Chapter 121: Sixth-Rank Space-Time Ant [Please Subscribe]

"Brother Lu, the White Cloud Horses you requested were for these people, right?" Xiong Zijie realized what Lu Sheng had wanted the horses for the previous night as he watched the people from the settlement bring them out. After all, those whose strength was mostly at the second tier could not possibly capture White Cloud Horses to use as mounts on their own.

Actually, what Xiong Zijie was seeing now was already quite an improvement. Previously, most of the people in the settlement had been at the first tier; it was only because Lu Sheng had started providing resources for their cultivation that the majority had reached the second tier.

"That's right," Lu Sheng saw no reason to hide it.

"Brother Lu is truly benevolent. I have seen many people from settlements with outstanding talent who, once they became powerful, stopped caring about their fellow survivors and became quite ruthless."

"That really isn't much to be proud of."

"Brother Lu, speaking of which, how did you break through to the sixth tier? To this day, I still cannot perceive the Laws within my own natal card."

Hearing this, Zhang Haoran curiously leaned in as well. Although he was close to breaking through to the sixth tier, that was through his own body's cultivation; his natal card remained stuck, with no solution in sight.

"This... actually, I haven't reached the sixth tier myself yet. The ones who have reached the sixth tier are other monsters I've collected," Lu Sheng replied.

"Then, Brother Lu, did you have any special sensations when you raised other monsters to the sixth tier?" Since Lu Sheng put it that way, Xiong Zijie had no choice but to change the subject.

"There's nothing special about it. Raising other monsters isn't as complex as raising a natal card. Once they complete their evolution and their quality reaches blue, you just have to throw resources at them," Lu Sheng said nonchalantly.

Xiong Zijie and Zhang Haoran were instantly silenced. They had no way to refute this. For a moment, it felt as if something were stuck in their throats—something they wanted to spit out but couldn't.

"Brother Lu, what you say sounds well and good, but after the sixth tier, every major breakthrough is no simple matter." Xiong Zijie intended to bring Lu Sheng down to earth; one could do whatever they pleased with enough resources before the sixth tier. One could even do whatever they pleased with resources after the sixth tier. But the resources required after the sixth tier were not so easily obtained.

Lu Sheng was puzzled: "How so?"

Xiong Zijie was stunned. Did Lu Sheng not know the subsequent cultivation methods? Thinking of Lu Sheng's background, he realized that he might truly be unaware.

"This is not actually a secret. The minor stages of the sixth tier can be broken through simply by providing energy, but to break through from the sixth to the seventh tier, one must strengthen the Laws within the monster's body."

"Strengthening Laws is far harder than collecting spiritual fruits or other energy-based items. Many people have been stuck at the peak of the sixth tier for a long time, unable to break through to the seventh, precisely because of the issue with Laws."

"There are two ways to strengthen Laws."

"First, in certain special environments. For example, a fire-type monster can comprehend Laws in a special volcanic environment."

"Second, by cultivating with Law Stones. However, Law Stones are not easy to come by; each one is incredibly precious, and I haven't seen one myself to this day."

"I see," Lu Sheng nodded. "But how can one tell if the Laws within a monster have been strengthened?"

Xiong Zijie continued: "That's actually quite simple. As the master, you can see the strength and level of the Laws within your monsters. You just need to focus your intent and feel them carefully. One Law Pillar represents one layer, two pillars represent two layers, and the larger the Law Pillar, the more powerful the Law."

"Normally, a Law Pillar is about the size of a finger. You start cultivating from ten centimeters, and once you reach one hundred centimeters, the first layer is complete, and you can then condense a second Law Pillar."

"You must condense a second Law Pillar to break through to the seventh tier."

Lu Sheng finally understood, but he had even more questions: "Is the subsequent cultivation the same?"

Xiong Zijie shook his head: "I'm not sure about that. My father is only at the sixth tier, and he only knows how to break through to the seventh. To learn about higher-level cultivation methods, one would need to ask someone of a higher rank."

"Thank you for the clarification, Brother Zijie," Lu Sheng said, genuinely grateful. Otherwise, he might not have known about this for a long time.

