Chapter 803: Time and Metal, Suppressing a World

Beside the 2,000-meter-long and several-hundred-meter-tall golden-purple colossal beast's skeleton, a black-and-red colossal beast, even larger and more imposing at 2,300 meters, stood tall.

White mist had once again gathered around the Destructive Dragon Emperor, swirling like a faint, mountainous presence and exuding a formless sense of oppressive might.

After devouring a beginning-stage titan-level colossal beast, the biological energy the Dragon Emperor gained only allowed it to grow by several dozen meters.

This phenomenon resembled what had happened when it had first evolved into the Sword Armored Beast and broke through to level 4. Back then, consuming a mutated beast of the same level had also yielded only minimal growth.

The reason lay not in a shortage of energy, but in the drastically increased amount required for each increment of growth.

Within the Dragon Emperor’s left claw, a searing surge of vitality was gathering on one of its fine scales and circulating, gradually forming the faint outline of a Dark Star rune as vast and dense as a miniature planet.

However, the moment the rune appeared, its internal structure violently shuddered and instantly collapsed, reverting into pure vitality and dissipating.

As expected, ability runes from arts can’t be directly condensed.

A flicker of contemplation passed through the Dragon Emperor’s icy golden vertical pupils as it slowly lowered its left claw.

With the two colossal dragons still entangled in battle by the time it had finished consuming the purple titan, the Dragon Emperor had attempted to condense the Dark Star rune that Chen Chu had just obtained, only to fail over thirty times in a row.

Unlike basic runes like the force field constraint, the Dark Star rune was extraordinarily intricate and profound. It was cultivated step by step through refining one’s essence, spirit, and heavy metals

In truth, this kind of rune already equated to an innate ability, and could evolve into a divine ability with further refinement.

Thus, for the Dragon Emperor, who couldn’t cultivate battle body arts, condensing a Dark Star rune under normal circumstances was nearly impossible, unless it possessed a metal-related ability.

If it someday awakened such an ability, it could then absorb heavy metals and simulate the Dark Star ability rune through vitality, ultimately transcending and gaining a tenth top-level innate ability.

After Chen Chu had absorbed vast quantities of heavy metals, altering part of his flesh’s attributes and successfully condensing the Dark Star rune, the Dragon Emperor had become rather interested in this ability.

Compared to the Silver Time Butterfly’s mastery of time-related talents, the ability to absorb heavy metals and alter fleshly properties seemed even more fitting for it. After all, its greatest strength lay in its unparalleled, indomitable beastly body.

Laws such as time and destruction could potentially be sealed or restricted, as had been the case with the Silver Time Butterfly Chen Chu had slain.

Yet the physical might of its body would remain unaffected, especially with the chaotic dark force coursing through it and its scales, inscribed with the innate ability to negate energy- and law-based attacks.

If the Dragon Emperor could make the Dark Star its tenth innate ability, combined with its speed of evolution and growth, it could perhaps truly evolve into a veritable black hole one day.

At that time, merely standing beneath the sky, its millions-of-meters-long body would exude gravitational forces powerful enough to tear apart and destroy worlds, while its defenses would render it immune to all attacks.

Of course, the idea was beautiful, but a couple of key issues remained: whether the Dark Star rune Chen Chu had condensed had an upper limit, and whether the Dragon Emperor could truly use a metal-based ability to obtain its power.

While the Dragon Emperor wavered between the choices, the two colossal dragons, battered and limping, finally returned.

Seeing the rather disheveled pair, the Dragon Emperor let out a low rumble.

Done fighting?

The Silver Dragon stomped down with three claws, raising its broken left claw with a proud roar.

This time, the great Saixitia almost defeated Thorsafi!

𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

The Golden-Blue Dragon lifted its head and disdainfully growled,

Saixitia, you call that “almost?” You were still far off. It was the great Thorsafi who went easy on you.

Despite the claim, the Golden-Blue Dragon’s head bore a snapped horn, and its left cheek was marred by shattered scales where the Silver Dragon had clawed it. Though it hadn’t bled, its once-elegant appearance had been thoroughly ruined.

Refusing to concede, the Silver Dragon bellowed,

Despicable Thorsafi! The great Saixitia spared its claws, otherwise, your wings would already be broken!

Atop the Dragon Emperor’s head, the Little Purple Dragon grew excited, waving its tiny claws as it let out small roars.

Fight! Fight!

...Fight my ass.

The Dragon Emperor stilled slightly at this.

The Single-Horned Kunpeng cautiously approached, glancing nervously at the two dragons still radiating murderous auras, and softly squeaked,

Thunder Fiery, shall we continue?

Wait. There’s still one thing left to do.

With a low rumble, the Dragon Emperor turned back toward the enormous titan beast’s remains. Its jaws parted slightly, and dazzling golden-purple flames burst forth from its maw.

