“Milky Way Star Lord, just what level of power do you possess?”
Xia Qin, the Strongest one, could not help asking.
Not long ago, after Lin Yuan reached the 12th rank, he told them that his strength roughly corresponded to the peak of the Path-Clearing realm. Hearing that, the nine Strongest ones of human civilization had been overwhelmed; the Path-Clearing peak was a level they had dreamed of attaining their entire lives.
But now?
The Path-Clearing peak? Could a Path-Clearing peak simply raise a hand and subdue dozens of 12th-rank powerhouses? And these dozens of 12th-rank experts were still shielded by a Path-Clearing peak defensive treasure at that.
Never mind that Lin Yuan himself was apparently a Path-Clearing peak. Even the dozens of avatars he formed with a casual wave all seemed close to the Path-Clearing peak in power.
“Within this universe, I’m at the Path-Clearing peak,” Lin Yuan said honestly.
Due to the universe’s overall suppression, he could only maintain Path-Clearing peak combat strength here.
“The Path-Clearing peak?” Xu Shen, the Strongest one, blinked. Could the Path-Clearing peak truly be that powerful?
“You keep mentioning that’s your power level ‘within the universe.’ Then how about outside it?” Xuanyuan, the Strongest one, suddenly asked.
From Lin Yuan’s very first answer about his strength until now, he had always added “within the universe” as a caveat. Xuanyuan originally did not think much of it; after seeing Lin Yuan’s terrifying might, he realized something was amiss.
“Outside this universe, I’d be at about the Dominance realm,” Lin Yuan replied.
Although he stood at the peak of the Path-Clearing realm in terms of realm, his foundations in every respect were beyond measure, so his overall combat strength was in no way inferior to Dominance-level power.
“Dominance?” Xuanyuan and the others felt their hearts clench.
They had encountered some legacies from the Chaos Void and knew how terrifying a Dominance-level expert could be, a state completely beyond the Path-Clearing realm.
And yet that possibility seemed more and more likely. If Lin Yuan did not possess Dominance-level strength, how could his casually formed avatars unleash such destructive power?
“Dominance? He just reached the 12th rank, and he’s already Dominance?” Xia Qin, the Strongest one, could only sigh.
They had long known that with Lin Yuan’s aptitude, as soon as he reached the 12th rank, he would quickly surpass them. But not this fast.
It had only been a few days since he attained the 12th rank.
“Milky Way Star Lord, what do you intend to do with those alien 12th-rank experts?” Gu Li, the Strongest one, asked in a low voice.
“Those people? I’ll just keep them locked up for the time being,” Lin Yuan said nonchalantly.
All those 12th-rank aliens were now in his hands. Even if, for the moment, he couldn’t do anything too drastic to them, given his rapid growth, it was only a matter of time before he could.
“It’s simpler to keep them suppressed.” Xuanyuan nodded.
If they were released, there would be hidden dangers. Confining them was the easiest route.
“What about the other races?” asked Xuanyuan.
With all the 12th-rank aliens subdued, the entire universe might as well be humanity’s personal backyard. Those peak-level civilizations had lost the guardianship of their 12th-rank progenitors. Even if Lin Yuan made no move, they no longer had the strength to oppose the human race.
They wouldn’t even need humanity’s intervention—those peak-level groups would surrender on their own.
As for powerful but non-peak races, ordinary civilizations, and independent ancient gods, they had all lost their buffer. Once, they could exploit rivalries among the twelve major powers; now only human civilization remained.
Naturally, none of them dared remain undecided.
“Let’s see…” Lin Yuan mused.
Most of the formidable or ordinary races, once controlled by the peak civilizations, had little autonomy. Lin Yuan did not plan to stage any grand ‘rescue.’ As for the ten peak-level civilizations…
“Take all the powerful races, ordinary races, and weaker ones under the umbrella of human civilization. The peak civilizations will likewise merge with us as far as possible. Eliminate all their experts at or above the 9th rank,” Lin Yuan said.
Any life above the 9th rank enjoys a long lifespan, and they remain a potential threat. Besides, nearly every 9th-rank alien had, at some point, slaughtered many human experts on the battlefield. Better to dispose of them and have peace of mind.
As for the sub-9th-rank members of the peak civilizations? They could remain—but strict methods would be imposed on them at the genetic level, limiting their capacity to grow. A species strong enough to develop into a peak civilization would possess an extraordinary bloodline, which human civilization might glean useful insights from someday.
“Understood,” said Xuanyuan and the other eight Strongest ones.
They felt no sympathy. Struggles between civilizations are cruel; if the Milky Way Star Lord had emerged from somewhere else, human civilization’s fate might have been far worse.
The humans might have been wiped out entirely, leaving no trace in this universe. By comparison, Lin Yuan was showing mercy, at least preserving the bloodline of those peak civilizations.
