# Chapter 379: Completing the Origin Core

Lu Yuan followed Bingling back to Element Star, where she retrieved a Heart of Laws from the Elf Race treasury and handed it over.

Afterward, he escorted the two Beast Race War Gods, Jinka and Yingu, back to the Beast Domain and received the Beast Race's Heart of Laws as well.

Once he'd said his farewells, Lu Yuan and Nuxing returned to Sky-Mending City.

"Lu Yuan, now that everything's wrapped up, I'll head back. I need to return to guarding the border." Nuxing looked at him with a grin.

Lu Yuan nodded. "Right. I'll be heading back too. Once I've absorbed all the Hearts of Laws, my strength should improve even further."

"Ha! Then when the Aberrant Beast Mother Nest actually arrives, we'll be counting on you. Keep at it."

Nuxing clapped him on the shoulder with a laugh.

The two parted ways. Lu Yuan vanished from Sky-Mending City and returned to Great Qi Star.

Starlight rippled around his body as he pierced through the Land of Origin's defenses and slipped inside. From the moment he'd left the Upper Layer until now, less than a single day had passed in real time—and even within the Land of Origin, barely a day had elapsed.

Stellar Laws were simply that powerful. His efficiency was extraordinary.

After returning to the Land of Origin, Lu Yuan didn't rush to use his newly acquired Hearts of Laws. Instead, he descended to the Lower Layer.

He planned to seize this opportunity to find the remaining Guardians and complete the Origin Core as soon as possible. He already knew where they were—he'd sensed their locations long ago. And now that he'd made considerable progress with Spatial Laws, his travel speed was blazing fast even within the Land of Origin.

In the blink of an eye, he arrived above a vast ocean.

A circular island rose from the water, blanketed in dense forest, with a perfectly round lake at its center. The surface was utterly still, gleaming like polished jade.

Lu Yuan hovered above it, gazing down with a faint smile.

"Senior, would you come out for a moment?"

The instant his words faded, the lake erupted. A massive deep-blue fish burst from the water.

The creature was several thousand meters long, its pectoral fins spread wide like colossal wings. It floated in the air with streams of water swirling lazily around its body, deep blue eyes studying Lu Yuan.

"You're the inheritor? Here for the trial?"

Lu Yuan nodded with a smile. "Yes. I'm Lu Yuan, here to take the trial."

The great fish regarded him in silence for a moment, then spoke.

"It seems you've already passed one Guardian's trial. Very well—let me test your strength. The fate of the universe hangs in the balance, so don't expect me to go easy."

As he spoke, the currents around his body surged violently and his aura skyrocketed to a level rivaling even the Mirage Dragon's.

Lu Yuan smiled. "As it should be."

Stellar radiance blazed to life around him as a terrifying aura poured outward. Cracks fractured the surrounding space. The entire Lower Layer trembled under the pressure—ocean waves roared to towering heights, and schools of aquatic Feral Beasts fled in every direction.

"Laws Rank?!"

The great fish froze solid.

His entire body went rigid with disbelief.

*You're already at Laws Rank and you're only NOW coming for the trial?!*

*Is this some kind of joke?!*

Under the wash of stellar light, the great fish's aura quietly deflated.

Man and fish stared at each other. The atmosphere turned distinctly awkward.

Lu Yuan noticed the fish's peculiar expression and cleared his throat. "Senior... does this mean I've passed?"

The great fish was silent.

He wanted to smack someone. Then he let out a long sigh. "If you've reached Laws Rank, then Origin Will's goal has already been achieved... If power like yours can't pass the trial, what possibly could?"

He continued, "You've come for the Origin Fragment and the Heart of Laws, I take it?"

Lu Yuan nodded. "Yes, Senior. I feel my current strength may still not be enough to withstand the Aberrant Beast Mother Nest. I need to grow stronger."

The great fish fell silent, then gave a slow nod. "In that case, I'll give you what I've been guarding."

Two points of light materialized before his enormous head. One was a deep-blue cube—an Origin Fragment. The other, a transparent crystal—a Heart of Laws.

