The vast, boundless space-time forcibly replaced the Mysterious Emperor Universe, enveloping the nine Chaos Great Saints within itâlike insects frozen in amber, crushed every moment under immense pressure.
All the laws and great Daos that governed the Mysterious Emperor Universe retreated, yielding to the eternal blazing sun suspended at the heart of space-time. Wherever its light touched became its domain.
âThe laws of this postnatal universe are already far more suppressive than the ones in the outer chaotic void⊠And now, even theyâre retreating? If this were the chaotic void, it would be the same.â
Savage Great Saint steadied himself, disbelief in his eyes.
âThis is⊠the ability only a Supreme Saint possesses? To form space with a single thought? Where the very laws of space-time are dictated by the self?â
âNo⊠No, not quite. The laws are yielding, but he hasn't rewritten them himself. Heâs not a Supreme Saint.â
He swallowed hard.
Even so, Lin Yuanâs current power had far surpassed them.
At least to Savage, there was no longer any point in fightingâhe knew he would lose.
âHow is he this strong?â
Dual-Source Great Saint was just as shaken. Back outside the Mysterious Emperor Universe, heâd managed to delay Lin Yuan for a moment with a killer move, which allowed him to enter first.
Back then, Lin Yuan had pressured himâbut only at a level appropriate to someone of equal rank.
Now? Equal?
âIf you all want to live,â
Lin Yuan stood in place, calmly overlooking the Chaos Great Saints.
âSwear now. Withdraw from this universe immediately, and do not return for ten thousand cosmic eras.â
Aside from Shadowfiend and Nine Phoenix, Lin Yuan held no particular grudge against the others. If they left willingly, he was willing to let them go.
Mainly because it was nearly impossible to kill them completelyâevery Chaos Great Saint had numerous means of preserving life. Even if they died here, they'd resurrect elsewhere.
Sometimes they didnât even need to die at all.
âWithdraw from this universe?â
Heiyao Great Saint, his domain compressed to only ten thousand miles around him, looked at Lin Yuan with a sour expression. âNot just leave the palaceâbut the entire universe?â
With Lin Yuanâs power now fully revealed, Heiyao had no intention of clashing head-on. He was willing to give up the palace and look elsewhere for opportunities.
If this universe could birth one Supreme Saint-level treasure, surely there were more to come.
Even if he couldnât get another Supreme Saint treasure, a Chaos Great Saint-level one would be enough. He didnât come all this way to leave empty-handed.
Dual-Source frowned.
âArenât you a bit too ambitious? Youâre not a Supreme Saint, yet youâre trying to act like one?â
The time-space Lin Yuan had created certainly overwhelmed even Heiyaoâs domain.
If Dual-Source had been alone, he wouldnât be saying anythingâhe had no way to resist that pressure.
But there were eight other Great Saints present, including two other top-tier ones.
Nine Chaos Great Saints togetherâif not enough to defeat Lin Yuanâcould at least put up a fight.
At the very least, Dual-Source was confident he could escape if things went south.
No matter how strong Lin Yuan was, he wasnât a Supreme Saint.
âIndeed.â
Savage glanced at Dual-Source and Heiyao, then stared at Lin Yuan. âYou can have the palaceâbut making us leave the entire universe? Thatâs going too far.â
Heâd been ripped off by the Eye of Ten Thousand Laws earlier, and he still felt the pain of that loss. He wasnât willing to back down now.
The more ordinary Great SaintsâTianlu, Nine Phoenix, Shadowfiend, and the othersâhesitated. Unlike the top-tier trio, they were beginning to sense true danger of falling.
Those three had ways to stay alive even in failure.
But the rest?
They could die hereâand while they might be resurrected, regaining peak strength would come at a heavy cost.
âWe only stand a chance of survival if all nine of us join forces.â
Dual-Source sent a mental message to the six.
Though weaker, the six could at least divide Lin Yuanâs attention somewhat.
That alone would lessen the burden on the three powerhouses.
âIf we back down, weâre giving up this entire universe. Let me tell you somethingâthe creator of this universe was a Supreme Saint close to invincible. His strength was beyond imagination.â
âHe left behind many treasures. What you see now is only the beginning. You really want to walk away from this?â
He was willing to share the intel just to win them over.
âA Supreme Saint nearly invincible?â
Tianluâs pupils contracted. He knew what that meant. Across all of chaotic void, only one Invincible Supreme Saint could exist per eraâmost eras didnât have one at all.
For Supreme Saints to acknowledge one of their own as invincible, that being had to be absolutely unmatchedâto the point where others gave up trying to fight.
Such beings were rarer than rare. And even being close to that level meant surpassing other Supreme Saints.
They had assumed the universeâs creator was a normal Supreme Saintâbut now?
Nine Phoenix, Shadowfiend, and the others began to change their minds.
A postnatal universe left behind by someone near Invincible Supreme Saint level? You might not see such a thing in ten million cosmic eras.
For newly ascended Great Saints like them, this was the opportunity of a lifetime.
