To have birthed a secret art at the level of the Universe's Strongest without actually becoming one—this was a chasm as vast as the heavens, blocking off powerhouses like Luo Feng, Lord of the Insect, Lord Youzan, Venerable Green Blood, and so many others. In the vastness of the Sea of Universe, this seemed an unsolvable paradox, a feat even Luo Feng’s teacher, 'City Lord of Chaos,' could not achieve. Yet, here was Break East River clearly forcing them toward this very necessity.
Time flowed, and another thirty years vanished in the blink of an eye.
The Virtual Universe.
“Giant Axe Creator.” Luo Feng sat cross-legged, surrounded by three-dimensional projections of the Rhino Emperor’s Bureau. His brow furrowed as he looked toward the giant, wild-man figure before him. “I have pondered relentlessly, yet I cannot find a path to a stronger blade technique. I implore the Giant Axe Creator for guidance—how exactly must I advance?”
The Giant Axe Creator sat cross-legged in return. “The heritage of the Break East River lineage is among the most powerful from the ancient civilizations. It places extremely high demands on its inheritors. If he sets such a demand, there must inherently be a possibility.”
Luo Feng nodded.
He knew there was a possibility… but how was he to locate it?
To struggle, research, and contemplate without achieving the slightest progress was an agonizing sensation. Moreover, The Universe of Metal already represented the theoretical apex of the Metal-Void Path. How could he break through? He couldn't even find the slightest flaw to polish, let alone perfect it further.
“This blade heritage, it bestowed upon you 360 sets of blade secret canons and three Blade Mountains for a reason,” the Giant Axe Creator sighed.
“I understand that to break through, I must draw insight from these 360 sets of secret canons and the Blade Mountains, but I cannot find the slightest path on how to break through,” Luo Feng admitted, deeply frustrated. Though it seemed only thirty years had passed since he created The Universe of Metal, in reality, thirty epochs had gone by. Thirty full epochs without a single breakthrough—how could that not be disheartening?
Giant Axe nodded. “I once consulted the Primal Ancestor.”
“Primal Ancestor?” Luo Feng’s eyes lit up.
“Indeed.” Giant Axe nodded slowly. “The Primal Ancestor, he... the root of his breakthrough lies in the three Blade Mountains!”
Luo Feng frowned, murmuring the thought silently...
The root lies in the three Blade Mountains?
The Giant Axe Creator continued, “Only those existences imbued with ultimate profundity—the three Blade Mountains—can potentially allow you, whose mastery of secret pattern diagrams is merely at the limit of a Universe Master, to create a secret art at the level of the Universe’s Strongest. However… what is manifested and created might not be truly understood.”
“What is manifested and created might not be truly understood?” Luo Feng nodded slightly.
“The Primal Ancestor’s reasoning is sound.”
“Since I could create Golden Light back then, today I can create something even stronger,” Luo Feng murmured quietly.
In truth, based on the experience of countless powerhouses in the Sea of Universe, the probability of creating a Universe’s Strongest-level secret art was zero!
Yet, the three Ice Mountains offered a sliver of hope to make this happen.
Difficult!
Too difficult.
It was not just Luo Feng who was stuck at this juncture. Many powerhouses within the East Emperor Holy Land faced the same obstacle. Even Venerable Green Blood, after spending twenty years creating a nearly perfect secret art at the Universe Master level, was equally halted here.
“Ancestor, there is simply no hope whatsoever,” Venerable Green Blood said, perched on a colossal leaf, his voice tight with worry and anxiety. “I have searched desperately, yet I feel nothing at all.”
“Ancestor,” Lord Youzan also looked anxious. “Our East Emperor Holy Land has existed for endless eons, and we have never had a Universe Master create a Universe’s Strongest level secret art. How are we to break through? We implore the Ancestor for guidance!”
The other candidates sat cross-legged on their own massive leaves, listening intently.
This space was within a planar realm belonging to the East Emperor Holy Land, where time was accelerated by ten thousand times. The main feature within this realm was an ancient, immense tree bearing countless leaves upon which these powerhouses, including the East Emperor Ancestor himself, were seated.
“Those are the Law Runes you have never seen before,” the East Emperor Ancestor said slowly, faintly enveloped in a green light as he sat further away. “The Law Runes exhaust the profundity of all laws. With the guidance of the Law Runes… the gateway forward will be opened for you!”
The group of powerhouses exchanged glances.
The gateway forward?
“Study them closely and do not allow your attention to waver for an instant,” the East Emperor Ancestor stated directly. “I suspect that the moment one among you finally comprehends the Universe’s Strongest secret art, it will be the moment the other candidates meet their demise.”
“Yes.” The dozens of candidates responded with utmost reverence.
Purple Moon Holy Land.
The Purple Moon Ancestor smiled faintly, looking down upon his many candidates. “Since Break East River bestowed upon you these Ice Mountains, the profundity must reside within those Law Runes. Study them closely, and you will surely gain insight. Discard all previous notions, and investigate those Law Runes from every possible angle.”
“Yes.”
Lord of the Insect and the others responded in turn.
The Universe’s Strongest beings from other factions across the boundless Sea of Universe were somewhat bewildered when their respective candidates inquired. Even they had never witnessed the ‘Law Runes.’ They could only advise: “Since there is only one Ice Mountain, the path must lie within it. Study it intently.”
