In the freezing secret chamber, the cold white mist slowly faded.

Aiden held on to the ice wall beside him and slowly stood up. A tired but bright light shone in his double—pupiled eyes.

Beside him, Cheryl also struggled to sit up. Her pale, beautiful face now carried a look of relief.

"We did it," Cheryl said in a hoarse voice, with a faint smile.

"We did it," Aiden said with a small nod. "Go back and recover first. I’ll walk the rest of the path alone."

Cheryl did not say anything more. She looked at him deeply, then turned and left the chamber.

Boom!

The heavy stone door of the secret chamber slammed shut, cutting off all the noise and danger outside.

Aiden sat down cross—legged again, closed his eyes, and let his mind sink into the deepest layer of the law resonance field.

It was an endless dark void, so silent that it made the heart uneasy.

But now, as the "evolution node map" became completely clear in his mind, the dark void began to change completely.

"According to this map, the laws should not be scattered and chaotic."

Aiden spoke silently in his heart.

Here, he was going to build a miracle that had never existed before.

The Garden of Laws.

Buzz!

The void trembled.

The power of the Intermediate Law of Space was like the toughest soil, folding and spreading layer by layer through the void.

The Intermediate Law of Thunder turned into violent purple lightning. Like spring thunder, it exploded in the darkness and filled this space with endless life.

Then, the tiny sprout of the Law of Light, only three percent complete, turned into a weak but steady ray of dawn. It fell upon the soil woven from space and thunder.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

Seven deep explosions went off in the depths of Aiden’s soul.

They were the law traces left behind by the seven Primordial Crystals. Like seven mysterious seeds, Aiden planted them with perfect precision on the nodes of space and thunder.

Space became the soil.

Thunder became the bones.

Light became the glow.

The primordial power became the seeds.

Each "seed" matched a different area on the evolution node map.

In an instant, every law region began to resonate fiercely, forming a perfect, endless cycle.

The law power that had once been violent and chaotic now became as gentle as flowing spring water, quietly moving through Aiden’s resonance field.

The Garden of Laws was complete!

Aiden quietly looked down at his own Garden of Laws.

For the first time, he could see the inside of his own life so clearly and directly.

Deep within the garden, a golden chain of stars made of dozens of shining nodes stretched across the entire void.

Those nodes were the steps that would lead him to the supreme realm of Divine Emperor.

The first few nodes shone with dazzling light.

They marked the path he had already walked.

From mortal to Venerable, then to lesser god, and now to the early stage of Intermediate god.

Those nodes had been fully lit, like burning stars.

But beyond the early stage of Intermediate god, there was only a long, cold silence.

Dozens of unlit nodes were hidden in the endless darkness, like a broken chain.

"So this is... the path to Divine Emperor."

Aiden’s heart shook.

At the same time, the 10,000x Critical Hit System inside him began to run wildly.

[Ding! Garden of Laws detected. System overclock engine activated!]

[Injecting law essence into the later nodes...]

Aiden finally understood.

The so—called 10,000x Critical Hit System was not some cheat power that had appeared out of nowhere.

At its core, it was an acceleration engine Yves had specially created to work with the evolution node map.

Every critical hit from the system, every time it devoured the laws, was repairing and charging those cold nodes at ten thousand times the normal speed.

But before Aiden could feel any joy, the system’s voice suddenly became heavy.

[Warning! The law energy required for the late—stage Intermediate god node is increasing at a geometric rate!]

[10,000x Critical Hit efficiency is starting to fall... Current actual multiplier: 1,000x... 100x...]

Aiden’s pupils suddenly shrank.

He could clearly see that the amount of law power needed for the late—stage Intermediate god node had reached a terrifying level beyond imagination.

Before such a huge demand, even the 10,000x Critical Hit System was starting to feel like a drop in the bucket.

The critical hit multiplier was being forcefully pulled down by that terrifying pull of the laws.

"Damn it. At this speed, even with the 10,000x Critical Hit System, there’s no way I can cross the Intermediate god realm and reach Greater God within one year!"

Aiden’s expression darkened.

He finally understood why Leon had said he was certain to lose the one—year bet.

The further he went, the weaker the system’s cheat—like effect became.

This was an unbreakable rule of the laws of heaven and earth. Even the system Yves had left behind could not fully go against it.

Aiden suddenly opened his eyes. A look of firm resolve flashed through his double—pupiled eyes.

Whoosh!

Space rippled slightly, and Aiden’s figure vanished from the freezing secret chamber.

At the deepest core of the formation in Celestial Imperial City, a huge golden formation disk slowly turned, giving off a terrifying pressure that could suppress everything.

