, his inner world had now strengthened manifold.
"I've only absorbed a tiny fraction of the chaotic void origin, leaving most of it accumulated in the depths of my inner world," Lin Yuan mused.
By tearing open a hundred-light-year fissure and welcoming the descent of the chaotic void origin, Lin Yuan's breakthrough at the tenth stage was no less spectacular than an eleventh-stage life force challenging the ultimate. In the end, he had endured the chaotic void origin's infusion, and the amount he had absorbed was no less than what an eleventh-stage life force would have taken in during its challenge.
When an eleventh-stage life force challenges the ultimate and succeeds, its inner world evolves into an inner universe, and its life essence undergoes an ultimate metamorphosis. The size of this inner universe will eventually span tens of thousands of light-years.
However, Lin Yuan's inner world had stopped expanding at 60 billion li because most of the chaotic void origin's power had not been completely absorbed. This was because Lin Yuan had not undergone the ultimate metamorphosis. During an eleventh-stage life force's challenge, the accumulated chaotic void origin would be swiftly absorbed as the life force underwent its ultimate transformation.
But since Lin Yuan had not undergone this transformation, the chaotic void origin remained immersed in the depths of his inner world. "This is for the better. It will all become part of my foundation. When I truly challenge the ultimate, the final size of my inner world will likely exceed the range of tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of light-years."
"Can my inner world still be called a world?"
Lin Yuan looked down at his inner world, which now spanned six trillion li in all directions. The endless infusion of Chaotic Void Origin was constantly transforming it, with the opening of more spatial layers and more.
"Somewhere between an inner world and an inner universe."
Lin Yuan thought to himself. His current inner world far surpassed the conventional understanding of an inner world, yet it fell short of the inner universes possessed by the utmost powerful beings.
"What is my strength like after the breakthrough?"
"Hmm?"
Lin Yuan began to carefully sense his new power.
His physical body and soul had improved by more than a hundredfold compared to before the breakthrough.
But the most crucial improvement was in his inner world, which now spanned an enormous six trillion li in all directions. To put this into perspective, the inner worlds of other eleventh-stage lives, depending on the height of their racial bloodlines, would typically range from a mere ten million li to a few billion li in size.
And Lin Yuan's inner world? It directly spanned six trillion li?
Ordinary eleventh-stage lives were as weak as ants in front of Lin Yuan.
According to Lin Yuan's previous classification standard, if the combat strength of an eleventh-stage perfect life was described as a ten, then Lin Yuan's strength before his breakthrough was around a hundred.
Now, having stepped into the eleventh stage, Lin Yuan's combat strength had exceeded ten thousand.
A hundredfold increase from one hundred to ten thousand might seem insignificant, but in reality, it was not that simple. A hundred powerful beings with a combat strength of one hundred each would be crushed by a powerful being with a combat strength of ten thousand.
Not to mention a hundred, even a thousand or ten thousand would face the same fate against a being with a combat strength of ten thousand; they would have absolutely no ability to resist.
In simple terms, with Lin Yuan's current strength, he could be considered a unique existence between the eleventh and twelfth stages.
The gap between the eleventh and twelfth stages was like a vast chasm.
But the gap between the eleventh stage and Lin Yuan was also comparable to a vast chasm.
Even an eleventh-stage perfect legendary life with a supreme artifact would, at most, be able to barely keep their life in the face of Lin Yuan's might.
And if that supreme artifact was not a defensive one but an offensive one, it was likely that even their life would not be spared.
"Now, the only ones who can truly pose a threat to me are the twelfth-stage beings, right?"
Lin Yuan thought to himself as he raised his head to look toward a certain area.
"All nine of the utmost powerful beings have arrived."
Lin Yuan faintly sensed nine vast auras.
Before the breakthrough, Lin Yuan had been completely unable to sense the presence of the utmost powerful beings, and it was only after receiving notification from the utmost powerful being, Xia Qin, that he had begun his attempt.
But now, with his improved realm and strength, along with his grasp of space-time, Lin Yuan was able to vaguely lock onto the auras of the utmost powerful beings.
Of course, this was also because the nine utmost powerful beings of human civilization had manifested themselves without deliberately concealing their auras.
"It's time to meet the utmost powerful beings."
