Origin (Final Chapter)

In the Chaos Sea, Lu Yuan noticed several figures ahead.

One was a strikingly handsome young man with black hair, accompanied by several young women of breathtaking beauty.

The young man wore a faint smile as he studied Lu Yuan, something odd flickering in his eyes — though there seemed to be no hostility there.

The women, too, were watching him with what appeared to be idle curiosity.

In the space where the young man and his companions stood, even the Chaos energy dared not approach, held at a distance, rippling faintly from afar.

The terrifying aura Lu Yuan had sensed earlier — like staring into a bottomless abyss — had been radiating from those women.

As for the young man himself, to Lu Yuan's senses he registered as nothing more than an ordinary person.

And yet — how could an ordinary person stand in the Chaos Sea, surrounded by women of such terrifying power?

More than that — how had he spoken inside Lu Yuan's mind without making a single sound?

Lu Yuan understood then: this absurdly handsome black-haired young man was almost certainly the most terrifying presence of all.

He drew a slow breath and spoke carefully.

"Greetings, Seniors. This junior was merely passing through and inadvertently disturbed you. Please forgive the intrusion."

The moment he finished, the black-haired young man laughed and waved his hand dismissively.

"No need to be so tense. We're just out for a stroll. We noticed you running around hauling a ball and thought you had quite the creative spirit — so we came to take a look."

Lu Yuan: "..."

*This Senior really doesn't stand on ceremony.*

Still, the easy manner put him somewhat at ease.

After Lu Ze finished speaking, Aris glanced at the distant Universe Bubble and said, "Your Universe Bubble still carries traces of Aberrant energy. Did you encounter an attack from Aberrant Beasts?"

Lu Yuan blinked in surprise, then felt a rush of hope rise in his chest.

They knew about Aberrant Beasts?

He nodded quickly, managing a smile. "Yes — are you Seniors familiar with them? We were attacked by powerful Aberrant Beasts. The strongest of them, the Mother of Aberration, was terrifyingly powerful. This junior was no match for her and had no choice but to take the universe and flee."

"Aberrant Beasts are a plague on the Chaos Sea," said one of the women. "Along our journey, we've encountered quite a few Origin-rank Aberrant Beasts ourselves — they've swallowed several Universe Bubbles whole... Locusts, the lot of them."

Qiuyue and Sha both frowned faintly, their expressions tinged with distaste.

Lin Ling smiled and said, "To be able to move a Universe Bubble at your current level of strength is already remarkable. When we were at your stage, we might not have managed the same."

She paused, glanced sideways at Lu Ze, and her expression turned oddly conflicted.

"...Well. Present company excluded."

Lu Ze flashed a smug grin. "Oh, that was nothing. Nothing at all."

Lu Yuan: "..."

*He really can't help himself. At this level of power, how is something like that even worth bragging about?*

But beyond that...

*Origin-rank?*

Was there something beyond Laws Rank? After mastering the Laws themselves, there were still greater heights of power?

Lu Yuan turned the thought over in his mind, then looked at Lu Ze's mild expression and asked, "Senior, if I may — what exactly is an Origin-rank being?"

Lu Ze seemed mildly surprised. He studied Lu Yuan for a moment, then smiled.

"Well... once you've reached a sufficient degree of mastery over the Laws, you can grasp what's called an Origin. An Origin is the fundamental root-force of a particular type of power within the universe. By the Chaos Sea's ranking system, anyone who's achieved that is considered Origin Rank. Your Laws force is quite substantial — nine types, no less — though your level of mastery is still a bit shallow. Against some of the stronger Laws Rank opponents out there, you'd still come up short. That said, the Laws you've comprehended are remarkably rare ones. That's a significant advantage."

He couldn't help but feel genuinely impressed. When he himself had started out, he hadn't comprehended these particular Laws from the very beginning — Time Laws, Fate Laws... these were among the most formidable Laws in existence.

He hadn't expected this fellow from his homeland to have comprehended them.

*A true transmigrator, through and through. In their universe, this man is probably a protagonist-tier existence — a real Heaven's Chosen.*

Hearing Lu Ze's words, Lu Yuan took a sharp breath and pressed forward at once.

