Chapter 522: Source of Knowledge
"Marry a few more wives? Or for my son?" Maximus muttered in a daze.
Are these three supreme witches daydreaming?
Seeing the strange looks on his wives', Maximus quickly denied it.
"No, I don't have such plans..."
He already had his hands full coaxing Iris, adding another wife? It would be a recipe for disaster.
As for his children, he wanted to avoid arranging marriages for them.
They were free to like whomever they wanted, whether it was the lowest of the low or the highest of the high.
"Is that so..." they sighed in disappointment.
If they could marry two or three of their clan members into the Shadowcrest family, maybe they could rise on par with the top sects.
The top-tier bloodline of the Elfalhn race is no joke.
As long as there is a World Tree with a complete origin of laws, they could nurture a river of law into an ocean.
As for asking Maximus directly for the manual, they knew it was impossible.
This was an ultimate manual. Even though one's life would be under the control of the originator, the heights they could reach would only be just below them.
Like the controllers of the three overlord forces.
Each of them had an ultimate manual given by their master, allowing them to reach the absolute peak of the Tier 11 realm.
These peak powerhouses could take down 2-3 ordinary masters of the Ocean of Law by themselves.
If not for the limitations of the manual, they could even advance to the Tier 12 realm by following their creator's path.
After talking with the three supreme witches and discussing various cooperation and alliances, Maximus took his wives around the Elfalhn realm to relax.
This dimension was the perfect spot to unwind.
Before they could begin to comprehend the River of Knowledge, they needed a clear mind.
...
Meanwhile, Liam and the others were being surrounded by various guests.
Discussions of cooperation, business dealings, exchanges, and even marriage proposals filled the air.
Fortunately, although they were a bit uncomfortable, being used to the bustle of the top echelons of the world, they handled everything smoothly.
Liam, in particular, was engaging in various discussions about cooperation for the Etherium Realm, from food, materials, treasure, tourism, and transportation.
It was time for the Etherium Realm to show itself to the world.
Though it was still a Tier 10 dimension, with his father's support and strength, it was only a matter of time before it became a Tier 12 dimension.
While the boys treated everything indifferently, the girls were already getting annoyed.
Various young lords, confident in their talent and appearance, circled around like wolves, desperate for their attention.
Their beauty seemed like a poison, making the young lords desperate to show off their abilities.
But Lily and the others weren't impressed in the slightest.
Though they were already thousands of years old, in their hearts, they were still children of their father.
It was too early for them to settle down. Cultivating their strength and reaching the top was their priority.
Rejecting all these desperate suitors, they instructed their guardians to take them away from the place.
At this wedding, Iris had lent Maximus ten Masters of the River of Law to escort them.
With such an entourage, Lily and the others easily escaped the crowd.
Leaving their brothers behind, they joined their parents for a tour in the Elfalhn realm.
...
A hundred years later.
After taking a long vacation and relaxing their minds, Maximus and his wives were ready to embark on a new journey.
Looking at their brand-new ship, Shadow, Maximus couldn't help but feel proud.
Although the exterior appearance of Shadow didn't change much, all its internal components had undergone massive upgrades.
From the defensive barrier, control system, reconnaissance, navigation, storage, comfort, and auxiliary functions—everything had reached the peak of a Tier 11 void ship.
"How much did it cost you to renovate this ship, husband?"
They had lived on this ship for over a thousand years, and now, with all the changes, it was like a completely different ship.
"Hahaha, it only cost about 2 quadrillion..."
Dismantling the interdimensional ship for high-end parts and buying the rest from the Mechanical Alliance, this little void ship had cost a staggering 2 quadrillion origin coins.
"Hiss~ That's too expensive!"
"It's nothing. To venture anywhere we wanted, such a void ship was necessary."
With the current Shadow, they could travel even to the harshest places in the Aeon Plane.
After exploring the ship, Maximus urged Voyager to their next destination.
"To the Source of Knowledge..."
