Han Jue wielded his sword with practiced precision, each strike carrying devastating force. Though he fought with a longsword rather than a broadsword, his technique remained formidable, every slash easily cleaving through the endless stream of enemies materializing around him.
These opponents varied in appearance, but their essence remained identical. Each construct consisted of countless microscopic holy flames compressed into physical form. When their bodies shattered, those tiny flames could be absorbed directly, restoring both consumed energy and mental power while simultaneously strengthening his physical body. It was remarkably efficient.
As the final enemy fell beneath Han Jue's blade, he exhaled slowly.
Success.
A stone pillar rose majestically from the platform's center as the last construct dissipated. Atop it rested what Han Jue had been pursuing relentlessly.
The Water-Sky Origin Flame, an Origin Fire Seed.
With this treasure, Han Jue could continuously produce Holy Flame at a certain cost, effectively granting him combat power equivalent to a peak World Master. Combined with the Mukong Origin Flame he'd acquired previously, the synergy between two different Holy Flames would amplify their effect significantly. Together, these two flames could unleash quadruple the power of a standard World Master attack.
More importantly, the Origin Flames aided his comprehension of Fusion Laws, the mysterious principles governing how different fundamental forces intertwined at their deepest levels.
Han Jue carefully absorbed the Origin Flame, enduring the excruciating pain as his body burned at the cellular level. His willpower, tempered through countless trials, rivaled that of many Immortals, though his consciousness cultivation still required refinement.
After securing the Origin Flame within his body, Han Jue glanced toward the stairway leading to the fourth level, then resolutely chose to depart.
Having passed the third level of one Sacred Pillar Trial, he could now select a different pillar to challenge. However, the rules were unforgiving, if he failed the first level of his newly chosen pillar, he would be trapped there, unable to return to complete his previous progress.
But this posed no concern for Han Jue.
Perhaps pushing forward might offer a slim chance to clear the fourth or even fifth level of the Water-Sky Sacred Pillar, but there would be no meaningful benefit. His time in the Seven Flames Palace was limited. What purpose would struggling through higher levels serve when he could instead broaden his foundation?
Far better to attempt gathering Origin Fire Seeds from the other Sacred Pillars.
If the Void Emperor's claims held true, that combining all seven Holy Flames could unleash one hundred twenty-eight times the power of a peak World Master, then Han Jue would gain an incredible trump card. He could even consider selling excess Holy Flames to others, though that seemed wasteful given their potential.
Furthermore, Han Jue harbored a deeper suspicion.
When he'd first broken through to the Planetary level, after consuming the Sky-End Ice Crystal Fruit gifted by Rimuru, his Six Eyes had gained the ability to observe the Water Origin Law's fundamental operation. The enhancement had been profound and unexpected.
So what if he gathered Origin Fire Seeds of different elemental properties before breaking through to the Domain Lord level? Would he gain corresponding Law Talent for each element?
If this theory proved correct, Han Jue aspired to achieve recognition from all ten Origin Laws by the time he reached the World Master level. Such comprehensive attunement would prove invaluable for comprehending laws after his eventual Immortal breakthrough.
After all, recognition by the Origin Laws granted access to the Lands of Origin, mystical spaces where law comprehension accelerated dramatically. Ordinary Immortals comprehended laws at speeds far inferior to talented World Masters who possessed such access.
His next target was clear: the Golden Void Sacred Pillar.
"His Highness truly possesses... remarkable ambition," several Holy Spirits remarked, their voices tinged with admiration and disbelief.
Even they, beings who'd existed for countless ages, had never attempted such an audacious Sacred Pillar Trial approach.
For cultivators of their strength, obtaining other Origin Flames proved relatively straightforward, they simply harvested them from deceased City Lords' bodies. Over innumerable years, they'd accumulated all seven varieties. These Origin Flames could serve as permanent Holy Flames, granting sustained power boosts, or be completely consumed in a single devastating burst releasing tenfold the power of a peak World Master.
