Chapter 83: The Dreamshade Empire
In the core region of the Dreamshade Empire, deep within the Dreamshade Secret Realm...
Among the endless stretch of buildings stood a grand silver hall—more magnificent than even the palaces of many undying beings. Yet, only a World Lord resided here.
Even the sealed marquis and sealed kings living nearby harbored no resentment. This individual had earned her place through sheer strength. Among all the personal disciples of the Dreamshade Monarch, she was undisputedly the strongest at the World Lord stage.
And that included every personal disciple, past or present—be they Sealed Marquises, Sealed Kings, or even Venerables. None could match her strength when they were still World Lords.
If she were to break through to the undying realm, she'd likely soar straight into the upper echelons of Sealed Kings.
After all, the Sealed Marquis and Sealed King levels were tied directly to one's comprehension of higher laws. The deeper the comprehension at the moment of becoming undying, the higher one's starting strength.
Take Luo Feng for example: with extremely high law comprehension, his breakthrough made him a peak-level Sealed King with a strength of 100,000x that of a normal World Lord.
His Earthling true body, with its 3,000x gene level, meant a total power of 300 million times that of a World Lord—three times that of a powerful Venerable.
Back to the current story.
Many undying beings were puzzled as to why this exceptionally gifted World Lord hadn't advanced to the undying level yet.
Just then, a charming fox woman burst into the hall, yelling excitedly:
"Senior sister! Senior sister! Quick, look at the Genius Battle—someone's using Beast God's Hand!"
Ten Days After the Preliminary Round
Jiang Zhe was at home tutoring Lei Shen, helping him grasp the final step: sensing a trace of the origin laws.
The beginning was always the hardest—once Lei Shen crossed this hurdle, he could train and grow on his own.
Suddenly, an AI voice reported:
"Master, an envoy from a Universe Nation is here to visit."
Jiang Zhe handed over the thunder law comprehension tablet to Lei Shen and logged into the Virtual Universe.
In his villa courtyard, Jiang Zhe materialized—only to be greeted by a towering, intimidating figure. The natural aura emanating from the figure felt like Death himself had arrived.
A thick, bloody scent triggered primal fear.
Jiang Zhe's face paled, cold sweat beading on his forehead, and his body trembled slightly.
Despite the initial loss of composure, he quickly recovered and forced himself to look up, casting a determined glance at the two undying beings before bowing respectfully.
"My apologies for keeping you waiting, sirs."
His calmness under such intense will suppression impressed the two undying figures—especially the over-eight-meter-tall giant, who nodded in approval.
"Impressive willpower. Now I believe you can bring glory to the Qianwu Universe Nation."
"You flatter me, sir."
Realizing their massive size, Jiang Zhe gave up the idea of inviting them inside the villa. The two didn't seem to mind.
The armored giant turned to the three-meter-tall green-skinned beastman beside him:
"Kahe, take care of your business first. Be quick."
"Yes, General Thirteen. I'll need just three minutes."
The beastman bowed respectfully before turning to Jiang Zhe:
"Hello, Jiang Zhe. I'm Kahe, the planetary lord of Bize Star. I'm here to deliver your rewards."
Kahe quickly explained the reward package and handed over several documents before clapping Jiang Zhe on the shoulder and vanishing—too cautious to delay his monarch's business any longer.
"I'm 'Thirteen,' one of the Monarch's eighteen Divine Generals. I'll be leading the final stages of the Genius Battle."
"General Thirteen." Jiang Zhe bowed again.
The giant nodded and continued:
"The Monarch believes you'll definitely enter the top ten in the universal rankings—possibly even top two based on your comprehension of the time laws. However, he hopes you'll aim for first place."
"That's my goal too," Jiang Zhe replied with conviction.
"In the Noah Universe Nation, there's a formidable rival—he can split into over a thousand mirror images using his spatial law comprehension."
"I won't ask if you're confident."
"You still have four years to grow. The Monarch wants to know—do you need any support? As long as it's not too excessive, we can fulfill it."
Jiang Zhe hesitated briefly, then said:
"I'm concerned about my two brothers. They also passed the preliminaries."
"We belong to the fallen Yinmo Star lineage. Our master was a near-Sealed Marquis-level undying who has long since perished. I'm guaranteed a spot in the Virtual Universe Company, but I want to find backing for them."
"General Thirteen, forgive my boldness—could my two brothers possibly join the Qianwu Secret Realm? Even just as registered disciples would be enough."
Thirteen appreciated Jiang Zhe's loyalty and emotional bonds—a quality worth investing in. But he kept a stoic expression:
"What are their current levels?"
"One has sensed a trace of the light law; the other has reached the ninth level of thunder domain—just one step away from sensing laws. Though nominally I'm their senior brother, I've taken on the responsibilities of a teacher. Once I join the Virtual Universe Company, they'll be on their own."
