In the silent, mysterious chamber at the heart of the Eternal Core, Rowan held the empty vial of the Bloodline Evolution Serum. Yet the real agony was far beyond anything he had ever imagined.
The instant the serum slid down his throat, a wave of pain erupted from the depths of his bone marrow, tearing through his body like something determined to rip his very soul apart.
Rowan's body convulsed uncontrollably. Every muscle tightened as though each fiber was carrying the weight of a mountain.
His bones creaked and groaned, as if they might shatter at any moment.
Beneath his skin, his veins swelled like enraged serpents twisting beneath the surface. Blood surged through them with a scorching heat.
Time seemed to stretch. Every second felt like torture.
"Ah! Damn it!"
The sudden explosion of agony made him roar. Even though he had mentally prepared himself, the pain still far exceeded anything he expected.
It felt as if his entire body was being torn into pieces. There was none of the euphoric sensation that usually came with genetic evolution.
No wonder even someone as strong-willed as Luo Feng had once felt like he was dying.
Rowan's willpower was formidable, yet he still couldn't stop himself from screaming as the torment engulfed him.
The pain was a hundred times worse than when he first consumed dragon blood.
An hour passed. Rowan's consciousness drifted in and out, drowning in the vortex of pain. Sweat rolled down his forehead like raindrops, soaking the ground beneath him.
He clenched his teeth so hard he nearly crushed them. Blood seeped from the corner of his mouth.
Two hours passed. The agony not only failed to fade but intensified.
"What the hell? Two hours already. Why hasn't it ended?"
He glared weakly at the timer beside him. The purification process should have been long over. Yet the transformation continued, growing ever more violent.
If this kept up, something would go terribly wrong.
Panic flickered in Rowan's heart. He tried adjusting his state and even attempted to halt the evolution altogether.
Nothing worked.
Just as he was on the verge of being swallowed by pain, the Infinity Gauntlet on his hand burst into radiant light.
The Power Stone erupted first. Its deep purple glow surged like a tidal wave and wrapped around Rowan, then penetrated into his body, colliding violently with the forces wreaking havoc within him.
The sudden clash made the pain skyrocket a hundredfold.
His body became a battlefield. Two massive energies fought savagely inside him.
Every cell felt as though it was burning, tearing apart and reconstructing itself over and over.
Yet amid the torment, Rowan sensed something unusual.
His cells, like starving beasts, began devouring energy especially the Power Stone's energy.
Wherever the purple light passed, his cells consumed it greedily.
His strength surged uncontrollably.
From Stellar level seven, his power broke through to Stellar level eight like a rocket, then immediately pushed toward Stellar level nine without any pause.
The force rolling off him caused the surrounding space to ripple.
Nearby magma was violently pushed away, clearing a huge area around him and forming a swirling field of purple energy hundreds of meters wide.
Even the dense, superheated magma could not get near him.
"Damn it. Stop. I cannot break through again!"
Rowan's voice trembled. His genetic evolution had already reached the peak of Stellar level nine. One tiny step more and he would enter the Universe level.
And from what he sensed, there would be no obstacles at all. If he allowed the evolution to continue, he would break through into the Universe level instantly.
But he could not allow that.
If he reached the Universe level now, he would lose eligibility to join the Virtual Universe Company's Genius Tournament.
Without their cultivation resources, rapid growth would become nearly impossible.
"Stop. Stop now!"
Perhaps sensing his desperation, Rowan forced the Infinity Gauntlet to activate once more.
The Mind Stone unleashed a powerful blue radiance. It entered his body and suppressed the raging force of the Power Stone, drawing it out like a tide receding.
A loud crack echoed from within Rowan's body.
The evolution process was finally complete.
He collapsed to the ground, drenched in sweat.
"Peak of Stellar level nine… that was too close." He shuddered.
He never expected the serum to affect him this drastically.
Something was clearly off.
The serum was designed to purify and enhance genetics to the mid-tier level at best.
Yet Rowan's instincts told him he was far beyond that threshold.
"I need to return to the Devouring World soon and check my body thoroughly."
He stood with effort. His joints crackled like fireworks.
Every cell in his body pulsed with life, and he could even sense traces of purple energy circulating inside his cell membranes.
Feeling the power surging within him, Rowan threw out a casual punch.
Boom.
A simple, unenhanced punch split the magma before him into a spiraling vortex stretching a full kilometer.
The vortex was thirty meters wide, boring through the dense molten rock as if it were nothing.
"This… this punch alone is comparable to a Stellar level five strike." Rowan stared in disbelief.
The density of the magma here was fifty times that of ordinary lava. It was incredibly resistant.
