"There is a Strongest One who wants to see me?"
Lin Yuan's mind stirred with waves, for the Strongest One was the towering pillar of human civilization.
Today, human civilization could sweep across the stars and myriad races, relying not only on the coordination of the three goddesses but also on the top-tier strength of the nine Strongest Ones.
Without the Strongest Ones, human civilization would be utterly incapable of resisting the 'Insect Sea Army' of the insect race.
"Yes, the Strongest One who wishes to see you is called 'Xia Qin'," the Goddess of Wisdom replied.
"Xia Qin, the Strongest One."
Lin Yuan's thoughts diverged. Xia Qin, the Strongest One, was the third Strongest One of human civilization. The Evolutionary Tower he presided over was located in the northeast region of human civilization's territory, facing two peak clans alone.
"How do I meet him?" Lin Yuan asked.
"In the virtual world, you can meet," the Goddess of Wisdom's voice was solemn and cold.
"Understood," Lin Yuan nodded.
The Strongest One wanting to see him was already within Lin Yuan's expectations.
With Lin Yuan's continuously improving strength, it was inevitable to attract the attention of the Strongest Ones.
Below the Eighth Rank, the Sixth and Seventh Ranks were not considered by the Strongest Ones, but reaching the Eighth Rank already classified one as a high-level force in human civilization.
Moreover, Lin Yuan entered the Eighth Rank at a very young age, less than a hundred years old, to be precise, just over thirty years old.
Even if the Strongest Ones had not paid attention to Lin Yuan now, when he became invincible at the Eighth Rank and entered the Ninth Rank, he would still have to meet the Strongest Ones.
A mysterious virtual world.
Lin Yuan's figure appeared, looking around.
In the distance, there stood a towering man. Though described as towering, he was only three meters tall, yet to Lin Yuan, he felt immensely towering, far surpassing tens of thousands of stars combined.
"The Strongest One."
Lin Yuan carefully scrutinized the towering man, feeling his soul trembling. In this towering figure, he seemed to see the vast universe and endless operation of fundamental rules.
"Space rules? Time rules? No, it's the fusion of space rules and time rules into temporal-spatial rules? And there are also life rules and causal rules. So many, too many," Lin Yuan forced himself to comprehend with his Unrivaled Insight, but found little success.
The gap between them was too vast. The reason Lin Yuan could comprehend the many evolutionary paths contained within that body was because the other party had already completely fallen.
And with the price paid by the Strongest One, the profound mysteries contained within that body were forcibly revealed.
Combined with the isolation of the virtual world.
This allowed human evolutionary beings of the Sixth and Seventh Ranks to comprehend. If there were no preparations as mentioned above and the body was directly brought over for comprehension, all Sixth and Seventh Rank evolutionary beings would probably go insane upon seeing it.
Now, Lin Yuan attempted to comprehend 'Xia Qin' the Strongest One, which was equivalent to directly comprehending the operation of the universe and starry skies, making it difficult to comprehend anything in the short term.
"Interesting little guy," Xia Qin, the Strongest One, observed Lin Yuan and smiled.
"I've met the Strongest One," Lin Yuan immediately said respectfully.
"Terrifying indeed. So, different rules can be fused?" Lin Yuan vaguely saw the path to the Ninth or even Tenth Rank from the Strongest One.
For an Eighth Rank evolutionary being to advance to the Ninth Rank, besides having a sufficiently perfect internal world, it also required the fusion of rules.
The Red Kun Star Lord was stuck on this point, unable to achieve perfect fusion between spatial rules and fire rules.
But in Xia Qin, the Strongest One, Lin Yuan felt that many rules were integrated into one. Even the two pillar rules of time and space were perfectly fused into temporal-spatial rules.
"Your talent is quite good. Knowing the second way to comprehend that body, you must also know about the existence of Devil Jade Tower, right? You should have some extraordinary opportunities beyond the bounds of this world?" Xia Qin, the Strongest One, casually remarked.
"Yes," Lin Yuan immediately replied.
But he was inwardly surprised.
Xia Qin, the Strongest One, also knew about Devil Jade Tower? All along, Lin Yuan had thought that only he knew about Devil Jade Tower, but now it seemed that the Strongest Ones of human civilization had known about it for a long time?
As for what Xia Qin, the Strongest One, referred to as 'extraordinary opportunities beyond the bounds of this world,' although not entirely accurate, should the Gate to the Myriad Realms also be considered 'extraordinary opportunities beyond the bounds of this world'?
"Those old guys from the insect race somehow got wind of a Devil Jade Tower Strongest One's corpse drifting over from somewhere."
"Devil Jade Tower is a very ancient force. Their tower master has disappeared for who knows how many years, and most of their members have also vanished without a trace."
Xia Qin, the Strongest One, sighed with emotion.
Lin Yuan listened obediently below.
