Chapter 578

Blazing Yang surged forth.

With just a slight activation of the Blazing Sun Divine Body, Lin Yuan naturally formed a blazing Yang world that instantly pinned down all the war machines from Zimeng Domain below, rendering them immobile.

This was the terrifying enhancement brought by over thirty thousand Seeds to the Blazing Sun Divine Body.

Buzz, buzz, buzz.

Under Lin Yuan’s watchful gaze, the war machines from Zimeng Domain below began to fall into an irreversible state of "self-destruction."

“What a shame.”

Lin Yuan only needed a glance to understand that he couldn’t stop this kind of self-destruction.

Every war machine—even the lowest-tier Gamma—was one of a kind. The Chaos rune patterns they contained were top secrets of their respective ancient kingdoms.

Because of that—

Each war machine was inscribed with a self-destruct rune. Once control was lost, it would self-destruct immediately.

If it didn’t self-destruct and fell into enemy hands, the Chaos rune patterns within could be studied and copied, making it possible to recreate identical war machines.

This was something the ancient kingdoms could not tolerate.

Earlier, when Lin Yuan had seen Great Sovereign Leige strike the Beta Intermediate War Machine, he had immediately intervened out of concern that the attack might trigger the self-destruct runes inside.

“Still, even with the self-destruction, there will be material remnants left behind. They’re still quite valuable.”

Lin Yuan looked at the crumbling war machines one after another.

The crafting of a war machine not only required inscribing corresponding Chaos rune patterns—its materials were also extremely precious.

After all, they had to withstand the combined power of hundreds or even thousands of Dominance-stage powerhouses and amplify that power. If the materials were even slightly inferior, they wouldn’t be able to unleash an attack capable of threatening a Great Sovereign. The structure would collapse instantly.

“These leftover materials, plus the merit gained from defeating the enemy, should be considerable. I can exchange them for plenty of cultivation resources.”

Lin Yuan was in a good mood.

He also glanced toward Great Sovereign Leige, who had already fled deep into Zimeng Domain.

Leige’s strength was far superior to that of the Ninefold Sovereign from the Chaos Void.

If Lin Yuan had tried to kill him outright, he could have done it—but it would’ve required a chase.

That would mean venturing deep into enemy territory, and the variables would increase dramatically. If multiple peak Great Sovereigns joined forces against him—or a Heavenly Sovereign appeared—Lin Yuan might not escape unscathed.

So Lin Yuan had no intention of trying to keep Leige here.

“My strength is still too weak.”

“If I’d fully cultivated the second layer of

Infinite Void

and reached near-invincible Great Sovereign power, I would’ve had the confidence to take down Leige.”

Lin Yuan thought to himself.

If he could kill a Great Sovereign-level enemy like Leige, he would earn an enormous amount of merit.

Even if Leige had life-saving methods and couldn’t truly die, it would still take time for him to return to full power.

There was a good chance he wouldn’t be able to rejoin the war for a while.

All of that would be counted toward Lin Yuan’s merit.

During wartime, killing the true body of an enemy Great Sovereign was never easy, since they almost never moved alone.

So being able to kill one meant the reward would be very generous.

Rustle—

After confirming that Leige wouldn’t dare return, Lin Yuan flipped his hand, and the Beta Intermediate War Machine appeared, landing nearby.

To keep it from being damaged, Lin Yuan hadn’t taken it out until now.

“Great Sovereign.”

“Thank you for your help, Great Sovereign.”

From within the Beta Intermediate War Machine, the one-horned man Luo Peng and the other Dominance-stage commanders all flew out together, expressing their immense gratitude to Lin Yuan.

They were now well aware that if not for Lin Yuan, they’d probably be dead under Leige’s strike.

“It’s nothing.”

Lin Yuan shook his head. “The enemy has been routed. You all go clean up the battlefield.”

All the war machines from Zimeng Domain had self-destructed. As for the many Dominance-stage powerhouses inside, they had all become Lin Yuan’s prisoners of war.

There were established understandings among the ancient kingdoms for how to handle prisoners of war—

That is, they would be exchanged after the war through a "ransom" system.

So Lin Yuan didn’t mistreat them—he simply locked them up in a random corner of his internal universe.

“Yes, sir.”

“Yes, sir.”

“The moment Great Sovereign made his move, Leige fled in a panic!”

At that moment, Luo Peng and the others couldn’t help but praise him.

Although they had been inside the war machine when Lin Yuan collected it, they had a rough idea of what had happened through communication with their avatars.

“Defeating Leige isn’t much. Whether we win or lose the war depends on the core frontline.”

Lin Yuan lightly shook his head. He had a clear sense of his own limits.

Compared to a war spanning dozens of major domains, he couldn’t influence the outcome much.

“But still, it was a victory on this section of the front.”

Luo Peng immediately replied.

“Alright, you may go.”

With that, Lin Yuan’s figure vanished.

After he left—

Luo Peng and the other Dominance-stage peak experts looked up.

“We thought we’d be in for a brutal battle. Who knew it would end so quickly?” one of them remarked with emotion.

