The Decaying World

He lost.

It was a feeling Lin Hui hadn't experienced in a very, very long time.

Ever since connecting with the Wind Calamity, he had hardly ever known defeat. The power of the Wind Calamity was overwhelming to the creatures within the world. Almost no one could face him head-on.

So all he needed was pure, brute force.

But things were different now. They were both Fusionists of the Source Calamity, on the same level of power. The true deciding factors of victory and defeat had become all sorts of other things.

Feeling the hand on his back withdraw, Lin Hui remained suspended within the Wind Calamity, motionless for a long time.

After a while, he finally looked at his master, Qimei, who was also waiting for him.

"Thank you for your guidance, Master."

In fact, only at this very moment did he truly feel that Qimei was acting like a real master. It was as if he were a genuine disciple of the Jiuxiao Sect, truly receiving Qimei's instruction.

If it weren't for the fact that Qimei had to go on a harvesting slaughter every so often to restore his cognition, he might have actually been a good master.

"Do you see the path forward now?" Qimei asked with a smile.

"Yes. I have many abilities, but none of them have been self-developed or enhanced. That's one thing. Secondly, my power is too unfocused. It seems boundless, but it's all just external power I've casually absorbed. It's far inferior to the high-intensity Disaster Energy you've obtained through self-refinement, Master. That's why it crumbled at the slightest touch," Lin Hui said with a sigh.

"Since you understand your weaknesses, go and improve upon them. If you can't fundamentally crush your opponent, then enhancing these other aspects becomes absolutely necessary," Qimei said.

Lin Hui bowed deeply to him again, then turned and left.

This time, he didn't bother with any other miscellaneous tasks. Instead, he had his main body remain in the Demon Palace and began to wholeheartedly integrate and refine the stellar energy within him.

The Great Yin Yang Time Reversal Sword Technique actually contained a legacy for refining stellar energy, but he had never paid it much mind before. He had only practiced it step-by-step. Now, knowing its importance, he immediately focused on it and began to comprehend it.

Sitting cross-legged on the third floor of the Demon Palace, the vast amount of stellar energy in Lin Hui's body began to compress, its concentration increasing. The stellar energy was infinite, converted from the Wind Calamity, its quantity endless.

But after compression, things weren't so simple.

First, after compression, an additional force was needed to maintain it. Without this force, it would naturally diffuse from high density to low, eventually evening out.

Second, the compressed stellar energy placed higher demands on his body's internal strength. The physical requirements increased, necessitating a simultaneous improvement of his physical fortitude.

Fortunately, the sword technique itself included physical enhancements that fortified his body, which was sufficient for now.

Just over ten minutes later, Lin Hui opened his eyes and stood up.

'The stellar energy compression has reached its limit. I have to use extra force just to maintain the suppression, and it consumes my Heart and Spirit every single moment.'

'So that's how it is. Now I see why the Demon Fragrance had the ability to endlessly enhance one's Heart and Spirit. It was meant to be consumed for this purpose.'

The endlessly enhanced Heart and Spirit was refined and consumed by compressing the energy.

In turn, the energy within his body was strengthened by being forced by the Heart and Spirit to increase its density.

The only thing to be mindful of was the body, this vessel. The vessel's limits determined the upper limit for increasing energy density. It also determined the upper limit for the quality of his Heart and Spirit.

A vessel... a vessel...

'What a curious thing. I originally thought it was the least important part, but now it seems to be the crucial link holding everything together.'

Standing on the third floor of the Demon Palace, Lin Hui held out his hand. A wisp of silver-black stellar energy suddenly appeared in his palm.

This was an enhanced version of the stellar energy, its concentration greatly increased. Its power was indeed a bit stronger than before.

But he still needed to practice controlling it.

The increase in density hadn't yet reached the upper limit of his main body's strength, so he didn't need to worry about that issue for the time being.

The benefits of repeatedly practicing stronger cultivation techniques were now apparent: the vessel of his main body had been tempered to be exceptionally tough.

This was especially true since he was now using the genius body from his second life, which had been tempered for many years, as his foundation, with the body from his first life as a backup.

The effect of the improvements was very clear.

'But even after refinement, this stellar energy is still a far cry from Master Qimei's...' Only after truly sparring with him did Lin Hui realize just how vast the gap was between himself and Qimei.

This gap wasn't just in their Realm, but also in their years of cultivation and accumulation.

'It seems my only option is to strengthen and refine my power myself while waiting for the Blood Seal to evolve. I'll have to do both simultaneously.'

*

*

*

The Divine Court. This was a vast Realm located in a special dimension.

This Realm was essentially like a small Star Realm. Instead of gravity, spherical silver light sources floated about, releasing a constant, gentle glow.

At the center of the Realm was an enormous, spherical silver building.

Within a certain space on the building's surface.

The Seventh Divine Army's Administration Office.

A tall man with a ring of white-gold runes behind his back was walking slowly down a long, empty corridor.

With every step he took, a golden footprint would automatically be left behind.

He was Zhu Li, the current Commander-in-Chief of the Seventh Divine Army and one of the eight strongest individuals at the apex of the Divine Court's pyramid of power.

Of course, Commander-in-Chief was just a title. There might be even stronger individuals, but on the surface, these eight were the ones who supported everything.

The eight Divine Armies dominated all territories of the Human Race, forming a vast, cyclical harvesting system with the Ruined Star Realm as its core and all other worlds as auxiliary.

"Commander-in-Chief."

Just as Zhu Li reached the end of the corridor and was about to open the door to the next space,

a faint, high-pitched female voice entered his Heart and Spirit.

