Struggle

The scorching heat of the desert seemed to have been swept clean by the majestic Law of Earth Origin that Qin Zhao had stirred while condensing his divine clone, yet the air still lingered with a suffocating, heavy pressure.

Qin Zhao's true body stood shoulder to shoulder with his newly formed Earth-style Divine Clone, their consciousnesses shared as he savored the clearer connection to the universe's origin after crossing the threshold of the Law of Earth Origin.

Just then, at the edge of the sky, a scorching and vast aura approached from afar, arriving swiftly. The aura carried no hostility, yet it hung like a blazing sun above the firmament, exuding a sense of majesty and boundlessness.

With a thought from Qin Zhao, the Earth-style Divine Clone beside him instantly transformed into a stream of earthy yellow light, merging back into his true body. He casually took a simple cloth robe from his storage ring, draped it over himself to cover his upper body, and gazed calmly toward the direction from which the aura came.

A fiery red streak tore across the sky, like a falling meteor, crashing heavily onto a sand dune not far ahead of Qin Zhao. The light dissipated, revealing a middle-aged man clad in crimson battle armor, his hair standing upright like burning flames. His face was resolute, his eyes sharp as an eagle's, and the energy field naturally radiating from him caused the surrounding sand grains to faintly glow red and soften.

He was none other than the universally acknowledged strongest of the Flame Meteor Empire, and the only Planet Level nine-stage Spirit Reader on the entire Flame Meteor Planet—Mu Han!

"Qin Zhao? So it's you!" Mu Han spoke, his voice booming with a metallic, clanging clarity and a hint of realization. He sized up Qin Zhao, a flicker of barely perceptible surprise in his eyes. "The energy fluctuations here earlier were abnormal. It seems your seclusion has yielded far more than the typical breakthrough to Planet Level first-stage!"

Mu Han's voice carried a wave of heat, causing the surrounding air to warp slightly. Though he couldn't specifically sense the presence of the divine clone, the anomalous energy fluctuations in this area couldn't escape the perception of a powerhouse like him.

Qin Zhao gave a slight bow, neither humble nor arrogant: "Senior Mu Han, I merely had a stroke of luck in my insights."

Mu Han waved his hand, a somewhat amiable smile appearing on his face: "No need for modesty! To break through to Planet Level at such an age, you are truly the most outstanding genius on Flame Meteor Planet in the last hundred years!"

"I came today, first, to confirm the commotion I sensed; second, to formally congratulate you on stepping into Planet Level, truly earning the right to stand at the peak of this planet, and... the qualification to know the truth of the universe."

"The truth of the universe?" Qin Zhao's heart stirred, and he wore a perfectly timed expression of confusion on his face. Though he had long suspected, hearing it spoken by the strongest on Flame Meteor Planet carried a different weight.

Mu Han's smile faded, replaced by a deep solemnity. He looked up at the seemingly eternally burning planet, then glanced around at the endless desert, and spoke slowly: "Yes, the truth. A truth about the land beneath our feet, about our Flame Meteor Planet, and even about this vast universe... a cruel truth."

His gaze fell back on Qin Zhao, carrying both scrutiny and a hint of expectation: "Qin Zhao, do you think the Flame Meteor Empire is the entirety of the world? Do you think Planet Level is the end of cultivation?"

Qin Zhao remained silent, adopting a listening posture.

Mu Han took a deep breath, his voice low and forceful: "I tell you, it is not! Our Flame Meteor Planet, in the boundless universe, is nothing more than an insignificant native planet! What we call the Flame Meteor Empire, what we call Planet Level, in the eyes of true cosmic civilizations, might be no different from ants in the desert!"

Though prepared, Qin Zhao still cooperated by showing shock, his pupils slightly contracting.

Seeing Qin Zhao's reaction, Mu Han was not surprised. He continued in a deep voice: "Planet Level, in the common language of the universe, is the first formal step on the path to becoming a powerhouse! Below it, it is collectively called the Apprentice Level, divided into Warriors and Spirit Readers."

