Chapter 252: Thousand-Year Changes

In the slightly cramped bedroom, under bright lights, Lin Qing sat before a computer, one hand guiding the mouse to move his character while the other clattered away at the keyboard, headphones still on his head.

After a moment, Lin Qing quietly watched the post-match results on the screen, then straightened his posture and slowly let out a sigh.

"Lin Qing, the watermelon today is super sweet."

At that moment, Zhao Jiayi, wearing cute bear pajamas and bare-faced, walked in from outside the door, carrying a fruit platter in her hands.

Holding a fork, she sat on Lin Qing's lap, cheerfully fed him a bite of watermelon, glanced at the game record on the computer screen, and exclaimed in surprise, "You haven't lost a single match today."

"Just lucky."

Lin Qing helplessly shook his head. "With 10% dodge chance, I dodged all the enemy AD's basic attacks. I only had a sliver of health and landed a few hits, all critical strikes... It's really boring."

Zhao Jiayi made an "Oh" sound and said, "Then next time, switch to a hero where luck won't help."

"Mm." Lin Qing nodded, then reached out to pat her stomach. "When shall we have children?"

Zhao Jiayi thought for a moment and said, "In a while..."

Lin Qing made an "Mm" sound.

"Xiao Qing, it's time to eat."

At that moment, a familiar female voice came from outside the bedroom. His cousin Chen Yanan stood at the bedroom door holding a spatula, smiling as she said, "There are still people in the house; you two should at least be a bit more discreet. Hurry up and come eat."

At the dining table, the dishes were quite abundant, all steaming hot home-cooked meals.

His cousin Chen Yanan, his cousin, and his aunt's family sat across from him, while Zhao Jiayi sat beside Lin Qing, occasionally serving him food.

"Auntie, I'll wash the dishes."

After the meal, Lin Qing voluntarily went to the kitchen to wash the dishes, while Zhao Jiayi helped on the side, chattering away about recent trivial matters.

Shortly after, the whole family watched a movie together in the living room, with Zhao Jiayi curled up in his arms like a little cat, munching on snacks.

Before long, the movie finally came to an end.

"Cousin, cousin, Auntie."

Standing at the door, Lin Qing put on his shoes, then held Zhao Jiayi's hand and waved goodbye. "Goodbye."

"Come visit often when you have time."

After leaving his cousin's house, Lin Qing held Zhao Jiayi's hand and strolled slowly through the residential compound.

After a moment, he slowly let out a sigh and said, "Although I've regained a little of the old feeling, it's still not the same..."

Zhao Jiayi held his palm and asked, "Has your willpower not improved much?"

Lin Qing nodded slightly, then pulled her in one step, instantly teleporting them to a floating island tens of thousands of li high.

This floating island, being the place in the Shanhai Realm closest to the world's origin, is located directly above the highest peak of the Central Continent region; looking down along the island's edge, one can see that colossal peak occupying tens of thousands of kilometers of territory, with a height exceeding one hundred thousand kilometers.

This colossal peak is named Buzhou Mountain and is the only holy land in the entire Shanhai Realm.

At the summit of Buzhou Mountain stand cities of steel resembling those of the twenty-first century.

Living here are the high-bloodline descendants of the Earthlings from the era of Earth civilization, the predecessor of the Shanhai Realm, as well as the most top-tier geniuses and elites of the Shanhai Realm.

"Progress in mental willpower is indeed very troublesome."

Standing at the edge of the floating island and overlooking this vast Shanhai Realm world, Lin Qing said, "Although merging one's will with the world's origin to become the Heart-Mind Incarnation and Lord of the World can allow the will to gradually grow, the side effect is becoming increasingly heartless, gradually assimilated by the World Will, just like... becoming the Heavenly Dao."

Hearing this, Zhao Jiayi couldn't help but hug his arm nervously.

"Be good, I'm fine."

Lin Qing smiled, reached out to pat her head, and said, "With my personal mental will, I won't be easily assimilated. Besides, with you people here, acting like my anchors, my heart-mind can remain vibrant."

"How about we have a few children?" Zhao Jiayi said, resting her head on his shoulder. "No need to wait for me to transform into a Void Being. Even if the children's talents aren't that great, they can be compensated for later. Moreover, Lin Qing, as the Lord of the Secret Realm, you don't need your children to be exceptionally outstanding."

"Mm... that works too." Lin Qing nodded. "Having the bond of a family isn't bad."

"Then let's conceive tonight." Zhao Jiayi said.

Although she had only recently become a Star-Level Cosmic Envoy, given the life levels of the two of them, they could have children at any time.

However, to ensure the offspring's bloodline is strong enough and their talents high enough, treasures and sufficient sacrifices are needed for conception.

"Whoosh."

At that moment, a streak of light flew out from the floating island, landed before the two of them, and immediately transformed into a slender young girl.

"Greetings, Chairman, Chairman's wife." The young girl said respectfully.

"Yueqiu." Lin Qing said, "When will your main body emerge from the Cangxue Divine Palace?"

