Chapter 157: The Farmed Sky Orbit Monarch

"Boom!"

Accompanied by the burning black flames, Lin Qing's consciousness intensity surged tenfold, and the domain's power instantly multiplied several times over, reaching the limit of a Level Five Domain.

At the same time, with a mere thought, this simply constructed domain began to change, transforming into a more ingenious and complex Pseudo-Divine Domain!

With the assistance of the Pseudo-Divine Domain, the Command ability instantly increased by more than ten times.

"Command!"

"Buzzzzzzz—"

Only to see nearby, one ancient weapon after another trembled and flew into the air.

At the same time, an even more intense will of slaughter wildly assaulted Lin Qing's mind; these weapons were already extremely heavy, with power so shocking it was difficult to control, making the difficulty of Command already very high. Now, layer upon layer of terrible wills of slaughter were stacked and assaulting, making the difficulty of Command become even more exaggerated.

Moreover, after the ancient weapons flew up one by one, there was an implicit impulse for them to resonate and connect with each other, their power becoming even more massive, making them even harder to Command.

Ten, twenty, thirty, forty...

The interval between each weapon flying up became longer and longer; each time, Lin Qing needed time to adapt.

"Indeed, the trials for Divine Skills are shockingly difficult; otherwise, those who learn Divine Skills would mostly only learn simple ones..."

"Almost at the limit..."

Lin Qing gritted his teeth tightly; energy within his body poured out wildly as if it were free, his mental force had been driven to the extreme, and the domain, under the influence of his will, was also pushed to its absolute limit, all while resisting the assault of the will of slaughter.

The first Divine Skill on the stone tablet and the chance to become a student—those were things he now dared not even think about.

After all, this was a Divine Skill trial that even the pre-civilization of Earth was willing to leave behind. According to the Sky Island Guardian, he could only barely be considered an elite in a Level Two Civilization, let alone a genius.

However, he could now learn the third Divine Skill; if he could Command fifty items, he would be able to learn the second Divine Skill.

"Forty-nine... One more."

"Fifty!"

Under Lin Qing's near-limitless Command, the fiftieth ancient weapon finally flew up.

"Still a tiny bit of reserve strength..."

After a while, with all his might, he finally barely managed to get the fifty-first ancient weapon to take off, completely reaching his limit.

Immediately, the fifty-one weapons fell one by one.

Lin Qing also let out a long sigh of relief.

"Not bad, at least I can learn the second Divine Skill..."

However, he still felt very puzzled.

His essence was the Commanding General ability of the Fifth Power, and only with such a powerful domain could he barely obtain the second Divine Skill.

Then how incredibly difficult would it be to Command one hundred items, or even Command all the divine weapons of the entire Ancient Battlefield?

Lin Qing could not understand how that was achieved.

With his current strength, even if given enough time to inscribe all the existing Holy Words, the number he could Command would not improve much.

One hundred items versus fifty items; seemingly the quantity only doubled, but in reality, with these weapons resonating with each other, the requirements for will and Command ability were probably ten times higher!

And the entire Ancient Battlefield had several hundred weapons!

Was such an exaggerated difficulty in Command truly something an Awakened Being could achieve?

It was too absurd.

Even knowing the principle that there is always someone better, it still left him very puzzled.

"In this vast universe, indeed, anything is possible..." Lin Qing shook his head silently.

He once thought that mastering a simplified combat technique in a few months made one a genius, but later he realized that meant nothing.

He once thought the Zhi Star People, who could naturally achieve Gene Awakening, had talents so absurdly high, but after learning of the existence of the Black Flame Clan, he realized the Zhi Star People were not so special.

He once believed the Zhi Star Group was a colossal entity from the starry cosmos, a supremely powerful higher civilization from the universe, and that Earth had no hope of resisting; only later did he learn that Earth's Three Strong Ones no longer feared the Zhi Star Group, and even in the universe, in the eyes of truly powerful Level Two Civilizations, the Zhi Star People's civilization was merely an insect.

Human cognition is a circle.

The more one knows, the more one does not know.

"The second Divine Skill?"

At this moment, the black-haired man guarding the Sky Island floated out, smiling as he glanced at the divine weapons Lin Qing had commanded, "I thought you could Command at most thirty or forty items; it seems your will is stronger than I anticipated."

Lin Qing couldn't help but ask, "Will there be a chance to try again in the future?"

"No, just one chance," the black-haired man said casually, "It's just one move anyway; the Middle Sky Island still has the subsequent Divine Skills left by this person."

He looked at Lin Qing, "Environment shapes people; on Earth, you have almost no hope of growing to meet the requirements for the first Divine Skill, let alone becoming a disciple. Don't think too much about it."