"A minor matter," Thirteen said flatly. "I can make the decision now. Once they're eliminated from the ring battle, we'll send a ship to bring them to the Qianwu Secret Realm as registered disciples. But after a hundred years, there will be an evaluation. They'll either be promoted or removed. Rules are rules."
"Thank you, General Thirteen." Jiang Zhe bowed again.
"Now, what do you need for your own training?"
"I need a basic time-series secret technique. I've already finished studying all the ones in my inheritance. I want something that explains the 99 time-law intricacies."
"But... if that's asking too much, even something covering the middle-tier 27 intricacies would be more than enough for me to study over the next four years."
Thirteen's eyes narrowed as he studied Jiang Zhe more carefully. His tone grew solemn.
"Excellent. I didn't expect you to walk such a righteous path."
"Wait for the reply—I'll report this to the Monarch. Expect an answer in two to three days."
With that, Thirteen vanished.
Jiang Zhe sat for a while in the courtyard's pavilion, pondering his request.
The bare minimum would be something like the Bloody Drift Codex, worth around 800 points (800 mixed yuan units).
If Qianwu was generous, they might send something approaching the Essays on Space-Time, which had about 10% of a Chaos Monument's effects.
The first two volumes of Essays on Space-Time covered 36 intricacies — 20,000 mixed yuan units.
All three volumes covered 108 intricacies — 100,000 mixed yuan units.
Qianwu might be poor when it came to supreme treasures and clan contributions, but basic currency like mixed yuan units? That shouldn't be a problem.
Ever since acquiring the Candlelight clone, Jiang Zhe's time law comprehension had skyrocketed.
He had already fully grasped 9 intricacies and was now aiming for total mastery of them—this approach was ten times more effective than simply learning more laws but far harder.
At this point, he was ready to start learning the middle 27 intricacies, aiming for a well-rounded understanding and stronger overall power.
His rival, Bolan, already had over a thousand mirror images—that's near the fourth layer of Ten Thousand Threads Flow.
Luo Feng could summon hundreds of clones after mastering nine intricacies. After grasping 36 and understanding the third illustration in Rainstorm Diagram, he managed to reach the fourth layer.
Even the bridge guardian once said that Bolan would likely reach level nine of the Nine-Universe Sky Bridge within two hundred years.
Jiang Zhe had cultivated for 20 years now and was finally facing a true rival—his fighting spirit soared.
His plan: master the 9 intricacies completely, then begin understanding the middle 27.
Bolan focused on quantity—Jiang Zhe would follow Luo Feng's path and focus on quality.
The final showdown would be a gauntlet among the top five. He was ready.
Of course, this all depended on Qianwu's investment.
Otherwise, he'd have to resort to the Beast God Tablet and attempt to use the true Beast God's Hand.
The Hand of Destruction was just below the level of the Nine Divine Weapons of the Controllers.
The Beast God's Hand, at its peak, could rival Sealed Marquis-level undying powers.
But Jiang Zhe would rather win using "law comprehension" than "technique."
That Evening
Thirteen sent a message:
"Jiang Zhe, the Monarch has agreed. What type of time-based secret technique do you want?"
Jiang Zhe thought of his self-created spear moves—Three-Foot Lightning and Spear of Judgment—then responded:
"Preferably a finger art, spear art, or halberd technique."
(Controller-grade secret techniques require specific mind-force weapons and weren't suitable for him.)
"Very well. Don't let the Monarch down!"
The Next Morning
A staff member from the Virtual Universe Company came to Jiang Zhe's home.
After the usual warnings, they handed him a metallic travel case.
Just like before—back when he received the Beast God's Hand technique.
In his villa's underground training chamber (locked so even family couldn't enter), Jiang Zhe verified his identity using mental energy and opened the case.
Inside was a silver metal plate, engraved with 32 curved grooves like fingernail impressions forming a spiral—almost like a vortex.
Time law energy radiated from it, as if it were a black hole.
In that moment, space disappeared—only the concept of time remained. Sometimes rushing, sometimes frozen.
With a jolt, Jiang Zhe snapped back to consciousness, unable to suppress a smile.
Just that brief moment had propelled his understanding of time laws forward. It wasn't a hallucination—he was already flooded with inspiration.
This metal plate was similar to the law comprehension tablets but described 36 time intricacies—its grade higher than the Bloody Drift Codex, and even the tablets, though slightly inferior to the Essays on Space-Time.
Still, it showed Qianwu's sincerity.
Beneath the plate lay 108 manuals, not as Chaos Monument guides but rather pure spear techniques based on the 108 time law intricacies.
The Shadow Monarch Spear Codex!
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