Lin Yuan stood up and walked out from the depths of the spatial layers, heading toward the nine utmost powerful beings of human civilization.
If not for the presence of these nine utmost powerful beings, Lin Yuan's breakthrough would have already attracted the attention of the myriad tribes of the universe. The utmost powerful beings of the other tribes would have definitely interfered.
Since the birth of the universe, any eleventh-stage perfect life that attempted to challenge the ultimate would always seek out one of the utmost powerful beings as backing.
The first utmost powerful being of human civilization had achieved this very same feat. After paying a great price to seek the protection of an ultimate existence, they were finally able to successfully step into the twelfth stage.
The river of time flows endlessly.
The Insect Clan, the Celestial Feather Clan, and numerous other utmost powerful beings waited patiently.
Far in the distance, the towering figures of other utmost powerful beings could be faintly discerned.
The Insect Clan, the Celestial Feather Clan, and the other twelfth-stage powerful beings intended to ambush the newly ascended utmost powerful being of human civilization, while the other ultimate existences were content to watch the spectacle.
"Hmm?"
"It's been so long, yet there's not even a ripple on the river of time. How is that possible?"
The utmost powerful beings of the Insect Clan and the Celestial Feather Clan furrowed their brows. There was only one reason for this turn of events.
The human evolutionist who had challenged the ultimate had ultimately failed.
Failure in challenging the ultimate meant that everything would be erased, naturally preventing the opportunity to 'land'.
"He failed?"
"Yes, challenging the ultimate is never that simple."
"We were just too nervous."
The ultimate existences of the Insect Clan and the Celestial Feather Clan exchanged glances, feeling a sense of relief.
If given a choice, they wouldn't have wanted to carry out the ambush either, as it would inevitably lead to an all-out battle with the nine utmost powerful beings of human civilization.
Battles between utmost powerful beings and ultimate existences often resulted in heavy losses on both sides, with little to gain. Especially when it came to the insane utmost powerful beings of human civilization, they might even resort to scorched earth tactics if pushed too far.
Therefore, the current outcome was undoubtedly the best-case scenario.
The human evolutionist who had challenged the ultimate had failed.
This spared the Insect Clan and the Celestial Feather Clan from facing an additional enemy, and they also didn't have to engage in battle with the utmost powerful beings of human civilization—a perfect resolution.
The only thing that puzzled the utmost powerful beings of the Insect Clan and the Celestial Feather Clan was how easily the human evolutionist had seemingly failed.
With the foundation of human civilization, they would have surely made ample preparations before allowing someone to challenge the ultimate. Even if they ultimately failed, they should have left some ripples, or even waves, on the river of time.
However, just now, not a single utmost powerful being had sensed any disturbance on the river of time.
This implied that the human evolutionist had failed very early on in their challenge, resulting in the calmness of the river of time.
Although the utmost powerful beings of the Insect Clan and the Celestial Feather Clan were curious about these events, they didn't dwell on them for too long. After all, attracting such a massive influx of Chaotic Void Origin would inevitably lead to an ultimate leap.
And with an ultimate leap would come the 'landing'.
Now that there was no 'landing', it could only mean failure.
The utmost powerful beings of the Insect Clan and the Celestial Feather Clan were perplexed, but they grasped the fundamental logic of cause and effect.
The human evolutionist who had challenged the ultimate had, in the end, failed to step into the twelfth stage.
Otherwise, there would have been a 'landing'.
Without entering the twelfth stage, the only outcome was complete annihilation.
In the Galaxy Domain.
The nine utmost powerful beings of human civilization were unable to calm their minds for a long time.
They watched as the rift in the Chaotic Void rapidly healed, and for a while, they didn't know what to say.
"This kid is too frightening."
Utmost Powerful Being Gu Li shook his head. It was rare for something to frighten an utmost powerful being, but the nine utmost powerful beings of human civilization were undoubtedly shaken by what had just transpired.
In fact, if the utmost powerful beings of the other tribes had known that the commotion was caused by merely a tenth-stage life breaking through to the eleventh stage, they might have lost their composure.
"Our human civilization has given birth to an extraordinary existence."
The remaining utmost powerful beings suddenly felt a surge of pride.
(End of Chapter)
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