"Greetings, senior," Lin Yuan immediately bowed and said.
Although he didn't know exactly who this half-meter tall old man was, the fact that the old man was sitting in front of the painting likely meant that he was the true ruler of the two-dimensional world.
The fact that he had entered the Heavenly Gate and appeared here might have been this old man's doing.
"Quite polite," the old man smiled. It had been far too long since he had spoken to a living being. Although many beings lived in the two-dimensional world, none of them piqued his interest.
"Polite?" Lin Yuan's expression remained unchanged.
Facing an unknown being of immense power, not being polite—did he want to just attack outright? Lin Yuan wasn't foolish.
"Alright, by now you should understand that the massive painting before you is the lower-dimensional space you are currently in," the old man said slowly.
"This lower-dimensional space is one of the few that were created at the beginning, a recreation of the creator's vision of an even lower-dimensional world," the old man explained.
Lin Yuan quietly listened.
He had already learned some basic information about this lower-dimensional space from the six-armed figure in the Mysterious Emperor Secret Realm and the humanoid stone statue Shen Ji in the Devil Jade Space.
"The creator built this lower-dimensional space to help them explore lower-dimensional worlds, but it also served as a game world that could accommodate billions upon billions of lives at once," the old man glanced at Lin Yuan.
"Any life that falls into a lower-dimensional space is considered a participant in this game. Losers lose the will and essence they invested, while winners gain rewards. That's the rule of the game."
"A game world?" Lin Yuan thought to himself. The six-armed figure in the Mysterious Emperor Secret Realm had mentioned that lower-dimensional spaces came in two types: entertainment and gambling. The game world the old man referred to was likely the gambling type because it involved punishment.
"And now, you have won the game and become the sole victor," the old man smiled as he looked at Lin Yuan.
"Sole victor?" Lin Yuan was surprised.
"You didn't think that the other game participants in the lower-dimensional space would still be able to leave, did you? They don't have the chance anymore."
"From the very beginning, this game could only have one winner."
The old man's tone was calm.
Indeed, the Heavenly Gate was the way to leave the two-dimensional world, but it only allowed one of the powerful beings of the myriad races to enter.
Lin Yuan fell silent.
Initially, he had planned to help the Rank Eleven evolvers like Xuanyuan Duo after leaving by creating cultivation methods specifically for them to improve their strength and increase their chances of entering the Heavenly Gate.
Unlike the strongest humans like Xia Qin, who could recreate the two-dimensional world and then deduce and comprehend it to create cultivation methods, Lin Yuan had personally experienced every moment in the two-dimensional world, giving him more insight than even the strongest.
But now, it seemed…
This idea was no longer feasible.
According to the old man, no other beings from the myriad races would be able to escape the two-dimensional world, except for Lin Yuan.
"Alright."
"Since you're the winner, you can now choose your reward," the old man shifted his tone, suddenly asking.
"So, tell me, what kind of reward do you want?"
The old man stared at Lin Yuan.
If it had been any other winner, even a legendary Rank Eleven perfect lifeform like the Divine King, the old man wouldn't have shown such interest.
But Lin Yuan's talent for comprehension was terrifying. In a lower-dimensional space, everything resets to the beginning, and the path forward largely depends on one's comprehension.
Of course.
Even when it comes to comprehension, higher-ranked lifeforms tend to have stronger insights than lower-ranked ones, which is normal.
Lin Yuan's level of life wasn't the weakest among those who fell into the lower-dimensional space, but he wasn't the strongest either.
And yet, he managed to break through 129 world limits in just over ten thousand years. The old man felt he should make an exception and treat Lin Yuan differently.
"A reward?"
Lin Yuan was slightly taken aback.
The six-armed figure from the Mysterious Emperor Secret Realm had mentioned that surviving a gambling-type lower-dimensional space would grant a corresponding reward.
However, different lower-dimensional spaces offered different rewards.
"I wonder what rewards are available?" Lin Yuan cautiously asked.
"Rewards are aligned with punishments," the old man spoke a bit more. "The punishment is the permanent loss of the invested will and essence."
"Therefore, the reward is the essence of the participants in the game—their physical bodies, souls, memories, and insights into the rules, among other aspects."
"Physical bodies, souls, bloodlines, memories, and insights into the rules?" Lin Yuan's expression showed some confusion.
"If you choose the physical body, for example, you can select any participant from the game, and their body will be recreated for you to study," the old man patiently explained.
