In the blink of an eye, ten years passed.
On this day, the sky above Rock Star was no different from usual. The sun rose as it always did, set as it always did, and cast its final rays across the lake as it always did.
But Qian Yu suddenly opened his eyes in the training room.
In that instant, all the light in the training room seemed to be swallowed by his pupils.
There were no whites or pupils in his eyes, only two clusters of quietly burning flames.
Qian Yu's consciousness was immersed in an indescribably profound state.
He "saw" fire.
Not flames, not firelight, but fire itself—the very essence of fire, one of the most fundamental laws that made up the universe, an eternal rule that had burned since the birth of the universe.
Countless mysterious patterns emerged within his consciousness. They were the traces of the Law of Fire: the birth and extinction of fire, its temperature, its spread, and its essence.
Over the past ten years, relying on the comprehension granted by the Primordial Dao Tree, he had pushed his Flame Domain from the sixth level all the way to the perfected ninth level. Then he had crossed from the ninth level of the domain into the threshold of laws, finally touching the critical point of Law Recognition at this moment.
In the unseen depths, a vast will descended.
It was the Origin Will of the Primordial Universe, a supreme existence formed from countless interwoven laws.
Before that will, Qian Yu's consciousness was as insignificant as dust.
The next moment, a flash of spiritual light descended, and his forehead suddenly grew hot.
A mysterious force descended from the void and branded a mark between his brows.
The mark was shaped like a flame, crimson red tinged with golden yellow, as though it were truly burning.
At the same time, he sensed the existence of the Primordial Universe's Origin Source. It was an ocean where countless laws converged, and the flame mark on his forehead was proof of the Origin Laws' recognition of him.
From this day onward, his speed in comprehending the Law of Fire would be faster than before, and the power of the secret techniques he used with the Law of Fire would be greater as well.
"This is... Law Recognition."
Qian Yu murmured as he opened his eyes.
Inside the training room, the two flames in his pupils slowly extinguished and returned to normal.
He raised a hand to touch his forehead. The skin beneath his fingertips was faintly warm, but it quickly returned to its usual temperature. Only the flame mark had been permanently branded there.
"Ten years."
Qian Yu let out a long breath, and a rare trace of a smile appeared on his lips.
In ten years, he had gone from Cosmic Level First Stage with a fifth-level Flame Domain while fleeing for his life to Cosmic Level Third Order with recognition from the Fire Origin Law.
Such speed would be considered shocking even across the entire universe.
Those peerless geniuses who joined the Virtual Universe Company, with unlimited resources, guidance from famous teachers, and acceleration through Nutrient Tanks, still needed an average of several hundred years to advance from the Cosmic Level to obtaining Law Recognition.
Yet he, an unaffiliated cultivator with no background whatsoever, had taken only ten years.
At the same time, his expression suddenly shifted.
Within his internal space, the flower bud that had been nurtured for ten full years atop the crown of the Primordial Dao Tree was quietly blooming.
Qian Yu's consciousness instantly sank into it.
The Primordial Dao Tree still stood silently. The giant tree, ten thousand meters tall, had grown much larger than it had been ten years ago, and its crown had become ever more luxuriant.
At the top of its crown, the flower bud was unfurling its petals one by one.
When the final layer of petals fully opened, the petals scattered in the next instant and drifted toward Qian Yu's consciousness body.
Qian Yu did not evade them. This was the Fruit nurtured by the Primordial Dao Tree, a gift it returned to its host body.
The first petal merged into his consciousness.
Boom!!
Qian Yu's consciousness shuddered violently. An unprecedented power surged into the depths of his soul, as though something was being reshaped, transformed, and elevated.
The second petal, the third, the fourth...
With every petal that merged into him, the transformation deepened another layer.
When all several dozen petals had merged into him—
Boom!!!
Outside, Qian Yu's cross-legged body suddenly erupted with a towering aura.
That aura shot into the sky, instantly bursting out of the training room, out of the manor, and out of Rock City. In the blink of an eye, it covered the entire Rock Star!
All two billion living beings on Rock Star simultaneously felt a pressure that came from the depths of their souls.
It was the absolute suppression of Life Level, like mortals gazing upon gods, like ants gazing upon dragons.
Within Rock City, countless pedestrians collapsed to the ground, their faces deathly pale.
At the mines, countless miners lay prostrate on the ground, trembling uncontrollably.
In the Lord's Mansion, Luo Kan had been handling official affairs when his body suddenly went weak. He nearly collapsed flat onto the ground beneath the pressure.
With great difficulty, he raised his head and looked toward the eastern part of the city, his eyes filled with horror.
"Th-this aura... What is this? Is this Cosmic Level?"
After living for so many years, he had never felt such pressure.
Even a Domain Lord he had once glimpsed from afar had not possessed such suffocating oppression.
"What exactly is that lord...?"
Within the manor.
Qian Yu's consciousness had completely returned.
He opened his eyes, and his gaze seemed to pierce through the void, as though it could see through the entire training room.
He lowered his head and looked at his hands.
These hands were exactly the same as they had been ten minutes ago. There was no visible change whatsoever.
But he knew that these hands were no longer the same hands from ten minutes ago.
"Gene Level..."
Qian Yu murmured as he sensed the incomprehensibly surging power within his body.
One hundred times.
A full one hundred times.
His original Gene Level had been that of an ordinary human: a onefold Gene Level. This was the innate Gene Level of the Human Race, as well as the natural limit for the vast majority of races in the universe.
Only those Special Lifeforms, or powerful experts who had undergone countless years of cultivation and evolution with all sorts of precious treasures, could break through this Gene Level.
But now, he had directly reached a hundredfold Gene Level.
This was a critical point under the rules of the Primordial Universe. For non-Special Lifeforms, before reaching the realm of Universe Master, the highest Gene Level they could attain was only one hundredfold.
Beyond that, one had to become a Universe Master or be a Special Lifeform.
Of course, Qian Yu also knew that Zuo Shan Ke's Nine Tribulations Secret Codex could break through this limit under the rules of the Primordial Universe.
But it could only be cultivated by one person.
"Primordial Dao Tree..."
Qian Yu was deeply shaken.
It had merely nurtured itself for ten years. A single flower had raised his Gene Level by a hundredfold.
If such a method were revealed, the entire universe would go mad.
Even if it were exchanged for a supreme treasure, countless powerful experts would likely be willing.
"But..."
Qian Yu quickly suppressed the excitement in his heart, and his gaze returned to calm.
The space where the Primordial Dao Tree resided was an absolute secret that even the Primordial Universe could not detect.
As long as he did not speak of it, no one could discover his secret.
The flame mark between his brows and the strength granted by his Hundredfold Gene Level could both be explained with the word "fortuitous encounter." The universe was vast, and geniuses who encountered opportunities were everywhere. As long as he did not expose the Primordial Dao Tree, there would not be much of a problem.
He clenched his fist.
The air in his palm was instantly crushed, producing a deafening explosion. It even stirred up a violent gust that sent the instruments in the training room tumbling every which way.
And that had only been a casual squeeze.
If he unleashed his full strength...
Qian Yu silently calculated.
Cosmic Level Third Order, Hundredfold Gene Level, and recognition from the Fire Origin Law.
With all three combined, his true combat strength was absolutely comparable to that of a Domain Lord!
"Very good."
A faint smile appeared on Qian Yu's lips.
Ten years of secluded cultivation, Law Recognition, genetic transformation, Talent Secret Art...
Wait.
Talent Secret Art!
Before you continue