Will You Submit?

Comprehending the Dark Laws proved smoother than the Light Laws had been.

With the Light Laws as a frame of reference — and given that light and dark are natural counterparts, one born from the other, each the other's undoing — the second followed from the first with far less resistance.

It took only twenty years of Origin Time before the darkness receded and the sky returned to its familiar dim haze.

Just as Ruoshui and the others thought Lu Yuan was finally about to emerge, a new phenomenon appeared.

This time, the sky filled with phantom silhouettes of forests, ancient trees, and wildflowers — a vast, verdant tableau brimming with life.

Much like the Light Laws before it, every hidden injury carried by Gene Warriors throughout Sky-Mending City began to quietly mend. Beyond that, both natural-type and life-type Gene Warriors found themselves struck by sudden insight, drawn into the process of gene evolution.

Amy and Shuangyue were among them.

This comprehension took somewhat longer than the Dark Laws — roughly thirty years of Origin Time — but it was still far shorter than what the Light Laws had demanded.

With Life Laws now comprehended, Lu Yuan held four Laws in total. Throughout that journey, Law Force had scoured through his body again and again, and every aspect of his physical power had been driven to a truly terrifying height.

He suspected that even without drawing on Law Force, his body alone had reached the point where he could stand toe-to-toe with a Laws Rank expert.

He even felt that at any given moment, he could tear through the barriers of the Land of Origin with his bare hands — shatter the entire place if he wished.

Of course, he had no intention of doing so.

As things stood, six Laws remained for him to comprehend: Mechanical Laws, Spatial Laws, Death Laws, Fate Laws, Time Laws, and Fantasy Laws.

He still had a full ten Hearts of Laws in reserve — more than enough.

Having comprehended four Laws in succession, he now had a solid grasp of Law Force as a concept. Even the more esoteric Laws — Spatial, Fate, Time, and Fantasy — were no longer complete mysteries to him. There were patterns to follow, threads to trace.

With the Hearts of Laws to assist him, he was confident he could master them all.

Death Laws in particular.

Just as comprehending the Light Laws had made the Dark Laws easy to approach afterward, having now mastered Life Laws, their natural counterpart — Death Laws — would yield just as readily.

Without pausing, Lu Yuan seized the momentum and began comprehending Death Laws.

Sky-Mending City.

As the Life Laws phantoms slowly faded from the sky, Li Qinghe and the others gathered at the villa watched with undisguised delight.

"Another Law comprehended." Si Tingxue's voice was soft, almost wondering. "I can't imagine how strong Yuan is by now."

Amy planted her hands on her hips. "Obviously incredible! His Law phenomenon gave me and Sister Shuangyue a huge boost."

The Life Laws phantom had given a meaningful amplification to the relatively weaker Laws within both Amy and Shuangyue, and their moods were positively bright.

Shuangyue's lips curved upward, something warm and soft in her gaze. "When A-Yuan comes out, I'll have to thank him properly."

Li Qinghe watched the last of the phantoms dissolve. "I wonder if Yuan will keep going. He's comprehended four Laws by now, hasn't he?"

The others glanced at one another, equally curious.

They weren't the only ones wondering. In the central district of Sky-Mending City, Ruoshui, Kro, Bu Chang, and Nuxing had all gathered as well.

Lu Yuan's consecutive Law comprehensions had been far too conspicuous to ignore. Worried that something might go wrong, the four of them had naturally come to stand guard.

Besides, the Aberration organizations across the entire universe had been destroyed and their powerful members reduced to a handful — there was little chance of anything going seriously wrong. And if something did arise, they could be anywhere in an instant.

Nuxing watched the Life Laws phantoms slowly dissolve and asked, "That's already four. Will A-Yuan keep going, I wonder?"

The other three exchanged a glance and gave small shakes of their heads.

"No idea," Kro said flatly.

Bu Chang sighed. "Who even knows how strong A-Yuan is at this point — four Laws. Think about us: hundreds of millions of years, and not one of us has managed to grasp even a single one. Yet A-Yuan has comprehended four in barely a hundred. The gap between us..."

He trailed off. Beside him, Ruoshui, Kro, and Nuxing all had the corners of their mouths twitching, their expressions complicated.