Yet he cut through it like nothing.
"Amazing. My genetic level must be approaching third-tier or even second-tier."
Joy surged through him.
The stronger he was, the more dazzling he would shine in the Genius Tournament.
Rowan did not leave the underground cavern. With his senses heightened by the recent evolution, now was the best moment to deepen his insights.
He sat cross-legged, focusing on the Law of Fire.
In the days that followed, Rowan's comprehension grew rapidly. His domain increased to the eighth level, only one step away from the ninth.
Back in the Devouring World, at the Bright Moon Community, Rowan refined his understanding of the Law of Time.
Although he had not stepped into it yet, the clarity allowed him to grasp deeper truths of the Shadow Nine Blades.
At that moment, messages arrived from Hong, Thunder God Lei Shen, and Luo Feng.
After taking the Bloodline Evolution Serum, all of them had improved significantly.
Hong reached Stellar level three.
Thunder God reached Stellar level four.
Luo Feng reached Stellar level two.
They arranged to meet that evening.
Rowan switched bodies with his clone and headed to Hong Ning Base that night.
Hong, Lei Shen, Luo Feng, Yao Rao, and Rowan were all present.
Rowan held Yao Rao's hand. She had reached Planetary level eight and had recently made breakthroughs in the secret techniques he taught her.
Though she had not yet grasped a domain, she was nearly unmatched among planetary beings. On Earth, only Venina could compare to her.
Venina too had been cultivating intensely and, with Rowan's resources, had advanced to Planetary level seven.
"Rowan, Lei Shen and I have decided to join the Universal Mercenaries soon and earn mercenary qualifications," Hong said, raising his glass. "With that status, we can better protect Earth. A planet under the Mercenary Alliance is far less likely to be targeted."
Lei Shen wrapped an arm around Luo Feng's shoulder and grinned. "My domain has reached level three. With this serum, I feel like level four is close. Hong and I want to explore the universe. What about you two?"
Luo Feng clenched his fists excitedly. "I'm going too!"
His human body had improved greatly. His Golden Horned Beast body had already reached Stellar level nine and could break into Universe level at any time.
With no threat from Nolanshan anymore, all of them had grown too comfortable. A sense of crisis was necessary for true growth.
"I'll go with you. But we leave in half a month," Rowan said.
Half a month later, they would enter the world of the Kaabu Realm Master. That needed to align with events.
The Kaabu Ring held countless treasures that could be exchanged for massive wealth. Luo Feng would later buy a Spirit Armament. Rowan also needed to purchase a proper mental-force weapon.
His current weapon, the Skybreaker Shuttle, was no longer enough for him.
Using it in the Genius Tournament would be suicide.
He had not mastered the Law of Time yet, though his comprehension of Fire was strong. Even so, it was not enough.
The top competitors had mastered two laws.
Boran, Rong Jun, and Wuka were the most dangerous.
At the moment, Rowan had no guarantee of defeating them.
"Why wait half a month? We can leave now," Babata asked while floating before him.
"My comprehension of the laws needs to grow first," Rowan replied casually. Babata accepted it without suspicion.
Half a month passed in a flash.
Rowan brought Tie Nanhe and Ao Gu with him. Together they registered at the Universe Mercenary Alliance through the Virtual Universe Company.
Once registered, the Alliance sent them their assigned assessment location: Canglan Star in the Pisces System.
"Yes. This is it." Rowan's eyes shimmered. The Kaabu inheritance would appear soon.
"Everyone get ready. We leave for Canglan Star now."
Luo Feng once gained forty-nine treasures there and over one hundred thousand universe coins. Rowan wondered what he himself would gain this time.
Since he could not break through to Universe level, he could not access the three Mixed Yuan units left by Huyan Bo.
Three Mixed Yuan units were only worth thirty thousand universe coins anyway.
They boarded the Black Dragon ship and headed to Canglan Star through dark-space travel.
It would take seven days.
The assessment allowed only Stellar level participants. No Universe-level fighters were allowed.
Which meant Na Kelu could not accompany them.
Earth needed a Universe-level guardian.
Na Kelu had advanced tremendously after Rowan gave him top-tier cultivation techniques. He had exchanged almost all of his treasures for cultivation resources.
He had reached Universe level six within a few months.
His movement techniques and blade skills improved so dramatically that he could fight evenly with Universe level nine experts, as long as their secret techniques were inferior.
Earth held too many secrets. It could not be left undefended.
When they arrived at Canglan Star, countless massive battleships filled the surrounding starfield.
Children of major families, wanderers, and countless cultivators were gathered here, all seeking to become Universal Mercenaries.
A place filled with every kind of power and ambition imaginable.