Age of Evolution

”

It was the first time Ye Hua had been so happy. Ever since Lin Zhen had exterminated billions of the Insect Clan on Suspended Island, Ye Hua had been worried that Lin Zhen would overtake him and seek vengeance for Feng Qingluan’s grudge.

He even wanted to take the initiative to find Lin Zhen and have a direct showdown, but with the protection of the Mixed World King, he never had such an opportunity.

Helpless, all he could do was diligently cultivate to prevent Lin Zhen from suddenly coming for him one day.

However, seeing Lin Zhen grow step by step and make a fortune in the arena, he couldn’t help but feel extremely anxious.

In the end, it was the World King of Machinery who took action and had someone drive Lin Zhen out of the arena, which made Ye Hua genuinely happy.

“Son! Now that Lin Zhen has been driven away, he won’t be coming back anytime soon. Are you happy now?”

“Father, although Lin Zhen can’t be in the arena anymore, he is still free outside, with the protection of the Mixed World King. There are also other ways for him to make money besides the arena.”

“Oh, what do you mean?”

“Father, since the Mixed World King has always been Lin Zhen’s protective umbrella, why don’t you just lure him away? If both of you are not here, I can deal with Lin Zhen openly and legitimately. I’ve told you before that the grudges between Lin Zhen and me must ultimately be resolved by the two of us.”

The World King of Machinery thought for a moment: “You’re right. I shouldn’t have meddled in your affairs too much. My decision to take action against Lin Zhen has only provoked that old Mixed World King to target me everywhere. In hindsight, it was a mistake.”

He stood up and walked around, the metal machinery on his body making a clicking sound.

“Son, even if you hadn’t mentioned this, I wouldn’t be able to stay here much longer. Dad needs to pursue his own path.”

Ye Hua was stunned. Hadn’t the World King of Machinery abandoned his body in pursuit of power, making it impossible for him to progress any further?

Furthermore, what was there beyond the realm of the World King?

“My choice back then was somewhat erroneous. Son, the World King is not the endgame for a martial artist. A World King is merely the ruler of a star realm, such as our vast Fire Kirin Empire. However, this is just a formation of a starry sky, with both a beginning and an end.”

“You mean to say, Father…?”

“Yes, what I mean is, World King powerhouses also have a limited lifespan. Throughout the history of our Fire Kirin Empire, especially during the middle and late stages, there emerged World Kings nearly every year, or at least one every two to three years. But where have the countless World Kings from these millions of years gone? Some have died, and others have embarked on their own paths, reaching higher realms.”

The World King of Machinery patted his arm: “I was too impatient and greedy back then, sacrificing my body and causing my strength to stagnate at the peak of the World King stage. In fact, I should have emulated my predecessors, focusing on cultivation without worldly concerns, all for the pursuit of that eternal realm.”

“I intervened in your matters in the hope that you could concentrate on cultivation without any threats after I leave. I wanted to help you eliminate Lin Zhen in advance. But now it seems that I’ve made a mistake. How can you grow without experiencing trials and tribulations?”

“Father, are you leaving?” Ye Hua asked.

“Soon, most of the World Kings will leave within a year or two. As long as they don’t want to remain at the World King stage and die of old age, every World King strives for that glimmer of hope. Once they cross that threshold, they will achieve eternity.”

After saying this, the World King of Machinery patted Ye Hua’s shoulder: “Before I leave, focus on cultivation. Dad will handle everything for you. After I’m gone, everything will depend on you.”

Ye Hua nodded, although he had no idea what lay beyond the World King stage, his heart was eagerly anticipating its arrival.

********

Lin Zhen absorbed a large pile of Fire Crystalstones into nothingness, spending fifty billion Cosmic Crystals in the process.

But it was all worth it. Lin Zhen raised his hand, and a brilliant white flame danced at his fingertips.

When he first saw Little Phoenix, its firepower was like this. Now Lin Zhen had finally caught up to her footsteps at that time.

“Chris, calculate how much it would cost me to advance to light blue flames.”

“Master, ordinary Fire Crystalstones can no longer meet your current needs. If you want to advance to light blue flames, you will need the Fire Crystalstone cores. To afford it, you would need to spend about all the money in your bank account.”

