Kaelan continues his work without pause, decoding one lifeform after another within the vast expanse of his Ether Sea, his perception penetrating deeper than flesh, deeper than structure, reaching the very essence that defines existence.
Each organism dissolves within him.
Not into nothingness, but into information.
Into patterns.
Into Laws.
As he observes, he begins to feel something subtle yet profound.
The Paths of the Law of Life are no longer separate.
They begin to converge.
Slowly.
Inevitably.
In his understanding, the structure of the law becomes clearer than ever before.
The lowest form of a Law is Intent.
An Intent is simple.
It is a direction.
A concept.
Like a topic within a chapter of a book.
When an Intent becomes complete, when it stabilises and gains structure, it transforms into a Principle.
Principles are more complex.
They are like chapters.
Each one contains depth.
Contains meaning.
And when Principles gather, align, and integrate, they form a Path.
A Path is complete.
It is like a book.
A full system of understanding.
A single Intent can form a Principle.
Multiple Intents can also merge into a Principle.
But only complete Principles can form Paths.
Paths themselves are not equal.
They are divided.
Minor Paths.
And Major Paths.
A Major Path is equivalent to thirty-six Minor Paths.
Kaelan's understanding of the Law of Life deepens further.
The ten known Paths of the Law of Life are all Minor Paths.
Yet even among them, there is an imbalance.
Some Paths extend beyond a single Minor Path.
The Path of Vitality alone spans five Minor Paths.
It contains multiple complete Principles.
Even fragments of incomplete ones.
And it is not alone.
Several other Paths within the Law of Life extend beyond a single unit, overlapping, branching, and expanding.
When he evaluates all ten Paths together, their total does not reach thirty-six.
It reaches thirty Minor Paths.
Incomplete.
Still lacking.
But as Kaelan continues to break down lifeforms, new realisations emerge.
He begins to sense Intents and Principles that do not belong to any of the ten known Paths.
They exist outside the established system.
Hidden.
Unrefined.
Unorganized.
These fragments of Law drift within his perception, waiting to be integrated.
Kaelan understands what must be done.
He must gather everything.
All Paths.
All Principles.
All Intents.
He must converge them into a single, unified Path.
Only then can the Law of Life truly be complete.
But completion alone is not enough.
He must expand it.
He must either strengthen existing Paths or create new ones until the total reaches thirty-six Minor Paths.
Only then can they condense.
Only then can they transform.
Into a Major Path.
And once that Major Path of the Law of Life is formed, he will merge it with his existing Major Path.
The Law of Ether.
Two Major Paths.
When that happens, his True Spirit will undergo another revolution.
He will step into the Second Level of True Spirit Wizard.
But even this is not his final goal.
His ambition lies beyond.
He seeks to create a cultivation system of the soul.
Of True Spirit.
One that does not rely on Laws.
One that transcends them entirely.
Yet he does not ignore the present.
The path ahead is long.
And time is limited.
Forty years.
That is all he has.
Before the war begins.
Before the Sword Immortal returns.
Kaelan recalls that battle.
Decades ago.
In the Void.
At that time, he stood at the Late Fourth Stage.
Yet even then, the Sword Immortal had already revealed terrifying power.
Through the Nine Immortal Swords, Kaelan deduced the truth.
The Sword Immortal has formed Nine Major Paths.
Within the Fourth Stage, strength is defined by Major Paths.
One to three Major Paths, Initial Realm.
Four to six, Intermediate Realm.
Seven to nine, Late Realm.
To step into the Fourth Stage, a cultivator's Law must reach the Initial level of the Moon Stage.
The Reflecting Moon Stage.
At this level, the cultivator comprehends nine Major Paths and combines them.
But this combination is superficial.
They are united externally.
Their essence remains separate.
To reach the Peak Fourth Stage, the essence of all nine Major Paths must merge into one.
That is the true pinnacle.
And the difference in strength is absolute.
An Initial Fourth Stage cultivator can fight a Late Fourth Stage.
Even if necessary, escape.
But a Late Fourth Stage cultivator facing a Peak Fourth Stage,
Escape becomes impossible.
If the opponent does not allow it.
Thus, true strength at this level is not determined by the number of Paths.
But by the integration of their essence.
If Kaelan can merge the essence of the Law of Life with his Ether Path now,
Even at the Initial Fourth Stage, he could stand equal to the Sword Immortal.
But he knows the truth.
In forty years, such a feat is impossible.
So he continued his plan.
After forming the Major Path of Life,
He will move to the Law of Death.
If he can form three Major Paths,
Life.
Ether.
Death.
Then even the Sword Immortal will not be able to defeat him easily.
