Swallowing the Stars: Level 1, One Talent, Invincible Chaos Origin

Chapter 123, "A Chronicle of Time"

Deep within Jiang Ming's consciousness, the vast scene of the Chaos City Lord unfolding the mysteries of time was like an epic scroll that never ends, playing out again and again.

The profound trajectory of the laws of time, its almost primordial flow and stillness, is deeply imprinted in his soul. Each replay brings new excitement and enlightenment.

"My teacher has already pointed out the key to understanding the laws of time for me."

In that case, let's exchange for the "Chronicle of Time."

With a thought, a massive amount of points were deducted from Jiang Ming's account.

Even Jiang Ming felt heartbroken seeing the massive amount of points deducted.

"This book, 'The Chronicle of Time,' actually costs me 238 billion points, and that's after a 30% discount."

If you buy it at the original price, you'll get 340 billion points, that's really expensive!

Jiang Ming's points came easily, as they were all directly given to him by the human race. He earned very few points through his own efforts.

If it comes easily, you won't feel so bad about spending it.

But this loss of 238 billion points directly halved his current net worth. (He had previously redeemed a batch of treasures.)
It still pained him deeply.

Soon, members of the Virtual Universe Company delivered the goods to his door, and Jiang Ming went to take them.

Even in the virtual universe, the delivery process still needs to be followed, but it is much more convenient than the actual handover.

Before long, dozens of boxes of books in black metal containers were delivered to Jiang Ming.

Jiang Ming opened a box, and the books inside were the same style as the general outline that Jiang Ming had previously purchased.

The books are all about 1.5 meters in size and about 70 centimeters thick, with nearly 30000 pages of secret manuals.

The book contains 36 volumes, including the general outline.

The book cover bears the words "A Pictorial Record of Time," and the signature in the corner is "Xu Jin."

"The 'Lord of Virtual Gold' is said to have an extremely profound understanding of the Dao of Time and Space, even among the many Lords of the Universe."

Jiang Ming's access level allows him to view some basic information about the universe masters, and he has a slight understanding of the universe masters among the human race.

However, most of this understanding only extends to a name, the five major forces to which it belongs, and the disciples under its command.

There is no more in-depth information available.

As Jiang Ming read through the book, his understanding of the secret techniques deepened.

As Jiang Ming pondered the mystery, time flew by, and three months passed in the blink of an eye.

The spaceship that escorted Jiang Ming also returned to the original secret realm 'Wuchen Time and Space'.

In the virtual universe, in the primitive area of ​​Yuxiang Mountain, in Jiang Ming's manor training ground.

Inside the spacious training ground, large enough to withstand a planetary collision, a torrential downpour was being simulated.

Large raindrops pelted down, splashing water everywhere and creating a deafening roar.

Jiang Ming hovered with his eyes closed in the center of the downpour, yet strangely, his body remained dry.

An invisible force field isolated the rain and the noise from the outside world.

He slowly raised his right hand, his five fingers spread, facing the pouring rain in front of him.

There were no earth-shattering energy fluctuations, only an extremely subtle, almost imperceptible ripple of law, quietly spreading out from the center of his palm.

"Congeal."

With a slight thought, the power of the law was precisely applied to a small area in front of the palm.

The miracle happened!
In that area, within a space of approximately ten thousand square meters, all the falling raindrops suddenly froze!
They were no longer blurry rain streaks, but clearly suspended in mid-air, each droplet retaining the shape of the instant pulled by gravity, crystal clear and motionless. It was as if time had been completely frozen in this small area.

This frozen curtain of rain formed an extremely eerie and stark contrast with the torrential downpour that continued to fall around it.

He flicked his fingers slightly, experimenting with different movements.

"disease!"

This time, the power of the laws became sharp and swift.

The raindrops in that area suddenly started falling at an astonishing speed!

They no longer "drip down," but instead transformed into a blurry, downward-shooting white vapor!

The speed was so fast that the naked eye could not capture a single water droplet; all that could be seen was a wildly elongated, whistling white ribbon descending!
Time in this area has been accelerated at an alarming rate!

"The 'Time Record' has three major methods: 'freezing,' 'speed,' and 'slowing,' which correspond to the freezing, acceleration, and deceleration of time, respectively."

I have now mastered the basics of 'Condensation' and 'Speed' and can now use them successfully.

"The 'slowdown' is almost catching up."

Jiang Ming felt the rhythm of the laws flowing through his fingertips and comprehended the changes of time.

"It's time to prepare to break through to the Domain Lord level."

For Jiang Ming, breaking through realms presents him with no bottleneck whatsoever. If he wanted to, he could become a realm master and achieve immortality in a very short time.

The reason he stays at each level is to constantly hone his will so that he can acquire better talents when breaking through to a higher level.

"The effects of the trials of life are no longer of much use to me. There is no need to rely on the flow of time to let my life slip away until it is almost over."

Between life and death lies both great crisis and great opportunity.

"Ending one's lifespan through trials and tribulations" means using the acceleration of time to compress one's lifespan to its limit, constantly living under the shadow of death, where "the next second will be the end of one's life."

There are great horrors and great opportunities between life and death.

This constant pressure, pushing us ever closer to the limits of death, was once an excellent crucible for tempering our will and unleashing our potential.

"Ancient people on Earth practiced martial arts on cliffs in an attempt to 'steal the secrets of heaven,' to live by facing death, and to steal the potential of life."

Jiang Ming opened his palm, and the power of the law of time flowed in his hand.

"But as time goes on, my fear of death is gradually decreasing."

Time is the most terrifying and the greatest force in the universe.

It is silent and insidious, yet powerful enough to flatten stars, corrode divine metal, cool boiling blood, and fade deep-seated hatred...

Even the deep fear of the ultimate question of "death" will, over a sufficiently long period of time, become like the rocks on the shore, their sharp edges gradually smoothed out, eventually becoming rounded and numb.

Which of the true pinnacle powerhouses in the universe didn't crawl out of mountains of corpses and seas of blood, enduring countless tribulations?
For them, death is no longer the end, but rather an option that requires weighing the pros and cons.

Worth it? Or not? That's all.

"Without the fear of death, the approach of old age has almost no effect on tempering my will."

"However, tempering one's will is never limited to 'fear' alone."

The fading of 'fear' is a sign of strong will, but it also means that this method has come to an end.

Jiang Ming realized that as his will grew stronger, the methods to continue refining it would become increasingly rare and difficult, like panning for gold in the sand.

This is the only way to reach the summit.

(End of this chapter)