The Yearlong Period Had Arrived

Jiang Yao was not indecisive. Since he had decided to accept the Taihuan Token Envoy's suggestion and cultivate the unfathomably profound Xu Yuan Opening, he would not second-guess himself.

Although the Messenger claimed that, with his guidance, Jiang Yao could cultivate Seven Turns of Heaven's End to a profound level, Jiang Yao knew his own talent was limited. Trying to divide his attention between two things would be biting off more than he could chew, so he decided not to waste time on Seven Turns of Heaven's End.

Instead, he pretended to listen to the teacher explain Seven Turns of Heaven's End in the mornings. The rest of the time, he shut himself in his room and cultivated a quick-training secret technique for Soul Amplitude under the Messenger's guidance, hoping to reach tenfold Soul Amplitude as soon as possible and then cultivate Xu Yuan Opening.

Of course, in reality, Jiang Yao devoted most of his attention to cultivating the Soul Amplitude secret technique during class as well.

Naturally, the teacher responsible for explaining Seven Turns of Heaven's End could see through Jiang Yao's half-hearted listening. But the teachers giving the lectures were all Stellar-level experts. Who would care about a student who might never even reach Stellar level?

In a sense, the teachers lecturing them were even more carefree and irresponsible than the university teachers in Jiang Yao's previous life. They were only doing it to fulfill their clan's assignment. Otherwise, who would bother teaching Planetary-level students a Planetary-level Mental Power Amplitude secret technique?

Prose did offer Jiang Yao a few pointers, but when he saw Jiang Yao stubbornly refusing to take his advice, he gave up. Jiang Yao wasn't his disciple, after all. He had only taken a momentary interest in a promising talent.

Jiang Yao also never attended the gatherings organized by the other youths in his batch, where they sparred and discussed their cultivation experiences. In his eyes, it was all a waste of time.

As a result, both the teachers and his classmates had more or less given up on Jiang Yao, and he had also provoked a great deal of resentment.

Not because anyone was concerned about him, of course, but because they were angry that he was wasting resources.

The resources given to those with top-grade talent were exceptionally generous. Who wouldn't be envious?

Jiang Yao's behavior was like occupying the toilet without taking a dump.

Of course, Jiang Yao had no intention of wasting anything. He collected all the resources at once, except for his chances to use the Grade A Nutrient Pod.

He hadn't used even one of the twelve Muya Crystals. He couldn't bring himself to spend time digesting them and cultivating his genetic Origin Energy.

His three chances to use the Grade A Nutrient Pod were quickly used up, too. The quick-training Soul Amplitude secret technique the Messenger had developed himself really did have serious side effects. The Nutrient Pod helped repair the damage to his body, genetic Origin Energy, and mental power.

The one liter of Sangshi Liquid was the most helpful resource Jiang Yao could obtain at his current stage.

Sangshi Liquid could improve the quality of his mental power and nourish his soul, easing some of the side effects.

As for Mo Li, who had wanted to pick a fight with Jiang Yao and teach him a lesson, he temporarily gave up after Jiang Yao spent a long stretch keeping to himself.

At first, perhaps he had held back because Prose seemed to be quietly looking out for Jiang Yao. But once Jiang Yao had "given up on himself," Mo Li surely had no reason to worry about that anymore.

The real reason was that Mo Li's own sense of crisis had focused his attention on cultivation.

Yanhe Planet had gathered all the young talents of the Lingtong Race's Yanhe Lineage. Mo Li was still exceptionally talented, but the gap between him and the others was far smaller than it had been on his home planet.

After realizing how difficult Seven Turns of Heaven's End was to cultivate and how sharply the competition had intensified, Mo Li understood that his immediate priority was to secure his "Town-Level Genius" standing. More importantly, he had to maintain his outstanding performance when the competition grew fiercer after the three-year protection period.

As long as he kept his competitive edge and stayed ahead, dealing with a straggler like Jiang Yao would be as easy as turning over his hand.

More than half a year passed without anyone disturbing him. Only after he had exhausted a considerable portion of his potential, even affecting his lifespan to some extent, did Jiang Yao finally reach tenfold Soul Amplitude.

He drank the last of the Sangshi Liquid, then swallowed a Muya Crystal to replenish his life energy. Sitting upright, he sank his consciousness into his soul and prepared to Form Cast the treasure for the Opening.

If the other youths knew Jiang Yao was using a Muya Crystal purely as a life-energy supplement, their jealousy of him would probably grow by another three degrees. It was such a waste.

With the help of their twelve Muya Crystals, Mo Li and the other two youths with top-grade talent had already reached Planet Level 3. Even most of the nearly fifty youths judged to have low-grade talent had reached Planet Level 2 with the three Muya Crystals they had received.

Only Jiang Yao remained at Planet Level 1.

Jiang Yao cast all of that out of his mind. At that moment, under the Messenger's direction, he was carefully using tenfold Soul Amplitude to engrave one painful Yan Script after another.

As the written language used to record the Main Sect's techniques on Tianhuang Ancient Continent, Yan Script looked more like pictures to Jiang Yao—three-dimensional pictures, and even ones that seemed to exceed normal three-dimensional space.

