Swallowing the Stars: I'll Destroy the Universe with My Talent Attributes

"To comprehend a certain essence of the laws of light."

"There is no time limit, but the space will shrink by one-tenth every day."

"If you still haven't grasped the concept when the space is completely closed, it's considered a failure."

Hint: What is light?

The sound faded away, and Qin Yuan stood alone at the boundary between darkness and light.

He did not use the perfected Starlight Law to cheat, nor did he immediately begin to comprehend it. Instead, he first observed this space.

Darkness is not nothingness, but a state of "no light"; white light is not an ordinary light source either, its radiance is constant, neither increasing nor decreasing, as if it has always been so and will remain so forever.

Qin Yuan sat down cross-legged and stared at the ball of light.

What is light?

This question has been pondered since the time of Earth.

As a child, I thought it was something that illuminated the darkness; after cultivation, I thought it was a form of energy; after obtaining the law of starlight, I thought it was a carrier of information; and after comprehending the law of time, I thought it was a recorder of history.

But these are only some aspects of light.

What is the true essence of light?

Qin Yuan closed his eyes, letting his consciousness sink into the white light.

Time passed, the first day went by, and the space shrank by 10%. Qin Yuan did not move.

The next day, the space shrank by another 10%. Qin Yuan remained seated.

The third day, the fourth day...

When the space shrank to half its original size, Qin Yuan suddenly opened his eyes.

He recalled the "miniature clocks" inside the Lighttime Beast in the Time Corridor; he recalled the theory of "light recording time" in the Light-Eyed Clan's heritage; he recalled the process of using light information to simulate the properties of matter when he created the Light and Shadow Apple.

All the clues are connected.

Light, in essence, is the "information exchange medium" of the universe.

Stars emit light by broadcasting their own state, such as mass, temperature, and composition, in the form of light.

Living things see light to receive this information; time leaves its mark on light because information itself contains a temporal sequence; even the transformation of matter and energy is a reorganization of information structure...

Therefore, the true essence of light lies in "the transmission and...interpretation of information!"

Qin Yuan stood up and walked towards the ball of white light.

This time, he did not use his eyes to see or his energy to perceive, but instead opened himself up completely and used his purest consciousness to "read" the information contained in the light.

In an instant, a vast torrent of information flooded my mind:

That is not words or images, but the most primal memory of the universe—the birth of light.

After the Big Bang, the first ray of light, its propagation—a solitary journey across billions of light-years—and its end—was either swallowed by a black hole or lost in the endless void...

Qin Yuan "saw" the life of Guang.

He understood that light is eternal not because it never disappears, but because the information it carries is indelible.

Even if a ray of light is absorbed, transformed, or dissipated, the information it once conveyed has already forever changed the state of the receiver; this is the "cause and effect" of light.

On the fifth day, when the space shrank to only one-tenth of its original size, Qin Yuan reached out and touched the ball of white light.

The white light flowed into his palm like water and merged into his body.

It's not about energy absorption, but about information transmission.

"The True Meaning of Light: The Flow of Causal Information. Comprehension: 72%, Pass."

An ancient voice rang out, "Seventh test, passed."

A deep purple light burst forth from the gate, causing the entire trial corridor to tremble.

Chapter 197 Battle for Supremacy

As Qin Yuan stepped out of the light gate, the seventh star on the Seven Star Token was fully lit, and the seven stars formed the Big Dipper pattern, emitting a vast fluctuation of laws.

The reward for the seventh gate is not a choice of three, but only one.

The book, formed from light, had four ancient characters written on its cover: "The True Explanation of Aurora".

The moment Qin Yuan took the book, a massive amount of information flooded in: the complete "True Explanation of Aurora" secret method, from the first to the seventh level, detailed the Aurora Realm Lord's complete understanding of the laws of light, and even included the application techniques of the "causal information flow" that Qin Yuan had just comprehended.

From the information, Qin Yuan learned that this Aurora Realm Lord was no ordinary being. He had a close relationship with the Light-Eyed Clan and, with his perfected Law of Light, had glimpsed the basics of the Law of Time, almost reaching the gates of immortality. Unfortunately, he still perished on the extraterrestrial battlefield during the great war between humans and insectoids...

The information about the Aurora Realm Lord reminded Qin Yuan of the inheritance he had obtained in the Illusionary Light Secret Realm, the "Seven Realms of Illusionary Light." No wonder the assessment mechanisms of the two places were so similar; it turned out that the two places had a deep relationship. He wondered who had borrowed whose idea...

At the same time, the Seven Star Token projected its final guidance: the ground in the center of the seven light gates slowly cracked open, revealing a downward staircase, which was the path to the fourth level, the "core of the world".

"Success!"

Yanshan excitedly waved his fist.

Qinghe looked at the Book of Light in Qin Yuan's hand, her eyes filled with envy: "The complete 'True Explanation of Aurora'... This secret technique is of immeasurable value."

Yan Feng then looked at the stairs: "The fourth level is the core of the world. The Time Crystal, and the other legacies of the Aurora Realm Lord, are all there. Qin, you..."

Before he could finish speaking, a spatial fluctuation suddenly came from the entrance of the corridor behind them.

Three beams of light—crimson, orange, and yellow—flashed up in succession, a sign that someone had passed through the first three doors in a row.

"The Blood Wolf Clan has caught up."

Shadow Gun said coldly, "Faster than expected."

Qin Yuan put away the books and tokens, and looked at the stairs: "Get the core treasure before they catch up. Let's go."

