Chapter 225: Birth of the Star God

"He caught another high-tier fish—this one's worth three thousand points."

"Insane—if it were a high-dimensional planet, I could kinda understand, but a regular planetary civilization? How could it achieve such profound Void mastery?"

"Planetary civilizations can't even access the spatial laws of the Void Sea; how could the legacy of a Level Three civilization possibly accomplish this?"

"He's already close to ten thousand points—no one knows how many points he's got in the Dark World or the Mirror World."

"With such strength and such profound Void mastery, his total points must be extremely high."

"It's insane… he's from a planetary civilization, yet he's on par with a Level 2.9 civilization's ultimate genius…"

On the empty islands of the Tianhe World, all the trialists couldn't help but observe Lin Qing, exchanging silent whispers.

Lin Qing, however, fished lazily, indifferent—he was just a few hundred points shy of ten thousand.

"The Void mysteries of Tianhe are too chaotic; their insight value is too low, better suited for honing and verification—but still somewhat useful."

Lin Qing muttered to himself, "But compared to the Dark World and the Mirror World, it's nowhere near as good."

The Tianhe World was just like a normal cosmic phenomenon—its insight value was extremely low; he'd seen far too many such phenomena in the Cosmic Phenomena Museum.

The Dark World and the Mirror World were ideal for contemplating Void mysteries, but their difficulty was far too high.

"Another one spotted!"

Thanks to his perception of the wave-like Void essence, Lin Qing could easily detect the movement patterns and appearance cycles of the fish within Tianhe.

Though called "fish," they were special lifeforms shaped by Void fluctuations.

As he reeled in this final fish, a voice echoed in his mind:

"You have acquired ten thousand points. Since the trialist has obtained thirty thousand points, you may carry away loot worth ten thousand points and depart from the Tianhe World."

"Loot?"

Lin Qing paused, glancing at the fish trapped in the wooden barrel beside him, "These fish are my loot?"

He didn't understand what these fish were for, but he could ask Master Mirror after he exited.

"Only ten thousand points' worth?"

Lin Qing didn't overthink—he immediately selected three high-tier fish and two mid-tier fish worth five hundred points each, then lifted the barrel and left the Tianhe World.

"Why is he leaving with a fish barrel?"

"I heard that if a divine-chosen trialist achieves a perfect score, they might receive bonus rewards."

"He caught three high-tier fish—he must've scored perfectly."

…

After exiting the Tianhe World, Lin Qing received a voice transmission from the Chaos Divine Mirror:

"These fish enhance gene index. High-tier fish boost it by roughly five hundred times the cosmic standard, mid-tier by two hundred times, low-tier by one hundred times—no matter the tier, you can consume only one. You may eat one now."

Enhance gene index?

Lin Qing immediately bowed in thanks: "Thank you, Master Mirror."

He glanced at the fish in the barrel, grabbed one high-tier fish—and before he could even consider how to eat it, the mysterious energy within his body touched the fish, instantly transforming it into a pure, gentle, miraculous energy that rapidly merged into his body.

At that moment, Lin Qing clearly sensed his gene index continuously optimizing and rising.

Though the pace wasn't fast, it was steady and unceasing.

"Let the transformation proceed slowly."

Lin Qing glanced at the remaining fish, his vertical eye flickering—he immediately stored them away.

These two high-tier fish and two mid-tier fish were perfect to bring back to Earth.

A five-hundred-fold gene index boost—even for a Level Two civilization—was an extremely precious rarity.

Even a genius like Turs, from a Level 2.8 civilization, had a gene index no higher than five hundred times the cosmic standard—equivalent to the boost from just one of these fish.

Even for Void lifeforms, gene index rarely exceeded a thousandfold; one such fish could elevate a Void lifeform's power by nearly half.

"It could boost my power by half too."

Lin Qing nodded inwardly, "If my power increases by another fifty percent, maybe I can reach the threshold of Level Eleven?"

The mysterious energy within every lifeform, called Cosmic Divine Bloodline, is unrelated to life tier but intimately tied to gene index.

It seems…

The stronger the gene index, the stronger that sliver of Cosmic Divine Bloodline becomes, enhancing all aspects comprehensively.

Even for Void lifeforms, gene index is extremely important.

Life tier—that is, lifeforms of different energy levels—is more about mastering energy of different tiers.

"Once I become a Void lifeform, unless I invent a perfect Divine Art like a World God, my power won't improve much…"

Lin Qing mused inwardly, "Only progress in gene index and Void force manipulation…"

There was no way—he'd already pushed his application of Level Eight energy to its absolute limit through Divine Arts, but the universe contains no Level Nine energy; he'd have to invent it himself, and that was a nightmare.

"I hope my theory is correct…"

Days passed, and as the strange energy from the fish gradually took effect within Lin Qing, his gene index continued to rise.

Soon, the twenty-four days of the Divine Chosen phase ended.

All trialists were expelled from the three worlds and teleported back to the square.

