Breakthrough and Transformation
(At this point, the cheat system wasn't fully optimized, so it was considered a forced breakthrough. However, it was later patched up based on suggestions from enthusiastic readers, meaning that comprehension increased after the breakthrough!)
Within Yang Wu's Sea of Consciousness, inside a colossal tower that nearly enveloped the entire void, nine incredibly blazing stars were orbiting along strange trajectories.
These nine stars orbit each other, forming a strange celestial structure.
And this is the essential composition of Yang Wu's soul.
Just as Yang Wu's Spiritual Force touched the Green Coin spot, the Chaos True Spirit appeared in Yang Wu's Sea of Consciousness following the mental energy.
Immediately, the Green Coin was directly absorbed by the nine stars inside the giant tower.
Immediately afterwards, wisps of mist began to form near the nine stars and quickly enveloped the entire galaxy. This mist rapidly altered the essence of Yang Wu's soul.
"Boom!"
With the change in the essence of his soul, Yang Wu, who had been unwilling to break through to the peak of the ninth level of the Star Level, finally experienced a fundamental change in his Sea of Consciousness.
After absorbing the Green Coin spot, the purest energy in the universe was frantically absorbed. The nine stars in Yang Wu Sea of Consciousness, which had already reached the limit of the Star Level, began to vibrate and expand in size as they continued to absorb energy.
Boom!
Almost instantly, the Cosmic Energy above this vast wasteland was frantically devoured, forming a terrifying energy vortex.
Such astonishing energy surged into Yang Wu's Sea of Consciousness, and the volume of the nine miniature stars expanded rapidly, growing more than ten times larger in a short moment.
All nine stars were trembling, and in that instant, the largest of them expanded to its limit.
Bang!
This largest miniature star suddenly exploded.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang...
The other eight miniature stars had also reached their limits. Affected by the explosion of the first star, they also exploded at the same time, turning into countless star fragments, and even forming a large amount of dust nebula in Yang Wu's Sea of Consciousness.
Soon, everything returned to calm.
The countless nebulae, star clusters, dust, and many tiny planets generated after the Big Bang formed an enormous spiral galaxy in Yang Wu's Sea of Consciousness.
At the core of this massive spiral galaxy, countless tiny stars converge, and the entire spiral galaxy also has eight spiral arms.
At the core of that spiral galaxy, where density is at its highest, lies a barely visible Dark Region.
That place is the first 'black hole' to form in this entire spiral galaxy. This extremely tiny black hole is slowly devouring the surrounding stars, dust, and other matter, while simultaneously generating increasingly pure energy.
Sizzle...
A thin mist suddenly appeared out of nowhere around this giant spiral galaxy, shrouding the entire galaxy in a hazy halo.
The strange misty power that makes up this halo is the reliance of Universe Level Spiritual Master —a first-tier Universe Level Spiritual Force.
Yang Wu's Spiritual Master level has officially entered the Universe Level.
The breakthrough in his Sea of Consciousness also led to the evolution of his body, and the evolution of his body, in turn, led to a breakthrough in Yang Wu's Dantian.
In no time, Yang Wu's own martial arts realm also reached the first level of the Universe Level.
Yang Wu's breakthrough may seem slow, but it actually happened in an instant.
Just then--
"Boom!"
The Chaos energy around Yang Wu suddenly trembled.
"Roar!" "Roar!"
Upon witnessing Yang Wu's breakthrough, a host of different-looking Chaos Beast burst forth from the nearby bushes like lightning.
At a glance, there were at least several hundred of them, and even the weakest of them was stronger than the Chaos Beast that Yang Wu had just killed.
"Not good!"
Qian Shui, who was not far away, saw a large number of Chaos Beast gathering towards Yang Wu, while Yang Wu seemed to be standing there in a daze. He secretly thought that something was wrong.
Whoosh!
A silver-white E-class Spaceship appeared out of thin air, and Qian Shui flew into it and quickly flew towards Yang Wu.
Yang Wu quickly realized what was happening after hearing the commotion.
He originally intended to take out his own D9-class Spaceship directly, but seeing that Qian Shui's spaceship had already appeared, he simply flew towards it.
In fact, Yang Wu has already broken through to the first level of the Universe Level. With his genes, which are four times that of an ordinary human, he can fully exert the power of an ordinary ninth-level Universe Level with the help of 'Kashi'. Give him some time, and there will be no problem at all in killing these hundreds of Chaos Beasts.
However, as the commotion grows louder, it will inevitably attract more and stronger Chaos Beast.
Secondly, Yang Wu was currently troubled and had no mood to continue hunting Chaos Beast.
Whoosh!
Yang Wu transformed into a blur and vanished instantly, then reappeared inside the E-class Spaceship that Qian Shui was riding in.
