Chapter 1820: The Essence of Rules and Power

: Correct.

: If you keep going, you will surely die; everything you have cannot support you walking the dual system! Let alone the three systems!

: Gazing calmly, the Overseer #77's giant eye mercilessly shattered Lin An's final fantasy.

: Your genes, your race, your bloodline, the civilization behind you...

: It's simply too weak!

: Lin An, I can tell you clearly! If we convert the resources and talent of an Awakened One into numbers, most Awakened Ones who can reach War Star Level have a 'resource' value of 10!

: Star-Destroying Level is 100 to 1000! And you...!

: Only 1! Even negative!

: Of course, you now have a lot of points and rewards; perhaps reaching the Fifth Stage peak is no problem, but the road ahead will be hard for you to continue.

: The meaning is simple and shocking.

: As the words fell, Overseer #77 looked at Lin An before him with a hint of pity.

: He actually spoke quite tactfully; Lin An could hardly imagine that, among the strongest beings of all civilizations he has seen, Lin An's situation is the worst.

: It's not about how great the Apocalypse difficulty is on Earth, but about the overall strength comparison, the degree of civilization's chaos!

: Although this largely relates to Earth's special circumstances, no matter how you say it, the entire Earth civilization is a burden, not a backing, for Lin An.

: 'But... but I'm not a perfected one? My rules, my combat power... I...'

: Unwilling, Lin An couldn't help but instinctively retort.

: He could understand the Overseer not being optimistic about him walking the Three Systems, but in his view, he had already obtained so many rewards and enhancements! All his power limits far exceed those of his peers, even overwhelming higher stages!

: He refuses to believe his potential isn't strong! Otherwise, why would Overseer #77 help him?

: Moreover, the path of walking the Three Systems together was decided by him and Chu An; in Lin An's mind, the strengthening route he planned for himself is feasible!

: The harder the path, the stronger! The Three Systems path is definitely the strongest; Lin An has no doubt about this. Knowing the terror of the Apocalypse, Lin An finds it hard to convince himself to abandon the path he has walked since the Third Stage.

: 'Lin An, it's not that simple.'

: Coldly suppressing.

: Overseer #77 snorted, as if seeing through Lin An's unwillingness and thoughts at a glance.

: 'Don't you think your resources are enough to support you to the Fifth Stage peak? In this process, you could also obtain other resources; as long as you gain another harvest from the Star Battlefield, what stops you from continuing?'

: The Overseer's giant eye shook slightly as he spoke, his eyes full of indifference:

: 'Some resources cannot be bought.'

: 'Take your Cataclysm Rule as an example; have you seen the system's exchange options?'

: 'Step back further, the Electromagnetic Rule.'

: 'No matter your authority, no matter how many points you have, at best you can "buy" up to Shattered Star Level—that's the limit. Without civilization's feedback, without fellow Awakened Ones of the same type exploring the path for you, how far do you think you can go?'

: 'Your combat power is fundamentally built upon your special rule!'

: 'The higher your rule level, the greater the difference between you and the interior of civilization! Do you think those at Fifth Stage don't want to grasp the Four Great Powers? They don't want to exchange for powerful potential rules?!'

: Facing the Overseer's cold rebuke, Lin An's expression stiffened, and he found himself unable to retort.

: He knows the Overseer's point is factual, and he has also discovered it himself.

: The Electromagnetic Rule is too hard! If he doesn't rely on devouring or exchanging fragments, Lin An now is only at the Fourth Stage initial level!

: It takes killing several thousand Fifth Stage beings to pile up one Fourth Stage 'advanced' Lin An—such exaggerated difficulty, even a madman wouldn't choose it!

: Seeing Lin An silent, Overseer #77 has no intention of letting up on the attack.

: 'Whether it can be mastered is one question. Lin An, the most important point is the contradiction between rule and flesh.'

: 'You might think that even without help, relying on yourself doesn't leave you with zero hope. At worst, relying on that sword in your hand, you could slaughter other civilizations everywhere, devouring their rules! After all, your personal combat power is strong—what if you don't rely on civilization's feedback?'

: 'You would even think! True powerhouses are meant to walk the hardest path; otherwise, how could they be stronger than others?'

: 'Ha... let's not talk about other civilizations' powerhouses hunting you; just the Thought Split issue—how would you handle it?'

: 'Thought Split?'

: Hearing the Overseer's words pointing straight at his heart, Lin An shuddered inside and instinctively asked.

: However, before he even finished asking, the next second he saw the Overseer's simulated virtual avatar suddenly enlarge, displaying cellular structures like a dissection.

: 'Thought Split is the divergence between bodily power and rule power, and also one of the most dangerous places.'

: The eyeball suddenly contracted, Overseer #77 wasted no words and directly began to explain.

: But before explaining, he first posed a counter-question to Lin An:

: 'Lin An, what do you think is the essence of these two powers? Where will the flesh and rule ultimately lead?'

: As if taking a test, Lin An froze upon hearing, then suddenly realized the Overseer intended to tell him some information about the essence of power.

: Thoughts racing, within 0.01 seconds Lin An quickly gave his answer on his thoughts about power.

: 'The essence of rules is the law governing the operation of all things, a universal constant, the hidden underlying "code" behind the world.'

: 'Mastering rules is like being a computer programmer—you can understand the operating law, eventually using rules for yourself, ultimately... ultimately the end is writing rules? Letting the world run under your rules?'

: Not entirely certain, Lin An spoke word by word, based on his understanding of the Omniscience Domain, tentatively voicing his guess.

: His understanding of rules traces back to the Artificial Sword Soul he and Chu An discussed on the bus.

: Although they were researching how to create skills back then, now Lin An also realizes that skills are the embryonic form of rules. Inspired by Chu An, the rule theory he conceived then still deeply influences him today!

: 'Continue.'

: Without interruption, Overseer #77 nodded calmly, signaling Lin An to continue.

: 'The essence of bodily power...'

: 'I believe it is constantly adjusting one's own material structure.'

: 'From the initial tearing of muscles, the repaired muscle tissue becomes tougher; essentially, bodily strengthening is constantly replacing oneself with a stronger structure!'

: 'From whole muscle to bone! From organs to cells! From macroscopic to microscopic, evolving from flesh to extreme material states! For example, a neutron star, or even compressing oneself into a black hole! Through devouring, simulating, evolving oneself into an indestructible structure storing endless energy—this is the ultimate limit of bodily strengthening!'

"I am the starry universe!"

After saying it all in one breath, Lin An saw no change in the Overseer's expression, and he couldn't help but let out a slight sigh of relief.

【63> He often contemplated the nature of power, and these insights were painstakingly gathered by him.

He often pondered the essence of power; these things were all he had figured out bit by bit.

Although facing an Overseer of that caliber, he clearly knew his understanding was insufficient, yet all along Lin An deep down still felt his "theory" was valid!

His body's strength comes not only from relying on system stat boosts, but largely from continually using electromagnetic force to reinforce his cellular structure!

But after saying that, Lin An suddenly realized that what he had said seemed unrelated to a split in thought.

Before he could even feel a bad premonition rise in his heart,

In the next second, the formerly calm Overseer No. 77 now showed a hint of pity, looking at him as if gazing at a primitive man!

"Not bad, your understanding of power is a step above that of a single-celled organism."

"Almost on par with a worm."