According to this breakthrough method, even his 'talent' would surely not be able to force a breakthrough. His talent for raising monster ranks was essentially energy infusion; those crushed cards were equivalent to spiritual fruits. His talent seemed powerless when it came to Laws. Lu Sheng had already noticed this. Therefore, if he wanted to raise the rank of his monsters further, he would have to find special cultivation grounds or obtain Law Stones.

Lu Sheng tried to sense the Law comprehended by the White Flame Blue-Scaled Bird in the way Xiong Zijie described. Sure enough, his intent entered a pitch-black space. In this space, there was a red Law Pillar about the size of a finger, only ten centimeters tall, with red flames drifting above it. It seemed this was the weakest kind of Law.

*I wonder if I can sense the Time-Space Ant's Laws using this method?*

Thinking this, Lu Sheng decided to give it a try. With a shift of his intent, a black space appeared, and two white Law Pillars stood before him. But these two pillars were as thick as a human forearm and one meter high. Were these really from the Time-Space Ant? This was completely different from what Xiong Zijie described!

Looking closely at the two Law Pillars, he noticed they were different. One had a white clock face on it, while the other was completely transparent. As he stared, Lu Sheng noticed a third Law Pillar. This one was flesh-colored, and it looked much more like what Xiong Zijie had described: finger-sized, only ten centimeters tall, with the character for "Force" on it.

*Is this the Law of Force?*

*So, what does this make me? Have I already successfully comprehended Laws without even breaking through to the sixth tier? Does that mean as long as I have enough energy, I can break through to the sixth tier?*

Lu Sheng was filled with questions. Withdrawing his intent, he asked Xiong Zijie again: "Brother Zijie, using this method to view Laws, can you see them in monsters that haven't broken through to the sixth tier?"

"Of course not," Xiong Zijie looked at Lu Sheng strangely. "Only after breaking through to the sixth tier do Law Pillars appear in the body, and only then can you see the Laws."

"Oh, I see. I was just asking out of curiosity," Lu Sheng said, not mentioning that he could see them. How could he let anyone know about that?

The team fell silent again, heading full speed toward the location of District 13. Along the way, their massive group overtook many others, as they had White Cloud Horses for transportation while others did not.

Time passed quickly, and it was soon noon. Under the scorching sun, everyone continued to ride. No one here would be burned by the sun, as everyone had been strengthened enough to handle it. However, it was lunchtime.

The entire team stopped to light fires and cook. Finding a shady spot, they set up grills and began roasting meat. Lu Sheng, however, was not focused on the food.

The Water Spirit Fruits in his sub-dimensional space had matured, and they were all sixth-tier Water Spirit Fruits. They had reached the fifth tier yesterday, but since he had raised the Water Spirit Fruit tree to the sixth tier yesterday noon, he hadn't picked them. Now, there were ten sixth-tier Water Spirit Fruits on the tree. With these fruits, he might be able to break through to the sixth tier himself.

After learning that information from Xiong Zijie, he had been itching to try and see if he could break through to the sixth tier immediately. Although he hadn't tried yet, he held great hope. In his view, it should be possible; otherwise, how could he have seen the Law Pillars?

His true body at Tiantan Mountain began to eat the Water Spirit Fruits. As each fruit was consumed, his strength and realm rose rapidly.

Fifth-tier late stage!

Fifth-tier peak!

Two fruits were consumed, and he broke through two realms in succession. The energy feedback from the breakthrough reinforced his muscles, tendons, and bones. His strength increased with every breakthrough. With his current strength, he couldn't split a mountain, but he could certainly strike a massive fissure into the ground. If he added a hundredfold strength multiplier, creating an abyss wouldn't be a problem either.

He hadn't fought with his true body in a while. He felt a bit restless and thought that when there was an opportunity, he could have some fun fighting himself. But for now, the most important thing was to try and break through to the sixth tier.

According to the cultivation method starting at the sixth tier, as long as one's comprehension of Laws was sufficient, breaking through only required providing energy. This added an extra requirement to the need for energy. Thinking about it, it made sense; one needed the strength to control such vast energy. Laws were the best way to control it. Laws could be comprehended to a very deep level, but if the energy was too vast and the Laws couldn't control it, it might not be a good thing for the human body. Dying from an explosion of energy was not impossible. Thinking of it this way, the fact that one couldn't break through to the sixth tier without mastering Laws was actually a form of protection.

