The river of time flowed majestically.
From ancient pasts to distant futures.
Seemingly eternal and unchanging.
No matter how brilliant a lifeform was, unless they achieved the ultimate leap, they could only stir a small ripple in the river. Eventually, they would wither and die, swept away by its currents.
On the riverbank.
One towering figure after another appeared, observing every detail around the river of time.
During an eleventh rank’s attempt at the ultimate breakthrough, external forces could not intervene.
However, once the breakthrough was successful, and they entered the twelfth rank, they would inevitably "ascend to the shore."
This was the opportunity the Insect Race and Tianyu Clan’s strongest ones awaited.
A newly ascended twelfth-rank being would undoubtedly be at their weakest.
Even with the protection of human civilization’s nine strongest ones, a sudden ambush could cause significant disruption.
The Insect Race and Tianyu Clan strongest ones didn’t expect to kill humanity’s new strongest one. Their goal was at least to injure them.
This would lighten their burden in the conflicts ahead.
Striking during a twelfth-rank being’s “ascension” was a vengeance of obstruction, bound to result in unending hostility.
Thus, under normal circumstances, no strongest one standing on the riverbank would take such an action lightly.
Even a freshly ascended twelfth rank was not easy to kill. Having undergone the ultimate leap, their essence of life made them extraordinarily resilient.
Failure would mean creating an implacable enemy for themselves and their faction, with consequences so severe they could affect the universe’s survival against the great annihilation at the end of an epoch.
However, such concerns held little meaning for the Insect Race and Tianyu Clan.
Human civilization was already in a state of irreconcilable enmity with them.
Even if they refrained from acting, the hatred between them would not disappear.
If the Insect Race or Tianyu Clan produced an eleventh-rank lifeform capable of ascending to the twelfth rank, humanity’s nine strongest ones would seize the opportunity to strike without hesitation.
In struggles between factions, there was no such thing as “bullying the weak.”
In the current universe, the strongest ones rarely intervened in wars. The key reason was that if everyone joined the fray, it would result in mutual destruction.
Furthermore, excessively intense wars hindered the development of major factions and peak races.
Thus, the current balance was maintained.
If the chance to eliminate rival factions presented itself, no one would hesitate.
"Let’s wait."
"We’ll observe from the riverbank."
"When humanity’s eleventh-rank evolver attempts their ‘ascension,’ you mustn’t hold back."
The strongest ones of the Insect Race, Tianyu Clan, and other factions exchanged glances, all while keeping an eye out for humanity’s nine strongest ones.
They anticipated the ambush on the riverbank, so human civilization’s strongest ones must have also prepared countermeasures.
It was now a matter of comparing their respective foundations and strength.
In the Milky Way Star Domain.
Deep within layers of space.
Lin Yuan continued guiding the endless chaotic void origin into his body.
His physical body, soul, and inner world absorbed the energy like a tonic, undergoing rapid enhancement.
Particularly his inner world, which experienced a "fullness" after just twenty seconds of the chaotic void origin infusion.
As this sensation of fullness surged, Lin Yuan felt as though he was on the verge of breaking through some kind of limit.
Thus, he did not stop absorbing the chaotic void origin.
At the thirtieth second.
The sensation of fullness intensified.
At the fortieth second.
The fullness reached its peak.
At the fiftieth second.
The sensation vanished entirely.
At the same time.
Lin Yuan’s inner world, previously 233M li in radius, seemed to pierce through a thin barrier. Its size began to expand exponentially.
2.3 billion li. (Yes billion)
3.3 billion li.
4.3 billion li.
By the three-hundredth second of the chaotic void origin infusion.
Lin Yuan’s inner world had expanded to 600 billion li in radius.
The vast power of the world reversed to strengthen his physical body and soul. Combined with the ongoing absorption of the chaotic void origin, Lin Yuan’s strength had grown immeasurably since before his breakthrough.
Soon enough.
The 333-second duration came to an end.
The massive hundred-light-year rift above quickly began to close.
The chaotic void origin receded rapidly.
"Normally, for an eleventh-rank consummate being attempting the ultimate, this would be the time for the ultimate leap. They would use the arrival of the chaotic void origin and the temporary retreat of universal laws to take that crucial step."
