Chapter 132: Authorization, Trials (3rd Installment)

The meeting of the four Lords of the Universe seemed to yield no tangible results. Yet, invisibly, the number of eyes fixed upon Jiang Chen increased significantly.

There are no secrets among the upper echelons of the race. Once the Lord of Darkness, the Lord of Long Xing, and the Lord of Huang Jian learned of Jiang Chen’s uniqueness, it was not long before the other Lords of the Universe also became aware that an extremely special "little fellow" had emerged among this generation of geniuses.

However, the Lords of the Universe of the human race reached a tacit agreement to keep this secret confined to their own level, preventing it from spreading downward. After some deliberation, none of them took the initiative to accept Jiang Chen as a disciple, choosing instead to wait and observe his performance.

These shifts in the upper echelons had little impact on Jiang Chen. Even after his meeting with the monitor Bafen, Jiang Chen quickly pushed the matter to the back of his mind, focusing entirely on his research and self-improvement, indifferent to outside news.

However, Jiang Chen’s concentration did not last long. Soon, an email from the Virtual Universe system disrupted his "peaceful" life.

"If you wish to master all knowledge and truth in the world, you must demonstrate corresponding talent. The greater the talent you display, the more resources the Virtual Universe Company will invest in you to help you elevate your strength more rapidly."

"Effective immediately, the points obtained by your three avatars are interoperable, and any avatar may redeem treasures from the treasury at a fifty percent discount."

"Upon clearing the Heavenly Bridge, the insights gained are no longer limited to your previously selected Chaos Stele; you may now contemplate any Chaos Stele."

"You may challenge the corresponding Heavenly Bridges for all Chaos Steles you have already selected to earn additional rewards."

"All your records from clearing the Heavenly Bridge, the Mirage Sea, the Immortal Altar, and so on, are classified as race-level secrets and will not be leaked."

"You need not conceal your talent; feel free to display it."

"This authorization remains valid until you conclude this period of cultivation in Chaos City and depart from the Initial Universe."

"After your cultivation in Chaos City ends, your future treatment will be determined based on your performance during this period."

"The higher the talent you demonstrate, the greater the treatment you will receive in the future."

"—City Lord of Chaos."

The email was not long, and its core message could be summarized in a single sentence: "Do not hide your talent; show it with confidence. The better you perform, the more you will gain in the future."

Furthermore, it granted Jiang Chen two highly special permissions.

First, the "points" earned by his three avatars were now shared, and they enjoyed a fifty-percent discount when redeeming resources from the treasury—a rate significantly better than the thirty-percent discount of the Primordial Secret Territory.

Second, the "number of opportunities to contemplate a Chaos Stele" that Jiang Chen possessed could now be used on any Chaos Stele, not just the three he had originally chosen. Moreover, as long as he selected a Chaos Stele, he could challenge its corresponding Heavenly Bridge to earn even more opportunities for contemplation.

As long as Jiang Chen had enough energy, he could contemplate all 52 Chaos Steles. Rewards such as points from clearing the Heavenly Bridges would also be settled normally. Of course, to prevent "point farming," the records of his three avatars for the Heavenly Bridge, Mirage Sea, and Immortal Altar were also shared, making it impossible to earn "triple points."

"A decent reward, indeed." A thought flashed through Jiang Chen’s mind.

Among the 52 Chaos Steles, not all were of value to him. The "Law-type" steles, for instance, held little worth. No matter how effective a Chaos Stele was at assisting in the comprehension of laws, it could not compare to his System Library. However, being able to challenge the corresponding Heavenly Bridge after just one session of contemplation to earn extra points and opportunities was quite beneficial.

As for the "Technique-type" steles, Jiang Chen knew he lacked the energy to study them all, so he would only select a few representative ones.

