The Primal Chaos City Lord's words immediately made Han Jue's heart tighten.
Earth... is it going to be exposed?
Earth's value was no less than that of a highly advanced cosmic civilization. Han Jue had expected Earth to be discovered eventually, but not this soon, not while he was still too weak to protect it properly.
Despite his apprehension, Han Jue maintained his composure and replied respectfully, "Yes, City Lord. Luo Feng and I do come from the same planet."
The Primal Chaos City Lord nodded thoughtfully, but said nothing more.
At this stage, Hong hadn't yet displayed the supremely powerful mental state that would draw attention in the canon timeline. While Han Jue and Luo Feng's mental states were also exceptionally strong, they remained within an acceptable range for talented individuals. Each genius had their own unique opportunities and fortuitous encounters, coming from the same planet didn't necessarily mean anything suspicious.
Han Jue breathed an internal sigh of relief.
Earth won't be fully exposed until I've demonstrated sufficient talent and possess the strength to protect it, he thought grimly. Revealing its secrets now would be far too early and would disrupt too many of my carefully laid plans.
But before Han Jue could feel too relieved, the Primal Chaos City Lord continued speaking, his tone gentle but carrying an undertone of absolute authority.
"I will be visiting your home planet personally."
!!!
Seeing the shock flash across Han Jue's face, the Primal Chaos City Lord spoke in a reassuring tone, "You may not be aware, but the powerful consciousness you encountered in the Primal Chaos Ruins... is a being even greater than myself. Therefore, I must personally investigate how you were able to attract that consciousness's attention."
He waved his hand dismissively, clearly ending the conversation. "Now, go back and choose a Chaos Monument to study. Don't worry, I'll compensate you for the observation time you've lost today."
With another casual wave of his hand, the Primal Chaos City Lord's power gently escorted Han Jue out of the Primal Chaos Ruins.
Han Jue materialized back in the corridor outside, blinking at the sudden change of scenery.
Shaking his head helplessly, he couldn't help but think, So Earth is about to be exposed after all.
However, it wasn't entirely catastrophic.
The discovery would come from the Primal Chaos City Lord himself, one of humanity's five pillars and a being who genuinely cared about the human race's future. If Earth had to be discovered, better by him than by hostile forces or greedy opportunists.
Next, I must focus entirely on my cultivation and rapidly improve my strength, Han Jue resolved, his eyes gleaming with determination. Once I'm powerful enough, I'll regain complete control over Earth and protect it properly.
Not far down the corridor, Bolan had been watching with barely concealed curiosity. When he saw Han Jue emerge, he breathed a visible sigh of relief and decisively turned toward one of the secret chambers.
He had made his choice: the Nine Universe Chaos Monument, the profound tablet that studied both the Law of Space and the Law of Time concurrently, considered one of the most difficult paths but offering the greatest potential.
Han Jue, after careful consideration, ultimately chose the Ice Peak Chaos Monument.
Besides the Nine Universe Chaos Monument and the Ice Peak Chaos Monument, two tablets Han Jue had long considered suitable for his path, there was also the Mother Ancestral Chaos Monument, which had aroused slight interest in him during his review.
Unfortunately, the Mother Ancestral tablet was based on the fundamental principles of water and wood fusion, making it far less compatible with Han Jue's Six Eyes abilities than his top two choices. While interesting, it simply wasn't the optimal path for him.
After selecting his Chaos Monument, the black-robed reception envoy methodically rattled off the names of all fifty-two Chaos Monuments, indicating which ones were currently being comprehended by other geniuses.
The Ice Peak Chaos Monument was among those currently in use.
After exchanging brief farewells with Luo Feng and the other geniuses, Han Jue followed the reception envoy and several other Ice Peak Monument practitioners toward their designated secret chamber.
In the Ice and Snow Temple
"Teacher, Han Jue has chosen the Ice Peak Chaos Monument."
The Silver Moon King materialized within the vast, crystalline Ice and Snow Temple, his voice carrying a note of satisfaction.
On the magnificent ice throne, a breathtakingly beautiful woman smiled, her features partially obscured by swirling frost and ethereal light. This was the Lord of Ice Peak, one of the universe's most powerful beings.
"Excellent, excellent! Very good!" The Lord of Ice Peak's melodious voice rang with genuine pleasure. "Now we'll simply wait for him to cross the Tongtian Bridge for the first time. I wonder how many levels he'll reach on that first attempt?"
The Silver Moon King lowered his head respectfully, lost in his own contemplations about the extraordinary genius who had just become their junior disciple.
Within the Secret Training Chamber
Following the other geniuses who had also selected the Ice Peak Chaos Monument, Han Jue entered the massive secret training chamber.
The moment he stepped through the threshold, he was immediately captivated by the monument before him.
The Ice Peak Chaos Monument stood one hundred meters tall and nearly as wide, its surface covered in intricate carvings that seemed to contain infinite mysteries. It depicted a total of nine distinct images, each more profound than the last.
The monument represented a unique cultivation path, one that integrated the fundamental laws, similar to the Beast God's Way, yet ultimately diverging onto its own distinct trajectory. The Lord of Ice Peak had pioneered a novel approach based on fusing the Origin Law of Water and the Origin Law of Space, different from the traditional Beast God path. In the end, the Lord of Ice Peak had achieved Universe Master status through mastery of the two fundamental origin laws of time and space, but with water and space as the foundation.
Of course, if Han Jue ever wanted to switch to following the traditional Beast God's Way more closely, he could adjust his path midway through his cultivation.
The first three images depicted a vast white snowfield. A dark silhouette with bare hands demonstrated three different combat stances, each seemingly simple yet containing profound truths.
The middle three images showed a dark starry sky. A white-robed figure wielded three different weapons, a blade, a sword, and a spear, each displaying a different offensive technique that made space itself seem to tremble.
