Swallowing the Stars: Starting with the Battle of Geniuses

Chapter 244 Ascending the Wuqi Tower, Conversing with the God King, and the Terrifying Misunderstanding of the God King of Jin

Hunzhen, who had just entered the fifth floor, was still reminiscing.

That "Space-Time Rift Strike," which consumed almost all of Hunzhen's divine power, had, to put it bluntly, faintly touched upon the level of the so-called invincible Void True God.

However, if the Chosen Arena truly has a ninth level of assessment, then one must face the ultimate Void God.

An attack at the level of an invincible Void True God could be unleashed even by a Gladiator King if he possessed a higher-level secret technique of burning divine power.

What's more, the Ultimate Void True God?

As long as the secret technique of burning divine power is activated, this level can be reached.

Hunzhen could only unleash this one attack despite giving it his all.

Even if you manage to injure your opponent by surprise, you can never kill them outright like you would a gladiator.

Then, in the time that follows, the other party will surely be able to easily defeat him.

"Unless it's truly a reincarnation of a god-king, and without the restrictions and surveillance like the Mountain-Sitting Guest, surely no one at the Lord of Laws stage could theoretically complete the ninth level of the test?"

Hunzhen finally came to a conclusion.

"Is the reward on the fourth floor too generous? Sergeant Hunzhen, you didn't even react when I stood right in front of you?"

On the fifth floor of Wuqi Tower, amidst the wind and snow, a white-robed swordsman gazed at Hunzhen from afar, shaking his head with undisguised disappointment on his face.

Hunzhen smiled slightly: "No, friend, you've misunderstood."

Hunzhen suddenly drew his sword.

With just one strike, the white-robed swordsman perished.

As he vanished, the white-robed swordsman looked at Hunzhen, his eyes filled with respect and joy, and exclaimed, "Excellent! Excellent! Excellent! To witness such a strike, even death would be worth it!!!"

The sixth floor of Wuqi Tower.

Faced with the Thousand-Eyed Beast, which was essentially a Void God but could only unleash the power of an invincible God under the restrictions and rules, Hunzhen naturally crushed it with ease.

The seventh level, on the surface, is a test of willpower, but in reality, it is the bestowal of the Divine Eye Secret Technique.

The Divine Eye Secret Technique consists of nine levels and nine volumes, and only true gods of the void can cultivate it.

In the original work, Luo Feng recorded the sixth volume by relying on his near-limitless will of a Void True God.

With Luo Feng's will already approaching the limit of the Eternal True God, coupled with the Omniscient Vision's resistance to the impact of will, which is comparable to the will of a Saint, recording the complete Divine Eye Secret Technique was naturally a piece of cake.

Hunzhen, who disregarded the shield of the original cosmic will, also clearly understood that the first three volumes of the Divine Eye Secret Technique required the will of the Void True God; the middle three volumes required the will of the Eternal True God; the last two volumes required the will to become a saint; and the final volume required the will of the God King!

Of course, most cultivators' will is at least one major life level higher than their own, and it's not surprising that some who specialize in illusion techniques or willpower secrets might be two major life levels higher. (From the original work, it's not surprising that a Void True God specializing in illusion techniques possesses a Saint-level will.)

Therefore, this is a top-tier willpower secret technique that will never become outdated even for the Eternal True God, and can be used normally even at the Saint level!

Then the eighth floor...

That's the floor where the secret technique of attracting and guiding in the "Art of Counting Origins" is located.

The so-called "Na Yin Secret Technique," besides protecting its functions, usually also serves to select qualified successors. This technique is fraught with difficulties, and only those who meet the requirements can master it.

The "Lieyuan Technique" is a supreme secret technique left behind by Yuan, and it is also a secret technique that Hunzhen speculates is used to select those with the aptitude for the "ultimate path of the soul's origin".

Its absorption technique requires extremely high levels of willpower and soul strength.

To become a Lord of Laws, one must either possess the will of an Eternal True God or be like Luo Feng, possessing the ultimate will of a Void True God and having had their soul specially modified by the Mountain-Sitting Guest.

Even reaching the limit of the will of a Void True God is already extremely difficult for a Lord of Laws.

As for the Lord of Laws possessing the will of an eternal true god, normally only reincarnators who retain the memories of reincarnation can achieve that.

That is the limit of the soul and consciousness.

As mentioned before, most cultivators' will is one major life level higher than their own, and some who specialize in illusion techniques or willpower secrets can be two major life levels higher.

And the cost, as judged by the gladiators, of exceeding the limits.

This is the order established by the supreme law.

The reason why Hunzhen was able to break through to the level of Eternal True God so easily is naturally because he had already reached the level of Void True God in the simulation. By using the consciousness of Void True God as a base to temper his will, there was no limit to his abilities.

