Three Trials
The space inside the temple was far larger than it appeared from outside.
After Qin Yuan stepped through the temple doors, he found himself in a vast starry sky. Countless brilliant stars shone overhead, and beneath his feet, a transparent path formed from pure light stretched forward with no end in sight.
"The first trial-the Gates of Time and Space." The aged voice rang out again. "There are nine Gates of Time and Space ahead. Behind each gate is a challenge concerning either the Time Law or the Space Law. Only by passing them all may you enter the next trial."
Qin Yuan strode forward and soon arrived before the first Gate of Time and Space.
It was a gate of light a hundred zhang tall, with Time Law runes engraved on its frame. A line of text appeared on the gate:
"First gate-Speed of Time. A point of light moving at a hundred times the flow of time will appear beyond the gate. The inheritor must catch it using purely physical reactions, without using any Time Law. Time limit: one hundred breaths."
Qin Yuan raised an eyebrow.
Catch a point of light moving at a hundred times the flow of time through physical reactions alone, without using the Time Law? This challenge tested not Law Comprehension, but the most basic nerve reaction speed and bodily control. For an ordinary Universe Master whose Gene Level was only a few hundred times the norm, it was a nearly impossible task. But for Qin Yuan, whose Gene Level was as high as 2,700 times-
He stepped through the gate of light.
In the space beyond the gate, a fist-sized point of golden light darted about wildly at a staggering speed. Its path was utterly erratic, veering left and right, up and down. It moved so fast that it left countless dazzling afterimages in the space around it.
Qin Yuan closed his eyes and released his Spiritual Force to its limit. His 2,700-fold Gene Level had granted him not only an increase in Divine Power, but also perception and reaction speed far beyond others of his level. The point of light's trajectory gradually became clear to his senses.
One breath, two breaths, three breaths...
On the seventh breath, Qin Yuan moved.
His right hand shot out like lightning and caught the point of light with unerring precision!
"First gate passed. Time taken: seven breaths."
Qin Yuan continued forward and arrived at the second Gate of Time and Space.
"Second gate-Fold of Space. Beyond the gate is a maze made of folded space. The inheritor must find the exit using purely physical perception, without using the Space Law. Time limit: three hundred breaths."
Without the Space Law, he could not use the power of laws to unravel the pattern of spatial folds and could only rely on his body to sense subtle changes in space. This was likewise exceedingly difficult for ordinary Universe Masters, because they were accustomed to using laws to perceive the world and had instead neglected their bodies' most instinctive senses.
But Qin Yuan was different. He had transmigrated here and had originally been an ordinary person. He did not share the reliance on laws that Universe Masters who had cultivated for hundreds of millions of years had. His physical perception was purer as a result.
After one hundred and eighty breaths, Qin Yuan walked out of the folded-space maze.
"Second gate passed. Time taken: one hundred and eighty breaths."
The third gate tested reverse deduction of the Time Law.
The fourth gate tested microscopic perception of the Space Law.
The fifth gate tested the preliminary fusion of time and space.
Qin Yuan passed through one gate after another. His comprehension of the Time Law and Space Law had already reached the peak of the proficiency level during his previous cultivation. With the support of his 2,700-fold Gene Level as well, none of the first eight gates managed to stop him.
Not until the ninth gate.
"Ninth gate-the trial of the Heart of Time and Space. There are no questions beyond the gate, only a void. The inheritor must comprehend the true meaning of the 'Heart of Time and Space' within the void to pass. There is no time limit, but if you fail to comprehend it within ten thousand years, you will automatically be teleported out of the temple."
The Heart of Time and Space?
Qin Yuan stepped through the ninth gate of light and found that he had indeed arrived in absolute nothingness. There was no light, no sound, no matter. Even the concepts of time and space themselves had become indistinct. It was as though he were floating in chaos, having lost every anchor for his senses.
