Light and Darkness

In the Chaos, the colossal Flesh Nest carved through the void, sending violent surges of chaotic energy rippling in its wake.

The Flesh Nest was hurtling toward Lu Yuan's universe at tremendous speed.

At the Flesh Nest's core, the King of Flesh snapped his eyes open, deep green light flickering in his gaze.

"So even the Descended Avatars of the King of Destruction and the King of Corruption have been destroyed... far sooner than I anticipated."

The King of Flesh had assumed that after his own Descended Avatar's destruction, the powerful beings in that universe would need time to consolidate their strength.

Yet in so short a span, the Descended Avatars of both the King of Destruction and the King of Corruption had been annihilated — simultaneously at that.

"That means the Aberrant Followers in that universe must be drastically reduced by now."

Cold light flashed in the King of Flesh's eyes. Green luminescence rippled across his body, and the colossal Flesh Nest began to accelerate.

"Push the pace."

Though the King of Corruption and King of Destruction also intended to travel to that universe, the King of Flesh had no intention of waiting for them.

A fresh universe, brimming with Cosmic Origin — if he could devour and absorb it, his power would advance enormously. As for whoever had defeated the Descended Avatars, they had perhaps reached Laws Rank by now, but the King of Flesh wasn't particularly concerned.

Laws Rank was not monolithic.

At the very least, throughout all previous scouting by Aberrant Followers and their Corruption campaigns, no Laws Rank cultivator had ever been detected in that universe. Even if one existed now, they would only be freshly emerged.

The King of Flesh didn't believe a newly minted Laws Rank warrior posed any real threat to him.

If it truly proved difficult to corrupt that universe when the time came, he could simply wait for the King of Corruption and King of Destruction to arrive.

For now, he intended to take the lion's share.

With the Aberrant Spirit Legion and the Aberration Beast Tides annihilated, no major threats remained within the universe.

Attacks from Aberrant Beasts beyond the Universe Bubble never ceased, and while they grew gradually stronger, they remained manageable.

The entire universe settled into a rare calm.

Time passed. Ten years of Land of Origin time.

In Sky-Mending City, invisible ripples spread outward, and a golden radiance slowly bloomed, bathing the once-dim sky in brilliant light.

Every Gene Warrior in the city felt a gentle warmth seeping into their bodies, and the wounds they carried began to heal.

They froze, then stared wide-eyed at the golden light, bewilderment plain on their faces.

"What is this...?"

"What's going on? How is there such overwhelming light force?"

"This phenomenon — doesn't it look like those stellar phantoms from before?"

"Could another War God be comprehending Laws? Which one this time, I wonder?"

The Gene Warriors buzzed with speculation. Meanwhile, Li Qinghe and the others — done with their cultivation for the day and gathered in the living room — felt the light force wash over them and immediately rushed outside.

Amy's eyes lit up, a smile spreading across her face.

"It's that big liar! He's comprehending Light Laws?"

Yeye and Li Qinghe, standing nearby, looked puzzled.

Li Qinghe frowned slightly as she sensed the light force, a trace of confusion crossing her expression.

"Strange... why isn't this light force suppressing the dark energy in my body?"

Yeye nodded quietly. "Same here."

Anastasia offered a guess. "Perhaps that's simply the nature of Light Laws?"

The others exchanged glances and could only accept that explanation.

A moment later, Ruoshui appeared above Sky-Mending City. She took one look at the luminous phenomenon in the sky and a smile touched her lips.

"It seems the new Laws comprehension is progressing nicely!"

Ruoshui had been dropping by Sky-Mending City from time to time during this period, keeping watch for Lu Yuan in his seclusion.

Since the Aberration organizations had all been destroyed, she no longer had to worry about a sudden Aberration incursion. Between that and her many other duties, she hadn't maintained a constant watch — but she came at the first sign of any development.

Now, sensing the Light Laws phenomenon, she felt a surge of excitement.

The last time such a phenomenon had appeared was during his Stellar Laws comprehension, which had also only manifested after he reached a certain depth. This time had taken a bit longer, but it appeared to be going smoothly all the same.

Ruoshui intended to stay and keep watch. If Lu Yuan truly succeeded in comprehending a second Law, it would be wonderful news for all of them.