"Alright," Lin Qing didn't ask any more questions, only shaking his head and saying, "I just feel the gap is a bit too large."

"Different origins, different encounters; isn't a large gap quite normal?"

The black-haired man glanced at him, "The bloodline within you comes from the Sky Orbit Monarch; this is a race of innate Star Beings, belonging to one of the top bloodlines of normal lifeforms, but the very top Level One Civilizations in the Milky Way are farming Sky Orbit Monarchs to produce bloodline evolution serum."

Lin Qing was slightly stunned.

Farming?

"After the world where the Sky Orbit Monarchs lived was discovered by a universe civilization, this race once believed they were the strongest species, looking down on universe civilizations."

The black-haired man said, "But not long after, once the value of the Sky Orbit Monarch bloodline was confirmed, in merely a few decades, this race had collars put on them; those who fought bravely became specimens."

Lin Qing fell silent, understanding his meaning.

"No matter how powerful one is, one must always maintain awe for the universe."

The black-haired man said softly, "Even the Void God Clan and the Star Abyss Demon Clan, the two civilizations recognized as the most powerful in the universe, also have existences they must revere."

Lin Qing nodded slightly, then asked curiously, "What level are these two civilizations?"

"Level Four," the black-haired man said softly.

Lin Qing understood.

"Do not be misled by this numerical level," the black-haired man said, "A difference of one level is like a difference of one dimension; is there any comparability between three dimensions and two dimensions?"

He shook his head and said, "Just like your Earth civilization, you cannot even observe a Type I civilization in the universe. Even if the Milky Way holds hundreds of thousands of life-bearing planets, you still cannot confirm whether other civilizations exist in the universe, can you?"

Lin Qing nodded slowly, understanding his meaning.

If civilizations differ by even one level, it is perfectly normal to be unable to observe them at all and know nothing about them.

But thinking the other way around... a higher civilization could likely study a lower one with perfect clarity, just as humans observe and study ants.

"Earth is very weak. The treasure of the Primordial Realm is your only chance."

The black-haired man glanced at Lin Qing. "In the universe, for any level slightly higher, divine offices and Holy Letters are merely standard equipment. Only those who master divine techniques qualify as geniuses."

He sighed, "Work hard. Since you do have a tiny bit of hope, I have already said quite enough."

Lin Qing slowly nodded and said, "Thank you, senior."

"Enough. Go learn this divine technique." The black-haired man casually flicked his sleeve, sending Lin Qing out of the sky island.

Lin Qing hovered in the night sky. Without further hesitation, he flew directly to Sky Island Number 99999 to learn the second divine technique.

Sky Island Number 99999 is the lower-level sky island dedicated solely to transmitting divine techniques....

Not long after, as Lin Qing flew all the way to Sky Island Number 99999 above the Pacific Ocean, the Pacific was currently bathed in bright sunlight.

Although the area outside the island was empty, as he approached, a phantom figure materialized out of thin air.

It was unmistakably a female Intelligent Star being with a vertical eye on her forehead. Her appearance was beautiful, her aura noble, and with that vertical eye swirling with purple light on her brow, she looked as if a Yu Tian Shen had descended from the heavens.

The pressure she radiated was terrifying. The mere instant she appeared, Lin Qing felt a sense of oppression arising from the very instinct of life.

She was absolutely a Star Being!

Lin Qing had already encountered High-Level Primordial Beings. Due to his Black Flame Clone, his consciousness was truly at the level of a Primordial Being. Yet the pressure from this female Intelligent Star being far exceeded the realm of High-Level Primordial Beings, so she could only be a Star Being!

"Earthling, have you received the transmission of the divine technique?" The three-eyed female Intelligent Star being looked at Lin Qing with calm eyes.

Before Lin Qing could even speak, he saw a figure materialize out of thin air, appearing between him and the three-eyed female Intelligent Star being, blocking his path.

It was Qi Lingxiao!

"Kerunwei'er."

!.

Qi Lingxiao spoke lazily, "What are you doing? Interfering with the exploration of the treasure?"

The three-eyed female Intelligent Star being known as Kerunwei'er frowned slightly, floated backward a distance, and then said, "Hall Master Qi, I merely found it peculiar and wanted to ask."

"What is there to ask?" Qi Lingxiao retorted, "Can't a genius appear on Earth who is not under your control?"

"A genius is no problem."

Kerunwei'er glanced at Lin Qing and said, "But I have observed the sky islands this Earthling entered. They were all transmissions of Holy Letters he could use, and even included divine technique transmissions for a Commander of Armies. It is not strange that this Earthling has the strength to pass the trials, but..."

Her eyes turned cold, "All intelligence regarding the Celestial Archipelago is strictly confidential. Where did he get his information?"