Conversely, the "Miscellaneous-type" steles were the most valuable to him. These niche schools of thought often involved complex, eclectic systems. Although most had low ceilings, they allowed Jiang Chen to draw inferences about other subjects. When he had first chosen his steles, he had wanted to select the "Mother Ancestor Chaos Stele," the "An Jue Chaos Stele," and the "Black Hole Chaos Stele," but ultimately settled for the "Heavenly Craft Chaos Stele" because it was more helpful. Now that he had the opportunity to study them, it was a welcome development.

"Among the 52 steles, there are 19 'Law-type' ones, corresponding to the ten origin laws, the eight beast god paths, and the 'Space-Time Path' that combines time and space. I only need to contemplate each of these 19 once to gain the right to challenge their corresponding Heavenly Bridges; there is no need to divide my attention to actually cultivate them."

"There are 24 'Technique-type' steles. I can include the four corresponding to blade techniques, soul illusions, illusionist martial arts, and mind-weapon control in my cultivation plan. As for others like sword techniques or axe techniques, there is no need to study them specifically—at least not during this stay in Chaos City."

"The remaining nine 'Miscellaneous-type' steles correspond to 'Technological Flow,' 'Pharmacist,' 'Formation Master,' 'Beast Tamer,' 'Treasure Refining Flow,' 'Exotic Energy,' 'Dark Universe,' 'Gene Enhancement,' and 'Secret Pattern Flow.' Apart from the 'Beast Tamer' system, which is useless to me, the other eight have significant value and can all be contemplated."

"However, to study so many steles and improve efficiency, I must redeem quite a few specializations. Each system requires at least one or two powerful specializations worth over five thousand points; otherwise, without talent, contemplation is useless."

"These specialization points are not easy to earn..." Jiang Chen felt a headache coming on.

In twenty years, simultaneously contemplating over a dozen steles while achieving results in all of them was no easy feat. If there were no time limit, Jiang Chen would be confident in slowly accumulating points to redeem powerful specializations; he could even master all 52 steles. But with only twenty years, and over a dozen steles, that left little more than a year for each. Given that he also needed to research blueprints to accumulate points, the time for each was even shorter.

"If I spend ten years specifically researching blueprints and redeeming specializations, optimistically, I could accumulate seventy to eighty thousand points, enough to redeem at least ten powerful talent-based specializations."

"Excluding the technology, blade techniques, and illusions I no longer need to spend points on, I can choose ten more steles to cultivate."

"Twelve types of steles, minus four... wait?"

"Eight steles! Redeeming eight powerful specializations will be enough!"

Jiang Chen calculated carefully and was surprised to find that his time was just barely sufficient.

"However, this means the completion of the 'Void Dragon Mecha' blueprint will have to be pushed back."

Jiang Chen pondered this. His original plan was to perfect the blueprint during his thirty years in Chaos City and then begin purchasing materials to build his mechanical legion the moment he reached the Primordial Secret Territory. Now, to contemplate more steles, he had to sacrifice the time meant for perfecting the mecha. He would even have to drastically reduce the time spent in the System Library, as the main body needed to participate in the contemplation to maximize efficiency.

More than a dozen steles—even if he only contemplated each ten times—would add up to over a hundred sessions, totaling more than eight hundred days. That alone would take up over two years. Furthermore, Jiang Chen did not believe that by clearing all 52 Heavenly Bridges, he would only earn a hundred or so contemplation opportunities. With the 19 Law-type bridges, he was confident he could reach at least the tenth level. That alone would yield nearly two hundred opportunities.

"Still, the opportunity to cultivate in Chaos City is rare; falling behind in other areas for a while is worth it."

"As for the Void Dragon Mecha, no one is forcing me to go on an adventure the moment I arrive at the Primordial Secret Territory. It will be fine to perfect it and build it slowly before I head out."

Jiang Chen made his decision. While he did not know why the City Lord of Chaos had given him this opportunity, he knew that if he did not seize it, he would surely regret it later. He would use this chance to elevate himself as much as possible.

"I still have some opportunities to contemplate steles. I’ll start by sweeping through the nineteen 'Law-type' steles, then head to the Heavenly Bridges to see how far I can go!"