The five members of the Spark Squad stepped onto the descending stairs.

Behind them, the Blood Wolf Clan had just broken through the third gate. Blood Howl looked at the lights of the fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh gates that were now lit up ahead, a ferocious smile spreading across his wolfish face.

"Looks like they cleared the level. Perfect... saves us time from wasting time trying to clear it. Huan Tong, use 'Time Illusion Domain' to speed things up, let's just go and grab what's already there!"

"It requires overdrawing 30% of your soul power."

"no problem!"

The gray light enveloped the Blood Wolf Clan once more, and their speed suddenly increased.

......

The spiral staircase leading to the fourth floor is ten thousand meters long, with walls on both sides made of translucent light crystals. Countless light points are sealed inside the crystals, each of which is a fragment of a broken memory.

That was a fleeting moment captured from the long life of the Aurora Lord.

Qin Yuan and his group of five strode up the steps. With each step, the surrounding crystal walls glowed faintly, reflecting the light and shadow of billions of years ago: the birth of stars, the rise and fall of civilizations, the enlightenment of world lords, and their eventual passing away...

"These fragments of memory contain extremely profound insights into the laws governing them."

Qinghe reached out and gently touched the crystal wall, feeling a warm touch on her fingertips. "If I had enough time, I could seclude myself here for ten years and improve my light-based laws by at least one level."

"Unfortunately, we don't have that time."

Yan Feng walked at the front, the Molten Blade already in his hand. "The Blood Wolf Clan will be at most twenty to thirty minutes slower than us. We must obtain the core treasure and then evacuate before they arrive."

Qin Yuan didn't speak, but the [Battle Genius (Blue)] entry was operating at full capacity, analyzing the structure of the stairs and the possible traps ahead.

The Seven Star Token at his waist emitted a soft guiding light, all seven stars now lit, pointing towards the end of the stairs, where a gigantic light gate, hundreds of meters high, could be vaguely seen.

Five minutes later, the group reached the bottom of the stairs.

The world before my eyes suddenly opened up.

The fourth layer, the "core of the world," is a spherical space with a diameter of about ten kilometers. Unlike the fantastical scenes of the previous layers, it is simple to the point of being austere.

Three items are suspended in the center of the space, arranged in an equilateral triangle:

In the upper left corner is a fist-sized crystal with a seven-colored halo flowing inside, which is the ultimate goal of this trip - the Time Crystal.

The flow of time around the crystal is noticeably abnormal; light passing through it will bend slightly, which is a manifestation of the time force field distorting space.

In the upper right corner is a short sword, only 1.3 feet long, with a transparent blade like glass and a hilt inlaid with seven gems of different colors.

Even from a distance of 100 meters, one could feel the sharp aura emanating from the sword. It was a fifth-tier Force weapon called the "Seven-Colored Glazed Sword," which came with seven light-based special effects.

Directly below is a milky white crystal the size of a human head, with a smooth, mirror-like surface and countless points of light rotating inside like a galaxy.

This is the "Light Essence Crystal," a treasure for cultivating the light system. Wearing it for a long time can greatly increase the speed of comprehending the laws of the light system.

Beneath the three treasures was a circular platform thirty meters in diameter, its surface covered with intricate light patterns forming some kind of array. Around the platform, the space itself was unnaturally distorted, clearly indicating the presence of a defensive mechanism.

But at this moment, what makes the Spark Squad even more wary than the defense mechanisms is another team that is already standing on the edge of the platform.

Five people, all dressed in black robes, with the leader wearing a half-metal mask on his face, were the Shadow Clan team that Qin Yuan had caught a glimpse of outside the pillar of light—the Shadow Blade organization.

Or, to put it another way, the Shadowblade organization is a force secretly cultivated and supported by a branch of the Shadow Clan.

"It seems we've arrived just in time."

The masked man, Shadow Fiend, slowly turned around, his voice as cold as the chilling winds of the deepest hell:

"Yan Feng, long time no see. It's time to settle the score for stealing my 'Shadow Crystal Core' at the 'Dark Star Auction' last time."

Flames flickered in Yan Feng's crimson eyes: "Shadow Fiend, what are you doing in the Light Realm Lord's World, a piece of trash from the Shadow Clan? There are no dark resources here that you need."

"Who said there isn't?"

Shadow Fiend chuckled and pointed to the Time Crystal. "The Time Crystal contains the laws of time. Time and shadow are inherently connected. Shadows lurk in the cracks of time, and the passage of time takes away all light and shadow. I want this crystal."

The atmosphere instantly became tense.

Qin Yuan quickly scanned the opponent's lineup: the [Battle Genius (Blue)] attribute instantly analyzed the strength of the five members:

Shadow Fiend, a peak ninth-level Domain Lord, possesses dark abilities and spatial laws. His aura is as solid as an abyss, and his combat power is estimated to be more than ten times that of an ordinary ninth-level Domain Lord.

The two people on the left are both eighth-level domain lords; one wields two daggers, and the other holds a long whip; both are of the dark element.

The two on the right are both seventh-level Domain Lords. One carries a longbow on his back, and the other has throwing knives hanging from his waist. They are ranged attackers.

On the Spark Squad's side: Yan Feng is a Domain Lord at the eighth level, Qin Yuan is a Domain Lord at the seventh level (on the surface), Qing He is a Domain Lord at the fifth level, and Yan Shan and Ying Qiang are both Domain Lords at the sixth level.

On the surface, they are at a disadvantage.

"Qin, leave that Shadow Fiend to me."