Qi Lingxiao smiled and asked, "Guess who told him?"

"Hmm?"

Hearing this, Kerunwei'er's expression suddenly changed slightly. "Could it be... someone among the three of you has already attempted it? The restrictions of the contract are useless?"

Qi Lingxiao said no more, merely letting out a laugh and watching her silently.

Kerunwei'er fell silent for a moment, finally glanced at Lin Qing, and then vanished without a trace.

"Hall Master." Lin Qing spoke.

Qi Lingxiao turned around, smiled at him, and said, "Do not worry too much. Starting today, they will not dare to deliberately suppress you again. At least... that is the case before Earth officially connects with the starry sky. At most, there will be probing with ulterior motives."

At the same time, a familiar and gentle telepathic voice sounded:

"Do not reveal Zhao Jiayi's special nature. You will naturally meet her when you come to the Urban Circle."

Lin Qing immediately replied with telepathy, "Yes, Ms. Yi Leina Duo."

"Go." Qi Lingxiao smiled.

"Yes."

Lin Qing nodded slightly and immediately flew toward Sky Island Number 99999.

In his heart, he vaguely guessed what situation Qi Lingxiao was referring to.

Perhaps...

The contract binding Qi Lingxiao and the other two to the extraterrestrial civilization, once a certain condition is met, renders the contract's restrictions useless?

Zhao Jiayi, due to her personal abilities, obtained information that should have been top secret. By letting him know this information, the Intelligent Star beings would naturally suspect someone leaked it.

But such contracts generally include clauses like 【Do not disclose any of our own secrets】.

Normally, contracts would have no loopholes.

Then it must be that the contract lost its binding force on someone, for example... upon meeting a certain condition, it permits the disclosure of these secrets?

"Ms. Yi Leina Duo used Zhao Jiayi's special nature to make the Intelligent Star Group think someone among the three of them was already free?" Lin Qing speculated thus.

As his thoughts shifted, he had already flown into the white mist of Sky Island Number 99999.

Sky Island Number 99999 was also the ninth sky island Lin Qing explored.

This sky island stretched nearly a hundred kilometers in length and width.

Visible within the sky island stood palaces of various sizes. The materials and styles of the architecture varied; some looked magnificent and noble, while others appeared quite plain.

The moment he entered the sky island, Lin Qing could feel a strange sense of summoning coming from one of the palaces.

He immediately followed the sense of summoning.

Soon, Lin Qing discovered a large black palace. It looked silent and grim, exuding an aura of solemn dignity.

As he approached the palace, the main doors opened automatically.

Inside the palace was empty, save for a handsome man with blood-red long hair. The man wore no clothes, wrapped only in layers of black cloth, which made his aura even more mysterious. Meanwhile, an astonishing pressure permeated the entire interior of the palace.

That intense sense of summoning came from the blood-red long-haired man before him.

"Someone?"

Lin Qing had originally thought it was a living person, but the man with blood-red long hair showed no intention of looking at him, remaining motionless like a lifelike wax statue.

While secretly speculating in his heart, he walked forward, following the increasingly intense sense of summons.

When Lin Qing approached the wax-statue-like man with blood-red long hair to a distance of about ten meters, the man's amber eyes suddenly moved slightly and glanced at him.

The two gazes turned into substantial light, instantly shooting into Lin Qing's eyes.

In a daze, Lin Qing heard a cold, indifferent voice sound in his mind.

"Swear an oath with me."

"I hereby swear to the Great Life System Universe God that I will never reveal what I have learned this time."

Under the terrible pressure, Lin Qing involuntarily repeated the other's words and slowly swore the oath.

At the very moment the oath ended, his vision blurred, and he saw again the streams of pure light seen during the awakening of Authority, each beam shaped like a double-helix staircase.

This scene flashed by, and then streams of information entered his mind.

On an endless, vast expanse of silver-white ground, the man with blood-red long hair stood there and said, "Next, I will demonstrate the basics of this Second Divine Technique within this sub-space."

He spoke as if giving orders to an intelligence: "Limit my power to the level of a Standard Primordial Being, Basic Divine Duty of the Army Commander, without any Holy Letters."

The aura emitted by the man with blood-red long hair suddenly dropped to a level weaker than the Black Flame.

Immediately, he said in a faint voice, "Arrange one hundred Standard-strength High Primordial Beings as opponents for me. Limit the Divine Duty to Divine Under-Walkers, randomly add Basic-level Rare Divine Duties, focusing on Strong Attack types, with no Holy Letters or Divine Techniques."

Lin Qing could not help but be stunned.

I am organizing the outline for the rest of the story today, so there will be fewer updates.

(End of Chapter)