The Law Integration Battle
The arena reset and expanded, transforming into a vast battlefield that stretched to the horizon. A single opponent materialized at the center - a Tier 7 hologram based on captured data from a Greater Void Creature. It stood twelve feet tall, its form wreathed in shadows that seemed to devour light itself. Six arms ending in obsidian claws extended from its torso, and its eyes burned with the cold fire of entropy.
Alex activated his Six Paths again, but this time he layered his law comprehension on top of the basic techniques. The change was immediate and terrifying.
"Fire Law Enhancement - Solar Flare Annihilation!"
Alex's fire halo didn't just produce flames - it became a miniature star. The temperature around him spiked to levels that would have turned sand to glass, and when he gestured toward his opponent, a beam of stellar fire carved across the battlefield. The attack didn't just burn - it converted matter into pure energy, leaving a molten trench a hundred meters long and twenty meters deep.
The Void Creature dodged with impossible speed, its form blurring between dimensions, but Alex was already following up.
"Space-Time Law Integration - Dimensional Severance Strike!"
Reality twisted around Alex as he manipulated the fundamental structure of spacetime itself. He didn't teleport - he simply stepped through folded space, appearing instantly behind his opponent. His strike came through a dimensional tear, bypassing the creature's physical defenses entirely and striking at its essential existence.
The Void Creature staggered, dark ichor spraying from wounds that seemed to cut through dimensions. It retaliated with sweeping claw attacks that rent the air itself, creating vacuum tears that would have bisected mountains.
Alex activated his metamorphosis path enhanced with Life Law comprehension. His cellular structure didn't just harden - it became adaptive on the molecular level, shifting in real-time to counter each attack. When the claws struck him, his flesh flowed like liquid, redirecting force and healing damage faster than it could accumulate.
"Void Law Manifestation - Entropy Cascade!"
This was the technique that made Alex nervous even in simulation. His understanding of Void Law allowed him to create pockets of absolute nothingness - not just empty space, but regions where existence itself was negated. When his enhanced strike connected with the Void Creature, part of it simply stopped being. No destruction, no transformation - just cessation of existence.
The creature let out a sound that was less roar than fundamental violation of reality. It began to unravel at the edges where Alex's void attack had touched it, but it was far from finished. All six arms began weaving patterns in the air, and the battlefield itself started to deteriorate as the creature tapped into its own void-based abilities.
"Gravity Law - Singularity Compression!"
Alex raised his hand, and local spacetime curved dramatically around a point above the battlefield. Matter began falling inward, creating a miniature black hole that pulled at everything within a kilometer radius. The Void Creature found itself fighting against gravitational forces that would have compressed carbon into diamond.
The battle became a clash of fundamental forces. Alex cycled through law enhancements rapidly - Time Law to slow his opponent's attacks, Space Law to fold distance and strike from impossible angles, Lightning Law to accelerate his movements beyond normal limits. His elemental halos spun so fast they became blurs of color, each one channeling cosmic principles that made his basic techniques into instruments of continental-scale destruction.
The Void Creature adapted, its own mastery over entropy and dissolution creating attacks that unmade Alex's defenses at the conceptual level. Where conventional attacks might be blocked or dodged, these struck at the law structure underlying his techniques.
Alex found himself pushed to his absolute limit. His consciousness split into a dozen projections, each one wielding different law combinations while his main body served as a focal point for their combined power. Fire and Ice Laws created temperature differentials that shattered molecules, while simultaneous Space and Time manipulation let him attack from multiple temporal angles.
The decisive moment came when Alex combined three laws simultaneously - something that should have been impossible without Origin energy. Void Law to negate the creature's defensive abilities, Space Law to ensure the attack couldn't be dodged, and Lightning Law to accelerate the assault beyond the speed of thought.
"Triple Law Integration - Absolute Annihilation Strike!"
The attack materialized as a sphere of crackling void-lightning that folded space around itself. When it struck the Void Creature, the results were spectacular. The creature's form collapsed inward as space twisted, void energy negated its existential stability, and lightning accelerated the process beyond its ability to adapt.
The Greater Void Creature dissolved into constituent energy, its death scream echoing across dimensions.
