Chapter 516: Primal Chaos Era

Chapter 516: Primal Chaos Era

As Max continued speaking with Henry and the other geniuses from the mortal worlds, slowly growing familiar with their personalities, ambitions, and backgrounds, a deep, aged voice suddenly echoed across the grand hall like the toll of an ancient bell. “Everyone, head to the Ancient Dragon Totem training ground!” it commanded, resonating with such authority that silence immediately fell upon the gathered crowd.

Max instinctively turned toward the source of the voice, but his attention quickly shifted to Henry, who was already grinning with barely contained excitement.

“Ancient Dragon Totem training ground?” Max asked, surprised, not having heard of such a place before.

“Hehe, it’s finally time,” Henry said, his tone buzzing with anticipation. “You’re pretty lucky, Max. Everyone else here has been waiting all day just to enter the Ancient Dragon Totem grounds and choose a training area to comprehend the Laws. You? You made it just in time.”

His grin widened as he added, “That place is the pride of Obsidian Dragon City. Its ultimate treasure.”

As Henry spoke, a faint gleam flickered in his eyes, a reverence that even the most prideful geniuses didn’t bother hiding. “Those totems… they were left behind by some of the most terrifying powerhouses to ever walk the halls of the Black Dragon Palace. Legends say that some of them were etched into existence during the very shaping of the universe—born in the primal chaos of creation itself. These aren’t just stones. They’re conduits. Anchors to the source of all Divine Laws. To the essence of the existence itself.”

Max’s brows furrowed slightly. ‘Stone totems… etched from the chaos of the forming universe?’ It sounded exaggerated—impossibly lofty, even for a place like this. But Henry’s tone wasn’t joking.

“They say,” Henry continued, “that if you can truly comprehend the Laws inscribed within even one of those totems, and merge its truth with your own understanding, you can become someone whose grasp of the Laws surpasses even the top talents of the Divine Realm.”

‘Someone with one of the deepest comprehensions of Laws in the Divine Realm?’ Max’s eyes narrowed in disbelief. The Divine Realm—the realm of billions of worlds and heaven-defying monsters—how could a mere mortal from the lower domains achieve that level just by meditating before a stone?

Still, curiosity burned stronger than skepticism. “What exactly are those primal forming chaos stone totems?” Max asked quietly.

Listening to Max’s question, Henry’s expression shifted into one of deep reverence, his usual playful tone replaced by something almost sacred. His eyes seemed to glaze over slightly, not from distraction but from awe—as if he were speaking not from memory but from a place of longing etched into his soul.

In a slow, respectful voice, he said, “According to the ancient legends, before the universe as we know it ever came into being, there was only one thing—chaos. Boundless, formless, eternal chaos. The three thousand boundless worlds had not yet taken shape, the Divine Realm had not yet been born, and the laws that govern everything were still in their infancy, raw and untamed. That era… that was what they called the Primal Chaos Era.”

He paused, letting the weight of the words settle before continuing. “The Primal Chaos Era was where or when the first sparks of creation ignited, where the roots of all Laws—of Flame, Space, Time, Life, and Death—were born. And these stone totems… they are relics from that moment. Not created, but formed naturally from the condensation of source energy and nascent principles when the chaos first began to solidify into order. They are more than stone. They are echoes of the moment the universe took its first breath.”

Henry’s gaze turned toward the towering walls of the hall, as if he could already see the totems from where he stood. “In Obsidian Dragon City, there are three such primal forming chaos stone totems. Each one contains a trace—just a whisper—of the root of all Laws. People train their entire lives just to sit in front of one. Some don’t understand a thing… some receive an epiphany that changes them forever.”

Max stood frozen for a moment, his breath caught in his throat. If Henry’s words were true, if such totems truly existed and contained even a flicker of the universe’s original source, then what he had heard before was far from exaggerated.

It was entirely possible—through these totems—that one could gain a deeper comprehension of Laws than even the monstrous prodigies of the Divine Realm. For the first time, Max felt the magnitude of what it meant to step into Obsidian Dragon City… and the path he had chosen to walk.

But then, as Max processed everything Henry had said, a very obvious question clouded his thoughts—one that made him narrow his eyes in suspicion.

“Would a stone carved from the primal chaos at the beginning of the universe really be left behind in the mortal realms? Wouldn’t the great forces of the Divine Realm be envious? Wouldn’t they have already taken them away?” He asked.

In Max’s understanding, something as unfathomable as a primal chaos stone totem—an object born from the source energy of the universe’s formation—should only exist in the core training grounds of the Divine Realm, guarded by supreme powers or monopolized by ancient clans.

But Henry, clearly expecting such doubt, smiled and answered. “It’s a good question. But the truth is, while these stone totems are incredibly rare and precious, they aren’t quite up to the specialized standards of the Divine Realm. You see, during the birth of the universe, the primal chaos was unimaginably vast—endless, really—and source energy was so abundant that many such totems were naturally formed. Countless of them scattered across space and time, and though most were consumed or hidden, some fragments did survive in places like this.”

He paused for emphasis. “The three totems in Obsidian Dragon City? They’re only about a square foot in size each. And they’re of the lowest quality. Unlike the massive ones housed in the Divine Realm, these require extremely high comprehension to even begin understanding the Concepts or Laws they contain. In the Divine Realm, the totems are colossal, ancient beyond words, and infused with far more complete and direct principles. These ones… they’re more like faded echoes of the original.”

Max exhaled slowly, the answer settling into place in his mind. “I see…” he murmured with a nod of understanding. It made sense. Like fragments of a divine scripture lost to time, these remnants were valuable—but only to those capable of deciphering them.

“You’ve really been helpful,” Max said, glancing at Henry with genuine appreciation. “Thanks for sharing everything with me.”

“Hahaha!” Henry grinned brightly, clapping him on the back. “We geniuses of the mortal realms have to stick together, don’t we? You and I, we’re already brothers in arms the moment we walked through that gate.”

Their laughter mingled as the tension faded, and together, the two strode forward through the wide corridor. Finally, they reached the edge of the transmission platform where a soft golden glow illuminated the runes carved into its surface.

This was the center of the entire Obsidian Dragon City. Because of the limited resources and the massive amount of outstanding heroic elites, every round of meditation was only allowed to last for three days.

The reason that Henry and the others had been waiting here was to be next in line.

Within the Ancient Dragon Totem training grounds, a red-robed old man was already waiting there. As he saw all the young elites arrive, he said, “This is your first time coming to the Ancient Dragon Totem training ground. Here, there are a total of 35 Ancient Dragon totem stones. All of you have two hours to choose which totem stone you would like. In order to prevent conflict of choice, all of you will be judged on your attainments in Laws and Concepts, and the ones with the highest comprehension will have the first choice.”

“After you choose, everyone can enter their training area to meditate for three days. Three days later, no matter what you have perceived or what result you have, you must leave.”

He paused for a moment before giving everyone a warning. “Now, let me give you some choice advice. The primal forming chaos stone totems are excellent, but if you wish to perceive them it is simply impossible with your qualifications. Do not aim too high. Now, we shall start comparing comprehension of Concepts to decide the priority of choosing!”

Your gift is the motivation for my creation. Give me more motivation!