Talent Secret Art, Control Time and Space

Qian Yu suddenly remembered the imprint he had felt when the petals merged into him.

He closed his eyes, sinking his consciousness deep into his soul.

Sure enough, above his soul, a mysterious imprint floated silently.

That imprint was extremely complex, countless times more profound than the patterns of the Fire Law, as if it were some kind of primordial brand.

The moment his consciousness touched that imprint, a surge of information flooded into his mind.

"Innate Secret Art: Space-Time Manipulation."

Qian Yu's eyes snapped open.

Space-Time Manipulation?!

He froze for a moment, then memories of this secret art surfaced in his mind.

As far as he knew, there were very few beings in the universe who possessed the Innate Secret Art "Space-Time Manipulation."

The most famous among them was the World Tree of the Ancestral God Sect—that true World Tree, though only at the Venerable realm, could rival a Cosmic Lord by relying on this secret art and its own genetic level!

"It's actually Space-Time Manipulation..."

Qian Yu was shaken to the core.

He had originally thought that the first Innate Secret Art nurtured by the Primordial Dao Tree might be a clone, an enhancement, or some kind of combat secret art.

But he never expected it to directly grant the top-tier space-time type Innate Secret Art.

Space-Time Manipulation, as the name implied, allowed one to control the flow of space and time within a certain range.

Such an ability was practically an unbeatable trump card in battle, especially against opponents weaker than oneself. Once Space-Time Manipulation was unleashed, the enemy couldn't even move and could only be slaughtered.

Even when facing opponents stronger than oneself, Space-Time Manipulation could greatly restrict their movements, creating an advantage.

"Though it's not a secret art like a clone that can raise one's own strength ceiling, Space-Time Manipulation is absolutely top-tier among combat secret arts. Below the Cosmic Lord realm, it's practically invincible."

Qian Yu nodded in satisfaction.

He looked back into his internal space.

Above the canopy of the Primordial Dao Tree, the flower bud had completely vanished, replaced by an extremely tiny fruit.

That fruit was only the size of a fingernail, entirely emerald green, with faint patterns flowing across its surface.

It hung quietly on the branch, like a baby being nurtured.

"There's more?"

Qian Yu was slightly stunned.

He had thought the blooming of the flower bud was the end.

Now it seemed the flower bud was only the beginning—or rather, the bud had nurtured the Innate Secret Art, while the fruit was what the Primordial Dao Tree truly intended to give him.

He just didn't know how long this fruit would take to mature, or what it would bring him.

Qian Yu stared at that fruit for a long time, then finally withdrew his consciousness.

No matter how long it took, he could afford to wait.

Ten years had yielded Space-Time Manipulation and a hundredfold gene level. Even if the next one took a hundred years, a thousand years, or ten million years, it would still be worth it.

He stood up and walked to the window.

Outside, the night was deep, and the stars filled the sky.

Qian Yu gazed at that starry sky, his heart more at peace than ever before.

The escape ten years ago had finally given him the capital to truly stand on his own.

A hundredfold gene level, Law recognition, Space-Time Manipulation—with such a setup, even if he encountered the Fire Phoenix Organization now, he would have the strength to fight.

"Time to go out and take a look."

Qian Yu pushed open the door of the cultivation room, stepping out of this estate he had lived in for ten years for the first time.

The lake was still calm, starlight reflected on its surface, shimmering with ripples.

He stood by the lake, suddenly raising his right hand.

With a thought, the space in his palm twisted violently—the simplest application of Space-Time Manipulation, freezing a region of space.

On the lake, the originally rippling water suddenly became still, and even the wind stopped.

A second later, he released his grip, and everything returned to normal.

A faint smile tugged at the corner of Qian Yu's mouth.

Good.

From now on, though the universe was vast, he truly had a place to stand.

"The Fire Phoenix Organization..."

He softly uttered those four words, his tone calm, yet the air around him seemed to chill by several degrees.

Several hundred years.

He had been enslaved by the Fire Phoenix Organization for centuries.

In those centuries, he was a slave, a commodity, goods that could be bought and sold at any time.

Like countless other beings captured from various races, he was enslaved, displayed as merchandise, and forced to fight as a gladiator for entertainment.

He didn't want to recall a single day of that life, but those memories were etched into his bones.

Qian Yu raised his hand and looked at his own palm.

"Fire Phoenix Organization, a slave trading group. Their strongest is the Domain Lord Pan Xi, who possesses two Domain Lord-level plant lifeforms..."

Qian Yu silently calculated.

His current strength: Universe-level, third stage. A hundredfold gene level. Acknowledged by the Fire Origin Law. Plus his Innate Secret Art: Space-Time Manipulation.

Stacking these three together, his true combat power could indeed rival a Sector Lord. But it only rivaled a Sector Lord. Pan Xi was a true Domain Lord.

Universe-level, Sector Lord, Domain Lord—the gap between each major realm was a chasm.

Under normal circumstances, a hundred Universe-level ninth-stage fighters couldn't defeat a single Sector Lord first-stage; a hundred Sector Lord ninth-stage fighters couldn't defeat a single Domain Lord first-stage.

For him to cross one major realm now was already a miracle of stacking a hundredfold genes, law acknowledgment, and his innate secret art. But to cross another major realm and challenge a Domain Lord? He was still far off.

"At the very least, I need to reach Sector Lord level."

Qian Yu quickly made his judgment.

As long as he broke through to Sector Lord, even just first-stage, with his hundredfold genes, his law insights by then, and Space-Time Manipulation, he was absolutely certain he could kill Pan Xi.

But Pan Xi was the head of the Fire Phoenix Organization, not the whole organization.

The Fire Phoenix Organization had operated in the Cui Lang Starfield for who knows how many years, its influence spanning dozens of star systems, controlling countless mining planets, trading posts, and slave camps.

Those branch leaders, those lackeys who abetted the evil, those butchers whose hands were stained with the blood of slaves—they weren't Domain Lords.

Most of them were Universe-level, and quite a few were only Star-level.

"Can't deal with Pan Xi? Then I'll deal with them."

A cold glint flashed in Qian Yu's eyes.

In his centuries of enslavement, he had seen too many members of the Fire Phoenix Organization.

Back then, he was a slave, forced to bow his head and endure.

Now, it was time to collect interest.

And as it happened, he was dirt poor right now, while the Fire Phoenix Organization was famously wealthy—especially their boss, Pan Xi.

That guy was considered one of the luckiest bastards in the entire Devouring World. No one knew where he'd gotten his hands on so much Locke Divine Water.

Holding wealth worth billions of mixed-currency units, yet only a minor Domain Lord—wasn't he just a child clutching a mountain of gold?

Of all the transmigrators who crossed into the Devouring World, who didn't come to fleece this sheep? It was practically a newbie gift pack.

And right now, Qian Yu desperately needed enough wealth to boost his own strength.

After all, he was already on par with a Sector Lord, yet he only had a few hundred million Ganwu Coins left.

Right now, he was the poorest Sector Lord in the entire Primordial Universe.

First, he'd start by picking off the outer edges of the Fire Phoenix Organization, fleece some wool from them.

Once his strength truly rose, he'd go find that bastard Pan Xi and settle the score.

With that, the decision was happily made.