Swallowing the Stars: Starting with the Battle of Geniuses.

Chapter 85 Comprehending the Laws of Time (Bonus Chapter)

Looking at the respectful expression of Hunzhen, the Nine Swords Venerable felt a little helpless.

If Aisa hadn't been uncooperative, why would he have had to personally intervene?

No matter what, Aisha was Hunzhen's teacher for three years, and Hunzhen himself chose him and went to great lengths to invite him to come out of seclusion.

Even though Jiu Jian is Hun Zhen's future superior, the difference in their relationship cannot be compared.

When it comes to persuasion, it's naturally more effective to have someone you're close to do it. If a superior tries to persuade a subordinate about a "personal" matter, the subordinate may appear to agree sincerely on the surface, but they may not necessarily accept it in their heart.

He couldn't help but recall Aisha's mocking gaze and didactic remarks.

"Was I trying to forcibly control the paths of these younger generations?"

Nine Swords Venerable was speechless.

Which of these old guys doesn't hope for the future of the younger generation?

Having witnessed the rise and fall of countless geniuses, they are naturally able to judge the errors of their successors from a higher perspective and advise them in advance before they go astray.

They are all so devoted because they hope that their descendants can grow up smoothly into the pillars of the human race.

From the perspective of the Nine Swords Venerable, so what if Hunzhen's time talent is indeed a level higher than his space talent?

Unlike Bolan, whose talent for time is clearly lacking and whose chances of becoming a Space Venerable are not even guaranteed. (According to the evaluation in the original eight chapters and eleven sections, the probability of Bolan becoming the ruler of a universe is one in ten million. This is not to say that he is truly one in ten million, but simply the objective opinion of a universe venerable.)

With the talent that Hunzhen has shown at this stage, if he takes the path of combining time and space, he will at most achieve immortality a little later, but he has a higher chance of becoming the master of the universe!

Those were the true pinnacle of human power!

What about taking the path of focusing on time? Perhaps the probability of becoming a Venerable One is slightly higher, but the probability of becoming the Lord of the Universe will be greatly reduced!

Since we've already embarked on the right path, why choose a path fraught with unknown risks?

"Bolan and this Dream Marquis are both arrogant. None of them listen to advice."

Now we can only hope that Hunzhen won't be this type...

However, considering that most geniuses are unique individuals, the Nine Swords Venerable also felt a headache coming on.

Hunzhen had no idea that asking just one question would trigger so many thoughts in the Nine Swords Venerable's mind.

He paused, then asked, "Venerable One, I've been focusing on cultivation lately; I shouldn't have violated any of the rules of Chaos City, right?"

Hunzhen did indeed have some doubts.

The fact that the Nine Swords Venerable came to visit was indeed described in the simulation record, but only briefly.

The time spent in Chaos City was mostly spent on tedious cultivation, and the rare "interesting events" were not described in detail, proving that this matter did not leave a deep impression on the Sims.

"So it shouldn't be a big deal."

Make a judgment from the heart.

He has even less reason to care about things that even the Sims don't care about.

"That's not it."

Seeing that Hunzhen showed no awareness whatsoever, the Nine Swords Venerable abandoned his subtle probing and spoke directly: "You have already proven your talent in spacetime through the Genius Battle, so why are you no longer pursuing a combination of spacetime and time, but instead focusing on time itself?"

The Nine Swords Venerable paused, staring intently at Hunzhen, and added, "If you wanted to specialize in time, you could have chosen other Chaos Monuments. Since you chose the Cosmic Chaos Monument, why did you abandon the Spatial Path?"

Oh, so that's what it was about.

Hunzhen blinked.

Unexpectedly, someone of such high status would step forward to persuade him regarding his path of law.

Recalling the original text, Hunzhen couldn't help but sigh, "So this is how Berlan was treated!"

The Nine Swords Venerable's lips twitched.

With his keen senses, he still noticed the fleeting smile on Hunzhen's face.

This guy won't get cocky just because I lowered myself to try and persuade him, will he?

Even with the Nine Swords Venerable's experience, he was greatly shocked at this moment!

Since becoming immortal, I haven't encountered such an outrageous guy!

"Cough cough."

Hunzhen realized that his expression probably hadn't escaped the Nine Swords Venerable's notice, and even with Hunzhen's thick skin, he felt embarrassed for a moment.

Quickly composing himself, Hunzhen replied, "Venerable One, I have not abandoned the path of combining space and time."

The Nine Swords Venerable stared at Hunzhen, waiting for Hunzhen's detailed explanation.

"However, compared to my talent in time, my talent in space is insignificant. Therefore, I plan to focus on the path of time to become a realm lord first, and then supplement my studies with the path of space."

Upon hearing this opening, the Nine Swords Venerable's gaze deepened.