The spaceship quickly disappeared from the sight of the enraged Chaos Beast.
Inside the spaceship.
Yang Wu stood quietly to the side, unable to recover for a long time.
He actually broke through?
"No wonder, the email from the Virtual Universe Company said that by the time we leave this Initial Universe, we will have already broken through to the Universe Level!" Yang Wu thought to himself.
Little did he know that absorbing just one Chaos True Spirit would lead him to break through to the first level of the Universe Level.
Just after Yang Wu's breakthrough, he also sensed the change in the simulation intervals within the Time Simulator in his mind; the time interval between each simulation had become...
Twenty years!
Although Yang Wu had already guessed something after the previous simulations—that the time spent in each simulation should not exceed a hundred times the interval between simulations—...
But this is just speculation; who knows what other changes might occur in the Simulator after it reaches Universe Level?
Furthermore, now that he has ample time, Yang Wu no longer needs to continue with the time-limited simulations. Therefore, he is also thinking of testing whether the simulation attempts on the Time Simulator can be accumulated and used together. He even wonders if he can save the Star Level simulation attempts for use at the Universe Level or even the Domain Lord Level.
But now, the time interval between each simulation has become twenty years, which has caused Yang Wu's plans to be postponed for a long time.
And most importantly, that's the hint Yang Wu received during the last simulation!
In the previous simulation, Yang Wu spent thirty years in Chaos City.
In the first ten years, Yang Wu comprehended nine mysteries in the second painting of the Nine Universes Chaos Stele Drizzle Diagram; but in the following twenty years, Yang Wu only comprehended three new mysteries in the Drizzle Diagram.
Among the 27 newly emerging mysteries in this Drizzle Diagram, their level of profundity should be quite similar, so why is there such a large gap between the first ten years and the last twenty years?
After pondering this question for a long time, Yang Wu finally came up with an answer.
That is— the Nine Universes Chaos Stele!
The simulation experience clearly shows that by making good use of the five opportunities to comprehend the Chaos Stele, I successfully grasped the 20 mysteries of the Origin Law of Space.
In the following twenty years, even if Yang Wu passed the sixth level of the Heavenly Bridge, it was merely an additional opportunity to comprehend the Chaos Stele. It was perfectly normal for his speed to slow down!
This is the fundamental reason why Yang Wu knew that his failure to break through to the Universe Level had already attracted a lot of attention, and that the time spent in the simulation would be extended after a breakthrough, yet he still hadn't reached the Universe Level.
Because, if he doesn't break through, Yang Wu can simulate the Chaos City more than ten times in thirty years, and he can accumulate dozens of times of comprehending the Chaos Stele!
After the breakthrough, although theoretically surviving to the limit in the Simulator wouldn't reduce the time by much, the number of times Yang Wu could comprehend the Chaos Stele was greatly reduced. As a result, Yang Wu's progress speed would be significantly slowed down!
Moreover, in order to make better use of the number of times he could study the Chaos Stele, Yang Wu, who already had six opportunities to study the Chaos Stele, did not go to the City Lord Mansion to study the Chaos Stele even once in the past year.
But all of Yang Wu's preparations were ruined by this unexpected breakthrough!
The simulation interval is twenty years, which means that Yang Wu can only simulate it once in this Chaos City!
The opportunity to comprehend the Chaos Stele, which had been dozens of times, was instantly reduced to less than ten!
Who could accept this?
It should be understood that even if one reaches the Venerable Realm, without additional gifts from higher-ups, one can only comprehend the Chaos Stele twenty times!
"Yang Wu, are you alright?"
Seeing Yang Wu standing there in a daze, Qian Shui asked softly.
Upon hearing Qian Shui's question, Yang Wu quickly recovered and said with a smile, "I'm fine! Thank you so much, Qian Shui!"
"It was nothing, just a small favor!" Qian Shui said with a smile. "Even without me, Yang Wu, you would definitely be fine!"
Yang Wu's burst speed was incredibly astonishing. According to Qian Shui's Intelligent Life observation, it had already surpassed the burst speed of an ordinary first-level Domain Lord. In addition, with the large number of rewards Yang Wu obtained in the Genius Battle, he must be carrying a spaceship of D grade or higher. In this inner area where there are only Universe Level Chaos Beast, there is really no danger.
"Yang Wu, you've broken through to the Universe Level?" Qian Shui suddenly asked in surprise.
Yang Wu's breakthrough to the Universe Level happened in the blink of an eye, so Qian Shui did not see the astonishing energy vortex.
"Yes!" Yang Wu said with a wry smile, "We've broken through to the Universe Level!"
Seeing the wry smile on Yang Wu's face, Qian Shui couldn't help but ask in confusion, "Yang Wu, shouldn't breaking through to the Universe Level be a happy thing? Why do you look troubled?"