Inside the cultivation chamber.

Lu Yuan sat cross-legged on the floor, his consciousness adrift in a vast luminous expanse.

Gentle Light Force enveloped him. The evolution space generated by the Heart of Laws transformed that Light Force into rolling suns and countless special Runes drifting through the air around him.

Light Laws was proving slightly harder to comprehend than Stellar Laws had been. Lu Yuan suspected it was because his Origin Core had contributed enormously during that earlier breakthrough, effectively carrying part of the load.

This time, he was working at a more natural pace — though it was worth noting that after fully merging with the Cosmic Origin, his comprehension ability far exceeded what it had once been.

Furthermore, having already mastered Stellar Laws, he could draw on analogous principles to gain an initial foothold in Light Laws.

Even so, it had taken him considerable time to reach this point. It made it easy to understand why, across billions of years, not a single Laws Rank cultivator had ever appeared in this universe.

His comprehension pressed on, and time continued to flow.

Thirty more years of Land of Origin time.

The Light Force that had long blanketed Sky-Mending City suddenly contracted. The golden radiance drew inward, condensing into a single golden sun that hung suspended in the sky.

The golden sun radiated a gentle warmth. Wherever its light touched, the cracks in the sky began to exhale wisps of faint green mist. Beyond the city walls, countless Feral Beasts were engulfed by the light, crumpling in agony as thin tendrils of mist seeped from their bodies. Wastelands scarred by Corruption exhaled dark-green vapor; the malevolent aura faded from the earth, and life slowly returned.

The Light Force was purifying the effects of Corruption.

The Gene Warriors hunting Aberrant Feral Beasts out in the wilds froze at the sight. They stared, dumbstruck, as the corrupted creatures writhed and crumbled to ash before them, and watched as the blighted land steadily recovered.

"The Corruption effects are vanishing... vanishing this fast?!"

A member of the Nightshade Race stared at the soil regaining its vitality, her voice barely above a whisper.

Beside her, an Elf tilted his head toward the distant sun above Sky-Mending City. Even from so far away, its rays felt warm.

"It's that sun!" he exclaimed, eyes wide with wonder. "It's incredible — it can cleanse Corruption this effortlessly?!"

Everyone was utterly stunned.

Inside Sky-Mending City, Ruoshui's gaze sharpened, delight blooming in her expression.

"It's changed... the Light phenomenon has shifted. This means Lu Yuan's comprehension has reached a new threshold."

Beside her, Bu Chang nodded, his normally impassive face alight with undisguised excitement.

"Ha ha ha ha! I finally make the trip over here, and I get to witness something this spectacular! If things keep going this way, won't Lu Yuan soon have a second Law?"

Bu Chang had spent this period holding back Aberrant Beasts and had only just managed to visit Sky-Mending City to check on Lu Yuan's progress — he certainly hadn't expected to walk into something like this. Naturally, he was overjoyed.

Ruoshui nodded. "When he was comprehending Stellar Laws, a similar shift occurred. This should mean he's close to succeeding."

"Wonderful! Wonderful!"

Another twenty years of Land of Origin time passed.

The golden sun grew steadily larger and brighter. Then, at last, white flames ignited within it — spreading until they consumed the sun entirely, both blazing together.

The process continued for some time. Then the white flames began to slowly fade.

War Gods like Ruoshui, the women of Li Qinghe's group, the Tianming Sage, every Gene Warrior in the Land of Origin — all of them watched in silence.

As the white flames dwindled away, everything seemed to return to normal. Yet the sky around Sky-Mending City, though still dim, had shed the green haze entirely, and the Spatial Rifts that had intermittently torn open were disappearing one by one. Even across the vast region surrounding the city, every trace of Corruption had been cleansed.

All of it — the byproduct of the phenomenon that had manifested during Lu Yuan's comprehension of Light Laws.

Inside the Training Hall, Lu Yuan slowly opened his eyes. His normally dark irises had turned pure gold, radiating a gentle, luminous clarity.

Gradually, the golden light faded, and his eyes returned to normal.

He let out a slow breath, felt the enormous surge in his physical power, and couldn't help but smile.

Another Law comprehended. Another segment of his Gene Chain had vanished, and his strength had taken another tremendous leap.

