Time flowed swiftly within Primal Chaos City, each moment devoted to cultivation passing like sand through an hourglass.
In the seventh month, Bolan, who had chosen to specialize in the Law of Space, successfully cleared the third level of the Tongtian Bridge. His achievement sent ripples through the genius community, reminding everyone that the competition had truly begun.
By the eleventh month, Luo Feng cleared the second level, his steady progress marking him as a force to be reckoned with despite his later start.
The rapid advancement of these two individuals created a palpable sense of urgency among the other geniuses. They accelerated their cultivation with renewed fervor, working even harder to comprehend the fundamental laws and unlock the secrets of their chosen Chaos Monuments.
Beyond these two standouts, Rong Jun and Galesi also cleared the first level of the Tongtian Bridge. The achievement sparked both admiration and resentment among the other geniuses in the Primal Secret Realm, all of whom felt the pressure to catch up mounting with each passing day.
As the first year in Primal Chaos City concluded, additional geniuses from the Primal Secret Realm, including Wu Ka, Long Yun, Gu Siluo, and others, also successfully cleared the first level of the Tongtian Bridge. Each success story added fuel to the competitive fire burning among the thousand talents.
During this period, Luo Feng's grandson was born on Earth, a bittersweet reminder of the life continuing in the outside world while they pursued immortality.
Though Earth had been transformed by the Virtual Universe Company into a sacred ground for Han Jue's bloodline, Han Hesheng and Han Hechang had chosen to remain, along with the families of Luo Feng, Hong, Lei Shen, and select individuals from the Huaxia region including Jia Yi. These people totaled only around a million souls, a negligible population on the now nearly empty planet.
The Virtual Universe Company had dispatched a Universe Overlord to garrison Earth permanently. Han Jue still didn't know the identity of this powerful guardian. That revelation would have to wait until he left Primal Chaos City and returned home.
From the fourth through the ninth year in Primal Chaos City, Rong Jun, Tao, Gu Siluo, and others gradually surpassed the second level of the Tongtian Bridge. Their steady progress demonstrated that talent alone wasn't enough, dedication and comprehension mattered just as much.
At the beginning of the ninth year, Bolan successfully surpassed the fourth level, his achievement stunning even the most jaded observers.
He still hadn't formally accepted a teacher, which prompted Venerable Nine Swords to have King Longyu take Bolan as a registered disciple. The arrangement came with a tantalizing promise: if Bolan could surpass the sixth level before leaving Primal Chaos City, Venerable Nine Swords would accept him as a personal disciple.
Venerable Nine Swords was a high-level Universe Venerable whose potential far exceeded that of other cosmic rulers. Many predicted he would ascend to even greater realms in the future. Such a being's decision to potentially accept a disciple made King Jianhuang realize his chances of recruiting Bolan had evaporated completely.
Among the Nine Universe Chaos Monument practitioners, only Luo Feng remained unattached.
At the end of Primal Chaos City's ninth year, Luo Feng surpassed the third level of the Tongtian Bridge, shocking the other geniuses once again with his rapid advancement.
He chose to become the disciple of King Zhenyan, who had previously mentored him, and was formally accepted as a personal disciple. The announcement sent another wave of competitive energy through the genius population, spurring everyone to work even harder.
However, what truly puzzled the other geniuses was Han Jue's continued silence.
After initially reaching the sixth level of the Tongtian Bridge, a feat that had stunned everyone, Han Jue had made no further public attempts. Occasionally, people spotted him leaving Primal Chaos City, apparently to hunt Chaos Beasts beyond the city walls.
Yet no one ever encountered him in the outer regions. Could he have ventured to the middle layers, or even the dangerous outer territories where World Master-level Chaos Beasts roamed?
With Han Jue's strength and his various life-saving techniques, such a feat wasn't impossible. Even Bolan possessed a reasonable chance of slaying a Domain Lord-level Chaos Beast single-handedly if properly prepared.
Regardless of whether Han Jue made any further progress, the sixth level of the Tongtian Bridge remained a daunting mountain that cast its shadow over every other genius. Even Bolan, the strongest among them, wasn't certain he could reach that height before the thirty-year training period concluded.
The others? They needed to focus on clearing the third level first.