Theoretically, gathering and simultaneously detonating all seven Origin Flames could unleash power twelve hundred eighty times that of a standard World Master, equivalent to a low-ranking Immortal Marquis's full strength.
The Void Emperor's dream of gathering the seven sacred flames to slay gods remained purely fantastical. However, if Han Jue collected all seven primordial flames and burned them simultaneously, he could genuinely injure these Holy Spirit guardians.
Of course, injure was the operative word.
Immortal Marquises possessed true Immortal bodies. Simply unleashing equivalent power couldn't kill beings capable of regenerating from near-total destruction.
"Do you believe he'll succeed?" the Enlightened Saint asked, genuine curiosity coloring his tone.
"He cultivates Water and Void Laws, yet comes to challenge my Golden Void Sacred Pillar? Hmph!" The Split Sky Saint, guardian of the Golden Void Holy Flame, regarded Han Jue with undisguised disdain. "I doubt he'll even survive the first level."
The others showed no surprise at this assessment. Han Jue's choice did constitute a subtle provocation.
No ordinary challenger dared attempt two different Sacred Pillars. Only those with exceptional talent, and explicit permission from their supervising Holy Spirit, could switch pillars after initial success. Anyone else attempting such audacity would have been eliminated long ago.
But Han Jue represented the Virtual Universe Company's royalty. Unless he suffered a complete mental breakdown and attacked first, they couldn't normally harm such high-ranking officials. The Flame Phoenix King had repeatedly emphasized this restriction, and they'd internalized it thoroughly.
"I believe he'll pass the first level," Holy Spirit Lin Mu stated calmly after careful analysis. "However, obtaining the Origin Fire Seed seems highly improbable."
The first level remained relatively manageable for someone of Han Jue's caliber.
She privately hoped Han Jue would recognize his limitations and return to the Water-Sky Sacred Pillar rather than stubbornly challenging incompatible elements.
"We'll observe and see," the Split Sky Holy Spirit replied coldly, returning to the sixth level of his pillar to continue cultivation.
The others watched silently. With little else occupying their attention, they might as well witness how far this ambitious prince could progress.
After investing three months in the Original Universe's timeflow, Han Jue successfully completed the third level of the Golden Void Sacred Pillar and obtained the Golden Void Origin Flame.
This achievement prompted an exclamation of genuine surprise from the Split Sky Saint, and the way he regarded Han Jue grew increasingly complex and bewildered.
After conquering the Golden Void Sacred Pillar's third level, Han Jue's next target became the Earth Void Sacred Pillar.
Nearly half a year of dedicated effort culminated in Han Jue passing the Earth Void Sacred Pillar's third level and obtaining the Earth Void Origin Flame.
Combined with the Wood Void Origin Flame he'd claimed from Du Lanlian's corpse earlier, Han Jue now possessed all four holy flames related to spatial laws, Water-Sky, Golden Void, Earth Void, and Wood Void.
The subsequent challenges would prove considerably more difficult.
First, the Wind-Time Sacred Pillar awaited.
After investing twelve years of Original Universe time, Han Jue finally passed the Wind-Time Sacred Pillar's third level and obtained the Wind-Time Origin Flame.
This extended duration primarily stemmed from Han Jue dedicating substantial periods to comprehending the fundamentals of Time Law, a notoriously difficult domain that resisted intuitive understanding. His Six Eyes provided advantages in observing temporal flow patterns, but translating observation into actionable comprehension required painstaking effort.
Eventually, Han Jue resorted to calculated brute force, leveraging his accumulated understanding alongside overwhelming power to muscle through the remaining challenges.
Next came the Thunder-Time Sacred Pillar.
After ten additional years, he conquered the Thunder-Time Sacred Pillar's trials.
The Dust Moon Holy Spirit, guardian of this particular pillar, personally awakened from deep cultivation to observe Han Jue's challenge attempt. The achievement had become significant enough to warrant direct attention from previously indifferent observers.
Only one remained: the Light Sacred Pillar, representing the pure fundamental law of light, unalloyed with spatial or temporal elements.