"Please, Senior — teach me. The Mother of Aberration is still searching for our location. I want to grow stronger, to protect our Universe Bubble."

At that, several of the women glanced at Lu Yuan and gave small, approving nods.

Someone with that kind of resolve was unlikely to be a bad person.

And they trusted Lu Ze's judgment.

Besides, Lu Ze had already been thinking of taking this young man under his wing. Naturally, none of them would object.

Lu Ze's grin widened. "Simple enough — I'll teach you. Your universe got lucky, honestly. The Mother of Aberration you encountered probably hasn't reached Origin Rank yet. If she had, you wouldn't have been able to run. Frankly speaking, your habit of dragging a Universe Bubble around through the Chaos Sea is quite reckless. If you'd stumbled across a wandering Origin-rank Aberrant Beast, or an Origin-rank warrior from some other Universe Bubble, it could have ended in complete annihilation. You're fortunate the ones you ran into were us."

Cold sweat broke out down Lu Yuan's back.

*The Chaos Sea was that dangerous?*

Seeing Lu Yuan's shaken expression, Lu Ze chuckled. "With us around, you've got nothing to worry about. Now then — let's begin."

As the words left his mouth, the environment around Lu Yuan shifted.

The surrounding Chaos energy dissolved. In its place stretched a vast expanse of fractured space — some regions threaded with orderly spatial lines, others chaotic and disordered, still others dense with shattered spatial fragments and howling spatial storms.

The spatial Laws governing this space were far more profound and intricate than anything Lu Yuan had ever perceived.

Shock crashed through him. He had mastered Spatial Laws, had believed he had pushed his understanding to its absolute limits. Was there still further to go?

*Is this what the true peak looks like?*

While he was still reeling, Lu Ze's voice came again.

"Since you've already mastered Spatial Laws, I'll teach you the power of Spatial Origin. The Chaos Sea is still a bit too dangerous for you as you are now — but once you've grasped Spatial Origin, at least you'll be able to run when you can't win. The time flow inside this space is ten thousand times accelerated. Take your time."

*Ten thousand times?!*

The number hit Lu Yuan like a physical blow.

Even with his mastery of Time Laws, he could only accelerate time by a hundredfold at most. Combined with the Land of Origin's natural time acceleration, the total barely exceeded a thousandfold.

And this Senior had simply... created a ten-thousand-fold space?

Lu Yuan pulled himself together. Given what Lu Ze had demonstrated, he was almost certainly Origin Rank — perhaps beyond even that. Power like this was well within reason for such an existence.

A deep wave of gratitude washed through him. He nodded quickly. "Thank you, Senior!"

"We're from the same hometown — no need to be so formal. Oh, and — we're out traveling, so you don't mind if we take a look around your Universe Bubble, do you?"

"Of course not!"

Lu Yuan answered without hesitation.

*If he had any ill intentions, he wouldn't have offered to help me like this.*

*And besides — at his level of power, if he truly wanted to do anything to the Universe Bubble, there'd be nothing I could do to stop him.*

There was no point in overthinking it. Lu Yuan let go of his worries and immersed himself in the mysteries of Spatial Origin.

Out in the Chaos Sea, Nangong Jing watched the silver-white Origin sphere before them and smiled.

"Who knew you'd have an interest in this kind of thing, Aze? Taking a boy under your wing?"

The corner of Lu Ze's mouth twitched. A somewhat wicked smile spread across his face.

"Jingjing... sounds like last night wasn't hard enough on you."

Nangong Jing's smile froze solid. The others quietly bit back their laughter — all except Yingying, who wore a look of total bewilderment.

She gazed at the Universe Bubble in the distance, blinking.

"Are we going inside to play? Is there lots of good food in there?"

"Exactly — let's go see what delicacies they have!"

Lu Ze's eyes lit up. He led the group, and they vanished.

As for Lu Yuan, left behind in his training space — keeping an eye on him was trivially simple at Lu Ze's level of power.

Lu Yuan sank deep into cultivation inside the Origin Space.

Time flowed on. Ten years passed in the real world; within the Origin Space, a full hundred thousand years elapsed.

Then the Origin Space began to tremble.