Lin Yuan reflected silently.
The descent of the chaotic void origin temporarily suppressed the universe’s many rule-based restrictions. This made it the best opportunity for an eleventh rank to attempt the ultimate.
Without such an opportunity, achieving the ultimate breakthrough would be nearly impossible.
For any lifeform, achieving the ultimate meant completely breaking free from the universe’s constraints. In such cases, the universe would naturally try to prevent it.
Becoming a strongest one, escaping the river of time, meant the possibility of taking everything they had absorbed from the universe with them.
"But I don’t have to do it now."
Lin Yuan shook his head slightly. He still had another chance to draw the chaotic void origin infusion.
Although his foundation was now sufficient to bypass the eleventh rank and attempt the ultimate, the risks were too high.
He still had much room for growth. Without delving into the legendary chaotic rules, the deeper his foundation at the eleventh stage, the higher his chances of a successful ultimate breakthrough.
"My inner world has reached 800 billion li in radius."
Lin Yuan descended his consciousness into his inner world. Compared to its previous radius of just over 200 million li, his current inner world had strengthened exponentially.
"Most of the chaotic void origin power—99%—remains stored in the depths of my inner world."
Lin Yuan pondered.
Tearing open a hundred-light-year rift and receiving the chaotic void origin infusion, Lin Yuan’s breakthrough from the tenth to the eleventh rank caused a commotion no less than an ultimate attempt.
The total chaotic void origin he absorbed rivaled that of an eleventh-rank being attempting the ultimate.
If an eleventh-rank lifeform successfully completed the ultimate leap, their inner world would evolve into an inner universe, with its size ranging from tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of light-years.
Lin Yuan’s inner world, however, had stopped at 600 billion li because the majority of the chaotic void origin remained unabsorbed.
Since Lin Yuan hadn’t undergone the life transformation associated with the ultimate, the chaotic void origin lingered in the depths of his inner world.
"This is actually good. It becomes part of my foundation. When I truly attempt the ultimate, my inner universe’s size might surpass tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of light-years."
Lin Yuan thought to himself.
Having accumulated a vast amount of chaotic void origin this time, his foundation had surged. When the time came for his ultimate attempt, the universe’s judgment of his potential would elevate, causing the rift to widen even further and the chaotic void origin infusion to reach unfathomable levels.
"My current inner world—is it still a world?"
Lin Yuan gazed upon his 600 billion li inner world, constantly evolving with the infusion of chaotic void origin and the development of new spatial layers.
"It’s somewhere between an inner world and an inner universe."
Lin Yuan mused silently. His inner world had far surpassed the standard definition of an inner world but had not yet reached the level of a strongest one’s inner universe.
"What’s my current strength?"
"Hmm?"
Lin Yuan began to sense his capabilities in detail.
His physical body and soul had improved by more than a hundredfold since before the breakthrough.
The most critical enhancement was his inner world, which now spanned 600 billion li in radius. Other eleventh-rank lifeforms’ inner worlds ranged from a mere ten million to tens of millions of li in radius, depending on their race and bloodline.
But Lin Yuan?
Directly 600 billion li?
Ordinary eleventh-rank lifeforms were as weak as ants before him.
By Lin Yuan’s earlier standards, if the combat strength of a eleventh rank was rated as ten:
Before his breakthrough, Lin Yuan’s combat strength was around a hundred.
Now, having stepped into the eleventh rank, Lin Yuan’s combat strength had surpassed ten thousand.
A hundred times stronger than before.
This was not simply a linear calculation. A hundred eleventh-rank beings with a combat strength of one hundred would still be effortlessly crushed by a single being with a strength of ten thousand.
Even ten thousand beings of such strength would stand no chance against him.
In simple terms, Lin Yuan’s current combat strength placed him in a unique tier between the eleventh and twelfth ranks.
The gap between the eleventh and twelfth ranks was vast.
Yet the gap between Lin Yuan and a typical eleventh rank was equally immense.
Even eleventh-rank legendary beings wielding supreme weapons could, at best, barely protect their lives before Lin Yuan.
And if their supreme weapon wasn’t defensive but offensive, they might not even survive.