Boom!

The searing gold and purple flames surged out, engulfing the titan's skeleton.

This breath, a fusion of the Law of Corrosion and the Golden Sky-Scorching Sun, brimmed with searing heat and destructive force. The purple beast’s skeleton visibly began to dissolve at a speed perceptible to the naked eye.

The titan-level creature’s body had long since fused with laws. Even in death, even after its flesh had been devoured, its bones still contained staggering amounts of energy and law particles.

The essence of heaven and earth refined from this kind of material was a top-level divine object for enhancing planar worlds, even more precious than law-level mineral resources, purely because of the sheer volume it contained.

At present, the Dragon Emperor had collected the remains of both the golden Dapeng and the Titanic Flame Whale. The Magma Giant’s corpse had been blasted apart and scattered into unusable pieces.

Once Chen Chu returned, these materials could be used to strengthen his planar space, expanding it by several thousand kilometers in one go and pushing the supreme law toward the advanced stage.

This time, refining the colossal beast’s skeleton took several hours. In the end, it condensed into an irregular, semi-translucent purple crystalline material, over four hundred meters long and a hundred meters wide, resembling a massive spine.

Pure purple law patterns flowed across it, imbued with traces of the colossal beast’s innate abilities.

However, the Dragon Emperor found neither the beast’s abilities nor its law mastery appealing. Without hesitation, it grabbed the refined material and stored it inside the reverse scale space beneath its throat.

Standing amid a sea of fire where even space itself had been scorched through, the Dragon Emperor turned its gaze back toward the three colossal beasts in the distance, who had already recovered from their wounds. It let out a deep, rumbling growl.

Let’s go.

At once, the Silver Dragon roared in excitement, spreading its wings and soaring into the sky.

Charge! The great Saixitia shall kill them all, rob them all, and devour them all!

Kill them, rob them!

The Kunpeng followed closely behind, just as excited.

The Golden-Blue Dragon also unfurled its wings, radiating a brilliant multicolored glow as it trailed after the Dragon Emperor. Thousands of crystals surrounded it, refracting light in a dazzling and graceful display.

Very soon, the four colossal beasts vanished into the swirling mists.

***

As the Dragon Emperor ventured deeper into the Chaotic Region, searching for a colossal beast with a metal-based talent, Chen Chu had already refined all of his mineral resources.

By dawn, the gradually brightening sky revealed a plain that had collapsed into a massive crater several kilometers in diameter and hundreds of meters deep, with cracks radiating outward in all directions.

Suspended mid-air, Chen Chu stood in the void, dressed in gray casual clothes, his black hair flowing despite the absence of wind. An overwhelming aura emanated from him, distorting space and even devouring light itself.

The gravitational forces he passively released were so fearsome that they had thrown the surrounding magnetic fields into chaos. Countless fragments of rock floated mid-air within a radius of a kilometer.

Chen Chu frowned slightly as he sensed his now vastly sturdier, more resilient flesh and additional tens of thousands of tons of body weight.

The effect of the Dark Star rune had fallen short of his expectations. Originally, he had estimated that refining all of those minerals and resources would boost his physical foundation by thirty percent. Yet in reality, the enhancement was closer to twenty percent.

This increase had only been possible because his body’s carrying capacity was extraordinarily high, and because he had absorbed resources painstakingly hoarded by several demon kings. Otherwise, the improvement would have been even lower.

After all, while the Dark Star Battle Body art was unique, in terms of level, it still only counted as a transcendent art, even though Chen Chu had used attribute points to push it to the limit.

Chen Chu mused, "It seems that, to truly unlock the Dark Star rune's potential, I must find a way to merge it into the War God Body and transform it into a true divine ability."

Every cultivation art ultimately served the practitioner. For Chen Chu, the War God Body was the culmination of his arts, a fusion of all of the powers he had ever cultivated. This included the power of Hidden Divinity, the Insightful Eye rune, and even domains like the Blood Sea Purgatory.

If Chen Chu could merge the Dark Star rune into the War God Body, evolving it into a divine ability that strengthened alongside his cultivation, he would likely be able to absorb heavy metals indefinitely, continuously enhancing his physical body.

Solving this issue was simple in principle: read more ancient scriptures, cultivate harder, and study more deeply.

At this thought, Chen Chu recalled his previous battle against Tarorya.

She had already half-stepped into the demon god level and reached the peak of the awakening realm, and had unified all of her innate abilities and laws through her bloodline strength to create her own supreme grimoire.

Her strength had been so overwhelming that even Chen Chu hadn’t been her match, suffering serious injuries in just three blows. The final strike, the Abyssal Burial, had even cleaved through the power of his planar world, rivaling a true demon god.

