Lin Yuan’s mindscape held a “renewed” Gate of Myriad Realms.
Compared to before his advancement to the 12th rank, the Gate itself had not changed in overall size. Yet its details were now much richer, ancient mottled patterns emerging, exuding an endlessly mysterious aura that transcended all timelines.
“Now, this Gate of Myriad Realms probably resembles the true one more closely.”
A ripple stirred in Lin Yuan’s thoughts. He sensed that the Gate gave off a feeling of supremacy over everything, transcending all constraints.
The reason for this transformation was that Lin Yuan’s previous life essence had been too low; the projection of the Gate he could bear at that time was incomplete. Now, with his breakthrough into the 12th rank, his life essence had likewise evolved, enabling him to accept more information about the true Gate of Myriad Realms.
“The Gate of Myriad Realms lies outside the timeline. Even those 13th-rank Time Beings peering into countless past and future timelines wouldn’t spot it.”
Such was Lin Yuan’s silent musing.
A 13th-rank Time Being already possesses some features of a perfect Time Lifeform and can observe myriad timelines. To them, there are almost no secrets. Anything they want to know, they can trace through the timeline’s origin.
But as for the Gate of Myriad Realms? It transcends all timelines, so even if 13th-rank Time Beings stood right here in Lin Yuan’s mind, facing this very Gate, they would remain unable to detect it in the slightest.
Lin Yuan alone could perceive the Gate and sense its aura, solely because he was the owner of the Gate of Myriad Realms. Aside from him, even those Time Beings could not glimpse the Gate at all.
“Let’s see what’s changed.”
Lin Yuan sent a wisp of consciousness into the Gate, receiving anew the information within. He wasn’t too concerned with the Gate’s finer details. Rather, he wanted to know what new functions it now possessed.
Buzz.
Vast streams of information poured into his mind.
Because Lin Yuan’s life essence had ascended, he was capable of containing more of the true Gate’s being. Naturally, that meant he could wield more of its abilities.
A while later.
Lin Yuan slowly opened his eyes, seeming deep in thought.
“So that’s how it is.”
A smile lit his face.
By accepting the Gate’s new information, Lin Yuan roughly understood its updated capabilities.
First, for all those many worlds Lin Yuan had visited by traveling through the Gate, their coordinate channels were now entirely locked in place. Henceforth, if Lin Yuan wanted to descend once more, he would pay no price in Source Power; he could simply do so.
Furthermore, descending in the future would only require a small fraction of his mind, rather than his entire will and consciousness.
In simple terms, whenever Lin Yuan journeyed to some other dimensional world through the Gate, he no longer had to settle his true body first or transfer his consciousness in full. Instead, he could use an avatar-like form to traverse, allowing his real self to act simultaneously.
“That’s a pretty good perk.”
Lin Yuan nodded slightly, thinking there would be no more abrupt interruptions of his travels.
Prior to breaking through to the 12th rank, he had not dared attempt any dimensional journeys because of the possibility that trouble might arise on his true body’s side during the trip and he would need to return instantly.
The flow of time often varies drastically between the primary universe and a visited world, which could lead to unforeseen complications.
“Source Worlds…”
Lin Yuan looked toward the 33 world coordinates deep within the Gate.
Upon reaching the 12th rank, he now saw over a dozen more of those 33 coordinates more clearly.
“Boundary-breaking source energy!”
Another of the Gate’s newly revealed abilities sprang to his mind.
It involved the use of Boundary-breaking source energy.
Previously, Lin Yuan had only a few ways to harness it: one was traveling between worlds, and another was taking objects from the main universe into a visited world, or vice versa.
Now, though, it held many more possibilities.
For instance, if Lin Yuan once again chose to traverse a Source World in the form of a consciousness descent, while initially weak, he could tap into Boundary-breaking source energy to rapidly recover his strength. Theoretically, so long as the Boundary-breaking source energy was sufficient, he could instantly regain his full power, perfectly replicating the body he possessed in the main universe.
Bear in mind that Lin Yuan’s physique contains a nearly immeasurable foundation, so replicating it would normally not be a matter of resources alone.
Yet the Gate’s Boundary-breaking source energy can replicate it flawlessly.