The final three images were even more enigmatic.
The seventh image featured only empty void, marked by a single deep, sharp slash resembling the ultimate expression of blade technique.
The eighth image, also depicting empty void, bore only a fist mark at its very center, the pinnacle of close combat martial arts.
The ninth image appeared as blank space, yet upon closer inspection, it seemed composed of countless tiny white snowflakes, each one containing unfathomable mysteries.
The Lord of Ice Peak excelled supremely in close combat, a master of both armed and unarmed fighting techniques!
Upon seeing the first image, the 'Punch Diagram', Han Jue's entire consciousness was instantly absorbed into its depths.
That seemingly ordinary punch appeared to contain an endless understanding of natural law principles, a perfect harmony between water and space that existed in sublime balance.
Han Jue, possessing the innate secret technique [Observation] granted by his Six Eyes bloodline, could directly perceive the essence of the two fundamental laws within the image. They seemed independent of each other, yet somehow complemented and enhanced each other in ways that defied conventional understanding.
The first three images, while not yet depicting the complete path to law fusion, already surpassed the depths achievable by focusing on a single fundamental law alone.
Han Jue absorbed the profound meanings contained within, accelerating his own comprehension. He wasn't cultivating solely for himself, his growing power would eventually protect Earth and everyone he cared about.
Seven days passed in what felt like mere moments, precious time that vanished far too quickly.
Outside Earth
A figure clad in resplendent golden robes stood tall in the starry void beyond Earth's atmosphere. His head was covered in cyan-colored scales, and his face resembled an Earthling's, though his eyes contained the depth of endless cosmic space.
This was the Primal Chaos City Lord's true body, one of humanity's greatest protectors.
He was currently performing a time-reversal technique on the planet below, observing echoes of the past. Ghostly reflections of temporal energy flickered before his eyes, revealing scenes from Han Jue's childhood: his warrior trials, the inheritance he'd received from the Lord of the Ice Wasteland Realm...
These past experiences unfolded chronologically, yet they seemed frustratingly mundane.
The Primal Chaos City Lord frowned slightly.
The Six Eyes bloodline, that incredibly rare and powerful mutation, hadn't appeared anywhere in the time-reversal images he was observing. If the Primordial Universe's consciousness had deliberately concealed certain events, even he would be unable to detect them through conventional means. He also couldn't determine precisely when Han Jue had acquired that phenomenal peak bloodline.
Something isn't adding up, he thought, his cosmic-level perception detecting subtle inconsistencies.
Suddenly, the Primal Chaos City Lord sensed something profoundly unusual about the planet itself.
There's something odd about this world...
Attempting to rewind time even further back, he found himself blocked, stopped by a far more powerful force that had been deliberately woven into Earth's very fabric.
His expression changed dramatically.
"Great Axe, you may need to return here immediately..." he transmitted mentally to the Huge Axe Creator, humanity's strongest True God. "This involves the work of one of the most powerful beings in the universe!"
After receiving a positive response confirming that the Huge Axe Creator would investigate personally, the Primal Chaos City Lord breathed a cautious sigh of relief. He then began carefully surveying Earth with his full cosmic perception, cataloging every detail about this mysterious planet that had produced multiple exceptional geniuses.
Back in the Training Chamber
Han Jue remained completely unaware of the momentous events unfolding on his distant homeworld.
At this moment, he had progressed to comprehending the third diagram of the Ice Peak Chaos Monument, his consciousness fully immersed in understanding its profound mysteries.
He had spent approximately one day studying each of the first two diagrams, combining their teachings with his own understanding and insights into the fundamental laws. Through this synthesis, Han Jue had substantially refined and deepened his comprehension.
The third diagram of the Ice Peak Chaos Monument contained all seventy-two fundamental essences of the Origin Law of Water, as well as the first seventy-two essences of the Origin Law of Space, a staggering amount of knowledge compressed into a single image.
Of course, even with complete understanding of this third diagram, practitioners would still have considerable distance to travel before achieving mastery of the complete Origin Law of Water. The monument was structured progressively: the first diagram covered only the first nine essences, while the second covered the first thirty-six.
Currently, Han Jue's understanding of the Origin Law of Water had reached the level of the thirty-seventh essence, while his mastery of the Origin Law of Space had achieved the remarkable forty-ninth essence!
In just three years since the Genius Battle concluded, Han Jue's strength had already surpassed his performance during that competition by a considerable margin.
After breaking through to Universe Level, the power of his innate secret technique [Analysis] had become even more pronounced and effective, accelerating his comprehension to frightening speeds.
This terrifying level of understanding regarding the Origin Law of Space, reaching the forty-ninth essence, represented comprehension that most World Masters couldn't achieve even after countless millennia of study. The veteran core members of the Primal Secret Realm who remained at Universe Level typically possessed this approximate level of law comprehension.
And by the time Primal Chaos City's thirty-year training period concludes, Han Jue thought with quiet confidence, I'll have become even stronger than this baseline!
"COME OUT!"
A thunderous voice suddenly flooded everyone's mind, reverberating through their consciousness.
"COME OUT!"
"COME OUT!"
The command echoed repeatedly in their minds, growing progressively louder, instantly jolting every genius from their deep meditation. The resonating mental roar caused Han Jue to instinctively clutch his head as the overwhelming psychic pressure washed over him.
Opening his eyes, Han Jue's consciousness snapped back to reality. He immediately departed the secret training chamber, following the mental summons.
Just one step away from grasping the fiftieth essence of the Origin Law of Space! he thought with mild regret.
Still, seven days of comprehension had been extraordinarily productive. Shaking off his momentary disappointment, Han Jue stepped out into the corridor to discover what had prompted such an urgent summons from the city's guardians.