Chisong King's final agreement took Lin Yuan slightly by surprise. That earlier line—“You sure know how to ask”—had already hinted at how difficult the request truly was.
Lin Yuan had already prepared himself to be rejected and switch to asking for something else.
Besides studying Alpha War Machines, there were countless treasures Lin Yuan desired.
“Thank you, Your Highness.”
Lin Yuan responded promptly, without false modesty.
The chance to study a Alpha War Machine was exceedingly rare.
If not for wartime, Lin Yuan wouldn’t even have the opportunity to see one—let alone study it.
“You want to study the Chaos rune patterns contained in the war machines?” Chisong King asked with curiosity.
“Yes.”
Lin Yuan nodded.
There was no need to hide that.
In fact, the most precious aspect of a war machine lay precisely in the Chaos rune patterns inscribed upon it.
It was through these Chaos rune patterns that the power of thousands of Dominance-stage experts could be perfectly fused, then massively amplified.
Without them, a war machine’s value would be little more than its rare materials.
“The Chaos rune patterns were a gift from the Ancestor, and later replicated onto war machines by the strongest Heavenly Sovereigns of our ancient kingdom,”
Chisong King said with a touch of sentiment. “If you can study them, it’s a good thing.”
“I’m just having a look,” Lin Yuan replied casually.
At the same time, he now understood the true origin of the Chaos rune patterns.
The Ancestor.
The Ancestor of the Liyang Ancient Kingdom.
To be able to casually craft rune patterns imbued with the essence of Chaos laws—his mastery must’ve surpassed even the limitations of the third stage.
Only a thirteenth-rank Ancestor, looking down on both ancient kingdoms and the Source World itself, could create such things.
“But you can only study the war machines during this war,” Chisong King reminded him. “Once the war ends—win or lose—they’ll all be recalled to the capital.”
Allowing Lin Yuan to study the machines was already bending the rules. Chisong King was willing to overlook it during wartime, but after the war, he wouldn’t dare hold any back.
“Of course,” Lin Yuan nodded.
Chisong King then chatted with him for a bit longer.
Mostly to discuss Lin Yuan’s reassignment.
Now that he had displayed the strength of a veteran Great Sovereign, he needed to be stationed somewhere more important.
The Ding Frontline was too peripheral—having a veteran Great Sovereign there was a waste.
Lin Yuan had no objections. Given the strength he had revealed, Chisong King certainly wouldn’t assign him to fight a peak Great Sovereign alone.
After a while—
Chisong King had said what he needed to.
Qingfen Marquis stood and led Lin Yuan away.
The pavilion was left with only Chisong King sitting inside.
“Father.”
A young man emerged from deep within the void.
He bore a strong resemblance to Chisong King—about 60 to 70 percent. As he gazed toward the direction Lin Yuan and Qingfen Marquis had left, he couldn't help but speak.
“War machines are national treasures of our ancient kingdom.”
“Even the lowest-tier Gamma machines bear crucial Chaos rune patterns.”
He seemed puzzled. “Such important things, and Father, you’re just letting Milky Way study them? Just because he defeated Leige?”
Defeating Leige and holding the Ding Frontline was commendable, but did it really warrant this level of reward?
Chisong King looked at the young man—his favorite child, which is why he kept him close even during wartime.
“What do you think of Milky Way’s strength?”
After some thought, Chisong King asked.
“Milky Way Great Sovereign’s strength?” The youth paused. “A veteran? Seasoned Great Sovereign?”
“Wrong.”
Chisong King shook his head. “From what I saw, Milky Way doesn’t have deep mastery in Chaos evolution. During his battle with Leige, he barely used such power at all.”
“That’s true,” the youth said, now thoughtful.
“Milky Way is only at the early Great Sovereign level. His explosive strength comes from his Blazing Sun Divine Body.”
“An early-stage Great Sovereign, relying on the Blazing Sun Divine Body alone, can unleash power close to a peak Great Sovereign. That suggests his Blazing Sun Bloodline is highly concentrated.”
Chisong King explained.
While the Blazing Sun Divine Body was indeed the most powerful physique in the Liyang Ancient Kingdom, nearly all Great Sovereigns awakened it—yet none had shown such a staggering power increase.
“I see.”
The youth suddenly understood.
