Breaking Through

In the boundless expanse of space, Yin Congyang slowly stopped practicing his sword technique. The strain his soul and will could withstand had reached its limit.

He withdrew his mind from the space and, as was his habit, closed his eyes for a moment to dispel the feeling of ancient desolation.

A long sword appeared in his hand. He floated into the air, expanded his Domain slightly to block out the surrounding disturbances, then began practicing the first move of Drifting Blood.

As soon as he began, insights into the Law of Space surged in like a tide. His powerful soul and will constantly absorbed and analyzed them. Then, at a certain moment, the sword technique in his hand suddenly became flawless. Deep and restrained, every slash and thrust of the sword was imbued with indescribable mystery: simple yet masterful, returning to the fundamental truth.

Genuine delight appeared on Yin Congyang's face. With the help of the Dantian's miraculous space, he had completely mastered the first move of Drifting Blood. He had also fully understood the first underlying principle of the Law of Space expressed by that move, making tremendous progress in his comprehension of the law.

He stopped practicing and checked the time on his Optical Computer. More than a year had passed.

"Lian Luo said to give up if you haven't understood it after 200 years in the Original Universe. I figured it out in just over a year." Yin Congyang couldn't help feeling a little pleased with himself. "Looks like I chose the right path. If I'd waited decades to enter the Core Layer, my Law Comprehension definitely wouldn't have advanced this quickly..."

In high spirits, he left his cabin and chatted with Steven for a while, then returned to begin cultivating again.

Steven stared in astonishment at his temporary "shipmate," who had been in seclusion for over a year, emerged for less than a day, and was already going back into seclusion. Thinking of how he had cultivated for less than half the past year, he couldn't help feeling a twinge of shame. I seemed to cultivate this desperately when I was at Star Level, too. How did I grow so lax after reaching Domain Lord level... But comprehending laws really is difficult. When will I ever make it through the sixth level of the Heaven-Reaching Bridge...

Yin Congyang had no idea what was going through Steven's mind. Even if he had, he would have just laughed it off. He'd planned to rest for two or three days after coming out of seclusion, but suddenly his body and soul both sent him the same message: he had reached the limit of Star Level and could break through.

He hurried back to his cabin, set up security measures, then sat down cross-legged and began preparing for the breakthrough.

He sensed that his body and soul had both reached their perfect limits. He could advance no further at Star Level. With a single thought, he began to break through.

In his Consciousness Sea, nine dazzling, multicolored planets revolved along strange trajectories, circling one another to form a perfect celestial structure.

As the nine planets repeatedly expanded and contracted, the bodies that had reached their limits suddenly unleashed an immense gravitational pull. Pure energy from the universe poured in without end.

The nine planets absorbed the incoming energy and began to tremble as their volume rapidly expanded.

"Rumble—"

The same scene unfolded in his Dantian. The nine Origin Force stars were also expanding and contracting...

In almost an instant, the Cosmic Origin Energy in the Dark Universe outside the ship was devoured in a frenzy, forming a terrifying energy vortex that converged on the cabin where Yin Congyang was.

Steven, who had just entered a state of cultivation, stared in shock as he sensed the enormous energy vortex. He abruptly turned toward Yin Congyang's cabin and let out a sigh, simply withdrawing from his cultivation.

"How am I supposed to cultivate with this going on? I'd better wait until he's done breaking through... But what's with all this commotion? It's even bigger than when I broke through from Universe Level to Domain Lord..."

He shook his head, stopped thinking about it, and went back to drinking.

Meanwhile, the nine stars in Yin Congyang's Consciousness Sea and Dantian expanded to their limits at the same time, then exploded with a roar, turning into countless fragments and vast clouds of dust.

The nebulae, star clusters, dust, and countless tiny planets formed by the explosion came together to create a huge Vortex Galaxy. At its very core, tiny stars were scattered in a chaotic but intricate pattern, numbering in the tens of millions. The entire Vortex Galaxy had eight spiral arms.

At the densest point in the Vortex Galaxy's core lay an extremely small Dark Region.

It was the Vortex Galaxy's first "black hole." This tiny black hole slowly swallowed the surrounding stars and dust while generating wisps of incredibly pure energy in a place beyond reach.

The energy, like a thin mist, appeared out of nowhere around the enormous vortex, enveloping the entire galaxy in a multicolored glow.

The pure energy surged out of his Consciousness Sea and Dantian, beginning to transform Yin Congyang's entire body. His muscles, bones, organs, blood vessels... everything underwent a genetic-level leap under the influence of this pure energy. His mental power, Origin Force, and physical abilities all evolved, reaching more than ten times, nearly twenty times, the level he'd had at the ninth rank of Star Level.

Once his true self's breakthrough had settled, his clone began breaking through as well. The same process played out again. Though the clone was inside his storage space, it didn't affect the breakthrough.