The pressure from the Strongest One was too great for him, and judging from Xia Qin's tone, the so-called 'extraordinary opportunities beyond the bounds of this world' were not taken seriously.
Of course, Lin Yuan was certain that Xia Qin, the Strongest One, had not discovered the existence of the Gate to the Myriad Realms.
So far, among all the existences Lin Yuan had seen, only the towering Gate to the Myriad Realms in the depths of his mind could compare to Xia Qin, the Strongest One, before him.
But the Gate to the Myriad Realms in the depths of his mind was just a negligible projection of the real Gate to the Myriad Realms, which, in terms of hierarchy, surpassed even the Strongest Ones.
"Also, your spiritual will."
Xia Qin, the Strongest One, continued to observe Lin Yuan. In a trance, fluctuations in time began to occur.
"If I'm not mistaken, the years experienced by your spiritual will should be different from those of your physical soul, right?"
Xia Qin, the Strongest One, smiled.
As an existence that fully mastered the rules of time, Xia Qin, the Strongest One, observed Lin Yuan for a while and discovered the difference in the passage of time in his body.
"The years experienced by my spiritual will?" Lin Yuan was slightly stunned.
He had undergone seven transmigrations, and the actual years experienced should be over a thousand, but he had never told anyone about this. Even Red Kun Star Lord...
Lin Yuan's expression slightly changed.
"Hahahaha, little guy, don't be nervous. It's not uncommon for the years experienced by the spiritual will to surpass those of the physical soul. Many methods and talents can achieve this, such as Great Dream of Ten Thousand Ages, Time House, and so on," chuckled Xia Qin, the Strongest One.
As a Strongest One, being able to go against the flow of time, one could naturally slow down the passage of time.
For instance, while an instant passed in the outside world, one could experience millions of years.
Or, while millions of years passed in the outside world, one might experience just an instant.
Moreover, many innate abilities and techniques could accomplish this feat, mostly related to time.
"Great Dream of Ten Thousand Ages, Time House," Lin Yuan breathed a sigh of relief to himself. Although he didn't know the specifics, since the Strongest One mentioned it, it must be related to the speed of time flow.
Indeed.
For the Strongest Ones, manipulating time wasn't difficult at all. Even the lives that had died in the past could be resurrected. So, speeding up or slowing down the passage of time was nothing.
Of course, regarding the flow rate of time, only the Strongest Ones or beings who fully mastered the rules of time could do so, making it one of the most top-tier opportunities.
"Judging from the passage of time in your spiritual will, your age should be around two thousand years," Xia Qin, the Strongest One, said to Lin Yuan.
Lin Yuan didn't speak upon hearing this.
"Hahahaha, are you now thinking that your reputation as a genius is going to be ruined?" Xia Qin teased.
"Indeed," Lin Yuan nodded.
"You don't need to think like that," Xia Qin said, "If you live long enough, reaching the Eighth Rank is just a matter of time. How could there be only this much Eighth Ranks in my Human Alliance?"
"Furthermore, the Goddess of Wisdom said that you are the founder of an evolutionary path, paving the way for evolution. Your potential is enormous."
"With continuous expansion of evolutionary paths, and your spiritual will only being around two thousand years old, achieving such accomplishments, in the history of human civilization, your talent is enough to rank in the top twenty or even top ten," Xia Qin said with a smile.
If Lin Yuan's spiritual will age were the same as his physical soul, just over thirty years old, he would have doubted whether Lin Yuan had some other origin.
Crossing into the Eighth Rank at just over thirty years old and opening up enormously potential evolutionary paths was simply impossible.
Even the Strongest Ones found it absurd.
"In the history of human civilization, ranked in the top twenty or top ten in talent," Lin Yuan blinked.
This kind of high evaluation was terrifying. In the history of human civilization, spanning over two million years in the starry sea, how many prodigies and freaks had appeared?
It even included the nine Strongest Ones. For Lin Yuan to rank in the top twenty or top ten in the history of human civilization, was he not the first in line under the Strongest Ones?
Hearing Xia Qin, the Strongest One's evaluation of himself, Lin Yuan couldn't help but feel a little pleased, but he quickly recovered.
No matter how strong one's talent was, it couldn't be converted into strength, which was meaningless.
In the over two million years of the starry sea history, many evolvers had the potential to become Strongest Ones, but in the end, human civilization only had nine Strongest Ones.
"Mastering talents like Great Dream of Ten Thousand Ages can indeed provide significant advantages in the early stages of cultivation, but that's about it. By the time you reach the Seventh or Eighth Rank, such abilities are no longer so crucial," Xia Qin, the Strongest One, said.
The so-called Great Dream of Ten Thousand Ages allowed one to experience thousands of years in a dream, a technique that Strongest Ones could easily achieve.
Even if Lin Yuan utilized a similar ability, he had only used around two thousand years to reach his current level, yet it couldn't conceal his extraordinary talent.
