Chapter 328: Return Again (End-of-Month Request for Moon Tickets)

The Great Xia World.

Inside the Yuanzhong Divine Hall.

Broken, gray-white stone pillars surged into the sky, surrounded by gray mist.

Fang Xing jolted awake.

Feeling his body's weakness and the surrounding environment, he smiled faintly: "So… I'm still Li Ying?"

Memories of the past three years flooded his mind.

"After I left, Li Ying dropped to ordinary human levels—his progress in comprehending mysteries became virtually nonexistent…"

"The Gray Robe Man was astonished, disappointed… even desperate, yet ultimately did not kill him—only cut off his food supply…"

"Three years of fasting—if he hadn't already ascended to True Force Master, he might have starved or died of thirst…"

"It seems the Gray Robe Lord truly has severe limitations—he can't actively kill test subjects, not even deprive them of air…"

"But Li Ying held his tongue and never revealed my 'descent'—was he afraid of losing his usefulness and being killed?"

"No… he seems to have mistaken me for his second personality, a case of split identity?"

Although this body is a True Force Master and can barely survive without food, it could never possibly endure three years without air.

Or perhaps the Gray Robe Lord still harbored a sliver of hope—intentionally torturing him to force Li Ying to strive desperately?

"Forget it…"

Fang Xing stood up, gazing at the surrounding "Thirty-Six Scrolls of Fire Mystery," his face filled with delight: "The legacy is still here—better seize this chance and advance rapidly!"

Last time, he had only manifested for a little over a month.

This time, the duration might be even shorter—I must make the most of this opportunity!

He reached out and took a crimson scale from within the flame.

On the crimson scale, flame-like patterns shifted constantly, radiating intense heat.

"Heart of Flame Mystery?"

Fang Xing's eyes lit up: "Perfect—it's exactly the point I was struggling with before…"

He immediately sat cross-legged and plunged into deep contemplation.

…

In another hall.

The Gray Robe Lord stared motionlessly at the model of the Great Xia planet, sighing: "Talents regarded as legendary even in mid-tier cosmic nations are exceedingly rare… In over thirty thousand years, only Li Ying possessed such a talent—and even more crucially, such an unusual physique…"

Because Li Ying refused to admit anything, and he could not observe the Celestial Gate's transit, he could only attribute Li Ying's erratic comprehension ability to his peculiar physique.

The Gray Robe Lord's true form had seen much, having traveled across countless civilizations and witnessed all manner of strange geniuses.

He naturally knew that certain special physiques often produced utterly unbelievable effects.

For instance, a latent physique that causes physical talent to appear and disappear intermittently.

Then… it's entirely plausible that comprehension ability behaves the same way.

"Periodically becoming stupid?!"

The Gray Robe Lord decided to observe longer—worst case, he'd just eject him after the ten-year term ended.

Suddenly, his cloak swirled, and the profound, bottomless darkness turned toward the legacy hall: "Resuming contemplation again?"

The Gray Robe Lord glanced once and ignored him.

After Fang Xing left, Li Ying had also stubbornly tried to comprehend the Fire Mysteries—only to become a "fallen genius" and eventually give up.

Now, it seems being pushed to the brink has reignited a flicker of hope?

He did not know that Fang Xing was not a "fallen genius," but a "sleeping genius"—and now, the "sleeping genius" was about to awaken.

…

Several days passed quickly.

"Brilliant… brilliant! So this is how the Heart of Flame works."

Fang Xing idly traced patterns in the air.

Though he wasn't channeling any True Force, his fingertips merely sketched lightly—and crimson lines materialized in the void.

Countless lines intertwined, faintly forming a flame heart.

The flame heart pulsed and burned vigorously…

Immediately, Fang Xing felt his "Fire Element Affinity" rise again, and the power of all the techniques he had deduced surged further!

"If I keep this up, after fully comprehending the Fire Mystery, could I rival a Martial God?"

"Then why even need a mech?"

"No—that's wrong. Fully comprehending the Fire Mystery would likely only let me barely escape from a weak Martial God… but with a mech, I could stand a chance against weak, even seasoned or strong Martial Gods!"

"Weak Martial God" was merely Fang Xing's own classification—even the weakest Martial God vastly surpassed a powerful Martial Master.

So perhaps "newly ascended Martial God" would be a more accurate term.

"Good—strike while the iron's hot…"

Fang Xing picked up a flame-feather, gazing at its dazzling tassels: "Flame Meteor Mystery… if I comprehend it, my speed could at least triple!"

He felt his progress in the Fire Mystery was like a rocket launch.

Probably because, in the past few years without guidance, he had forcibly contended with the mysteries, accumulating vast problems and experience.

Now, with proper guidance and legacy, it was all coming to fruition.