“If he can reach such power with just the Blazing Sun Divine Body, then if he later masters Chaos evolution to the level of a seasoned Great Sovereign… wouldn’t he be equivalent to a peak Great Sovereign?”
A smile spread across Chisong King’s face. Recruiting a peak Great Sovereign was no easy task.
Many refused to get involved in the two ancient kingdoms' war and outright rejected calls to arms.
Now, with just a bit of leniency, Chisong King could gain a peak-level asset—an incredible deal.
“Father, your foresight is truly impressive,” the youth said with admiration.
If letting Milky Way study war machines could secure another peak-level warrior for their side, then it was well worth it.
“As for the risks?”
Chisong King chuckled. “The Chaos rune patterns on war machines are top secret, but you can’t leak them just by looking.”
“To leak them, one must first comprehend them. Milky Way is a new Great Sovereign—how could he possibly grasp the full extent of a machine’s Chaos rune patterns?”
Each war machine contained self-destruct runes to prevent capture and replication by enemies.
But “enemies” here referred to at least Heavenly Sovereign-level beings.
If an enemy captured a war machine and passed it on to a Heavenly Sovereign for study, that was when Chaos rune secrets could truly leak.
As for Lin Yuan?
He was barely a new Great Sovereign with little accomplishment in Chaos evolution. He sought to study the patterns precisely because he was far from understanding them.
Moreover, all his studying would be under Chisong King’s watch—there’d be no chance of a leak.
And most importantly, Lin Yuan had awakened the Blazing Sun Divine Body, essentially aligning him with the Liyang Ancient Kingdom. He had no reason to betray them.
“Father, your insight is peerless.”
The youth was completely convinced. On the surface, it looked like Chisong King had rewarded Milky Way for defeating Leige.
In reality, it was a multi-layered plan, with almost no risk.
“With Father’s planning, Lingwei is doomed to fail.”
The youth said confidently.
“It’s still too early to talk about victory.”
Chisong King shook his head, a hint of concern in his tone. “I can’t shake the feeling that Lingwei is hiding a lot of cards.”
After leaving Chisong King’s floating city residence—
Qingfen Marquis looked at Lin Yuan and spoke in a more serious tone, “Disciple, the fact that His Highness agreed so readily probably means he’s seen that you’re not ordinary.”
Qingfen Marquis understood just how important war machines were—especially Alpha.
Chisong King wouldn’t allow Lin Yuan to study one without expecting some kind of significant return.
And by “return,” he meant true gains—not just the absence of risk.
“But he probably only suspects you're extraordinary,”
Qingfen Marquis continued. “He definitely wouldn't guess that your bloodline concentration is at the level of a core royal.”
He had only inferred this from Lin Yuan’s terrifying growth rate and his use of the Blazing Sun Divine Body.
Qingfen Marquis had no way of knowing the full truth. At most, he noticed some clues—but nothing that would lead him to guess Lin Yuan had a core royal bloodline.
If he had, their previous conversation would’ve been completely different.
“Yeah.”
Lin Yuan listened quietly.
“There shouldn’t be any problems.”
Qingfen Marquis mulled it over. “At most, he probably just thinks your royal bloodline is a little thicker than normal. Given His Highness’s personality, I doubt he’d even mention it.”
Among the royal family, Chisong King was one of the least ambitious. He had no interest in internal struggles and rarely involved himself in political scheming.
After parting ways with Qingfen Marquis—
Lin Yuan was promptly reassigned from the Ding Frontline battlefield.
He was sent instead to a frontline closer to the core region.
Of course, Lin Yuan left behind an avatar at the original Ding Frontline to continue studying the war machines there.
Since Chisong King had allowed him to study Alpha war machines, it naturally meant that studying Beta and Gamma machines was also within his rights.
“So this is the core frontline battlefield?”
One of Lin Yuan’s avatars arrived at the core frontline.
The entire area was cloaked in deadly formations. War machines were everywhere, and the aura of peak Great Sovereigns filled the air.
Lin Yuan’s avatar soon arrived in front of a Alpha War Machine.
Since it was currently a standoff, neither side was fighting, and most war machines remained stationary.
“Great Sovereign Milky Way.”
The machine’s commander gave a slight bow as Lin Yuan approached. “His Highness Chisong King has already given the order. You may study this machine at any time.”
