Source Star

"Beep. Brain Domain Width greater than 30. Domain energy detected. Apprentice level. Conditions met. Transmission beginning."

A surge of energy shot skyward from ten thousand meters beneath Mount Everest.

Along with that energy, patterns appeared across Mount Everest. Strange energy formed a complex Secret Script pattern at the summit!

Standing atop Mount Everest, Qin Hao looked over the surrounding sea of clouds. This was what it meant to stand above all other mountains.

Just as Qin Hao immersed himself in the scenery from the mountaintop, light flashed beneath his feet. Space shifted, everything around him vanished, and Qin Hao disappeared from the summit.

"Where is this?" The scenery around Mount Everest had disappeared. Qin Hao looked around at the shattered mountains and land. Countless broken stars hung in the sky, each one no smaller than Earth.

Qin Hao stood outside a grand hall. The hall before him was several thousand meters tall, far taller than Mount Everest. Cracks covered its surroundings, as though it could collapse at any moment. The great doors before him had completely shattered and vanished. Looking inside through the entrance, he saw a gigantic throne over a thousand meters tall in the center of the hall.

Qin Hao cautiously stepped into the hall and surveyed everything around him. The only thing he could think of that could transfer him directly from Mount Everest's summit to this place was the Space Law. To wield the Space Law in such a way, one had to be at least a Venerable Master expert, if not a Universe Venerable.

"Welcome, Qin Hao!" A cold voice rang through the hall.

"Who are you? What is this place?"

"This is my master's God Kingdom. I am its administrator, Gu!" As he spoke, a white-haired, white-bearded old man appeared before Qin Hao.

"After waiting through countless ages, I have finally found you—the Inheritor of Source Star." The old man looked at Qin Hao as he spoke.

"Source Star?!" Qin Hao was deeply shocked. Source Star was the name of an era on Earth. Hearing that name now filled him with doubt. He had never expected Source Star's inheritance to still remain.

"Source Star was destroyed in the previous era, and my master, the Origin Star King, also fell. Before his death, my master transferred this God Kingdom into Source Star and waited for an Inheritor to appear. Now, my master's God Kingdom is about to collapse completely, and an Inheritor has finally appeared." As if he had seen Qin Hao's confusion, Gu spoke slowly.

"You have only one year to undergo the trial. If you fail to complete it, you will be destroyed along with the God Kingdom." After saying that, Gu walked toward the rear hall.

Qin Hao wanted to ask about the contents of the trial, but seeing Gu head toward the rear hall, he quickly followed. As he walked, he looked at the magnificent palace. A majestic aura and powerful pressure still permeated it, leaving him shocked and excited.

"Is this the aura of an Immortal?" Though it was only a remnant, the Immortal aura was still overwhelmingly powerful to Qin Hao, who was merely an Apprentice. Qin Hao even wondered whether someone with a weaker state of mind could withstand the mental pressure brought by this power.

Entering the rear hall, Qin Hao followed Gu into a vast chamber. It was even grander than the front hall. The instant he entered, Qin Hao even felt a slight sense of disorientation.

"These six Enlightenment Steles are the inheritance left behind by my master. They were modeled after the Chaos Steles, the secret treasures of the Human Race. Though their effect is only one percent of the Chaos Steles', they are still one of a kind in the entire universe." Gu's tone was filled with pride.

"Your trial is to completely comprehend the contents of the first stone stele and pass the trial in Virtual Space," Gu said. "Although the trial lasts only one year, this hall was specially modified by my master to slow the flow of time by tenfold, so you need not worry about being gone for too long."

"Oh, and you are still only an Apprentice. Here is a Wood Essence Crystal. It can help you break through to the Planetary level." As he spoke, a Wood Essence Crystal appeared before Qin Hao. Its scent of rice made Qin Hao feel an urge from within his body to devour the crystal before him.

After Qin Hao accepted the Wood Essence Crystal, Gu's figure vanished at once.

"I hope he can pass the trial!" Deep within the hall, Gu's eyes were filled with sorrow.

In the rear hall, Qin Hao held the Wood Essence Crystal in his hand. Rather than absorbing it immediately, he carefully examined the hall. Besides the six Enlightenment Steles, there were also quite a few books.

"Basic Warrior 216 Forms," "Introduction to Domain," "Five Elements Secret Method," "Nine-Nine Body Tempering"...

The Secret Manuals were not excessively profound, but they were all exactly what Qin Hao needed right now, especially the manuals explaining the first Enlightenment Stele.

After looking over the Secret Manuals, Qin Hao turned his attention to the Enlightenment Steles. Of the six steles, five were completely blurry. Only the first had lines clearly displayed before Qin Hao. Each line was simple, yet incomparably profound.

The moment Qin Hao saw them, he was drawn in by those lines and unconsciously immersed himself in their profound aura.

The doubts in Qin Hao's heart began to be guided out by the lines, and new insights gradually emerged. However, this did not last long before Qin Hao woke up.

"My strength is still too weak. It seems I need to reach the Planetary level first." After waking, Qin Hao understood that his Apprentice-level strength was too weak. The contents of the first image were not particularly profound; they concerned comprehension of a domain. Yet Qin Hao could sense an extremely complex aura within them.

"Break through first." Holding the Wood Essence Crystal, Qin Hao went to the cultivation area of the hall, sat cross-legged, and began cultivating.

A single Wood Essence Crystal was enough to create a Planetary-level expert. As Qin Hao began cultivating, the crystal's energy was steadily absorbed. Qin Hao's body began to undergo a Body Transformation. The Gene Energy within him and Cosmic Energy began to gather, accelerating continuously under the Wood Essence Crystal's energy.

The transformation of his body surprised Qin Hao. It was somewhat like the process of going from Postnatal to Prenatal described in novels. But he had no time to investigate further, so he focused completely on breaking through.

"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!" Cosmic Energy, Gene Energy, and the Wood Essence Crystal's pure life energy gathered around Qin Hao, forming a massive vortex. Once the vortex formed, it continuously absorbed all surrounding energy, washing over Qin Hao's body and merging into every cell, driving his Body Transformation.

At Qin Hao's dantian, energy continuously gathered and gradually condensed into substance, forming a tiny planet. Once that planet formed, its speed of devouring energy rapidly increased.

The planet continuously expanded, contracted, expanded again, then contracted again. Red, gold, green, yellow, and blue energies within the pure energy constantly merged into the planet. Even traces of golden and silver energy fused into it.