Moreover, Fang Xing deliberately revealed the "Heart of Flame" Mystery—intending to draw the Gray Robe Lord's attention. And indeed—

As soon as the Heart of Flame was sketched, the Gray Robe Lord stirred.

"This… this… his talent has returned?"

"My revenge… my resurrection… is there hope again?"

The Gray Robe Lord longed to rush over, but forced himself to hold back: "No… wait a little longer, observe further… maybe he just got lucky, or perhaps this talent only manifests when alone?"

…

"Oh? Still patient…"

Three days later.

Fang Xing smiled inwardly and raised his hand.

Dozens of flame meteors appeared, swirling around him.

"Flame Meteor? Another Mystery comprehended?"

The Gray Robe Lord could no longer contain himself—he appeared before Fang Xing: "Your talent… hmm?"

He scrutinized Fang Xing closely—though still Li Ying's face, his aura and demeanor were utterly different.

Combined with Li Ying's prior behavior, he became more certain of his suspicion: "A dual personality talent?"

Such talent was like a split-personality mental disorder.

Crucially, some split personalities carried unbelievable talents!

Li Ying's behavior matched this "dual personality" pattern perfectly.

For the Gray Robe Lord, what kind of talent didn't matter—what mattered was helping him exact revenge!

"Your talent seems flawed. Deep within your soul, another personality lurks—one weak, cowardly, powerless."

The Gray Robe Lord spoke seriously to Fang Xing: "To fully unleash your talent, you must resolve this issue…"

"Oh? What's the solution?" Fang Xing smiled, instantly realizing the Gray Robe Lord mistook him for a split personality.

"Two methods. First: cultivate a body-splitting technique—sever your weak personality…"

The Gray Robe Lord said: "This is the best solution. Otherwise, you'd need esoteric arts or treasures to seal or suppress that inner personality—but it's only a temporary fix. Both methods have one problem: after treatment, will your comprehension talent vanish or weaken?"

Some special physiques are precisely like this—solve the flaw, and the benefit vanishes too.

What if Fang Xing's talent required both personalities intact and constantly switching to function?

"I can resolve this myself…"

Fang Xing replied indifferently.

He secretly glanced at his status bar—Fire Mystery had reached "Proficient" rank—and felt he'd made a fortune.

Had the transit duration not been limited, he wouldn't have bothered summoning the Gray Robe Lord at all.

Isn't quiet self-cultivation better?

"Now, I've comprehended over half the Fire Mystery—I can already sense the 'Fire Principle'…"

In Fang Xing's eyes, two crimson flames flickered faintly: "Once I enter the Fire Principle, I'll be the true heir."

"…." The Gray Robe Lord fell silent, then sighed: "Yes."

"I have one question: after True Force Master, what realm comes next? What are the differences? You must answer me truthfully!" Fang Xing spoke.

Beyond Martial God in the main universe lay a dead end.

The Immortal Martial path might not connect.

If there was a new path, at least it could serve as a backup.

"Very well—I'll tell you then…"

The Gray Robe Lord sighed: "True Force Master, within the cosmic scale, is but an ant… the Force system is too crude, too primitive… advancement is extremely difficult, extremely difficult. To ascend beyond True Force Master, one must comprehend a mystery—Fire Mystery, Water Mystery, Wind Mystery…"

"When the mystery is fully mastered and one enters a Principle, their power multiplies a hundred millionfold—capable of truly rivaling a Star Lord, capable of destroying a planet. Hence, they are called 'Star Lords'!"

"Star Lord?"

Fang Xing was moved.

True Force Master, in the main universe, was roughly equivalent to a fifth-rank cultivator.

But Star Lord could destroy planets—that was ninth or tenth-rank power!

Jumping from the Fifth Realm to the Ninth Realm all at once?

The difficulty is truly absurd—even outright dangerous!

"Crossing such a vast gap?" He found it impossible to believe.

"The Strength System is merely something that developed on your tiny planet, Great Xia… On other planets and civilizations, there are far more refined and systematic paths to transcendence… Yet all paths to transcendence ultimately lead to comprehending the Profound Mysteries, then from Mysteries to Laws, and from Laws to the Dao…"

The Gray Robe Marquis sighed.

"In other words, Great Xia's Strength System is far too weak—it has many gaps to fill… Without filling them, your path ends. Unless you encounter a super-natural 'genius' like me…"

But Fang Xing knew his genius was largely illusory—he had already accumulated through the Sixth, Seventh, and Eighth Realms.

Only then did he comprehend the Profound Power, aided by his attribute panel to cheat—failing would have been unnatural.

"Within the Star Lord Realm, further subdivisions exist…"

At this moment, the Gray Robe Marquis continued: "The deeper your comprehension of a Law, the more exponentially your destructive power increases…"

(End of Chapter)