"I must raise my law comprehension from sixty-six percent to over seventy-five percent within one year and cross the threshold of a Greater God."

"At the same time, I must fully activate the system’s hidden module, ’All Things Return to Their Source.’"

He held nothing back. He revealed all of the system container readings, as well as the core logic behind the 10,000x critical hit left behind by Yves.

Since he wanted to use the power of the entire city, he had to give these people his absolute trust.

Heavy breathing rose and fell throughout the hall.

This was an insane plan that no one had ever dared to imagine.

In just one year, he wanted to complete a shocking leap in the realm of gods!

"I support you."

Bella was the first to stand. Her voice was cold and clear, firm and without the slightest hesitation.

"If you’re going to risk everything, then the Celestial Imperial City will stay with you until the end."

Cheryl also stood up. Her beautiful eyes were filled with determination.

"I’m the same. The Celestial Imperial City cannot afford to lose, and neither can humanity."

Aiden nodded slightly. His double-pupiled eyes swept across the crowd as he began to give orders.

"Starting today, I will enter the deepest level of seclusion."

"I will use the Seven Pillars crystals of the Celestial Imperial City as the framework, and use law resonance as an accelerator to forcibly twist the flow of time."

"While I am in seclusion, the Celestial Imperial City will be ruled by Bella and Cheryl together."

Aiden looked at the two stunning women.

"Bella, you will be in charge of external defense and military preparations. The Golden Great Wall and the formations of the Celestial Imperial City will be under your command. Any Abyss race that dares to provoke us will be killed without mercy."

Bella lowered her head slightly and placed her hand on the hilt of her sword.

"Leave it to me. As long as the city stands, I stand."

"Cheryl, you will be in charge of the Celestial Imperial City’s internal affairs and daily operations. Rainn and the Miko clan will fully assist you. You must keep the rear stable."

Cheryl nodded firmly.

"Don’t worry. With me here, the rear will never fall into chaos."

Aiden turned to the little girl on his shoulder.

"Faye, you will lead the Dragon Clan rapid response force. You will be the sharpest blade of the Celestial Imperial City, ready at any time to crush any disturbance."

Faye let out a low growl. Her young voice carried the untouchable majesty of a Dragon Emperor.

"Don’t worry, Daddy. Whoever dares to cause trouble, Faye will swallow them in one bite!"

"Jade, you will be in charge of gathering intelligence. Monitor the Abyss and the Great Shaw Empire with all your strength, and stay in contact with the Dawn Society at all times. Search for any traces Leon left behind."

Jade drew her sword halfway. The cold light reflected in her icy eyes.

"Understood."

"Victor, Nellie, Luke, the three of you will assist Bella. Be ready at any time to deal with a possible divine-tier war."

"Yes!"

Everyone answered at once, their voices shaking the roof tiles.

As each order was given, the huge state machine of the Celestial Imperial City began to roar heavily at this moment.

The one-year countdown had officially begun.

The meeting ended, and everyone left one after another.

A heavy atmosphere hung over them all. They knew that the next three hundred and sixty-five days would decide the final fate of humanity on Earth.

Soon, only Aiden and Cheryl were left in the empty hall.

Cheryl did not leave.

She quietly looked at Aiden. The strength she had shown in front of everyone finally faded from her eyes, replaced by endless worry.

"One year... Aiden, can you really do it?"

Cheryl asked softly. There was a faint tremble in her voice, so small it was almost impossible to notice.

That was the Lord of the Primordial.

He was the supreme being who had created the Abyss, and perhaps even the entire data-based era of Earth.

Aiden slowly walked to the edge of the council hall.

Outside the floor-to-ceiling windows, in seven directions around the Celestial Imperial City, seven bright pillars of primordial light shot straight into the clouds, lighting up the night sky as if it were day.

"It took Yves his whole life to rise from a mortal to a Divine Emperor."

Aiden looked at the seven pillars of light. His voice was calm, without the slightest ripple.

"That was because he did not have a system, and he did not have the same cheat-like power I have."

"But if I want to complete the second half of his rise within one year, I need something even more important."

Cheryl froze for a moment and asked without thinking, "What is it?"

"Yves’s complete evolution path."

Aiden turned around. Cheryl’s beautiful face was reflected in his double-pupiled eyes.

"Where is the complete evolution path?"

Cheryl looked confused.

Aiden stared at her, and a deep, unreadable smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.

"Inside you."

Cheryl stood frozen in place. At that moment, her heart seemed to skip a beat.

"The fragments of the Heavenly Law collapsed ten thousand years ago. Yves carved all of his complete evolution nodes onto every single fragment before he died."

"And you are the perfect vessel for those fragments."

"Inside me?"

Cheryl’s beautiful eyes widened, and her breathing stopped completely.

Without thinking, she covered her chest. Deep inside, she could faintly feel a warm and mysterious strength slowly flowing.

Aiden looked at her, a deep light flashing in his double-pupiled eyes.

"That’s right. Back in the Hive Domain, I used the Supreme Miko’s Memory Crystal and saw a few pieces of the plan Yves set up a thousand years ago."

"Back then, while Yves left behind the core logic of the 10,000x critical hit system, he also scattered the results of his life’s research across Earth."

"And the Heavenly Law fragment inside you is the earliest one, and also the most important."