While thinking, he kept swallowing the spiritual fruits. Vast energy surged and was absorbed; the Time-Space Ant devoured all the energy generated. He could feel himself getting closer and closer to the sixth tier.

Finally, upon consuming the eighth Water Spirit Fruit, the Time-Space Ant advanced!

Sixth tier!

He had really broken through to the sixth tier!

Naturally, the methods for using the Law of Time, the Law of Space, and the Law of Force appeared in his mind. In an instant, he could easily use these three Laws. Was this the benefit of having a high-quality natal card? Lu Sheng didn't know, as he had no comparison or data, but he was different from everyone else. That was all he could think.

He excitedly experimented with the three Laws on Tiantan Mountain. The Law of Force, being the simplest, was the first he tried. When applied to himself, he instantly felt his strength increase drastically—fifty times higher than his hundredfold multiplier, meaning a one hundred and fifty-fold increase! He couldn't imagine the sheer power of this. He didn't dare experiment on the mountaintop, as he still needed to raise the quality of his monsters, and if he blew up the mountain, wouldn't that be self-defeating? If he wanted to experiment, he had to go somewhere else.

Next was the Law of Space. After familiarizing himself with it, he understood how to use it. He could freely compress objects—meaning he could shrink them and return them to their original size, though not make them bigger. Spatial teleportation was much more fluid, and the consumption within a hundred meters was minimal.

He experimented with these two spatial abilities, and then he couldn't wait to try the time abilities. Time stop, time acceleration, time reversal... these most basic abilities were now at his fingertips. However, he only experimented with time abilities for a short while before feeling that most of the energy in his body had been consumed. Compared to space and force, the consumption of the Law of Time was terrifying. It wasn't something he could touch yet. These Laws definitely had more profound ways of being used, which he would have to explore one by one.

[Time-Space Ant]
Quality: Red
Rank: Sixth-tier early stage
Skills: Sub-dimensional Space (200,000 square meters, limit in depth, no limit in height), Force Form, Time Reversal, Space Freeze, Space Teleportation, Space Positioning.
Evolution Skill: Battle Form.
Force Form: Law of Force infusion, full-body muscle enhancement, morphological change, all attributes greatly increased, force attribute increased by 200 times.

The hundredfold strength had changed into Force Form, which was fifty times stronger than simply using the Law of Force; this should count as a deep application of the Law of Force. Lu Sheng didn't bother experimenting with it; just using it was useless, but it would be good to test it on someone later.

Now that he had reached the sixth tier, Lu Sheng wanted to see if there was any difference in the Laws within the Time-Space Ant compared to the fifth tier. Entering the Law space within the monster again, three Law Pillars appeared before him.

The Time and Space Law Pillars had now reached two meters in height, with the same forearm thickness. The Force Law Pillar hadn't changed in thickness but had grown to 50 centimeters tall. This completely overturned what Xiong Zijie had said. It must be due to the quality of the natal card. He wondered what would happen if he continued to raise the quality of his natal card.

Raising the quality of the Time-Space Ant now required blue-quality cards as materials. As soon as the sixth-tier Blood-Sucking Mosquitoes reproduced once, he would have blue cards. He just didn't know how many were needed. If it wasn't many, then in two days, when the mosquitoes matured, he might be able to reach a higher quality.

What color was above red? Lu Sheng was curious.

...

"Brother Lu, what are you smiling at?" Xiong Zijie was beside him, confused, watching Lu Sheng eat meat and smile to himself. Following Lu Sheng's gaze, he realized Lu Sheng seemed to be staring at Zhang Haoran and grinning like an idiot. At that moment, Xiong Zijie felt a chill, his sphincter tightening automatically. *No way... no way...* But looking at Lu Sheng's current standards, he should prefer pretty boys; a tough guy like himself should be safe.

In an instant, countless thoughts flashed through Xiong Zijie's mind. He even imagined some possible scenes, and the meat in his hand suddenly didn't taste as good.

"I sensed the Laws of my natal card. I estimate I'll be able to break through to the sixth tier before long, so naturally, I'm happy," Lu Sheng explained.

