Chapter 97 – Unprecedented!
Virtual Universe, Tongtian Bridge Dimension
Jiang Zhe greeted the black-robed guardian Bafin and flew straight toward the universe-level Tongtian Bridge.
Watching Jiang Zhe turn into a streak of light and disappear into the distance, Bafin began sending mass messages. He knew many people were eager to see Jiang Zhe's progress firsthand—more so than just hearing the final result.
The first to arrive were Saint Spirit King, Inferno King, and Heavy Soul King.
"Meng Xuan, you should have a pretty good idea of his progress. Tell us, roughly how far do you think he can go?"
Inferno King couldn't hold back his curiosity.
"Old Dragon is right, Meng Xuan. Don't keep us in suspense. Just how profound is this kid's law comprehension now?"
Heavy Soul King, usually calm, also couldn't help asking.
"Tenth floor? Roughly,"
Saint Spirit King thought for a moment and gave a conservative estimate.
"Tenth floor?!"
Both kings were stunned, exchanging glances.
If he's polished for a few more years, isn't this another Kedi in the making?
Soon, all 14 branch masters of the "Cosmos Faction" gathered. Inferno King and Heavy Soul King composed themselves and greeted them one by one.
Not only the Cosmos Faction came; leaders of other factions also arrived, curious about the progress of this genius after 30 years in Chaos City.
Even the "Nine Universe Faction" was here. Among them was Luo Feng's teacher, the hearty golden-furred ape man inspired by Sun Wukong.
More heavyweight figures appeared too.
A blue-robed, purple-scaled man showed up—it was Nine Sword Venerable, casually chatting with other existences of similar level.
Jiang Zhe at the Seventh Floor
Jiang Zhe confidently stood on his two-meter-wide Void Core, arriving at the starry environment of the seventh floor.
"Now I'm at Universe level 9 with mental strength to match.
Leaving aside the 90-plus basic mysteries I've fully grasped, my comprehension of the third diagram of the Universe Chaos Tablet is at least 90%.
Clearing the seventh floor will be a breeze!"
"Plus there's a 10x points bonus right now.
Clearing up to the tenth floor means 500,000 points.
Outside Chaos City, these easy opportunities are rare—I'd have to challenge the Primal Tongtian Mountain for points, but that's only available at the Domain Lord level."
"My Thunder Prison World, Anna's Master of Matter, both are huge resource hogs. We desperately need points to advance to the Domain Lord stage."
"Who has time to worry about alien assassins right now?
This is my chance to make a big haul!"
With that in mind, Jiang Zhe reached the end of the seventh bridge floor, facing a small asteroid several kilometers in diameter.
"Controller!"
At his choice, rocks crumbled from the asteroid's edge, merging into a blue-clad, silver-masked controller also standing on a Void Core, his left arm equipped with the Time-Space Arm.
"I remember you. It's been a while."
The old-sounding voice was filled with emotion as he looked over his gear.
"You took good advice.
This set perfectly brings out the insights of the Chaos Tablet.
Even at the undying level, it will still serve you well."
"Come on—let me see your world again."
"Ha, feeling confident?"
The blue-clad figure rose into the air.
"Let's see just how far you've come in these thirty years!"
He swept his left arm. Blazing lightning erupted. Thousands of steel needles shot out in all directions, transforming the environment into scorched earth under dark clouds and writhing lightning.
Time-Space Arm, Fifth Form: [End World]!
Jiang Zhe counters
On the other side, Jiang Zhe also activated his Time-Space Arm.
5832 dark purple needles shot out, stirring the laws of time and thunder, supplemented by space, distorting heaven and earth to form an even more vivid End World.
Boom!
The two lightning worlds clashed directly.
Countless electric snakes inside collided instantly.
But in a heartbeat, the blue-clad figure's lightning world began to collapse. Jiang Zhe's lightning world rapidly expanded.
"How… how is this possible? Your grasp of the laws is this high?!"
He could only gasp in shock before a sudden arc of lightning shattered his head.
"Second stage? Can't complain about losing then."
His eyes went wide in his last moment.
Layers & Mastery
Just like the Divine Soldiers, this "world" technique had three stages:
First Stage: Lightning snakes formed in front, attacking as mastery increased.
Second Stage: Anywhere inside the world could instantly spawn lightning snakes, catching foes off-guard.
Third Stage: Directly manipulated the lightning world as a giant mental weapon, smashing enemies.
What Jiang Zhe had just demonstrated was the second stage of the End World.
Seventh floor, easily cleared.
"64,000 points in hand. Onward! Onward!"
Eighth & Ninth Floors
Jiang Zhe raced to the eighth floor, once again choosing "Controller."
End World, second stage vs End World, second stage.