In truth, this does not apply solely to Lin Yuan’s physical body. Any item—be it a weapon or a treasure—could be duplicated exactly by Lin Yuan so long as he fully comprehended it. All that matters is the quantity of Boundary-breaking source energy required.
“This ability is terrifying,” Lin Yuan marveled in his heart.
Duplicating all tangible or intangible things in existence? What sort of outrageous technique is that?
If one day Lin Yuan truly comprehended the Chaos Void, would he then be able to replicate an entire Chaos Void using Boundary-breaking source energy?
Beyond replication, Boundary-breaking source energy also offers means of escape, offense, and so forth—a genuinely multipurpose power source.
“At my body’s current level, if I wanted to replicate it perfectly using Boundary-breaking source energy, I’d need around 2,730,000 strands of Boundary-breaking source energy.”
Lin Yuan did a brief assessment of himself, lips twitching slightly.
2,730,000 strands isn’t actually enormous. Going by the accumulation rate of one strand every ninety days, that would be about 700,000 years.
“There’s no need to replicate my entire body.”
He shook his head. Going to other worlds by dimensional travel mainly served to study the unique laws of those realms and to follow their cultivation paths. If he replicated his entire body from the main universe, most of those new cultivation paths would effectively be set in stone. The greatest benefit of traveling via the Gate would be lost.
Right now, the key advantage of Boundary-breaking source energy for Lin Yuan is that it dramatically boosts his survival in the early stages of descending into a realm.
At least in the beginning, if he encountered a crisis beyond his power to handle, he could rely on Boundary-breaking source energy to flee or buy time to develop. With his Unrivaled Insight, so long as he’s given enough time, he can easily reach that world’s upper limit.
“Now I can even use the Gate here in the main universe,” Lin Yuan mused.
Whether in the primary universe or in the Chaos Void, so long as he invests some Boundary-breaking source energy, he can briefly activate the Gate and travel anywhere he wishes. In theory, no one can bar the Gate of Myriad Realms.
“But unless it’s absolutely necessary, I’d rather not use it,” Lin Yuan reflected.
This Gate stands outside every timeline, so those 13th-rank Time Beings have no way to observe it directly.
But if he actively unleashes the Gate in the Chaos Void, even for an instant, it would leave subtle traces. Those traces exist in the past, and once a Time Being peeks into that past, they might detect them.
Then they could trace the present and future, and even if they still couldn’t locate the Gate precisely, they could probably deduce Lin Yuan’s approximate whereabouts. That might create real trouble.
Lin Yuan’s dimensional travels rely on the Gate along the timeline, producing no visible ripple in the Chaos Void itself; actively invoking it, however, is effectively bringing the Gate’s aura into the Chaos Void. Those are two entirely different scenarios.
Having reached the 12th rank, the Gate of Myriad Realms had awakened numerous abilities, but the main three are enough to note.
“This is an enormous help,” Lin Yuan thought in satisfaction.
“From any angle, the Gate has become much more powerful.”
In particular, the deeper applications of Boundary-breaking source energy gave him an additional trump card.
“My total Boundary-breaking source energy is too small right now,” Lin Yuan sighed.
He currently has fewer than 3,000 strands in total, mostly because he hasn’t existed very long. If he’d had hundreds of billions or trillions of years like many 12th-rank beings in the universe, he’d have far more Boundary-breaking source energy stocked up.
Moreover, thanks to the Gate’s new capabilities, if he ever had an ample supply of Boundary-breaking source energy, he could replicate numerous resources for cultivation. Of course, replicating resources with it is extremely extravagant. Except for a few crucial items, Lin Yuan wouldn’t bother.
Human civilization, Third Core Stronghold.
Inside a grand palace, nine great thrones were occupied by nine figures, the nine Strongest ones.
At the center of those thrones, a new seat had formed: the Tenth Great Throne.
Suddenly.
Lin Yuan appeared, seating himself on that newly formed throne.
“Milky Way Star Lord, you’ve arrived.”
Xuanyuan, the Strongest one, smiled, and the other eight Strongest ones turned their attention to Lin Yuan.
Though Lin Yuan had only just become a Strongest one, he was already, beyond any doubt, the greatest among them, possessing power at the Path-Clearing peak—unbeatable in this universe.
“Yes,” Lin Yuan replied quietly from his seat, feeling a tinge of emotion.
