Lin Yuan maintained one of his avatars permanently on the Guming Chaos Continent, where countless rank twelve powerhouses gather, offering a precise understanding of the Path-Clearing pinnacle.
A Path-Clearing pinnacle’s inner world measures anywhere between one and a half million to two million light-years across. Currently, Lin Yuan’s inner world is only five hundred thousand light-years, but his comprehension of rules far surpasses that of many at the Path-Clearing pinnacle—especially in terms of the Chaos rules, which even Dominance pinnacles yearn to grasp.
All things considered, Lin Yuan’s current combat strength has already slightly exceeded the Path-Clearing pinnacle.
“Next is the ultimate leap.” Lin Yuan’s expression was somewhat serious.
Reaching the ultimate realm has two stages.
First is receiving the chaotic void origin infusion. That is the benefit, the gift of the chaotic void.
Second is the ultimate leap, when one must withstand the backlash of the River of Time and of the universe itself. This is the true hurdle.
Plenty of rank eleven complete lifeforms fear attempting the ultimate realm precisely because of this second step.
“Ultimate… leap!”
Lin Yuan did not hesitate. Within ten breaths after the infusion of the chaotic void origin ends, he must begin the ultimate leap.
Buzz, buzz!
In the next moment, Lin Yuan’s presence abruptly vanished—entirely disappearing from this universe, leaving no trace of cause and effect.
“The Milky Way Star Lord has started his ultimate leap.”
In that same instant, when Lin Yuan’s presence disappeared, the nine Strongest ones of human civilization realized what was happening.
During the ultimate leap, one’s entire being transcends the River of Time, seeking a transformation of life essence. Every bit of one’s aura and causality follows suit.
“Lin Yuan, you have to succeed…” Xia Qin, among the Strongest ones, silently prayed. He had watched Lin Yuan develop from rank eight to the present and felt genuine concern. Even putting aside the larger impact on human civilization, Xia Qin earnestly wanted Lin Yuan to succeed.
“The Milky Way Star Lord will definitely reach rank twelve,” Xuanyuan declared, glancing at the other eight Strongest ones.
“With his foundation, if he can’t break through, I can’t see who else could. And how did we become rank twelve ourselves, then?”
“Yes.”
“He will surely succeed,” said the Strongest ones of human civilization, all brimming with confidence in Lin Yuan.
“My dear disciple…” On the Red Kun main star, the Red Kun Star Lord could vaguely sense fluctuations in space and deduced that Lin Yuan was trying for the ultimate realm.
“Don’t let anything happen…” The Red Kun Star Lord was nervous. Though he was merely rank nine, he knew there was no guaranteed success in an ultimate breakthrough. Even the strongest rank eleven could fail.
Red Kun Star Lord greatly valued Lin Yuan, his younger disciple. Compared to Xia Qin, Red Kun had been observing Lin Yuan’s ascent since Lin Yuan was only rank five. Though less time had passed than one might think, Red Kun Star Lord treated Lin Yuan almost like family.
In human civilization, disciples are family, and a teacher is likewise family—sometimes even closer than kin.
Meanwhile...
“You’d better not succeed in your ultimate breakthrough. If you succeed, what will becomes of us?”
The thoughts of the rank twelve strongest ones of various peak-level clans. They all shared one mindset: they absolutely did not want the Milky Way Star Lord to succeed.
“Milky Way Star Lord, you have to die—die from the backlash of the River of Time.”
Celestial Feather Chen was especially grim. After being dragged into the River of Time by Lin Yuan and breaking two pairs of wings, his odds of surviving the cosmic destruction had plummeted. More than anyone, he hoped for Lin Yuan to fail.
If Lin Yuan truly entered rank twelve, Celestial Feather Chen would never have his revenge. Even when Lin Yuan was still rank eleven, Celestial Feather Chen could do nothing. How would he stand a chance if Lin Yuan became rank twelve? He would probably be the first rank twelve to perish under Lin Yuan’s hand if he dared show himself.
In a dreamlike state, Lin Yuan looked around.
“This is above the River of Time?”
Scanning the surroundings, he saw a mighty river below, and on its bank stood countless towering figures.
“That’s me over there…”
From his position, Lin Yuan saw a massive figure curling beneath the river—that was his own projection in the River of Time. During the ultimate leap, his life imprint and mental will separated from the River of Time, facing its backlash directly.
“They don’t sense me now,” Lin Yuan noted.
Although he hovered above the River of Time, he existed on a different plane—hence why rank eleven lifeforms cannot be stopped once they initiate the ultimate leap.
“The backlash… it’s coming.”
Lin Yuan felt it surge forth. Waves of backlash poured in from the River of Time, extending beyond just this tributary—seemingly endless—and crashed down upon him.
“Huh?”
He was surprised, though not because he couldn’t withstand it. It was that the backlash was far too weak. It couldn’t even jostle him. Though the River of Time’s wrath came in a tremendous torrent, Lin Yuan was like an immovable boulder. No matter how ferociously the currents battered him, he remained calm.
