A Horrified King of Flesh

In the Chaos beyond the breach, the colossal Flesh Nest emerged slowly from the depths of the churning mist.

Hordes of Aberrant Beasts swarmed around it, and its terrifying pressure raged in every direction.

"It's here!"

Mados and Kulos — their mechanical eyes flickering — went rigid.

At that moment, an aura of overwhelming power seeped outward. Every Mechanical Warrior felt a chill grip their heart, bodies trembling faintly. Even Mados and Kulos went utterly still.

They stared toward the distant Flesh Nest, dread flooding through them.

The pressure was suffocating.

Outside the Flesh Nest, the King of Flesh floated in the void, his expression blank as he surveyed the mechanical fortifications at the breach.

"Finally arrived... and this handful of insignificant ants is all that guards the breach in this Universe Bubble?"

Green light shimmered around him as he drifted slowly toward the gap.

Land of Origin, Upper Layer — Sky-Mending City.

Lu Yuan sat cross-legged in the Gravity Room, his comprehension of Death Laws in its final stage — just a hair's breadth from full mastery.

Then, without warning, he sensed an enormously powerful aura stirring beyond the boundary of the universe.

With Stellar Laws at his command, Lu Yuan had always been able to sense every presence within the cosmos. But after merging with the Cosmic Origin Core, he had become something akin to the will of the universe itself, and his perception of it had grown immeasurably. Now, he could feel it with perfect clarity: an extraordinarily powerful presence closing in on the Cosmic Boundary.

It was a Laws Rank aura.

Lu Yuan's eyes snapped open. Gray-white light — the color of death — swirled within his gaze, lingering long after it should have faded.

Death Laws was almost his. Just that final fragment remained. But this was no longer the time for comprehension.

A sharp light crossed his eyes. He vanished.

Outside Sky-Mending City, the gray, deathly stillness that had blanketed the area slowly dissipated. Ruoshui and her three companions froze, exchanging startled looks.

"Is that... did his comprehension end?"

Bu Chang asked.

Kro frowned. "That doesn't add up. The final phenomenon never changed — it didn't look like he'd reached complete mastery."

"Then what happened?"

They looked at one another in confusion.

Just then, Ruoshui paused and drew out her Communication Crystal. It was pulsing with white light.

She answered. A beautiful woman with long blue hair appeared in the display, her face tight with fear.

"My lady, something terrible has happened! A Laws Rank Aberrant Beast has appeared at the Mechanical Kingdom — immensely powerful. The War Gods there are requesting reinforcements!"

The words landed like a stone. All four of them went still, the air falling heavy for a moment.

Ruoshui's voice came out sharp. "What?! Laws Rank?!"

Kro, Bu Chang, and Nuxing's expressions all shifted at once.

"The Aberration has been invading our universe for this long and not once has a Laws Rank appeared — why suddenly now?"

Kro shook his head, struggling to accept it.

Then Nuxing's eyes sharpened. "Could it be because of the Descended Avatars?"

The other three paused — then understood.

"Our universe had no Laws Rank fighters, so the Aberrant Beast Mother Nest assumed those Descended Avatars would be enough to corrupt us completely," Bu Chang said, jaw tight. "But now that A-Yuan has killed all of them, a Laws Rank Aberrant Beast is coming in person."

"So what do we do?" Kro asked.

"What do we do? In this situation, we can only get word to A-Yuan. Without him, none of us stand a chance against something at Laws Rank."

Ruoshui hated to interrupt Lu Yuan's comprehension, but a Laws Rank existence had appeared — this was an existential crisis for the entire universe. If he didn't act, no one could.

"Wait... the Laws phenomenon just disappeared. Does that mean..."

Bu Chang's expression shifted as realization struck. The others caught on a beat later.

"A-Yuan already sensed it and left on his own?!"

Nuxing said.

Their expressions flickered. Ruoshui spoke quickly: "That's still just a guess. You three head to the Mechanical Kingdom now — I'll go to the Training Hall and check if A-Yuan is still there. If he's gone, I'll come straight to join you. If he's still there, then I'll have to interrupt him."

The other three nodded, then headed for the departure hall, preparing to leave the Land of Origin.

