After concluding the eleventh transmigration, Lin Yuan sensed the vast River of Time, which felt somewhat narrow to him.
Over the following centuries, once he completely finished the transformation brought about by comprehending the rules of Chaos, that feeling only grew more intense.
In the River of Time, Lin Yuan had to curl up, doing his best to make himself smaller. Otherwise, even lying flat would cause parts of his body to exceed the limit that the River of Time could contain.
This posed a sizable risk: at best, the rank twelve strongest ones on the riverbank might notice something unusual; at worst, it could directly trigger a backlash from the River of Time, forcing him to make the ultimate leap.
But on the day when the Tianyu Clan strongest one, Celestial Feather Chen, actively entered the River of Time to evade the Tai Chi Primordial Soul wielding a rank twelve weapon, Lin Yuan, who was curled up under the river, could not hold back. He simply stretched out his right hand into the bank, grabbed Celestial Feather Chen’s ankle, and dragged him toward the River of Time.
“Just extending a single hand and not fully leaving the River of Time shouldn’t trigger its backlash,” Lin Yuan thought to himself. Even ordinary rank eleven perfect lifeforms occasionally leap out of the water’s surface. As long as the time is short enough, there should be no major issues.
Even if he were truly forced to make an early ultimate leap, it would have little impact on Lin Yuan. At this point, he was in a perfect state, maxed out in every aspect, ready to charge into rank twelve at any moment.
“What is this?”
Originally standing on the riverbank and contemplating how to wage war against human civilization, Celestial Feather Chen suddenly realized that he was being dragged toward the River of Time.
“No!!”
Celestial Feather Chen’s face was filled with horror. He never imagined he would face an attack from below the water’s surface.
Among rank twelve beings on the riverbank, even if conflict arose among themselves, it would still happen on the riverbank. Furthermore, any such conflict would be extremely basic in the cosmic sense, without many intricate rules.
Normally, no rank twelve strongest one would truly fight on the riverbank. Hence Celestial Feather Chen did not keep much vigilance. At most, he was wary of other rank twelve strongest ones standing on the riverbank.
As for beneath the River of Time?
They were merely ants trapped within it. Their greatest feat might be leaping momentarily above the water’s surface to steal a single glance at the strongest ones.
Swish swish.
Before Celestial Feather Chen could react, his right foot, now grabbed, touched the waters of the River of Time.
For lifeforms below rank twelve, the river’s water is extremely gentle, devoid of any lethality. However, for those who have transcended the River of Time, it is the deadliest poison.
Rank twelve strongest ones stand on the bank and look down upon the river; they never reenter it for precisely this reason. Even for one as powerful as a rank twelve strongest one, long exposure to the river’s water heavily erodes one’s life essence, potentially dropping them back to the rank eleven level and once more binding them to the River of Time.
No rank twelve being would ever accept such a consequence.
Buzz buzz buzz—
Once his right foot dipped into the river, Celestial Feather Chen’s mental will was jarred, and before he could even move, that hand beneath the water pulled him entirely under the surface.
Before the time-space black hole, the many rank twelve strongest ones in combat with the nine Strongest ones of human civilization stopped one by one.
They had already found it difficult to accept seeing Celestial Feather Chen, giving his all, still suppressed by the Milky Way Star Lord and forced to escape into the River of Time.
For the Milky Way Star Lord’s attack power to reach the threshold of rank twelve was shocking enough. Yet now, not only did he reach that threshold, he could actually wound Celestial Feather Chen? Otherwise, Celestial Feather Chen would not have needed to flee into the River of Time.
All the rank twelve strongest ones fell silent.
They had joined forces for what reason again? To besiege the Milky Way Star Lord? Yet, given the Milky Way Star Lord’s current display of strength, could they truly besiege him? Judging by what he had shown, the difficulty of killing him was no less than killing a rank twelve strongest one.
Since the universe’s birth, even during the most brutal battles among rank twelve beings, not once had a rank twelve lifeform actually perished.
On the side of human civilization, the nine Strongest ones, led by Xuanyuan, also fell silent.