Worthless? You won the Genius Battle Championship with your worthless spatial talent? What are the others supposed to think? Should I announce this hilarious news to everyone now and make them all want to die of embarrassment?

Hunzhen, oblivious to the meaningful look in the eyes of the Nine Swords Venerable, continued to explain.

"During the Genius Battle, I barely cultivated the Law of Time, yet its progress was roughly the same as the Law of Space. So..."

The final syllable of "so" was interrupted before it could finish.

"You said you didn't really cultivate the Law of Time much during the Genius Battle? And yet you still managed to master the Law of Time and the Law of Space at the same time?"

The Nine Swords Venerable's eyes suddenly turned dangerous, and he asked in a calm tone, "So, you're not using your outstanding talent for time, but instead trying to comprehend the spatial laws, which are more difficult for you. What are you thinking? Are you completely indifferent to the rewards of the Genius Battle? Oh, I'm not interrogating you. It's just that I'm quite curious, really."

The muscular man broke out in a sweat in an instant.

Even though the Nine Swords Venerable had a gentle smile on his face, Hunzhen's intuition told him that if he believed the other party's gentle pretense, he would be a fool!

but……

"Am I supposed to tell you that there's nothing I can do if the simulated humans don't obey and don't cultivate the laws of time?"

Hun Zhen silently muttered a complaint to himself, gave an awkward laugh, and said, "Well, I've been studying the laws of space for a while now, so I'm a little attached to them and reluctant to give them up, or maybe my mind just just hasn't quite caught up yet?"

Looking at the Nine Swords Venerable who maintained his smile, Hunzhen felt a chill run down his spine for no apparent reason.

"Alright."

The Nine Swords Venerable finally suppressed his smile, sighed, and said, "If your time talent is truly as high as you say, then your spatial talent is indeed far inferior."

The Nine Swords Venerable's expression was solemn: "Based on your own description of your time-related talent, even in the history of the human race, you would be among the very best. You are almost certain to become a Time Venerable, on par with me in the future. Of course, this is assuming you are not lying. But... for your future, I must say one more thing."

"The combination of spacetime and time is a direct path to becoming a Universe Master. A Universe Master is a realm even higher than a Venerable, the true pinnacle of humankind! By focusing on the path of time, you're forgoing the high potential advantage of spacetime combination. With your spatial talent, even after becoming a Time Venerable, there's a 10% chance you could become a Universe Master by studying spatial laws. Your spatial talent is also considerable. If you persist on the path of spacetime combination, even if your progress is slightly slower in the early stages… once you've mastered spacetime combination, becoming a Universe Master is practically a certainty!"

The Nine Swords Venerable's voice wasn't loud, yet it gave Hunzhen a deafening feeling.

However... Hunzhen was not shaken in the slightest by this.

The journey from Immortal to Supreme Being is no longer a matter of cultivation time.

Even if someone without talent spends a thousand or ten thousand times more time, they will never become a Venerable One.

In this world, time only determines the lower limit of achievement, while talent determines the ceiling of the future.

In his present state, he cannot comprehend the laws of space, nor can he reach the end of the path of combining space and time.

Seeing that Hunzhen's gaze remained unwavering even under his pressure, the Nine Swords Venerable immediately realized that he had failed to persuade him.

He shook his head inwardly, said no more, and chose to leave.

"If his time-manipulation talent is truly as strong as he claims, then this choice cannot be considered wrong."

Hunzhen's current potential is slightly inferior to that of Kedi, barely reaching the level of a genius that appears only once every ten million epochs.

No matter what, even if Hunzhen were to follow the path of combining time and space, there's no guarantee that Hunzhen would have a 100% chance of becoming a Venerable.

Saying 30% is a bit low, while saying more than 50% is clearly an exaggeration.

For the vast majority of people, who would look to such a distant future as the Lord of the Universe? To be guaranteed to become a Venerable One is a choice that no one can say is wrong.

But the Nine Swords Venerable instinctively didn't believe it.

He was so focused on studying the laws of space that he neglected to cultivate the laws of time, yet he only reached the beginner level of the laws of time in three years?

He just said that this talent "is among the most outstanding in the history of humankind," which is actually a lie.

It should be said that, even looking at the entire universe, apart from those terrifying special life forms who are born as Time Masters or even Universe Lords, if such talent is second to none, then no one would dare to claim to be first.

If one can grasp the basics of time in three years without deliberately studying it, what would happen if one truly studied and cultivated it? Wouldn't one be able to comprehend the laws of time in an extremely short time?

Does such extraordinary talent truly exist among the human race?

He shook his head; no matter what, he would report this information.

The latest novel is first published here!

……

Seeing the Nine Swords Venerable leave, Hunzhen also breathed a sigh of relief.