"Ended? I just needed one more mid-tier fish to hit ten thousand points!"

"The Void essence in the Mirror World was so easy to comprehend—even incomplete, it was a rare opportunity! Why did it end so soon?"

"It's over already? I should've gone to the Dark World earlier…"

Many trialists felt helpless and regretful.

Most hadn't expected to become Star Gods—only hoped to use the three worlds' treasures to improve their Void mastery.

Even if they became Void lifeforms later, they'd never find such a treasure again.

"The Star God Trial has now concluded."

The black-robed, white-haired woman appeared on the square; the supreme pressure of the Chaos God spread out, instantly silencing everyone.

She swept her gaze across them and said coolly, "The trial results also require no life-or-death battle—the first-place candidate has already earned thirty thousand points."

"Thirty thousand points? That's a perfect score?"

"Someone actually got a perfect score?"

"Even an unparalleled genius from a Level 2.9 civilization might not manage that…"

Each trialist couldn't help but be stunned; many instinctively turned to look at Lin Qing, the most likely candidate for first place.

Of course, some suspected a hidden unparalleled genius.

"Boom!"

A beam of heavenly light crashed down, accompanied by vast energy and supreme pressure, instantly engulfing Lin Qing.

This scene symbolized the transformation of a divine office—and the birth of a new Star God.

And this scene confirmed it for all the trialists.

"It really is him…"

Each trialist's emotions grew complex.

Those who came to participate in the Star God Trial were almost all top geniuses of Level 2 civilizations; their pride was obvious.

In the real universe, even among the relatively powerful Level 1 civilizations, a single individual mastering a Divine Art appeared once every hundred thousand or even a million years—worthy of being called an unparalleled genius among unparalleled geniuses.

But in Level 2 civilizations, even mastering a Divine Art merited only a casual compliment of "genius." To these geniuses, someone from a Level 1 civilization was a terrifying monster violating all logic—and naturally looked down upon a mere planetary civilization.

Even a planetary civilization lucky enough to inherit the legacy of a Level 3 civilization was still just a planetary civilization.

Give nuclear bomb technology to savages, and they still couldn't build a nuclear bomb.

So when they discovered that Lin Qing, a savage from a planetary civilization, had actually built a nuclear bomb, their disbelief and shock were understandable.

"The Star God Trial is over."

The black-robed, white-haired woman swept her sleeve, "You may now proceed to the Stellar-level trial for another divine office."

No sooner had she spoken than all the trialists vanished.

Immediately, the black-robed, white-haired woman turned to Lin Qing, who was receiving the Star God's legacy within the column of light, and waited silently.

After an unknown length of time, the heavenly light faded, and Lin Qing slowly opened his eyes.

"This is… the Star God?" Lin Qing murmured.

At this moment, he felt the terrifying power of the Star God—and understood that the Star God's importance extended far beyond combat strength.

!

"Lin Qing."

The black-robed, white-haired woman floated over with a smile, "From now on, you are one of my Star Gods within this Void Sea."

"Under your command?" Lin Qing looked at her, puzzled. "Is it because Master Jing presided over my Star God Trial?"

He had long heard that above the Star Gods stood the Chaos God—the supreme deity of a faction—and never expected to be directly placed under this Mirror Lord's authority.

"No, that's not the reason."

The black-robed, white-haired woman smiled, "If you weren't a Life-affiliated Star God, would you still be under my command?"

She immediately explained, "It's simply because I am the supreme deity of the Life faction in this Void Sea—therefore, you are under me. Had you belonged to another faction, you would be under that faction's supreme deity."

"I see…" Lin Qing understood, then suddenly realized: "Master Jing's meaning is… in this Void Sea, the Life faction has only you as its supreme deity?"

"Correct."

The black-robed, white-haired woman nodded slightly, "This is the cosmic rule: each Void Sea can have only six supreme deities—one per faction."

Lin Qing murmured, "Tens of thousands of Star Gods, yet only six supreme deities?"

"More than tens of thousands," the black-robed, white-haired woman shook her head. "On average, a Star God perishes every few thousand years. In less than a billion years—or up to hundreds of millions—this entire generation of Star Gods will perish, yet most likely not a single Chaos God will emerge."

She looked at Lin Qing and said, "Truthfully, I don't wish to remain in the position of Life faction's supreme deity. This role holds no meaning for me anymore—but… it's been too long, and no one has ever taken my place."

"You don't wish to remain in this position?" Lin Qing asked, puzzled. "Can the Chaos God position be replaced?"

"Not the Chaos God—only the supreme deity."

The black-robed, white-haired woman sighed, "Chaos God is another name for supreme deity—it is both authority and responsibility. Until a second Chaos God emerges in this Void Sea, I cannot escape this role."

She sighed with emotion, "It's not just me—the other five factions also each have only one Chaos God. The Destruction faction's supreme deity is newly appointed, so he's fine. But the other five of us have held our positions far too long. The Order faction's supreme deity has waited countless years."

Lin Qing understood her meaning.