Steven, who had been drinking, turned in astonishment and looked toward Yin Congyang once more.

"What's going on now? Why is it happening again? Did he break through as a Spiritual Master first, then break through in Origin Force too? Judging by this commotion, this kid's foundation is incredibly solid. He even entered the End-of-the-World Region through the 61st level of the Heaven-Reaching Tower. Maybe he'll make it into the Heaven and Earth Region someday... I took this escort job just to earn some points on the side. I never expected to run into a monster like this. I'd better get to know him well. I might be able to count on him for help someday..."

Inside the cabin.

The clone in the storage space also completed its breakthrough. Both Yin Congyang's true self and his clone carefully felt out the differences between Universe Level and Star Level.

After breaking through to Universe Level, the fluctuations in his Dantian grew denser, increasing the speed and volume of the energy surging out.

On the second day after his breakthrough, a sudden boom echoed in his soul. His entire soul broke through an invisible bottleneck and made a tremendous leap. His soul power, which had already been at the peak of Domain Lord level, instantly broke through to World Lord Level.

Yin Congyang felt as though his entire soul had become crystal clear. A powerful soul and will greatly aided Law Comprehension. Many things that had previously taken considerable effort to understand suddenly seemed easy.

Moreover, soul attack techniques such as Spiritual Impact, Illusion Techniques, and defensive techniques relied heavily on powerful soul force and will. Without them, even the most ingenious attack could not defeat an enemy.

For example, suppose a Planetary Level Illusionist had such extraordinary talent that he could cultivate a Universe Level soul attack technique. Even so, an attack powered by Planetary Level mental strength might not affect the will or consciousness of someone at Star Level. The difference in power was simply too great. It was like an ordinary person with superb swordsmanship wielding a blade made of carrots. Could he split a rock? Of course not. And that was just an ordinary person—we weren't counting someone with deep internal energy, which was itself a form of energy.

Now that his soul power had broken through to World Lord Level, he could cultivate two more identities. Yin Congyang couldn't help feeling a little troubled. He had just spent points on enough treasures to help two clones grow, and now he could cultivate more so soon. He didn't have enough points left.

Besides, now that his soul power was stronger, he needed to exchange points for the next part of the Shake God cultivation manual as soon as possible.

Still, this was a happy problem. Points could always be earned, and his clones growing more slowly wouldn't hold back his own progress. His original plan had been not to let his clones venture too far away before his true self reached World Lord Level, in case they perished and he had to cultivate them again.

Besides, a clone with Universe Level strength wouldn't offer much help out in the wider world.

After stabilizing his level, he began cultivating the third volume of Drifting Blood, hoping to quickly comprehend the second underlying principle of the Law of Space expressed by the second set of sword techniques.

As for cultivating a fourth and fifth clone, he first needed to form a Soul Container inside his body. He could work on that during his spare time between cultivation sessions.

He had spent a little over a year fully understanding the first set of sword techniques in Drifting Blood, with the help of the Dantian's miraculous space. The second set was considerably more difficult than the first. But of the 108 underlying principles of the Law of Space, some were easier than others. The first nine were the simplest, far easier than the 27 in the middle. The last 72 were the hardest, and fully understanding them would take progressively longer.

A year and a half later, he mastered the second set of sword techniques and completely understood the second underlying principle of the Law of Space. This was thanks not only to the Dantian space's help but also to his soul and will breaking through to World Lord Level. The stronger one's soul and will, the greater the help they provided in comprehending laws.

After mastering the second set of sword techniques, he tried integrating the law he had comprehended into his axe techniques.

The underlying principles of the Law of Space didn't have to be used with sword techniques. Lian Luo had practiced with a sword, so the Drifting Blood secret manual he created naturally explained them through sword techniques. Once fully understood, however, they could also be used with blades, axes, spears, hammers, and other weapons.

In less than a month, he integrated the underlying principle of the Law of Space into his axe techniques, greatly increasing their power. He entered the Killing Field and simulated various opponents, testing them one by one. Though he had only just broken through to Universe Level, and the body he had in the Virtual Universe couldn't compare to his real one, even simulated opponents at the ninth rank of Universe Level and the first rank of Domain Lord were no longer a match for him.

After leaving the Virtual Universe, he got up and left his cabin, taking a walk around the ship. He soon spotted Steven drinking in the control room.

When Steven saw Yin Congyang, his eyes lit up. "Come, come, brother. Have a drink with me. You cultivate way too hard, you know?"

As he spoke, he took out a cup, poured Yin Congyang a drink, and tossed it over with a flick of his hand. Not a drop spilled.

Yin Congyang reached out and caught it. He sent his mental power out to scan the drink, then withdrew it at once without Steven noticing. Only then did he take a small sip. The fiery liquor slid down his throat and into his belly, then transformed into a rich, mellow aroma that spread through him.