Four Laws Rank

Mechanical Laws comprehension — complete.

Lu Yuan let out a slow breath. He allowed himself a single moment of satisfaction, then plunged straight back into the next comprehension.

Of the four Laws remaining — Spatial, Time, Fate, and Illusion — he chose Spatial Laws first.

He activated another Heart of Laws. The familiar Laws space materialized around him, threaded in every direction with twisted spatial lines. The new comprehension began.

——

Eighty years of Origin Time passed.

In the real world, within the Chaos Sea not far from the Universe Bubble...

Chaos energy churned as two structures drew slowly together: the Corruption Nest, its surface slick with flowing green slime, and the Destruction Nest, formed entirely from compressed bone.

Aberrant Beasts inside both Nests snarled ceaselessly at each other, their auras surging and clashing. But within moments, every beast fell silent and prostrated itself on the ground.

The King of Corruption — his body slicked with green fluid — materialized above the Corruption Nest. At the same moment, above the Destruction Nest, the King of Destruction appeared: a figure built entirely of green bone etched with crimson veins.

They regarded each other across the void, then slowly converged.

"It has been a long time."

The King of Corruption's voice came out thick and viscous.

Crimson flames shifted in the King of Destruction's eyes as he gave a slight nod. "Several billion years, hasn't it? I wonder whether your strength has grown at all."

"Heh heh heh... You'll find out soon enough."

The King of Corruption let out a strange, unsettling chuckle, then spoke with a thin edge of mockery:

"A pity the King of Flesh won't have another chance to join us."

"Hmph. Dying inside a young universe — trash will always be trash."

The King of Destruction was dismissive.

"There may well be a formidable Laws Rank cultivator in that universe. We should tread carefully."

The King of Corruption said with his eerie laugh.

The King of Destruction glanced at him. "Our master has already dispatched two Aberrant Touches. Are you afraid?"

"Of course not. Being cautious never hurts."

"Hmph! Then wait — and let the Aberrant Touches our master sent come to us."

The King of Destruction crossed his arms and said nothing more.

Seeing this, the King of Corruption let out another strange laugh, then slowly withdrew back into the Corruption Nest.

——

Time passed — a great deal of it.

The two Nests settled in their stretch of the Chaos Sea, their Aberrant Beasts moving in and out, devouring everything within reach. The King of Corruption and King of Destruction remained inside.

Then both Kings burst from their Nests at once, eyes fixed on the same direction.

From that direction came a sinister, oppressive aura — two streaks of green light moving through the Chaos Sea at speeds that dwarfed anything light could manage, closing rapidly on the position of the two Nests.

They were two grotesque, fleshy creatures covered in writhing masses of tentacles.

The two Aberrant Touches, separated from the Mother of Aberration's own body.

"Finally!"

A smile spread across the King of Corruption's slime-coated face.

The crimson light in the King of Destruction's eyes flickered. He stepped forward alongside the King of Corruption to meet them.

The two Aberrant Touches slowed to a halt.

One of them spoke:

"King of Corruption, King of Destruction — word has reached us that a powerful Laws Rank cultivator exists within that young universe, one who destroyed even the King of Flesh. Our master has sent us to assist you."

The King of Destruction gave a slight nod. "We are grateful for your aid."

"Heh heh heh... With you two joining us, that makes four Laws Rank cultivators in total. No universe, no matter how powerful, can stand against that. No point wasting time — let's move."

The King of Corruption spoke unhurriedly.

The Corruption Nest and Destruction Nest began to stir, slowly converging toward the not-so-distant Universe Bubble.

——

Land of Origin. Upper Layer.

Lu Yuan slowly opened his eyes.

Silver-white threads danced in his gaze — spatial threads, every one of them.

He had fully mastered Spatial Laws.

Elation surged through him. Only now, with complete mastery, did he truly grasp just how extraordinary Spatial Laws were.

In his sight, every inch of space was woven through with countless spatial threads. With a single thought, he could alter those threads and reshape the space itself.

With his current power, if he chose to, he could erase the space of the entire Land of Origin outright — leaving no one able to enter it ever again. He was even confident he could expand the interior space of the entire universe several times over.