"And above Planet Level, there are even more powerful Star Level, Universe Level, and the Domain Lord level existences that dominate entire regions! Such powerhouses, it is said, can turn a planet into a living hell with a wave of their hand—their strength far beyond what you or I can imagine!"

As if the word "hell" triggered a keyword, the system, which had just gone silent, once again appeared before Qin Zhao's eyes.

[Congratulations on triggering the keyword "Hell". You now know of the "Four Supreme Higher Planes" beyond the material plane.]

[Achievement Unlocked: Erudite!]

[Reward: Comprehension increased by 10%!]

[Name: Qin Zhao]

[Talent: Earth-style (Superior), Water-style (High)... (High and below omitted)]

[Achievements: Saint Realm, Lowgod, Erudite]

[Secret Techniques: 128 Martial Arts Secret Techniques (Mastery 97%)]

[Insights: Earth-style Laws (Earth Element 100%, Pulse of the Earth 2%)]

[Items: None]

[Buff: Comprehension increased by 10%!]

"An achievement unlocked from this? And the effect is actually a comprehension boost!" Qin Zhao looked at the achievement unlock log on the panel, quite surprised.

What was a comprehension boost? From speeding up insights into secret techniques to accelerating the understanding of laws and even the origin itself—it all fell under comprehension boost!

A buff that directly granted a comprehension boost meant this system was far more extraordinary than Qin Zhao had imagined! Though the 10% boost wasn't much, it was essentially free, enough to keep him pleased for a long time.

On the other side, Mu Han paused, seemingly giving Qin Zhao time to digest this information, then spoke with a hint of bitterness: "And our Flame Meteor Planet is trapped here, like a frog at the bottom of a well. If not for an accident a hundred years ago, we might still be ignorant of the universe's vastness."

"An accident?" Qin Zhao caught the key word.

"Yes, an accident." A flicker of complexity passed through Mu Han's eyes. "About ten thousand years ago, the ancestors of our Flame Meteor Planet discovered an 'Outer Space Relic'."

"It was not a creation of our Flame Meteor civilization, but a remnant left by some unknown cosmic civilization from beyond the stars." Mu Han explained. "The knowledge and technology contained within the relic far exceeded our understanding. It was from there that we learned part of the universe's truth, as well as the divisions of Planet Level, Star Level, and so on."

"Even to this day, our Flame Meteor civilization uses the common language of cosmic civilizations as its official tongue! Moreover, this knowledge has been immeasurably beneficial to our civilization's advancement!"

His voice grew even lower: "However, besides knowledge and technology, the most precious thing in that relic was a fully intact spaceship!"

At this, Qin Zhao's heartbeat quickened slightly. He knew the key point was coming.

Mu Han's face showed pain and helplessness: "A hundred years ago, our Flame Meteor Planet also produced a brilliant genius named 'Liu Yuan'. His talent was unparalleled; he reached Star Level before the age of fifty, the most dazzling new star of that era."

"He successfully entered the core area of that Outer Space Relic and ultimately... activated that one and only spaceship, leaving Flame Meteor Planet to sail into the boundless starry sky."

"He... left alone?" Qin Zhao frowned slightly.

If that was really the case, it would be troublesome! And according to Mu Han, that spaceship was the only one in the relic's core area. Without a spaceship, it meant being trapped on Flame Meteor Planet forever.

"Yes, he left alone." Mu Han sighed. "No one knows why he left alone. He left no message and took no fellow countrymen. Since then, in the hundred years after him, no one has been able to enter the relic again! That relic seemed to fall into some kind of silence after Liu Yuan left."

With that, he looked at Qin Zhao with burning eyes: "Now that the only spaceship has been taken away by Liu Yuan, our Flame Meteor Planet has lost its only means of actively reaching the universe. To make contact with the cosmos, to understand the outside world, and to escape the fate of being a native planet, our only hope now is to enter that 'Outer Space Relic' once more!"