Chapter 210 – The Soul-Shaking Lotus!
Before leaving Chaos City, there were still a few minor matters that needed to be settled.
Jiang Zhe, in name at least, was a disciple of the City Lord of Chaos. So, before departing, he paid a visit to the City Lord's mansion.
Not to meet the City Lord himself, but to the ancient side hall he frequented, where he used up the treasure points stored in his clan treasury to exchange for a spear and a set of armor.
Both were high-grade treasures, costing him the entirety of the ninety points in his account.
These two items weren't for him directly, but for his Silver-Clad Clone.
Even though they were powerful high-grade treasures, the Silver-Clad Clone wouldn't last forever. Eventually, it would have to be discarded.
After all, even if it was inconvenient, the Silver-Clad Clone could not monopolize Thunder and Aegis. Those were not its exclusive equipment.
One of the new treasures would be sacrificed to forge his third avatar, while the other would be given to that avatar as its core equipment.
Just like the Hunyuan Umbrella belonged to the Candle Dragon Avatar, and the Bloodblade to the Demon Avatar—these pairs were inseparable.
Whenever his true body wielded these treasures, the avatars resided within the internal space of the items themselves.
The two treasures he had just acquired were nothing special compared to the legendary ones.
He glanced briefly at their additional effects, didn't bother memorizing their names, and certainly didn't give them new ones.
The high-grade spear: enhanced offensive power, carrying the "Body of Annihilation" effect.
The high-grade armor: reduced material attacks to one-ten-thousandth, spiritual attacks by ninety percent, with a tolerance limit high enough for even a Universe Overlord to wear.
Armor-type treasures rarely had "tricks." From ordinary to supreme tier, they all worked on the principle of reducing incoming damage, the difference lying only in how much they could endure.
The peerless "Calamity Armor," a supreme treasure, reduced damage to one in one hundred thousand—a rarity across the entire Original Universe.
"These two high-grades… once the Silver-Clad Clone is freed from its bond, I'll have someone deliver them to the outskirts of the Silent Wind Belt."
Leaving the side hall, Jiang Zhe dropped by to visit the three-eyed elder Kandri, and once again comprehended a session at the Cosmic Chaos Monument.
Even though his master, the Lord of Darkness, had granted him twenty chances, Jiang Zhe had barely touched them.
He made no secret of his lack of interest in the Chaos Monuments.
After all, the Thunder God Codex—which used lightning to command all laws—was loftier in concept, easier to comprehend, and far more practical for him.
After leaving the mansion, he visited Luo Feng to tell him of his impending departure.
He also met with the juniors of the Thunder Emperor Lineage currently living in Chaos City.
For his juniors—even grandchildren—he was far less invested than he had been with his own children.
The only thing he did was use his talent technique, Conqueror's Imprint, to give them access to the Blueprint of Life for cultivation.
Beyond that, Catherine set up trials back on Earth, defining several extremely harsh conditions for star-level juniors. Only those who met them could be eligible to learn his Second Primordial Soul Secret Technique.
For example: a star-level warrior must possess the willpower of a domain lord… or, within a thousand years, comprehend thirty-six fundamental mysteries of the higher origin laws.
Luo Feng, before his major transformation, had already comprehended thirty-six spatial mysteries in just over two hundred years. If someone couldn't manage it with five times the time, how could they deserve the highest inheritance of the Original Universe?
Jiang Zhe valued the Thunder Emperor Lineage he founded, but he was never indulgent.
Of the inheritances in his possession, he intended to open only four to his lineage:
The Blueprint of Life,
The Second Primordial Soul Secret Technique,
Mastery of the Five Thunders,
Spirit Planting Art.
The last two would only be taught if a clan genius passed the twelfth and fifteenth floors of the Heavenly Bridge.
"When I break through to immortality and release my God Kingdom into the cosmos, the juniors won't even need to visit me. They'll be transmitted directly into my kingdom to receive the inheritance."
Thus, a fully systematic training plan had been drawn up by Oriana and supervised by Catherine, who was nearly at the peak King level.
In the Original Universe, at the headquarters of the Virtual Universe Company—
A vast continent, spanning tens of light years in diameter, even larger than Jiang Zhe's inner world.
This was the company's great stronghold.
