At the monument of time, within the Time Pavilion, Fang You entered a state of profound enlightenment. It was as if he had stepped into the Sea of Laws again, much like when he first ascended to the High Rank.
All around him were clear inscriptions of laws. He was immersed in them, his understanding, application, and mastery of flowing laws skyrocketing like a rocket.
Half a day later, he reached the Proficient level.
Two days later, he broke through to the Master level.
A week passed, and while his mastery of flowing laws hadn't yet reached the Grandmaster level, Fang You had successively comprehended several time-related laws, devising various profound applications concerning time.
Time! Years! Dawn and Dusk! Reversal!
Two weeks later, Mentor Fang’s long hair reached his waist, and a沧桑 (cāngsāng - weathered, vicissitudinous) aura emanated from him.
Three weeks later, his waist-length hair transformed back into a neat short cut, fluttering in the currents of time.
He suddenly opened his eyes.
The strange temporal energies around him subsided into calmness.
"One Grandmaster-level law, three Master-level laws. And soon, I will be able to condense a fragment of one of these authorities. This mastery rivals my lightning and wood laws."
Returning to his senses, he was still somewhat immersed in the Way of Time.
After a long while, he sighed.
"Under normal circumstances, I would have to meditate for two to three years without rest to achieve such profound law mastery. And now…"
"It's a pity that this kind of enlightenment, like stepping into the Sea of Laws, cannot be experienced a second time in the short term."
…
Half a month after his enlightenment, Fang You condensed the first fragment of a time-related authority.
The third ability of the Time Pavilion had not yet unlocked.
Maintaining a steady mindset, he took the lightning, time, and wood monuments and entered the Realm of Ages for cultivation.
Time flew, traversing the ages.
Alone in the temporal realm, he remained for nine years, finding it somewhat desolate and difficult to endure.
The first three years, Fang You spent in seclusion. A blink of an eye, and time slipped through his fingers. But by the fourth year, he could no longer enter an immersive state of seclusion.
His mastery of various laws and authority powers were all at a critical juncture, unable to advance further.
These years of seclusion seemed to have exhausted all his spiritual potential. It was more accurate to say that his progress had been too rapid. For a normal High Rank expert to improve their law mastery by half a minor tier – from early Master to mid-Master – would take at least a decade or several decades. High Rank existences would find time fleeting, difficult to grasp, as they blinked their eyes and decades passed.
Fang You blinked his eyes, and oh, only a few months had passed. He still had to ‘imprison’ himself in this place for more than eight years!
Law comprehension requires a balance of exertion and relaxation.
Since he was making little progress by simply observing the law monuments, Fang You turned his attention to other pursuits.
He cultivated body-refining techniques.
He cultivated visualization techniques.
"Myriad Beasts Body Tempering (Legendary · Three Stars): Peak Attainment Realm 99.99%"
"Mountains and Rivers Visualization (Legendary · Three Stars): Peak Attainment Realm 99.99%"
Clouds and mist rose from his body, his physique radiating immortal golden light. His surging qi and blood caused the earth to shake, as if billions of ferocious beasts were stampeding.
However, the bottleneck of the Myriad Beasts Body Tempering technique was as solid as Mount Tai.
After all, under normal circumstances, breaking through the Peak Attainment Realm of Legendary Three Stars would require 729 gold cultivation cards.
And even drawing with ten million destiny points would only yield two to three hundred gold cultivation cards.
Over the years, he had accumulated far more than a thousand or two thousand gold cultivation cards. But this resource was not something he could solely monopolize.
Moreover, the pressure of using 729 cultivation cards instantaneously was something he absolutely could not withstand.
Mentor Fang was self-aware.
Through his continuous cultivation, along with the enhancement of his law mastery, his foundation, and his supplementary skills, the conditions for breakthrough had been reduced.
"Myriad Beasts Body Tempering: Breakthrough requires 199 Legendary cultivation cards, breakthrough rate 66.39%"
"Mountains and Rivers Visualization: Breakthrough requires 178 Legendary cultivation cards, breakthrough rate 71.56%"
However, the consumption was still enormous.
The breakthrough rate was not high, and the risk was immense. Once failed, nearly two hundred gold cultivation cards would be wasted.
He could not afford to lose.
This was why Mentor Fang’s two Legendary skills had been stalled for so long, without breaking through.
"Cultivate! Cultivate!"
"First, I will perform ten million sets of Myriad Beasts Body Tempering, then visualize ten million scenes of Mountains and Rivers."
In the desolate, uninhabited realm where no one would hear his shouts, days turned into nights, clouds drifted and gathered, and only the figure in the center of the realm remained eternal.