Give it up, and they might never get another chance.
With that thought, Tianlu and the rest made up their minds.
First, this universe was even more valuable than theyâd thought.
Second, if Dual-Source was calling them to fight, he clearly had confidence.
He wouldnât have done this otherwise.
In just moments, six new sets of eyes gleamed with resolve.
They didnât believe that nine Chaos Great Saints working together couldnât match Lin Yuan.
âWhatâs going on?â
Many Chaos Venerables had been drawn over by the space-time fluctuations. Before even arriving, they saw the far-off space-time seemingly carved out, trapping the Great Saints within.
âThe Great Saints are fighting?â
âTsk, tsk. That kind of time-space restriction wasnât used earlier.â
âMakes senseâsomething big mustâve surfaced. Theyâre bound to fight over it.â
The Venerables watched from a distance. None dared covet the treasure anymore, but they were curious who would win it.
âSo youâve all chosen to stay.â
Lin Yuan smiled faintly at the nine Chaos Great Saints.
âIn that case, stay forever.â
Whooshâ
Space-time shrank rapidly.
The divine ability World generated an external universe that could, in theory, stretch across a trillion light-years.
But that was its maximum range. The more it shrank, the more its power condensedâbringing far greater pressure to bear.
âWhat do we call you?â Dual-Source asked, reforming into blue-gray light, space-time breaking and rebuilding around him.
The others looked to Lin Yuan as well.
Despite his dominance, they had to admit his power was extraordinaryâstrong enough to force Dual-Source and Heiyao to unite against him.
âA name?â Lin Yuan smiled.
âCall me Milky Way.â
Boomâ
Endless waves of space-time surged forth. The nine Chaos Great Saints were like lone boats at sea, on the verge of capsizing.
Back when he first left his home universe, Lin Yuan had kept a low profile, for safety. Even someone like Guming Venerable had posed a serious threat to him and humanity.
But now?
His power was close to unmatched among Chaos Great Saints. He could roam the chaotic void as he pleased.
No more need for secrecy.
âMilky Way?â
âMilky Way Great Saint?â
Dual-Source frowned. He hadnât heard of the name.
Only two possibilities:
One, Lin Yuan had made it up.
Two, he was from a time far more ancient than expectedâso long ago that his techniques and even his name had been forgotten.
Dual-Source leaned toward the latter.
With strength like this, there was no need for Lin Yuan to lie.
Fwooshâ
Before he could finish thinking, waves of space-time thundered down on him.
âTwin FusionâRend!â
Dual-Source was forced to go all-out, unleashing his fused power pathâs most devastating strike.
It consumed his very foundationâbut if he wanted to survive, he had no choice.
Tearâ
Terrifying rifts appeared as he ripped through space-time, trying to get close to Lin Yuan.
Only by closing the distance could he pose a threat.
But soon he realized something terrifying:
For every layer of space-time he tore open, a hundred more appeared to take its place.
It was like facing an endless wall, and though Lin Yuan was close in sight, it might as well have been a billion light-years away.
âMy fused power path⊠canât even reach him?â
Dual-Source was shaken.
To fight Lin Yuan, he had to threaten him. Otherwise, how could they force a retreat or negotiate?
But he couldnât even approach him.
âI can tear through the internal universes of peak Chaos Great Saints. But this⊠this time-space⊠What kind of foundation does it have?â
He tried again and again. The result was the same.
A chill ran down his spine.
âHeiyao Void!â
Heiyao erupted with dark power, forcing his domain to swell.
This move burned his core essence, elevating his domain to the Heiyao Void. Heâd never use it unless absolutely necessary.
Sure, it made him strongerâbut it would take ages to recover.
âExpand! Expand!â
He pushed with everything he had. The Heiyao Void widened brieflyâbut then the crushing space-time closed back in, shrinking it even further.
Even its original size could no longer hold.
âMy domain...â
He was stunned. This was the move heâd prepared to deal with Dual-Sourceâand it couldnât even resist Lin Yuan.
âDamn it!â
Savage wanted to strike tooâbut was immediately immobilized by the space-time. His strength had nowhere to go.
âMilky Way Great Saintâfight me in close combat!â he roared.
Melee was his specialtyâhis entire power path centered around it.
He had even prepared secret arts specifically to counter domain-based opponents.
But against Lin Yuanâs compressed space-time?
They were useless.
âClose combat?â Lin Yuan glanced at him. âYou canât even reach me. You want a brawl?â
He was skilled in martial combat tooâbut why bother, when his outer universe could handle them all?
âCondense.â
He looked at Savage, and the space-time closed in even tighter.
Tianlu, whoâd been planning to act, froze.
Seeing Dual-Source, Heiyao, and Savage all struggling as though trapped in quicksandâ
He felt terror bloom in his heart.
Whoosh!
Instead of attacking, Tianlu turned and fled with everything he had.
As for that plan to team up with Dual-Source?
âTeam up, your ass.â
...
20 chapters ahead on patreon: /David_Lord