The lower-dimensional space could permanently strip the participants of their invested will and essence, essentially gaining control over those aspects, and then part of that could be granted to the winner.
"So that's how it works?"
Lin Yuan quickly pondered.
In the guiding space of the Black Planet, insights into the rules from Rank Twelve lifeforms were forcibly extracted and given to other lifeforms to study.
The old man seemed to be saying that the participants' will and essence could be split into various aspects, allowing Lin Yuan to choose.
It was clear that the splitting process in the two-dimensional world was more advanced than the one in the Black Planet.
"So, what should I choose?"
Lin Yuan's mind raced.
Many of the powerful beings from the myriad races that had fallen into the two-dimensional world were unique lifeforms. Their physical bodies and bloodlines, if perfectly replicated, could significantly enhance Lin Yuan's own body.
"Senior," after careful consideration, Lin Yuan made up his mind, "I would like to choose insights into the rules."
For Lin Yuan, physical bodies and bloodlines weren't as important as insights into the rules. The deeper his understanding of the rules, the more perfect and stable his internal world would become, which in turn would greatly benefit his physical body.
It could even increase his chances of reaching the ultimate level.
"Insights into the rules, huh?" The old man nodded. "That's indeed the most valuable choice."
"Your comprehension is the highest I've ever seen," the old man added after thinking for a moment. "So I'll give you two more options."
"Would you prefer all the insights into the rules from a specific participant, or would you rather have the insights into a specific rule from all participants in the game?"
The old man stared at Lin Yuan, "The choice is yours to make."
"Which should I choose?"
Lin Yuan fell into deep thought.
To choose all the insights from a single participant, like the Divine King, meant gaining that specific being's entire understanding of the rules.
However, choosing the insights into a specific rule from all the participants in the game meant gathering insights from the myriad race powerhouses into that one rule. Even if they had all studied the same rule, each one would have understood it differently.
For instance, space rules have many facets. Even if one comprehends the complete space rule, they may only have understood one facet of it. Not even the strongest beings can grasp every aspect of space rules.
The same goes for other rules and fusion rules.
Even someone as powerful as the Divine Kings couldn't guarantee that their understanding of a rule was the most perfect or comprehensive; it ultimately represented only their own perspective.
But if the insights into a single rule from all the myriad race powerhouses were pooled together and interconnected, it would be far stronger than what any one individual could offer.
The depth of comprehension of a pillar-level fusion rule, which was divided into nine levels, indicated how thoroughly someone understood a particular fusion rule. The higher the level, the more comprehensive and perfect their understanding.
"I choose insights. I want the complete insights into the time-space fusion rule," Lin Yuan finally said.
The time-space fusion rule was the most complex and obscure of all fusion rules.
To be precise, it wasn't the most complex—the chaos rule was. But the chaos rule was no longer considered a fusion rule; it was the source of all rules. Moreover, none of the myriad race powerhouses trapped in the two-dimensional world had likely comprehended the chaos rule, so Lin Yuan chose the time-space fusion rule instead.
"The time-space fusion rule?"
The old man nodded. "Choosing this will take a bit longer."
"No problem."
Lin Yuan quickly responded. He had waited ten thousand years already; he didn't mind waiting a little longer.
After speaking, the old man shifted his gaze back to the enormous painting.
Meanwhile, Lin Yuan sat down cross-legged beside him and began patiently waiting.
"The flow of time here is the same as in the main universe," Lin Yuan realized. His true body and Yin Primordial Spirit were still in the main universe, and he could sense the synchronization of time between them.
On the Milky Way Main Star.
Lin Yuan's true body opened his eyes and connected to the virtual world, requesting entry to Xia Qin's personal world.
Lin Yuan's request was almost instantly approved, and in the blink of an eye, he appeared before Xia Qin, the strongest being.
"Strongest one," Lin Yuan slightly bowed, knowing that Xia Qin had been waiting for him.
"How did it go?" Xia Qin looked at Lin Yuan and asked with concern, "What lies beyond the Heavenly Gate? I didn't detect any space fluctuations outside that 'white paper,' so where were you transported?"
"And is it safe now?"
Xia Qin quickly fired off questions.
"I'm perfectly safe," Lin Yuan immediately replied.
"That's a relief." Xia Qin let out a sigh of relief.
As long as Lin Yuan was safe, there was room to maneuver.
"I met the true ruler of the two-dimensional world inside that 'white paper,'" Lin Yuan said after some thought.
"The true ruler?" Xia Qin was shocked.
...
20 chapters ahead on patreon: patreon.com/David_Lord
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