Wind blew, rain fell, snow drifted, mountains crumbled, but his fist movements remained.
He trained like this for three years.
His state of mind became increasingly tranquil, like jade polished for a thousand years. Fang You had a premonition that if he were to observe the law monuments now, he would gain considerable insights.
But…
He wanted to break through his skills!
"Myriad Beasts Body Tempering: Breakthrough requires 99 Legendary cultivation cards, breakthrough rate 86.66%"
The breakthrough rate was still not high enough. However, with a bit more consumption of destiny power to protect himself, it would be almost there.
He estimated that he would have a 98% success rate.
He would leave two paths for the sky and the earth.
Given this…
"After so much cultivation, it is time to reap the rewards."
"Cultivation cards, break for me!"
RUMBLE—
As if the world was just beginning, heaven and earth separating the pure from the turbid, every cell, every drop of divine blood in Fang You’s body trembled and boiled.
He seemed to transform into a small beast, crying out for sustenance.
Without the vast consciousness of the Ninth Realm High Rank, without rich and supreme combat experience, he had nothing. He could only rely on instinct and guidance from the hidden heavens to hunt, to kill, to fight with other ferocious beasts.
Until he was preyed upon by a stronger beast.
In a blink, he transformed into another small beast, embarking on a long and perilous journey of predation.
One after another.
One death after another.
He was as if reincarnating, experiencing cycles that were somewhat similar yet constantly repeated.
The difference was that the bloodlines of the small beasts he reincarnated into became increasingly rare and powerful.
Perhaps ten lives, a hundred lives, a thousand lives, ten thousand lives.
BOOM—
Fang You’s consciousness suddenly cleared.
This was not some reincarnation; it was merely cultivating through borrowed shells. He was breaking through.
BREAKTHROUGH FOR ME!!
His body roared like the world, radiating scorching golden brilliance.
Beneath his skin, golden divine blood was perfectly visible, like vast rivers flowing, emitting drum-like roars.
Fang You collapsed onto the ground like a puddle of mud.
Stamina, energy, will… almost completely depleted.
But this did not affect his entire body as it continuously transformed and sublimated, his strength steadily increasing. His consciousness also remained in an extremely clear state.
After a long pause,
"My strength has at least doubled, my defense has increased even more, and I possess a monstrous recovery ability. There are no weaknesses in the conventional sense."
"Moreover, I am closer to a true divine body!"
Only a Root Existence of the Tenth Realm could forge a true divine body. At this stage, a Root Existence could transform into a law, could ignore any attack that did not carry laws, could traverse space by borrowing the power of laws, and could even be reborn from a mere wisp of law.
Possessing a Law Divine Body, a Root Existence’s survivability far surpassed that of a High Rank.
And now, his body was subtly showing signs of transforming into a Law Divine Body.
"Could it be that I can forge a Law Divine Body in the Ninth Realm ahead of time? I've never heard of such a thing."
"However, forging a Law Divine Body requires more than just a divine body; the divine soul must also be powerful enough."
He turned his gaze to the Mountains and Rivers Visualization skill.
Then he slowly shook his head.
Forging a Law Divine Body was not that simple.
Myriad Beasts Body Tempering and Mountains and Rivers Visualization were, after all, only Legendary Three-Star skills. It was estimated that they would need to reach the Crimson Divine Demon level before they were sufficient.
But regardless, cultivating both these skills to their peak had brought him immense improvement, and he could even possess some of the might of the Tenth Realm in advance.
Thus,
Three years later,
"Mountains and Rivers Visualization, break for me!"
RUMBLE—
In the eternal and desolate realm, the sound of Mentor Fang collapsing to the ground due to depleted strength echoed again.
After all, with no one present, he no longer needed to maintain his calm mentor persona.
Cough.
…
Subsequently, after resting for a period, Mentor Fang entered the second layer of the temporal realm.
At the same time, he instructed Xiao Huan to post a bounty on the mission board for hunting High Rank Anomalies.
High Rank Anomalies were usually rare. However, the Torch Mytholog organization explored various regions, and occasionally, they would discover one or two.
They would receive rewards for bringing back clues.
An Jianyou, Hei Dao, and others would go on expeditions to kill High Rank Anomalies and also receive rewards—such as slots to enter the second layer of the temporal realm.
The Torch Mytholog organization also solicited intelligence from various hegemonic forces and mythic powerhouses. Anyone providing clues about High Rank Anomalies could receive substantial compensation from the Torch Mytholog.
