Chapter 1279

The nature of power...

He slowly clenched his fists, feeling the surging yet seemingly stagnant power within his body, Lin An exhaled, a hollow silver flickered in the depths of his eyes.

I can feel... a brand-new power is being born...

The voice was low, reverberating.

It was like thunder mixed with the void, from the abnormal 'pressure' in his eyes to outward manifestation, Lin An increasingly felt that he was transforming into a super lifeform.

His spirit surged.

Even though he usually stayed calm, under the excitement of about to enter the Fourth Stage, on this ordinary afternoon, Lin An no longer cared about suppressing his emotions.

Exactly.

They have been inside the instance for a full twelve days.

Since coming out of the cave, he has been staying in this quiet castle for more than eleven days.

Converted to the outside real world, that is two days and 2.4 hours exactly (based on one day)!

The time to master Fourth Stage power is longer than originally planned, but none of this is a problem!

Before Chu An uses the paper to contact him, it indicates that the Alien Species in the real world have not yet moved! For him, he still has ample time to continue strengthening!

The power of rules...

He slowly raised his left hand.

A barely discernible blue, current-like energy structure appeared out of nowhere in his palm.

Electromagnetic rule...

Like thunder, the materialized rule power began to writhe like electric snakes, flexibly coiling around his entire arm.

About nine days ago, the first strand of electromagnetic rule power began to be born within his body. It was like the materialization of a rule, a new power existing between illusion and reality appearing inside him.

Unlike psionic energy, which explodes instantly like liquid TNT when thrown, the rule power born under electromagnetic rule is more like a special entity capable of instantaneous change.

Cellular reinforcement!

Hum

Suddenly it surged into his left fist, the bulging veins popped out on his arm; in an instant, Lin An's left arm strangely swelled a circle, his whole hand seeming to undergo an imperceptible tremor, vibrating at extreme speed! And on his system panel, almost no time passed before a cold system prompt sounded instantly.

+00.1.. Strength!

+.. Agility..!!

The dense reinforcement messages nearly filled the screen.

Seeing that in less than two days the reinforcement messages had already reached over a thousand, Lin An, even after having been shocked by his first use of electromagnetic rule, could not help but become somewhat obsessed.

So exhilarating! So strong!

Terrifying, frightening, ultimate!

Even after having repeatedly sensed the terror of the Fourth Stage, only when he first grasped rule power did Lin An realize he had vastly underestimated its horror!

The strength of the Fourth Stage is all-around, different from logic, different from linear growth.

But rather a qualitative change, exponential, defying common sense strength!

Merely the use of cellular reinforcement under electromagnetic rule, in less than two days, gave him an explosive increase of over +15 to all attributes!

This speed is ten to a hundred times that of his running Cataclysmic Power!

If he wishes, his bodily strength will, before reaching the Fourth Stage limit, increase at an unbelievable speed! Under Lin An's assessed strength limit, it is roughly 299 points in all attributes!

And this is merely a simple application of electromagnetic rule!

First rule, cellular reinforcement rate: +10000-999999% increase!

Vibration ceased.

If cells were like muscles, within Lin An's body at this moment his cellular arrangement and strength level would be like many times more solid than an ordinary Third Stage, aggregating in a manner akin to stacking.

Without control of rule power, even between his cells and cells, a 'quantum leap' effect could occur.

He lightly exhaled; the pleasure of constantly growing stronger was almost enough to make one obsessively enamored from the heart.

Lin An slowly raised his right hand again; he, lying on a luxurious large bed, was currently bare-chested, his sturdy, burly body, as if finely carved... like the most perfect marble artwork in the world.

As the rule power operated, the edges of his outline gradually took on a faint illusory blue.

Time rule: Eternal Body!

State constancy!

Hum

Unlike when operating electromagnetic rule, which causes various material-world interference phenomena such as abnormal discharge and magnetic disturbance.

As a speck of silver light like flowing water appeared out of nowhere on his right hand, in an instant Lin An's entire body seemed to be cut out from the world, and extremely faint black lines began to appear at the edges of his body.