Zoey sat cross—legged at the center of the formation eye, her whole body covered in a faint golden glow.

"You’re here."

Zoey opened her eyes and looked at Aiden, who had appeared out of thin air. A complicated look flashed in her eyes.

Aiden did not waste any words. He stepped forward and stood directly in front of her.

"Zoey, I need to ask you something."

Aiden looked down at her, his double—pupiled eyes fixed firmly on her.

"What exactly is ’All Things Return to Their Source,’ the thing Yves left inside the system container?"

The moment Zoey heard those words, her delicate body trembled hard.

The calm in her eyes disappeared at once. In its place were deep struggle and hesitation.

She stayed silent for a long time, not even daring to look Aiden in the eyes.

"Speak."

Aiden’s voice was as cold and sharp as a blade, carrying the unquestionable authority of a god.

Zoey took a deep breath. At last, she slowly raised her head and said in a trembling voice,

"It is... a return."

"The law essence the system has devoured from its hosts along the way never truly disappeared. All of it was stored inside that container."

"Once you choose to activate ’All Things Return to Their Source,’ those pure laws that were devoured will flow back in an instant."

"It can help you cross the impossible gap at the hardest late—stage Intermediate god node and break through the bottleneck."

Zoey looked at Aiden. Her eyes turned slightly red as she spoke the final words, one by one.

"But the price is..."

"You will completely lose the system. You will lose the 10,000x Critical Hit ability and become... an ordinary person without a system."

...

At the deepest core of the formation in Celestial Imperial City.

The huge golden formation disk slowly turned beneath Aiden’s feet. The divine pressure it gave off pressed down on the air around them until it almost seemed frozen.

Aiden stood there, the complex formation patterns reflected in his double—pupiled eyes. His face was calm, like a bottomless pool of dead water.

"Explain it clearly," Aiden said, his voice without any warmth.

Zoey looked up. The tears in her eyes finally spilled over. Under the golden light, they broke into scattered flashes.

"’All Things Return to Their Source’... is the final key Yves left in the deepest part of the system."

Zoey’s voice trembled slightly. She raised her pale fingers and gently tapped the air.

Buzz!

A small law evolution map, woven from countless golden threads, slowly opened between them.

"When the law essence stored inside the system container reaches its full limit, it will be completely activated."

"It will turn all the law essence the system has devoured along the way into the purest flood of original laws, then pour it into your Garden of Laws in an instant."

"This flood will force your law resonance field to expand ten thousand times!"

Zoey looked at Aiden, her beautiful eyes filled with shock and awe.

"In Yves’s original design, the energy inside this flood of original laws would be enough to take you from the high level of Intermediate god, past High God, Supreme God, and God—Emperor, all the way to the early stage of Divine Emperor in a single step!"

Reach Divine Emperor in one step!

That was the supreme realm where even the top Heavenly Demon Clan of the Abyss would have to bow their heads.

Yet there was no joy on Aiden’s face. Instead, his double—pupiled eyes narrowed slightly.

"What is the price?" he asked coldly.

When Zoey heard those words, her delicate body trembled hard, and her tears flowed even more fiercely.

"The price is... it can only be used once."

"Once ’All Things Return to Their Source’ is activated, the system will permanently shut down all law—gathering modules."

"The 10,000x Critical Hit... will also be completely reset to zero."

"From then on, the system will only be a cold support panel, able to record data and nothing more."

"You will no longer have the trump card that lets you defeat enemies above your level. You will become... an ordinary Reclasser, just like everyone else on Earth."

Zoey closed her eyes, unable to keep looking at Aiden.

The core hall fell into a deathly silence.

Aiden said nothing.

He stood there quietly as countless scenes flashed through his mind.

From awakening as a Magic Apprentice in The White City, to becoming the top scorer in the Great Shaw Empire College Testing, to winning the global tournament, and then to the bloody battle beside the Golden Great Wall.

Every time he had defeated someone stronger than him and crushed those high and mighty Abyss Demons and divine powerhouses under his feet, it had all been because of this unreasonable "10,000x Critical Hit."

It was his strongest trump card and his greatest source of confidence.

If he lost the 10,000x Critical Hit, his combat power would suffer a devastating drop.

But if he did not activate All Things Return to Their Source...

Aiden looked inward at the "Garden of Laws" in his mind.

In that garden, woven from space, thunder, and light, the late—stage Intermediate god node stood like an uncrossable chasm.

Without the help of All Things Return to Their Source, and with the critical hit multiplier constantly weakening, he would never be able to cross that barrier—not in one year, not even in a hundred.

And the countdown for the Lord of the Primordial had only one year left.