1,500 years of cultivation. In the average experts" eyes, 1,500 years was nothing. But when Time Loops entered the fray, the situation became wholly different. In the Jade Dynasty, time stopped fluctuating, with chambers of Infinite Time Loops serving as one of the mightiest foundations of the dynasty"s growth.
100 years after the peace treaty"s signature, Konrad broke through, reaching Sublime Infiniteness Insight and thereby becoming a High Supreme. However, he didn"t pursue Nothingness, instead using his primary body to seek the means to build his final cultivation realm. The task proved more challenging than expected.
The final cultivation realm was Konrad"s alone. None of his consorts or soldiers could ever step into it. Because that step alone was meant to at least give him Almighty level strength, Konrad believed there was no early, mid, late or peak stage. It was but one step.
Alas, that step he couldn"t take.
In other areas, however, his strength skyrocketed. With an endless supply of diabolic energies and all the Wills he refined, Konrad broke lock after lock of his Void Mirror Physique, soon reaching 30, and thereby obtaining Almighty level battle-power.
If the Absolute Negation Physique was the most dreadful, the Void Mirror Physique was undoubtedly the most peculiar.
Mirroring and robbing of abilities, physiques and innate skills; the Void Mirror Physique could register and mirror all abilities the opponent showcased. If the opponent was sufficiently weak, the physique owner could even outright strip abilities from them. And for the current Konrad, an Almighty aside, there was no such thing as "strong."
Yet, he wasn"t satisfied. His cultivation rose alongside his Forbidden Physiques. 50 years after the treaty, he reached the Devil Monarch Realm. But it took a whole 1,000 years afterward for Konrad to reach the peak.
On cultivation alone, he possessed Quasi-Almighty strength. When Physiques, Supremacy, and Cultivation level combined, he could crush the past Regretless with a finger snap. Still, that wasn"t enough.
Alas, without forming the final step of his Cultivation Bridge, he couldn"t grow further. In truth, Konrad never planned to achieve that during the 1,500 years deadline. However, for the sake of his plan, he needed to show the world he tried, and so he did. And as Konrad emerged from the last seclusion, he didn"t doubt that he"d cultivated enough for a lifetime.
Across the remaining years, Konrad absorbed a great variety of bloodlines, making his bloodline strength rise ever still. He even got his hand on Dao Spirits. Unfortunately, all Tribulation Spirits of the omniverse lay in the Firmament. Otherwise, Regretless" Omniarch Blood would now be a sub-part of Konrad"s lineage.
Meanwhile, his forces too experienced startling growth. The weakest of the Chthonian Orders" 3,6 million soldiers stood at the Prime Devil Realm. In the upper echelon, there wasn"t anyone below the Anti-G.o.d level. The 12 Dragon Dukes all reached at least the mid-stage of the Devil Monarch Realm, with the strongest four, Wolfgang, Chimera, Hubert, and Berken, breaking through to the late-stage.
Meanwhile, Konrad"s consort numbers rose to 16,000, all reaching the Devil Monarch Realm, with the likes of Gulistan, Verena, Else, Selene, Rati, the Warden and Moon reaching the late-stage.
Cacillia and Heide too reached the late-stage. Unsurprisingly, though without the support of dual cultivation, Helmut too reached the late-stage. Elia, however, remained at the mid-stage.
On that topic, the second prince, Ube returned from his purgatory, clear-headed and ready to serve. His cultivation now reached the mid-stage of the Devil Monarch Realm.
As for Yvonne, she let go of the Devil Bridge, crossed the 10,000 Tribulations, and formed her own Cultivation Bridge: The Extermination Monarch Bridge.
Just like Konrad"s, her Bridge possessed six ordinary steps, with the seventh reserved for her. According to Konrad"s a.s.sessment, though both were Perfect Bridges" Yvonne"s surpa.s.sed Regretless" in might.
Unlike Konrad whose final step required unrivaled conditions, after reaching Sublime Infiniteness Insight, Yvonne could immediately forge her final realm. With that realm, Yvonne"s cultivation alone surpa.s.sed High Supreme level, approaching the Quasi-Almighty tier of Konrad"s peak-stage Devil Monarch cultivation. Meanwhile, she"d also reached All-Transcendence, thereby becoming the fourth High Supreme.
Many wondered why she didn"t just stay on the Devil Bridge. After all, there wasn"t much difference between her current cultivation level and the one she would possess once she broke through to the peak of the Devil Monarch Realm. The likes of Else, for example, could also form their bridges. However, there was no sense in doing so.
Only Konrad knew that Yvonne"s purpose didn"t lie in strength.
She wanted to verify something, and she did.
Meanwhile, in the Jade Dynasty, Supremes rose one after the other. Beyond, the situation was by no means that glorious. However, abrupt changes in the atmosphere announced to the world that another High Supreme rose.
As the peace treaty neared the end, a nameless wanderer donning a bamboo hat reached Sublime Infiniteness Insight, adding it to his All-Transcendence to become a High Supreme. He then vanished without a sound, never again reappearing in the cultivation world.
The man was Cloud.
Another destroyed his main body, scattering his Supreme Will and existence across the omniverse to observe and understand its very essence—while going from nothing to all things.
That man was Night.
In the Neo Empyrean"s capital, the thundering laughter of a silver-haired youth resounded, as All-Transcendence added to his Sublime Infiniteness insight to make him...the sixth High Supreme!
In the Firmament, one after the other, Primordials and Supremes rose. The Tribulation Demon Guard that once made the omniverse quiver, welcomed 12 new Supremes. Initially, the members of this guard were all Primordial level, the handpicked, war-ruined children raised by Regretless to fight for the greatest crown.
In those 1,500 years, trapped in an Infinite Time Loop, their strength rose to brand-new heights. As for Regretless, due to the uniqueness of his Bridge, Celestial Slaughter"s mental message blocked any cultivation advance, letting it remain at Supreme level.
But in other places, he grew. For the second time in his life, Regretless used his Three Corpses Refining Incantation to do that one thing that went against all his aspirations: Cultivate Nothingness!
Unlike Konrad"s Devil Refining Incantation, Regretless" art split him based on the self. A Good Body, an Evil Body, and a Neutral Body. Two of the three would start out empty.
As per his father"s will, Regretless kept his original strength and consciousness in the Good Body. In the Neutral Body, he cultivated Nothingness. In the Evil Body, he not only cultivated from scratch but when further than his past peak, reaching High Supreme in cultivation level alone.
The Evil Body was the true Tribulation Demon. However, the Good Body remained in control of the other two, able to channel their strength and merge when necessary. The Neutral Body reached Sublime Nothingness Insight, thereby granting Regretless Almighty level strength.
But because he didn"t merge the three, it was only as if.
He didn"t, and he wouldn"t. For Regretless, becoming Almighty was never an issue. There was simply no point. Even becoming an Almighty couldn"t give him what he truly yearned for.
Only Celestial Slaughter could.
But unlike Konrad"s Devil Refining Incantation, Regretless" art was incomparably dangerous and riddled with hidden dangers. The reason was simple, they didn"t share one consciousness. All were independent, and if the main body ever lost control, disastrous consequences awaited.
Meanwhile, as his children"s growth reached the acme, from within his imperial palace, as he lounged on his throne, Celestial Slaughter"s eyes opened wide, and his lips curled into a smile.
"The Final War begins."