[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-emperor-of-the-source":3,"chapter-emperor-of-the-source-emperor-of-the-source-chapter-68":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"english","Emperor of the Source",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},1713066,2188,"Chapter 67: The Anomaly","emperor-of-the-source-chapter-68",68,"\u003Cp>Adrian's doubts gnawed at him. The revelation about galactic concepts left him questioning everything about his own power.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He asked, voice steady, \"Lord Sentinel… I never comprehended any galactic concepts. I wouldn't even know where to begin. Then how did this seed bloom inside me?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Sentinel regarded him with calm eyes. \"You said the seed awakened when you touched the core stone,\" he murmured. \"That is answer enough.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Comprehension of galactic concepts is the truest path, yes, but it is not the only one. There are… other ways.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His eyes narrowed. \"Natural treasures.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The chamber grew still.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Sentinel lifted a finger. \"Natural treasures. Stones, crystals, fragments that drift endlessly through the void.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"As they travel, they bathe in concepts. Burning suns, collapsing stars, worlds unknown. Slowly, they change.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"They become treasures that carry fragments of those galactic concepts within them. Anyone who consumes or fuses with such a treasure can bloom an essence seed.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The S-ranks in the room stiffened, eyes widening.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"But,\" Sentinel continued, \"this is a path for those who lack comprehension. For those who cannot grasp concepts on their own.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"It has downsides. You have an essence seed now, yes. You can cast skills in the void.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"But your skills are still born of planetary concepts. If you face one whose essence was forged by true galactic comprehension… they will step on you as an ant.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Adrian lowered his eyes, frowning. His fingers curled into fists.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So even his seed… might be flawed? The thought stung deeper than he expected.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet the Sentinel's next words cut through the doubt. \"Do not mistake me, child. What you carry is no weakness.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"These treasures are common out there, used even by the strongest races. Even we Twelve… bloomed our seeds this way.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gasps broke around the chamber. Elara's hand flew to her mouth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"In the old war, we had no time to chase comprehension. We reached for survival.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For the first time, the truth of the Guardian and the Celestial Eleven's path was spoken aloud. The legendary figures had taken shortcuts too.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I do not know where that Abyss Core came from,\" Sentinel said grimly, \"but it does not belong to Earth.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ironwood stepped forward. \"You mean it came from space? From those civilizations?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Most likely.\" The Sentinel's expression darkened.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then his eyes turned back to Adrian. \"Child, have you ever tried injecting mana into your seed?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Adrian shook his head. \"No. Even when I healed after the battle, I used liquefied mana, converting it myself.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I never touched the seed directly.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Then try now,\" Sentinel said simply. \"Even I want to see how your Echo looks as essence.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The others still believed it was Echo. Even Sentinel accepted that explanation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Everyone leaned forward.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even the Sentinel himself looked intent, his eyes fixed on Adrian's form.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Adrian nodded and closed his eyes. He willed his liquefied mana inward, toward the compressed seed inside him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The seed throbbed once, like a second heart awakening. Then it drank greedily, pulling his mana in with ravenous hunger.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The transformation was immediate. His mana dissolved completely, restructured at a fundamental level.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pure Source essence seeped out of his palm, white-grey and absolute. It was denser, purer, more terrifying than anything he had ever manifested.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was more terrifying than the energy he had unleashed in his source form.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That form was activated purely with liquefied mana and affinity. At that time, he did not have this seed or essence. And now it's different.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Central Tower shuddered. Runes along its walls blazed defensively, ancient inscriptions flaring like dying stars. Outside, alarms screamed as the entire HQ quaked under the pressure.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Every defender in the complex felt it. Concepts themselves bent around Adrian's presence. Affinities shrank back like frightened children before their origin.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sentinel stiffened, his own seed throbbed inside him, as though it feared what stood before it. His eyes widened in raw disbelief.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Impossible,\" he whispered, voice cracking for the first time in millennia. \"How could your essence stand above mine without a single galactic comprehension?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thomas stumbled backward, pressing his hand to his chest. His newly liquefied mana recoiled from Adrian's presence. Elara gasped, her golden eyes reflecting terror and awe.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ironwood dropped to one knee, his S-rank breakthrough feeling insignificant. Kael's spatial mastery wavered, reality itself bending around Adrian's unleashed essence.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Adrian pulled back the essence at once. The Tower's groaning stopped, leaving only deafening silence. His voice was quiet, almost apologetic.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I don't know why it's like this.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Sentinel exhaled slowly, each breath deliberate. But his gaze never left Adrian, studying him like a puzzle beyond comprehension.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Even one who has mastered galactic truths would not bloom essence this strong at the start,\" he said slowly. \"Only years, decades of comprehension should forge such weight.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He paused, the words heavy with implication.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Child... you are an anomaly.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The words struck like a verdict. Adrian felt the weight of being something outside natural law, something that shouldn't exist.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"An anomaly this world needs,\" Sentinel continued, his tone carrying rare approval. \"Only such cracks in the rules give us hope against what comes.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Adrian's chest tightened. The truth only fanned his hunger for answers, for the power to protect everything he valued.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He lifted his gaze, determination burning in his eyes. \"Lord Sentinel... then tell me. What are we truly surviving against?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"What lies beyond Earth?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Sentinel's expression shifted. His eyes sharpened to killing intent, his voice edged with hatred accumulated over millennia.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Since you are strong enough now... You deserve to know.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The air itself seemed to recoil from what came next.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"The enemy waiting for us beyond the stars... are demons.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The word rang with pure hate. It carried the weight of endless war, of civilizations burned to ash. Of eleven heroes who would never return home.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The chamber froze.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The air trembled under Sentinel's killing intent. Thomas, Elara, and Ironwood stiffened, their bodies screaming at the oppressive weight.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They were not ready. They had no seeds, no comprehension of Essence. Instinct told them to retreat, to flee this space meant for those qualified.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They had not earned the right to hear this truth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But Sentinel raised his hand, stopping their retreat. \"Stay. Do not run from what you must face.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You may be weak now, but your paths are tied to this child. If his destiny is to face what lies beyond, then so is yours.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His voice carried the weight of prophecy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Know this truth, and let it forge you into something worthy of the stars.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They froze mid-step. Then, despite every instinct screaming otherwise, they remained. For the first time, they would learn what humanity was truly fighting against.\u003C\u002Fp>",1132,"2026-06-06T15:05:27.002Z",1,"novelbin.me","71397aa69567ac2adaa2d7374d0ae5c8515e97523abf5e4877d06a31e4db7971","emperor-of-the-source-chapter-69","emperor-of-the-source-chapter-67",347,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Femperor-of-the-source-cover.jpg"]