They had rushed over intending to avenge Lin Yuan—seeing as more than ten rank twelve beings had locked onto Lin Yuan’s avatar coordinates, the result seemed inevitable. Xuanyuan and Xia Qin, both Strongest ones, were prepared to extort a huge price. So many rank twelve beings ganging up on the Milky Way Star Lord, even if it was only his avatar, severely violated the tacit rules among rank twelve beings.
Therefore, unless these rank twelve beings provided compensation to satisfy human civilization afterward, Xuanyuan himself would intervene and kill off rank eleven or rank ten beings from the other races.
However, events had proceeded differently from what Xuanyuan had anticipated.
The Milky Way Star Lord’s avatar was not wiped out. Instead, he managed to suppress the Tianyu Clan strongest one, Celestial Feather Chen.
This stunned Xuanyuan and Xia Qin. They had come to avenge a Milky Way Star Lord who, by all logic, should have died—avatar or not. Yet not only was he not dead, he was beating down Celestial Feather Chen.
This left Xuanyuan and Xia Qin at a loss.
“Milky Way Star Lord...”
The strongest one of the Prison Clan gazed deeply toward the River of Time, exchanging glances with Celestial Feather Chen on the bank.
So did the other rank twelve strongest ones. They recognized the severity of the situation, realizing that the Milky Way Star Lord was simply not someone they could besiege.
“Huh?”
The Mother Empress of the Insect Race frowned slightly, and so did the other rank twelve beings.
Right afterward, in their full view, Celestial Feather Chen was forcibly dragged into the River of Time by that hand that emerged from below.
“What...”
At the riverbank, every rank twelve strongest one stared at the surging River of Time with extreme gravity.
“That hand?”
“That was the Milky Way Star Lord.”
“But the Milky Way Star Lord is still a being within the river. How can he possibly possess the power to drag a rank twelve being like us off the bank?”
Many rank twelve strongest ones were in disbelief. The River of Time is the place where the core of one’s life is reflected. To forcibly drag a rank twelve being inside would require an unimaginably powerful life essence.
“How is it impossible?”
“Don’t forget how the Milky Way Star Lord just suppressed Celestial Feather Chen.”
The strongest one of the Universe Clan spoke up.
These words reminded the rank twelve strongest ones. True. Even an eleven-level lifeform beating a rank twelve had already happened. Perhaps it was not so impossible for a being within the river to haul a lifeform on the bank down under.
“Celestial Feather Chen is going to suffer a huge setback this time,” said the strongest one of the Prison Clan in a low voice.
In that moment, every rank twelve strongest one stood on the bank, gazing at the River of Time. None of them, however, showed any intention of helping Celestial Feather Chen, not even the other strongest ones of the Tianyu Clan. They merely stood there with no sign of intervention.
Help? But how?
Rank twelve beings are inherently incompatible with the River of Time. If one dares to enter the river, they must endure a severe erosion of life essence.
Swish swish.
While the rank twelve strongest ones watched intently, the once calm surface of the river began rippling. The ripples grew more and more intense, eventually forming waves, as though two primeval beasts were grappling beneath the water.
“Get out, get out, get out!!”
Within the River of Time, Celestial Feather Chen felt his life essence continually weaken. In a mix of rage and fear, he began to fight back.
Lin Yuan did not mind. He could sense the power and suppression of the River of Time on Celestial Feather Chen. All Lin Yuan had to do was pin him there for a sufficient duration. After a certain point, Celestial Feather Chen would be at risk of regression in his life essence.
“Aaaaah!!”
Celestial Feather Chen’s eyes were bloodshot. Twenty-four pairs of wings behind him flapped wildly. Suddenly, two pairs of those wings began to crumble.
Rumble
Celestial Feather Chen’s power instantly surged. With a single motion, he forced Lin Yuan back, then fled toward the riverbank in a panic.
“He got out?”
“Celestial Feather Chen made it out.”
The bank of rank twelve strongest ones breathed a slight sigh of relief.
They also noticed his weakened aura. Originally he had twenty-four pairs of wings, but now there were only twenty-two. Yet as long as he escaped the River of Time, it would be enough.
“Let’s go.”
The other Tianyu Clan progenitors quickly retrieved Celestial Feather Chen, then vanished, returning to the Tianyu Clan territory.