This young girl was none other than the genius he had brought out from his Bai Ta world back then, Yuan Xueqiu.

Five hundred years ago, she had already successfully passed the Star-Level Divine Office Trial and achieved the Divine Office of 'Lord of Sky-Hunting'.

In fact, with her strength, she could have passed the Star-Level Divine Office Trial long ago; she simply wanted to gain more unique benefits from the Star-Level Trial, so she pushed her strength to the limit.

She could have transformed into a Void Being long ago, but accepting the inheritance from the Feiyuan City Lord's tomb must occur before becoming a Void Being.

Therefore, after raising her strength to its limit, she went to the Level 2.9 Civilization Ruin 'Cangxue Divine Palace' prepared for her by Yuan Xuehou, and has been exploring the inheritance there ever since.

— Of course, she did not know that the Cangxue Divine Palace was secretly given to her by Yuan Xuehou, thinking it was her own opportunity.

"Soon."

Yuan Xueqiu said, "I've reached the final inheritance trial. Although that secret technique suits me quite well, it is also very complex. I'm not sure when I can succeed; I might even die."

Her authority could easily form multiple clones; although the clones' strength was weak, as long as one clone survived, the main body could revive at any time.

So, she wasn't worried about dying.

"How is your strength?" Lin Qing asked.

Yuan Xueqiu thought for a moment and said, "Right now, probably around the lower reaches of the Yu Xingyuan's eleventh layer."

"Not bad." Lin Qing nodded slightly and said, "As soon as possible."

He was waiting for Yuan Xueqiu's strength to improve through the Cangxue Divine Palace before she accepted the inheritance trial from the Feiyuan City Lord's tomb, so that he could also receive higher rewards.

"Yes."

Yuan Xueqiu said, "Additionally, Councilor Qi has successfully comprehended a Void True Form and is currently transforming into a Void Being."

"Oh?" Lin Qing's eyes lit up. He immediately extended his will through the Shanhai Realm to investigate, instantly discovering Qi Lingxiao, who was in seclusion. The spatial energy around Qi Lingxiao was surging and gathering wildly, clearly undergoing a transformation into a Void Creature.

"Good." Lin Qing showed a faint smile.

The Shanhai Realm had been created for less than a thousand years, yet it had already birthed a second Void Creature; that was quite fast.

He had also prepared quite a few treasures to assist Qi Lingxiao and others in their cultivation.

However, it was worth it.

Qi Lingxiao and the others had achieved remarkable results even in an environment like Earth; as long as they were properly nurtured, their future achievements could not be low.

Besides...

As long as a Void Creature was born in the Shanhai Realm, he could allow the entity to merge with the Shanhai Realm's origin; helping them comprehend the mysteries of space would be a piece of cake.

As for other aspects, he could only help as much as possible.

Such as forging divine artifacts, and so on.

"In another thirty-seven thousand years, the Shanhai Realm will begin to participate in the War of Civilizations."

Lin Qing stood at the edge of the floating island, silently gazing at this world, his will spreading and diffusing outward along with the power of the world.

The Shanhai Realm of today had already expanded to a diameter of sixteen million kilometers. It was still quite far from the first limit of the Void Secret Realm—fifty million kilometers in diameter—but it was considered fast.

After all, the Shanhai Realm had only been born less than a thousand years ago.

Normally, for a Void Secret Realm to expand to its first limit, it would take at least tens of thousands of years.

"Over one hundred and twenty trillion Authority Awakeners."

Lin Qing sensed the creatures within the Secret Realm. "One hundred and twenty trillion are Primordial Creatures. Star Creatures number about one trillion four hundred billion. Ultimate Star Creatures number about seventy-eight billion. Star Deity Functionaries number twenty-one billion, though almost all are common functionaries; rare functionaries are so few they can be ignored..."

For common functionaries, reaching the Star Level was the end; the functionary had no room for further evolution.

Therefore, only rare functionaries were qualified to compete for the chance at a Void Level functionary position.

But to obtain a Star Level rare functionary position, one must at least master a Divine Skill. Those who mastered Divine Skills in a Level One Civilization were epic, peerless geniuses; even in a Level Two Civilization, they were considered geniuses, so naturally, they were very rare.

As for common functionaries, one could become one simply by inheriting the Holy Script.

"The Shanhai Realm has only existed for a short time."

Lin Qing was not in a hurry. "As long as they are properly nurtured, the proportion of Star Level rare functionaries will increase in the future, and there will be no shortage of Void Creatures..."

With the legacy of the Primordial Realm, the cultivation support in the Shanhai Realm was naturally far stronger than that of a typical Level Two Civilization.

"Alright."

Lin Qing looked at Zhao Jiayi. "Jiayi, go accompany my cousin and your father and the others. I will continue my cultivation."

Back when he first opened the Shanhai Realm, he had brought Zhao Jiayi's father from the True Universe over here.