The sensation was extraordinarily strange. He was plainly a Universe Master Level expert who could cross hundreds of millions of light-years in a single thought, yet in this void, he felt like a mortal who had been blindfolded, had his ears plugged, and had his hands and feet bound.
"The Heart of Time and Space..." Qin Yuan murmured to himself. He simply emptied his mind of all thoughts and stopped deliberately "thinking" about anything.
After an unknown length of time-in this void, time itself had lost all meaning-a glimmer appeared in Qin Yuan's consciousness. It did not come from outside, but from the very depths of his soul. It was his understanding of time and space, accumulated through all his previous cultivation, battles, and insights, naturally settling, condensing, and sublimating in absolute silence.
Time and space had never been two separate things. Time was the sequence of space, and space was the vessel of time. Space without time was a motionless void, while time without space was an illusion with nothing to cling to. The two were one to begin with, divided into two concepts only by perception at lower dimensions.
The so-called "Heart of Time and Space" meant transcending that division and directly perceiving the fundamental unity of time and space.
Qin Yuan opened his eyes.
At that moment, the void before him became incomparably clear. He "saw" the flow of time, "saw" the extension of space, and "saw" the vast, intricate structure of the universe formed by the two interweaving.
"Ninth gate passed. Total time taken: thirty breaths in the outside world; three years as perceived within."
Qin Yuan was slightly taken aback. By his perception, he had spent at least three years in that void. Yet only thirty breaths had passed outside?
"There is no need for surprise." The aged voice rang out again. "Time flows a million times faster in the ninth gate than in the outside world. You spent three years comprehending within, but only thirty breaths passed outside. This, too, is a gift left by the Void God King-allowing inheritors sufficient time for comprehension without consuming time in reality."
Qin Yuan was shaken. A millionfold difference in the flow of time! Such a method was already far beyond a Universe Master's understanding. It was indeed the work of someone at the God King Level.
He continued forward, and the nine Gates of Time and Space vanished one after another behind him. The starry sky receded, and he found himself on the second level of the temple.
The space on the second level was much smaller than the first, containing only a circular altar a hundred zhang across. Two items floated at its very center.
The first was a fist-sized mass of silver-gray light that constantly shifted shape. The light gave off an aura that felt both incomparably familiar and utterly foreign to Qin Yuan-it was highly concentrated Space-Time Origin power!
The second was a golden scroll, far thicker and heavier than either the Basic Chapter or the Advanced Chapter from before.
"Congratulations on passing the first trial." A hint of satisfaction entered the aged voice. "As a reward, you may choose either of these two items. The silver-gray light is a wisp of the 'True Meaning of Time and Space.' After merging with it, you can directly raise your comprehension of the Space-Time Law to the major accomplishment realm. The golden scroll is the 'Void God King Inheritance: Core Chapter,' which records the cultivation insights and secret techniques the Void God King accumulated throughout his life."
Qin Yuan looked at the two items and fell into thought.
The True Meaning of Time and Space could directly raise his Law Comprehension to the major accomplishment realm, bringing an immediate increase in strength. The cultivation insights in the Core Chapter, on the other hand, would require him to comprehend them slowly, and their short-term benefits were inferior to the former.
Before entering the temple, he might have chosen the True Meaning of Time and Space. After all, he had been about to face a powerful enemy like the Lord of Sky Wolf, and the stronger he was, the better. But now the Lord of Sky Wolf was dead, and Chaos City Lord and the others were handling the battle outside, so he was no longer in a hurry.
"I choose the 'Void God King Inheritance: Core Chapter.'"
Qin Yuan reached out and took the golden scroll in his hand.
The aged voice fell silent for a moment, then gave a meaningful laugh. "Interesting. In hundreds of millions of years, you are the third inheritor to choose the Core Chapter. The first two... both failed. But you may be different."
Qin Yuan put the scroll away and asked, "What is the second trial?"
"The second trial-actual combat. There is a passage behind the altar that leads to the temple's trial grounds. There, you will face a combat projection of the Void God King in his youth. Defeat the projection, and you will pass."