Under the use of time rule power, the effect of state constancy is nearly strengthened a hundredfold or more!

His eyes fixed tightly on the black lines appearing at the edge of his right hand; even though this power originated from himself and was under his grasp, Lin An still couldn't help but feel astonished.

His previous line of thought was correct.

State constancy fundamentally builds an absolute position around his body, like being wrapped in a black hole's thin membrane; under this layer of rule power's protection, he will be immune to all material-world harm!

This is another form of invincibility!

Before the rule power is exhausted, no injury can appear on his true body!

And after breaking the Eternal Body, under positive and negative time rule, the damage will be distributed to past and future.

His current defense, compared to the peak of the Third Stage, is stronger than tenfold or more!

The only regret is that Lin An faintly feels he cannot well use this power in special environments where time flows faster.

It seems as if his rules are opposing the system's rules?

For example, in this instance, whenever he uses state constancy, the rule power that was painstakingly born gets rapidly consumed.

Unlike before when he knew nothing about rules, Lin An now clearly feels that the system's so-called instances and all those miraculous abilities are entirely composed of rules.

Just that no one knows the specific rule information, and...

He raised his head, looking at the Rococo-style ceiling, the delicate oil painting on the wall, which was a large mural of God and humanity intersecting.

For some reason, at this moment, when Lin An looked at this artwork similar to something on Earth, he always felt a strange sensation.

The system's rules and the rules mastered at the Fourth Stage are of the same type.

The difference is that the system's rule power is nearly infinite, and the rule level probably also belongs to infinity?

He recalled the fleeting time rule used to test his mastery, Lin An took a deep breath and slowly clenched his right fist.

«Eternal Body (Time) Rule, first clause... »

«Mass Distortion Barrier! »

Naming it after the essential ability of the rule, Lin An let out a light sigh, his heart simultaneously uplifted with a hint of realization.

Only by mastering rule power can one be considered to have entered the Fourth Stage.

And only after entering the Fourth Stage can one truly realize how terrifying the Fourth Stage is.

Without exaggeration, even though he hasn't yet generated much rule power, his actual combat power has undergone an earth-shaking change...

In this situation, Lin An couldn't help but self-mock his previous underestimation of Fourth Stage strength...

He still has several rule powers not yet proficient, and he doesn't know what further changes could occur or how to strengthen his mastery. Yet even so, he has confidence that he could slay his former self with a single sword...

Eleven days' time, an earth-shaking change.

However, the point that makes Lin An feel there is a 'problem' is likely that his rules should be stronger than ordinary Fourth Stage? Much, much stronger.

At least that corpse emperor, that corpse emperor which initially seemed unbeatable, leaving him unable to even strike back. If he were to face it again now, Lin An doubts whether the opponent could break through his defense in a short time— that itself is a problem.

The gap between these Fourth Stages is simply too large.

If nothing unexpected happens, his current state and the corpse emperor's earlier state are of the same nature.

Having just generated rule power, he still cannot master it proficiently.

Precisely at this same level, their strengths have already diverged to an unimaginable extent.

Is it because I am a Perfect One?

Or... could it be that I've fused with an Alien Species? Different rules?

Without comparison, there is no harm; in the instance, Lin An has no other Fourth Stage to communicate with, so he doesn't know what situation he belongs to. However, whichever it is, perhaps it is the fundamental reason why Alien Species want to kill him swiftly.

Even he himself cannot imagine; given more time, with greater and more proficient rule power... his strength will rise to what extent.

And this is merely after he has activated two rules...

«Cataclysm Rule... »

Restless and eager to move.

Lin An looked at the Cataclysm Rule he could already activate synchronously; his heart inevitably welled up with an impulse, this impulse making him want to see what abilities he would gain when the rule from the death calamity appears.

But...

Chu An seems not to want him to open it so quickly, but rather hopes he will fully master the two major rules before opening it.

According to Chu An's speculative explanation, the extra rule of a Perfect One is more like an additional channel in a river.

Before the channel stabilizes, simultaneously introducing new river convergences easily causes the channel to burst...