There might be beings who deliberately allow geniuses who have reached the Saint level to undergo reincarnation in order to receive the inheritance of the Yuan, but they will inevitably fail in the end.

Because even Yuan couldn't have foreseen this.

According to the information given by the hermit, "Yuan left behind this unique skill, naturally leaving behind many scrolls. However, as soon as someone learns it, all the other scrolls will sense it and automatically shatter."

Yuan must have left a backdoor in the Na Yin secret technique, which allows him to identify the aura of a reincarnator.

However, it is clear that Hunzhen's "time travel" is not a cycle between source worlds or between lower-level worlds of the source world.

From the moment he was born into this world, his soul was a being that transcended all else, a being that broke through the dimensions of the theoretical world.

The spirit of the secret technique of drawing in the soul cannot perceive the true nature of reality.

And so, naturally... outside the world of Jin, the Mountain-Sitting Guest discovered that the inheritance scroll on his body had shattered.

At the summit, the mountain dweller suddenly looked up, his eyes lighting up: "Luo Feng has broken through Wuqi Tower? That's faster than I expected!"

Just like in the original story, Zuo Shan Ke did not reveal any extra information to Luo Feng after the "Lie Yuan Shu" inheritance scroll was broken.

Furthermore, the requirement for using the "Lieyuan Technique" is to achieve sainthood through willpower, and Luo Feng only broke through this bottleneck during the final battle with the World Beast.

Therefore... the story of Zuo Shan Ke, who has a cunning side to his personality, plotting to scare Luo Feng after he enters the cycle of reincarnation, is destined to become a dark chapter in his history.

Hunzhen could already picture that future scene and couldn't help but laugh.

……

"Is there really a higher realm above the God King?" Luo Feng wondered.

"There should be."

The mountain hermit said, "For example, the truly invincible being—Yuan! Yuan should have taken that step. Of course, how powerful he would be at that level is purely imagination."

"You should have obtained the 'Art of Elemental Analysis' by now."

The Mountain-Sitting Guest smiled as he looked at Luo Feng, "That's Yuan's ultimate technique!"

"?"

Luo Feng: "Huh?"

……

Fantasy time is over.

Hunzhen knew that his previous behavior must have made the Mountain-Sitting Guest mistakenly believe that he was a reincarnator and that he would not believe that he could inherit the "Lieyuan Technique".

This secret will probably only be revealed after Luo Feng enters the cycle of reincarnation.

Hunzhen could easily imagine the bewildered expression on the face of the Mountain Hermit who used the communication crystal to conjure a phantom image and converse with Luo Feng in the Reincarnation Channel.

"That's the expression I wanted to see!"

"That expression on his face, pretending to be the mastermind but completely outmaneuvered by me!"

"Hehehe~!"

Just imagining it made Hunzhen excited.

By then, he would probably have already arrived at the Origin Continent. By the time the Mountain Guest realized what was happening and came looking for him to criticize him, he wouldn't even be there!

However, he suppressed the twitching at the corner of his mouth.

"No, no, you can't laugh yet."

"You have to be patient."

"The mission to seal the title isn't finished yet. That old guy's mental entity is probably still hiding in some corner of Wuqi Tower, spying on me."

After maintaining the expression of "Light Yagami barely holding back from popping champagne halfway through the game.jpg" for a few seconds, Konma finally calmed down and stepped into the last floor.

Climbing to the ninth floor, crossing the corridor, and finally... you see a man dressed in a magnificent royal robe.

The man in the magnificent royal robes turned his head, looked at Hunzhen, and couldn't help but smile: "Since you're here, please have a seat."

The man's appearance was very similar to the phantom he had seen on the fourth floor, like grandfather and grandson, and was the appearance of the God King of Jin in his youth at his peak.

Hunzhen readily agreed and sat down in front of the remaining virtual consciousness, or rather, the thought entity, of the God King of Jin.

Before the God-King of Jin could speak, Hunzhen said with a half-smile, "Hello, God-King of Jin. Or rather, the virtual consciousness left behind by the God-King?"

The God King of Jin blinked, outwardly showing only some surprise, but inwardly he was in turmoil.

Just like when Luo Feng arrived at the ninth floor in the original story, the God King Jin here had already realized that Hunzhen was an alien life form. However, because he was already dead and still had the hope of revenge, he was kind to the newcomer.

While the God King of Jin was stunned, Hunzhen had already taken the initiative.

The latest novel is first published here!

"There is no need to worry, Divine King of Jin. I am neither making baseless guesses nor am I your enemy."

Hunzhen smiled and said, "I am a good friend of your reincarnation 'Sitting Mountain Guest'."

"Wait, you said 'Mountain Dweller'!?"

The Divine King of Jin's pupils dilated, and he stood up abruptly: "Are you sure you're the Mountain Dweller?"

Hunzhen suddenly stopped smiling and nodded slightly.

"The hermit?"

