Chapter 380

“Yes, I just broke through.”

Lin Qing said: “I didn’t expect Your Majesty to notice so quickly?”

Guang Wang fell silent for a moment, then said: “I had you keep the Guang Wang Token so I could monitor your condition at any time and prevent Yu Gong from targeting you—but I never expected you to break through to Eternity so soon? You haven’t completed your second trial yet, have you?”

Lin Qing nodded and said: “The Momentary Ethereal Flower won’t bloom for another thirty million years, but the Cosmic Catastrophe Body should be completed soon.”

Guang Wang fell silent again for a short while.

The next instant, spacetime twisted, and strands of light coalesced into a human figure.

It was Guang Wang.

Lin Qing saw Guang Wang’s true face for the first time; previously, he had only seen the magnificent divine body radiating endless light, never the real form.

White robe, middle-aged, with a scholarly elegance in his brow, exuding great warmth.

This was the lord of the Heavenly Light Divine Nation—one of the three titans of the Lie Wang Realm?

He didn’t look like a lofty emperor at all, but more like a scholar.

“Your Majesty?” Lin Qing exclaimed in surprise.

Guang Wang smiled slightly and said: “Since you’ve achieved Eternity and passed the first trial, you are now my disciple.”

“Yes, Master.” Lin Qing immediately rose and bowed respectfully.

“Your Eternity Divine Body… seems already perfect?” Guang Wang studied Lin Qing. “You just broke through, yet you’ve already deduced a Perfect World?”

“Master, after I perfected the technique of Descending into the Future, I discovered my future line contained a version of myself at the peak of Eternity, so I directly chose to descend into that future.”

Lin Qing said: “I accessed memories from thirty-eight million years ahead, which allowed me to directly transform into a Perfect World.”

“I see…”

Guang Wang nodded gently. “It’s unusual—you’ve advanced this far in just thirty-eight million years. Your talent clearly exceeds my observational limits.”

Lin Qing said nothing.

He knew Guang Wang had long noticed his uniqueness.

After all, under Guang Wang’s observation, the number of futures in which he achieved Eternity within thirty-eight million years was scarce, let alone reaching the peak of Eternity—but he always encountered these low-probability outcomes.

This was naturally extraordinary.

Yet Guang Wang clearly harbored no ill will toward him; otherwise, the Entropy Reverser would have detected it.

“Originally, I planned to take you as a provisional disciple after you passed the second trial, and only make you a direct disciple after you passed the third trial or reached the peak of Eternity.”

Guang Wang shook his head slightly and murmured: “But I didn’t expect… you’ve skipped both the second and third trials entirely, and already reached the peak of Eternity?”

Lin Qing knew his progress was too fast, and could only say: “I didn’t expect it to go this smoothly.”

“Enough.”

Guang Wang shook his head slightly and said: “Since you’ve reached the peak of Eternity, if you’re willing, become my direct disciple.”

Lin Qing had anticipated this, yet couldn’t suppress a flash of joy; he immediately stood and bowed deeply: “Disciple Lin Qing, pays homage to Master.”

A faint smile appeared on Guang Wang’s face as he nodded gently: “Normally, when I take a direct disciple, I would announce it to all of humanity and hold a grand celebration to invite all factions—but… now is precisely the eve of war among the Divine Nations of the Lie Wang Realm. The celebration must wait.”

“Understood.” Lin Qing nodded immediately; he didn’t care about such formalities anyway.

Guang Wang smiled and added: “But it’s best to delay the announcement for a while.”

“For a while?” Lin Qing asked, puzzled.

“If my calculations are correct, Yu Gong will soon send someone to deal with you,” Guang Wang said. “At that time, Yuan Chu Divine Emperor and Wan Hai Lord will surely launch their Divine Nations to strike mine, blocking me for an instant to give their envoy an opening. If I announce your status now, they’ll have no confidence in defeating you—and might just abandon the plan.”

“Can Yu Gong command these two Divine Nation Lords?” Lin Qing asked, surprised.

“Not command—only shared goals.”

Guang Wang said: “I’ve clashed with Yuan Chu Divine Emperor and Wan Hai Lord for nearly thirty billion years. Naturally, they relish any chance to weaken me—especially now that they’ve discovered your prodigious talent. Whether you reach the ultimate or become a Duke, they cannot allow it. They will target you.”

Lin Qing asked: “I heard Yuan Chu Divine Emperor and Wan Hai Lord were both cultivated by you. Yet they fight so fiercely over the Cosmic Origin? Is it just for greater power?”

Guang Wang fell silent for a moment, then said: “I misjudged them—or perhaps underestimated their hunger for power.”

“Power?” Lin Qing paused.

“Do you know what happens when a Transcendent civilization evolves into a Semi-Divine civilization?”

Guang Wang said: “The small universe expands continuously, capable of housing more Divine Nations—but the Cosmic Will will select one supreme being as the ‘Lord of the Universe.’ This Lord holds absolute control over the universe; with a single thought, he can decide the life or death of all other Divine Nation Lords.”

Lin Qing understood at once: “Yuan Chu Divine Emperor and Wan Hai Lord are afraid?”

“Yes. They’re terrified.”

Guang Wang nodded: “They both want to be the sole Lord of the Universe. They refuse to entrust their lives to another’s will.”

He sighed and shook his head: “It’s my fault. I trusted their humble demeanor too much. I tested them repeatedly, and they passed every trial. Had I known, I’d have waited another hundred million years to obtain a ‘True Self Oath Stone’ from the Void Divine Clan.”

Lin Qing asked: “Even Master couldn’t afford a True Self Oath Stone back then?”

Guang Wang shook his head slightly: “That’s a Level Five artifact of the Void Divine Clan. Even ordinary Divine Nation Lords must sell everything to buy one. Three billion years ago, I was merely a normal Ultimate existence. Though my future rules were unique, my wealth still couldn’t match a Divine Nation Lord’s.”

Lin Qing understood.

“When you one day cultivate your own Level Three civilization, don’t trust anyone,” Guang Wang said, looking at Lin Qing. “Try your best to obtain a True Self Oath Stone first.”

Lin Qing nodded: “If possible, I’d rather cultivate alone.”

“Alone?” Guang Wang chuckled.

“If I can master three spatial-temporal rules simultaneously—or two spatial-temporal rules plus a Pillar-level artifact—I’ll be completely secure,” Lin Qing said. “Then I won’t have to worry about internal betrayal.”

Guang Wang smiled: “Pillar-level Cosmic Artifacts? My race once had only three. Now we have only two left. Mastering three spatial-temporal rules? In all of infinite history, only one person ever achieved it. Your goal is too ambitious.”

“Oh? Someone actually achieved that?” Lin Qing’s eyes lit up.

“Perhaps you’ve met her,” Guang Wang nodded slightly. “She was from the Origin Realm.”

“Origin Realm?” Lin Qing was startled.

“The Origin Divine Emperor—she was the Cosmic Lord of the Origin Realm. She had a daughter with terrifying talent.”

Guang Wang said: “She had long deduced the method to cultivate an inner universe and encountered countless opportunities to reach the Ultimate. But she deliberately suppressed her advancement, spending countless years until she mastered past, present, and future spatial-temporal rules simultaneously.”

“Unfortunately…” Guang Wang sighed. “Before she could reach the Ultimate, the Ancient Ancestor of Star Abyss destroyed the Origin Realm—and she was slain.”

“The Divine Emperor’s daughter?” Lin Qing asked: “What was her name?”

“Her title was Princess Su.” Guang Wang said.