He had visited this Third Core Stronghold before. Back then, he could only stand below, looking up in awe at the nine Strongest ones. In their eyes, he was just a tiny figure.
“Since the Milky Way Star Lord is here, let’s get to the main topic.” Xuanyuan’s face turned serious.
“The main topic?” Lin Yuan understood.
Anything that required a Strongest one’s input—especially all of them together—had to be a significant matter for human civilization. Usually, trivial issues were handled by the Three Goddesses alone.
“Ever since the Milky Way Star Lord advanced to the 12th rank, those peak-level species have begun shrinking their territories.”
Xuanyuan explained.
The other Strongest ones nodded.
They had all noticed how the eleven peak species were reacting. With an invincible Milky Way Star Lord on humanity’s side, it made sense for those species to do so.
“As they pull back, all those 12th-rank individuals are getting in touch with me, seeking peaceful coexistence with our civilization—and willing to pay a certain price,” Xuanyuan continued.
“Peaceful coexistence?” The Strongest ones chuckled among themselves.
Realizing they couldn’t match the Milky Way Star Lord, they wished to make peace. It seemed a reasonable choice.
“Furthermore, many powerful civilizations, ordinary civilizations, and solitary ancient gods wish to pledge allegiance to us,” Xuanyuan added.
Lin Yuan’s presence exerted terrifying pressure. If even a race with a 12th-rank champion shrank away, it was only natural that lesser powers or lone gods would be nervous.
“Milky Way Star Lord, this matter is in your hands,” Xuanyuan said, looking toward Lin Yuan.
Those powerful races and 12th-rank experts were reacting entirely because of Lin Yuan, so it was his opinion that mattered most.
“Accept the powerful races, ordinary races, and ancient gods who have no major grudge against human civilization,” Lin Yuan said after a moment’s thought.
Yes, the starry sky is said to house countless races, but in practice, the battlefield belongs to the twelve peak-level forces. Countless other powerful or ordinary races can only flow with the tide, with hardly any power over their fate.
The same goes for lone ancient gods.
“As for those peak-level forces? Apart from the Calamity Race, if they wish to reconcile with us, that’s fine, but they must surrender ninety percent of their 12th-rank weapons and 12-star-tier treasures and afterward live within the region we designate. If they don't accept, let's just annihilate them.”
Lin Yuan spoke easily.
He specifically excluded the Calamity Race because human civilization had rarely clashed with them, so there was little animosity. Moreover, the two Calamity Race 12th-rank experts had given him warnings. Even if those warnings weren’t actually necessary—since, without them, those 12th-rank beings could do nothing to Lin Yuan—at least the Calamity Race had shown good will.
Plus, the Calamity Race’s background was deeper than expected, and that wooden hut of Chaos-level was not something Lin Yuan was certain he could deal with.
“Ninety percent of their 12th-rank weapons and 12th-rank treasures?” Xuanyuan and the other eight exchanged glances.
It was domineering indeed.
Lin Yuan’s demand included the weapons and treasures personally wielded by those 12th-rank beings. It was basically carving the flesh right off them.
“They may not accept that...” Xuanyuan hesitated.
“No matter,” Lin Yuan said calmly.
“They’ll accept.”
“Alright, I’ll pass your demands along,” Xuanyuan nodded, preparing to contact the 12th-rank experts of the great peak races.
“Exclude the Calamity Race,” Lin Yuan reminded him.
“Understood,” Xuanyuan replied.
“The Calamity Race requires caution,” the other Strongest ones concurred.
“The Calamity Race likely hails from the Chaos Void,” Lin Yuan remarked.
“The Chaos Void?” All the Strongest ones were taken aback; they had assumed the Calamity Race came from the previous cosmic epoch, never suspecting this.
“That’s right,” Lin Yuan confirmed, now able to see more hidden truths upon reaching the 12th rank. That included details about the Calamity Race.
“One of my avatars has already arrived at their domain,” Lin Yuan said with a slight smile.
Deep within the Calamity Race’s territory.
A mysterious, unknowable place.
Here stood only a simple wooden hut, floating in the depths of space like an eternal fixture.
All at once.
An invisible force gathered, coalescing into a figure—Lin Yuan.
“We greet the Milky Way Star Lord.”
The moment Lin Yuan appeared, the wooden door opened on its own, and two figures emerged, bowing lightly before him.
...
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