# Chapter 364: More Hearts of Laws

Lu Yuan froze at those words, staring at Mados in astonishment.

"Why?"

In Lu Yuan's eyes, the Heart of Laws was the most precious treasure in the entire universe. After all, it might take hundreds of millions of years for a single one to appear. The total number of Hearts of Laws in the universe probably amounted to only a few dozen—and some of those had already been consumed. Whether even ten still remained was an open question.

Something so extraordinarily rare, and Mados was saying he would have given it to Lu Yuan regardless?

Lu Yuan was bewildered.

Mados smiled and gestured toward the Aberrant Beasts beyond the Cosmic Boundary.

"Brother Lu Yuan, you can see for yourself—the Aberrant Beasts out there are virtually endless, constantly seeking to breach into our universe. And that's to say nothing of the Aberrant Beast Mother Nest, which surely harbors even more powerful creatures. We can barely hold them off now, but that doesn't mean we can hold them forever. If someone can shatter the current limit and reach Laws Rank, that would be a blessing for the entire universe. We've tried ourselves and know where our ceilings lie—our chances of breaking through are vanishingly small. But you're different. The talent you've demonstrated is extraordinary. You may well be the most promising candidate in all of history. That being the case, we of the Mechanical Race have no reason to hoard our resources. We'll do everything in our power to help you succeed."

Mados shook his head slightly and let out a sigh.

"Before this crisis, we might have harbored some selfish reservations. But now—a single breach point was captured, and our Mechanical Kingdom suffered catastrophic losses. It was a wake-up call. On our own, perhaps we can hold the line for a time, but certainly not forever. All I ask is that if you do reach Laws Rank someday, you wipe these Aberrant Beasts from existence."

Lu Yuan felt a complex mix of emotions at Mados's heartfelt words. This was clearly spoken from the depths of his soul. The endless war against the Aberrant Beasts had worn them all down.

Beside him, Nuxing and the other War Gods fell silent, gazes flickering as they reflected on the long years spent guarding the Cosmic Boundary.

The silence stretched on before Lu Yuan gave a solemn nod.

"If I break through to Laws Rank, I will gladly take up the mantle of defending this universe in your stead and annihilate every last Aberrant Beast. As long as I, Lu Yuan, still draw breath—this universe will stand."

A smile broke across Mados's face.

"Our Mechanical Kingdom currently possesses two Hearts of Laws. We'll give you both. Furthermore, this isn't repayment for what you've done—consider it an investment in the future guardian of this universe. Brother Lu Yuan, think about what else you might want."

Lu Yuan hadn't expected such generosity.

He thought it over and realized he genuinely didn't need anything else. With a smile, he said, "In that case, I'll take some Spirit Crystals, cultivation resources, Transcendent Genes—things of that nature."

He didn't need them himself, but Qinghe and the others still did. He might as well gather their cultivation resources all at once.

"That's it?"

Mados blinked in surprise.

*...Is this what it's like dealing with someone who has everything?*

Seeing Mados's stunned expression, Lu Yuan suppressed a grin and nodded. "Yes, that's all."

"Very well. We'll prepare everything right away," Mados said with a warm smile.

At that moment, Bingling spoke up—a figure whose body appeared entirely condensed from frost, radiating waves of biting cold.

"Brother Lu Yuan, we of the Elf Race also possess Hearts of Laws. Three in total. Your strength and talent surpass every War God alive—I too believe you have a genuine chance of reaching Laws Rank. Once we return, we'll discuss it with the others and arrange to provide those Hearts of Laws for your cultivation... though I do have a favor to ask."

Lu Yuan stiffened slightly, then felt a surge of elation.

*The haul from this trip is unbelievable!*

These were Hearts of Laws—treasures beyond measure. He'd already counted himself fortunate to receive two from the Mechanical Race. He never imagined the Elf Race possessed three more, let alone that they'd offer them so willingly.

He drew a deep breath, reined in his excitement, and looked at Bingling. "Senior Bingling, what is your request?"

Bingling spoke with measured gravity.

"Whether it was the Heavenly Calamity Cult in Human Race territory or the Blood of Machinery in the Mechanical Kingdom, you located their headquarters and destroyed them utterly. I want you to help us find the headquarters of the Aberrant Spirit Legion within Elf Race territory and work with us to annihilate them."

The moment Lu Yuan heard this, his mind jumped to the King of Flesh incubating within the Blood of Machinery's stronghold. Without hesitation, he nodded, his expression turning grave.

"About that—there's something I need to tell all of you."

The assembled War Gods tensed. If someone of Lu Yuan's caliber looked this grim, the matter had to be dire.

Nuxing spoke first. "Go ahead, Yuan. What is it?"

Lu Yuan gathered his thoughts. "I imagine Senior Mados and the others are already aware of the powerful Aberration monster I encountered while destroying the Blood of Machinery's headquarters."