Time marched forward relentlessly, and none of these geniuses allowed themselves to relax. With so many rivals to surpass and goals to pursue, they unleashed astonishing motivation and drive.
One year, two years, three years, four years, five years...
In his thirteenth year in Primal Chaos City, Rong Jun reached the third level of the Tongtian Bridge, his persistence finally paying dividends.
In the seventeenth year, Luo Feng reached the fourth level. That same day, Bolan reached the fifth level, the two of them pulling far ahead of everyone else. Their dual achievements inspired Rong Jun and numerous others to immediately attempt their respective bridges, though none succeeded in breaking through their current barriers.
In the twenty-first year, Wu Ka reached the third level of the Tongtian Bridge.
In the twenty-fifth year, Long Yun and Galesi passed through the third level.
In the twenty-eighth year, Qianshui passed through the third level.
In that same twenty-eighth year, another momentous event occurred, one that should have sent shockwaves through the entire Virtual Universe Company.
Han Jue was recognized by the Origin of Water!
For someone at the Universe level to gain recognition from a fundamental Origin law and enter the ocean of cosmic law was unprecedented. This recognition dramatically accelerated Han Jue's understanding of the Origin of Water, allowing his comprehension to finally catch up with his mastery of the Origin of Space.
However, the Primal Chaos City Lord personally intervened to conceal this extraordinary phenomenon, preventing news of Han Jue's talent from spreading beyond a select few trusted individuals.
The City Lord worried that if word of such exceptional talent leaked, Han Jue would become a prime assassination target for hostile alien races. Peak bloodlines and unprecedented genius attracted the wrong kind of attention.
This concern was one of the primary reasons an exception was made, allowing Han Jue, still at the Universe level, to return to Earth first to establish his bloodline inheritance before continuing his cultivation.
Once he reached Domain Lord level, even more alien races would be eyeing him with murderous intent. He might even face assassination attempts from King-level Immortals, or encounter Universe Venerables dispatched specifically to eliminate humanity's rising star.
The three peak races most hostile to humanity, the Demon Race, the Zerg Race, and the Machine Race, would never willingly allow such a genius or peak bloodline to flourish if they could prevent it.
That same year, Luo Feng successfully cleared the fifth level of the Tongtian Bridge, his eyes already fixed on attempting the sixth.
At the beginning of the twenty-ninth year in Primal Chaos City, Bolan successfully passed the sixth level of the Tongtian Bridge and was formally accepted as a personal disciple by Venerable Nine Swords. The news spread like wildfire, inspiring and intimidating the other geniuses in equal measure.
In the blink of an eye, thirty years had nearly passed.
Outside Primal Chaos City, Han Jue battled a Chaos Beast at the peak of the Domain Lord level.
The creature resembled a massive python, its scales gleaming with metallic luster as it coiled and struck with devastating force. Each movement embodied profound understanding of spatial laws, making it far more dangerous than ordinary beasts of its level.
The Star-Eating Grass had now reached the ninth level of Domain Lord, its silvery-white vines capable of restraining and crushing opponents with terrifying efficiency. Thanks to Venerable Lingji's generous support, this gold-devouring plant had rapidly grown to this formidable stage. Without such backing, even if Han Jue had invested all three million Mixed Yuan Units from the Ice Wasteland Realm Lord's inheritance, he wouldn't have achieved such results.
"Snap!"
The python Chaos Beast lashed out with its tail, the appendage striking toward Han Jue with mountain-shattering force.
The strike embodied the creature's full power, faint ripples of spatial law emanating from the impact point. Golden light blazed around the tail as space itself seemed to distort and tear, threatening to rip apart anything caught in its path.
Any ordinary World Master would have suffered grievously from taking such a blow head-on.
Yet Han Jue stood completely still, utterly motionless.
An invisible barrier blocked the Chaos Beast's devastating attack before it could reach his body, the force dissipating harmlessly against layers of folded space.
Innate Secret Technique: [No Limit]!
With Han Jue's current understanding of the fundamental laws of space, the number of spatial layers he could construct had reached several thousand. Even a fourth or fifth-level World Master-level Chaos Beast would find breaking through his defense nearly impossible.
Of course, this advantage existed partly because Chaos Beasts were inherently far inferior to humans of equivalent level in terms of technique and versatility.