"It's actually the hermit from the mountains!?"

"So that's the name!?"

"Hahahaha!!!"

Upon hearing this name, the God King of Jin's eyes welled up with tears, and he both cried and laughed.

He couldn't help but recall that in his youth, every evening after his daily cultivation, when he sat on that mountaintop watching the setting sun and pretending to be a master, a delicate figure would always come to keep him company on time.

Whether he was making a fool of himself, feeling overjoyed, or feeling sad and down, she would always be by his side, looking at him with a gentle smile.

"There's no going back!"

"What a pity! We can't go back now!"

Even though it was just a virtual consciousness of the God King of Jin carrying only a portion of his memories, it still went almost insane upon hearing the name of the Mountain Guest.

His detached demeanor vanished, replaced by a surging murderous aura, his eyes bloodshot with hatred and regret.

Hunzhen didn't respond, but simply let the God King of Jin calm down.

After a while, the God King of Jin finally composed himself and looked at Hunzhen: "I apologize for my rudeness."

His expression was somewhat complicated.

After the other party revealed his name as "The Mountain-Sitting Guest," the God King of Jin confirmed that the other party was a friend, not an enemy.

He had already imagined that after the other party confirmed through subtle clues that "The Mountain Guest" was a reincarnator, they would then confirm his reincarnated body through this special alias.

This also suggests that the other party is very likely also a reincarnator, and very likely a reincarnator who was close to them in their previous life.

Otherwise, how could he possibly know the meaning of the name "Sitting Mountain Guest"?

only……

"Sergeant Hunzhen... no, I'll call you Hunzhen too. You probably are indeed..."

A sharp glint flashed in the eyes of the God-King of Jin, and he asked, "How did you master the secret technique of attracting and guiding in the 'Art of Countless Origins'?"

Although some people did attempt to obtain the Yuan inheritance through reincarnation in the past, that was an extremely ancient matter in the Origin Continent.

He had known for a long time that the requirements for a reincarnated person to master the "Art of the Ranks" were far greater than those for a non-reincarnated person, and the Hunzhen before him clearly had not met that seemingly impossible requirement.

Suddenly, the God King of Jin pointed his finger, and in an instant, a cage of laws enveloped Hunzhen.

Those who have read the original work naturally know that this is a method that can monitor changes in the soul and indirectly detect lies.

However, Hunzhen, relying on his omniscient perspective and the state of "my mind is the mind of Heaven," found that the lie-detecting ability of the God-King's thought body alone was ineffective against him.

But that's just speculation; it can't be said to be 100% certain.

However, he had already obtained a solution in the simulation that allowed him to get through the questioning of the God King of Jin without the need for the Omniscient Vision.

"I swear to the supreme rules, and what I say next is not false."

Hunzhen calmly replied, "I am indeed not the person who was originally meant to be in this body, that is, the so-called reincarnator."

As a soul from another world, Hunzhen said this without the slightest bit of guilt.

Even if it's just that the one in this cycle of reincarnation is not the one in that cycle of reincarnation, it doesn't count as a lie.

"It's just that my soul is special. You can think of it as having memories of a past life, allowing me to start my cultivation from scratch with a blank slate. This allows me to bypass the monitoring mechanism of the Yuan's Navigation Secret Technique."

This statement couldn't be more true.

It's not untrue that Hunzhen has memories of his past life.

It's no exaggeration to say that he started cultivating from scratch, because he didn't have any cultivation methods in his previous life!

"I've known you since my past life, and..."

Hunzhen raised an eyebrow indifferently: "We are not enemies."

How did you find out? From reading novels.

Not an enemy? Who do you know who is an enemy of a fictional character?

At this point, the expression on the face of the God King of Jin finally softened.

King Jin knew that Hunzhen's answer contained some concealment, but... the content verified alone was enough for him to lower his guard.

Knowing the hidden meaning in the name "The Mountain Hermit," who else could it be but an enemy? It must be one of his closest confidants!

The eyes of the God King of Jin flickered, and he had already begun to speculate on Hunzhen's true identity.

"Who could it be?"

One figure after another flashed through the mind of the God King of Jin.

"But...why didn't he just tell me his true identity? We were so close in our past lives. What is there for a being of longing to hide?"

When the God King of Jin looked at Hunzhen's current appearance, his body suddenly trembled and his pupils contracted.

An incredibly terrifying yet perfectly logical idea emerged, making all the concealment seem perfectly reasonable.

The God-King of Jin felt a pang of pain in his heart and instantly dispelled the Law Cage, as if afraid of imprisoning Hunzhen for even a second longer.

"So be it, I am but a vessel of longing."

"Let me handle this troublesome matter."

"Now that we're friends, let's remain friends!"

After giving Hunzhen a deep look, the God King of Jin couldn't help but turn into a dead fish with his eyes, and thought to himself.

(End of this chapter)