Rumble—
At the continent's core, two titanic gates opened, revealing a dazzling corridor of light.
This was the Cosmic Passage—a channel linking the Original Universe with the Initial Universe. One of humanity's most vital lifelines.
It might sound exaggerated, but it was not.
The Initial Universe existed within the Universe Ocean. Normally, only Universe Masters could traverse between the Initial and Original Universes safely.
This passage was priceless.
Especially since the Original Ancestor was permanently suppressed, no new passages could ever be created.
If this one were destroyed, humans would be forced to rely on their Universe Masters as glorified transporters—and there were far too few of them for that.
From within the passage, a sleek F-class battleship—the Jade Tiger—emerged, docking at a distribution hub.
Suddenly, overwhelming waves of law power flooded the area.
Silver patterns lit up the void, shining brilliantly. For a moment, the bustling hub became blindingly radiant, suffused with awe-inspiring origin law fluctuations.
Alarms shrieked. Immortal officials tensed, scanning warily.
A High-Level Venerable stationed near the passage turned his gaze toward the source.
"Time law recognition? And such intensity—it looks like he just comprehended an entire branch of the mysteries!"
"Which King-level powerhouse is this?"
Shutting down the alarm, Venerable Yulin looked toward the source of the disturbance. There, he saw a battleship forged of Jade Tiger metal.
The hub's system quickly displayed its owner's identity.
Yulin nearly fell over, his expression like he'd seen a ghost.
"A Realm Lord from the Primal Secret Area?!"
Inside the Jade Tiger, Jiang Zhe wore an expression of utter helplessness.
He hadn't meant to show off.
But there was no suppressing it—force one law down, another popped up.
"No big deal. Jiang Zhe is Jiang Zhe. The Soul-Capturing King is the Soul-Capturing King," he muttered, patting his chest.
"But after today, whether I want it or not, I'll need an alias. I can handle assassins from Universe Venerables, but if a Universe Overlord shows up, I'll be crushed. The gap is just too wide."
Rumble—
The void trembled. A droplet of silver appeared above his head.
It sank into his origin core, merging into his essence bead.
A silver eye-shaped mark appeared on his brow, proof of his recognition by the law of Time—and that he had comprehended Time Stop.
Because the Silver-Clad Clone and Jiang Zhe were counted as separate entities by the Original Universe, he had to personally undergo what the clone experienced.
Time laws faded, the laws of Wind descended.
Then they faded, and the laws of Light arrived.
Even Immortals had never witnessed such a spectacle. Some nearly lost their composure outright.
Even Yulin Venerable was dumbstruck, staring at the shifting waves of law with his mouth agape.
After a long while, he muttered, "Could someone really find comprehending laws as easy as eating and drinking?"
Finally, as the glow of the Light law receded, the performance came to an end.
The hub returned to order.
Inside the Jade Tiger, Jiang Zhe touched his brow, feeling only the single silver mark. He sighed in relief.
Good thing higher marks overwrote lower ones, or his forehead would be a rainbow mess of stamps.
"Master, incoming communication request—from the hub."
"Anna, patch it through."
A warm-smiling official appeared on the screen. "Greetings, His Highness Jiang Zhe. I'll be your service liaison. Are you preparing to leave headquarters? I can arrange the optimal passage."
"No. Give me a docking port. I'll be staying for a while."
"As you wish, Your Highness. I see you own an estate on headquarters continent. Shall I assign a port near it?"
"That'll do. Thank you."
"You're too polite, Your Highness. Please follow the marked route at lightspeed, then slip into darkspace…"
A map popped up. Oriana piloted the ship accordingly.
As the Chaos City Lord's disciple, Jiang Zhe naturally had the power and resources to purchase land at headquarters.
His estate was in the luxurious core district, spanning nearly ten million square kilometers. His neighbors were all top King-level powerhouses.
The reason Jiang Zhe chose to leave the Initial Universe now was simple—he needed to sleep.
The Silver-Clad Clone was tormented by "consciousness collapse." Jiang Zhe had to strengthen his will here to complete the recognition process.
And why not just sleep in Chaos City?
Because time was money.
The Initial Universe's time flowed slower—three Original years for every single Initial year.
A hundred years in the Original Universe meant only thirty passed in the Initial.
