Sorry, Senior Sister (48K)
The transport ship "Morning Star" sailed smoothly along its pre-designed interstellar route. Outside the windows, the starlight was distorted and stretched, while inside the cabin, there was a tranquil atmosphere designed for long voyages.
In his private rest pod, Lin Yi was carrying out his daily cultivation routine. While further mastering the three-fold Rule Domain and striving to quickly grasp the ability to gather and disperse at will, he was also constantly accumulating Spiritual Enlightenment Qi to prepare for the impact of the next rule.
Only two days into the voyage, the soft lights inside the cabin flickered slightly, and Xuanji's figure quietly appeared beside Lin Yi.
"Master, I have received a Virtual Network invitation from Third Senior Sister Thousand Illusions, with the message: Junior Brother, may I have a chat?"
Lin Yi slowly opened his eyes, the radiant light of rules within them subdued.
Third Senior Sister Thousand Illusions?
A thought flickered in his mind: the fact that she had come looking for him at this time meant that his senior brother, Prison Suppressor, had already informed her of his breakthrough.
Lin Yi dared not neglect this Eternal Senior Sister, who had a lively personality but had deeply inherited the true essence of his master's Illusory Law.
"Xuanji, reply to Senior Sister, I'm available anytime, please accept the invitation."
"Yes, Master."
The next moment, the scene inside the rest cabin spread out like a watercolor painting, quickly replaced by another spectacular sight.
Lin Yi found himself standing in a strange space composed of countless flowing dreamlike colors and fragmented starlight.
Beneath my feet lies a road seemingly paved with frozen sunset clouds, stretching into an unknowable depth. All around me, blurry phantoms of the world appear and disappear, and I seem to hear the whispers of billions of creatures, yet nothing is clearly audible.
"Junior brother, over here~"
A voice, tinged with a hint of laziness and mockery, rang out from ahead.
Lin Yi looked up and saw Thousand Illusions lying on her side on a cloud formed from pure light, one hand supporting her chin, her beautiful face radiant with a gentle smile, her flowing, iridescent skirt cascading down, perfectly blending with the bizarre and dazzling environment around her.
Third Senior Sister.
Lin Yi stepped forward and bowed respectfully.
"No need for formalities~" Thousand Illusions waved her hand casually, and Xiangyun drifted closer. She looked at Lin Yi curiously, her beautiful eyes sparkling. "Tsk tsk, it hasn't been that long since we last met? Senior Brother told me that your Space Rule have reached perfection, and you've already reached the third level of the Domain. Amazing, truly amazing. Junior Brother, you won't become one of those characters in dramas, the youngest but the most powerful, will you?"
Lin Yi smiled at his senior's teasing but remained silent.
After teasing Lin Yi for a bit, Thousand Illusions sat up straight, her tone becoming slightly more formal:
"My eldest brother told me everything. Before Master went into seclusion, he specifically instructed my eldest brother and me to take good care of you, especially regarding your cultivation. My eldest brother is busy guarding the Sin Prison, so the responsibility of teaching you will fall on me during this time. You don't have any objections, do you?"
"Junior brother, I couldn't be happier. Thank you, Third Senior Sister." Lin Yi was overjoyed and quickly replied.
The eldest brother specializes in the Space Law. Although his cultivation level is there, he has no problem guiding others on the level of rules. However, he is definitely not as useful as the senior sister, whose Illusory Law can simulate other laws.
"Hmm, that's good."
Thousand Illusions nodded in satisfaction, then got to the point, "Since I'm taking over, then I have to ask you, Senior Sister. What are your thoughts on the next rule? Have you decided what to choose?"
Lin Yi had already given this issue considerable thought.
He answered without hesitation:
"Time Rule."
Upon hearing this, Thousand Illusions didn't show much surprise on her face; instead, she had an expression that said, "I knew it."
