"The Dao" Made Manifest, the Source of "Principle," an Absolute Beyond "Causality and Fate"

The Bloodline Enhancement System was Thanos's true reliance; it was the staircase that allowed him to surpass the Marvel World and stand above all living beings.

Harvesting energy points, strengthening his bloodline, even foreseeing and exploiting worldlines and "plots" in advance. One step ahead meant every step ahead.

He had conquered planet after planet, destroyed civilization after civilization, collected the Infinity Mu Jins, and defeated powerful enemy after powerful enemy.

Odin? Frail with age.

Ancient One? Confined to one corner.

Captain Marvel? Powerful but reckless.

Dormammu? Dependent on his dimension.

Even those so-called "heroes" had ultimately fallen one after another before his power.

He was accustomed to crushing others with strength and scheming against them with intellect.

He was accustomed to watching others struggle before him, unwilling, fearful, and finally despairing as they felt the hopeless gulf between them.

He was accustomed to being the creator of "gaps," not the one forced to endure them.

Power, wisdom, authority, the system. He possessed everything and controlled everything.

He had long believed that he himself was the ultimate "gap," an insurmountable peak destined to lay the foundation for a new universe.

Yet now, facing this man who stood silently as though merged with the backdrop of the universe, Thanos's senses, enhanced countless times over, seemed to have fallen into an absolute "void."

He could not "feel" Bai Xuan's level of life. He was neither a Mortal nor a Deity, nor was he the transcendent existence Thanos himself had currently touched upon.

The other's form of existence completely surpassed the limits of his knowledge and understanding. Just as a two-dimensional creature could not comprehend three dimensions, he could not "understand" Bai Xuan's "existence."

Therefore.

"A powerhouse far beyond me in strength?"

Thanos spoke inwardly.

The violently fluctuating starlight in his dark eyes gradually