However, even without [No Limit], Han Jue's physical strength had grown to rival that of an average World Master-level warrior. He'd successfully mastered the first three volumes of the Heaven's End Ice Derivative body-refining technique, achieving a 2-fold increase in physical amplitude. The power he could unleash was naturally immense, and his defensive capabilities had increased proportionally.
Ice Derivative Body, second stage!
Han Jue exuded a faint chill, his muscle density and bone strength reaching an extraordinarily powerful state. Frost crystals formed in the air around him, visual testament to the extreme cold his body naturally generated.
"Star-Eating!" Han Jue called out softly.
The massive Star-Eating Grass instantly spread outward from his body, countless silvery-white vines erupting from the ground to entangle the Chaos Beast before him. The plant created optimal conditions for Han Jue to attack, restraining the python's movements and limiting its ability to dodge.
"Let's test this," Han Jue murmured, his pale blue Six Eyes gleaming with analytical focus.
Gripping the Cloud Sea Hunting Dragon in his hand, the blade radiated rich silver light that reflected nearly ten thousand sword shadows in the surrounding space.
Almost imperceptibly, the wasteland around them filled with Han Jue's spatial avatars. Over eight thousand duplicates materialized across the battlefield, each one indistinguishable from the original to normal perception.
These avatars, wielding longswords identical to the original, faced the Chaos Beast and swung their blades in perfect synchronization!
Nearly ten thousand streams of sword energy erupted forth!
The silver sword energy transformed the surroundings into a realm of blades, the entire world seeming to turn silver-white. The concentrated barrage instantly engulfed the Chaos Beast, inflicting countless tiny wounds across its massive body and sending it into a frenzy of pain and rage.
As the attacks concluded, the avatars vanished into thin air, having clearly inflicted relatively minor damage despite the spectacular display.
Of course, Han Jue hadn't intended those avatars to deliver the killing blow.
The ultimate secret of the Myriad Avatars technique was to confuse the enemy's vision, hiding one's true body among countless duplicates while waiting for the perfect opportunity to deliver the most crucial strike.
"Sword shatters, Slay the Python!"
The Cloud Sea Hunting Dragon lived up to its name, forged specifically with dragon hunting in mind. It possessed special effectiveness against dragons, serpents, and snake-like creatures.
Having fully grasped the second-level secret patterns inscribed within this fifth-tier Force weapon, Han Jue could unleash much of its hidden power. Combined with his own profound understanding of the fundamental laws, he unleashed his full might!
"Crack!"
Fissures appeared along the Cloud Sea Sword's blade.
This wasn't rupture from excessive pressure, but rather a deliberate transformation triggered by the second-level secret patterns activating.
The Cloud Sea Sword instantly shattered into 10,081 fragments, which then reunited to form a massive composite blade. Its edge blazed with layers of silver and azure light, flowing like liquid across the weapon's surface in mesmerizing patterns.
"Mirage Sea!"
The Chaos Beast was still struggling against the Star-Eating Grass's restraints when Han Jue seized the opportunity to deploy his illusion technique. The Mirage Sea secret method briefly affected the creature's consciousness, creating a crucial window of vulnerability.
With his body amplitude multiplied by 2, terrifying force erupted through his strike. The multiple layers of law comprehension, genetic multiplication, and technical mastery combined synergistically. The power of this attack rivaled that of ordinary eighth or ninth-level Domain Lord-level warriors, a devastating blow from someone technically still at Universe level.
A thousand-meter-long blade of light descended like judgment itself!
The python Chaos Beast, restrained, confused, and unable to properly defend, was cleaved in two. Though not immediately dead, its movements grew sluggish and uncoordinated.
The Star-Eating Grass made a timely finishing strike, crushing the creature's vital core and delivering the final blow with ruthless efficiency.
Han Jue collected the turquoise Chaos True Spirit that emerged from the dissolving corpse, then boarded his spaceship to return to Primal Chaos City.
The thirty years in Primal Chaos City were about to end. It was time to attempt the Tongtian Bridge once more and demonstrate how far he'd truly come.
The Tongtian Bridge plane.
Seeing the sudden appearance of a familiar figure, Guardian Bafen's expression brightened with genuine excitement. He spoke with barely contained enthusiasm.
"Han Jue, you've finally returned!"