And those were only the most basic applications. He could forge spatial storms of devastating intensity, construct unbreakable spatial cages — the possibilities stretched on and on.

Every ability he had wielded back at War God level would see a massive leap forward.

*But there's one thing I still don't know — now that I've fully mastered Spatial Laws, can I actually use spatial movement inside the Chaos Sea?*

He recalled the Chaos Sea as he had perceived it before: the incomparably dense, unyielding space that filled it.

*Back then, even with a Divine Grade spatial gene, I couldn't interface with that space at all. I wonder if it's different now.*

*If it is... I'd have real mobility even inside the Chaos Sea. I might actually be able to scout the Mother of Aberration before the real confrontation comes.*

*Better that than walking in blind against an enemy I know nothing about.*

While he was still turning these thoughts over, he froze.

His expression darkened. He frowned, lifting his gaze — his sight seemed to pierce through the space of the Land of Origin itself and reach beyond the universe's very boundary.

With his current power, he could sense them clearly: multiple powerful Aberration auras closing on the universe at speed.

*Here we go again.*

*Who is it this time?*

*Laws Rank... four of them. Strong — about on par with the King of Flesh.*

*Probably not the Mother of Aberration.*

He exhaled quietly, some of the tension leaving him.

Four Laws Rank auras comparable to the King of Flesh — when he had first faced the King of Flesh, something like that might have given him real trouble.

But now he had Mechanical Laws and Spatial Laws added to his arsenal. Seven Laws in total. His power had surged well beyond where it had stood during that battle.

Four Laws Rank opponents? Manageable.

The thought settled in his mind, and he vanished from the spot.

——

Mechanical Kingdom. The breach in the Universe Bubble's boundary.

Mados and Kurlos held station within the mechanical fortress. Alongside them stood three more War Gods: Kro of the Human Race, Yingu of the Beast Race, and Bingling of the Elf Race.

Five War Gods in total.

The reason for the extra reinforcements was straightforward. The last Laws Rank invasion through this breach had left heavy Aberration contamination behind, drawing far more Aberrant Beasts to the area than before. Two War God-level Mechanical Warriors alone might not be enough to hold the line. So the Human Race, Beast Race, and Elf Race had each contributed a War God to bolster the position.

None of them had bothered Lu Yuan about it. A matter this routine wasn't worth disturbing his cultivation. Laws Rank threats were beyond them — but anything below that level, they could handle on their own.

Outside the fortress, Kro and Yingu were in the middle of hunting down a Divine Grade Aberrant Beast that had just appeared.

The creature was a grotesque thing — eight massive arms, its body plated in heavy green Scale Armor, its form menacing and savage. Its arms were studded with densely packed eyes, and those eyes fired green energy beams that lanced through the Chaos Sea in a relentless barrage at the two War Gods.

But Kro and Yingu were War Gods. They weren't about to be pushed around by something like this.

Spirit Power surging around them both, they wove through the barrage and struck back. Kro's battle axe carved terrifying arcs of golden light with every swing, while Yingu launched volley after volley of silver-white Spirit Cannon blasts from his maw.

Together they steadily beat the beast down until it was battered and bleeding from head to tail.

"Hmph. One Divine Grade beast, trying to punch through our defense line." Yingu sidestepped a beam and said coldly. "No sense of self-preservation."

Kro tightened his grip on his axe. The beast's aura was visibly flagging. "Yingu, that's about enough! Get ready for the killing blow!"

Yingu nodded. Both of them poured their Spirit Power into the final strike.

And then the beast — battered, bloodied, its aura already a shadow of what it had been — suddenly shuddered.

A frenzied roar tore from it. Terrifying green radiance blazed across its body, its aura spiking far beyond its earlier peak, cracks splitting open along its frame.

"What—?!"

Both Yingu and Kro stiffened. The power explosion from the beast was nothing like what they'd expected.

Then a chill plunged through them both, as though they'd been dropped into frozen water.

Something was coming. Something terrifying.

They snapped their heads up in unison, staring into the depths of the Chaos Sea.

