"Aaaah!!!"
The transformation was simply far too fast. At first, he barely felt anything, but after a few seconds, his entire head began to swell, as though something inside his mind were endlessly digging into his skull with a hoe.
It even felt as though something inside his head was slowly growing, forcibly stretching his skull larger and larger.
The agonizing pain was every bit as intense as what he had experienced when his Spiritual Force first awakened.
Li Xin collapsed to the ground, clutching his head and letting out gut-wrenching screams.
Worst of all, he could not even pass out. The Eternal Divine Brain kept him lucid at all times, forcing him to endure this inhuman agony while fully conscious. It was countless times worse than being sliced apart piece by piece.
Even after enduring the awakening of his Spiritual Force, he still could not bear this pain.
While Li Xin writhed in agony, a vast amount of information suddenly appeared within the Eternal Divine Brain. It was information about the Eternal Divine Brain itself.
As it turned out, this information would only appear in his mind once the Eternal Divine Brain reached the Planetary Level.
There was simply too much information about the Eternal Divine Brain. Only after reaching the Planetary Level could he withstand even a portion of it. Most of the information remained sealed and would only become fully available once the Eternal Divine Brain advanced to the Star Level.
The sheer volume of information was staggering. Fortunately, Li Xin's Eternal Divine Brain had fused with a computer, giving it immense processing power.
Even so, it took him seven full days to finish receiving this portion of the information.
But he had only received it. It was much like creating folders on a computer and storing all the information inside them.
And he endured that inhuman agony for seven full days and nights.
At the Li Family residence:
"Brother Houming, congratulations! Now that Lord Li Xin has become a Beyond War God-level powerhouse, the Li Family has a boundless future ahead!"
"Patriarch Li, is Lord Li Xin married? My daughter is a War God Level warrior. She would be a perfect match for him."
"We would like to meet Lord Li Xin. Could you arrange an introduction, Patriarch Li?"
Ever since Li Xin's strength had been revealed, visitors had nearly worn down the threshold of the Li Family's small villa. Countless factions from around the world wanted to pay Li Xin a visit.
But none of them knew where Li Xin was. Or rather, even those who knew would not dare disturb him without permission. They could only visit once Li Xin agreed to see them. Otherwise, it would be disrespectful to a powerhouse.
It was just like how everyone knew that Hong, the strongest man in the world, was at the Extreme Martial Hall headquarters, yet no one dared visit without his permission. Such was the deterrent power of the strong.
"Thank you all for thinking so highly of my son. However, he told me beforehand that he would be entering seclusion and would not see anyone during that time. Even I, his father, don't know where he is."
"He did leave me a message saying he would emerge in a month. You can return then."
Li Houming knew perfectly well that everyone before him had come because of his son, so he would not make any promises on his son's behalf.
"I see. Then we'll leave these gifts here and return to pay our respects in a month."
After hearing Li Houming's explanation, the visitors tactfully refrained from lingering. They exchanged a few polite words before leaving.
"Training in seclusion? Then I'll come back in a month."
Seeing this, Yao Rao did not insist on meeting Li Xin immediately either. After informing Hong of the situation, she left.
"Brother, I never imagined Xin's talent would be so terrifying. We haven't seen him for just three months, and he's already become a Beyond War God-level powerhouse!"
"Those important figures we normally couldn't even get an audience with are now so polite to us. It feels like a dream."
Li Xin's second uncle, Li Houyi, could not help marveling.
"Brother, Xin brought us all of this. We must not grow arrogant and cause trouble for him."
"Also, have everyone in the family come back, including our third brother who's away."
"Now that Xin has become a Beyond War God-level powerhouse, some people admire him, but others are jealous. Someone might secretly target us, his relatives, to threaten him."
Li Houming understood perfectly well that beneath the Li Family's seemingly prosperous exterior, his son alone had always been supporting them.
They could do little to help Li Xin now, but they knew they absolutely could not become burdens that held him back.
"Yes. I'll have our third brother return right away, and I'll keep our family members in line so they don't stir up trouble."
Li Houyi nodded.