Faced with the Venerable One's majesty, even though the other party deliberately restrained himself, he still felt immense pressure.

The claim that he possessed "the most outstanding talent in time" did not make Hunzhen feel elated.

He knew that even if the simulator fully devoted itself to cultivating the laws of time, the results it would give him would be no more than ten times that of not comprehending the laws of time.

Ten times seems like a lot, but it only raises the level of genius from the Lianluo level to the Bolan level.

They are not yet at the level of the most elite human race, Kodi, as described by the Nine Swords Venerable.

Not to mention what the Nine Swords Venerable truly desires: the top three in the entire universe after excluding those with extraordinary abilities.

His talent for timing is mainly manifested in two aspects.

One, and most important, factor is the system's "filtering" function, which truly determines the upper limit of talent. As long as the simulation system exists, he can confidently claim to be the reliance of a genius of time.

The other is the cultivation resources harvested by the simulation system.

The most intuitive example is the Chaos Monument.

He clearly chose the Cosmic Chaos Stele, yet he refused to study it, which was certainly not to be unconventional or show off.

It's purely...heartbreaking!

In reality, opportunities for enlightenment cannot be reused. Once consumed, it's equivalent to a human's cultivation speed being permanently reduced!

No matter how much attention he receives, he will not waste a single opportunity to comprehend!

Walk your own path and let others say what they will!

After several simulations over this period, Hunzhen finally confirmed a fact.

With the opportunity to comprehend refreshed with each simulation, his time talent absolutely surpasses Berlan's talent level in the laws of space!

Based solely on the talent of time, even geniuses at the level of tens of millions of eras would be qualified!

As for whether it can be surpassed? Hunzhen lacks this understanding and dares not be certain.

As the Nine Swords Venerable departed, Hunzhen quickly put the matter of his visit out of his mind.

The Nine Swords Venerable's aura was indeed astonishing, but he could sense the other party's good intentions, and in reality, it wouldn't have much impact on his cultivation career in Chaos City.

That's why it didn't leave much of an impression on the Sims and was quickly forgotten.

Compared to impressions, Aisha's sharp tongue is clearly more memorable.

Speaking of Aisa, Hunzhen is not currently focused on spacetime integration, and at first glance, it seems that a lot of the simulated human thinking memory spent on Aisa is being wasted.

Even disregarding Aisa's unique understanding of the combination of space and time, in terms of the laws of time alone, she is still among the most outstanding of all the immortal teachers.

Moreover, he did not tell the truth to the Nine Swords Venerable.

Once everything is ready, he will still make up for the missed spatial cultivation and return to the path of combining time and space.

These venerable ones and rulers have such broad visions that their gaze is probably fixed on things after they become world lords and immortals.

Because there are indeed many geniuses who are stubborn to the end, and without correcting their behavior in advance, they go down a dark path.

He wouldn't wait until the fundamental law of time acknowledges his existence before turning back.

In his expectation, by then he would have already completed his plan to possess the body.

Therefore, Aisha can naturally continue to contribute his remaining energy.

Needless to say, it was the three years of instruction on this spaceship that allowed him to advance his spacetime integration progress before arriving in Chaos City, which enabled him to pass the fourth level of the Cosmic Sky Bridge ahead of schedule.

The extra chance to comprehend greatly accelerates the training efficiency of the simulated human.

"Let's set a small goal: within ten years, in Chaos City, at least one of the two things—time acceleration or time deceleration—must be increased by ten thousand times!"

On the rooftop, Hunzhen's eyes gleamed slightly.

Before choosing the Cosmic Chaos Stele, Hunzhen could digest and comprehend the filtered laws of time by spending a little time each day. He then spent most of his time studying the combination of space and time.

Whether during the Genius Battle or the three years of spaceship flight, Hunzhen had complained more than once in his heart that the simulators were stingy with the time allotted for enlightenment.

However, after entering Chaos City, the situation took a dramatic turn!

Even if he worked 24 hours a day without stopping, Hunzhen still couldn't fully digest the time perception provided by the simulator.

The speed at which my understanding of time grows far exceeds the speed at which I can digest it.

In the past, this was something he wouldn't have dared to even think about.

And it is foreseeable that this situation will continue for a long time.

Only after Hunzhen's understanding of time reaches an unprecedented level will he gradually return to his past state.

At this moment, Hunzhen maintained a "time-overlooking" perspective, with flashes of inspiration and new insights constantly emerging.

He seemed to be joyfully swimming in the river of time, like a gluttonous fish eagerly absorbing the nutrients from the river.

As Hunzhen's understanding of time entered a period of explosive growth, the other geniuses also diligently cultivated, unwilling to waste a single second in Chaos City.

In the blink of an eye, a year has passed.

(End of this chapter)