Chapter 68: Enlightenment!
The silver-white serpent coiled into a tight spiral, its head and tail linked, its massive body entwined and compressed into a giant sphere, occupying nearly a thousand kilometers of space.
Jiang Zhe estimated—if fully stretched, the snake's body would span over 10,000 kilometers in length.
At its peak as a World Lord, it might very well be able to wrap itself around the entire Earth.
Well… never mind Earth—let's talk about Mars first.
Mars is only about 6,000 kilometers in diameter, with a maximum circumference of roughly 20,000 kilometers. At this rate, Eternal Serpent could probably circle Mars with just a little more effort.
Terrifying size!
It made Jiang Zhe beam with joy.
In this universe, bigger truly is better. The Lord of the Nine Nether Blood Sea, for example, has a divine body spanning 12 light-years—an existence that inspires fear at a glance.
While the Eternal Serpent couldn't compare to beings like the Nine Nether Blood Sea or the World Tree, it was still more than a match for most cosmic behemoths.
World Lord!
This is the World Lord level!
Synchronizing his perception with the Silver-Clad Primordial Spirit, Jiang Zhe felt the immense power coursing through the serpent's body. He was briefly entranced.
But only for a moment. His gaze quickly sharpened again.
Jiang Zhe wasn't deluded—he knew his true standing.
He had merely reached the life level of a World Lord. In terms of combat power… he could barely make a name for himself in the Black Dragon Mountain Empire.
If he were to run into a World Lord from the Doomsday Secret Realm of the Virtual Universe Company, he'd get utterly crushed.
But Jiang Zhe wasn't worried—he didn't intend to fight anyone yet. Besides, the Silver-Clad Primordial Spirit wasn't concerned about damaging future potential.
The real beginning of cultivation would only start once he fully comprehended a Law and began practicing "Primal Evolution".
For most Domain Lords attempting a breakthrough to World Lord level…
If their foundations were unstable, or their life cores (命核) weren't strong enough, they wouldn't be able to form a sufficiently large inner world. Projecting that world to resist Law Domains would be impossible.
Smaller inner world → Smaller divine kingdom → Ultimately, mediocrity.
Even if they managed to become a True God, they'd never rise above that level.
But apply all this to the Silver-Clad Primordial Spirit?
Weak life core?
The life core is made of God Crystals (divine-grade crystals)—good luck trying to shatter that.
Small inner world?
It's not even a world—it's a primordial, unformed chaos universe! There's no need for external divine kingdoms. The Silver-Clad Spirit has already reached the characteristics of a God King.
Jiang Zhe carefully examined the changes after breaking through to World Lord.
Inner world of…
Hmm? Oh right, no inner world yet.
Though there's a similar power present, he's unsure whether it still qualifies as a "world."
Maybe… Cosmic Power instead?
Reflecting on the breakthrough process, Jiang Zhe felt it was surreal—almost like a dream.
The Origin Force crystal formed during the Domain Lord stage transformed directly into a Source Pearl. Normally, this would result in the creation of the World Power, followed by…
…nothing. The expected development of an internal world within the life core never occurred. The life core just evolved slightly.
And he became a World Lord—just like that.
Abrupt. Surreal. Almost laughable.
But the realm of World Lord was very real—all the privileges associated with internal worlds (except item storage) were now handled by the internal universe instead.
World Projection? ✅
The massive serpent body dispersed, and the Silver-Clad Primordial Spirit took human form again.
With a thought—
Boom!
The barren landscape of Mars changed. Chaotic streams of energy surged around him, casting a gray mist that radiated immense pressure.
Cosmic Projection, perhaps?
As for its strength—
Jiang Zhe couldn't measure it and wasn't keen to test it against other World Lords or Undying beings. Doing so would only risk exposing the uniqueness of his projection.
Until his power far surpassed other World Lords—
Anyone who sees it… must die.
And what about the most important World Lord ability—resonating with World Power to enter the Source Realm of the Universe?
No problem there either.
The Silver-Clad Spirit immediately attempted it.
Its consciousness resonated with World Power and instantly entered the Universe's Source Realm.
The mysterious heart of the entire original universe, whose origin remains unknown.
As he arrived, Jiang Zhe's awareness was sucked into a single grain of sand on an infinite landmass, and he could suddenly sense the purest waves of elemental forces—Gold, Wood, Water, Fire, Earth, Wind, Lightning, Light, Time, and Space.
All of it—clear and distinct!
"This is incredible!" Jiang Zhe exclaimed.
He shared sensory access with the Silver-Clad Spirit, like piggybacking on someone else's network to browse everything new in the world.
