Chapter 549

In just ten months.

The Star Tear fragment world was completely transformed from top to bottom.

All kinds of futuristic, high-tech buildings sprang up, and the virtual network was fully rolled out.

Everything went smoothly during the process.

At the same time, internal trade within human civilization was re-established, and even a new trade route was opened with Guming Chaos Continent.

Countless citizens in the new homeland felt that, except for the lack of a visible starry sky, life here was no different from life in the old universe.

In fact, it was even better and more comfortable.

“This is the house the government assigned me, and it’s so big—and all for free?”

“The new homeland is distributing housing, assigning jobs, and providing health care and education. This is amazing.”

“Yes, I thought we’d have a tough time—like pioneering a raw, unsettled land—after migrating here.”

People who settled in the Star Tear fragment world adapted very quickly, mainly because their welfare benefits had not decreased but actually improved.

Even more crucial was this:

“My son was just born, and he has the talent for evolution. He’ll be an Evolver in the future.”

“My daughter too.”

“Yours as well? The test results for my grandson show pretty good evolution potential.”

A gentle Star Tear power suffused the Star Tear fragment world, greatly supporting the birth and development of life.

This included, for example, boosting the all-around potential of newborns and extending their lifespans.

In the old universe, you’d need a massive population for a single Evolver to emerge. But here, any child born in this fragment world had some kind of evolution talent.

The increase in low-level Evolvers would raise the chances of producing mid-level and high-level Evolvers.

This virtuous cycle would help human civilization develop much faster than it did in the old universe.

In humanity’s new core region...

Lin Yuan was currently discussing with the nine Strongest ones about handling those alien races who had fully pledged loyalty to human civilization.

Because of the universe’s total annihilation, many aliens whose own Rank Twelve elites did not take them into their internal universes chose to sell themselves entirely to human civilization, just hoping to stay alive.

“These aliens fought us for many years. What now?”

Xu Shen asked.

“In my view, we should just sell them off. I recall Guming Chaos Continent has a market for that.”

Gu Li spoke plainly. He didn’t like these aliens much. Without Lin Yuan’s efforts, nobody would’ve saved them anyway.

“They’re all below Rank Twelve, so even if we sell them to a slaver, they won’t fetch a high price.”

Yu Die said, “Better to cultivate them, let them become assets for humanity. We’re still pretty weak in this Chaos Void, so we need every resource for growth.”

Many of these alien peak races had gone toe-to-toe with humankind for years. They certainly had strengths worth using. And both sides understood each other well, which could be convenient.

“All right, but the resources for training them must be strictly controlled. I don’t want them rising from the ashes someday.”

“Rising from the ashes? With Milky Way around, what chance do they have?”

“That’s true.”

“Still, we’ll limit them.”

In short order, the nine Strongest ones came to a decision:

They would give those aliens some resources to help them develop, ultimately so they could benefit human civilization as a whole. Different peak races had different advantages.

For instance, the Insect Race—one of humankind’s fiercest opponents. Its queens produced countless insect warriors that could be used like cannon fodder when exploring dangerous areas.

As for using intelligent machines to explore? In many parts of the Chaos Void, machines malfunctioned or broke down.

Of course, humanity’s support would only go to the younger generations of these aliens, while their older, higher-level powerhouses remained under tight restrictions.

“Milky Way, what about those Rank Twelve individuals?”

Xuanyuan turned to Lin Yuan curiously.

“Oh, them…”

Lin Yuan smiled.

“I’ve already placed prohibitions on all of them. We’ll deal with them later.”

He’d taken those Rank Twelve aliens along simply on a whim; not taking them wouldn’t have reduced the universe’s hostility toward him during annihilation anyway.

Also, keeping these Rank Twelve aliens nearby prevented them from leaking too much information about him. Lin Yuan’s growth speed inside the universe—astonishing even by Chaos Void standards—was something they’d seen firsthand. If he let them run loose, they might say too much.

“By the way, another thing.”

Xuanyuan smiled.

“Milky Way, you mentioned that on Guming Chaos Continent, there’s a place that sells Rank Twelve evolution pathways?”

“Yes.”

Lin Yuan nodded.

When he first arrived at Guming Chaos Continent, he learned that in the Myriad Dao Pavilion, one could buy any desired Rank Twelve evolution pathway.

The Myriad Dao Pavilion’s background was unfathomable. The branch on Guming Chaos Continent was just one franchise, influencing multiple Chaos Continents.

“We plan to purchase some Rank Twelve evolution paths,”

Xuanyuan said, exchanging glances with the other eight. That was their plan.

“Buying Rank Twelve evolution pathways?”

Lin Yuan guessed their reason.

Humanity’s countless Evolvers had arrived in the Chaos Void, one after another transferring their life imprints into the mainstream River of Time there.

