A torrent of profound, mysterious thoughts flooded in, revealing subtle, ultimate truths. Just as Ye Chen was exploring, a cold voice suddenly cut through his mind: "Time is up!" Whoosh!

Ye Chen's entire body flashed, vanishing before the majestic Heavenly Dao Stele, reappearing near a distant one. From his current vantage point, the stele was visible only as a distant silhouette, its inscriptions impossible to discern, as if separated by tens of thousands of kilometers.

"Huh?" Ye Chen's consciousness snapped back to full clarity. Looking around at his surroundings, he couldn't help but be astonished.

"It ended so quickly?" It felt like less than a minute had passed. The intelligent system stated: "Each session of comprehension is limited to one minute!" Ye Chen couldn't help but let out a wry smile.

The ten Divine Points he had worked so hard to earn only afforded him one minute before the Heavenly Dao Stele. If this was the required cost, how many Divine Points would be needed to truly grasp something substantial?

Ye Chen did not dwell on the issue. He swiftly gathered his scattered thoughts, striving to recall and savor the feeling of profound insight he had just experienced, turning it over and chewing on it slowly.

"So that's how it is; this can be approached this way..." "It was like that..." Ye Chen returned to his quarters, leaning back on the sofa, eyes closed to rest his spirit. His entire mind remained immersed in that ethereal comprehension, as if the great, mysterious door to the universe had swung open before him, allowing him a glimpse into a world entirely unknown to him!

"What exactly is that fog-like substance..." "What lies within that mist?" Ye Chen frowned in deep contemplation, sighing internally. If the time had been longer, if he had been granted sufficient duration to observe, he was certain he could have discerned the entity within the mist.

He had a deep premonition that whatever was concealed there would bring immense benefit to his cultivation. After a long while— Hoo!

Ye Chen exhaled softly, leaning back against the sofa, filled with a lingering regret. The mysterious sensation in his mind had completely vanished, as if wiped clean; no matter how hard he tried, he could not summon it back.

"What exactly is this Heavenly Dao Stele that it remains so enigmatic, granting such vast rewards from a single viewing?" Ye Chen marveled in his heart. Though his viewing time was brief this session, the gains were exceptionally rich.

His mental power, previously stalled at the mid-stage of the Seventh Tier Sage, seemed to be faintly stirring, close to breaking through to the late stage of the Seventh Tier Sage. Most importantly, during that deep comprehension, the secret manual whose cultivation had hit a bottleneck at the Third Level of the Nine Palaces suddenly became clear, allowing him to grasp the cultivation method for the Fourth Level.

"I must practice this immediately." Ye Chen's figure moved as he prepared to head to the War God Tower. Just then— Beep beep!

An email notification chimed. Ye Chen paused slightly, his eyes lighting up.

"Could someone be issuing a challenge again?" He quickly clicked open the message, only to see several large characters: INVITATION LETTER. The content read: Mr.

Ye Chen, greetings! I am Blood-Robed Duke, a Divine General from the Heavenly Fragrance Civilization, serving under the Lords of the Conferred States within the Blazing God Empire.

I wish to invite you to join our domain under the Lords of the Conferred States, within the Heavenly Fragrance Civilization. We guarantee substantial support, resources exceeding those of the Genius Hall, to aid you in ascending to the status of a powerful God!

The Offering: Ten sets of Peak Pseudo-God equipment, one Peak Pseudo-God starship, ten Great Rejuvenation Pills of Heavenly Fragrance, one combat secret manual granting a maximum amplification of 50 times power! One General rank within the Heavenly Fragrance Civilization!

Numerous other benefits... Sender: Blood-Robed Duke.

Seeing this email, Ye Chen paused, then frowned slightly. He clicked 'Ignore' and prepared to head to the War God Tower.

Beep beep~ Suddenly, another email arrived. Ye Chen was momentarily stunned.

Just as he was about to open it, a flurry of beeping sounds erupted. Within minutes, dozens of emails had been sent.

Ye Chen opened them one by one. They were all invitations, largely repeating the same polite overtures followed by tempting offers of rewards.

However, these gifts held little genuine appeal for him. "Mr.

Ye Chen, greetings! I am from the Demon Civilization, under the Kings of the Conferred States within the Blazing God Empire..." "Mr.

Ye Chen, greetings! I am from the Reincarnation Temple, Heavenly Civilization..." Ye Chen ignored every invitation he opened and proceeded directly to the War God Tower to test the newly comprehended Fourth Level of the Nine Palaces!

At almost the exact same moment, deep within the core of the Blazing God Empire, there existed a realm where flames raged heavenward, saturated in a blood-red hue. Here, only endless burning flames existed, seemingly solidified, scorching the very air as if it were about to melt.

At the heart of these infernos, countless chains, as thick as fingers and pitch-black, held fast. Flames burned endlessly along these chains to their terminals, where they bound a figure engulfed in fire.

The form was indistinct, save for two blood-red, lantern-like lights—the eyes of some unknown fierce beast—that inspired utter dread. The figure struggled slightly, producing a loud clattering sound as the chains strained against the fiery space, a sound that grated on the nerves.

