Chapter 423 - 263: Departure
Li Wen wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth.
He felt a sharp pain in his Dantian and the obstruction of his energy flow, shaking his head with a self-deprecating smile.
However, the next moment, something magical happened.
With a thought, he tried to fully mobilize the True Gang within him, preparing to attack again.
The sluggishness, blockage, and even the dissipation of his True Gang that should have occurred due to his damaged Dantian... none of it happened.
The surging Qi and blood in his body were still powerful and immense.
His True Gang moved with perfect precision, flowing without the slightest stagnation, its explosive power undiminished.
It was as if that self-inflicted palm strike had hit another version of himself from a parallel universe.
The one standing here now was still a Li Wen in perfect condition, at his absolute peak.
’Eternal Heart... A permanent state.’
A brilliant light erupted in Li Wen’s eyes, and a confident smile of complete control spread across his face.
Ignoring control effects, ignoring injuries, forever facing any enemy in the most perfect condition.
In certain extreme situations, the value of this passive skill was even more important than [Berserk].
He felt the new system of power surging within him—the profound wisdom of a Scholar, the unrestrained power of a Martial Artist, and the vastness of Primordial Spirit energy.
The three blended together, forming an unprecedentedly powerful foundation.
It meant that as long as he wasn’t killed, he could maintain his peak combat strength indefinitely, ignoring any weakening effects or interference.
The test was complete, and the rewards were immense.
Li Wen sat down cross-legged and began to circulate his Cultivation Technique to repair the damage he had inflicted on his Dantian.
As he healed, he began to integrate his newly acquired power system.
’Scholar Lv. 20 brought me to the Ninth Layer of Primordial Spirit and gave me 200% comprehension. It’s the foundation and wisdom.’
’Unlocking Martial Artist provided the instant combat boost of [Berserk] and the life-saving divine skill, [Eternal Heart]. It’s sharpness and resilience.’
’The foundation of the Five Forms of my blade technique is complete, and the All Things Return to Ruins Finger is in its initial stage...’
’Primordial Spirit, True Gang, physical body, skills, class... all my powers are integrating and unifying at an unprecedented level.’
’It’s time to deal with the Demon Race on the other three planets.’
His gaze turned toward the deep cosmos, and the desperate distress calls from the Red Flame Star battlefield once again surfaced in his mind.
The anxiety of Fierce Lion Venerable, the heavy casualties of the Mercenary Alliance...
...
「In less than half a day.」
The minor tremors and energy consumption Li Wen had caused while testing his Martial Artist abilities on the Trial Star were fully restored.
His body was pristine, his Primordial Spirit was full, and he was back at his peak condition.
With a slight thought, his figure transformed into a streak of faint golden light, nearly impossible to see with the naked eye.
He flew at incredible speed toward the azure Blue Star.
Having refined Blue Star’s control core, he shared a mysterious connection with the planet, allowing him to locate it as if by instinct.
After just a few flickers, he was already hovering outside Blue Star’s pale blue atmosphere.
Looking down at the cradle of life below, he didn’t pause for a moment.
He casually formed a blade with his fingers and swiped lightly at the seemingly empty space before him.
TSSSLAAA!
A pitch-black rift, its edges rippling with faint spatial fluctuations, tore open in response.
It revealed a bizarre and dazzling void passage within.
This was a manifestation of his profound understanding of spatial laws, combined with the authority granted by Blue Star’s control core.
Within Blue Star’s gravitational sphere, traversing space was effortless for him.
He stepped inside, and his figure was instantly swallowed by the darkness.
The next moment, spatial fluctuations rippled across the familiar platform on the back mountain of Enlightenment Peak at Xinhuo University.
Li Wen’s figure stepped out from it, his aura calm and condensed, as if he had never left.
Since he had decided to go to Red Flame Star, Cangwu Star, and Ice Soul Star to provide support and completely end the long-standing war between the Human Race and the Demon Race, it was only natural that he inform Ye Qin and Venerable Xingxuan, who were currently guarding the main base, before leaving Blue Star. (Gu He and the others had re-entered the Time Cave shortly after the Demon Race on Blue Star was annihilated).
"Junior Brother Li!" Sensing the spatial fluctuations, the figures of Ye Qin and Xingxuan appeared on the platform almost simultaneously.
When Ye Qin saw Li Wen, a sharp glint flashed in his eyes.
Filled with irrepressible excitement and a desire for confirmation, he asked impatiently,
"A few days ago, on Blue Star, we all clearly sensed a terrifying fluctuation from the direction of the Trial Star in outer space, one that made even our Primordial Spirits tremble. Its power far surpassed that of an ordinary Saint Realm expert... Was it you? Did you successfully break through to the Ninth Layer of Primordial Spirit?"
Li Wen looked at the two of them with a gentle smile and nodded frankly.
"Yes, Senior Brother Ye, Senior Sister Xingxuan. I was fortunate enough to break through."
"It’s really true... the Ninth Layer of Primordial Spirit!"
Even though they had already guessed it, and were even quite certain, hearing Li Wen confirm it with his own mouth, Ye Qin and Xingxuan were still so shaken by his casual words that their minds reeled, shocked beyond measure.
The voice of Ye Qin, a veteran Venerable, held an almost imperceptible tremor.
"How many years has it been... How many years has it been since the Human Race produced a peerless expert at the Ninth Layer of Primordial Spirit! This isn’t just a leap in strength; it’s a symbol of the burgeoning destiny of our Human Race!"