“It’s all thanks to Milky Way Great Sovereign,”

Luo Peng said.

“Yes, all because of Milky Way Great Sovereign.”

The others nodded. Without him, even if they had managed to withstand the enemy, the cost would’ve been immense—some war machines might have been forced to self-destruct.

Lin Yuan returned to the rear of the defense line.

There, he observed the clashes between the peak Great Sovereigns on the core frontline.

Half a day later—

The peak Great Sovereigns on both sides gradually began to withdraw.

Since the war had just begun, the Great Sovereigns on both sides were primarily probing each other—no one was going all out yet.

A direct victory like Lin Yuan’s over Leige was extremely rare.

A while later—

Just as Lin Yuan was about to resume studying the war machines—

Qingfen Marquis’s incarnation arrived.

“Milky Way.”

Qingfen Marquis looked at Lin Yuan with a beaming smile, filled with pride.

Lin Yuan’s performance had earned him great prestige among the peak Great Sovereigns.

Many peak Great Sovereigns were unmatched in combat, but when it came to mentoring disciples, they fell short.

Even producing a single Great Sovereign disciple was difficult—let alone one close to the peak.

“Prince Chisong wants to see you.”

Qingfen Marquis got straight to the point.

“Prince Chisong wants to see me?” Lin Yuan was a bit surprised.

This "Prince Chisong" referred to Chisong King. Members of the royal family who were given the title of king generally preferred to be addressed as “Your Highness.”

“That’s right.”

Qingfen Marquis nodded.

“Don’t worry—it’s a good thing.”

He explained, “Your defeat of Leige may not have happened at the core frontline, but it still boosted our morale. His Highness is very pleased.”

“When His Highness is happy…”

Qingfen Marquis looked at Lin Yuan. “If you have any requests, now’s the time to make them. Even if he doesn’t agree, no harm done. But if he does, that’s a big win.”

“It works like that?” Lin Yuan blinked.

“When His Highness is pleased, a lot of things become negotiable,” Qingfen Marquis said.

He understood Chisong King well.

“I’ll take you there now.”

Qingfen Marquis immediately took Lin Yuan and began transmigrating through the void.

After just a few dozen jumps, they arrived at a small floating city. Though it only spanned several billion li, it was the size of a small cultivation sanctuary.

Whoosh—

Qingfen Marquis brought Lin Yuan to a pavilion inside the city.

“Your Highness, Milky Way is here.”

Qingfen Marquis announced.

“Come in.”

A warm voice answered.

Lin Yuan followed him inside and saw Chisong King seated in the center of the pavilion.

Chisong King was also a Great Sovereign-level powerhouse, but the pressure he exuded was far greater than that of Qingfen Marquis—far beyond even Redleaf Great Sovereign.

“Milky Way, sit.”

Chisong King smiled at Lin Yuan, without a trace of royal arrogance.

Lin Yuan immediately took a seat.

“You performed brilliantly on the battlefield. I’m very pleased,” Chisong King said with a smile. “So, tell me—what reward would you like?”

Qingfen Marquis stood silently to the side.

“A reward…”

Lin Yuan had already been briefed by Qingfen Marquis and knew this was the perfect moment to make a bold request—even if it failed, it wouldn’t be held against him.

“What should I ask for?” Countless thoughts flashed through Lin Yuan’s mind.

Resources? There were many ways to obtain them—no need to waste this opportunity.

“Your Highness,” Lin Yuan spoke after just a moment’s thought, “I’d like to study an Alpha War Machine.”

Up to now, the war machines Lin Yuan had access to were only Beta Intermediate.

That level was already the limit. As for the higher-tier Alpha war machines, only the core frontline had them.

Even if Lin Yuan went there, the commanders were all peak Great Sovereigns. For him to study a war machine as freely as he had at the Ding Frontline?

That would be nearly impossible.

Even if Qingfen Marquis helped him behind the scenes, it wouldn’t escape Chisong King’s notice.

“Study an Alpha War Machine?”

Qingfen Marquis’s expression changed slightly.

He hadn’t expected Lin Yuan to dare make such a request.

Alpha War Machines could house thousands to tens of thousands of peak Dominance-stage powerhouses. A single strike from them could threaten even peak Great Sovereigns.

Such machines could shift the tide of localized battles. Even Qingfen Marquis himself wasn’t qualified to approach one at will.

To him, the chance of this request being granted was low.

If Lin Yuan had just asked for a rare treasure, Qingfen Marquis believed Chisong King would have agreed. But an Alpha War Machine?

If Chisong King dared say yes, he’d also bear some risk himself.

If the Chaos rune patterns within the machine were leaked after Lin Yuan studied it, Chisong King would be the one held responsible.

“An Alpha War Machine?”

Chisong King raised his eyebrows and shook his head. “You sure know how to ask.”

Hearing that, Lin Yuan immediately realized that the importance of an Alpha War Machine was even greater than he’d anticipated.

“But who told you to make me this happy?”

Chisong King smiled at Lin Yuan. “Since you want to study an Alpha War Machine, then any that are deployed in this war—you may study them all.”

...

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