"Heh, heh..." The figure gasped for air, a cruel, savage grin spreading across its lips, radiating an aura of brutal violence. "Do you truly believe this paltry Fire God World can confine me?" "Wait another 300 years.

When the day of my breakthrough arrives, that will be the day your Blazing God Empire meets its doom!" The figure’s smile was grotesque, its voice laced with venomous hatred. "That brat from the Primeval God Star dared to ruin my plans!

If not for that minor oversight, after all these years, I would have already inherited the Will of the Fire God and mastered the Imperial Clan's Secret Codex. Within the entire Blazing God Empire, who could kill me then?" "Damn it!" "Damn it all!!" "A mere ant ruined my grand endeavor back then—despicable!

When I break free, I will find your location through the Wheel-Turning Saint King and slaughter you ten thousand times!!!" The entire fiery world shuddered, sparks of flame scattering as demonic fire towered to the heavens, seemingly manifesting the boundless rage surging within the figure's chest. ...

While Ye Chen was observing the Heavenly Dao Stele, within a mysterious region of the Blazing God Empire. Upon a smooth, white stone platform sat a white-haired elder, his expression gentle and imbued with serenity, meditating with closed eyes.

Around him, towering flames roared, yet these were not the blood-red fires, but chilling white flames whose heat surpassed even that of the sun's core! He sat there as if feeling a gentle breeze, his demeanor relaxed.

"Hmm? A young member of the Imperial Clan has appeared recently?" The elder suddenly opened his eyes.

In his gaze, calm as still water, was a hint of surprise. "Employing the Nine Palaces Secret Manual?

A Second-Grade Genius Hall member?" With a mere thought, he seemingly connected to some hidden mechanism. A scene materialized in his mind—the very image of Ye Chen battling.

"Eh?" The elder was even more astonished. "It's this fellow?" "Only a few years have passed, and he has already reached the Ancient Continent?

He was a mere speck with combat power in the low thousands, and now he’s a member of the Second-Grade Genius Hall?" A trace of astonishment flickered in his eyes. "How could his progress be so rapid?

Such a massive change in just a few years..." He seemed to recall something, his brow furrowing deeply. He murmured to himself, "Could he be the reincarnation of some great figure, carrying such immense fortune?

The universe operates, and every entity is a gear. For a minor demigod like him to possess such luck is truly strange..." He pondered with knitted brows for a long time before letting out a soft sigh.

"When I have time, I will borrow the 'Stone of Three Lives' from the Hell Civilization to check; then I will know." "This child is blessed with good fortune. Fortunately, he received my favor in his early years and inadvertently helped me with a great task by destroying one in a billionth of that wicked one's soul fragment that infiltrated the Primeval God Star.

Otherwise, the Imperial Clan Secret Codex I left there would have been stolen by this villain. If he had learned the Blazing God Hammer and the Nether Flame Shield and summoned the Fire God's incarnation, no one in the entire Blazing God Empire could have killed him alone!" "Although I took precautions and the Blazing God Hammer and Nether Flame Shield I left behind were imitation manuals—only possessing one ten-thousandth the effect of the true codices—given that villain's talent, he could decipher and master the true manuals over several reincarnation cycles.

That would spell catastrophe for the entire Blazing God Empire!" The white-haired elder sighed inwardly. After a moment of contemplation, a smile curved his lips.

"I shall grant this little fellow a pleasant surprise. It is rare to reach the Second-Grade Genius Hall purely through personal effort; I shall lend him a hand once more..." ...

War God Tower, Level 20! Ye Chen stood tall in the sky.

The surroundings shifted, placing him on a desolate planet choked with yellow sand. The landscape was ravaged and pitted, devoid of an atmosphere.

Cosmic meteors whistled past overhead, visible almost to the naked eye. Before Ye Chen materialized a slender girl in white robes from the Zither Civilization, hovering in the void.

Her expression was solemn yet delicately beautiful, with four jade-green lines etched upon her forehead, a stunning sight. The Zither Civilization was a remarkable domain.

With his current access level, Ye Chen was entitled to query many secrets of the Ancient Continent through the virtual customer service in the Genius Sector—a form of welfare provided by the Blazing God Empire to its geniuses. The Ancient Continent was home to countless civilizations, totaling exactly 3,000.

Should a civilization be utterly annihilated under some transcendent power, its descendants would inevitably reappear from Earth in the near future, eventually reaching the Ancient Continent via that pathway. And within the Ancient Continent, the most taboo action was the total eradication of any civilization!

No matter how heinous a civilization’s crimes, if it were wiped out completely, it would face joint judgment from the Nine Great Empires, the Ten Great Temples, and numerous Transcendent Families! Among these 3,000 civilizations, the most powerful belonged to the Nine Mainline Civilizations: Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, Earth, Wind, Thunder, Light, and Darkness!

These nine civilizations stood at the apex of the 3,000. Following them were the Twenty Civilizations of the Ten Heavens and Ten Earths; the Hell Civilization and the Heavenly Civilization, along with the Angel Civilization, were all counted among these twenty.

The Zither Civilization was a powerful entity ranking within the top 100 of the 3,000 civilizations. Its people used the zither as their weapon.

From the age of six, they could awaken the latent power hidden within their physique, and upon successful awakening, they became Zither Masters!