Xiong Zijie breathed a sigh of relief. This chaotic world had driven too many people crazy, and there were no shortage of those who sought this kind of relief; there were quite a few in his own Hao Han Stronghold, and he was really afraid Lu Sheng might be into that. Wait... what did he just say?

"Brother Lu, didn't you just tell me on the road that you couldn't feel anything?"

"That's right, I only just sensed them. This is thanks to your explanation, which cleared up my thoughts a great deal."

Xiong Zijie's mouth twitched. He himself hadn't sensed them yet, but because of his own words, someone else had. Honestly, it would be a lie to say he wasn't disappointed.

"Congratulations, congratulations, it's truly enviable. Dammit, I still haven't sensed mine," Xiong Zijie said, feeling depressed. He wasn't a petty person, and after venting, he felt better.

Lu Sheng smiled: "I believe it's only a matter of time before Brother Zijie senses them too."

Xiong Zijie replied as a matter of course: "Of course, it's not like I can't break through to the sixth tier..."

Half an hour later, the whole team had packed up and set off again.

"Let's move!"

...

On the road, Xiong Zijie looked ahead and said: "The road ahead won't be easy. There is a continuous mountain range, over a hundred kilometers long, filled with many monsters. If we charge straight through, our massive team will definitely be attacked by monsters."

"But if we take a detour... the journey will be twice as long."

Lu Sheng frowned; he hadn't considered this.

"Are the monsters in this mountain range strong?"

Xiong Zijie checked the data and said: "The average strength of the monsters in this range is about the third tier. According to records, there are a few powerful seventh-tier monsters living inside."

After reading the data carefully, Xiong Zijie was worried. If they encountered a seventh-tier monster, it would be a disaster, and perhaps more than half of them would die. Even if Zhang Tiandao were seventh-tier, the shockwaves of a seventh-tier battle could cause them heavy casualties.

"Brother Lu, do you think we should take the detour?"

This concerned the entire team, and Xiong Zijie didn't have the authority to decide alone, so he had to ask Lu Sheng and his father.

Lu Sheng thought for a moment: "Monsters view us humans as prey, so passing through this mountain range will inevitably lead to attacks. If we are unlucky enough to be targeted by a seventh-tier monster, the people behind us might all die."

"If there were only a few of us, just a small squad, I would suggest going through the mountains. But we have three thousand people in total, and their lives are entrusted to us, so we cannot take risks."

Lu Sheng had made his point clearly, analyzing it from all angles. Xiong Zijie wasn't stupid and naturally understood what Lu Sheng meant.

"Brother Lu, wait a moment. Let me talk to my father about this."

Soon, Xiong Zijie spoke to his father. Xiong Dabiao went to Zhang Tiandao to ask for his opinion, hoping to use Zhang Tiandao's ability to divine the future to predict the outcome. Zhang Tiandao only asked two questions before the answer was clear.

"If we don't take a detour, when will we reach the safe zone of District 13?"

"Tomorrow morning."

"And if we take the detour, adding one hundred kilometers?"

"Tomorrow afternoon."

Knowing the answers to these two questions, there was no reason to object. If Zhang Tiandao had simply said he wanted to follow Lu Sheng's wishes, he might have been unhappy, but Zhang Tiandao had convinced him with sound reasoning. He felt no resentment. Since they would arrive tomorrow regardless, and the detour was safer, they would definitely choose the detour. Even if they encountered monster attacks, the open plains were safer than the mountain forests. At the very least, visibility was high, and they wouldn't have to worry about crises from all sides.

Once the route was confirmed, the order was quickly passed down. The entire team began to slowly change direction, preparing to bypass the mountain range.

However, just because they were bypassing it didn't mean everyone else would. Some forces charged straight into the mountain range. In their view, they were strong enough; even if they faced fifth or sixth-tier monsters, they could run if they couldn't win. Many small squads also directly entered the forest, feeling that they were accustomed to the wilderness and forests, so they didn't think there would be any problem crossing the mountain range.

But they forgot that they had now stepped into the territory of District 13. Was District 13, which was eight danger levels higher than their District 21, really that easy to闯?