Chapter 59: The Giant Egg!
Being able to project a single time-based phantom body means only barely stepping into the threshold of time laws.
Only by creating hundreds of such phantoms does one begin to grasp the true profundity of time law.
For the Machine Race, understanding 60% of each aspect of a law via their Law Imprint Boards is considered a passable mastery—enough for reliable combat use.
Pursuing 100% perfection means dissecting the very essence of the law itself—this is the path of true geniuses.
Most Machine Race members don't strive for that.
But for Jiang Zhe, "just passing" was never enough. Cultivation shouldn't be half-hearted.
Inside a 100-square-meter workshop on the 9th floor of the Martial Hall:
Jiang Zhe looked disheveled, holding a welding gun, sparks flying as he tapped away. Burnt-out circuit boards lay scattered around him—he resembled a full-time electrical repairman more than a cultivator.
A cold, elegant woman was also there. Under Oriana's guidance, she cleaned up the chaotic room, bringing water and scrubbing everything down.
Once everything was tidy, she stood quietly by the window, waiting for Jiang Zhe to finish.
Eventually, Jiang Zhe put down his welding torch. Staring at the complex, jumbled circuitry on the board, he shook his head in frustration.
He didn't even need to test it—he knew he'd only grasped less than 40% of the first time-related profundity.
This path was just too difficult, especially the first step into the law.
Even Luo Feng, in the unique environment of the Initial Universe—with exposure to Chaos Monuments, the Bloody Shadow Secret Codex, and the aid of the Mosha Clan—took ten years to grasp the basics.
Jiang Zhe, on the other hand, was in a normal environment, had no special affinity for time law, and only relied on raw talent and a Law Imprint Board. The difficulty for him was 100 to several hundred times higher.
"First, I'll aim for a basic grasp, and slowly polish it toward perfection… eventually seeking the true essence of the law."
With this in mind, he adjusted his cultivation plan.
He looked up and noticed Leilei waiting. He waved her over.
Using his mind force, he pulled over two cushions. They sat facing each other.
Jiang Zhe asked,
"How's your cultivation coming along?"
"Twelvefold explosive strength, Intent-level blade and movement techniques, peak-level high-grade Warlord physique."
"Hoh, not bad!" Jiang Zhe genuinely praised.
For an Earthling at this stage, that level of achievement was extremely impressive.
Even compared to trainees from the undestroyed Ink Star, she'd be a top-level apprentice. As the daughter of Thunder God and inheritor of Ancient Yoga, she had a natural gift for cultivating the body.
"All thanks to your guidance."
Jiang Zhe shook his head modestly.
"You should be ready to break through to the Planetary level now, right?"
"I think so. I can feel it coming."
"Then break through right here. I'll guide you one last time—I'll be busy after this."
He was speaking the truth.
He had freed up eight months to prepare for the upcoming Qianwu Auction, adjusting his training plans depending on what treasures he'd acquire there.
Though he had insights into laws, he hadn't learned any secret techniques to channel them—except one flying technique, Shadow Field. He couldn't go on like that.
He had the "law", now he needed the "techniques".
Oriana had taught Leilei a set of guiding movements—similar to Qi circulation exercises—to assist in her Planetary breakthrough.
This set wasn't from Ink Star but acquired from Virtual Universe by Jiang Zhe—he valued his promises.
"Huh? Lightning-type genetic source energy. Lucky you."
After her breakthrough, Jiang Zhe gifted her two secret techniques—one for force output and another aligned with lightning—and a Law Circuit Board depicting a time-based profundity.
Jiang Zhe had fully grasped 11 types of lightning law profundities, and could easily sketch out such boards—but how useful it would be to others was uncertain.
To demonstrate a full Law Profundity to another person required a top-tier Immortal.
Still, having something is better than nothing.
How far she'd go in the future was up to her.
After sending Leilei away, Oriana reminded him:
"Master, it's time. We must depart now."
Half an hour later, they boarded the C9 spaceship, heading 11,800 light-years away to Bailan Star.
Jiang Zhe used his "cheap teacher's" five-star account to access the item consignment service, arranging a delivery with the Universe Galaxy Bank.