With a light tap of her jade-like finger, a wisp of spiritual light flew out from her fingertip, rapidly evolving in the air and transforming into a miniature starry sky before Lin Yi.
The birth, brilliance, and decay of stars are accelerated billions of times, vividly demonstrating the power of time.
Thousand Illusions nodded slightly. "I guessed you would choose this. If it were me, having comprehended the Space Rule in such a short time, I would definitely be tempted to challenge this last and most mysterious superior rule as well. Spacetime and time are inherently closely related, like two sides of the same coin. If one can master both, the potential is limitless."
But then, she changed the subject, her tone becoming serious. At the same time, several blurry phantom roads appeared beside the miniature starry sky. Some were wide and flat but ended low, while others were rugged and treacherous but led to a cloud-shrouded peak. There were also a few that were faintly visible in between the two.
"However, junior brother..."
Thousand Illusions stared into Lin Yi's eyes. Although she still possessed that unique dreamlike quality, her gaze had become much more serious.
"Although you must have learned about the importance of choosing the right rules from various books and even your senior brothers, as your senior sister, there are some things I must solemnly remind you of once again."
"Once the path of rules is chosen, it becomes fundamental, and there is almost no turning back."
As she spoke, the illusory images of those roads began to change.
On that wide, flat road, many blurry figures appeared. They walked easily, but when they reached the end, they were faced with an insurmountable barrier. Some tried to turn back, but found that the way they came was blurred. They could only wander in front of the barrier until they died.
On that rugged and treacherous road, there were few people. Many had collapsed halfway up, their bodies turning into specks of light and disappearing. Only a very few, their figures gleaming with unwavering determination, continued their arduous climb.
"In the vast universe, there is no shortage of exceptionally talented geniuses. At the Star Domain level, relying on their talent, they underestimated the subsequent cultivation difficulty of certain higher or even superior rules, blindly choosing them simply because they were powerful."
Thousand Illusions's voice carried a hint of regret, "And the result? At the crucial moment when they needed to elevate the rules to laws, construct Divine Kingdom, and strive for eternity, they were stuck halfway. In the end, they either had to abandon their initial ambitions and choose a weaker path of laws to eke out a living, their future ruined; or they exhausted the seemingly long but actually finite lifespan of the World Derivation level, dying a sad end, turning into a wisp of dust in the sea of stars, without even leaving a name behind."
Her gaze swept over the blurry road images, finally settling on the most treacherous one. "Rules are the bricks, laws are the blueprint, and the Divine Kingdom is the palace. The quality and type of the bricks determine the foundation and potential of the palace. Do you understand this principle?"
Lin Yi's expression turned solemn as he scanned the illusory yet profoundly meaningful images. He said in a deep voice, "I understand Senior Sister's admonition. Foundational rules form the basis of the world, advanced rules add changes, higher rules enhance the foundation, and superior rules determine whether the hall can reach the supreme dome."
"It's good that you can understand this level."
Thousand Illusions gave him an approving look, and the dreamlike scenery around him changed again. The phantoms of those roads merged, evolving into a blurry process from the Star Domain level to the Derivation Realm, and then to Eternity.
"There are two core conditions for advancing from Star Domain level to a Realm Transformation level."
As he spoke, five incredibly stable light cores of different colors appeared before Thousand Illusions, representing the five fundamental rules of metal, wood, water, fire, and earth.
"First, you must fully comprehend these five fundamental rules. These are the most indispensable framework for constructing the Internal World; they are the foundation of the world."
Then, a brighter point of light, with a unique rhythm, appeared and merged into the five light cores, guiding them to build a simple yet stable three-dimensional structure.
"Second, comprehend a law. Using this law as the core and the unifying force, suppress and gather the power of all the laws you have comprehended, only then can you complete the final construction and stability of your Internal World and truly step into the World Derivation level."