"You have no idea what I've lost!" Yang Wu thought to himself.
With this breakthrough, he will need to use Simulator to comprehend the Chaos Stele much less often in the future.
It's important to know that even if you pass through the Twenty-first Layer of the Heavenly Bridge and become Universe Venerable, you can only comprehend the Chaos Stele a total of 21 times!
To continue increasing one's number of enlightenment attempts, one must be granted access by another great being!
"No, it's just that it felt a bit sudden!" Yang Wu said calmly.
He was a man of extraordinary character; now that the deed was done, there was no point in dwelling on his original thoughts.
Even if he comprehends the Chaos Stele much less often, he will not stop his pursuit of becoming stronger.
In recent years, he has broken into the top 1,000 in the entire universe, broken into the top 10, defeated Bolan, and even received emails from many Venerable to accept him as a disciple...
While the Time Simulator helped in many ways, Yang Wu's own efforts were also crucial in accomplishing these tasks!
After all, real-life choices will more or less affect the experience in the Simulator.
If he makes more progress in reality, he will have a better starting point when the simulation begins!
Just like becoming Jinguang Marquis's apprentice, just like the trials and tribulations in the Thunder World...
In truth, even if Yang Wu stayed on Earth and did nothing, he could still grow stronger using the Time Simulator, but how could that compare to becoming the number one in the Peak Genius Battle?
Having come this far, Yang Wu is no longer the boy who was ready to give up!
Even if the Time Simulator were to completely disappear now, he would not stop moving forward.
Just like Hong and Thunder God, they didn't get many opportunities either, and were even surpassed by Yang Wu and Luo Feng one after another, but they still continued to move forward on the path of the strong!
In the original story, by the end of this cosmic era, Thunder God was already the Universe Master, and Hong had long since become the Universe Supreme Being.
Even among the entire Human Race, which occupied most of the Primal Universe, there were only a few thousand such great beings, and the number of the Universe Supreme Being was less than a hundred!
In that instant, Yang Wu thought of far too many things!
The scene of him diligently training right after he came into this world.
Without those three years of hard work, Yang Wu doesn't know when he would have been able to activate the Time Simulator in his mind.
Furthermore, Yang Wu's reckless actions within the Canglan Star Inner Realm after becoming Jinguang Marquis's disciple allowed Yang Wu to successfully comprehend the Law of Fire.
Yang Wu recalled his repeated deaths in the Simulator and the numerous warnings he received from Teacher Jinguang Marquis...
"The path to becoming a strong person is fraught with difficulties and obstacles..." Yang Wu thought to himself.
"Lately, I've definitely become too reliant on the Simulator! Even with my incredibly diligent cultivation in reality, it's still not as good as what I've gained in the Simulator. So, I've started to comprehend the simpler Law of Fire in reality, leaving the more difficult Law of Space to my Simulator self. Despite Master Jinguang Marquis's constant reminders, I've already forgotten most of them!"
"My own Heart of the Strong is being constantly eroded by the Simulator's rewards. It's as if as long as the Simulator exists, I'm guaranteed to reach the pinnacle!"
Yang Wu felt utterly cold inside. "The recent simulation rewards have allowed me to surpass all the geniuses, and now I've even become a disciple of Venerable One! But I've forgotten the experiences I had in the Simulator, where I was constantly surpassed by other geniuses!"
"Even if the Simulator really disappears, does that mean I have to be surpassed by someone else?"
"No! Absolutely not!"
"The Simulator is ultimately just an aid; the true path to becoming a strong player still requires me to walk it myself!"
"Even without Simulator, I will definitely become the strongest being at the pinnacle of this vast universe!"
At this moment, Yang Wu's resolve hardened once again.
It was as if he had undergone a difficult transformation, shedding his initial naivety and the pride of becoming an unparalleled genius, leaving only a steadfast Heart of the Strong!
The initial chapters on the Heart of the Strong and the enlightenment of the Law of Fire within the Inner Realm were not well written.
The matter of Hei Ming also became a tainted issue.
Logically speaking, it would be best if I didn't write such a plot.
However, I still wanted to give the main character some depth, though my writing skills might be lacking, so please bear with me. There won't be too many of these scenes.
There's also the matter of breakthroughs! If we don't break through, there will be ten simulation experiences in 30 years in Chaos City, which is simply too much to make up. Giving it a brief mention would be too boring.
Therefore, I decided to break through in Chaos City a long time ago. I searched for a long time in the original work before I found a reason that was reasonably suitable.
The Virtual Universe Company once said in an email that once you leave the Initial Universe, you'll definitely be at the Universe Level, so focusing on the Chaos True Spirit for the breakthrough is somewhat plausible.
As for the growth ceiling that many readers have recently mentioned—the protagonist's inability to break through—it certainly exists, and solutions have been developed. I won't spoil it here.