Even though the commander only had peak Dominance strength, he answered directly to Chisong King—most peak Great Sovereigns couldn’t command him.
Without the king’s order, no one could approach a war machine without cause.
“Good.”
Lin Yuan nodded and flew into the machine.
“These Chaos rune patterns…”
He was stunned the moment he stepped inside.
Compared to the Beta Intermediate machine he had previously studied, the Chaos rune patterns here were not only vaster in scale—but also far more complete.
“Chaos is the source of all things, and also the beginning of all things.”
Lin Yuan became fully immersed as he observed the intricate Chaos rune patterns covering the war machine’s interior.
Chaos laws did not exist within any complete world—this was why they were so difficult to comprehend directly.
Chaos gives rise to all things—only by studying all things can one indirectly comprehend Chaos.
But now, these rune patterns were the product of some supreme being forcibly tracing Chaos back to its source, extracting its essence from the myriad things it had birthed.
[Your Unrivaled Insight activates: observing unknown rune patterns, your comprehension of Chaos laws increases…]
As Lin Yuan absorbed the details of the Alpha War Machine’s rune patterns, his understanding of Chaos laws continuously improved.
He split himself into thirty-three avatars, each sent to different frontlines to study their respective war machines.
His true body remained stationed at the Frontline.
As for his two primal souls—they had long since left the battlefield and hidden in a place of absolute safety.
“Hm?”
“Another attack?”
Lin Yuan’s true body at Frontline had been studying a war machine when he noticed the shift in external energies and immediately flew out.
“Great Sovereign Changfeng.”
Lin Yuan looked toward the opponent facing him.
Great Sovereign Changfeng—an experienced and seasoned Great Sovereign, near the peak level. That’s why Chisong King had sent Lin Yuan here to stop him.
“Great Sovereign Milky Way.”
Having seen what happened to Leige, Changfeng dared not underestimate Lin Yuan.
Rumble—
Very soon—
The two clashed.
“This Great Sovereign Changfeng…”
Lin Yuan had expected a tough battle, but the moment they exchanged blows, he realized Changfeng was merely probing—no intention of going all-out.
Nothing like Leige’s life-or-death frenzy.
“Makes sense.”
Lin Yuan quickly realized.
Anyone who had reached the Great Sovereign level, especially a veteran, wasn’t stupid.
With rare exceptions like Leige, most Great Sovereigns had no desire to truly risk their lives on the battlefield.
If Changfeng held back, Lin Yuan was happy to play along.
After all, his task from Chisong King was simply to keep Changfeng in check.
In the Chaos Void—
“Seems like the only way is to fully comprehend the divine mark of Sunborn Genesis and imprint it here, then attempt to forge a Sunborn Core that can merge with my internal universe…”
Lin Yuan thought to himself.
The seventh divine body technique—Sunborn Genesis—carried the meaning of opening the heavens and stabilizing creation. Lin Yuan wanted to test whether he could form a stable Sunborn Core in his internal universe.
“Time to continue training the second layer of Infinite Void.”
Lin Yuan resumed cultivating the thirteenth-rank inheritance Infinite Void.
This inheritance had the potential to elevate Lin Yuan’s foundation to an unbelievable level.
Deep within his internal universe—
Next to the jade gourd, a little girl in red was sleeping soundly.
Just then—
One of Lin Yuan’s avatars appeared nearby.
“Senior.”
Lin Yuan called out.
“I’ve told you already. Since you passed the trial, you’re my master. No need to call me ‘senior.’”
The red-clothed girl opened her eyes. Though she protested, her joy was plain on her face.
“Alright.”
“So, what do you need from me?”
She asked.
“I wanted to ask if I’ve made any mistakes while training the second layer of Infinite Void…”
Despite his Unrivaled Insight, Infinite Void was a thirteenth-rank inheritance—profound and intricate.
Lin Yuan worried he might veer off course, so he regularly checked in with the girl in red.
“Mistakes?”
The girl rolled her eyes. From the moment Lin Yuan began the second layer, she had been observing him—hoping to find any issues or hidden dangers in his training.
That way, she could prove how useful she was.
But in the end… she, the mighty spirit of the jade gourd, created by a great thirteenth-rank being of time to guide future generations in training Infinite Void—had not been able to give even a single suggestion.
...
20 chapters ahead on patreon: patreon.com/David_Lord
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