Chapter 525: 99% Mastery
6,300 Years Later…
Maximus slowly opened his eyes, glancing at his status panel.
[Family and Power System:
Host: Maximus Shadowcrest
Physique: Dimensional Source (Rank 11: 3.95 Trillion/10 Trillion)
River of Knowledge: 99%
Innate Skills: Enhanced Comprehension, Omniscient Search, Omniscient Simulation
Causality Points: 0
Causality Points (Corrupted): 18.34 Trillion]
"99% mastery is the limit…" Maximus sighed.
Facing the barrier from 99% to 100% mastery, Maximus finally understood why the River of Knowledge was called one of the forbidden path.
It had been over three thousand years since he reached 99% mastery.
Yet, even after exhausting all his reserves of causality points, he was still stuck.
It seemed there was an insurmountable wall in front of him that he couldn't cross, no matter what he did.
"Should I take a break and gather a few more strands of causality?"
"No, it's too early to give up!" Maximus cheered himself on.
He felt that if he stopped, he might never break through this barrier.
Turning his attention to his innate skills, he couldn't help but fall into thought.
Reaching 99% mastery, his innate skill, enhanced comprehension had now increased a hundredfold.
With a hundred times the comprehension speed and the addition of his system, he felt that he could become omniscient even without the River of Knowledge.
There was also his Omniscient Search skill, with its penalty now reduced to only a hundred times.
Finally, there was the innate skill he acquired upon reaching 90% mastery: Omniscient Simulation, allowing him to simulate anyone and anything.
With all the knowledge and information flowing through the Aeon Plane, Omniscient Simulation could simulate everything.
When he first obtained it, Maximus tried simulating fights with various primordial candidates for fun.
Facing these top geniuses was an eye opener.
Skill after skill, treasure after treasure—these primordial candidates had what it took. Battling those ranked from 4 to 12 felt like fighting a master of the River of Law.
Despite his higher magnitude of power, Maximus couldn't defeat them without using his origin explosion.
They had too many tricks and treasure he hadn't even heard off.
If not for his overwhelming power, maybe he would even be defeated.
As for the top three from the overlord forces, all he could say was that they were formidable.
Their strength was greater than that of Kares, the master of the River of Soul-Light, whom he had fought in the Silent Void Expanse.
Especially the number one, Paragon—unless he unleashes a millionfold magnitude of power, he couldn't defeat him.
This monstrous existence probably wielded the power of a Master of the Ocean of Law.
With three Tier 12 Ultimate Treasures, an Ultimate Manual reaching Tier 11, and a physique beyond comprehension, Paragon even had the ability to channel the power of the Aeon Plane itself.
If Maximus didn't know better, he might have thought Paragon was an incarnation of the Aeon Plane itself.
Shaking off thoughts of such terrifying battles, he focused on how he could break through his current impasse.
With no strands of causality left, Maximus could only rely on pure power to force his way forward.
"Hmm? There's also my physique!" He suddenly thought.
If he couldn't break the barrier, he only needed to grow stronger.
With his mastery of the River of Law, he should be able to absorb about ten thousand causality points every minute.
Testing the idea, he absorbed 9,999 corrupted causality points without any issue.
"It worked!"
[Physique: Dimensional Source (Rank 11: 3.95 Trillion/10 Trillion)]
"Only about 1,170 years to go!" Maximus quickly calculated.
With 9,999 corrupted causality points every minute, over five billion every year, it would take him about 1,170 years to upgrade his physique to rank 12.
With his next course of action decided, Maximus was back on track.
This time, instead of focusing on knowledge, he relaxed, absorbing corrupted causality points every minute to enhance his physique.
He also invited his wives to join him out of seclusion.
They had long since reached 99% mastery of their respective streams of law.
Now, they were nurturing these streams to grow into rivers.
Not wanting them to exhaust themselves and desiring companions for his break, Maximus coaxed them out of seclusion.
As they spent time together, the passage of time became clearer.
After thousands of years immersed in the Source of Knowledge, they finally felt the flow of time again.
Having spent most of their time in seclusion and meeting only a few months every hundred years, it felt as though only a few decades had passed.
Now, with days filled with activity, time seemed to pass much faster.
After a hundred years out of seclusion, they even began to miss home.