Chaos energy roiled, and two colossal entities surged from within it, closing on the Universe Bubble at speed.

The sight of them — each the size of a galaxy — drained the color from both their faces.

"What... what *are* those?!"

Yingu's voice came out low and ragged.

Neither of them had any frame of reference. They'd arrived too late the last time — Lu Yuan had already obliterated the Flesh Nest before they reached the battlefield. They had never seen anything like what loomed before them now.

But the sheer scale of those structures, and the dreadful aura emanating from within, told them everything they needed to know: whatever was inside was lethal beyond measure.

Yingu and Kro exchanged a glance. Every instinct they had screamed retreat.

But at that moment, the berserk Divine Grade beast — heedless of the cracks splitting its own body — came charging straight at them.

Its surging aura made both of them tense.

"Damn it!"

Retreat was no longer an option. They had no choice but to stand and fight.

Meanwhile, inside the fortress not far away, Bingling, Mados, and Kurlos had been watching the exchange from the command room. None of them looked particularly worried.

Over the past several years, as the Light energy Lu Yuan had left behind gradually dissipated into the Chaos aura, the residual Aberration contamination had drawn increasing numbers of Aberrant Beasts to the area — Divine Grade ones included. They were well used to it by now. A single Divine Grade beast didn't even merit concern.

Then a sharp alarm cut through the command room. Red warning lights strobed. Both Mados and Kurlos went rigid.

The memory of the King of Flesh's invasion hit them in the same instant. They were on their feet before the thought had finished forming.

*Surely not here again?*

*We can't be this unlucky.*

"What's happening?!" Kurlos demanded.

"My Lord! We have a problem — another powerful Aberration aura has appeared! Laws Rank — it's Laws Rank!"

The Mechanical Warrior at the instruments kept his eyes locked on the readouts, his voice trembling, as he projected the display onto a holographic screen.

On the screen, two massive green dots were slowly converging on the line marking the Universe Bubble's boundary. Surrounding them was a dense constellation of smaller green specks — Aberrant Beasts, countless of them.

The sight brought Mados up short. "Two?!"

Last time there had been only one. Now there were two?

"N-no... the instruments are showing four — *four* Laws Rank energy sources!"

The Mechanical Warrior's voice barely held together.

Silence fell over the command room.

Mados, Kurlos, and Bingling exchanged a single glance — then all three tore through space and emerged on the outer wall of the fortress.

They froze.

There in the Chaos Sea, two enormous Nests were slowly rising into view.

A heartbeat of dead silence — then they sensed the battle nearby, and their expressions shifted.

Kro and Yingu were still outside.

"This is bad — Kro and Yingu are still out there! We have to help them!" Mados called out, his expression hardening.

"Staying out in the Chaos right now is far too dangerous!"

"Get word to Lu Yuan — now!" Kurlos added.

All three were already moving, preparing to burst through the boundary and help Kro and Yingu finish off the Divine Grade beast —

And then a voice arrived.

The berserk Divine Grade beast locked up mid-charge, then was swallowed whole by a sphere of Radiant Fire.

A single shriek. Then nothing — ash.

Kro and Yingu stood motionless, staring.

The three who had been about to charge out to help stopped dead as well.

They turned, and found Lu Yuan. Relief swept through all of them.

Powerful Laws Rank enemies or not — with Lu Yuan here, they felt certain it would be fine. Somewhere along the way, they had simply grown accustomed to his strength. Laws Rank? Those weren't his opponents.

"A-Yuan, you're here."

Kro grinned.

Lu Yuan swept a glance over Kro and Yingu, noting the wounds left by the beast's rampage. A flash of green light passed through his eyes.

Every wound on both of them healed in an instant.

Kro and Yingu blinked — then composed themselves. This was Lu Yuan. Instant healing wasn't the sort of thing that surprised them anymore.

Lu Yuan nodded, then turned his gaze to the two massive Nests looming in the Chaos Sea.

"Head back inside. There are four Laws Rank out here, and they're quite strong."

"*Four?!*"

Kro and Yingu's eyes went wide.