Artistic Conception, a profoundly mysterious realm.
In Han Jue's understanding, it represented the foundation beneath domains and laws, the essential stepping stone toward true mastery of the universe's fundamental principles.
In the Swallowed Star universe, cultivation and strength required comprehending the ten fundamental laws: time, space, metal, wood, water, fire, earth, wind, thunder, and light. Even on the Origin Continent, becoming a Chaos Lord necessitated mastering the Law of Chaos, the fusion of all ten fundamental laws into something greater than their sum.
His Six Eyes granted him direct perception of spatial law principles, allowing him to observe how space itself operated at the most fundamental level. Beneath the higher laws of time and space existed five foundational elemental laws: metal, wood, water, fire, and earth.
This meant the Artistic Conception Han Jue would eventually comprehend would likely correspond to one of these five elements. Coincidentally, the Artistic Conception his uncle Han Hechang had mastered was the Water variant, the very foundation for executing the third stage of the Everlasting Sword Technique.
"Water's Artistic Conception..." Han Jue murmured thoughtfully, his mind turning over the concept from every angle.
Comprehending something as abstract as Artistic Conception in a single day proved impossibly difficult. He'd been trying for a full month now without success.
A life-or-death battle, that's what he needed.
The realization crystallized in his mind with sudden clarity. The Rift-Fang Lizards simply weren't strong enough to create that critical moment where death felt imminent, that instant where survival instinct and comprehension merged into breakthrough.
He needed to keep fighting. Keep pushing himself to the absolute limit.
Because fighting, truly dangerous, life-threatening combat, was where breakthroughs happened.
In the blink of an eye, an entire month had passed.
During that time, Han Jue practically lived between the hunting grounds and the gravity chamber, sometimes even eating and sleeping in the training facility. The triple gravity setting had long since lost its effect on his enhanced physique, offering minimal benefits to his continued development.
Even so, his raw strength had increased by over three thousand kilograms through relentless training and monster hunting.
In the designated hunting area, Han Jue accumulated an enormous number of battle points. Combined with his steadily increasing Combat Power amplitude, he'd climbed to the very top of the rankings while everyone else remained away on their wilderness survival expedition.
According to War God Pan Xi, even after the other students returned, Han Jue's performance would still be sufficient to place him in the top twenty of the entire training camp.
After all, the elite training camp housed many trainees who'd already reached War God level but hadn't yet graduated. They continued training and accumulating strength, preparing themselves for even greater challenges ahead.
With Han Jue's mid-level War God physique and exceptional technique, holding his own among these advanced War Gods and senior warriors represented a genuine achievement worthy of respect.
August 31st arrived.
Today marked the day the other trainees would return from their expedition.
Thunder God returned from Antarctica with the surviving students in tow. The moment they arrived and registered their return, the rankings shifted dramatically.
Names vanished from the leaderboard like stars winking out of existence!
The elite training camp, which had originally numbered one hundred eleven students, was now reduced to just eighty-nine active trainees.
Twenty-two students had perished during a single wilderness survival exercise.
These weren't ordinary warriors, they were the elite representatives of various factions, future War Gods destined to protect humanity. Yet they'd fallen so easily during what was meant to be training. The harsh reality of a warrior's path couldn't have been demonstrated more clearly.
"Huh?"
Han Jue watched his ranking fluctuate wildly as returning students' scores were calculated and integrated into the system. After several minutes of adjustment, his position finally stabilized at seventeenth place.
Around him, the returning students gathered in small clusters, discussing their experiences during the expedition. Few paid attention to the ranking changes, though some inevitably noticed.
"Han Jue? Judging by the name, he's Chinese, right? Why haven't I seen him before?" a white student asked curiously, squinting at the leaderboard.
"Must be a new arrival who joined in August," a black student responded, his tone filled with genuine astonishment. "He's already jumped straight to seventeenth place in a single month. What kind of training did this guy go through? With talent like that, he'd qualify for the Extreme Martial Arts School's elite training camp!"
The moment those words left his mouth, several nearby students winced.
Han Jue glanced at the speaker with barely concealed amusement. Be careful Thunder God doesn't hear you saying that.
High above in the air, completely concealed from mortal perception, Thunder God's expression remained perfectly neutral. However, he silently memorized the white student's appearance, already planning to have a very pointed conversation with that particular trainee's assigned instructor later.
In an instant, Thunder God's concealed form moved at incredible speed, plucking Han Jue from the crowd and depositing him on a nearby rooftop before anyone could register what had happened.
"Boy, your strength is improving at a remarkable pace," Thunder God said, his experienced eyes assessing Han Jue's current condition with the precision of decades of combat experience.
"Not remarkable enough," Han Jue replied, shaking his head with genuine frustration. "I still haven't grasped Artistic Conception, so I'm still far from where I need to be."
"You don't need to be quite so modest," Thunder God said through slightly gritted teeth, torn between pride in his protégé's achievements and exasperation at the young warrior's impossible standards.
"Founder, what exactly happens during these wilderness survival expeditions?" Han Jue asked, deliberately shifting the conversation to safer ground.
"The location is Antarctica," Thunder God explained, his expression growing more serious. "Even before the Great Nirvana, those waters were abundant with krill and fish. After the cataclysm, they mutated into various monster species. While individual creatures aren't particularly powerful, they operate in massive coordinated groups, often hundreds or even thousands strong."