Inside the Universe Bubble, on the plains of some unnamed planet, Aris was roasting the meat of an unknown Feral Beast over an open fire, with Lu Ze and the others seated around her.

Lu Ze's brow arched. He glanced toward a distant direction.

"Looks like he's almost done. A little faster than I expected."

It wasn't just Lu Ze — Nangong Jing and the others turned to look as well, a trace of surprise crossing their faces.

"A hundred thousand years to comprehend an Origin? That talent... is a cut above ours, isn't it?"

Nangong Jing clenched her fist, something in her itching to test him. But then she reminded herself the young man had only grasped a single Spatial Origin, shook her head, and thought better of it — one wrong hit and she might accidentally erase him entirely.

Lu Li's gentle smile remained steady. "We've probably seen most of this Universe Bubble by now. Once he comes out, shall we move on somewhere else?"

Lu Ze nodded. "Sure, let's go. This Universe Bubble is still young — not many Feral Beasts with decent flavor. Before we leave, let's tell the kid to start raising some with better meat quality. Be a shame if he ends up with nothing good to eat later."

Yingying nodded with complete conviction. "Mm-mm! Lu Ze is absolutely right."

Lin Ling and the others rolled their eyes in unison.

Those two were the only ones fixated entirely on that.

As they spoke, out in the Chaos Sea, fracture lines spread across the silver-white sphere. Then, with a deep resonant **boom**, it shattered apart entirely — the shockwave tearing outward in all directions, sending even the Chaos energy surging in its wake.

Lu Yuan stepped out from the broken sphere.

His hair and eyes had turned silver-white, and an ineffably profound aura rolled off him in waves. Around him, spatial rifts bloomed without volition, spreading outward in every direction on their own.

His gaze gradually cleared from its vacant, trance-like state. He reined in the power emanating from his body, and the rifts dissolved with it.

He exhaled slowly and took stock of the terrifying force now residing within him. A glow of elated disbelief lit his face.

*Overwhelming.*

With Spatial Origin in his grasp, he felt he could destroy his former self without breaking a sweat.

No wonder the Senior had said the Mother of Aberration hadn't reached Origin Rank — if she had, he truly wouldn't have escaped.

Part of him had bristled at that claim then.

Now, he believed every word of it.

If the Mother of Aberration had truly mastered even a single Origin, there would have been no running from her. The gap in power was simply that vast.

But now...

A cold gleam passed through Lu Yuan's eyes.

Now, the tables had turned. It was the Mother of Aberration who had cause to be afraid.

He shook himself from his thoughts and looked toward the Universe Bubble.

It appeared untouched. A quiet breath of relief escaped him — the Senior had left it alone.

*I wonder what he's been up to. I should go back and thank him properly.*

Just then, a voice sounded inside his mind.

"Fellow — now that you've comprehended Spatial Origin, we'll be on our way. We've seen most of your universe by now. Oh, and — make sure to start raising some Feral Beasts with decent meat quality when you get the chance. It'd be a real shame to end up with nothing tasty to eat down the road."

Lu Yuan blinked. His mind went blank for a moment.

The first part he understood. But the part about food...?

He looked around. There was nothing — not a single trace of their presence.

They had left without a sound.

A chill ran through him despite himself. Even with Spatial Origin, he couldn't detect a whisper of their departure. The gulf between them was still that vast?

*That kind of power is terrifying.*

*Good thing they weren't enemies.*

If they had been, he thought, he would have been finished long before any of this.

Lu Yuan shook his head, a faint smile settling on his face.

His body vanished, and in the next instant he was inside the Universe Bubble.

His gaze swept across the stars within his universe. He drew a slow, steadying breath — and his eyes sharpened.

*Time to settle things, once and for all.*

He directed his Historical Projection, commanding the Universe Bubble to reverse course. At the same time, his true body left the Universe Bubble and slipped directly into the Chaos Sea's Dimensional Space.

In mere moments he covered the distance that had taken years to travel before, arriving back at the region where the Aberrant Touches had once found him.

Inside the Dimensional Space, Lu Yuan sensed a massive, malevolent aura.

The first time he had felt this aura, it had been through his Avatar. Even secondhand through the Avatar, the weight of it had been suffocating — oppressive and utterly beyond challenge. He had known immediately it was something he could not fight.