Those who entered the inheritance space did reap massive rewards. Especially the Universe Masters, who were already at the fourth or fifth tier of ability; guided by the Law Runes, and after spending varying amounts of time, each managed to create the most perfect, integrated ultimate secret art at the Universe Master level!
If they survived this trial, they would undoubtedly become top-tier beings of the fifth order!
Alas, it was fated… only one of them could emerge alive.
Years passed.
Luo Feng had long since mastered and memorized all 360 Blade Secret Canons. He devoted his entire being to meticulously contemplating the three Ice Mountains… the Law Runes…
“Just a single Law Rune,” Luo Feng tracked the movement of a light ray resembling a shooting star. This ray occasionally soared upward, then plunged down, carving out arcs that were nothing short of perfect. Simple, yet containing infinite implications.
As he watched…
The ray of light seemed to grow larger and thicker, transforming into an immensely vast long rainbow. Along the edges of this rainbow were countless blade shadows—some soft as water, some steady as a mountain, others violent as fire. Each blade shadow was an incredibly complex secret pattern diagram, so intricate that it far surpassed the most powerful secret pattern diagrams of the Ninth Abyss Luo Feng had ever seen, rendering him incapable of full comprehension… Innumerable blade shadows perfectly merged to form this massive arc…
This very arc was the seemingly simple, shooting-star-like ray of light…
“Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, Earth, Wind, Light, Thunder, Time, Space, Metal-Void, Water-Void, Wood-Void… even Water-Time, Metal-Time… countless profound mysteries, seemingly fused entirely, yet also partially integrated,” Luo Feng was utterly mesmerized by what he saw.
The Law Rune transcended any single law.
Because it contained all laws, it contained every mystery.
“Hmm?” Luo Feng’s left eye remained fixed on one shooting-star ray, while his right eye simultaneously observed the three Blade Mountains. The countless rays of starlight combined to form an unfathomably magnificent blade mastery mystery… Left eye observing one ray, right eye observing the three Blade Mountains.
Reflecting upon each other.
It presented a unique sense of…
Luo Feng was most proficient in the laws of Metal, Space, and Metal-Void! As for the other laws, he had encountered them while studying the secret pattern flow. Although his enlightenment in them was shallow, he possessed some understanding.
Thus, the blade shadows Luo Feng perceived and tasted most deeply through his dual gaze were those centered on ‘Metal-Void.’
While observing, all the blade techniques from the 360 Blade Secret Canons surfaced in Luo Feng’s mind—appearing to correspond and align. Naturally, Luo Feng began to create one blade technique after another… all striving to capture the essence of what he saw in the ‘Law Runes.’ He tried to recreate that flavor of blade technique. However, these creations were either too weak in power or fundamentally flawed… yet Luo Feng disregarded this, continuously creating…
He didn’t know how long it took.
Luo Feng was immersed in creation…
Unconsciously, he had already dissected the ‘Law of Space,’ and even grasped the secret art applications of the laws of Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth within his heart. Although he hadn't deliberately sought enlightenment in these four basic laws, his level of comprehension was so profound that the secret art applications of these four laws were naturally mastered. If Luo Feng had deliberately tried to grasp the four basic laws, he could probably have fully comprehended them in just a few days.
“Life… Void…”
“Void… is in fact Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, Earth…”
“Annihilation…”
“Life…”
He couldn't recall how long he had been contemplating.
Space itself was divided into the five elements: Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth. Through the long contemplation, Luo Feng had become intimately familiar with the relationship between these five elements and Space. Furthermore, his eyes observed the Ice Mountains—one internal manifestation, one external appearance—pursuing the ultimate mystery, and a new path was faintly emerging…
“This very strike!”
Luo Feng held the Absolute Guest Battle Saber, silently rising and standing upon the flow of chaotic energy.
He swung his blade!
The saber light flared instantly, slicing across the vastness, then suddenly erupting in brilliance, converging into a massive, dark sphere. Countless blade lights were suppressed within this black sphere… The moment the strike initiated, it instantly transformed into this huge dark sphere, which swelled to billions of kilometers in height.
Puff!
The center of the black sphere violently tore open, and a streak of brilliant golden light flashed and vanished! A visible trace, long-lasting, appeared across the entire space of the inheritance ground.
“I saw it.”
“Rebirth.” Luo Feng closed his eyes, tears streaming down, tears of profound emotion originating from his very core. This single move had carried him to an entirely new level.
“Candidate Blade Technique Third Form created!” a cold, mechanical voice rang out beside Luo Feng’s ear.
“Inheritor determined!”
“All other candidates… perish!”
The other candidates, who had long since descended into a state of trance and frenzy over the long duration, were suddenly enveloped by an invisible force descending from the star above. The power struck every candidate simultaneously.
“No!” Venerable Green Blood’s eyes snapped open, his face contorted in terror. “No, it should be me, I should be the one to succeed!” He then froze instantly. His physical body remained, but his soul was extinguished.
“This is—” Lord of the Insect, mid-comprehension, felt his expression change, and then he, too, became motionless.
One powerhouse after another instantly froze as if encased in ice.
All perished, their physical bodies remaining intact.
Simultaneously, those powerhouses who possessed avatars in other miniature universes, or even on the original universe, collapsed at the exact same moment.
When the inheritor is born, all others must fall—a grim celebration.
This chapter required significant revision and deletion, but finally, I am satisfied.