And yet there was more.

Because Light Laws and Dark Laws existed as polar opposites, comprehending one had granted him an intuitive foothold in the other. *Without light, how can there be darkness?*

He was confident that with this insight, mastering Dark Laws would come far more easily.

Beyond that, Light Laws carried considerable healing ability and held a significant affinity for life — which had given him unexpected insight into Life Laws as well.

Delight gleamed in his eyes. At this rate, it might not be long before he could master both.

No time to waste.

He decided to strike while the iron was hot and begin immediately. He took out another Heart of Laws — this time, his target was Dark Laws.

Outside the Training Hall, with the phenomenon gone, Ruoshui and the others waited for Lu Yuan to emerge.

But after a while with no sign of him, Ruoshui, Nuxing — who had come to watch the spectacle — and Kro all looked at each other, stumped.

Kro scratched his head. "What's going on? Where's Lu Yuan? Why isn't he coming out?"

Nuxing frowned. "Could something have gone wrong?"

Ruoshui's brow creased. "Maybe he's still comprehending?"

They weren't the only ones waiting. Li Qinghe and the others had been watching for Lu Yuan with eyes full of longing.

Rebecca grinned. "Finally — it should be over soon. It's been so long since we've seen him."

Beside her, Si Tingxue gave a small nod, a quiet ache in her gaze.

After all, sixty years of Land of Origin time had passed during Lu Yuan's Light Laws comprehension — nearly five years in the outside world. None of them had ever been apart from him for this long. The longing inside had nearly reached its limit.

Shuangyue wore a wicked smile. "When Lu Yuan finally comes out, we absolutely have to spend tonight properly... catching up with him."

Si Tingyu's cheeks went pink and she shot Shuangyue a glare. "Is that all you ever think about?"

Shuangyue glanced at her sideways and draped an arm over Si Tingyu's shoulder. "Or would you rather just sit on the sidelines and watch?"

Si Tingyu: "..."

She averted her gaze slightly. "I'm not the antisocial type."

But after waiting longer still, there was no sign of Lu Yuan, and they exchanged glances, worry creeping in.

Li Qinghe frowned. "What's happening? It's been so long and he still hasn't come out. Could something be wrong?"

Wang Lingling narrowed her eyes. "I doubt it. He's probably still comprehending — maybe it just isn't over yet."

The moment Wang Lingling finished speaking, a new phenomenon erupted overhead.

This time — absolute darkness.

Darkness swallowed Sky-Mending City whole, so complete that one couldn't see a hand in front of one's face. Yet the Laws Force woven through that darkness made Yeye, Small White, and Li Qinghe freeze where they stood. They could feel it — their genes responding to the Laws Force, beginning to stir.

"Hm?"

Everyone caught the change and turned to look.

Amy blinked. "This is just like what happened with Lingling before — is this Dark Laws? Don't tell me that big liar has gone and comprehended another one?!"

When the Light Laws phenomenon had occurred, Wang Lingling — possessing Light Type genes of her own — had naturally reaped considerable benefits. Now it was Li Qinghe, Yeye, and Small White's turn.

"He's actually already comprehending another Law?"

Si Tingyu and the others were filled with a mix of surprise and joy. There was a twinge of disappointment that Lu Yuan still wouldn't be coming out — but the exhilaration of witnessing his breakthrough swept that away.

Nor was it just Li Qinghe's group. Even the Tianming Sage, who had been eagerly awaiting Lu Yuan's exit, was now drawn into a state of comprehension. Ruoshui, Nuxing, and Kro stared wide-eyed, the breath knocked from their lungs.

After a beat of stunned silence, Nuxing threw his head back and roared with laughter.

"Ha ha ha ha ha! So that's it! No wonder the kid didn't come out — he moved straight on to something else, has he?"

Kro couldn't contain himself either, laughing with infectious delight. "Brilliant! It looks like he's already fully mastered Light Laws, and now he's working on Dark Laws — that'll be his third!"

Ruoshui recovered from her shock, the ghost of a smile curling her lips. The composed elegance of her expression gave way to something warmer.

The stronger Lu Yuan became, the more it was exactly what they all wanted to see.

Knowing he had already begun comprehending his third Law, their excitement knew no bounds.