Thus ended the attempt by the ten peak-level civilizations, who had gathered all their forces to make a final stand against humanity. With their 12th-rank leaders captured, the remaining forces all surrendered.
“In the past, our race defeated the humans on the battlefield more than once—why should we surrender? I refuse!”
“If you refuse, you’ll die. Go ahead and choose,” came the reply.
Members of the peak-level races faced a dilemma, but most elected to submit. Humanity, for its part, did not force them too harshly—at least for ordinary members of those races. Their day-to-day lives changed little, aside from a shift in rulers and heightened surveillance, but at least they survived.
“Human civilization will be the absolute master in the long years to come,” Sigu Ancient God said as he arrived on a certain human-controlled primary planet, leading ‘Maduo’ walker and other special-life ancient gods.
That planet had been assigned as a registration point for all ancient gods pledging allegiance to humanity. Once-arrogant ancient gods now queued outside, even the 11th-rank pinnacle among them quietly following procedure.
“Sigu Ancient God, correct? The great Milky Way Star Lord said that if you come, you’re directly granted the top-tier Guest Elder rank,” said a human evolver as he looked at Sigu.
“Top-tier Guest Elder rank?” Sigu felt a surge of excitement.
Human civilization classed ancient gods who pledged loyalty into four levels: A, B, C, D.
Those who had once opposed human civilization—regardless of their strength—were placed in Category D, the lowest level of guest status. They had to guard remote star domains and secret realms for tens or hundreds of millions of years, amassing merits until they could possibly ascend to Category C.
Category C generally encompassed those ancient gods already allied with humanity.
Category B included ancient gods who had made notable contributions to human civilization in the past, back when multiple peak civilizations coexisted.
Category A? That rank conferred some degree of influence within humanity itself and imposed virtually no constraints. They were also entitled to various benefits from human civilization.
With Sigu Ancient God as a top-tier Guest Elder, he might enjoy a more comfortable life than before.
“Sigu, congratulations.”
“Sigu, be sure to help us out in the future.”
Many powerful ancient gods looked on with envy.
“Haha, absolutely,” Sigu laughed, delighted. He had worried Lin Yuan might have forgotten him, since the matter he once attempted—finding Tuoba Ancient God—had been a flop. But it seemed the Milky Way Star Lord was indeed a man of loyalty and gratitude. Even a small favor from Sigu’s side was still remembered and rewarded so generously.
“Ancestor, I got placed in Category B,” added ‘Maduo’ walker.
Back in the Mysterious Emperor Secret Realm, a 9th-rank Tianyu expert had tried to compel ‘Maduo’ walker to locate Lin Yuan via karmic link, but he refused. At the time, ‘Maduo’ walker hadn’t even been sure Lin Yuan would realize it.
“The Milky Way Star Lord…” Sigu’s heart brimmed with emotion. He felt that befriending the Milky Way Star Lord was the single most correct decision of his life.
Central Star Region.
A key area of human civilization.
Lin Yuan stood alongside Xuanyuan and the other eight Strongest ones, gazing at the vastness of the cosmos.
“So many have pledged themselves to humanity—if not for the Three Goddesses, we would have been swamped,” Xuanyuan remarked.
Each of the ten peak-level civilizations was not much smaller than humanity itself, and all of them surrendering at once was like devouring a meal ten times your usual size. Add to that all the powerful, weaker civilizations, and the numerous special-life ancient gods. Only the Three Goddesses’ formidable processing power made it possible to unify everything in an orderly manner.
“By the way, Milky Way Star Lord, your Evolution Tower is ready,” Xuanyuan said.
Ever since Lin Yuan attained the 12th rank, the nine Strongest ones had been preparing the construction of the tenth Evolution Tower.
“Yes, it’s built in the Central Star Region of human civilization,” Xia Qin added.
Until now, the nine Evolution Towers—one for each Strongest one—had been located at the border, serving as deterrents against hostile peak civilizations. But now?
Humanity no longer had any enemies.
All of this was thanks to Lin Yuan, so naturally his Evolution Tower was erected in humanity’s central region, symbolizing the pinnacle of all Evolution Towers.
“Have you chosen a name for this Evolution Tower?” asked Yu Die, the Strongest one, smiling.
“Let’s call it the Martial Evolution Tower,” Lin Yuan answered.
Each Evolution Tower reflected the path of evolution taken by its master; Lin Yuan’s was the path of martial cultivation, so naming it the Martial Evolution Tower made sense.
“Understood.”
Xuanyuan and the other eight Strongest ones nodded.
“Milky Way Star Lord, let’s all visit your Evolution Tower,” Xia Qin proposed with a grin.
“We should get familiar with it. Xuanyuan and the others put in a ton of work to build it.”
“Haha, thank you,” Lin Yuan said, rising. With the nine Strongest ones, he made his way to the tenth Evolution Tower of human civilization.
...
End of this volume.
Next volume: The Great Destruction of the Universe
20 chapters ahead on patreon: patreon.com/David_Lord
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