Chapter 100: Recognized by the Origin Laws of Thunder!
The Sky-Piercing Ancient Tree had a staggering diameter of 90 kilometers.
On its massive trunk, which loomed like a mountain before Jiang Zhe, eight grotesque, face-like lumps stood out distinctly, each nearly five kilometers across, wrinkled like clusters of dark clouds.
"This is the ninth time."
"Old Tree, I still don't have anything in particular I want—just give me what you think best."
With that, Jiang Zhe picked up the lumber axe from the stone table and flew toward the colossal tree.
He swung the axe down!
Thunk!
A burst of golden light erupted. The axe blade, embedded in the trunk, was bounced back, and its weight instantly skyrocketed.
Even with Jiang Zhe's current peak universe-level strength, he couldn't hold on to it. The axe slipped from his grasp and flew back to the stone table.
As always, from the wound on the tree's trunk burst out a golden orb of light, which tumbled to the ground.
Jiang Zhe descended, crouched down, and touched the orb with his fingertip.
This time, the golden light didn't immediately vanish. Instead, it stretched out to about a meter long before dimming, revealing what lay inside.
Jiang Zhe wasn't surprised.
He'd encountered this once before—the Hunyuan Umbrella had appeared the same way.
This time, it was a slender, curved blade about a meter long.
Its dark golden hilt curved opposite to the blade's arc. The thin, crescent-shaped blade looked like it was crafted from ruby, crystal clear, exuding a faint, bloody aura that made one's nose sting.
It was as if it was formed by countless drops of pure blood solidified together!
"Could this be the Blood-Refining Divine Blade?"
Since he already had the Hunyuan Umbrella, it was hard not to guess this was indeed the famed Blood-Refining Divine Blade.
His eyes lit up, and he quickly reached out to grasp the hilt, lifting it from the ground.
Instantly, detailed information about the blade poured into his mind.
Jiang Zhe's breathing grew a bit heavier.
Sure enough, it was—the Blood-Refining Divine Blade!
But it still needed one final step to fully recognize him as its master and to perfectly adapt to this universe's laws.
Impatient, Jiang Zhe held the blade in his right hand and sliced a cut across his left palm. Scarlet blood began to flow.
Astonishingly, with his universe-level physique, the wound didn't show any signs of healing!
Not wanting to waste his precious blood, he gripped the blade tightly with his left hand.
His blood seeped into the ruby-like blade, being fully absorbed.
Then, an unknown energy surged back from the blade, flowing through the wound into his left arm, his heart, and finally spreading throughout his entire body.
At first, Jiang Zhe didn't feel much.
But as time went on, waves of pain grew from mild to excruciating, forcing him to clutch the blade and roll on the ground, feeling as if his flesh and bones were shattering bit by bit.
"Ah—damn it!"
Jiang Zhe gritted his teeth against the pain deep down at the genetic level, cursing out loud.
"Why was it so easy to bond with the Hunyuan Umbrella?"
"Am I now experiencing the agony that Luo Feng went through when he bonded with the Star Tower?"
"Brother, whatever Luo Feng can endure in the future, so can I—but please, hurry up! Hurry up!"
"I can only give you ten years at most. The Primal Chaos City Lord is watching over the Primal Secret Region. If we drag on too long and attract his attention, we're both done for!"
After a few more painful howls, Jiang Zhe snatched up the "Thunder God Codex", hoping to distract himself by comprehending the mysteries of its laws.
On the fifth day, the pain reached its peak, spreading from his body to his soul.
His state of mind offered no relief—it simply became part of the agony. He could still feel the pain with crystal clarity and couldn't distract himself by studying the laws any longer.
All he could do was endure the torment of his flesh and soul, his mind caught up in the mysterious energy the blade was embedding deep into his blood, genes, and very life force.
On the seventh day, the peak passed, and the pain began to subside.
By the twelfth day, all pain vanished from his body and soul.
The wound on his left palm healed. The blade stopped drinking his blood and no longer fed mysterious energy into him.
Eyes bloodshot and face haggard, Jiang Zhe climbed to his feet, looking at the meter-long curved blade in his hand.
Crack!
The ruby-like blade suddenly shattered.