"When do you think we'll return? Do you think our children will still recognize us?" Hazel asked with a sigh.
Hearing this, the others also turned emotional.
They had been in the Source of Knowledge for nearly ten thousand years.
Thinking about their family, they couldn't help but feel emotional.
"You don't have to worry—they're about to come here…" Maximus smiled.
"Huh? What do you mean?"
"You'll see."
…
As promised, soon enough, their children, grandchildren, and in-laws arrived.
Maximus had told them that once they reached a magnitude of over a hundred billion in soul, spirit, will, and comprehension, they could join them in the Source of Knowledge for training.
Knowing their father's plan, Liam and the others naturally prepared to come together.
Unfortunately, due to some being busy, progressing slower, and the birth of a new generation, they had to wait until everyone was ready.
"You're late…" Maximus muttered, feeling emotional at the sight of all his children.
Not having seen them for nearly ten thousand years, he could barely hold back his emotions.
"Hahaha, sorry, Dad, Mom—there was a cat that happened to pass by~" Max joked.
Hearing his lame excuse, the others couldn't help but laugh.
"How is the Etherium Realm, Liam? Did you get everything arranged?"
"Hmm, the Four Spirit Goddesses of the Etherium Realm are more than enough to manage it. As for dangers, I don't think there'll be any."
The Etherium Realm was under the watch of the Immortal Palace.
Furthermore, everyone knew it was the home of the Shadowcrest family, so no one dared to cause trouble there.
By now, the Shadowcrest family was already making waves in the Dimensional Alliance.
From influence to wealth and power, many believed it was just a matter of time before they became one of the top families.
Especially with Maximus holding the title of Supreme Primordial Canditate of the Dimensional Alliance, no sane individual or force dared to cause trouble for them.
If anyone did, others would likely scramble to remove the trouble, eager to curry favor with the Shadowcrest family.
"Who's this little girl? Lux?" Maximus asked, noticing a little girl hiding shyly behind Lux.
"This is Lexi," Lux said lovingly.
Possessing the blood of a top race and born from the nourishment of the Origin Manual, Lexi's talent was unprecedentedly high.
[Lexi Shadowcrest:
Physique: Tree Origin (Supreme Grade)
Realm: Tier 10
River of Knowledge: 9%]
"A Supreme Grade physique, Tree Origin…worthy of being my granddaughter~" Maximus praised, patting her head.
With green lustrous eyes, green hair, elf-like ears, and a petite frame, Maximus couldn't help but pinch her cheeks.
"Grandfather~" Lexi beamed, looking at him with stars in her eyes.
After some celebrating and reminiscing, they quickly returned to their training, each of them focused on separating their own streams of law, comprehending knowledge, and cultivating to catch up to them.
Meanwhile, Maximus continued absorbing corrupted causality points while enjoying his time with his wives.
With the whole family gathered, life became as lively as it once was.
Watching his family engaged in their respective paths, time passed quickly.
…
A thousand years later…
"A little more," he murmured.
[Physique: Dimensional Source (Rank 11: 9.99 Trillion/10 Trillion)]
A few days later, Maximus felt his origin breaking out of its cocoon.
As it reshaped, his connection with the world became clearer.
The origin of laws seemed to open their valves, pouring endlessly into his body.
Feeling a part of himself connected to the Aeon Plane, his heart couldn't help but throb.
Twirling his fingers, he condensed the origin energy into crystal fragments.
This energy was different from the origin energy produced by an individual.
It was directly generated by the world—an unrefined, top-notch energy possessing the purest form of origin power.
With his physique reaching Rank 12, the origin energy within the Aeon Plane seemed to fall under his control.
Feeling his overwhelming power, he even forgot his initial plan.
Suddenly, like a starving man discovering an oasis, his system and the River of Knowledge began absorbing the energy in his body.
"Stop!" Maximus forcefully halted the actions of his system and the River of Knowledge.
He had already mastered 99% of his system. All that remained was the seal of its creator.
Without fully knowing and breaking this seal, Maximus didn't dare to trust it with an endless supply of energy.
Having virtually unlimited energy at his disposal, he was worried the system might revive or activate a protocol he wasn't aware of.
Turning his attention to the River of Knowledge, curiosity gleamed in his eyes.
"It has an instinct too, huh?" Maximus muttered, twirling his finger and enticing it with origin energy.