Every three-dimensional picture contained an unimaginable amount of information. The first time Jiang Yao saw the Messenger write Yan Script in midair inside the Taihuan Token's space, his mind had practically crashed for fifteen minutes. The sheer volume of information had jammed the workings of his thoughts.

Under the influence of the Supreme Rule, the immense information contained in the Yan Script from Tianhuang Ancient Continent was distorted into meaningless information. To put it simply, it became gibberish.

Thus, as Jiang Yao engraved Yan Script into his own soul, he was constantly flooded with massive amounts of garbage data. It was nothing short of torture for his soul.

And that pig had even told him he was protected by the Taihuan Token. Otherwise, even if Jiang Yao saw the Messenger write Yan Script, he would instantly forget it under the influence of the Supreme Rule.

The burden this torture placed on his soul was too great. At first, Jiang Yao could "work" for less than fifteen minutes a day before passing out for two or three days, giving his soul time to recover.

So he might as well have thrown in the towel completely and stopped attending class. He stayed cooped up in his room all day, relying on Muya Crystals for life energy.

Of course, no one expected anything from Jiang Yao anymore, so no one came to disturb him or urge him to turn back from the wrong path.

The year was almost over. At the next assessment, which would focus mainly on Mental Power Amplitude, Jiang Yao was certain to fall to the low-grade tier. Then he would muddle through twenty years before being eliminated.

That was what nearly everyone thought.

But as Jiang Yao endured the torture day after day, he found that he could keep engraving for longer and longer, and his work grew more efficient. Being constantly swept by vast amounts of jumbled, meaningless information was still painful, but the pain seemed easier to bear.

Jiang Yao drew a Yan Script character far faster than he had at the beginning.

A hollow shape, like an axe outlined in ancient, simple patterns, lay hidden deep within his soul. Enlarged closely, the ancient patterns that made up the axe shape could be seen to consist of even smaller Yan Script characters.

Jiang Yao's consciousness looked with satisfaction at the nearly completed hollow axe before him and casually asked, "Phew. I'm engraving dozens of times faster than when I started. Has my soul grown stronger?"

Inside the Taihuan Token, the Messenger flapped his two big ears and shook his head. "No. It's your will."

"My will?"

The Messenger blinked his little eyes and said meaningfully, "If you took first place in the will assessment before because I helped you, then if you took it again now, you'd have no trouble getting an even better result without cheating."

After his initial delight, Jiang Yao fell silent for a moment before pressing him. "You knew all along? That engraving Yan Script could strengthen my will?"

The Messenger chuckled twice but didn't answer.

Jiang Yao recalled what Prose had once said: "Pain is the best aid for tempering one's will."

In Swallowed Star, the greatest advantage of Earth Humans was their will.

He understood how important will was. The higher one's level, the more important will became. Naturally, he was glad to gain a stronger will so early.

That was, if he ignored the unfathomable behavior of this Messenger, who was sometimes deranged and sometimes profound.

At that moment, Jiang Yao felt as though he were a chess piece, being controlled without any chance to resist by this foolish-looking, adorable little pig and pushed toward some unknown destination.

But he took it in stride. He was nothing more than an ant right now. Whatever plans or schemes the Messenger had, Jiang Yao couldn't resist them, so he might as well lie back and accept it.

Besides, he had a vague feeling that this mysterious Messenger meant him no harm.

Once all the Yan Script characters had been engraved, the hollow axe outlined by ancient patterns was finally complete.

This axe was the treasure for Opening that the Messenger had mentioned.

Jiang Yao asked eagerly, "Can I open the Xu Yuan Space now?"

The Messenger carefully examined the hollow axe through the Taihuan Token, then nodded with satisfaction. "Just one step left: Body Molding."

The Opening Chapter, the first part of Xu Yuan Opening, had four steps: God Forging, Form Casting, Body Molding, and Opening.

God Forging had been replaced by Soul Amplitude, and Form Casting seemed to be complete now.

"Does Body Molding mean filling in the shape of the axe?"

The axe deep in Jiang Yao's soul had only been outlined in three-dimensional form by the ancient patterns. It was hollow inside, so Body Molding wasn't hard to understand.

"Exactly. The axe's body must be filled in before it can become a true treasure for Opening."

Jiang Yao couldn't help feeling irritated. "Looks like I'll have to embarrass myself in this assessment. The yearlong period is almost over."

Newcomers were assessed on their mental power every year during their three-year protection period, and their rank was reassigned.

He had thought he was about to soar to the top, but it seemed he would have to endure humiliation for a while longer. With his body, soul, and mental power all depleted—and having barely touched Seven Turns of Heaven's End—he was certain to fall to the low-grade tier. He'd be an undeniable last place, too.

Maybe Mo Li would come after him once the assessment was over.

To Jiang Yao's surprise, the Messenger shook his head firmly, his pig face turning solemn. "There's no need to spend any more time."

Jiang Yao was then given a tremendous fright by what the pig said next.

"The material for Body Molding is already right there." The Messenger's round, chubby pig face broke into a smile. "Your soul."