Jiang Chen acted immediately, submitting his application through the virtual universe. The nineteen "Law-type" steles were always the most popular in Chaos City, but there were always some available. Jiang Chen was in luck—the "Nine Universes Chaos Stele" was currently unoccupied.

Even though he had received "special privileges," Jiang Chen was careful not to use his main body. Instead, he sent his "Uchiha Shisui" avatar into the City Lord’s mansion, arriving before the gates of the "Nine Universes Chaos Stele."

"Huh? Didn't you choose the 'Heart Trace Chaos Stele'? Are you at the wrong place?" Kanderi, the guardian of the steles, looked at him with surprise.

"Lord Kanderi, I have been granted the authority to contemplate the 'Nine Universes Chaos Stele'," Jiang Chen replied respectfully.

Kanderi checked the virtual universe and found that the feedback was exactly as Jiang Chen had claimed.

"It is rare to see someone switch their Chaos Stele," Kanderi remarked. After confirming, he didn't ask further and simply said, "The 'Nine Universes Chaos Stele' is currently unoccupied. You may enter."

In the history of the human race, there had been geniuses who chose the wrong stele and switched later, or peerless geniuses whose needs were not met by a single stele and thus studied several. Of course, regardless of the scenario, one needed a strong background. Without a truly powerful figure speaking up, the rules could not be changed. But if such a figure did intervene, these were mere trifles. Kanderi had guarded the steles for endless years and had seen this many times; there was nothing to be surprised about.

"Thank you, Lord Kanderi." Jiang Chen bowed and pushed open the bronze door to enter the chamber.

Inside, the towering Chaos Stele was wreathed in faint, swirling chaotic currents, with nine paintings arranged in order: the Raindrop Painting, the Star Painting, and the Exotic Beast Painting. Each painting contained different mysteries and artistic conceptions.

"Space Law..."

The moment Jiang Chen saw the first three paintings, he immediately understood the core of the "Nine Universes Chaos Stele." The first three, the "Raindrop Paintings," detailed 108 essences of the space law. Relying on the System Library, Jiang Chen had already mastered 36 of them.

"As expected, it is not as 'clear' as the System Library." Jiang Chen pondered the artistic conception in the paintings and curled his lip.

If laws were compared to mathematical theorems, the books in the System Library were like textbooks explaining the derivation process of the theorem through individual formulas. The paintings on the Chaos Stele, however, were like throwing out a series of "function graphs," requiring the observer to derive the formulas from the images themselves. The two were not on the same level of difficulty or efficiency.

Of course, without the existence of the Chaos Stele, the difficulty for cultivators in the universe to comprehend laws would be extravagantly high. Jiang Chen did not mean to belittle it, however. According to a book titled *Overview of Magic Mathematics*, once one could see the aesthetic beauty in a pile of seemingly irregular and complex numbers, it meant they were halfway to success on the path of Magic Mathematics. Being able to abstract complex and beautiful geometric patterns into numbers was the entry point into "Spatial Geometry."

The System Library’s analysis of laws approached things from the perspective of "Magic Mathematics," while the Chaos Stele approached them from the perspective of "Spatial Geometry." The two paths seemed different but were two sides of the same coin. The real difference was that the System Library had reached the pinnacle of "Magic Mathematics," while the creator of the Chaos Stele had not ventured quite as far down the path of "Spatial Geometry." In a way, it could be said to be at an introductory level, so its effectiveness naturally fell short of the System Library. If one could reach the pinnacle of this path, using "Spatial Geometry" to analyze laws, the efficiency would be no worse than the System Library.

Only then did Jiang Chen truly understand why the law-related books in the System Library had "prerequisites" in disciplines like Magic Mathematics, Plane Geometry, and Spatial Geometry. If one’s knowledge in these areas was not deep enough, not only would the efficiency of comprehending the laws drop significantly, but there was also a risk of going astray.