The moment the Origin Fragment appeared, the Origin Core inside Lu Yuan began to vibrate violently. The Fragment seemed drawn by an invisible force, streaking into his body as a bolt of light.

As the two merged, Lu Yuan felt his physical body undergo another transformation. Every aspect of his being improved once more.

However, he noticed the boost was less dramatic than what his breakthrough to Laws Rank had provided.

*Laws Rank really is something else.*

Of course, the greatest benefit of absorbing Origin Fragments wasn't raw power—it refined his spiritual perception and comprehension, making future Law insights far easier to attain.

After merging the Fragment, Lu Yuan stored the Heart of Laws. He now had a total of eight.

Putting it away, he smiled. "Thank you, Senior."

The great fish shook his head slightly, mist swirling around his body. "No need for thanks. Origin Will charged us with this duty—it's simply what we're meant to do. When the time comes to destroy the Aberrant Beast Mother Nest, just let me know. I'd like to do my part for the universe."

A flicker of warmth stirred in Lu Yuan's chest. Both the Mirage Dragon and this great fish had said the same thing. Born within this universe, they naturally wished to protect the home they shared. And it wasn't just them—Nuxing and the other War Gods felt the same way. Even Lu Yuan himself—wasn't his relentless training driven by that same desire?

He reined in his emotions and nodded solemnly. "I will. You have my word."

"Go on, then. Find the other Guardians. I need my rest."

The great fish waved a fin, privately savoring a spark of schadenfreude. He was rather looking forward to watching the others get the shock of their lives.

*Come to think of it, who gave him the first trial? They could have at least warned the rest of us about this kid. Nearly gave me a heart attack.*

He watched Lu Yuan vanish, then twisted his massive body back into the lake. The surface gradually stilled.

Lu Yuan next appeared above a mountain range bristling with enormous blades of dark iron, where he found the third Guardian.

A white tiger over fifty meters tall at the shoulder lay sprawled across the highest peak, resting. When Lu Yuan appeared, the tiger raised his head and fixed him with a gaze that condensed into terrifying sword-light, lancing toward him.

The sword-light dissolved long before it reached him.

A deep rumble of a voice emerged. "Who are you?"

Lu Yuan smiled. "I'm Lu Yuan, here to take the trial."

The white tiger squinted, sizing him up. "The inheritor?"

"That's right."

"After all these years, an inheritor finally appears. Very well, let me—"

Before the tiger could finish, he sensed the Stellar Laws radiating from Lu Yuan—and went rigid.

After a beat of silence, the white tiger coughed. "Ahem... very impressive. You've reached Laws Rank. Trial passed."

A Heart of Laws and an Origin Fragment drifted out from within his body. He flopped flat against the ground, the picture of resigned indifference.

*Already at Laws Rank. What's even the point of a trial?*

Lu Yuan chuckled, thanked the white tiger, and absorbed the Origin Fragment. His essence underwent another sublimation—his mind sharpened further, and every facet of his being improved markedly.

Bidding the white tiger farewell, Lu Yuan moved on to visit the remaining Guardians.

There was a black tortoise encased in an obsidian shell. A vermillion bird wreathed head to tail in scarlet flame. A pure-white horse radiating dense luminous power. And a silver celestial hound whose body contained its own pocket dimension.

Together with the white tiger, the great fish, and the Mirage Dragon, they made seven Guardians in total. Every last one of them ranked among the most powerful War Gods in existence.

Yet even the strongest—the celestial hound, who commanded Spatial Type Laws—was no match for Lu Yuan. Setting aside his Stellar Laws, even Lu Yuan's Spatial Laws had advanced enormously through cross-referencing insights from his stellar comprehension, surpassing the celestial hound's own mastery.

Against such overwhelming power, the black tortoise, vermillion bird, white horse, and celestial hound posed no challenge. Lu Yuan breezed through their trials and collected the final four Origin Fragments.

The moment he absorbed the celestial hound's Fragment—the last one—the Evolution Cube inside him erupted with blinding deep-blue radiance.