That's why Xia Qin, the Strongest One, evaluated Lin Yuan as ranking in the top twenty or top ten in the history of human civilization.
"Understood," Lin Yuan said softly.
In fact, the transmigration function of the Gate to the Myriad Realms was far more than just as simple as Great Dream of Ten Thousand Ages.
By traveling to a world, one could absorb the essence of its cultivation system and comprehend various rule fluctuations in different dimensional dimensions.
This was much more valuable than the speed of time flow.
Xia Qin only noticed that Lin Yuan's spiritual will time flow was incorrect, but did not discover the existence of the Gate to the Myriad Realms.
"With your talent and potential, there shouldn't be too many constraints at the Eighth Rank level of cultivation. But when it comes to finally merging rules, you must think carefully."
"The rules of fusion here are not the fusion of ordinary rules, but the fusion of pillar rules with other rules."
"You should consider carefully which rules to fuse with the pillar rules," Xia Qin reminded.
"Thank you for the guidance, Strongest One," Lin Yuan nodded. The so-called pillar rules were space rules, time rules, life rules, and so on.
"Since you've already crossed into the Eighth Rank, I assume you're going to be stationed in a Star Domain for five hundred years?" Xia Qin looked at Lin Yuan.
"Yes," Lin Yuan nodded.
"But I haven't decided which star domain yet," Lin Yuan said.
"The border Star Domain is fraught with danger. Let me give you a treasure," Xia Qi said.
"Don't refuse. Do you think your strength is very strong? Do you have the ability to create clones? Or do you think we can resurrect you if you die?"
Xia Qin looked at Lin Yuan and shook his head.
"The ability to create clones is not foolproof, and resurrection is not something that can be done casually," Xia Qin said.
"For example, memory contamination. Even with many clones, they will all die. After resurrection, as long as the memory remains, they will still die."
"Memory contamination," Lin Yuan's expression became solemn. This method was more restrictive than the curse of death. With Lin Yuan's current strength, it would be difficult for anyone, even a Tenth Rank Strongest One, to contaminate his memories.
"I will bestow upon you a treasure called the 'Divine Sealing Bead.' Even if a Strongest One attempts to contaminate your memories or uses other means against you, you can persevere in an instant," Xia Qin, the Strongest One, said calmly.
"At that time, just self-explode, and wait for me to resurrect you."
"Can it withstand the attack of a Strongest One in an instant?"
Lin Yuan was shocked. What kind of existence were the Strongest Ones? Their methods of attack were unpredictable. Before meeting Xia Qin, a member of an alien race had attempted to kill Lin Yuan, which wasn't too difficult.
They could even achieve permanent death, unable to be resurrected.
But the Strongest Ones had their pride. Lin Yuan's current external performance was just an Eighth Rank under a hundred years old, not worth the Strongest Ones' intervention.
If Lin Yuan were to reveal not only his status as an Eighth Rank under a hundred years old but also as the founder of the Martial Path Evolutionary Path, then things would become unpredictable.
"Remember," Xia Qin said sternly. "Once the 'Divine Sealing Bead' is activated passively, you must choose to self-explode without hesitation. Absolutely do not delay." (a flag?)
Only if Lin Yuan had not been subjected to memory contamination or other methods could Xia Qin intervene to resurrect him, without causing permanent harm.
But once contaminated with memory, it would be like facing a calamity of the heart. Even the Strongest Ones couldn't remove everything, and even if resurrected, one would still die if the memory remained.
"I understand," Lin Yuan said in a deep voice.
What Xia Qin, the Strongest One, was considering was the extreme situations Lin Yuan would face. Would the Strongest Ones intervene? Under normal circumstances, they wouldn't.
If an alien Strongest One attempted to erase a human genius, the human civilization's Strongest Ones would intervene to eliminate the alien genius.
In this way, no one would dare to leave their homes.
Unless the alien Strongest Ones saw hope of becoming Strongest Ones in Lin Yuan.
Otherwise, they wouldn't bother to pay attention.
And there were still some Eighth Rank evolvers under a hundred years old in human civilization's history, but in the end, few could touch the realm of the Strongest Ones.
Xia Qin, the Strongest One, knew that Lin Yuan was the creator of the Martial Path Evolutionary Path. As the founder, he could still reach this stage even without a path forward, indeed having the potential to become a Strongest One.
But what Xia Qin knew and the alien Strongest Ones didn't was that only the three Goddesses and the nine Strongest Ones knew that Lin Yuan was the founder of the Martial Path Evolutionary Path in the entire human civilization.
"The Divine Sealing Bead, I will have someone deliver it to you as soon as possible," Xia Qin waved his hand and sent Lin Yuan away from this virtual world.
When Lin Yuan disappeared, Xia Qin began to retract his smile.
"I hope... you can grow up smoothly," Xia Qin looked at the last position where Lin Yuan stood, his eyes filled with anticipation.
...
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