Two-Dimensional World.
Snow was falling heavily, covering the earth and sky in a vast blanket of white.
In Haiyue City, Lin Yuan walked down the streets, occasionally stopping to sit at nearby tables and chairs, savoring the delicacies of Haiyue City.
Haiyue City was established by the Haiyue Tribe. Far from the Twelve Ancient Kingdoms, there are few conflicts here. The people of the Haiyue Tribe dislike fighting, and they are very friendly to outsiders.
As Lin Yuan tasted the food, these thoughts occupied his mind.
Over the span of ten thousand years, Lin Yuan had essentially explored this entire two-dimensional world. This was his second time in Haiyue City, the last time being eight thousand years ago.
Only places or cities that Lin Yuan had a special fondness for would bring him back for a second visit.
And the food of Haiyue City had its unique charm. The main reason Lin Yuan had come back this time was to savor these delicacies again.
"Eight thousand years have passed. The citizens of Haiyue City have gone through many generations, but the taste of the food remains unchanged." Lin Yuan took a sip of his drink, a mixture of dozens of special fruit juices, with a taste that was quite distinctive.
"The snow is getting heavier."
Lin Yuan put down his drink and looked up at the snowflakes drifting down from the sky.
The snowflakes in this two-dimensional world resembled works of art, sparkling like precious gems.
Lin Yuan extended his hand, catching a falling snowflake, carefully observing its structure. Each snowflake was like a labyrinth, with incredibly intricate patterns, yet the final snowflake was perfectly formed, akin to a simplified version of this two-dimensional world.
The more Lin Yuan observed, the more he became engrossed, his entire mind immersing itself in the snowflake's flawless structure.
[Your Unrivaled Insight allows you to observe the essence of the snowflakes, deepening your accumulation.]
Lin Yuan was absorbed in the intricate patterns of the snowflakes, unaware of the increasingly heavy snowfall. Most people had already taken shelter indoors, leaving Lin Yuan the only one outside.
"Mom, is that man an outsider?" A little girl inside a shop curiously watched Lin Yuan.
Lin Yuan's attire was noticeably different from the other citizens of Haiyue City, so he was recognized as an outsider immediately.
"That outsider is so silly! The snow is falling so heavily, yet he's not coming inside to take shelter." The little girl blinked, unable to resist commenting.
"You shouldn't talk about others like that," her mother scolded her softly, though her tone was somewhat gentle.
This was typical of the women of the Haiyue Tribe. They appeared delicate and fragile, but in reality, both the men and women of Haiyue City were strong and resilient.
"Okay, okay," the little girl immediately bowed her head in apology, feeling wronged.
"But if he keeps sitting in the snow, he'll get sick," her mother frowned slightly as she looked at Lin Yuan, hesitating.
At that moment...
[Your Unrivaled Insight allows you to observe the essence of the snowflakes, breaking through to the 136th rank of the Witch Ancestor.]
Lin Yuan's eyes gleamed as he felt the changes in his internal energy, and he couldn't help but laugh.
"Hahaha!"
Even though Lin Yuan was suppressing his energy, the terrifying sound waves caused the air to ripple, and every citizen in Haiyue City, including the city lord, a Witch Emperor, looked horrified.
"What is that?"
Everyone in the shop was in pain, clutching their heads.
Luckily, Lin Yuan realized it in time and immediately stopped laughing, preventing any harm to the city's inhabitants.
"It's time to leave."
Lin Yuan glanced around and then vanished.
Inside the shop, the little girl and her mother finally recovered.
"Mom, that outsider... his laugh was so scary." The little girl trembled, hiding in her mother's arms.
"That outsider must be a powerful person," her mother said, her voice trembling as well. She then glared at her daughter, saying, "How many times have I told you not to speak about others? We're lucky that powerful person didn't take offense."
Her mother was still a bit frightened.
Just a laugh had caused such a massive reaction. Not even the city lord could do such a thing.
If Lin Yuan had been upset about her daughter's earlier comment, the two of them might have been in great trouble.
"I understand, Mom," the little girl said, tears welling in her eyes, realizing she had truly made a mistake.
Outside Haiyue City.
A figure stood in the air.
As the snow entered the figure's hundred-meter radius, it rapidly evaporated, being dried by his overwhelming energy.
"Ten thousand years, the 136th rank of the Witch Ancestor."
Lin Yuan nodded slightly.
It had taken him over three hundred years to go from an ordinary person in the two-dimensional world to the 50th rank of the Witch Ancestor.
But it took ten thousand years to reach the 136th rank from the 50th rank.
Lin Yuan was satisfied. After the 50th rank of the Witch Ancestor, each breakthrough required battling against the heavens and breaking free from the constraints and suppression of the world.
In his original plan, reaching the 100th rank in ten thousand years would have been sufficient, so attaining the 136th rank far exceeded his expectations.
"In these ten thousand years, there are fewer and fewer powerful beings."
Lin Yuan stood in the air, watching the snow fall, deep in thought.
By his estimation, there were probably fewer than a thousand powerful beings in the two-dimensional world now.
It wasn't that they had been hunted down; most powerful beings had realized that staying in this world wouldn't allow them to leave. Rather than die of old age here, they had chosen to relinquish their avatars early.