"Patriarch Li, the Black Water Squad asked us brothers to deliver this thank-you gift. They said it was to thank Lord Li Xin for wiping out the beast tide and saving their entire families!"
Just then, two men arrived carrying a wooden crate. After seeing Li Houming, they delivered their message and left.
"To think..."
Li Houming and the others opened the crate curiously and discovered the Liu Family's Heads inside-the entire family that had previously moved away from Kyoto Base City!
"Dispose of this. Don't tell Xin about it for now."
Li Houming sighed. The Li Family's former bitter enemies had now been exterminated because of his son's rise. They had not even ordered it; others had acted on their own initiative to curry favor with his son.
At the Black Water Squad's base:
"Boss, we went to all that trouble to collect the Liu Family's heads, and we're just sending them over without asking for anything? Isn't that a bit of a waste?"
"Exactly, Boss. If we'd handed them to Lord Li Xin in person, we would've thought it worthwhile. But now we've given them to a disabled low-ranking war general. If he never mentions us to Lord Li Xin, won't we have lost out badly?"
Several squad members did not understand their captain Fu Qidong's decision.
"Hmph, you two fools. Even if our Black Water Squad hadn't acted, someone else would have sooner or later."
"There's a saying in China: what comes free costs the most. The fact that the Li Family hasn't rewarded us is the greatest reward we could get. Otherwise, our connection to them would end right there!"
"From now on, the Black Water Squad won't hunt in the wilderness anymore. We'll settle down and do business in Kyoto Base City. Once the Li Family rises to prominence, our Black Water Squad will soar along with them!"
Fu Qidong spoke excitedly. He saw much further ahead than the others. Clinging to the Li Family's coattails was what they needed to do most right now!
"It's finally over!"
When everything ended, the searing pain receded like a tide. Utterly drained, Li Xin lay on the ground and instantly fell into a deep sleep.
He slept for three full days and nights before waking. Fortunately, he had left his family a message beforehand, telling them not to look for him during this time or reveal his location to anyone else. That had allowed him to remain undisturbed for these ten days.
"So this is the new Eternal Divine Brain?"
The first thing he did upon waking was inspect the newly advanced Eternal Divine Brain.
After reaching the Planetary Level, the Eternal Divine Brain had split off another fist-sized Eternal Divine Brain from within itself. This new brain had not fused with anything yet and remained in its original state.
Back then, without Li Xin realizing it, his first Eternal Divine Brain had fused with a computer, becoming his current avatar and the foundation of his rise.
"The Eternal Divine Brain that fused with the computer is the main brain, while the newly created Eternal Divine Brain is a sub-brain."
"Like the main brain, the sub-brain can fuse with anything in the universe and turn it into my avatar."
"If it fuses with a machine such as a computer, it will become an avatar like a member of the Machine Race. If it fuses with another inanimate object, such as a rock, it will become a rock lifeform. If it fuses with a living creature, that creature will become my avatar. And like the main brain, all of them will have unlimited potential to evolve."
"Most importantly, even if the sub-brain is destroyed, it can be restored from the main brain. It will simply return to the state it was in when it first fused, and all its evolution will have to start over."
"So as long as I protect the main brain, I won't need to worry about an avatar fused with a sub-brain being killed. At worst, it will just have to start over."
"Even more importantly, because the main brain fused with a computer, it is almost immune to Soul Attacks, just like the Machine Race. That means no one in the universe can subject me to Soul Enslavement. My ability to survive is practically maxed out!"
Li Xin's heart pounded as he read this information.
Avatars were something countless Immortal Level and Venerable Level powerhouses, and even Universe Masters, sought. Having an avatar vastly improved their chances of survival, giving them the courage to venture into many desperate situations. At worst, they would only lose an avatar.
Yet he could already possess two avatars despite having only just reached the Planetary Level. How outrageous was that?
Once he advanced the Eternal Divine Brain to the Star Level, Eternal Divine Brain No. 1 would even produce another new Eternal Divine Brain, giving him yet another avatar.
(To distinguish between the Eternal Divine Brains, the first one created would be called No. 1, the second No. 2, and so on.)
Before you continue