At this rate, they couldn't even summon the energy to feel jealous.

It was simply too fast. Too far beyond them.

They were still talking when a dull, ashen light bloomed across the sky. A suffocating stillness seeped outward with it — the aura of utter, deathly silence — and every one of them felt their heart drop with a deep, instinctive chill.

"This is...?"

Nuxing went rigid, his eyes snapping wide.

Ruoshui jolted. Her lips parted.

"The fifth..."

"That aura of absolute stillness... is it Death Laws?" Kro's mouth pulled into a wry grimace. "The previous four were Stellar Laws, Light Laws, Dark Laws, and Natural Laws, weren't they? Not a single ordinary one among the lot."

He shook his head, at a complete loss for words.

Here they were, War God-level experts, and they hadn't gained a thing from any of it. Not one scrap. After all, the Laws Lu Yuan was comprehending bore no connection to the ones they themselves possessed.

Nuxing let a small smile cross his face. "Ha... when A-Yuan was comprehending the Stellar Laws, I at least benefitted quite well."

The other three turned to look at him.

Their expressions were the temperature of deep space.

Nuxing registered those stares, stiffened, cleared his throat, and fell silent.

*Something tells me pushing that any further would earn me a beating.*

With Nuxing suitably quieted, Ruoshui and the others turned their gazes back to the sky.

"It looks like A-Yuan intends to keep going," Kro said, scratching his head.

"Then we wait," Bu Chang said quietly. "We guard him until he emerges."

The others gave small nods.

Chaos Space.

The colossal Flesh Nest carved through the Chaos currents. The King of Flesh studied the green display before him, his eyes narrowing slightly.

"Not far now. It won't be long." A cold quiet settled in his voice. "Let me see exactly who it was that killed my Descended Avatar."

With that, he closed his eyes. His presence contracted gradually until he sat as still and silent as a sculpture carved from flesh and bone.

Time flowed. Three years passed.

The King of Flesh slowly opened his eyes. His deep green irises held the look of something vast and bottomless.

A grotesque flesh creature — its appearance defying easy description — flew into the central nest and issued a strange, sibilant sound toward its master.

"My Lord. Universe Bubble X281 is within reach. We have locked onto the anchor."

The King of Flesh gave a slight nod and rose to his feet.

As he stood, a suffocating pressure erupted outward. The force of it sent the flesh creature tumbling through the air. It slammed against the nest wall, crumpled to the floor, and lay still, not daring to make a sound.

The King of Flesh vanished.

Mechanical Kingdom — the breach in the Cosmic Boundary.

The gap that had once been overrun now stood defended by a colossal mechanical fortress.

Inside, Mados and another Mechanical Race War God had taken up their posts within the fortress, holding back the ceaseless Beast Tide pouring in from the Chaos beyond.

The Spirit Cannons mounted across the fortress roared without pause. Beam after beam lanced out, obliterating each wave of Aberrant Beasts before they could reach the breach. Torrents of green blood, slime, and torn flesh scattered across the Chaos void, only to be ground into ash by the dense Chaos currents.

In the command hall, Mados studied the relentless hordes on the display screens, his expression placid.

"I hear Brother Lu Yuan has successfully comprehended the Laws. If that's true, then even if the Aberrant Beast Mother Nest reaches our universe, we'll finally have the means to fight back."

The War God beside him — noticeably more animated than Mados — nodded eagerly. "Exactly! Without Brother Lu Yuan, we might never have retaken this breach at all. We owe him so much... And I hear he hasn't stopped at one Law — he's still comprehending more as we speak. How strong is he now, I wonder?"

Mados let a smile cross his face, curiosity lighting his eyes. "Once Brother Lu Yuan's power reaches its peak, he'll bring us with him to strike back against the Aberrant Beast Mother Nest. When that day comes, we'll wipe out that threat to the universe in one fell swoop."

"I can't wait for that day to come!"

Their exchange was cut short by a piercing alarm. Red lights strobed across the entire command hall. Mados and the other War God froze, then bolted to their feet.

"What's happening?!"

Mados barked the question at the rows of Mechanical Warriors manning the weapon consoles below.

On the display screen, far beyond the cluster of green markers representing the Aberrant Beast swarm, a single massive green dot had appeared — and it was closing fast.