“What a pity.”
Beneath the river, Lin Yuan looked in the direction of the fleeing Celestial Feather Chen with mild regret.
Even if Lin Yuan’s true self emerged into the main universe, mobilizing a few top-tier Path-Clearing weapons, there would still be no chance of actually killing a rank twelve strongest one. Even if the Tai Chi Primordial Soul, wielding rank twelve weapons, slashed tens of thousands of times, it would only inflict minor injuries on Celestial Feather Chen.
Moreover, if it dragged on, other rank twelve strongest ones would intervene.
However, in the River of Time, Celestial Feather Chen genuinely faced the possibility of perishing. Yet the gap in life essence between him and Lin Yuan was still too wide. Even if Celestial Feather Chen spent ninety percent of his energy battling the erosion of the River of Time, once he truly risked his life, Lin Yuan could not hold him.
Though Lin Yuan did not completely finish Celestial Feather Chen, he still achieved his goal.
The injuries Celestial Feather Chen suffered were nearly irreparable. Aside from the erosion of his life essence while submerged in the river, merely the destruction of those two pairs of wings for his final escape would bring him a price beyond redemption.
The Tianyu Clan’s core power resides in its wings—even at rank twelve. Smashing the wings may temporarily boost strength, but afterward, one faces a near-permanent reduction in power.
Even if Celestial Feather Chen, as a rank twelve being, can hope to restore the destroyed wings eventually, it will probably take eons to accomplish. Until then, Celestial Feather Chen likely will not dare to show himself, bearing only twenty-two pairs of wings, putting him close to the bottom in power among the rank twelve beings.
“Huh?”
“They haven’t left?”
Still hiding beneath the water, Lin Yuan saw that the many rank twelve strongest ones on the riverbank were still observing the depths. Yet he immediately noticed that the distance between them and the water’s edge had grown considerably.
Prior to today, they all used to stand right on the bank, looking down at the River of Time, letting the occasional ‘big fish’ from below leap out and glance upward.
But now, they were no longer truly at the river’s edge.
“They’re all on guard against me?”
Lin Yuan sighed, unsurprised.
He had been able to drag Celestial Feather Chen into the river because of the latter’s total lack of caution—Celestial Feather Chen never imagined any threat from below, leading to such an outcome.
That kind of tactic can only succeed once.
Now that these rank twelve strongest ones were alert, always wary of Lin Yuan hiding below the surface, it was impossible to repeat.
First, they stood too far away. Lin Yuan would have to extend half his body to reach them now. Second, a prepared rank twelve being would react instantly. Given the difference in life essence, it would be exceedingly difficult for Lin Yuan to drag them down again.
“Anyway, I won’t need this tactic anymore.”
Lin Yuan shook his head slightly. He was on the verge of making his breakthrough. If all went well, he would soon stand side by side with those rank twelve beings on the bank, free of any need to lie in wait beneath the water.
Some distance from the river’s edge, the rank twelve strongest ones conferred:
“Celestial Feather Chen’s wounds likely won’t be healed by the end of this cosmic era.”
“Yes, the erosion from the River of Time is devastating to our kind at rank twelve.”
“The Tianyu Clan has suffered badly. It’ll probably affect them after the cosmic destruction...”
To all rank twelve beings, the cosmic destruction is a literal brush with death. At anything less than the pinnacle of Path-Clearing, the survival rate is only half—or even less.
In Celestial Feather Chen’s weakened state, by the time the cosmic destruction arrives, it will be hard for him to recover, let alone improve. His survival odds might be two or three out of ten, perhaps even lower.
At rank twelve, the stronger your Path-Clearing realm, the higher your odds of surviving the cosmic destruction. Only at the pinnacle of Path-Clearing can one be assured of weathering that event.
Why are rank twelve beings so reluctant to fight each other?
First, it is difficult to get a decisive outcome. Such battles accomplish little. Second, even if you manage to injure your opponent, a rank twelve enemy would fight back desperately, leaving you wounded as well.
Such injuries could jeopardize your preparedness against the coming cosmic destruction. Failing to survive that event means utter death, no other possibility remains.
...
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