"Now, the only ones who can truly threaten me are the twelfth ranks."
Lin Yuan thought as he gazed toward a certain area.
"The nine strongest ones are here."
Lin Yuan faintly sensed nine powerful presences.
Before his breakthrough, Lin Yuan couldn’t perceive whether the strongest ones had arrived. Only after Xia Qin, the strongest one, informed him did he prepare for the breakthrough.
But now, with his enhanced strength and mastery over space-time, Lin Yuan could vaguely lock onto the strongest ones’ presences.
Of course, this was only possible because the nine strongest ones of human civilization had sent their avatars and hadn’t deliberately concealed their auras.
"It’s time to meet the strongest ones."
Lin Yuan stood up and walked out from the deep layers of space, heading toward the nine strongest ones of human civilization.
Without these nine strongest ones, Lin Yuan’s breakthrough would have alerted the entire universe’s factions. The alien strongest ones would certainly have interfered.
Since the dawn of the universe, any eleventh rank preparing to attempt the ultimate sought a strongest one as their backer.
The first strongest one of human civilization had done the same, securing the protection of an ultimate being at great cost to successfully ascend to the twelfth rank.
The river of time flowed endlessly.
The strongest ones of the Insect Race, Tianyu Clan, and others waited patiently.
In the distance, the faint silhouettes of other ultimate beings loomed.
The Insect Race and Tianyu Clan’s twelfth-rank beings planned to ambush humanity’s newly ascended strongest one. Meanwhile, other ultimate beings watched on, eager for the spectacle.
"Hmm?"
"So much time has passed, yet the river of time remains undisturbed?"
The strongest ones of the Insect Race and Tianyu Clan furrowed their brows. Such a situation could only mean one thing:
The human evolver attempting the ultimate had failed.
Failure in the ultimate attempt erased all traces of the individual, preventing any "ascension."
"Failed?"
"That’s true. Achieving the ultimate isn’t easy."
"We were too tense."
The ultimate beings of the Insect Race and Tianyu Clan exchanged glances and breathed a collective sigh of relief.
If possible, they preferred not to ambush the ascension. Doing so would mean engaging in a brutal battle with humanity’s nine strongest ones.
Fights among the strongest ones and ultimate beings were often mutually destructive, offering little gain. Especially with humanity’s nine strongest ones, known for their ruthless desperation, they might resort to all-out measures if pushed too far.
Thus.
The current outcome.
Was undoubtedly the best.
The human evolver attempting the ultimate had failed.
This spared the Insect Race and Tianyu Clan from gaining a new enemy and avoided direct conflict with humanity’s strongest ones—a perfect scenario.
The only thing puzzling the Insect Race and Tianyu Clan’s strongest ones was how "easily" humanity’s evolver had failed.
Given humanity’s foundation, they would have prepared thoroughly for the ultimate attempt. Even in failure, it should have caused ripples—if not waves—in the river of time.
Yet earlier.
From start to finish, no strongest one sensed any disturbance in the river of time.
This indicated that the human evolver failed very early in the ultimate attempt, hence the calmness of the river.
Although the strongest ones of the Insect Race and Tianyu Clan found this curious, they didn’t dwell on it. After all, drawing such a massive chaotic void origin infusion surely signaled an ultimate leap.
And an ultimate leap, if successful, would result in "ascension."
The absence of ascension meant failure.
The strongest ones of the Insect Race and Tianyu Clan clung to this logical reasoning.
In their view, the human evolver attempting the ultimate had not crossed into the twelfth rank.
Without reaching the twelfth rank, the result was complete obliteration.
In the Milky Way Star Domain.
Humanity’s nine strongest ones remained silent, their emotions roiling.
They watched as the chaotic void rift swiftly closed, momentarily at a loss for words.
"This kid… He’s terrifying," Gu Li, one of the strongest ones, murmured, shaking his head. Few things could startle a strongest one. Yet all nine of humanity’s strongest ones were visibly shaken.
In truth, if the alien strongest ones knew that such a spectacle had been caused by a mere tenth rank breaking through to the eleventh rank, they would likely lose their composure entirely.
"Human civilization has produced an extraordinary being."
A thought arose simultaneously in the hearts of the other strongest ones.
...
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