Chapter 1819

He saw Lin An's incredulous shock.

After the Overseer's giant eye paused slightly, it then eased its tone and spoke again.

"Lin An, I'm not saying you've already embarked on a dead end; otherwise, I wouldn't have chosen to have you do something for me."

"A person walking a dead end has no value."

Waving its tentacles, Number 77 instantly used psychic power to generate a virtual humanoid and displayed it before Lin An.

"It's simple logic. Assuming two paths are walked together, choosing to strengthen both body and rules, although it consumes more resources and is harder, for a civilization it's nothing special."

"The key lies in the task required to advance to the Fifth Stage, and..."

"The essence of power!"

"The essence of... power?"

Lin An subconsciously repeated it, and in the depths of his mind, his heart suddenly jumped.

He didn't quite understand what Number 77 wanted to say, but he knew perhaps this information was extremely important!

As expected.

At this moment, Number 77 rarely showed some hesitation, as if also hesitating whether to tell him certain information.

Given his rank and identity, he actually didn't need to tell Lin An so much.

Just glancing over Lin An, after thinking of that group of madmen, he finally made up his mind.

"Let's talk about other information first; I'll tell you the essence of power last. Including some information about the Apocalypse, and Earth's secrets."

As more information was revealed, Number 77 enlarged the virtual humanoid before it, then spoke word by word, staring intently into Lin An's eyes:

"Lin An, before that, I will tell you the most【crucial】thing."

【"That is, don't completely believe what I say! Or rather, don't believe anyone, including any conclusion you draw yourself!"】

【"What I say, what you think, even if one day Eight Stage or Nine Stage tells you something, you can only treat it as a means, not a principle! Treat it as theory, not truth!"】

"It's like a primitive picking up a gun; you can guess how to pull the trigger and fire, but you must not take your guess as truth!"

"If you truly believe any word, you will surely die! You will surely die in the Apocalypse!"

The tone was extremely solemn, as if mixed with deep regret from Number 77's heart, a remorse so intense it bordered on dread.

Heedless of Lin An's increasingly bewildered gaze, he completely didn't know why he would utter such self-contradictory words.

Number 77 shifted its tone, as if it had never said that before, and spoke again:

"Let's return to the previous topic."

"Anyone advancing from Fourth Stage to Fifth Stage must complete an advancement mission. You can also understand it as a civilizational trial similar to the Interstellar Battlefield."

"Although the difficulty is certainly not as great as what you've experienced, for most Fourth Stage cultivators who choose both paths, it's still a nine-deaths-one-life chance."

"In the system's judgment, both paths are Fourth Stage Peak; the rating is not as simple as one plus one equals two, but ten times ten!"

"The system assumes you are invincible against a single system, giving you an advantage! So you will inevitably face many peers, even enemies that overwhelm you on one path!"

"This means the difficulty of advancing with dual systems is roughly eight to ten times that of a regular Fourth Stage!"

"Just this point alone is enough to filter out 99% of Awakened Ones!"

"This is the first!"

As the words fell, Lin An instantly recalled those cannon-fodder Fourth Stages he had encountered. He originally thought those Fourth Stages were expendable troops under the Star Destroyers, deliberately denying them great potential, only demanding quick results.

But now thinking about it, it's actually the Star Destroyers who had no choice, in order to protect their own people?

Before Lin An could think further, the voice from Number 77 sounded again.

"The second."

"Lin An, you should know that once you choose Body System strengthening, some rules cannot be mastered. For example, elementalization rules, or special rule alterations."

"Your situation is special; you yourself have not chosen the Element Rule, so you feel no impact. But you must understand one thing: the Element Rule is actually the easiest to grasp among all rules, and also the strongest combat power in the early stage!"

"Before Fourth Stage, nearly 99% of Awakened Ones master elemental-type skills! Advancing to Fourth Stage from elemental type is the optimal solution!"

"But it's obvious. Wanting to walk the Body System means you must give up this greatest advantage! This means many Awakened Ones cannot achieve this!"

"Forcibly abandoning the Element System and mastering rules you're not good at. Even if you walk both paths, your combat power will still be at the bottom among peers!"

"The third."

"Rule System and Body System are mostly incompatible! Rules that could complement each other mostly require bodily modification!"

"For example, Mechanical Control Rule corresponds to metallization, and Fusion Rule corresponds to reactor modification!"

"Rules that enhance the body and unleash its combat power will instead interfere with walking this path!"

"Combining these three points, those who forcefully walk this path among Awakened Ones will either die during promotion, or barely become Fifth Stage and then get stuck in Shattered Star!"

"I'll put it bluntly: in a star system with a million Fifth Stage cultivators, those dual systems that can ultimately reach Shattered Star are extremely rare! Even higher, I've never seen one! This path is not just difficult; in the understanding of all Apocalypse civilizations, strengthening both systems together is something only the most primitive, reckless remote civilizations would do! This is a dead end!"

"Moreover, in the final essence of power, you will understand why body and rules are what they are! They are conflicting, deadly!"

After the three points were given, listening to the Overseer Number 77 openly state the huge flaw of the dual system, Lin An's heart jolted, and he only felt a chill.

These three points alone are enough to pronounce a death sentence; adding the side effects mentioned by the Overseer, he doesn't even know how wrong the path he's currently on is!

He couldn't find any room to refute, and even at this moment he suddenly realized why Hei Di and the others kept misjudging him!

"So, so I should immediately give up this path!!"

"Otherwise, I basically have no hope of living?"

"I still..."

Lin An's face darkened, and he couldn't help but ask bitterly.

No, that's not right.

He's not just facing a dead end; he actually intends to walk the Three Systems simultaneously!