"We wish we never encountered High Rank Anomalies in our lives, yet the Torch Mytholog organization is hunting them? Comparing people is maddening!"
"As expected of the Torch Mytholog organization, dedicated to eliminating Anomalies and reducing the danger of the Anomaly Realm… Such an organization is truly worthy of being humanity's number one power! Enough said, I'm heading to an oasis under the jurisdiction of the Torch Mytholog organization, aiming to become an honored peripheral member."
To be honest, Mentor Fang's actions were purely for Divine Origin.
He had considered improving the Anomaly Realm environment, but it was clearly not something achievable with just the Torch Mytholog’s power. Killing a few High Rank Anomalies would not bring about any change to the overall environment of the Anomaly Realm. There were far too many High Rank Anomalies within it.
He was in strenuous cultivation.
Others were too.
Perhaps to ordinary Awakened individuals, humanity suffered little loss in the second tidal wave of disaster, and the world's destruction seemed distant.
But those within the Torch Mytholog were different.
Fang You often propagated the idea of maintaining vigilance in times of peace. Moreover, the current situation was far from safe.
The great crisis lurking in the hidden heavens was drawing nearer, pressing down on people until they could barely breathe.
This was something any existence that had already reached the High Rank could sense—this premonition from the hidden heavens, allowing no room for relaxation.
While cultivating strenuously, Fang You occasionally guided others or collected inherited skills from other factions.
He hoped to merge them into a second, a third, or even more Crimson-level skills.
Within humanity, there were not many inherited skills left to obtain.
He had sent people to the Central Sacred Court, but they could not meet with the high-ranking officials of the Sacred Court.
Outside of human factions, there were the Elemental Spirit Court and the Myriad Beasts Territory. Among them, due to Xiao Huan's existence, the Torch Mytholog had established some connection with the Elemental Spirit Court.
Fang You planned to engage in a mutually beneficial exchange with the Spirit Court to acquire some rare inheritances.
While most inherited skills of elemental lifeforms were not applicable to humans, with a vast number of them, it was always possible to discover suitable inherited abilities for humans to utilize.
Then, he would send a group of mythic beings and demigods with high comprehension to study, greatly enriching the organization's skill material library.
Having more, they would have a greater chance of merging into Crimson skills.
Currently, Pei Hongjing was in negotiations with the person in charge of the Elemental Spirit Court, and a contract would be signed soon.
On the other hand, two more 'newcomers' in the organization had ascended to the Ninth Realm High Rank.
Among them was Yi Luoxi, who had been stagnant for years.
Not only had she reached the High Rank, but under Fang You's guidance, she had also studied and perfected the Infinite Gate, elevating it to the Crimson level.
Her combat power had increased significantly. Even while holding the Blazing City, she remained invincible in the world.
However, this time Yi Luoxi had learned her lesson and did not rashly challenge An Jianyou. After ascending to the High Rank, she continued to diligently cultivate, comprehending laws, and constantly developing the wonders of the Infinite Gate.
…
"Hmm, not bad. The Infinite Gate is indeed Yi Luoxi's innate skill. She can indeed come up with many tricks."
Mentor Fang nodded in approval.
There were many ways of application that he himself had not thought of.
Of course, cough, this was not because he, the mentor, was too mediocre. He simply had too many projects to cultivate and did not focus much energy on the Infinite Gate.
Moreover,
"Since Yi Luoxi will develop the wonders of this skill, why shouldn't I wait for her to develop them?"
"Why should a mentor's work be called copying? This is called mutual progress."
Fang You went to the Tower of Combat, and after consuming a dozen concept light clusters, he began practicing the Infinite Gate.
Hundreds of spatial portals slowly opened behind him. As lightning flickered at his fingertips, they all burst forth with endless orange divine radiance.
Law power, integrated!
Authority power, augmented!
The brilliance of lightning bloomed to its most dazzling point, accompanied by the roar of billions of lightning strikes!
"The Infinite Gate has always had a drawback: it cannot stack offensive skills to their limit, as this requires time, and in intense combat, there is often not enough time."
He condensed lightning, and his mental power continuously climbed.
As time passed, more and more spatial gates opened, extending numerous lightning god spears.
Two thousand,
Three thousand,
Ten thousand.
The theoretical upper limit of the Infinite Gate, just like its name, was infinite.
As long as there was sufficient time and energy, the skill could expand without restriction.
However,
Fang You's divine soul trembled, veins bulging on his forehead. Maintaining over ten thousand skills in a state of readiness was extremely difficult, even for him with his strong control.
Furthermore, it was with the notoriously violent lightning energy and laws.