This was the true path toward supremacy. After cultivating supreme secret scriptures to reach the peak of the Ninth Heavenly Realm and breaking through to the king level, cultivators focused on comprehending the laws of the world. Eventually, they would fuse with these laws and ascend to the heavenly king level.

At the peak of the heavenly king level, however, it became necessary to refine everything they had learned and elevate it to an extreme, forging their own path. This would become their personal principle, recognized by heaven and earth. When that principle reached completion and was inscribed into the cosmos, it would become a true principle of the world.

Thus, even the ancient emperors who had left behind the original blank principles could only allow Chen Chu to step onto the supreme path. Whether he could ultimately break through to become an emperor would depend solely on his own efforts.

"Perhaps, I should start preparing early." As the thought crossed his mind, the oppressive force around Chen Chu slowly withdrew. He put away Yunxiao, and with a flicker of his figure, vanished without a trace.

Compared to the supreme human powerhouses and the demon gods of the Purgatory Demon Clan, Chen Chu, who had risen within just a single year, lacked foundation. He was short on time and lacked accumulation.

At present, he could still rely on burning attribute points to enter a state of epiphany and quickly enhance his comprehension of laws. What would happen later, however, when he attempted to break through to the heavenly king level and needed to forge his own path?

***

On the training grounds, more than thirty teenagers surrounded Shi Feitong excitedly. One of the eldest among them, Wu Ze, wore an expression of utter shock. "Sister Tongtong, you really broke through to the fifth stage of the Scarlet Sun?"

Shi Feitong rolled her eyes and snapped, "Wu Ze, what kind of question is that? Are you saying I couldn't have broken through?"

The ponytailed youth scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "No, it’s just... this is too shocking. Yesterday, you were only at the late stage of the fourth tier."

"I’m a genius. Breaking through is perfectly normal!" Shi Feitong tilted her chin proudly.

Just then, a boy with a runny nose shouted from the crowd, "I know! It’s because of that treasure the big brother gave you! I was hiding in the back yesterday and saw it!"

Another girl chimed in excitedly, "I saw it too! It was a shiny stone! Sister Rourou got one too!"

At once, Shi Feitong’s proud expression froze. A hint of annoyance flashed across her face.

Why are these little brats so clever? Can't they just let me enjoy my moment a little longer?

While she had forcefully cultivated to the fourth tier over a few years through sheer physical vitality alone, Shi Feitong’s cultivation had surged after absorbing the energy contained within the top-level crystal.

It wasn't just her; Shi Feirou’s improvement was even greater, soaring directly from the middle stage of the fifth tier to the peak. After cultivating for a whole night, both girls had been stunned by the effect.

Their bodies had been like dry deserts; every bit of absorbed energy had led to a noticeable leap in strength.

Zhuo Xinyue, who had been smiling while watching Shi Feitong show off, suddenly brightened and called out, "Sister Tongtong, that big brother is back!"

Everyone turned their heads. In the distance, a black-haired young man was walking toward them from the passage entrance.

Swish!

Shi Feitong activated her movement art, leaving behind an afterimage as she appeared before Chen Chu. She looked at him with some confusion. "Mr. Chen, you’ve finished cultivating so quickly?"

After all, just last night, Chen Chu had mentioned he would enter seclusion for a few days. No one expected he would return after just a single night.

"Mhmm." Chen Chu nodded slightly, his gaze sweeping over the curious children in the distance. Casually, he asked, "Feitong, where’s your sister?"

Shi Feitong quickly answered, "Sis is still cultivating. After absorbing the energy in those crystals you gave us yesterday, both our cultivations advanced tremendously. She’s aiming to break through to the sixth stage of the Scarlet Sun in one go! Are you looking for her for something?"

Chen Chu calmly replied, "I wanted to ask if anyone knows the way to the capitals of the other three empires. I plan to visit their libraries."

Shi Feitong paused briefly. "The other three empires... Mr. Chen, please wait a moment. I’ll go get Sis and Mr. Jiang!"

She then turned and sprinted toward the mountainside.

This world contained part of the complete legacy of the Ancient Civilization. Compared to the inheritances the Federation had obtained, the arts here were far more comprehensive, with many directly pointing toward the mythical level. These would be of great help in perfecting Chen Chu’s personal path.

Moreover, for the foundational body enhancement art he planned to create, he also needed extensive references, research, and studies of human bodies.

Thus, he intended to make his move—to end this world’s apocalypse, suppress all powerful mutated monsters, and unite the surviving humans to re-establish order. Once everything was done, it would be time for him to leave.

Come to think of it, would that count as saving an entire world?

Swish! Swish! Swish!

Soon, a group of figures appeared before Chen Chu. Along with Shi Feirou were Gao Tianxiang, the one-armed Mr. Jiang, and several others. All of them respectfully stood before the black-haired youth, who stood with his hands clasped behind his back.