In the two-dimensional world, one couldn't comprehend many of the rules, so staying longer wouldn't benefit their true selves in the outside world.
"It's almost time to go to."
Lin Yuan thought to himself. In about six months, the Heavenly Gate would open again.
Luo Chuan Gathering Place.
After ten thousand years of evolution, the former Luo Chuan gathering place had long since become the city of Luo Chuan, with the descendants of Cha Ran Gu as the city lords.
As for Cha Ran Gu himself? He had long passed away.
However, due to Lin Yuan's connection, Cha Ran Gu had lived an extremely comfortable life before his death. Even his lifespan was longer than that of other powerhouses of the same level.
Before heading to the mountain, Lin Yuan intentionally stopped by Luo Chuan City.
"My old residence is still preserved, unchanged from before." At a glance, Lin Yuan saw the cave where he had once secluded himself in meditation.
"In this two-dimensional world, I no longer have any acquaintances." Lin Yuan stayed in the ancient city of Luo Chuan for only a short while before leaving.
Next, Lin Yuan visited the capital of the Blood Rain Ancient Kingdom.
Like Luo Chuan City, the emperors of the Blood Rain Ancient Kingdom had changed many times. The title of Prince of Zhenbei had even been revoked by one of the later emperors.
In ten thousand years, things had drastically changed. Even for the powerful races, most had struggled to survive. After all, the normal lifespan of a Witch Ancestor was only two or three thousand years.
To live beyond ten thousand years, one had to reach at least the 20th rank of the Witch Ancestor. This was something only a select few top-tier tenth or eleventh-rank powerhouses could achieve.
Lin Yuan silently observed all of this, then left the capital of the Blood Rain Ancient Kingdom.
This time, even if he couldn't push open the Heavenly Gate, Lin Yuan had no intention of returning.
Atop Tianshan.
One after another, powerful beings from various races had already gathered early on.
Compared to the 'liveliness' of the first time the Heavenly Gate opened, the summit of Tianshan now seemed much quieter.
Only a few hundred powerful beings from the myriad races had gathered.
"Over the course of ten thousand years, my ability to harness the power of the strongest weapon within me has far surpassed what it was before. I estimate it can now rival the 60th rank of the Witch Ancestor."
At the summit of Tianshan, the Divine King stood quietly, a trace of fighting spirit flickering in his eyes.
In the two-dimensional world, once the powerhouses of the myriad races reached the 10th rank of the Witch Ancestor, they would be restricted by the suppression of this world, making it difficult to advance further.
However, this restriction only applied to their own power. It didn't suppress the strongest weapons they possessed as much. The Divine King's strongest weapon contained a part of the essence of the strongest one.
Excavating the potential of that weapon was much easier than improving his own cultivation level.
Without this strongest weapon, even ten or twenty thousand years wouldn't have allowed the Divine King to reach the 60th rank of the Witch Ancestor.
"Now, I should be able to challenge the human 'Blood Rain'." The Divine King's ambition surged. "Human Blood Rain, not killing me back then was your greatest mistake."
The Divine King steadied himself, his gaze burning with fighting spirit.
Suddenly.
At the center of the summit.
A figure appeared out of nowhere.
"Human Blood Rain."
"Human Blood Rain is here."
The surrounding powerful beings of the myriad races all perked up, turning their gaze toward Lin Yuan.
In fact, most of the powerhouses had come simply to see Lin Yuan again and to find out if he could push open the Gate of Heaven this time.
"Human Blood Rain!"
The Divine King's fighting spirit soared as he looked toward Lin Yuan.
"Hmm?"
Lin Yuan seemed to sense something and glanced in the Divine King's direction.
Boom!!!
With just a single glance, the Divine King's mind roared, his legs trembling uncontrollably. If he hadn't forcefully drawn on the power of the strongest weapon within him, he might have collapsed on the spot.
"How could this be?"
"How could he be this strong?"
The Divine King's heart was filled with rage. A single glance had left him in such a miserable state, which meant that the gap between him and Lin Yuan had grown far wider than it had been ten thousand years ago.
At least ten thousand years ago, he could still withstand a glance from Lin Yuan without being reduced to this.
"How could such a monster emerge from human civilization?" The Divine King retreated several steps before barely managing to hold his ground.
Lin Yuan glanced at the Divine King, sensing the fiery emotion radiating from him.
In truth, Lin Yuan didn't pay much attention to the Divine King.
Ten thousand years ago, the Divine King had been no match for him, and after ten thousand years, the gap between them had only grown wider.
At this point, the only opponent left for Lin Yuan in this two-dimensional world was the Heavenly Gate.
Time passed slowly.
Finally.
Above the summit of Tianshan, strong spatial fluctuations began to surge once more.
A Heavenly Gate gradually formed, manifesting before the many powerful beings of the myriad races.
Deep within the Two-Dimensional World.
In a vast space, a half-meter-tall old man yawned, slowly opening his eyes.
To him, the ten thousand years that had passed in the two-dimensional world had been nothing more than a short nap.
"Let's see how far they've come in ten thousand years."
The half-meter-tall old man stretched and looked at the enormous painting before him.
The painting was filled with swirling mists, containing a vast and real world.
"This?!!"
The old man stared at it, momentarily stunned, as if he had seen a ghost.
...
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