Then the entire Evolution Cube shattered, dissolving into streams of luminous motes that poured into his body.

Lu Yuan's consciousness expanded—connecting first with the entirety of the Land of Origin, then spreading further, reaching across the whole universe. He could feel the scars riddling the Upper Layer. He could sense the breaches in the Cosmic Boundary.

It was as though he had become the universe incarnate.

He was certain that with a single thought, he could reshape the environment of any region in the cosmos.

Astonished, he clenched his fist and murmured, "Is this the true power of Cosmic Origin?"

In a region of warped space, the silver celestial hound watched him and spoke slowly. "It seems you've fully merged with Cosmic Origin. From this moment on, you are the living embodiment of Origin Will. Such power is only natural."

Lu Yuan nodded. This power was on par with the Laws themselves. He had to admit—completing the Origin Core had exceeded his expectations.

The celestial hound regarded him intently. "Inheritor, as the embodiment of Origin Will, the future of this universe now rests in your hands. I hope you will take that responsibility seriously."

Lu Yuan gathered himself and nodded firmly. "Rest assured, Senior. I will."

"That is enough."

The celestial hound nodded, satisfied.

After parting with the celestial hound, Lu Yuan returned to the Upper Layer of the Land of Origin.

Back at the villa, he checked in with Li Qinghe and the others to let them know he was safe, then headed to the Training Hall.

The fact that the King of Destruction and the King of Corruption had been working together put him on edge. Perhaps they'd already learned that he had destroyed the King of Flesh, and had banded together to deal with him. The sudden invasion of the Upper Layer had been suspicious too—it might well be connected.

After all, their true bodies had always lurked beyond the Cosmic Boundary. There had to be some link between their true forms and their Descended Avatars. Now that Lu Yuan had destroyed the King of Corruption's and the King of Destruction's avatars as well, their true bodies would surely have noticed.

If his instincts were right, his next opponents would be the King of Flesh, the King of Corruption, and the King of Destruction in their true forms.

Or perhaps even the Mother of Aberration herself.

If even their Descended Avatars had been that powerful, the three Kings were surely at Laws Rank themselves. And the Mother of Aberration was likely no ordinary Laws Rank being.

With his current strength, he might not even be able to handle one of them. He needed to keep training—and he had no idea when they would arrive. Time was running out.

Inside the Gravity Room, Lu Yuan sat cross-legged. Counting the Hearts of Laws he'd received from the Guardians, he now possessed thirteen in total. He still had nine genes that hadn't reached Laws Rank. Thirteen Hearts of Laws—would that be enough?

He let out a slow breath and pushed the thought aside.

After a moment's deliberation, he chose Light Laws.

When he'd first begun comprehending Laws, difficulty had been a major factor in his decision. Now, with Stellar Laws as a reference framework and the fully completed Cosmic Origin enhancing his faculties to their peak, difficulty was no longer a meaningful concern.

Light Laws had a natural suppressive effect against Aberration. The sooner he mastered them, the better.

With his mind made up, Lu Yuan absorbed a Heart of Laws and began his comprehension of Light Laws.

Deep within the Chaos, at the heart of a colossal aberrant beast nest constructed from green bone, the King of Destruction suddenly opened his eyes. Blood-red flames flickered in their depths.

"My Descended Avatar is dead... It seems the King of Flesh was right. A wildcard has appeared in that universe."

"The King of Flesh has already set out. I must petition our master to go as well!"

He closed his eyes. Through a spectral green thread woven into his consciousness, he reached across to whatever lay at its other end.

A vast phantom materialized in his mind.

"My child, I already know your request. Go."

Before the King of Destruction could even speak, the phantom's boundless voice echoed through him. Elation surged through the King, and he nodded eagerly.

"Thank you, Master!"

At the same time, in a different region of the Chaos, within a nest of flesh dripping with green slime, the King of Corruption also made contact with the Mother of Aberration.

Then he steered his festering nest toward Lu Yuan's universe.