Kaelan's eyes remain closed within the vast Ether Lake, yet his will moves endlessly, decoding, refining, and converging everything toward a single, singular goal that stretches far beyond the present moment.
Within the silver, radiant expanse of the Ether Lake, countless fragments of life dissolve and reorganise, their structures broken down into the most fundamental information, feeding Kaelan's ever-deepening comprehension of existence.
Slowly, steadily, he absorbs all the lifeforms from the first batch that Dai Quan had delivered.
Animals.
Plants.
Microorganisms.
Each one is taken apart.
Understood.
Integrated.
Nothing is wasted.
Nothing is ignored.
And when the last trace of life from the first batch disappears into his Ether Sea, a quiet stillness settles within the vast lake.
There is nothing left to decode.
No more lifeforms to analyse.
At the edge of the hollow, Dai Quan watches silently for a moment, then bows slightly before turning away.
His task is not yet complete.
Without delay, he departs to gather the second batch.
Kaelan remains.
Alone within the Ether Lake.
But his work does not stop.
With no external life to study, his focus shifts inward.
Toward the structure of the Law of Life itself.
Toward the formation of thirty-six Minor Paths.
Within his vast comprehension, countless Intents and Principles float like scattered fragments of incomplete knowledge, waiting to be unified into something whole.
Among them, one draws his attention.
Parasites.
While decoding the lifeforms from the first batch, he encountered them repeatedly, in various forms, across different species, adapting, surviving, persisting.
Their structure is incomplete.
Yet highly developed.
If a complete Principle is equal to one hundred per cent,
Then the Principle of Parasite has reached eighty-one per cent.
Only nineteen per cent remains.
A small gap.
Yet one that cannot be ignored.
Kaelan's focus narrows.
This will be the next Path he completes.
He begins.
Drawing from the countless Intents he has observed,
Attachment.
Consumption.
Dependency.
Adaptation within a host.
He integrates them.
Refines them.
Then gathers the incomplete Principles surrounding them.
Layer by layer.
Piece by piece.
He reconstructs the missing nineteen per cent.
Not by guesswork.
But by deduction.
By aligning every fragment of knowledge he has gained.
Within the Ether Lake, subtle ripples form.
A new Principle begins to stabilise.
Approaching completion.
Approaching the threshold of becoming a Minor Path.
While Kaelan is immersed in this process,
Far away.
Dai Quan leads the second batch toward him.
Behind him stretched long trains of sealed coaches, each filled with captured plants and animals, carefully contained for Kaelan's use.
The land they pass through is harsh.
Broken.
Scarred by the transformation of the world.
As they move through a narrow valley, Dai Quan suddenly raises his hand.
The convoy halts instantly.
Ahead,
The exit is blocked.
Figures stand motionless in the distance.
Then,
They move.
Ruin Monsters.
They are unnatural beings, born from the restructuring of the world's energy into magic energy.
Humanoid in form, yet entirely mechanical.
Their bodies are composed of metal, shaped into crude but functional structures, with visible joints and layered plating that clinks faintly as they move.
Within their torsos, exposed gaps reveal complex systems of rotating gears, constantly turning, grinding, driving their movements with mechanical precision.
At their cores,
A glowing mana core.
Pulsing.
Powering them.
Their eyes emit dim, artificial light.
Cold.
Unfeeling.
Most of them are not strong.
Only a few among them reach the Second Stage.
But their number,
Is overwhelming.
He faces thousands of Ruin Monsters.
An endless mass of metal and motion.
At their forefront stands a larger figure.
A Second Stage Ruin Monster.
Its body is bulkier, its armour thicker, its core shining brighter than the rest.
It raises its arm.
The army responds instantly.
They attack.
From their arms, weapons unfold.
Open.
Charge.
Then fire.
Laser bullets flood the valley.
Round.
Spear-shaped.
Compressed bursts.
Each one glowing in different colours, red, blue, green, violet, tearing through the air in a storm of light and destruction.
They rain down toward Dai Quan and the convoy behind him.
Dai Quan does not move.
His expression remains calm.
He inhales softly.
Then channels his innate spell.
Siren Song.
A melody emerges.
Soft at first.
Then expanding.
Waves of sound ripple outward, visible distortions forming in the air as the song spreads across the battlefield.
The sound carries power.
Resonance.
Control.
The incoming laser bullets meet the sound waves,
And shatter.
One after another.
Exploding into fragments of fading light before they can reach their target.
The valley fills with echoes.
With music.
With destruction.
Dai Quan stands unmoved at the centre of it all, his voice steady, his power flowing outward as the battlefield begins to shift under the influence of his song.
The clash has begun.