Because the new environment had a higher ceiling, many Rank Eleven perfected Evolvers wanted to attempt their final leap into Rank Twelve.

In fact, advancing to Rank Twelve in the Chaos Void was easier than in the old universe.

The Chaos Void’s River of Time wasn’t hostile to beings trying to break through to Rank Twelve, so the odds of success were much higher.

That was precisely why the nine Strongest ones wanted more options.

Right now, humanity had only one standard Rank Twelve path in their storehouse—one that was notoriously difficult to train in. They needed more Rank Twelve pathways.

“Understood.”

Lin Yuan nodded, keeping it in mind.

“When you get the chance, please purchase them for us, and we’ll pay from the human civilization treasury,”

Xuanyuan said.

As for why they didn’t go in person?

None of them had Lin Yuan’s discerning eye or level. They couldn’t judge the real pros and cons of a given Rank Twelve pathway.

So better to entrust Lin Yuan.

It was better than buying something flawed and regretting it later.

“There’s no rush. Milky Way, do it whenever you have time,”

Xuanyuan added casually.

Even in the Chaos Void, reaching Rank Twelve was a major endeavor. Waiting a few thousand or ten thousand years was normal.

Deep in the Star Tear fragment world, Lin Yuan sat cross-legged in seclusion.

This fragment world was first the dwelling Lin Yuan had acquired, and only then was it humanity’s new home. Naturally, Lin Yuan held the top authority.

“The martial evolution path…”

He examined himself and the path he’d traveled.

So far, martial evolution ended at Twelve, the “Path-Clearing Chapter.” The “Dominance Chapter” was under construction and not yet established.

Yet this time, his seclusion was not about further perfecting the Dominance Chapter. Instead, he wanted to broaden the “width” of the martial evolution path.

In other words, adding new branches to the martial route.

“Countless Dao exist, and even the same Dao isn’t locked into a single track. Many side roads can still lead to the same end.”

So Lin Yuan thought, recalling everything about martial evolution.

Creating brand-new branches for martial evolution was something he’d considered ever since hitting Rank Twelve.

But he’d been too busy to do it.

With the pressure of early universal annihilation these past centuries, Lin Yuan focused on directly enhancing his foundation and combat power.

Developing side branches wouldn’t affect short-term martial strength, nor would it much help Lin Yuan personally, so it wasn’t a priority.

But now that he’d found a new home for humankind and everything was running smoothly, Lin Yuan could finally rest a bit and devote time to that.

Indeed, additional branches for the martial path wouldn’t matter much short-term, but looking farther ahead, the implications could be massive and impossible to overlook.

Even if you reached Rank Twelve by some other branch, you’d still be rooted in the martial evolution system Lin Yuan had created.

He would similarly enjoy the various benefits of “standing atop” that path, whenever a new Rank Twelve emerged.

When Lin Yuan advanced to ultimate rank, countless martial cultivators in that path had called to him in some mysterious way. That support helped prevent his mind from falling in the Heart Demon World that came with the main River of Time.

And that “anchor” effect wasn’t limited to crossing Rank Twelve.

Perhaps someday, if Lin Yuan’s true body, avatars, and incarnations perished—even the one in the Source World—his spirit might drift in total darkness and death, but those calls would still reach him,

Helping him locate an “anchor” and forcing him to return.

And the more beings who cultivated the martial evolution system, and the more powerful they became, the louder that call would be, unstoppable, even surpassing time and space.

“Truth is, the path I created has long included many branching options.”

Sitting cross-legged, Lin Yuan recalled one epiphany after another.

From the second Rank onward, martial evolution had multiple choices.

He himself used Yin-Yang Taiji as the core of his martial path, While others could pick different cores.

For instance, a martial Evolver skilled in the power of metal could make that their foundational focus, So that by the fifth rank, they’d form a “metal” nascent soul, eventually grasping “metal rules.”

In this way, from Rank two to Rank eleven, martial Evolvers had long chosen their specialized tracks, continuing along the path Lin Yuan opened.

“I derived my Rank Twelve realm from the core of Yin-Yang Taiji. Other cultivators could definitely form different Rank Twelve foundations of their own.”

Lin Yuan’s eyes lit up.

This would give martial evolution tremendous potential, theoretically allowing infinite side roads and countless Rank Twelve martial cultivators.

“I’ll start by designing the simplest five-element branches.”

Lin Yuan began working it out carefully.

First came “metal,” known for its sharpness, ripping apart everything. Though a bit extreme, it was more than enough to break into Rank Twelve.

[Your Insight is peerless. As you revisit the martial evolution path, you have perfected the Metal Martial branch.]

[Your Insight is peerless. As you revisit the martial evolution path, you have perfected the Wood Martial branch.]

[Your Insight is peerless. As you revisit the martial evolution path, you have perfected the Water Martial branch.]