"Anna!"
With a quiet shout, Jiang Zhe's figure vanished—
He was drawn into Orianna's World Bracelet.
High Tower – Top Floor.
At the workbench, Jiang Zhe compared a Thunder Law Pattern Board with a blank circuit board in hand. Holding a soldering gun, he began "painting" with electric sparks.
Becoming a World Lord requires deep insight into elemental laws.
Jiang Zhe had chosen a difficult path—dissecting the essence of the laws. Without aids, progress was agonizingly slow.
So in 2054, he temporarily changed strategy.
Instead of mastering each law individually, he learned just 30-40% of each and went through 72 elemental phenomena quickly.
Thanks to a wide understanding of Thunder Laws, insights into 30 sub-laws, and the unique nature of the Silver-Clad Spirit—
These many factors helped him barely push through to World Lord level.
But once across that threshold, with his mind inside the Universe Source Realm, it was like a fish leaping into the sea. The road ahead was clear.
Circuit after circuit was etched on the board and handed to Orianna for inspection.
31st Phenomenon: 100%, fully grasped!
32nd Phenomenon: 100%, fully grasped!
33rd Phenomenon: 100%, fully grasped!
34th Phenomenon: 80%, solid understanding!
Finally, Jiang Zhe set down the soldering tool and exhaled deeply.
"All that buildup paid off!"
"Progress this fast won't happen again anytime soon."
Though he said it would be harder from now on, Jiang Zhe's grin betrayed no worry.
"Let's continue!"
He swapped the Thunder Law Pattern Board for a Time Law one, picked up a new circuit board, and resumed.
But translating all his insights into design still looked like tangled messes on paper.
The first board? Scrap.
Jiang Zhe wasn't discouraged—he just grabbed another and kept going.
With the Silver-Clad Spirit's consciousness parked in the Universe's Source Realm, it acted like a signal receiver, assisting his law comprehension.
April 25, 2056.
At the workbench stood a disheveled man—hair tied in a small ponytail, beard unkempt. After five months, he finally put down his soldering gun.
Using his mind, he levitated the board toward Orianna, who fed it into a giant copier-like analyzer.
Laser beams scanned and evaluated the attack strength encoded in the circuit.
"Time Law – First Phenomenon: 100%, fully grasped!"
Her voice was as calm as always, but Jiang Zhe could still hear the undeniable joy beneath it.
"Whew—finally!"
Jiang Zhe exhaled. Strangely, he felt a little empty inside.
Looking back—
From 2047 to 2056, nearly a full decade had passed.
He'd relied on a single Law Pattern Board—stronger than Bloodshed Secret Codex but still inferior to Essays on Space-Time.
With no aid from the Initial Universe or the Chaos Monument, he had finally comprehended the first time-based phenomenon.
"Now I'm confident—with this alone, I could reach the third floor of the Sky Bridge. Whether I pass or not is another matter."
"Just like Luo Feng who polished his sword for ten years!"
That wasn't arrogance. Jiang Zhe's nearly complete understanding of the remaining eight phenomena was no joke.
What had been an empty void in his heart was once again filled with burning determination.
He was back on fire.
"Master, shall we continue?"
"Not yet. Let's head home. I didn't even go back for New Year's—wonder how Grandpa feels about that?"
"Your grandfather almost came to Mars to find you himself. He couldn't get a spaceship, so he asked Wuna and Arlene to fly him here." Orianna covered her mouth and chuckled.
Jiang Zhe laughed too, shaking his head. "My bad. Should've left them some ships."
He glanced at the Silver-Clad Spirit sitting cross-legged in the corner, meditating on Earth and Space Laws.
He couldn't help but chuckle again.
Earlier, he had shut down the "shared Law comprehension channel," but now he had to reopen it—just to piggyback on his "wife"'s network again.
Even though studying multiple Law types at once caused interference, the benefits far outweighed the drawbacks.
Jiang Zhe stroked his chin thoughtfully. "Time to send the Silver-Clad Spirit on its journey—to explore that wormhole's current status."
Silver-Clad Spirit: … 😐
Post-Chapter Note:
The beginner village arc is over—now the main story begins, including interactions with original characters from Swallowed Star.
Several plot seeds were planted across these ten chapters and will gradually unfold.
As for the Silver-Clad Spirit—it won't die unless its God Crystal is shattered. It has no soul, so it's immune to mental attacks.
Even if it's sealed or suppressed by the original universe, Jiang Zhe has a way to recover it.
The only real danger is failing to complete "Primal Evolution" within three reincarnation eras.
Fail—and Jiang Zhe will permanently lose his second spirit.
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