Words Become Law, Comprehension Soars!

Once the thought took root in Chen Changqing's mind, it spread like wildfire across a prairie. He could no longer hold it back.

Things were different now. He wielded all kinds of divine abilities, and many things that once seemed impossible might truly be within reach.

But using Words Become Law came at no small cost.

With his current strength, how much spiritual power would it take to force an increase in comprehension? And how much could he increase it? Even Chen Changqing did not know.

Chen Changqing took a deep breath, pushed down his thoughts, and decided to try.

"Father, Mother."

"Try again in earnest. See if you can comprehend a divine ability..."

Chen Zhian and Qin Mengyao exchanged curious looks.

Chen Changqing had already delivered a lecture on the Dao. Much of it had gone over their heads. They had gained some insight, but they still fell just short.

Now he wanted them to try again. Could he have another way?

Neither asked. They merely nodded, closed their eyes once more, and settled their minds, trying to recapture the state they had entered during his lecture.

"Father, Mother, start with the cultivation techniques and arts you know best."

Chen Changqing's voice reached their ears. "Don't strain after some profound Dao. Begin with the basics, and you may find that door easier to reach."

Something stirred in Chen Zhian's heart.

What he knew best was naturally the Great Luo Heaven Stele Hand.

The technique was not among the Chen Family's finest. It was only upper-grade Heaven rank, but its foundations were solid. He had practiced it since the Body Tempering Realm and immersed himself in it for years. He knew it by heart.

Qin Mengyao found her direction as well.

Her specialty was a movement art called Thousand Flowing Shadow Illusions. Among her peers back then, she could have ranked in the top ten for sheer agility.

As his parents gradually sank into concentration, Chen Changqing drew a deep breath. A brilliant light suddenly flared in his eyes, deep as chaos.

He spoke.

His voice was so low that almost no one but he could hear it.

"Words Become Law—"

"Raise their comprehension as high as possible."

Hum!

An invisible force of rules erupted from within him.

It descended from nowhere without a sound, brushing across Chen Zhian and Qin Mengyao like a gentle breeze.

And yet—

In that instant, Chen Zhian shuddered. His comprehension had been magnified to an unimaginable degree.

The principles that had once baffled him suddenly seemed effortless to grasp.

Every form of the Great Luo Heaven Stele Hand, the flow of force within it, the changes in true essence, the resonance of laws... He had practiced it for years and believed he had mastered it completely.

Only now did he realize how wrong he had been.

At last, he glimpsed the true meaning of the Dao hidden within the technique.

It was—to suppress!

Not to suppress an enemy, but to suppress heaven and earth.

With one palm strike, heaven and earth fell silent!

Chen Zhian's body trembled faintly.

"So this is the Dao!"

Qin Mengyao felt it just as keenly.

Her consciousness seemed to break free of her body in an instant and merge with heaven and earth like a wisp of wind.

She had found the thread of the Dao within Thousand Flowing Shadow Illusions!

Movement was not merely about speed.

Illusions were not merely meant to confuse the eye.

Those afterimages could be real duplicates.

At that moment, she even had the strange feeling that, if she wished, she could conjure thousands upon thousands of afterimages in an instant, leaving her enemies unable to find her true body.

That heightened state of comprehension lasted only a few seconds.

Yet in that brief span, Chen Zhian's and Qin Mengyao's comprehension had been forced to a terrifying level.

And yet—

Chen Changqing's expression changed slightly.

In that single instant, his spiritual power had drained at a frightening rate.

No more than three seconds passed between activating Words Become Law and nearly exhausting his spiritual power.

Chen Changqing took a deep breath and cut off the divine ability himself.

"As I thought. It isn't that easy."

He murmured to himself, understanding flashing in his eyes.

Increasing comprehension out of thin air—and raising it as high as possible for two people at once—was almost like forcibly rewriting the rules of heaven and earth.

Words Become Law defied the heavens, but it was still only a Greater Divine Ability. It was far from capable of truly remaking heaven and earth.

Chen Changqing had also discovered that the increase in comprehension was not permanent. It had a time limit.

Once the divine ability's effect faded, their comprehension would return to its former level.

Unless—

"Unless my spiritual power becomes strong enough to maintain that heightened comprehension forever."

Chen Changqing frowned slightly. For now, that was clearly unrealistic.

"Or if I could advance Words Become Law to an Origin Divine Ability, it probably wouldn't have this limitation."

Only one rank separated an Origin Divine Ability from a Greater Divine Ability, but the gulf between them was like a chasm to the heavens.

An Origin Divine Ability transcended the rules themselves. It was the true Dao of origin.

To comprehend it once was to establish it for eternity!

Just as he had comprehended the Longevity Origin Divine Ability: he would live forever, and no means could erase him!

But—

"An Origin Divine Ability is different from a Greater Divine Ability. It takes that one stroke of opportunity and luck. It can't be forced."

Chen Changqing shook his head and set the thought aside for now.

Fortunately—

Though he had failed to raise his parents' comprehension permanently, that momentary surge had still benefited them immensely.

Chen Zhian opened his eyes, unable to hide the joy on his face.

"Changqing, I think... I understand."

He stood and looked down at his hands as though seeing them for the first time.

"Look. Is it like this?"

As the words left his mouth, Chen Zhian raised a hand and struck with his palm.

There was no fluctuation of true essence, no resonance of laws.

Yet the instant his palm moved, a dazzling golden palm appeared out of thin air. It rose dozens of yards high, blazing with piercing golden light.

An arcane Dao rhythm flowed between its five fingers, and it radiated the force of a rule that could suppress heaven and earth.

Boom!

The golden palm soared upward and slammed into the sky.

Space shattered inch by inch before it like thin paper, leaving a pitch-black rift hundreds of yards long that refused to fade.

This was the Lesser Divine Ability he had comprehended from the Great Luo Heaven Stele Hand.

Qin Mengyao opened her eyes as well.

She said nothing. With a faint smile, she vanished from where she stood.

The next instant, more than a thousand figures appeared throughout the hall.

Every one was Qin Mengyao. Every one looked alive, down to the identical smile at the corner of her mouth.

The thousand-odd afterimages darted and shifted through the hall so quickly that they dazzled the eye.

More frightening still, every afterimage carried a genuine aura. It was impossible to tell which was her true body.

In fact, any one of them could be.

Qin Mengyao could shift her true body between the afterimages at will, arriving in the blink of an eye.

"Congratulations, Ancestors! You've both comprehended divine abilities!"

At the sight, Chen Yuanba and the other two hurried forward to congratulate them.

Chen Yuanba grinned broadly, looking even happier than if he had comprehended a divine ability himself.

Chen Musen studied the thousand afterimages thoughtfully, already working out how to counter the divine ability.

Chen Qingshuang, meanwhile, wondered whether combining it with the sword Dao to create a sword intent that mingled illusion and reality would send her own strength soaring.

They seemed to be developing an instinct for comprehending the Dao: observing and thinking at every moment.