Focusing most of his mind on that, Lin Yuan felt enormous feedback. As the founder of martial evolution, even if he wasn’t going to travel those other paths, each new branch came to him as easily as extending his own arm.

“If it’s five-element martial arts, the potential is sure to be huge.”

Lin Yuan mused.

The five elements cycle and complement one another, nearly lacking any fatal weakness, and they also incorporate strong offense.

But mastering the five elements at Rank Two, then forming a “Five-Element Nascent Soul” by Rank Five? That was extremely hard.

In the old universe, Lin Yuan doubted if such geniuses existed.

But in the Chaos Void, with all kinds of wondrous life forms and monstrous talents, it might be feasible.

A five-element evolver who made it to Rank Twelve would be terrifying. Upon first entering the Path-Clearing realm, they might approach the pinnacle of Path-Clearing.

Of course, the difficulty was enormous. You needed all five elements—metal, wood, water, fire, earth—at Rank Two. Then at Rank Five, forging a Five-Element Nascent Soul, Five-Element Rules, etc.

Lin Yuan was quite willing to finalize the Five-Element branch. He wasn’t afraid the next generation of evolvers would threaten him.

First, he believed no one could match him in both talent and base level.

He was far ahead. Even if they walked the same path, they’d never catch up.

Besides, Lin Yuan’s strength wasn’t solely rooted in martial arts.

And if someone broke the rules to master Yin-Yang Taiji too?

Even so, he’d crush them at the same cultivation level.

Same path, same internal universe scale? Lin Yuan’s Path-Clearing stage was already on par with a Chaos Venerable. Add in his many rules, secret arts, etc.—there was no comparison.

More importantly, as the progenitor of the martial path, he had an inherent “overpowering” effect against later practitioners.

Like a mouse confronted by a cat—naturally suppressed.

Even if the Five-Element track might rival Yin-Yang Taiji in theoretical potential, under otherwise identical conditions—universe size, level of rules, secret arts, and so on—

The Five-Element evolver would still be crushed.

They’d simply be unable to use their full power against Lin Yuan, being innately suppressed.

And if by chance that opponent was stronger, as long as they used a martial derivative of Lin Yuan’s system,

They’d be pinned down by him with no chance to fight back.

“Space Martial…”

Lin Yuan next tried making “space” the root of a martial branch.

Unlike the relatively smooth creation of the other branches, perfecting a space-martial branch presented a clear bottleneck.

“If we consider space the foundation for a new martial branch…”

He closed his eyes in contemplation.

“Space is both vast and thin.”

He also realized that it was just too difficult.

Picking space as the root meant grasping space at Rank Two.

But a Rank Two martial Evolver doesn’t have total mastery of even basic bodily strength. Could they handle space on top of that?

And by Rank Five, they’d have to form a “Space Nascent Soul,” demanding a high level of spatial comprehension. Otherwise, how would they shape a nascent soul with space?

“Space Martial… Let’s hold off. No need to finalize it yet.”

Lin Yuan shook his head. The barrier to entry was too high.

At Rank Two, you’d need a pure space bloodline, which was exceedingly rare.

It just wasn’t practical for broad dissemination, far less so than the straightforward “metal” or “water” branches, for instance.

“What about Time Martial?” Lin Yuan explored further.

Compared to space, time was even harder. He really had no intention of finalizing that branch for general use. He just wanted to glean deeper insights into the essence of martial evolution.

“Space Martial… Time Martial… then Time-Space Martial?”

Lin Yuan’s interest grew as he merged time and space in front of him.

If time and space together formed the foundation for a martial branch, the potential would be enormous.

But it would be nearly impossible just to start.

“Time-space…”

He mulled over the feasibility of a time-space martial path and how to utilize time and space. Suddenly, his thoughts drifted from martial evolution to the nature of time and space itself.

At that moment, all the accumulated comprehension of time and space he’d gathered—

From thousands of years in the main universe, from direct observation of time fluctuations in the Source World, and from the boundless Chaos Void—

All burst forth like a flood.

[Your Insight is peerless, analogies flow freely, and your comprehension of time and space has reached the Eighth Layer.]

In an instant, the immense structure of time and space in the Chaos Void became distinctly clearer to Lin Yuan.

He looked down, seeing the vast Guming Chaos Continent at his feet, and could even vaguely peer into its deepest reaches, where a figure cloaked in chaotic energy was cultivating in seclusion.

“That’s Guming the Venerable?”

Lin Yuan’s expression stirred, but he quickly pulled back his gaze.

A Chaos Venerable might sense anyone’s prying if it went on too long.

“What a pleasant surprise,”

Lin Yuan smiled.

“I never imagined that working on these new martial branches would lead me to an Eighth Layer understanding of time and space.”

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