It turned into countless tiny crystalline fragments that floated in the air, bound by black-red web-like veins.
Jiang Zhe waved the dark golden hilt that remained, then shouted:
"Unite!"
The black-red veins snapped tight, pulling all the tiny fragments back together into a perfect, crescent blade.
Crystal clear, flawless, without the slightest crack.
Now it was complete—fully recognizing him as its master and perfectly attuned to this universe's laws.
Unlike the Hunyuan Umbrella, Jiang Zhe could clearly sense that within it lay twenty-seven layers of seals.
Soon, he would reach the requirements to unlock the first seal and truly wield the Blood-Refining Divine Blade.
The first nine seals were the clearest to him, each with known conditions:
The first seal required his life genes to reach 10 times the normal level.
The second, 100 times.
The third, 1,000 times.
The fourth, 10,000 times.
The fifth, a perfect life gene level.
The sixth through ninth seals demanded not only perfection in genes but also that he broke through this bottleneck via the godforce path, with levels at 30,000, 60,000, and 90,000 times respectively.
In other words, if he didn't want this blade collecting dust in his warehouse, he'd have to pursue the godforce cultivation path.
Only then could he unlock its various forms and unleash its progressively greater power.
Its lower bound was comparable to heavy treasures or supreme treasures, while its upper bound—conservatively speaking—could reach the God King level.
Jiang Zhe couldn't help rubbing his chin, muttering,
"Why does this Blood-Refining Divine Blade remind me so much of Sitting Mountain Guest's 'Calamity Armor'?"
Driven by different powers (life gene multiples / world lord force multiples), it could exhibit different levels of offense or defense.
Moreover, there was another point he found very satisfying.
This was a true spiritual weapon, a legitimate psychic-type weapon—but it could also be used in close combat.
If he suddenly slashed an opponent at close range, the blade's blood poison would invade their body, inflicting terrible pain on both flesh and soul. In severe cases, it could cause their soul to collapse and genes to shatter.
"Their soul withers beyond armor,
Contact means certain death."
"Truly a magnificent treasure!"
Jiang Zhe caressed the ruby-like blade, reluctant to put it down.
"Soul withers beyond armor, contact means certain death?
I must find a chance to see if you live up to your name."
"And now, with this Blood-Refining Divine Blade as a vessel, it's time to create my second clone—my main combat clone, born of the 'Wrath' aspect."
Indeed, Jiang Zhe no longer planned to wait for the remaining four chances to chop down the tree.
He intended to find a special lifeform within the original universe—at least with 1,000 times genetic level—to produce his third clone.
In short: his "main combat clone," also known as the "disposable scouting cannon fodder."
Exactly the same role Luo Feng's Mosha Clan clone served in later stages.
After all, once he broke through to become the strongest in the universe, he would retrace his source, merging all his souls back into one.
At that point, his clones of Greed, Wrath, and Delusion would all return, and the three bodies would no longer exist independently.
Of course, if he couldn't find a special lifeform that met his standards, he'd rethink this plan.
Meanwhile, other members of the Genius Competition were still on their way.
Even upon arrival, they'd have to spend three months to over a year soaking in nutrient baths to reach Universe Level Nine, delaying them further.
While others were still en route, Jiang Zhe had already immersed himself in comprehending the Origin Laws of Thunder, hoping to gain their acknowledgment.
He'd been on the brink before, and his recent study of the "Thunder God Codex" had paid off immensely.
Five months after arriving at the Primal Secret Region…
Boom!
Suddenly, a tremendous change swept across the Wu Chen Continent.
An overwhelming aura of the origin laws descended, enveloping the estate of one of the core heirs.
One by one, the core heirs and undying guards in the area took to the sky, turning their gaze toward the source.
Even the Primal Chaos City Lord, stationed within the Thousand Treasures River, cast his gaze across space to estate No. 114 on Wu Chen Continent.
Patrolling around the estate, Bermington and the others soared into the air, all eyes on the central stilted bamboo house, their faces bursting with joy.
"The origin law itself has descended!"
"He did it! His Highness did it! The origin law acknowledged him!"
"It's the origin law of thunder—no doubt about it—it must be His Highness! And he's only at the universe level!"
[A/N: Hey everyone, thanks for reading!]
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