One of the Mechanical Warriors spoke, a tremor threading through his voice.

"My Lord Mados! Something is wrong — an extraordinarily powerful Aberration energy signature is approaching! That signature... it may surpass the War God level!"

Silence fell over the entire command hall, as though every sound had been swallowed at once.

Both Mados and the other War God stood wide-eyed, shock written plain across their faces.

The silence lasted only a heartbeat before Mados snapped back to himself.

His gaze locked onto the rapidly approaching marker, urgency edging into his voice.

"Quickly! Alert the Human Race! A Laws Rank expert is approaching — we need reinforcements now! Move!"

The other War God stared at the green marker for a long, still moment, something shifting in his expression. Then he turned to Mados.

Mados was already looking back at him.

Their eyes met. A silence stretched between them. Then Mados flashed a grin.

"Kurlos. Brother Lu Yuan is deep in his Law comprehension right now. Even if he sets out for here, it'll take time."

Kurlos said quietly, "I don't think we have that kind of time."

A fierce red glow burned in Mados's mechanical eyes.

"This breach has already fallen to the Aberrant Beasts once. I will never allow it to fall again — not while I still draw breath."

Kurlos gave a slight nod. "As guardians of this place, it falls to us to hold the line first."

"Ha!" The sound that tore from Mados's throat was almost a laugh. "Laws Rank? So what?! This is *our* universe! You want in? You'll have to go through us first! Come on — let's go meet this Laws Rank monster face to face!"

Together, they tore open space and vanished.

An instant later, they emerged onto the platform outside the fortress.

The platform had always been manned by Mechanical Warriors, stationed there to intercept any Aberrant Beasts that broke through the Spirit Cannon fire before they could reach the fortress walls. And now, every warrior on that platform felt a crushing pressure washing over them, setting their bodies rigid and their nerves razor-taut.

When Mados and Kurlos appeared, the Battle Saint leading the garrison immediately drew himself to attention.

"My Lords! Why have you come out here?"

Mados swept his gaze across the assembled Mechanical Warriors.

"Brothers and sisters of the Mechanical Race!" His voice rang out across the platform. "I have some very bad news to deliver."

The already-tense warriors jolted, trading uneasy glances.

Mados's expression did not change.

"A Laws Rank Aberrant Beast is approaching."

"What?!"

"Laws Rank?! How could something that terrifying come here?! That's impossible!"

Shock rippled through the entire formation. They had guarded this breach for hundreds of millions of years, and in all that time, a Laws Rank Aberrant Beast had never once appeared.

Yet here one was.

*How?*

"Silence!"

Mados released a wave of his overwhelming aura. The Mechanical Warriors fell quiet all at once, every eye turning toward him.

He pointed back at the fortress behind them.

"Last time, this breach fell because of the Blood of Machinery — a betrayal from within. To take it back, we lost too many of our people and paid too great a price. Our homeland was invaded and defiled. Our people died beneath the claws of Aberrant Beasts. Our cities and planets were destroyed..."

The expressions of the assembled warriors darkened. Something cold and hard settled across their faces.

The breach's fall had been only a few years ago. The devastation that had swept through the Mechanical Kingdom, the comrades lost — it was still fresh in every warrior's memory.

Seeing the cold fury in their eyes, Mados pressed on.

"This time, our enemy comes from outside! We will not shamefully surrender this breach without a fight! Think of the kingdom at your backs — battered and scarred by war! Think of the comrades you have lost, and your families! Think of every one of your people still alive! Standing before a Laws Rank Aberrant Beast — will you submit?!"

"Never!!"

"Never!!"

"Never!!"

The roar thundered across the platform. Spirit Power surged around every warrior as they shifted into battle stances.

Mados gave a quiet nod. Standing beside Kurlos, he turned his gaze toward the churning Chaos beyond the Cosmic Boundary. A heavy greatsword materialized in his hand, and he let out a low, fierce growl.

"Mechanical Warriors! Prepare for battle!!"

"Prepare for battle!!"

From the fortress walls and from every rallying point where warriors had begun assembling at the first alarm, millions of soldiers arrayed themselves behind Mados and Kurlos. Spirit Power rolled off them in waves as, one by one, they drew their weapons.