He'd noticed the Battle Saint lurking at the periphery during the fight—clearly not a Blood of Machinery member. Lu Yuan hadn't paid much attention at the time, assuming it was a Mechanical Kingdom operative. And Mados's earlier remarks had confirmed he knew about the King of Flesh encounter.

The War Gods' expressions shifted. They nodded one after another.

Bu Chang asked, his voice heavy, "That's right—we haven't asked you yet. What exactly was that monster you encountered at the Blood of Machinery's headquarters? We heard it was extraordinarily powerful, strong enough to actually fight you to a standstill?"

"Yeah, Yuan," Kro added. "You're as powerful as they come. A creature that could match you in combat—is it really that strong?"

Lu Yuan nodded deeply. "Extremely. The creature called itself the King of Flesh. According to it, the King of Flesh is one of the Mother of Aberration's most powerful subordinates, with terrifying strength. When I found it at the Blood of Machinery's headquarters, it was still gestating—not yet fully hatched. I interrupted the process and forced it into a premature emergence."

"What?!" Mados cried, shock breaking through his composure. "That thing was incubating inside the Blood of Machinery's headquarters?!"

The others looked equally blindsided.

"It didn't come through the breach?!" Nuxing sputtered.

They had all assumed the creature had emerged from beyond the Cosmic Boundary. The revelation that it hadn't left them reeling.

Lu Yuan was momentarily taken aback—he hadn't expected them to reach that conclusion. He shook his head, expression dark.

"No. It was incubated at the Blood of Machinery's headquarters. You'd have to ask them for the specifics."

He gestured toward Garton and the other Blood of Machinery members standing quietly behind him.

Garton hurried to respond. "Master, the creature was a blessing we received from the Aberrant Beast Mother Nest through a ritual. It took hundreds of millions of years of incubation to reach that stage."

Shock rippled through the group. Every eye fixed on Garton, and for a long moment, no one could find words.

Lu Yuan pressed on. "Because the King of Flesh hatched prematurely, it wasn't at full power. Had it completed its gestation, it would have been even stronger. And furthermore—"

His brow furrowed before he continued.

"The King of Flesh's body was merely a Descended Avatar, projected from beyond the primordial Chaos through a ritual. It wasn't his true form. His real body is undoubtedly far more powerful still."

Dead silence.

The War Gods stared wide-eyed, horror etched across their faces.

The creature that had battled Lu Yuan to a near standstill—that was only a Descended Avatar? And not even a fully matured one?

For a moment, every mind went blank.

The silence held until the crimson-furred giant tiger from the Beast Race spoke, bitterness heavy in his voice. "A monster that powerful, and it isn't even the strongest thing behind the Aberrant Beasts... Can we truly protect our universe?"

Jinka's tongue flickered, but the voice that followed was cold steel, unyielding. "Even if we can't, we fight to the death. Without our universe, where would any of us call home?"

The others snapped out of their daze. Eyes met across the circle. These were War Gods who had weathered countless battles, faced Aberrant Beasts beyond counting. A single revelation wasn't enough to break their resolve.

Every face hardened with determination.

Something clicked in Nuxing's mind. He turned to Lu Yuan. "Wait—Yuan, when we purified Heavenly Calamity Star, that scream we heard... could that have been something similar?"

Lu Yuan nodded. "I've been thinking the same thing. The Heavenly Calamity Cult was likely attempting to incubate something akin to the King of Flesh. But their incubation period must have been far shorter—they probably couldn't even force a premature emergence the way the Blood of Machinery did."

A chill ran down Nuxing's spine. "Thank the stars we stopped it. Otherwise, we'd all be dead."

Lu Yuan gave a slight nod, silently agreeing that their timing had been fortunate. Had he encountered the King of Flesh back then, at best he could have saved his own life and fled—and even escape wasn't guaranteed. He might have needed to burn a resurrection.

And the truly terrifying thought: if a creature on par with the King of Flesh had appeared within Human Race territory, virtually no one could have stopped it. Every breach point would have fallen, and the entire domain would have become a graveyard.

While Lu Yuan mulled this over, the Elf Race and Beast Race War Gods exchanged uneasy glances. An ugly premonition settled over all of them.

Yingu bared his pale fangs in a grimace. "...The aberration organizations in our territories don't have something like that too, do they?"

Silence answered him.

If there were two more creatures like the King of Flesh...

The thought alone was enough to make skin crawl.

Bingling drew a deep breath, waves of frost surging outward, and fixed Lu Yuan with an intent gaze. "Brother Lu Yuan, I'm entrusting the matter of the Aberrant Spirit Legion to you."

Jinka spoke up immediately after. "Brother Lu Yuan, the same goes for our Beast Race's Aberrant Beast Nest! We're counting on you! Oh—and the Beast Race also has two Hearts of Laws. We'll hand those over to you as well!"