Lance looked at Blake, his brow furrowed with curiosity.
In response to Lance’s inquiry, Blake began to explain further.
"The third zone is where The Celestial Fiends are sealed! Their origins are a total mystery, but the race is infamously genocidal. Legend has it that when they first appeared in the ancient era, they nearly drove every other race in the universe to extinction. Ultimately, the powerhouses of the Void Beasts and the intelligent races were forced to form an alliance to seal them away.
"However, that specific region was once The Ancient Universe, the very heart of the cosmos. Because the universe is constantly expanding, The Celestial Fiends had occupied the entirety of known space back then. The supre masters of the intelligent races and the Void Beasts sealed off that original universe and led the survivors into the newly expanded territories to survive.
"As eons passed, the 'new' universe was gradually claid by the intelligent races and the Void Beasts, growing to roughly one-tenth the size of The Ancient Universe. Then, one day, the first sentient AI evolved into a powerful, supre being. Using its imnse strength and a terrifying rate of expansion, this AI created The Machina—the kingdom of all chanical lifeforms.
"Initially, the two dominant races didn't pay much attention. But as ti went on, a second and then a third supre powerhouse erged within The Machina. Their rate of evolution far outpaced the other races, and eventually, The Machina beca the fourth major faction in the universe.
"They now occupy one-fifth of the Star Sectors in the new universe, and their master is none other than The Virtual Universe. Fortunately, under the control of The Virtual Universe, The Machina has never initiated conflict with other races. In fact, the intelligent races and the Void Beasts have largely allowed The Machina to develop without interference. As for the ultimate reason behind this tolerance... even I do not know. Perhaps only those at the supre level are privy to that truth."
Blake spoke slowly, recounting everything he knew.
Lance listened, his mind filled with even more questions, but he realized that if Blake—a product of a Rank 13 civilization—didn't know, the answers were likely beyond reach for now.
"Forget it. My priority is increasing my strength," Lance muttered, a hint of frustration in his voice. "Right now, I’m only at the Great Grandmaster rank. I haven’t even stepped into the domain of true powerhouses yet."
He felt a bit impatient, though in reality, it had only been about ten days since he started cultivating. In that short window, he had already beco a terrifyingly strong warrior. If the strongest man on Earth wasn't his match now, what would he be capable of in a few years?
"By the way, Blake, what are the highest-grade techniques you have here besides the Dark Abyssal Manual? I need martial arts as well," Lance asked urgently.
He was in desperate need of powerful techniques to bolster his foundation.
"Reporting, Master. Although this ship and my own processing core are Rank 13, the archives in the technique library have remained static. Aside from the Dark Abyssal Manual, the highest-grade records are the Glacial Scripture and the Divine Light Scripture.
"The Divine Light Scripture belonged to the previous owner of that Void Core I gave you—the Rank 11 The Seraphic Sovereign. My forr master killed him specifically to obtain that technique and his Void Core. These three techniques are part of the Eight Holy Scriptures of the Kasa God-Realm, which was a second-tier God-Realm.
"Their ruler, God-Emperor Kasa, was a powerful Immortal Grade expert. Using these eight scriptures, he once managed to slay a supre powerhouse of the Immortal Class! Therefore, legends suggest that if all eight scriptures are gathered, their combined grade reaches the Rank 15 Immortal Class. However, that remains re speculation.
"After God-Emperor Kasa died within the Celestial Fiend seal, his eight scriptures were scattered across The Supre God-Realm of Destruction. It wasn't until 1.3 billion years ago that my old master, The Umbra Sovereign, managed to acquire one. He spent hundreds of millions of years reaching the Great Success stage, only to be discovered by The Black Dragon Lord, who possessed the Gale Scripture, another of the eight.
"The Black Dragon Lord had already reached the Perfect level and was a World Lord Class powerhouse. My old master was no match and was struck down instantly. Although his remnant soul managed to escape, it dissipated shortly after. Later, Sovereign Glacia discovered the Glacial Scripture. Just as she was approaching the Perfect level, she too was found by The Black Dragon Lord and failed to escape his grasp.
"However, Sovereign Glacia had previously obtained a soul-defense artifact in a powerful hidden realm. Thanks to that artifact, her remnant soul survived. Her luck was significantly better than my master's."
Blake sighed heavily as he finished the tale.
"I see... the Eight Holy Scriptures," Lance mused, his eyes flashing with anticipation. "Each one is Rank 12, and combined, they reach Rank 15? This is exactly what I need. I have to get my hands on all of them!"
If he could collect all eight, he could first enhance them to create eight distinct elents that were at least Rank 13 or higher. Secondly, when rged into a Rank 15 technique—which hadn't even been enhanced yet—the results would be staggering.
Rank 15 was already at the Immortal Class. If he enhanced it, reaching a level beyond the supre realm wasn't just a dream; it was a mathematical certainty.
The only problem was the vastness of the universe. Finding the remaining five scriptures would be like looking for a needle in a cosmic haystack. While Rank 15 techniques were technically for sale within The Virtual Universe, the price was surely sothing he couldn't afford even in his wildest dreams.
Even if Lance used his ability to repair and sell high-value items, it was too risky. He lacked the strength to protect such wealth. Despite Blake’s assurances that The Virtual Universe wouldn't harm anyone, that likely only applied as long as the prize wasn't big enough to tempt it. If he dangled sothing truly world-shaking, who in the universe could stop The Virtual Universe from simply taking it?