Wasn't this exactly the situation of the Nine-Star Civilization?

The Void-born who served as Emperor possessed endless life, yet were bound by the responsibilities of their home civilization, unable to abandon the Emperor's throne.

For a Chaos God, was the supreme deity position equivalent to the Emperor's throne?

"Most Star Gods are decent—perhaps even equal to you—but they're not worth mentioning."

The black-robed, white-haired woman spoke gently, "But you are different. You carry the legacy of the Primordial Realm and possess unparalleled talent. Perhaps one day, you truly might become a Chaos God. You must strive hard."

"Yes." Lin Qing nodded.

"Pity…"

The black-robed, white-haired woman sighed, "As a supreme deity, I am watched most closely by the Yu Xingyuan Demon Clan—I dare not take you as my disciple, nor can I form any deep ties with you, or else the Yu Xingyuan Demon Clan might trace the connection and erase you."

"Yu Xingyuan Demon Clan?" Lin Qing exclaimed.

The black-robed, white-haired woman mused, "As a scourge of the universe, if not for the Yu Xingyuan Demon Clan's overwhelming forces being occupied in fighting the Void God Clan, we would have already collapsed…"

She shook her head slightly, "Your homeworld is protected by the Primordial Realm—but still, beware the Yu Xingyuan Demon Clan."

Lin Qing asked curiously, "Master Jing, I've heard the longer one lives, the more likely the Yu Xingyuan Demon Clan will target them. Why is that?"

This was intelligence he obtained from the Blood Cauldron King's memories.

But even the Blood Cauldron King didn't know the reason.

"The reason is simple."

The woman in black robes with white hair said, "The Yu Xingyuan Demons who deal with Void Beings are all Void Devils, and the evolution of Void Devils feeds on time. The longer a being lives, the more intense and clear the traces of time, or the aura of the years, become, naturally drawing the attention of Void Devils."

Lin Qing understood.

So that was the reason?

Even with infinite lifespan, one would still be targeted by the Yu Xingyuan Demons?

"As the transformation stage of the Yu Xingyuan Demons, the power evolution of Void Devils is a very long process."

The woman in black robes with white hair said, "Unless one's strength reaches my level, making even the most terrifying Void Devils powerless, one can never truly be eternal, and..."

At this point, she paused, shook her head slightly, and said no more.

"My Lord Mirror."

Lin Qing pondered for a moment and said, "I heard that after the Star Realm, there are no more Divine Office trials. So how does a Star God become a Chaos God?"

"It cannot be spoken, but when your strength is sufficient, you will naturally understand," the woman in black robes with white hair said. "But I can tell you that to become a Chaos God, besides strength, there are three basic requirements."

Lin Qing listened with rapt attention.

"First, as a Life-type Star God, you must personally leave your soul imprint on the Life-type Supreme Stars, the 380 Main Stars, and the 100,000 Void Stars within the Void Star Sea."

The woman in black robes with white hair said, "Actually, this is also the basic requirement for other Void-level Divine Offices. Every time you leave a soul imprint, there are benefits. As long as you can leave a soul imprint, that is your capability."

"Supreme Stars? Main Stars? Void Stars?" Lin Qing silently committed them to memory.

"Second, you are now a Star God, possessing true divinity and a true Divine Core."

The woman in black robes with white hair said, "But your Divine Core should only have one color, right?"

Lin Qing nodded.

"Chaos God, so named because it is born within the Liuda Sect."

The woman in black robes with white hair said, "Star Gods of different factions are actually in competition. You need to make Star Gods from the other five factions voluntarily hand over their Divine Cores, thereby causing your Divine Core to transform repeatedly. When your Divine Core level transforms from a single color to seven colors, or even to a Chaos color, the requirement is met. The higher the level of the Divine Cores you absorb, the greater the benefit to your own Divine Core."

She paused and said, "For example... forging Divine Artifacts. Whatever level your Divine Core is, the Divine Artifacts you forge will be of that same level."

Lin Qing pondered thoughtfully.

No wonder the competition rules for Star Gods are so cruel; that must be the reason.

"As for the third basic requirement..."

The woman in black robes with white hair said, "That is to receive the blessing of the Void God Clan. When your strength reaches the point, you will naturally understand what to do."

Lin Qing nodded and said, "Thank you, My Lord Mirror, for your guidance."

"It is a small matter."

The woman in black robes with white hair shook her head indifferently and added, "You do not need to join the Level Two civilizations in the Void Sea, but I advise you to join the Universe Star Patrol Alliance. Only the Universe Star Patrol Alliance has the best chance to come into contact with the Void God Clan. With your current strength, joining the Universe Star Patrol Alliance is a trivial matter."

"Very well, I understand," Lin Qing said with a nod.

"That is all I have to say. Go," the woman in black robes with white hair said, waving her sleeve.

Lin Qing immediately felt the space-time before him shift, as if enveloped by an immense, boundless power, and he vanished without a trace.

(End of this chapter)