It wasn't only the Human Race stirring. In the Elf Domain, with the Aberrant Spirit Legion completely annihilated by Lu Yuan, the Elf Race's War Gods had enjoyed a rare stretch of quiet — no Aberration organization left to cause trouble.

But the Mechanical Kingdom's distress call shattered that calm, sending every Elf Race War God reeling.

On Elemental Star, Bingling's face was drawn tight. She looked at the three other Elf Race War Gods beside her and spoke.

"We go. If the Mechanical Kingdom falls, the entire universe falls with it."

"Move!"

The other three nodded, their expressions grave.

In the Beast Domain, on Savage Star, Jinka, Yingu, and the other Beast Race War Gods looked no better.

"We support the Mechanical Kingdom."

Jinka said it slowly, cold killing intent filling her eyes.

Yingu let out a slow breath. "Let's hope A-Yuan can handle a Laws Rank Aberrant Beast. Otherwise..."

The assembled Beast Race War Gods fell silent.

What came after *otherwise* — they all knew. If even Lu Yuan couldn't stop a Laws Rank Aberrant Beast, the universe was finished.

The Beast Race War Gods filed through their teleportation formation and left Savage Star, bound for the Mechanical Kingdom.

At the gap defense line, Mados, Kulos, and the assembled Mechanical Warriors felt the King of Flesh's crushing aura pressing down on them, and their hearts sank.

Mados and Kulos exchanged a glance and tightened their grips on their greatswords.

Just that slow, steady approach was enough to fill them with dread. They couldn't imagine whether they'd still have the courage to attack when the Laws Rank Aberrant Beast finally stood before them.

It wasn't just the two of them — many of the Mechanical Warriors behind them were trembling uncontrollably, their feet instinctively carrying them backward. It was the survival instinct of living creatures stripped raw.

Only their iron will as garrison soldiers kept them at their posts. Weaker men would have dropped their weapons and fled long ago.

The King of Flesh arrived swiftly at the edge of the breach.

He didn't enter immediately. His gaze swept across the defenders, settling on Mados and Kulos at the front.

An eerie light moved behind his deep green eyes as his voice came out cold:

"Summon the strongest in your universe. Let me see what resistance you wretched ants can muster before the end."

The words hit Mados and Kulos like a physical blow.

Just as they were about to respond, the King of Flesh went still — then snapped his head up, eyes fixed on the void ahead of them.

The sudden shift left Mados and Kulos puzzled.

Then they saw it. In the vacuum before them, starlight flickered — and Lu Yuan's figure appeared without warning.

The sight of his back filled them both with a rush of relief.

"It's Brother Lu Yuan!"

Mados dropped his voice to an urgent growl. "Brother Lu Yuan, be careful — this thing is Laws Rank!"

Lu Yuan paid the warning no mind. He simply stared ahead at the King of Flesh, expression calm.

He was no stranger to the creature before him. After all, the one he'd destroyed back at the Blood of Machinery headquarters had been this creature's Descended Avatar — identical in appearance.

*But the gap in aura... that's on a completely different level.*

The King of Flesh before him was Laws Rank — genuinely powerful, far beyond that Descended Avatar.

As Lu Yuan studied the King of Flesh, the King of Flesh studied him in return. Light moved behind those deep green eyes, carrying a hint of surprise:

"So you are Laws Rank after all. Unexpected — a universe this young, and it still managed to produce someone at this level."

There was a thread of cold indifference in his voice.

Seeing that the King of Flesh was willing to talk, Lu Yuan held off from attacking. He wanted information — especially about the Aberrant Beast Mother Nest.

Lu Yuan met those green eyes and asked, his voice level:

"What exactly are you? Why are you here to corrupt our universe?"

The King of Flesh blinked — then laughed.

"Why corrupt your universe? Your universe is nothing but food to our kind. Consuming it helps us grow. That's all this is. Survival of the fittest."

Lu Yuan's eyes narrowed slightly. "It sounds like you've destroyed quite a few universes."

The King of Flesh curled his lips, expression oddly amused. "Do you remember every meal you've ever eaten?"

Lu Yuan was quiet for a beat. Then a faint smile crossed his lips. "Are you the strongest of your kind? If I kill you here, will your forces fall apart?"