After taking a moment to enjoy Jiang Yao's reaction, the Messenger was satisfied and ended the scare. "The treasure for Opening is naturally the soul of the person doing the Opening. Everything else is just auxiliary. The Xu Yuan Space is built on your soul, convictions, and will. How could someone else perform a Divine Ability this profound for you?"

Jiang Yao had already been driven halfway up the mountain. Having paid the price of diminished potential and even damage to his life force, there was no way he could give up now. He gritted his teeth and asked, "Is it dangerous?"

"Of course it's dangerous. Opening the Xu Yuan requires the courage to charge forward without hesitation, ready to succeed or perish. Without that mindset, you've already lost before you've even begun."

The Messenger's eyes narrowed, as if he were examining Jiang Yao's soul, will, and determination through the Taihuan Token.

But Jiang Yao's response was somewhat beyond his expectations.

"Haha! You only die once, but if you don't die, you live forever." Jiang Yao instead felt the sky grow vast and clear. "I've already made a profit just by getting to live this life. Doesn't every path to becoming powerful begin with fighting to survive in the face of death?"

He thought of how Luo Feng and the other heroes of Earth had perished alongside the Golden Horned Beast in the original Swallowed Star, paving the way for the genius who later entered the Primordial Secret Realm.

Besides, after paying such a high sunk cost, how could he really spend twenty years muddling through while enduring everyone's contempt?

The Messenger's little eyes widened as much as they could. "Good! Good!"

After saying that, he told Jiang Yao the final steps of Body Molding and instructed him, "Listen carefully. Open the Xu Yuan Space in your eyes."

Jiang Yao was puzzled. "Wasn't the Xu Yuan Space supposed to exist between reality and illusion, between existence and nonexistence? Could it be fixed in a specific organ?"

The Messenger continued putting on airs. "That's exactly why. If you believe the Xu Yuan Space is in your eyes, then it will be in your eyes. The process of Opening is the process of strengthening your conviction."

Jiang Yao looked up abruptly. "You want me to open it in my eyes. Could that have something to do with the Lingtong?"

The Messenger chuckled. "I had that idea after I looked up the Bloodline Divine Ability of your Lingtong Race in the Virtual Universe. When I saw that fellow named Kuman use the Lingtong Divine Ability during the will assessment, I confirmed it.

"This is closely related to the technique you'll cultivate after reaching Stellar level. Don't worry. When has your great Messenger ever harmed you? Perhaps one day your Lingtong Race will have to change its name to the God Eye Race."

Jiang Yao rolled his eyes. He hated pretentious charlatans like this more than anything. But he was under someone else's roof and had no choice but to keep his head down. After cursing the foolish pig in his mind, he drew his thoughts back and once more used tenfold Soul Amplitude. Following the Messenger's instructions, he focused his entire mind on the ancient patterns of the hollow axe.

The ancient patterns made up of Yan Script seemed to exert a strange pull. Before long, they turned into a black hole and sucked in all of Jiang Yao's will and soul.

Then, gold gradually filled the hollow giant axe. Guided by Jiang Yao's will, it swung without hesitation toward some unknown direction.

With a rumble, all things fell silent!

It seemed to happen in an instant, yet also after billions of years. A world split apart from the chaos, and a will slowly awoke as it unfolded.

It was an incomparably supreme deity!

The ruler of all creation!

The deity's will spread to every corner of the world, then went beyond it into the chaos. From there, it spread throughout the entirety of its body.

"Am I... Jiang Yao?"

An irritating voice pulled Jiang Yao, who had just awakened, back to his senses. "Hehe. Since you opened the Xu Yuan Space, naturally you're the supreme deity who rules over this space."

Jiang Yao's soul, newly returned from the haze, stood like a deity in a world of nothingness. Then, its power burst through the limits of his body from his eyes.

The power spread rapidly, like a deity's domain. It pierced through walls, ceilings, and floors made of B5-grade or even stronger alloy almost without resistance, instantly spreading across an area hundreds of meters wide.

It was the middle of the night.

Everyone in the rooms touched by the power woke from meditation, training, or play. They felt as though an immensely heavy burden had been placed on their bodies, making every movement difficult.

The burly man occupying the entirety of the ninety-second floor of the Starry Sky Building was Prose, the one who had escorted Jiang Yao and the others a year earlier.

Prose's body shuddered, and all the pressure vanished in an instant. He released his mental power to investigate, frowning in annoyance. "Who's recklessly releasing a Domain? It doesn't seem like Kuman's Domain..."

The entire Starry Sky Building descended into chaos.

Once Jiang Yao came to his senses, he quickly retracted the power that had spread out. His expression was one of shock and delight. "Could this be..."

"Xu Yuan Control!" The Messenger in the Taihuan Token smiled and pronounced each word distinctly. "Your command over this power is roughly at the first level of the Control Chapter's middle section of Xu Yuan Opening. The Control Chapter has five levels in total. But even the first level is comparable to a normal Third-Stage Domain."

Jiang Yao turned to look out the window. The sky was already beginning to brighten; dawn was approaching.

The yearlong period had arrived.