"Thousands of years... It’s been thousands of years!"
Venerable Xingxuan was also filled with emotion, her beautiful eyes shimmering with excitement and awe.
"Among humanity, another pillar of strength has finally been born!"
Even though both of them had lived for centuries and weathered countless storms, facing this breakthrough, which symbolized the highest achievement of the Human Race, they couldn’t stop the surging tide of emotion in their hearts, unable to calm their excitement.
A long moment passed before Ye Qin and Venerable Xingxuan managed to suppress their shock and regain their usual composure.
Ye Qin took a deep breath and asked, "Junior Brother Li, you must have come for an important matter?"
Li Wen nodded and stated his purpose directly.
"That’s right. The hidden dangers on Blue Star have been eliminated, and its foundation is stable. Now that I have reached the Ninth Layer of Primordial Spirit, I plan to set out immediately for Red Flame Star, Cangwu Star, and Ice Soul Star. This war has gone on for too long; it’s time to end it completely. The sooner we eliminate the Demon Race entrenched there, the fewer of our Human Race compatriots will have to be sacrificed."
Hearing this, the expressions of both Ye Qin and Xingxuan turned solemn, their eyes filled with approval and anticipation.
"Junior Brother is absolutely right! This matter concerns the living space and future destiny of our Human Race in the Star River. It cannot be delayed. With Xingxuan and I holding down the fort on Blue Star, you can go without worry, Junior Brother!"
Ye Qin’s tone was decisive and full of confidence.
"Then I’ll be counting on you, Senior Brother, Senior Sister," Li Wen said, cupping his hands.
After briefly exchanging a few more words about Blue Star’s current situation and possible intelligence on the Demon Race of the three planets, Li Wen delayed no further.
He raised his hand again and swiped lightly at the space before him.
This time, the spatial rift opened silently, like a deep, gaping maw.
He stepped inside, his figure vanishing in an instant. The rift then sealed, as if it had never been there.
When he reappeared, he was once again at the edge of Blue Star’s vast and profound atmosphere.
Without a moment’s pause, his body moved, passing through the atmosphere as effortlessly as a fish gliding through water.
In an instant, he was in the cold, dark, and silent expanse of outer space.
The spatial environment here was completely different from that within Blue Star.
The space inside Blue Star was relatively "soft," making it easier for those who had mastered the laws to tear and traverse it.
But in outer space, the structure of space was exceptionally stable and condensed. The void itself was incredibly resilient and had a powerful ability to recover.
Even for great powers above the Saint Realm, directly and continuously tearing the void for ultra-long-distance travel in outer space was extremely difficult and consumed a massive amount of energy.
Because with every tear, the stable space would generate a powerful counteracting compressive force. Furthermore, the rift would self-repair at an astonishing speed in an instant.
Forcing one’s way through was not only inefficient but also consumed an immense amount of power.
Therefore, for long-distance interstellar travel in outer space, unless one had mastered an extremely special spatial Divine Technique or possessed a powerful spatial treasure, powerful experts preferred another method: direct flight.
There were two reasons for this.
First, it avoided the massive energy consumption required to tear through stable space.
Second, and most importantly, the near-perfect vacuum of outer space meant there was almost no air resistance.
Here, as long as one possessed enough power to continuously accelerate, an object’s speed could, in theory, infinitely approach the ultimate speed limit of the universe: the speed of light!
And once this pure flight speed was raised to an extremely high level, its efficiency could easily surpass that of intermittent spatial jumps in outer space.
Locking onto the direction of Red Flame Star deep within the Orion Arm, a divine light shone in Li Wen’s eyes.
Without any hesitation, driven by his will, the True Gang and Primordial Spirit power around his body merged perfectly.
They formed an invisible thrust field that enveloped his entire body.
He began to accelerate!
With his first step, his figure blurred into a streak of light and vanished from his original position in an instant.
His speed had already reached an unbelievable level.
With the second step, his speed soared again.
The surrounding starlight began to stretch into long, thin lines, and the cosmic background in front of him seemed to rush toward him.
The third step, the fourth... With each flicker-like push against the void, his speed increased by a huge leap.
Space rushed backward around him, and the sensation of time passing began to feel strange.
As his speed increased madly, Li Wen clearly felt the great power of the universe’s fundamental laws manifesting in his body.
It was the mass effect mentioned in the theory of relativity.
He felt his own mass increasing dramatically as his speed rose.
This wasn’t a physical expansion but a sense of heaviness originating from spacetime itself.
It was as if the mountain on his back was growing heavier and heavier; the power required to continue accelerating was increasing exponentially.
When he stabilized his speed at 0.95 times the speed of light, this feeling of heaviness reached an extremely terrifying level.
It wasn’t that he couldn’t accelerate further. But for every tiny increase, the required energy and the mass load he had to bear would become unimaginably immense, making it extremely inefficient.
After weighing the options, 0.95c became his most economical and relatively efficient cruising speed for long-distance travel.
At this moment, although he still appeared to be in human form, on the level of physical laws, his relativistic mass had become incomparably vast.
An even more wondrous and profound sensation was the change in time.
As his speed infinitely approached the speed of light, the flow of time in his own frame of reference, relative to a low-speed (or stationary) frame of reference, began to slow down significantly—this was the famous time dilation effect.