"I'll have to look for opportunities to collect them. For now, I have three. I'll start by cultivating the other two," Lance decided.
"Since there aren't any higher-grade ones, bring up the highest-level body-refining techniques, spear arts, movent techniques, and defensive arts in the library. Also, bring up those other two scriptures. I’ll cultivate them all together!"
Blake nodded respectfully. "Understood, Master."
He imdiately interfaced with the ship's archives, bringing up the requested data.
Hum!
A series of technique descriptions manifested before Lance's eyes. It seed The Umbra Sovereign had been an obsessive collector; the highest-grade martial arts in the library were all at the Peak of Rank 11.
Lance was satisfied. Once he broke the limits of his Congenital Law Body tomorrow, he would be able to master these techniques to the Perfect level at an incredible speed.
Without that limit break, even with his current talent, it would likely take him decades to reach the Perfect level in just a single Rank 11 technique. The gap between 'Master' and 'Perfect' was a chasm that few ever crossed, often requiring a lifeti of dedication. It was a known rule in the cultivation world: the ti required to go from Proficient to Expert was less than one-ten-thousandth of the ti needed to go from Expert to Perfect—and that ratio only worsened as the rank of the technique increased.
"Master, I have a cultivation technique you might find useful."
Blake spoke up suddenly, catching Lance completely off guard.
"What kind of technique?" Lance asked, his curiosity piqued.
Without offering an imdiate explanation, Blake projected a detailed description of the technique into the air. Lance scanned the text, his pupils constricting as he processed the information.
"Holy sht... this is perfect for !"
Lance’s heart hamred with excitent.
Divine Soul Partition: Rank 9, Low-grade.
A four-layered technique. Upon reaching the first layer, the consciousness can be split in two. Each consciousness possesses the sa thoughts and personality as the original, allowing the user to cultivate two separate techniques simultaneously.
Second Layer: 4 consciousnesses.
Third Layer: 8 consciousnesses.
Fourth Layer: 16 consciousnesses.
The description was straightforward: it was a thod of soul-splitting. It was essentially the ultimate form of multitasking. By the ti it reached the fourth layer, a practitioner could focus on sixteen different things at once with perfect clarity.
Though it was only a Rank 9 technique, for soone with Lance’s monstrous talent, it was nothing short of a god-tier skill. In truth, it would be a treasure for anyone.
"This technique is widely practiced by many in the Great Cosmic Era," Blake explained with a smile. "Once you reach the limit and split into sixteen consciousnesses, you can leave fifteen of them in the real world to control your body, cultivating war arts and techniques, while the final one enters the Virtual Universe to explore. It would also solve your problem of having too many techniques to manage."
"You’re right," Lance nodded, his eyes gleaming with satisfaction. "For where I am now, this is a godsend. It’s a sha it’s only Rank 9."
Was Rank 9 a problem? Not at all. He still had two opportunities for reconstruction. He had already planned to use one on Berserk Absorption, which he had already mastered to the Perfect level. The second use, without a doubt, would now go to Divine Soul Partition.
Without another word, Lance closed his eyes and began to cultivate. Everything else could wait until he reached the first layer.
"Damn, the difficulty of this Divine Soul Partition is no joke," Lance noted internally. "Every step requires tearing away a small fragnt of the Soul, granting that fragnt its own consciousness, and then reabsorbing it. No wonder only high-level powerhouses can train in this. If your level is too low, tearing the Soul like that would turn you into a vegetable instantly."
A faint smile played on Lance’s lips. Tearing the Soul? For him, that was child’s play.
Riiiip!
He didn't hesitate. With a ntal wrench that echoed from the depths of his Soul, he tore his essence right down the middle, splitting it into two.
Following the technique's instructions, he began to activate the new consciousness. This was the simplest part of the process. For most people, the hardest part of Divine Soul Partition was the physical act of tearing the Soul and then rging the fragnts back together before they dissipated.
If the rger failed, the effort was wasted. Not only would the Soul be damaged, requiring long periods of recovery, but one’s cultivation realm could even regress. Unless soone was wealthy enough to drink Soul-restoring potions like water, it wasn't worth the risk of crippling oneself.
However, for Lance, the two "hardest" parts were the easiest. Ironically, the activation of the consciousness—the easiest part for others—was the most ti-consuming for him, though "difficult" was a relative term.
Within seconds, Lance successfully activated the consciousness of the severed fragnt.
Hum!
The two halves of his Soul snapped back together instantly, rging into a single unit without a hint of instability. As the fusion finished, Lance felt the presence of a secondary consciousness.
This consciousness was purely functional. It could cultivate or comprehend techniques; it would execute whatever command the primary consciousness issued without distraction or independent thought.
Whether it was controlling the body for training or pondering the mysteries of a war art, it was perfectly efficient. Previously, Lance could train a technique and a war art at the sa ti, but his efficiency in both would drop slightly. Now, there was zero interference. He could do both at maximum speed.
[System Alert: Congratulations! You have successfully cultivated Divine Soul Partition to Layer 1. Consciousness Count: 2.]
The notification chid in his mind, and Lance smiled. He imdiately commanded his second consciousness to begin cultivating Divine Soul Partition further.
While his Soul began the automatic process of splitting again to form a third consciousness, Lance’s primary consciousness took control of his body. He turned his attention back to his remaining pile of techniques.
"The system ntioned that if my physical cultivation techniques or other types of war arts reach a trillion Exploits, I’ll get a free rank upgrade. I wonder if any of these have that kind of potential."
System Notification: A massive stockpile has been detected!
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