He paused, his jaw tightening with barely suppressed anger. "Some students lack proper training in group combat tactics. When they become trapped and surrounded by monster swarms, they die before they can even activate their emergency beacons for extraction."
Thunder God's frustration was palpable. "Ultimately, it comes down to insufficient strength. If they were powerful enough, there wouldn't be such catastrophic casualties. This year's mortality rate is the highest we've ever experienced."
"Can I participate?" Han Jue asked, his eyes gleaming with anticipation and eagerness.
Group combat? He excelled at fighting multiple opponents simultaneously. The prospect excited rather than intimidated him.
"You?" Thunder God studied him for a long moment. "Once you fulfill the fourth milestone of your contract, I'll personally escort you to Antarctica myself."
The fourth condition required achieving a Combat Power amplitude of sixteen by December 1st, 2057.
It wasn't particularly difficult, actually. Han Jue could accomplish it as long as he successfully comprehended Artistic Conception and mastered the third stage of the Everlasting Sword Technique. The timeline was tight but achievable.
"What about those ancient ruins in Antarctica?" Han Jue asked, genuine curiosity coloring his tone. "What kind of place is it?"
This particular ruin hadn't appeared in the original Swallowed Star storyline, or perhaps it had been mentioned so briefly that he'd forgotten the details. Either it was relatively unimportant in the grand scheme of things, or it hadn't been discovered yet in the original timeline.
"It's a trial-type ruin," Thunder God explained. "Each person can only enter once in their lifetime. The mortality rate is relatively low compared to true ancient battlefields, but you must clear sufficient levels to earn meaningful rewards. The 'Frost' sword and Thousand-Year Ice Marrow Crystal mentioned in your contract's third milestone both come from that location."
Thunder God didn't elaborate further, but Han Jue already had a rough understanding of the ruin's nature.
It sounded like a training facility left behind by some ancient faction to test and cultivate their disciples, similar in concept to Ruin Number 9, where warriors could obtain treasures like the Black God armor set if they proved themselves worthy.
"Founder, I'd like to request access to the ancient civilization gravity chamber at the Extreme Martial Arts School," Han Jue said suddenly.
The Thunder Dojo simply couldn't offer him the resources he needed anymore. He'd essentially memorized everything the instructors could teach with a single demonstration. The advanced force-generation techniques, methods for leveraging different parts of the body to maximize power output, he'd already mastered through observation and practice. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to navigate through monster herds so smoothly and efficiently.
At this stage of his development, only the Extreme Martial Arts School possessed facilities that could meaningfully assist his continued growth.
Furthermore, Han Jue was preparing to create his own secret technique manual. He planned to use the optional technique manuals mentioned in his contract as primary reference materials, studying how the greatest martial artists structured their teachings.
The original novel had suggested that much of Earth's secret technique research had gone in fundamentally wrong directions. Apparently, the force-generation principles used throughout the broader universe could be adapted to enhance defensive capabilities as well, a concept Han Jue was eager to experiment with and verify personally.
But first, he needed to pass the Trial Tower's fourth level to fulfill his contract's second milestone. After that, he would focus entirely on achieving his breakthrough to War God level.
"No problem whatsoever. I'll discuss the arrangements with Brother Hong immediately," Thunder God agreed without hesitation, already mentally composing the message he'd send to his sworn brother.
Having settled that matter, Thunder God departed as quickly as he'd arrived.
Han Jue headed directly toward the Nine-Storied Building. The students had only just returned and would be resting, recovering from their grueling month-long expedition. The virtual reality facilities would be empty, the perfect opportunity for uninterrupted training.
Inside the Trial Tower's Virtual Space
On the third level, Han Jue's boot pressed down on a golden vulture's skull, using the dying creature as a springboard. He launched himself high into the air, the Everlasting Sword flashing in a perfect arc as he eliminated the final Intermediate Beast General-level golden vulture.
The creature's death cry echoed across the virtual landscape as its body plummeted toward the ground far below.
"Han Jue, congratulations on completing the third level of the Trial Tower," the system's electronic voice announced with its characteristic lack of emotion. "Next is Stage A of the fourth level. Your objective is to eliminate fifty Advanced Beast General-level armored scorpions within ten minutes. Good luck."
The environment transformed around him, the sky shifting to a deeper crimson as the fourth level materialized.
The monsters inhabiting the fourth level were exponentially more formidable than anything on the third floor. On all of Earth, only a handful of elite warriors had ever reached this stage of the Trial Tower, and even fewer had progressed beyond it.
Han Jue offered token resistance, testing himself briefly against the advanced scorpions before strategically withdrawing. He wasn't here to push for the fifth level yet. That would come later.
His immediate priorities were clear: break through to War God level and finally comprehend Artistic Conception. Everything else could wait.
When he exited the virtual space, his new statistics were displayed on the black stone pillar:
Trial Tower Level: 4.1
Combat Power Amplitude: 8.2
Han Jue smiled with quiet satisfaction. The second contract milestone was now complete. Soon, he would claim the Thousand-Year Wild Ginseng Spirit, and his path to War God level would become clear as morning sunlight.