Comprehending the Chaos Tablet

Another five years had passed in the blink of an eye, and the batch of members from the Virtual Universe Company's Strongman Battle had already left Chaos City.

Gulanxiu's target, Xiusite, who ranked second in the Strongman Battle, did not unexpectedly explode with potential—he failed to clear the fifth level of the Dragon Walk Sky Bridge before leaving Chaos City.

However, two other geniuses did manage to clear the fourth level of the Sky Bridge before departing Chaos City.

Of course, the most astonishing was Yunmiao, the first-place winner of this Strongman Battle—she actually cleared the ninth level of the Cosmic Sky Bridge before leaving Chaos City.

Such talent was truly terrifying. For context, in the original story, during Luo Feng's era, not a single Cosmic Level genius from the entire Virtual Universe Company had cleared the ninth level, not even those Original Secret Realm members who had cultivated for countless years.

All of this was relayed to Gulanxiu via email by Bafen, though the specific videos of the challenges were not leaked to Gulanxiu and the others.

Barbarian Hammer King, however, had seen Yunmiao's challenge video. According to him, Yunmiao had taken a clever shortcut. Her comprehension of the laws alone would have made it very difficult to pass the ninth level, but her willpower was formidable. She chose to face an illusionist as her opponent, and the illusionist's techniques struggled to affect her, allowing her to rely on her strong will to clear the ninth level.

Barbarian Hammer King's words gave Gulanxiu some ideas. If possible, he wanted to try the same approach. While this didn't represent Yunmiao's true strength, the points rewarded for clearing the ninth level were real—and multiplied tenfold at that. If he could manage it, Gulanxiu was eager to give it a shot.

At this point, with Barbarian Hammer King's guidance, Gulanxiu had already trained all three Axe Arts to the sixth strike. The next step was the most difficult: merging the three strikes into one.

Once this step was taken, the path ahead would be smooth. But if he couldn't make it through, Gulanxiu's future cultivation would become far more arduous.

Fortunately, Gulanxiu had Barbarian Hammer King to guide his training, along with two opportunities to comprehend the Chaos Tablet. Within ten years, he might be able to fully grasp this single strike. He already had some clues, but many doubts remained, so he decided to visit the Chaos Tablet to see if it could help resolve his confusion.

Soon, Gulanxiu arrived at the hall in the City Lord's Mansion where the Chaos Tablet was kept.

The ever-unchanging Candri stood there, smiling as he said to Gulanxiu, "Little one! I remember you! You're Gulanxiu, right? Here to comprehend the Chaos Tablet?"

Gulanxiu nodded and said, "Yes, Lord Candri! Is the Giant Axe Chaos Tablet currently being used by anyone?"

Candri nodded with a smile and replied, "You've come at a bad time. Someone is comprehending the Giant Axe Chaos Tablet right now. You'll have to wait about two days."

Gulanxiu nodded and said, "That's fine, Lord Candri. In that case, I'll cultivate here for two days."

With that, he sat down cross-legged and began sorting through the many doubts in his mind.

Candri watched Gulanxiu enter a cultivation state and muttered quietly, "Not a bad mindset—able to enter a cultivation state anytime, anywhere. Pity his talent is mediocre. Without some stroke of fortune, it'll be hard for him to break through and become a Venerable."

After saying this, Candri turned his gaze elsewhere and stopped paying attention to Gulanxiu.

As the guardian of the Chaos Tablet, Candri had seen too many geniuses over countless years. Though he was always cheerful with everyone, even treating Star Level and Cosmic Level cultivators without any airs of superiority, he had no regard for geniuses who couldn't become Venerables.

Two days passed in an instant. As the sound of "Come out now!" echoed in his ears, Gulanxiu opened his eyes and headed toward the Giant Axe Chaos Tablet.

From the cultivation chamber of the Giant Axe Chaos Tablet, a towering Ox-Head Realm Lord emerged.

A moment later, Gulanxiu sat cross-legged in the cultivation chamber, staring at the first strike depicted on the Chaos Tablet before him.

This time, something miraculous happened. What Gulanxiu saw was vastly different from his first visit.

Before him, a wild-looking man shouted, "First strike!" As he spoke, he swung his giant axe horizontally, and his figure instantly split into nine phantom bodies.

Each phantom body held a giant axe and struck toward Gulanxiu. Instinctively, he wanted to dodge, but he felt his body locked in place, unable to move.

At the same time, a force that twisted space descended upon him, instantly shredding Gulanxiu into pieces.

Gulanxiu's eyes snapped open, a flicker of shock and understanding passing through them. He hadn't expected to experience the Chaos Tablet from the perspective of the one being attacked this time. The sensation had felt just like facing a real assault!

He murmured to himself, "Truly incredible! When the first strike is pushed to its limit, it's this powerful. I couldn't even withstand a single blow. But how did he do it?"

Then Gulanxiu looked at the Giant Axe Chaos Tablet again, sensing the changes in the Axe Art.

This time was different again. If the last time was from the opponent's perspective, this time it was from the protagonist's. Gulanxiu suddenly found himself on a desolate plain, facing a massive bull over ten meters tall charging toward him at full speed.

The bull was immensely powerful. Every step it took sent a tremor through the ground, spreading outward in all directions.

Gulanxiu instinctively wanted to resist, but he realized he couldn't control his own body.

Just as the bull was about to reach him, Gulanxiu moved. He muttered softly, "First strike."

In an instant, he transformed into nine clones, all striking at the bull simultaneously. The bull offered no resistance and was slain by the spatial crushing force.

Gulanxiu's consciousness returned to his body, and he stared at the Chaos Tablet with excitement.

In that moment, he felt like he had grasped something. The effect of immersing himself in the experience was indeed remarkable.

Though his perception of how Space Law was integrated into the technique wasn't entirely clear, he had gained some insights that left him craving more.

After organizing his thoughts, Gulanxiu once again fixed his gaze on the stone tablet before him and continued his comprehension.

It wasn't until repeated calls of "Come out now!" echoed in his ears that Gulanxiu snapped back to reality.

He glanced at the Chaos Tablet with a hint of reluctance, then stood up and walked out with determination.

This session of comprehending the Chaos Tablet had a profound impact on him. He even felt that if he could continue, he might fully understand that single strike.

But he knew this was just an illusion born from the flood of inspiration in his mind. What mattered most now was to fully digest the insights from this session and find the path to merging the three strikes into one.

Though his strength hadn't directly improved, this comprehension had strengthened Gulanxiu's confidence in his cultivation path. He knew that even with his current level of enlightenment, he could grasp the three-in-one strike at the Cosmic Level, laying a solid foundation for his future path to becoming a Venerable.