Chapter 1744

They are all from one civilization, and these fifth stages seem to be spawned from the same mold. That would mean they all have star core fragments inside them?

After eating them all, maybe I can still piece together a complete star core?

And...

The star core is useful to him.

Lin An clearly remembered that, in the body strengthening given by the system, the standard for fifth-stage intermediate is a star core plus flesh of the same rank.

Although he already has one in his hand, obtaining another would also be good.

If he can make it back alive, merging the star cores of the Alien Species world into Earth, then the star cores inside these fifth-stage beings would be just right for his future use.

An unexpected gain..

Lin An gave a light laugh, then simply tossed the star core fragments into the ring and began considering whether to merge this rule.

The two rules are not complicated; one is equivalent to creating a pile of stone armor to raise defense, the other is to enhance defensive effect. Combined, they constitute a standard rule combination.

If we merge, could we possibly strengthen the electromagnetic rule?

The adsorption effect looks like it might be gravity? If it carries a gravity rule, then that would work.

But if not, then we can only merge it into the eternity rule.

His brows knit tightly as he pondered.

No wonder Lin An is so cautious.

To be frank, if it weren't for urgently needing to boost his combat power, aside from rules that look useful at a glance which he might consider absorbing, he wouldn't want any other rules at all.

Regarding the progress of the electromagnetic rule, his difficulty in advancing to fourth-stage advanced has already reached an unbelievable level.

Too messy, too many!

It's hard to imagine, but under his current electromagnetic rule, just the branch rule effects alone number as many as nine!

Speaking without exaggeration, if advancing from fourth-stage intermediate to fourth-stage advanced normally requires 10 to at most 20 rule experience points, then Lin An at least needs over 180 points!

Under these conditions with both rules, his advancement difficulty has already approached forty times that of a normal fourth-stage!

Moreover, this doesn't even count the catastrophe rule that Lin An intends to master...

If I keep absorbing like this, I estimate I'll be stuck at the fourth stage for the rest of my life.

He gave a bitter laugh, Lin An thought it over, and still decided not to gamble.

If merging, at most it would be merging into the Eternal Body.

As the electromagnetic rule is his main combat power, he doesn't want to merge it into a useless ability.

Having thought this through, Lin An simply set these two rules aside, planning to devour all the remaining fifth-stage beings, then pick the best among them to merge.

Ten minutes later.

Standing atop a corpse heap the size of a small hill, the entire exchange point seemed to be soaked in a river of blood.

Lin An, drenched in blood, indifferently pulled Cain's Blade from the head of the last War Star-level.

I don't know if it's an illusion, but amid the continuous slaughter, the interior of the exchange point seems to be filled with the death wails of these fifth-stage beings. The originally cold exchange hall now feels as chilly as hell.

Looking at his hand, the Cain's Blade glowing red and seeming about to burst, Lin An inexplicably felt that perhaps in the future this weapon in his hand would become some kind of disaster.

He doesn't know how many weapons as bloody as Cain's Blade remain in the apocalypse game, but Lin An knows that, looking across the entire galaxy and the whole star battlefield, there probably isn't a fifth‑tier like him who has taken down so many top‑tier powerhouses with a single epic weapon.

Despite having slain so many fifth‑tier foes, the rules offered by everyone else pale in comparison to the first one.

Lord Gus… this civilization is actually quite intriguing.

Gazing at the 174 fifth‑tier rules he had managed to convert, Lin An shook his head, a pensive look flickering in his eyes.

All 87 of these fifth‑tier follow the exact same rule—they're practically clones, with nearly identical strength.

The only one that's a bit stronger is actually the first one he killed.

Recalling the opponent's dying words, Lin An realized they might be a rather special subordinate of Lord Gus.

He had no interest in looking into it, and he didn't plan to face that odd star‑destroyer.

After quietly filing away that information, Lin An began to weigh whether he should fuse.

Fusing into the Eternal Body would actually boost my defense a bit.

Besides, the Omniscient Domain's data suggests that this rule would retain its potential even after I merge.

These fifth‑tier use star cores as the heart of their rules, assimilating them into defensive rules—so if I later find stronger materials, I could further boost the enhancement.

It has room for improvement.

Perhaps it could also pair with repulsive expansion?

His mind raced as Lin An repeatedly simulated the post‑fusion effects.

He already possesses growth and atomic‑control abilities; pairing those with assimilation and solidification could yield a solid outcome.

Of course, the real reason Lin An is willing to fuse is that these two rules still hold decent potential.

After slaying so many fifth‑tier foes…

Unlike his initial cluelessness about fifth‑tier when he first entered the battlefield…

Now Lin An possesses a deep understanding of fifth‑tier power.

Fifth‑tier isn't actually that special—most battle‑star level strength is basically an upgraded third‑tier.

Indeed, their rules are like cooldown‑free, upgraded abilities.

It's hard for the weaker Lin An to believe, but it actually makes sense.

Lin An once imagined fifth‑tier awakeners as near‑godlike beings who commanded rules, each wielding mysterious, unfathomable powers—hard to kill, like the three great cataclysms.

But as he slew more and observed more, Lin An realized that not every fifth‑tier wields special rules like he does—in fact, most fifth‑tier on the star battlefield are essentially hasty, mass‑produced versions.

They either come from equipment‑skill evolution, talent‑skill evolution, or they're just the plain, easy‑to‑grasp baseline variety.

Even a star‑destroyer like Black Emperor possesses a notably special, powerful rule, prompting Lin An to reach a crucially important conclusion.

Like Hei Di, a Star-Destroying Level, who happens to grasp a fairly special and powerful rule, this inevitably led Lin An to draw an extremely important conclusion.

Rules cannot be learned haphazardly.

Mastering a few simple rules might make the speed of advancing to the Fifth Stage very fast, even simple; but once you reach the Fifth Stage, trouble will come.

Not to mention lacking potential, combat ability is extremely poor; conversely, only the more difficult rules can possibly impact a higher level.

He shook his head; Lin An felt somewhat glad that he hadn't sought temporary simplicity back then, choosing a low-level rule.

Otherwise, how could he possibly achieve such heaven-defying battle results with a Fourth Stage rank?

Although he could also understand why these Fifth Stage individuals made that choice, or rather, they had no choice.

Fuse... absorb the rules...

Solidifying the rules still looks like trash...

After careful consideration, Lin An took a deep breath and simply chose to fuse the absorbed rules into the Eternal Body.

For some reason, he always felt that this rule might bring him a surprise.