She paused, then pointed to the simple structure and explained, "So, in the purest theoretical sense, a Star Domain level only needs to comprehend five fundamental rules, and then elevate one of them, such as the Metal Rule, to the Law of Metal, to attempt to break through to the Derivation Realm."
"But."
"A world constructed in that way, because it only incorporates five of the most basic rules, has an overly simple structure, a weak energy cycle, and a sparse rule network, resulting in a pitifully low world strength."
With a wave of her hand, the simple structure shook violently under simulated pressure, cracked, and finally collapsed and dissipated.
"Attempting to use such a fragile world to contain the soul and power of World Derivation level is almost guaranteed to fail; even if the person survives, they will be severely injured."
"Moreover, there is a fatal hidden danger."
In the image, the golden light of the core law becomes dim and exclusive, causing the other faint points of light that try to approach to be repelled far away.
"Once you prematurely comprehend a rule into a law, even if it's just the most basic foundational law, its powerful exclusivity and dominance will cause enormous interference and obstacles to your subsequent comprehension of new rules, and the difficulty will increase exponentially! It's tantamount to cutting off your future potential."
Thousand Illusions looked at Lin Yi, and the surrounding scenery once again focused on the choices of those paths.
"Therefore, any Star Domain level individual with even a modicum of ambition and talent, given the opportunity, will choose to comprehend as many rules as possible before advancing to the Derivation Realm, until they reach the Star Domain level limit—the perfection of nine rules, constructing Ninefold Domain! This lays the most solid foundation, providing the richest materials and the most stable structure for the future creation of the Divine Kingdom."
In the scene, on the rugged road leading to the summit, nine differently colored, gleaming foundation stones appear beneath the climbers' feet.
Lin Yi nodded silently. This was the path he had taken, and also the choice of the vast majority of geniuses aspiring to the pinnacle.
"However, the problem lies here, and also in the more distant realm of eternity."
Thousand Illusions's tone grew increasingly solemn, and the dreamlike colors around them seemed to settle down, becoming deeper.
The scene before her evolved once more, revealing a powerful being of the World Derivation level facing an endless path of laws that seemed to be composed of countless complex runes and mists over a long period of time.
"After reaching the next realm, you need to cultivate one of your chosen core laws to a state of perfect perfection. Using this as the core engine, you can completely shape and elevate the small world within your body into a Micro Universe containing a portion of the true essence of the universe—what we call the Divine Kingdom. Only in this way can you cross the insurmountable barrier and ascend to the position of Eternal Divinity."
She stared intently at Lin Yi. Beside the image of the Path of Laws, several forks appeared, marked with phantom images of "Superior Laws," "Higher Laws," and "Foundation Laws," respectively. The length and fog density of each path were completely different.
"But, junior brother, have you considered this? Many prodigies, full of vigor at the Star Domain level, chose advanced rules, or even, like you, superior rules, as their core laws for breaking through to the Realm of Derivation. They successfully constructed powerful Ninefold Domain and advanced to the Realm of Derivation with advanced or superior laws as their core. But when they reached the World Derivation level and truly began to cultivate this law in depth, attempting to push it to perfection, they discovered that its difficulty far exceeded their imagination!"
"The higher laws, especially those concerning time and space—laws that touch upon the very essence of the universe—are so profound and complex that they can drive even the most brilliant genius to despair."
Thousand Illusions's voice carried a hint of genuine sigh. In the image, on the path representing the "superior laws," many figures were moving at an extremely slow pace, even coming to a complete stop at a certain point, their figures gradually fading away.
"Some people, halfway through their cultivation, find themselves with no way forward, or their progress is so slow it's appalling. Watching their lifespan at the World Derivation level steadily dwindle, they are forced to abandon the core law they initially chose."
In the video, a stagnant figure struggles back to the fork in the road and chooses the path marked "Higher Laws." However, this path is also quite long, and his figure seems to have dimmed somewhat due to his previous exertion.