To sleep there would be a catastrophic waste!
Seventy vanished years could become millions in dream-time. Enough for figures like Bolan or Rong Jun to grind their way to terrifying levels of Immortal mastery.
On the third day in his estate, his master's clan sent someone.
A King-level powerhouse, near the peak. In the household of a Universe Master, such a person was considered elite.
"Your Highness, this is the promised gift. The details are in your mail. Please enter the Virtual Universe to sign receipt."
Even treasures were delivered through synchronized Virtual Universe transfer, just like after an auction. Any attempt to abscond with cargo would be dealt with severely.
Jiang Zhe was familiar with the process. He logged in, confirmed the records, and signed.
The messenger left swiftly. He hadn't even dared peek at the cargo.
Back in his bamboo lodge, Jiang Zhe unlocked the G-grade case with layers of password, fingerprint, blood, and world-power verification.
Inside lay a crimson lotus the size of a wine cup, neither gold nor wood, radiating a strange allure, dreamlike and intoxicating.
"Master, this is a soul-attack-type high-grade treasure—the Soul-Shaking Lotus."
Oriana read out the mail's details.
Jiang Zhe summoned his Demon Avatar, passing the lotus to it.
The avatar pressed it to its brow. World power seeped in, engraving its spiritual mark and completing the bond.
The lotus dissolved, merging into its false core, leaving behind a red lotus imprint between its brows, replacing the silver eye mark.
A dark, seductive aura spread from the Demon Avatar, masking even its realm-lord vitality. None could easily discern its true strength.
"Excellent. From now on, during my life-and-death trials, I won't need to show my true self. You are now a Hong Alliance alien king, a master of the soul—the Soul-Capturing King."
In truth, his true body was weaker than this avatar.
The Bloodblade was designed to create a main combat clone—essentially a "cannon fodder" to venture into deadly mysteries.
But the Demon Avatar had grown too powerful.
With teleportation, time acceleration, destruction techniques, and now Time Stop, it was unmatched in battle.
That was why he had asked his master for a soul-type treasure—for the Demon Avatar's use.
The only other soul treasure he had was the supreme Wuxian Bead set, exclusive to the Thunder Emperor Lineage. His avatars couldn't touch it.
Otherwise, he would never have asked.
"Ten thousandfold realm-lord strength, full hundredfold body and soul amplification, wielding the Bloodblade, clad in Panling Armor, and armed with a high-grade soul-attack treasure…"
"Ha! I'm basically a realm-lord BOSS template."
He chuckled in satisfaction, then waved the avatar back into his inner world.
"All set… Anna, seal the estate. No visitors. Full alert mode."
"Understood, Master. It is done."
"Good."
Jiang Zhe lay down on his tatami bed.
"Sleep like a sage, forget the years… let the stars sink, let the world fade…"
Settling into posture, he visualized the Slumbering Dragon Diagram from the Hidden Dragon Method. The mysterious flavor of "Zhuang Zhou dreaming of a butterfly" washed over him.
A deep comfort welled up, and with a peaceful smile, he drifted off.
His consciousness soared into the dreamscape.
…
While his Silver-Clad Clone suffered the torment of collapse, Jiang Zhe honed his will through dream cultivation.
Two paths converging—aiming at one thing: the strengthening of his will.
During Jiang Zhe's slumber, the great races of the Original Universe were in uproar.
The events at the Heavenly Bridge and Heavenly Mountain could not be hidden.
And what happened at company headquarters, before countless eyes, spread even faster.
A few boasting Immortal officials were enough to leak everything—how Jiang Zhe had, in a single day, been acknowledged by three different origin laws.
The demon race, machine race, and insect race immediately issued a joint bounty:
Whoever killed Jiang Zhe would be rewarded with a high-grade treasure.
And they declared the bounties stackable—claimable from all three clans.
The universe boiled with excitement. Venerables and Overlords alike began sharpening their blades.
Meanwhile, the three peak races mobilized their assassins, preparing to strike when Jiang Zhe set out on his trial.
Countless spies stirred in the Virtual Universe, desperate for any clue of his whereabouts.
But none of them knew—the task had been personally arranged by the Lord of Darkness himself. Even the judges of completion were his loyal confidants.
As always, the eyes of the universe turned toward the outer battlefields.
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