Cheryl’s delicate hand trembled slightly as she asked in a low voice, "What exactly is recorded inside it?"

"A map."

Aiden spoke each word slowly, his voice low and powerful.

"A complete evolution node map, from a mortal all the way to the Divine Emperor Realm."

"The law structures of dozens of key nodes, the ways to trigger the laws, and the conditions for the Inner Spirit to evolve were all sealed inside by Yves in the form of images."

Cheryl was extremely smart, and she instantly understood the terrifying value of this map.

This meant that during Aiden’s coming seclusion, he would no longer need to search blindly.

As long as he followed this map, he could inherit Yves’s path to the Divine Emperor Realm in the most perfect way, and even surpass it!

"How do we take it out?"

Cheryl did not hesitate at all. Her eyes were filled with firm resolve.

Aiden stared at her.

"I need to use space power and the Law of Thunder to force a deep resonance with the fragment inside you."

"But the process will be extremely dangerous. Once the resonance is complete, both of our law strength and Inner Spirit will be drained in an instant. We will enter a short blank period where we are extremely weak."

"If anything happens before I enter seclusion..."

Before Aiden could finish, Cheryl cut him off in a cold voice.

"Aiden, since when did you become so hesitant?"

Cheryl took a step forward and looked straight into his double-pupiled eyes. Her beautiful eyes were full of stubbornness and determination.

"Celestial Imperial City is waiting. Humanity is waiting. We only have one year. We cannot afford to gamble."

"Then let’s do it."

Aiden let out a loud laugh, and battle intent surged wildly in his double-pupiled eyes.

...

Late at night.

In the freezing underground chamber beneath the Celestial Imperial City.

The walls around them were built from ten-thousand-year-old frost crystals. White icy mist rose from them, completely cutting off all sense of the outside world.

Aiden and Cheryl sat cross-legged, facing each other.

Boom!

Aiden’s eyes suddenly opened wide, and four Forces of Law erupted inside the chamber at once.

Space folded wildly in that instant. Dark purple thunder moved through the room like raging dragons, letting out explosive sounds that made the heart tremble.

Intermediate Law of Space. Intermediate Law of Thunder.

Dual resonance, fully opened!

Aiden held two fingers together like a sword. Bright lightning and silver-white ripples of space gathered at his fingertips as he struck toward the center of Cheryl’s forehead.

"Open!"

He gave a low shout.

Violent thunder and the silver-white Law of Space turned into countless thin threads. In an instant, they pierced through the divine light protecting Cheryl’s body and connected precisely to the ancient fragment deep inside her energy sea.

Cheryl’s delicate body shook hard, and her beautiful face turned pale at once. But she clenched her teeth and did not make even the slightest sound.

Buzz!

In that instant, an indescribable ancient pressure suddenly awakened from within Cheryl’s body.

The Heavenly Law fragment that had slept for ten thousand years was finally unlocked under the wild stimulation of Aiden’s two intermediate laws.

Boom!

Brilliant golden divine light erupted like a volcano, completely covering them both.

A vast image that could not be described in words slowly unfolded in the void.

It was... an evolution path made of stars!

Dozens of shining golden nodes, like tiny universes, slowly spun in midair.

Inside each node, countless law circuits were woven together, so detailed they seemed almost perfect.

From the first Level 1 Class Change, to Level 100 Lesser God, then to Middle God, High God, Supreme God, God-Emperor, and finally Divine Emperor!

The law arrangement of every breakthrough node was so clear that it was almost a miracle.

Aiden’s double-pupiled eyes reflected the star-filled path, while the system screamed wildly in his mind and recorded everything at full speed.

[Warning! Supreme law evolution path detected! System is analyzing at full power!]

[Analysis progress: 10%... 30%... 70%...]

Aiden felt as if his Inner Spirit had been pulled into a vast ocean of laws. Every single symbol was draining his Spirit power like crazy.

Cheryl’s eyes also lost focus. The fragment was continuously drawing out her core Strength and joining it with Aiden’s at the deepest level.

Time passed, second by second.

[Analysis complete! Full evolution node map loaded!]

As the system’s final clear prompt rang out, the starry vision in midair shattered in an instant, turning into countless points of light that faded into the air.

Thud.

Aiden and Cheryl lost all strength almost at the same time and fell heavily onto the floor made of frost crystals.

At that moment, both of their Force of Laws and Inner Spirit Strength had been completely drained.

They did not even have the strength to move a finger.

The chamber was dead silent.

Only the faint chill left by the frost crystals drifted quietly through the air.

Aiden lay on his back on the cold floor, his chest rising and falling hard. Yet a nearly crazed smile hung at the corner of his mouth.

"Cheryl."

Aiden’s voice was hoarse and weak.

Cheryl turned onto her side. Her dark hair fell loose, and her beautiful face was so pale it had no color at all. But her eyes were shockingly bright.

"Yeah?"

"Do you know what you were carrying inside you? It was all the node data from the life’s work of the strongest person on Earth ten thousand years ago."

Aiden turned his head and looked at her.

Cheryl looked at him quietly. The corner of her mouth rose slightly, forming a breathtaking smile.

"I know."

"So you’d better not waste it."

Aiden let out a low laugh, his chest trembling slightly.

On this late night filled with despair and urgency, on the eve of the coming divine disaster...

The two of them, completely drained, simply lay side by side on the cold floor and did not get up.