His cousin had always been on the path of uploading consciousness to become an information lifeform, also known as 'Mechanical Ascension'.

And with his help, his cousin's entire family had long ago become Authority Awakeners.

Moreover, with his help, ensuring immortality for those around him was not difficult.

It was just...

Once they lived for thirty-eight million years, the traces of time on their bodies would attract Void Demons. Even if it were only the weakest Void Demon, it would be at the Yu Xingyuan Level Eleven.

Once pulled into the Yu Xingyuan by a Void Demon, he could not help them.

So...

No matter how much he helped, if their innate talent and comprehension were insufficient, they would ultimately not live past thirty-eight million years.

The Yu Xingyuan Demons, as a scourge of the universe and a Level Four Civilization, were beyond the reach of even the Primordial Realm.

What could he do?

"I have relaxed enough."

Lin Qing took a deep breath. "I will continue my cultivation."

Vacuum Great Tomb, Cultivation Chamber.

Lin Qing sat cross-legged, constantly deducing and envisioning in his mind a truly perfect Seven-Aspect Combined Divine Skill.

Over these six hundred years, he had deduced the Seven-Aspect Combined Divine Skill, but it was ultimately not perfect enough, so his strength had not increased much, and there remained a certain gap between him and Yu Xingyuan Level Sixteen.

"Hmm?"

Perhaps because he had relaxed today, his thoughts and state of mind had undergone some change. At this moment, as if fortune had touched his heart, Lin Qing suddenly had an inspiration, deducing in his mind a concept that seemed flawless.

"Yes... this seems feasible?"

He immediately followed this concept and theory to continue the deduction.

Not long after.

A new 'World God' that perfectly combined the Seven-Aspect Divine Skills appeared in his mind.

Although the theory was very complex, so harsh that success seemed nearly impossible, for him, the fact that the theory could succeed was already sufficient.

"Order."

As Lin Qing murmured, he found that the panel of the Entropy Reverser indeed now displayed a Divine Skill available for advance withdrawal.

"Withdraw."

He did not delay, immediately choosing to withdraw it in advance.

A moment later.

"Success."

Lin Qing showed a faint smile. "A Void Divine Skill interpreted from seven fundamental aspects is indeed difficult enough; it took so long to succeed."

Of course, this was only his own feeling of slowness.

In fact, transforming into a Void Creature for merely a thousand years and then creating a perfect Seven-Aspect Combined Divine Skill was already an unimaginable great miracle.

The vast majority of Void Creatures, even if they spent tens of millions of years, could not create even a single most ordinary Single-Aspect Divine Skill, let alone a Seven-Aspect one.

Even for a Holy Land Star God, creating four or five-phase Divine Arts over a millennium would mark one as an unparalleled genius within the Holy Land.

"Try the Sixteenth Layer of the Yu Xingyuan again."

With a mere thought, Lin Qing entered the Yu Xingyuan trial and began to break through the levels.

Starting from the Eleventh Layer of the Yu Xingyuan, the enemies are Void Demons; even up to the Nineteenth and Twentieth Layers, they remain Void Demons. This stage constitutes the longest transformation period for the Yu Xingyuan Demon Clan.

He had failed many times at the Sixteenth Layer of the Yu Xingyuan, but always fell just short, his combat power only reaching the peak of the Fifteenth Layer.

It is said...

Almost only a Void Sovereign can clear the Sixteenth Layer of the Yu Xingyuan; this level represents the most basic strength of a Void Sovereign, making the difficulty naturally extremely high.

A moment passed.

"I succeeded."

Lin Qing smiled.

At this moment, he, located at the Sixteenth Layer of the Yu Xingyuan trial, had just slain the last Void Demon.

As long as he finds the entrance to the Seventeenth Layer, he will have cleared the trial.

"With such a high foundation, combined with the Fusion Technique and various secret arts, plus a perfect Seven-Phase Combined Divine Art just to pass... it really is difficult enough..."

Lin Qing couldn't help but shake his head slightly.

A Void Lifeform clearing the Sixteenth Layer of the Yu Xingyuan could be called a great miracle of the Void Sea.

In reality, although Void Lifeforms reaching the combat power of the Sixteenth Layer of the Yu Xingyuan are extremely rare, they do exist, after all, divine artifacts can be used in reality.

But the Yu Xingyuan trial does not allow the use of divine artifacts; one must rely solely on one's own strength, making the difficulty utterly absurd.

Not only must the foundation be high and the secret arts powerful, but one must also create a perfect Seven-Phase Combined Divine Art; the requirements are simply too high, too high.

"The Seventeenth Layer."

Soon, Lin Qing found the entrance to the Seventeenth Layer of the Yu Xingyuan and immediately flew into it through the spatial channel, entering the Seventeenth Layer.

At the same time—

"Congratulations on clearing the Sixteenth Layer of the Yu Xingyuan trial. From this moment on, you are qualified to know the ultimate secrets of the Universe and the Yu Xingyuan."

At this moment, a message suddenly arrived.

(End of this chapter)