The recipient turned out to be a World Lord, who, despite his strength, kept his pressure in check and treated Jiang Zhe with full respect.
Any attempt at funny business would trigger the ship's bank AI defense system, vaporizing him instantly.
Transaction complete, both sides left Bailan Star.
While traveling through Dark Universe, Jiang Zhe logged into Virtual Universe and checked his email:
"Dear customer,
Your consciousness-linked account has just received 2,217.6 trillion Universe Coins (equivalent to 2,217.6 Hunyuan units).
Current account balance: 2,223.8 Hunyuan units.
Thank you for your continued trust in Universe Galaxy Bank."
Over 2,000 Hunyuan units—a fortune comparable to that of a poor Immortal!
What did Jiang Zhe sell?
An E9-class premium alloy spacecraft, a backup vehicle once used by a Machine Race Immortal.
It was worthy of a mid-tier auction, and would surely attract bidding from Immortals—but Jiang Zhe wouldn't get to see that spectacle.
Still, the ship fetched a high price only in Human Territory—within the Machine Race, it wasn't that expensive.
In fact, its acceleration, evasion, and maneuverability rivaled even the F-class Ink Star ship, worth millions of Hunyuan units.
December 16, Year 2050 (Hanxia Calendar) — the triennial Qianwu Universe Nation's Low-tier Auction begins!
Virtual Universe, Black Dragon Mountain Island, Zichen Mountain Villa District.
"Little Zhe, when you come back, you better tell us all about that auction!"
— roared his bear-like second brother, Jiang Wu.
"Sigh… Even Grandpa got an invitation, but he can't attend."
— lamented Jiang Wen.
Jiang Zhe had transferred 10 Hunyuan units to the family head, upgrading his account to 3-star, giving him the auction invite.
"Haha, there'll be chances in the future. My strength is still too weak—just one glance from a World Lord could crush me."
Grandpa was open-minded. He patted Jiang Zhe's shoulder warmly:
"Protect yourself. If it's too much to handle, log off immediately."
"Don't worry, Grandpa. I met a World Lord just two days ago."
At a low-tier auction, the hosts were all Universe-level beings. World Lords were so rare they stunned onlookers.
Luo Feng was Universe-level when he first attended one.
If Jiang Zhe hadn't met a World Lord recently, he wouldn't have known whether he could withstand their mental pressure.
Thankfully, Dormant Dragon Technique had strengthened both his will and mental resilience.
After bidding farewell to family, Jiang Zhe summoned his Pegasus, rode it to a teleportation node, and—using his invitation—was transported to a floating city in the Qianwu Mainland.
There were 16 entrances to the auction hall, each with tens of thousands of World Lords queued up—nearly a million total participants!
After half an hour, Jiang Zhe received his seat number: CNB95270, and entered the hall.
The World Lord next to him chatted a bit, but Jiang Zhe wasn't in the mood, so they stopped.
Any young, low-level cultivator seated here clearly had extraordinary background.
Two hours later, the auction officially began.
A white-haired, goat-horned elder stood center stage, a giant thousand-meter-tall projection floating above him.
After a warm-up speech, the bidding started.
Platinum Opulence Starfield,
Small starfield with 724 galaxies
Final price: 1,084 Hunyuan units.
The auction was on.
Jiang Zhe, now holding 2,000+ Hunyuan units, could potentially compete for most items.
He bought:
Conium Goldfruit (special treasure for metal lifeforms): 0.2 Hunyuan units per 100 pieces.
Lanco Fruits (for plant lifeforms): 0.18 Hunyuan units per 100 pieces.
These were all for Oriana—as a Master of Matter, she needed a wide variety of substances, not just large quantities of one.
Many other rare items had already been commissioned through the "Exotics Pavilion" of the Black Dragon Mountain Region.
Then came high-level gear:
Cracked God Weapon, part of the 9 Great Weapons of Controllers, forged from both Wind and Time essence. Sold for ~3.5 Hunyuan units.
Jiang Zhe didn't bid—wrong element. He was waiting for something related to Lightning-Time fusion.
Then came something that made him sit upright:
A giant black egg, oval-shaped, about 12 meters in diameter, with dark brown markings across the shell.
Jiang Zhe could no longer stay calm.
(End of Chapter)