Alex dropped to one knee immediately afterward, his entire body shaking from psychic strain. His elemental halos flickered once and disappeared, leaving him looking pale and exhausted.
"Law integration assessment complete," Aria reported, her voice carrying a note of concern. "Combat capability: Tier 7 Low sustained, Tier 7 High peak burst, maximum duration eight minutes before complete exhaustion. Recovery time: approximately four hours."
"So basically," Alex panted, sweat beading on his forehead, "I can fight like a continental-threat cultivator for less time than it takes to watch a TV show, then I'm useless for the rest of the day."
"That's... actually a remarkably accurate summary, yes."
The arena slowly returned to its pristine state, the evidence of their devastating battle erasing itself as the simulation reset. Alex remained kneeling, letting his body recover from the incredible strain of channeling cosmic laws through psychic energy.
"The triple law integration was particularly impressive," Aria continued. "And exceptionally dangerous. Your psychic pathways showed critical stress levels during that final attack."
"I could feel it," Alex said, finally managing to stand. "It was like trying to channel a lightning storm through a drinking straw. One more second and something would have ruptured permanently."
"Based on this assessment: Tier 6 Low for brief encounters, dropping to Tier 5 High for extended combat due to energy depletion. However, these ratings assume optimal conditions and perfect technique execution."
Alex nodded, not entirely surprised but still somewhat disappointed. Two years of pushing human limits, and he was still nowhere near the cosmic threats humanity faced.
"There is a silver lining," Aria continued. "Your theoretical framework suggests extraordinary potential once proper cultivation begins."
"I know"
"Your HPDT technique was designed as a foundation system to stimulate talent and potential . You've developed psychic capabilities to their absolute limit and gained perfect law comprehension. When you integrate Origin energy at eighteen..."
"Right, the missing piece, Origin energy." Alex leaned forward. "Show me the projection."
"Based on your current development plus theoretical Origin energy integration: minimum Tier 8 Peak upon initial cultivation, with rapid advancement potential to Tier 10 or beyond."
Alex blinked. "That's... that's actually terrifying."
"Indeed. Most cultivators spend decades reaching Tier 8. Your unconventional preparation suggests you might skip several tiers entirely."
"Well, that's a problem for future Alex." He stood up, stretching muscles that ached from psychic strain. "For now, I need to get back to being a normal teenager."
"Speaking of which, your anonymous publications have generated considerable attention. Cosmic_Sage_42's fourteen new techniques and seven law models have earned you 2.3 million Enlightenment Chances from the Universal Will"
"Huh. That'll come in handy eventually." Alex moved toward the logout sequence. "How's the speculation going?"
"Every major power in human space is trying to identify you. Several Tier 11 experts have requested direct contact. Gaia continues to maintain your privacy per your settings."
"Good. The last thing I need is ancient cultivators showing up at my high school." Alex paused at the exit portal. "Aria, run one more analysis. If someone my age displayed this level of theoretical knowledge and technique creation, what would the cultivation community assume?"
"They would assume you're either a reincarnated expert hiding your identity, or you've discovered some unprecedented method of development that threatens the established order."
"So basically, I'm either suspicious or dangerous."
"Both, most likely."
Alex chuckled as he activated logout. "Great. Just what every teenager wants - to be considered a cosmic security threat before they're old enough to vote."
"On the positive side, you've created techniques that will benefit all of humanity for generations to come."
"True. Though I still can't help with Mom's cultivation theory homework without blowing my cover."
The virtual world dissolved around him as Alex returned to his normal bedroom, normal house, normal life. In a few hours, he'd go to school and pretend to be just another gifted student. Nobody would suspect that the quiet kid in the back row had spent his morning casually violating several laws of physics and defeating simulated creatures that could destroy cities.
He glanced at his reflection one more time. Dark circles aside, he looked like any other fifteen-year-old. The perfect disguise for someone who could theoretically fight Tier 7 cultivators and had revolutionized human development techniques.
"Just another normal day in the life of a secret cosmic genius," Alex muttered, heading downstairs for breakfast. "I really need to work on my definition of 'normal.'"
"You know what? I'm skipping school today. The headache from overusing psychic energy is killing me even though it was in VR., i cant imagine what would have happened if i tested it in Real life."
"Aria cancel any and all plans for today."
"Done, have a nice rest."