Breaking Through to Star Level

At the same time, the energy from the Earth Mother Qi he had absorbed earlier played a crucial role. It transformed into pure Earth-style cosmic energy, frantically nourishing the newly forming tissues, repairing the damage caused by the genetic reorganization, and replenishing the immense energy consumed by the evolution. This allowed the painful, violent transformation to proceed in a relatively "gentle" and efficient manner.

Time passed slowly amid unrelenting pain.

One hour...

Two hours...

Qin Zhao was drenched as if he had just been fished out of the water. His body occasionally convulsed uncontrollably, but he remained fully conscious. In fact, amid this violent change to the very essence of his life, his awareness of his own body and his grasp of energy flow had reached an unprecedented level of precision. He faintly sensed that the bottleneck in Ten Thousand Line Flow, which had kept him stuck at the entry stage, seemed to be showing signs of loosening amid this whole-body transformation.

At last, after three hours that felt as long as a century, the pain that had swept through his body slowly receded like the tide. In its place came an indescribable sense of comfort and strength.

The transformation was complete.

Qin Zhao slowly opened his eyes. A flash of azure lightning seemed to flicker through them and vanish. He stood and stretched, hearing Origin Force surge through his body like a mighty river. His Spiritual Force had also grown as dense and heavy as quicksilver. His body felt countless times lighter, yet brimmed with explosive power. His ability to sense and draw upon the surrounding cosmic energy had increased by several times at least!

He walked over to the full-length mirror in the quiet room.

The young man reflected in the mirror now stood nearly two meters tall. His build was perfectly proportioned, and his streamlined muscles held terrifying strength. His skin had grown even finer, with a faint sheen to it. Most striking of all were the two pale-blue antennae, about ten centimeters long, on his forehead. Soft yet resilient, they swayed slightly of their own accord, as if they could detect the energy fluctuations and information in the universe more clearly.

The next moment, Qin Zhao's gaze fell on the data panel, which had finished updating before him.

[Name: Qin Zhao]

[Affinity: Earth Element (Transcendent), Water-style (High), Pseudo-Space (Intermediate)]

[Techniques: 128 Martial Arts Secret Techniques (Perfected), Shockwave (Proficient 62%), Earth Pulse Guard (Proficient 58%), Ten Thousand Line Flow (Proficient 1%)]

[Insights: Earth-style Laws (Earth Element 100%, Pulse of the Earth 82%, Gravity Space 15%)]

[Buffs: Comprehension +30%, Soul Resistance +10%]

Not only had [Pseudo-Space (Intermediate)] been added to his affinities, but Ten Thousand Line Flow in the techniques section had also become [Ten Thousand Line Flow (Proficient 1%)]!

"I did it!"

Qin Zhao clenched his fist, feeling the surging power within him and the renewed foundation of his body. Delight filled his eyes. The Longke Race Bloodline Evolution Agent had worked far better than expected! It had not only enhanced his talents but had directly granted him an intermediate-level talent for the Law of Space!

As for why the space talent had the word "pseudo" after it, Qin Zhao had a theory. The Coiling Dragon World was merely a so-called Subordinate Universe. Since Subordinate Universes were less stable than the main universe, Hongmeng would not allow beings who comprehended the Law of Space or the Law of Time to exist within them.

For that reason, neither space nor time could be cultivated in a Subordinate Universe. But Qin Zhao was now in the world of Swallowed Star, whose cosmic structure was far more sophisticated than that of the Subordinate Universe in Coiling Dragon. Here, both the laws of space and time could be comprehended and cultivated normally.

Since the laws of space and time could be cultivated normally in the world of Swallowed Star, yet there were no cultivators of those laws in the world of Coiling Dragon, the panel had simply added the word "pseudo" as a way of fooling itself.

Feeling the transformation of his body and the new perceptions brought by the [Pseudo-Space (Intermediate)] talent and [Ten Thousand Line Flow (Entry 99%)], Qin Zhao did not let his guard down. Breaking through to Star Level while the momentum was on his side had been part of his plan all along. Besides, his Planet Level Nine Peak cultivation had already reached a critical point under the impact of the Longke Race bloodline's immense vitality. Before his newly transformed life form, the barrier to Star Level had grown weaker than ever.

"I'll use this chance to break through to Star Level!" A sharp glint flashed in Qin Zhao's eyes.

The leap in life level brought by bloodline evolution was the perfect opportunity to break through a cultivation stage. The two reinforced each other, making the process twice as effective. The immense energy he had accumulated from the resources he'd redeemed and absorbed was now the ideal fuel for breaking through the bottleneck.

He sat cross-legged again and sank his awareness into his body. In his dantian, nine miniature ocher planets revolved slowly around a core. They had swollen to their limit and radiated brilliant, steady light. His Planet Level Origin Force, after being tempered by the energy of bloodline evolution, seemed to have taken on a purer and more active quality.

"Condense!"

Qin Zhao focused his mind and, guided by his powerful soul, drove the nine miniature planets to collapse inward and converge, following the method for breaking through to Star Level recorded in the 128 Martial Arts Secret Techniques.

"Rumble!"

A thunderous boom, like the opening of heaven and earth, echoed through his dantian. Under immense pressure, the nine miniature planets instantly disintegrated, becoming a dense, violent cloud of ocher stardust that filled the entire space. Their orderly structure was shattered, and the energy grew chaotic and destructive.

Intense pain surged from his dantian—far more concentrated and profound than the pain of bloodline evolution. It was the tearing sensation of energy being forcibly transformed at its very essence. But Qin Zhao had already endured the inhuman agony of genetic reorganization, and his will had been tempered into unyielding steel. He held his mind steady, unfazed, and focused all his strength on guiding the chaotic nebula.

His will became an invisible giant hand, forcibly restraining and compressing the violent ocher nebula at its center! Countless flecks of stardust collided, ground against one another, and fused under immense pressure. A point of searing light began to form at the center, growing brighter and brighter!

"Not enough!" Qin Zhao sensed the core's terrifying capacity to devour energy. With a thought, the immense life force and Universe Origin Energy left in his limbs and bones after absorbing the Star Source Marrow and undergoing bloodline evolution surged toward his dantian as if summoned, pouring into the collapsing nebula!

With this fresh energy joining the flow, the light at the core suddenly blazed brighter!

Buzz—!

A hum that seemed to come from the depths of his soul rang out.

The entire violent ocher nebula collapsed toward that central point at a visible rate, contracting inward! In just a moment, all the stardust vanished. In its place hung a miniature star, slowly rotating at the center of his dantian and radiating endless light and heat.

The star was dark yellow throughout. Its surface seemed to be covered in countless rising and falling mountain ranges, while the Earth Pulse coursed through it. It radiated a heavy, majestic aura, as if it could bear all things. It was the manifestation of Qin Zhao's Earth-style Genetic Force! The instant the star formed, a blazing torrent of Origin Force, more than ten times purer and more powerful than Planet Level Origin Force, swept through Qin Zhao's entire body like a river bursting its banks!

This was Star Level!