Simply put, the foundation will be unstable, and one breath could be fatal.

It sounds reasonable, yet Lin An always feels it's a pity. No one knows how strong the Alien Species' eventual deployment will be. With one more rule, he would nearly stand in an absolutely invincible position.

Even if the Alien Species arriving are veteran Fourth Stages, Lin An is confident their rule strength at most equals his. Then relying on that extra rule, wouldn't it be a Fourth Stage beating a Third Stage, pressing the attack against them?

Logically speaking, even with some risks and an unstable foundation, one should prioritize opening three rules...

His eyes flickered; after a rare moment of hesitation, Lin An still suppressed the impulse to activate.

Many principles of rule power are what Chu An self-styled as 'explored' and then told him; Lin An cannot help but doubt whether Colonel Chu is actually a Fourth Stage—whether the so-called research and reasoning is just a facade? But up to now, Chu An has had no reason to harm him and has never done so.

Lin An believes that if Chu An did not want him to become stronger, he would have acted against him already when he was at the Second Level.

Moreover, he can faintly feel that the rule power transformed from the death calamity might truly be different...

"First master these two, then talk... having three rule powers operate simultaneously could possibly cause chaos."

Left hand electric torch magnetic, right hand time, Lin An also could imagine that with three rule powers appearing inside his body, he might truly fall into chaos... solidifying the foundation is for future strength...

No more thinking about this.

Lin An returned to his normal state, casually leaning against the luxurious large bed.

For some reason, from the vigilance before entering the instance to his current excellent mood, these past ten-odd days have truly seen nothing happen.

No special events, no suddenly issued missions, no sign of hidden enemies appearing, and no crisis...

Safe, at ease—this instance world is simply a perfectly normal world, truly like a vacation, giving him ample time to master power.

If possible, Lin An would even like to stay a while longer in such a peaceful environment.

The pressure of the real world is like being submerged in the deep sea, constantly exerting immense pressure on him... In fact, from the depths of his mind, Lin An knows his nerves have been stretched to the limit...

From the outbreak of the Apocalypse to now, he truly has never rested even a moment...

But here, he seems not to need to be so urgent... at least, there won't be various sudden events waiting for him to handle.

«Is this the calm before the great battle? »

He muttered softly.

Just as Lin An was about to check his private messages to ask Zhang Tie about his progress, a slight sound suddenly came from the corner of the room.

All he saw was a figure in an ornate princess dress, her face bearing a hint of resistance, entanglement, and longing—Shen Yan hesitantly barefoot on the carpet, secretly glancing at him.

He raised his eyebrows.

After a moment's hesitation, Lin An calmly waved.

After coming out of the cave, he had already raised their favorability to an extremely high value.

Looking at the girl's appearance, it was time to raise favorability again..

After glancing at the remaining few days, Lin An pondered briefly, then simply decided to brush for a few more days.

As Shen Yan gathered her courage, the several conflicted looks on her face approached him—no longer the lofty, proud tone she had before, she now directly climbed onto the bed, curling up in Lin An's arms like a kitten.

Her voice trembled, filled with nervousness.

Today can...

Do something else...?

Her small head nestled in Lin An's arms; this young lady, who once held herself high, now looked at him with a pleading, dazed gaze.

Inconceivable to outsiders, what exactly has she gone through during this period?

You really want it?

Mm...

Do you like me..

Like..

How much do you like...?

My life... I'll give it to you... I'll give you everything... anything goes...

Even dying together would be fine...

Stroking the girl's smooth back—like milk—from the long skirt she had taken off, Lin An spoke his lines with a calm expression.

Just like in a game dialogue, as his affection with the mission target increased, Shen Yan's behavior became more proactive, about to cross that red line.

Ding, affection increased..

Perhaps unlike before, looking at the girl clinging tightly to herself, her legs constantly rubbing together, Lin An couldn't help but flash a hint of unusual emotion in his eyes.

Perhaps, this world really has no danger...

He perhaps no longer needs to be so vigilant...

Mm...

A muffled moan, his mouth filled, reverberated under the rough pressure.