---
Somewhere in the Void:
Looking outside the window, chaotic energy of different colors quietly flowed like an aurora.
"It's beautiful~"
"What a dazzling view~"
Opening the window of the ship, they stretched their hands out like children parting the clouds.
As the knowledge pollution touched their bodies, chaotic thoughts invaded their minds.
Fortunately, unlike void or soul pollution, knowledge pollution was composed of origin energy, not the causality of power.
Being at a lower level, their bodies could fully absorb and purify it without being affected.
As streams of knowledge flooded their minds, they couldn't help but close their eyes, indulging in the pleasure.
Seeing this, Maximus let Voyager drive the Shadow at cruising speed.
---
A few months later, Maximus hurriedly woke up his wives.
"What happened? Are we there?"
Bathing in the enlightenment of knowledge was a pleasurable experience.
All their doubts and questions were being answered one after another, deepening their understanding of their techniques and clarifying the path ahead. It was hard to stop.
"Are you alright?" Maximus asked, seeing they were still dazed.
Although knowledge pollution couldn't harm Tier 10 individuals, those with weaker minds might be assimilated by the Source of Knowledge and never wake up.
"We're fine, don't worry. We've trained for this for over a thousand years. How could we be easily swayed?"
With over a hundred billion magnitude of soul, spirit, will, and comprehension, the knowledge pollution couldn't do anything to them.
They were merely enjoying the feeling, like waking up from a good sleep.
"I see…" Maximus heaved a sigh of relief.
"We're near the core of the Source of Knowledge. We may encounter danger if Shadow is exposed."
Understanding the situation, his wives nodded, closing the window, sealing the ship.
Letting the Shadow enter absolute stealth mode, Voyager manipulated the ship to move at maximum speed toward their destination.
---
In the core of the Source of Knowledge:
Looking at the place where he had broken through in the past, still unoccupied, Maximus sighed in relief.
This place had a high concentration of knowledge pollution and was deserted enough for them to train without disturbance.
Seeing they had arrived, his wives tried to get outside.
"Not yet. This place has a high density of knowledge pollution."
Even with a hundred billion magnitude of will, it was still dangerous here.
When Maximus had come here before, he was nearly assimilated despite the protection of the World Tree's dimensional barrier.
If not for Iris's help, he would have been lost.
Stepping out of the ship, Maximus hurriedly took out a portable Tier 12 array.
This portable array was his masterpiece, crafted over a thousand years.
Although it couldn't fully control the causality of power, being able to resist and redirect such high-tier energy was enough.
It wasn't just about uncontrolled, corrupted causality—it could even resist the power that overlords could control.
Being able to withstand and redirect such energy was a testament to the greatness of this tier 12 array.
After setting up the array and their living quarters, Maximus invited his wives outside.
Stepping out, the dense knowledge pollution immediately greeted his wives, stopping them in a daze.
Just as Maximus was about to intervene, he sensed their connection to the River of Knowledge deepening.
From 9% mastery, they inched closer to 10%.
Finally, after a few minutes, they snapped out of it, breaking through the boundary and officially entering the path of knowledge.
"Congratulations!" Maximus said happily.
Despite the thousand years they had spent comprehending different knowledge, without a cheat like him, they had been stuck at 9% mastery.
Breaking through the barrier the moment they set foot in this place was worth celebrating!
"I could feel endless inspiration flowing into my mind!"
"This feeling is quite addicting!
"I didn't think 10% mastery would feel this different."
Feeling the changes, his wives couldn't help but share their experiences with one another.
10% mastery was the boundary between a wild and a formal seeker.
Breaking that boundary meant they could finally borrow the power of the River of Law rather than just being influenced by it.
"Now, you can finally choose a specialization—a stream of knowledge that you will nurture!"
Since Maximus controlled the entire river, they could only cultivate streams of their own.
A stream of specialization, though weaker than the whole, was much easier to master, control, and make their own.
"A stream of our own?" They smiled, thinking of the paths they wanted to forge.