“That makes sense. Compared to others at rank eleven peak, my foundation is countless times more robust. Even they sometimes succeed, so if I were affected by this, how could they have succeeded? They’d have been crushed.”
He concluded that he could withstand the direct, immediate backlash effortlessly. However, the ultimate leap involves not only direct backlash but also indirect backlash, akin to the Heart Demon Tribulation from rank seven to eight.
Rank eleven peak lifeforms need at least ten million points of mental will to have any chance of enduring the ultimate leap’s heart-demon world.
Swish…
A mysterious force descended. It came from the primary flow of the River of Time, the one that traversed the chaotic void.
“What’s this?”
Lin Yuan felt a staggering chill—despite being at a level where standard temperature no longer had meaning. Even his bones were quivering.
“So this is the heart-demon world of the ultimate leap?”
He gazed around. All he could see was a realm of ice and snow.
“No rules… I can’t sense the Chaos rules, and all my natural abilities are gone?” he thought.
Without his powers, it felt as if everything in the main universe was a dream, and he was just an ordinary person.
“I simply have to endure.”
“That’s all.”
Lin Yuan had gathered plenty of intel about the ultimate leap and knew precisely how to proceed after entering the heart-demon world—by persisting until the end. There’s no alternative. As for how long that might be, no one could say. The heart-demon world’s timeline does not match the outside. One might experience one hundred or one thousand cosmic epochs here, yet only a moment passes outside.
“I’ll head in this direction.”
Lin Yuan chose a random direction and began walking. In this world, he had no superhuman strength, no powers, and no sense of time.
Who knew how long it lasted. Eventually, faint voices crossed time and space into his ears:
“Martial Ancestor.” “Martial Ancestor?” “Martial Ancestor!” “MARTIAL ANCESTOR!!”
“Yes, I am the Martial Ancestor, founder of the martial path across all realms.”
He halted, listening intently.
“These voices must be from lifeforms cultivating the martial evolution path.”
“So that’s the meaning of spreading martial evolution?”
Lin Yuan appeared thoughtful. By spreading martial cultivation, he effectively set countless ‘anchors’ to keep from losing himself. The more martial practitioners there were, the stronger these anchors would be, helping him retain his sense of self.
“Keep moving.”
Lin Yuan could not say how long he traveled. He simply knew he must continue until the heart-demon world collapsed or he reached its end.
Before long, he left the snowy expanse and came upon a seemingly endless wasteland. He trudged onward, never stopping.
The greatest danger here in the heart-demon world is losing oneself. Spending untold ages in this powerless form easily leads to doubt or stagnation. Once one stops, it means failing the ultimate leap.
“Snow, wasteland, volcanoes… Just bring it on.”
Meanwhile, the calls of myriad martial practitioners echoed in Lin Yuan’s ears at every moment. Combined with his forty million points of mental will, he had no risk of losing himself.
All manner of trials arose in this heart-demon world, but Lin Yuan faced them calmly, leaving no ripple in his mind.
“How long has it been here? Far beyond one cosmic epoch, surely…”
Lin Yuan felt that in this mundane form, even his thoughts moved slowly, making it impossible to judge the passage of time. It might be ten cosmic epochs, a hundred, a thousand. He couldn’t tell. At last, he arrived once more at a searing desert.
He couldn’t recall how many deserts he had crossed; all were the same—endless dunes as far as the eye could see.
“Huh?”
His expression shifted. At the desert’s far edge, he perceived a faint gate of light.
“That’s the exit, the boundary of the heart-demon world!”
He was certain. He strode forward, crossing the swirling sands that tried in vain to hinder him.
Soon he stood just ten meters from the gate, where he could vaguely feel the presence of rules again.
“It’s over.”
Lin Yuan felt an unprecedented peace. Glancing back, he saw the desert behind him stirring like waves, with a mighty current flowing from the distant past into the future—the River of Time itself.
And now…
Behind Lin Yuan, figures emerged, coming from far away and closing in:
A youthful Buddhist wearing hemp shoes and a monk’s robe, already freed of worldly concerns.
A young Dao priest in robes, descending the mountain to battle evil for sixty years.
An emperor boiling rivers and refining mountains, exuding imperial might.
A demonic lord bridging his Yang soul with his Yin soul, returning to traverse the Five Regions.
A slender man hidden in mist, watching over the Immortal World.
A towering demonic tree, stretching from earth to sky.
A Martial Ancestor climbing the heavens.
Someone crossing a sea of light, starlight falling like rain into the mortal world.
Another comprehending the Dao within the void, present wherever his mind reached.
A stately figure wandering countless worlds, the Great Dao and its rules all born from Chaos.
One by one, they arrived from the distance, halting silently at Lin Yuan’s back.
“So this is rank twelve…”
Lin Yuan smiled. Turning around, he strode through the gate of light.
...
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