Clearly, Jiang Zhe's law comprehension was far superior. His lightning world shattered the opponent's instantly.
Eighth floor, cleared.
"128,000 points! Wonderful!"
He surged to the ninth floor.
Onlookers:
"Eighth floor so easily? Then the ninth should be no problem."
"Definitely. His understanding of the laws is incredible!"
"I think only one Universe level in the entire Primal Secret Area has passed the eighth floor so far, right?"
"Yes—looks like he's a lock for the Qualification War in a hundred years."
"Saint Spirit King, your teachings are impressive!"
"Congratulations!"
"Please keep giving more lectures for our Cosmos Faction. Even if students only reach a tenth—no, a hundredth of Jiang Zhe, we'll be overflowing with talent!"
Ninth Floor
End World, perfected vs End World, perfected.
Two spherical lightning worlds molded into thick lightning pillars, colliding fiercely.
Thanks to Jiang Zhe's deeper law comprehension and terrifying mental strength, he crushed the opponent's lightning pillar and killed him.
Ninth floor, easily cleared.
"Another 256,000 points! Delightful!"
He rushed into the tenth floor.
Tenth Floor: The Big Test
This time the environment changed from space to inside a planet's core.
"Controller!"
Jiang Zhe made his choice.
The ground trembled. Yellow light erupted, coalescing into a yellow-clad Controller.
"No Universe-level member has ever cleared my floor.
I hope you'll break that record."
"I'll use the Time-Space Arm's sixth form—Lightning Becomes Star.
A perfected End World is worthless before it!"
"Watch carefully. Learn well."
8748 steel needles flew out, linked by countless dark purple threads. The laws of lightning and time combined, with space as the lubricant, fusing into an even grander power.
In a blink, a 3.3-meter dark purple star formed, radiating immense gravity.
Jiang Zhe had no doubt—if someone with even deeper comprehension used this, it might collapse into a singularity, becoming a miniature black hole.
Jiang Zhe fights back
"Not worth it? Let's see how your Lightning Star fares against my perfected End World!"
5832 needles formed his lightning world, then condensed into a sphere, 5 meters across, densely packed with nearly liquid lightning snakes.
Jiang Zhe, inside his compacted world, smashed straight into the oncoming Lightning Star.
Boom!
The two spheres collided—big beat small.
Jiang Zhe's End World shattered the Lightning Star in one hit, scattering thousands of needles.
The yellow-clad Controller tried to flee, splitting into thousands of illusions.
But Jiang Zhe's lightning space swept over them. The combined time-space laws slowed everything, revealing the true body, which was immediately crushed.
Tenth floor, cleared.
"512,000 points, secured!"
Shockwaves in the watching crowd
On the island beside Tongtian Bridge, countless undying beings fell silent, eyes wide in disbelief.
Just thirty years—and a Universe-level already grasped insights at the undying level?
Even higher up, several Venerables had solemn faces.
This was a "Kedi-class," even surpassing Kedi—a peerless talent of the kind seen once in countless eras.
No wonder earlier emails about recruiting Jiang Zhe had been retracted by the virtual universe system.
They all knew the great Chaos City Lord was desperate for talent to strengthen their race—but few realized he also carried a bit of personal pride.
He'd hoped his disciple Kedi would help him save face against his junior brother, who had already produced a Universe Master. But Kedi had been killed by the bug race!
Now seeing this chance appear again—yet someone else snatched him away before he even reached the initial universe.
So close… so frustrating!
Eleventh Floor: The True Limit
Still inside the planet, now among lava flows, Jiang Zhe once again faced off.
End World vs Lightning Star.
His mental strength at Universe level 9 wasn't quite enough to wield the sixth form reliably, so he stuck with the technique he'd mastered.
This time, both spheres were the same size, 3.3 meters, moving in intricate patterns from the Chaos Tablet's fourth diagram, Planetary Diagram.
They clashed again and again, producing teeth-rattling booms that stirred faint spatial ripples—like battles at the Domain Lord level.
Though Jiang Zhe's trajectories were clumsy compared to the Controller's precise manipulations, his foundation was rock solid.
Having grasped the essence of the laws directly, his methods were ten times stronger than normal comprehension. Each time they collided, he held firm.
"Haha, so this is all you've got?"
Jiang Zhe laughed after more than ten clashes, having fully gauged the opponent's limits—and his own.
"Arrogant brat!"
The Controller unleashed everything in one final strike.
"Time to end this!"
Jiang Zhe's will sharpened into steel, boosting his control of the End World by another level. The two spheres collided.
Boom!
This time, the Lightning Star lost completely, bursting into shards. Jiang Zhe's slightly dimmed End World crushed forward, obliterating the Controller.