This level was the limit. In fact, if he did not unleash this vast power, he could only maintain it for a few more seconds.
A few seconds were enough.
He cast the first lightning god spear into the portal space.
The spear’s state was immediately frozen.
Following that, he cast the second, third, fourth… Although they appeared as different weapons, they originated from the same source, fundamentally being the same skill. Their violent state was then restrained and finally came under his control, slowly merging into one.
This was a technique that Yi Luoxi had spent a great deal of time exploring and experimenting with.
Fang You was profiting from it for free.
This technique was not limited to this.
Soon, over ten thousand lightning god spears merged into one. Of course, they did not fully merge into a single spear but were in a state resembling a cluster of missiles. Bundled together, they radiated a terrifying destructive power.
Fang You had no doubt that if this skill were unleashed, even a great domain would be annihilated.
And this was still not the limit.
"Theoretically, this is one skill, and naturally, it can be amplified by the Infinite Gate. However, this skill is too violent. While it can be projected outwards, further amplification might be uncontrollable."
What to do then? Of course, continue experimenting.
The spatial gates opened, lightning brilliance erupted, and in the next moment…
BOOM—!
A deafening roar, like the creation of heaven and earth, echoed across the plains. The radiance of lightning dyed the entire world orange.
It was the orange of destruction.
A disheveled figure flew out from it. The Luo Yunteng battle armor had been obliterated, and his body was also mangled.
Fang You felt a lingering fear.
"Scared me to death. If I had been a bit slower, I would have died… Although dying wouldn't matter."
This was the Tower of Combat.
Dying in the Tower of Combat? So be it. Mentor Fang considered himself experienced.
When it came to experimenting with dangerous new skills, he naturally chose to do it within the treasure known as the combat arena.
He snapped his fingers, refreshing his state.
His battle armor and body returned to their original condition, and the vast plains stretched to the horizon.
"The power of the clustered lightning god spears is too great. It is impossible to expand them a hundred or a thousand times further. I need to control the amount of expansion, otherwise, I will die before launching it."
He had such estimations before attempting it.
But he still tried.
The worst outcome was death, wasn't it? As a mentor, he needed to possess the pioneering spirit of not fearing death.
He tried again.
Endless light and heat bloomed, destroying heaven and earth.
After several attempts, Fang You truly died, annihilated by the violent laws of destruction.
He smacked his lips. "Extremely explosive. This strike can kill a High Rank existence without any pressure." After all, Mentor Fang possessed skills like Myriad Beasts Body Tempering, Nirvana Sacred Fire, and Furnace Undying Body. His defense and survivability were absolutely top-tier among High Rank existences.
If he couldn't withstand it, how could others?
This power was truly remarkable.
"Of course, this is limited to the epicenter of the annihilation lightning storm. However, in the slightly outer regions, ordinary High Rank existences would probably still not be able to withstand it."
He experimented hundreds of times, finding the limit that suited him best, and began to skillfully utilize this killing move.
This was still not the end.
Fang You left the Tower of Combat and entered a training ground.
He began to manually craft annihilation lightning storms and store them one by one.
One, two, ten, twenty…
It was like stockpiling nuclear bombs. Moreover, the destructive power of these storms was more than ten thousand times stronger than nuclear bombs. A single launch would leave the world of Blue Star before its promotion with not even dregs remaining.
"Is this the joy of a hoarder?"
The corners of his mouth curled up as he switched his view.
In the screen, Yi Luoxi was also like a hoarder, stockpiling her own ultimate weapon. She couldn't help but giggle foolishly, as if her tail were wagging in the sky.
Fang You stockpiled Annihilation Divine Lightning.
She stockpiled the Roar of the Blazing Inferno.
However,
"What I can stockpile is not just Annihilation Divine Lightning."
"Skills like Life Tree Seed and Finger of God can also be stockpiled."
Some could be stockpiled, while others could not.
And it seemed that the method of stockpiling Annihilation Divine Lightning was not his strongest offensive method.
He returned to the Tower of Combat and continued to ponder.
Spring passed, autumn arrived.
One day, Fang You received a notification from Xiao Huan and stepped out to the Blazing City.
From afar, he sensed a strange yet familiar divine aura.
"Demi-God Xi Guang?"
"No, High Rank Xi Guang!"
Lord Xi Guang, who had already opened the door to the High Rank, smiled broadly. He brought news.
"Esteemed Mentor, the ancient meeting has begun. Moon Lord, Great Sun God Venerable, Lord of Stars, and many other existences will await our arrival beyond the gray mist."