"They then elevated another rule they had mastered—perhaps a higher rule, or even a foundational rule—to the level of a law, and continued their cultivation around this core, attempting to break through to eternity."
"This path is rugged and arduous. Not to mention the risks and decline in strength caused by changing the core principles along the way, the sheer amount of time consumed is enough to wear down many people."
Thousand Illusions's tone carried a hint of cold reality.
"Some prodigies, through this constant cycle of trying, failing, and trying again, exhaust their lifespan at the World Derivation level, ultimately failing to cultivate any law to perfection, dying with regret, without even the chance to choose a foundational law to achieve the weakest eternity."
In the video, those figures who changed paths ultimately failed to reach their destination and vanished one after another as specks of light.
She threw the question directly at Lin Yi, her tone more serious than ever before, and the dreamlike scene around them seemed to freeze, as if awaiting his answer:
"Junior brother, it's obvious that in your plan, besides the five essential foundational rules and the Time Rule you're determined to challenge, you also intend to choose higher-level rules like the Life Rule for the remaining three, rather than easier advanced rules."
"This means that your future choices of core principles will almost certainly be limited to higher-level or superior rules, leaving you with virtually no safer fallback option: advanced rules."
"Your senior sister is asking you, have you ever seriously considered what if—and I mean just what if—after you advance to the Derivation Realm based on the higher-level rules, you find during your long World Derivation level journey that the difficulty of cultivating it to perfection is simply too great, your progress is far below expectations, and you even see the shadow of your lifespan running out?"
"What will you choose then?"
"Is it a matter of settling for second best, abandoning the higher-level laws, and choosing a higher-level law that you have mastered, such as the Life Law, as the new core, and starting to accumulate knowledge all over again?"
"If even the chosen higher laws ultimately seem hopeless, then you can only downgrade again, ultimately aiming for eternity with some fundamental law at its core."
"If you really reach that point, putting aside the fact that eternity achieved through the foundational laws would be incredibly weak and at the bottom Lieutenant General the gods, would the lifespan consumed by each core transformation be enough to support you until you reach that point?"
Upon hearing this, Lin Yi fell silent.
He sensed the deep concern and subtle advice hidden in Thousand Illusions's words.
Clearly, it wasn't that his senior sister didn't think highly of his talent; rather, it was because she had witnessed the downfall of too many prodigies that she hoped he could have a relatively safe way out.
Among the remaining rules, choosing an "advanced rule" with decent potential and moderate difficulty as an alternative to the core law is indeed a "smart" approach that has proven effective throughout the long history of the Star Sea.
If one suffers a setback on the path to the highest position, at least there is a compromise option to preserve one's life and eternal status, preventing a complete defeat.
However, Lin Yi sighed softly to himself.
"I'm sorry, senior sister. I know you mean well, but you know nothing about my talent."
Although his senior sister made it sound very serious, Lin Yi was well aware that his situation was completely different from those of the geniuses his senior sister knew, and there was no comparison between them at all.
Based on the amount of Spiritual Enlightenment Qi he consumed in Rule Comprehension of varying difficulty over this period, Lin Yi estimated that the Spiritual Enlightenment Qi he needed to cultivate any law at the World Derivation level, whether it was high-level, advanced, or foundational, was likely to be roughly the same.
Since the time cost is the same, the goal should naturally be set on the option with the greatest potential.
Therefore, there was absolutely nothing for him to consider.
In other words, there are only two superior rules; otherwise, he might have selected all of them.
Therefore, Lin Yi could only offer an apologetic smile and solemnly reply, "Thank you for your guidance and care, Senior Sister. However, I, your junior brother, am confident I can do it!"
He made no grand pronouncements or impassioned speeches, but those simple four words, "I'm confident I can," revealed his fearless determination to climb to the summit.
It's so hard to get 10,000 words a day, it feels like another day of being stuck with that. But I finally got the badge for getting 10,000 words a day for a month! Please keep reading and give me your monthly votes for some consolation...