"What is it?" Zhu Li paused. Standing before a pure white wall, he raised his hand and pointed forward.

A crescent-shaped golden gate of light automatically materialized on the wall's surface.

But he didn't enter. Instead, he remained where he was, standing still.

"Of the thirty-two deployment points in the Ruined Star Realm, seventeen have failed and been purged," the female voice reported swiftly.

"And the results? Has the distribution of strengths and weaknesses been recorded?"

"It has been recorded. Now we just have to see how the Divine Kings of the Court will react," the female voice replied.

"A million long years have made their minds slack and rigid. The eight Divine Kings... if not for us Commanders-in-Chief, they would no longer have the power to harvest and rule such a vast territory," Zhu Li said with a faint smile.

"Indeed. They're powerless to even react to such a small-scale probe. The Divine Kings' lives have truly grown too ancient and decrepit," the female voice echoed in agreement.

"What do the other Commanders-in-Chief say?" Zhu Li asked.

"There has been no word yet, but their situations are likely the same as ours. The probe has revealed the Divine Kings' slow reactions and the system's decay. They've probably lost all hope in them," the female voice replied.

"In that case, let's proceed to the next step, according to the original plan," Zhu Li said.

"Yes, sir."

The female voice faded, leaving Zhu Li alone before the golden gate of light.

After a long moment, a slight smile touched the corner of his bearded mouth. He stepped forward, and his figure instantly entered a bizarre space filled with an endless golden fluid.

Within the space, another man with blond hair, dressed in a black-and-white checkered robe, was already present. He too had a wheel of white-gold runic chains floating behind him, and he turned his head to look at Zhu Li.

"Commander-in-Chief Zhu Li, long time no see. I trust you've been well," the handsome, blond-haired man said with a smile.

Compared to Zhu Li, his style was more like that of a young, high-level intellectual from the Human Race—refined, calm, as if he could face anything with tranquil composure.

Zhu Li, on the other hand, had the air of a tall, aristocratic marshal with a full beard. The two were completely different types.

"Pingyun, it seems your test went smoothly as well," Zhu Li said with a smile.

"Yes. The Divine King I'm responsible for just idles his days away, waiting to die. He's living under a disguised identity on a human planet, numbed by games, food, and all sorts of entertainment," Pingyun replied.

"The initial test of multiple Disaster Energies was a success. Next is advanced application. What are your plans?" Zhu Li asked.

"Then we'll test it on some higher-level cadres. Since they don't care about the Divine Kings' low-level private armies, we'll start with the Loyal King Sect," Pingyun said with a smile.

"Reasonable. Then I'll leave this matter to you. How does that sound?" Zhu Li nodded in approval.

"Are you trying to shift the risk and avoid any karmic entanglement?" Pingyun laughed again. "I tend to do things on a whim. Aren't you afraid I'll leak the secret...?"

"It doesn't matter. If it's leaked, we'll just destroy the entire planetary system used for the test," Zhu Li said casually. "We've been raising them for so many years, anyway. This slow and steady harvesting is far too inefficient."

"As you wish." Pingyun bowed his head slightly. "Also, one more question. Was it you who intentionally leaked the Infinite Crystal?"

"Are you referring to the Xia family? That's right. I've run thousands, tens of thousands of tests, and I've found that the pure soul-bloodline of the Divine Race, while powerful and perfect, lacks significant evolutionary potential.

The soul-bloodline of the Human Race, however, though weak, possesses evolutionary paths far broader than those of the Divine Race. The demigods are an omni-species I specifically researched. Unlike the demigods of the past, these ones have inherited the respective advantages of both the Divine and Human Races."

"But the Infinite Crystal you released... it wasn't a complete one, was it?" Pingyun asked.

"Correct. The creation of the Infinite Crystal is controlled only by the Divine Kings. I released an embryonic one. This, too, is a form of probe," Zhu Li nodded. "This crystal is named Sylph. In a sense, I need to use it to test its pros and cons in an external environment."

"Understood. I will have people follow up and coordinate," Pingyun nodded.

"I'm counting on you." Zhu Li patted his shoulder gently. "Trust me, just a little longer, and soon, we'll be able to..."

*

*

*

「Red Pattern Star.」

The brief raid was just an anomaly. The attacks by the Phantasm Energy monsters weren't concentrated on a single planet, but were spread across many star systems within the Human Race's territory. It was only through the news that one could quickly see that attacks were happening everywhere, and people everywhere were living in dire straits.

Ding Luo returned to his daily work routine, and Lin Hui continued to go to school every day.

A few days later, his second brother, Ding Yiran, also left for university.

At home, everything seemed to have returned to normal.

But...

'This is the place!'

Lin Hui stood in front of a crowded department store, watching the dense streams of people inside.

His gaze wasn't focused on the people, but on the milky-white floor tiles beneath their feet.

On a level invisible to everyone else, a faint golden, blurry aura lingered on those tiles, gradually dissipating.

'Interesting.' From that aura, Lin Hui sensed a scent similar to the faint golden crystal he had previously extracted from the Phantasm Energy monster.

However, the source of the lingering aura here must have been of a much higher level than that Phantasm Energy monster.

But none of that was the main point. The main point was that he had originally planned to come to the mall to buy some necessities today, but had unexpectedly discovered this mysterious aura.

And just this tiny bit of residual aura had shortened the evolution time of Lin Hui's Blood Seal by more than a year.

While that wasn't much compared to the tens of thousands of years it would take, he couldn't ignore the fact that this was just a remnant left behind by something that had only stopped here briefly.

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