"The strongest?" The King of Flesh laughed. "No, no, no. We are merely children of the Mother. The Mother's power is something beyond your comprehension. And as for killing me—" his voice sharpened— "only the blissfully ignorant would dare think it possible."

As he spoke, green light blazed around him and his aura erupted outward, crashing toward Lu Yuan like a tide.

Wherever it swept, the Cosmic Boundary shuddered — a more violent tremor than hundreds of billions of Aberrant Beasts eroding it together could produce. Within the universe, the vacuum tore open and storms erupted in an instant, painting the picture of some world-ending catastrophe.

Lu Yuan stood unmoved, letting the pressure wash over him without so much as a ripple.

Behind him, though, Mados and Kulos both grunted and staggered back several steps. The other Mechanical Warriors simply crumpled — trembling, collapsing to the ground, their capacity to fight stripped away entirely, leaving nothing behind but fear.

"Hm?"

The King of Flesh noticed Lu Yuan's composure and let out a puzzled sound, studying him more carefully.

For someone newly ascended to Laws Rank, this response was beyond what he had expected.

Still, the King of Flesh was a veteran who had devoured countless universes. His confidence in himself remained absolute. He gave a cold smile.

"Stronger than I expected. At least you won't bore me."

He clenched his fist toward Lu Yuan.

*Flesh Mastery.*

Nothing happened.

Lu Yuan remained perfectly still — not the slightest disruption. The King of Flesh's expression finally shifted.

"What—?!"

His Flesh Mastery had done absolutely nothing? He could feel his Law Force entering the man's body — and then nothing. No effect whatsoever. That was impossible.

Lu Yuan watched the King of Flesh's expression cycle through confusion without reaction. Having mastered nearly five Laws in succession, his body had been refined by wave after wave of Law Force. Even his physical constitution alone now surpassed that of an ordinary Laws Rank fighter.

The Flesh Laws were undeniably powerful, but against Lu Yuan's body, they had only produced a faint stir — which he suppressed with a single thought. The King of Flesh had no way of knowing this.

*So Laws Rank Aberrant Beasts are less impressive than I expected,* Lu Yuan thought, his eyes narrowing slightly. *It seems my current strength already surpasses an ordinary Laws Rank fighter by a fair margin.*

At the very least, this King of Flesh posed no real threat to him.

Still, he wasn't about to let his guard down. The King of Flesh had said their Mother was the true pinnacle — against her, Lu Yuan wasn't certain he would win. There was still much work ahead.

While Lu Yuan's thoughts drifted, the King of Flesh continued launching Flesh Laws attacks, one after another — all of them vanishing without a trace, swallowed whole.

"Impossible!"

The King of Flesh roared. Green light blazed around him, his arm warping and hardening into a blade as his power surged dramatically. He vanished from his position and reappeared directly in front of Lu Yuan in an instant, the flesh-blade slashing for his throat.

Lu Yuan watched the blade come without expression. He raised his hand.

Light Laws and Dark Laws swirled simultaneously across his palm, black and white flickering in tandem, as his fingers closed around the blade.

The King of Flesh felt a terrifyingly immense force lock his flesh-blade in place — a force he couldn't even begin to move against. He strained to wrench the blade free. Nothing.

His eyes widened, a flicker of genuine shock crossing his face:

"You just reached Laws Rank — how can you possibly be this strong?!"

Lu Yuan looked at the stunned expression on the King of Flesh's face and smiled faintly.

"I did just reach Laws Rank. But I think the real problem is that you're simply too weak."

His left eye darkened to a deep, abyssal black. His right eye brightened to a soft, luminous white.

Dark Laws coiled around the King of Flesh's body. Then Light Laws detonated — blinding white radiance erupting outward, enveloping the King of Flesh completely.

A scream tore out of him.

Light Laws' purification power was something even a Laws Rank creature could barely endure, and his cries rang across the void. But the purification alone wasn't enough to end him. His flesh burned — and kept regenerating. Burned and regenerated again, over and over.

The recovery speed was far greater than his Descended Avatar's had ever been. Lu Yuan found himself wondering whether this creature could survive as long as even a single cell remained intact.

*That's almost like Life Laws.*

Even as the thought crossed his mind, he raised his right hand. Beams of stellar light coalesced into swords and launched themselves into the blaze of white radiance surrounding the King of Flesh.