Now, sensing that same aura again, Lu Yuan felt nothing but calm.

What had once been a crushing, terrifying force now registered as... ordinary.

He exhaled quietly and stepped out of the Dimensional Space.

The Mother of Aberration was directing her Aberrant Touches to scour the Chaos Sea for any trace of Lu Yuan. The search had gone on so long without results that rage had long since settled into a permanent, smoldering burn within her.

This was the first time she had ever encountered such a slippery, infuriating insect.

*When I find that little wretch, I will drag out his suffering until the very end.*

Then — she felt it. A familiar aura, blooming unmistakably before her.

She stilled. Her gaze snapped toward the source.

Amid the churning Chaos energy, the Mother of Aberration saw the very insect she had been hunting for so long.

For a brief, stunned moment she simply stared. Then wild, gleeful triumph flooded through her.

*The insect came to deliver himself?!*

*What an absolute fool!*

But the triumph lasted barely a heartbeat before her expression crumbled — into something close to fear.

The aura radiating off the figure before her was monstrous. Even she felt it: a tremor running through her to the core.

"Impossible — that's... an Origin aura?!"

Every eye across the Mother of Aberration's vast body snapped wide open. Every mouth gaped in stunned disbelief.

She could not begin to fathom how, in a handful of years, this insect had gone from a fresh Laws Rank cultivator to mastering an Origin and reaching Origin Rank.

Lu Yuan sensed her shock. His expression remained composed.

He offered a faint, calm smile. "Nothing impossible about it."

Then he raised his hand toward the Mother of Aberration — and closed it into a fist.

**BOOM.**

Terrible force erupted outward. The space around the Mother of Aberration tore open.

Monstrous energy surged from her body — Laws force billowing around her in a torrent, her Aberrant power exploding outward in full force. The combined might blasted the Chaos energy clear and ripped apart the surrounding Chaos Space itself.

Yet no matter how the Mother of Aberration thrashed and raged, the spatial storm held — relentless and inevitable, devouring the power she threw against it, tearing through her flesh piece by piece.

Her roar shook all of Chaos Space. A sound of primal, boundless fury, echoing on and on.

Lu Yuan's face remained expressionless. His Spirit Power flowed in a steady, unhurried current. The spatial storm raged on.

Moments later, the Mother of Aberration's flesh was consumed entirely by the spatial annihilation. Her aura dissolved and vanished.

Only then did Lu Yuan slowly release his hold on Spatial Origin.

The shattered space gradually healed. The Chaos energy drifted back into place. Everything settled as though nothing had happened — as though the Mother of Aberration had never existed at all.

Lu Yuan stared at that empty expanse of Chaos. For a long moment, he was still.

Then he let out a slow, heavy breath. A weight seemed to lift from him, and a smile — relaxed and unguarded — spread across his face.

He vanished.

A moment later, Lu Yuan stepped back inside the Universe Bubble.

Sky-Mending City. The villa.

Li Qinghe and the others had been training inside the Gravity Room. With the Mother of Aberration's threat looming over them, Gene Warriors across the entire universe had been pushing themselves harder than ever — and as Lu Yuan's companions, Li Qinghe and the others held themselves to an even higher standard.

Since Lu Yuan had entered seclusion, not one of them had stopped.

Without warning, the world around them changed. They opened their eyes.

And there was Lu Yuan.

For a heartbeat, they could only stare.

Then joy crashed through them all at once.

"Yuan? You're out of seclusion?"

Li Qinghe couldn't hold herself back. She crossed the distance and wrapped her arms tight around him.

In real-world time, only a few decades had passed. But in Origin Time, hundreds of years had gone by.

Lu Yuan had been consumed by cultivation, unable to see any of them even once. The longing had built and built until it was close to overflowing.

Lu Yuan held Li Qinghe close, then turned to take in Si Tingxue and all the others — the joy on their faces as bright and genuine as he had always imagined it would be.

For him, it had been far longer. Tens of thousands of years by his own reckoning.

He had missed every single one of them.

A soft, warm smile settled on his face.

"Yes," he said gently. "It's over."

*(The End)*