Lin Zhen couldn’t help but sigh secretly at the thought of needing fifty billion!

It could be said that ever since Lin Zhen had obtained the Black Hole Beast physique, his path became intertwined with the need for money.

Whether it was the advancement of his realm or the upgrading of his energy elements, both required huge amounts of money as support.

Although Lin Zhen had to constantly strive to make money, it saved him countless time. While others needed hundreds of years of cultivation to achieve the same results, Lin Zhen could achieve it by devouring once. Overall, it was still very worthwhile.

Although fifty billion was a lot, Lin Zhen wasn’t worried. With the incandescent flame, his avatar could now create top-quality artifacts.

Other than Heavenly Tools, top-quality artifacts were the best choice, and each one was worth at least several billion.

Making them was quite difficult, and the materials were hard to come by. Otherwise, fifty billion would have been a small amount for Lin Zhen.

Of course, his avatar would handle these matters while Lin Zhen’s present concern was to improve his strength as quickly as possible.

“There are two ways for me to increase my star power at the moment. One is to upgrade my Dantian, and the other is to upgrade my Dark Star.”

The upgrading of the Dantian would require Lin Zhen to cultivate step by step, while the upgrading of the Dark Star had shortcuts.

That is to continue buying the Heart of Star Plants to further enhance the vitality of the Dark Star, progressing from the Mesozoic Era to the New Era.

The Heart of Star Plants is very expensive, with each one valued at tens of billions, which is not a small burden for Lin Zhen.

He simply settled down at the south gate of Kirin Holy Star. Originally, Lin Zhen planned to go home to practice, but the practice environment on Kirin Holy Star was better and buying things was more convenient, so he didn’t go home for the time being.

Anyway, he could see his family every day in the Dimensional Universe. Now with some free time, whenever there was the opportunity, Yue’er and An Ning would bring the children to see Lin Zhen in the Dimensional Universe.

The children had grown up. Lin Zhen saw them yesterday, Lin Ping and Lin An were already six years old, and they had grown into little gentlemen, inheriting the excellent genes of Lin Zhen and An Ning, and they were handsome little boys.

For the two little boys, Dad is their hero in their minds. Their every move is imitating Dad, either intentionally or unintentionally, hoping that one day they can be like Dad, able to protect their family.

And Lin Mei’er, who is five years old, is a soft and sweet sticky rice ball. Every time she sees her father, she acts spoiled and clinging, completely unlike her two older brothers.

Su Mingyue’s daughter is naturally beautiful, and Lin Zhen can’t get enough of her each time he sees Mei’er.

Of course, his wife doesn’t come looking for Lin Zhen often either. As a martial artist, they don’t have much time. They still have to practice.

Now, the Star Crystals in the Star Fruit Tree are of no use to Lin Zhen. He would send them back to the Solar System through his first Perpetual Crystal Spaceship.

Lin Zhen has also found a way to store the Star Crystals, which will not dissolve for several months. With each supply of Star Crystals, the realms of both his wife and parents have made great progress.

Su Mingyue and An Ning have actually practiced to the Five-level Constant Star, not far from the peak of the Constant Star Stage.

While their parents have practiced to the peak of the Comet Stage, they are about to enter the Constant Realm Third Level.

The Dimensional Universe is indeed convenient. When Lin Zhen misses his family, his wife can even come to accompany him, doing whatever they want.

However, after sharing a bed once, Su Mingyue and An Ning both urged Lin Zhen not to keep looking for them. They both knew how urgent Lin Zhen’s cultivation was.

Everything at home is fine, don’t worry about it, Lin Zhen.

Lin Zhen also followed his wife’s advice, trying to reduce their meeting time and focus on practicing.

Two years have passed in a flash…

********

Inside the quiet room, Lin Zhen was practicing.

The mutant black hole in his body swelled and expanded after countless repetitions!

Suddenly, an overwhelming wave of energy filled the room, and the starlight shined brightly, illuminating every corner of the room!

Broke through!

Black Hole Middle Stage!

The starlight energy wave rotated for a while before finally stopping, and Lin Zhen slowly opened his eyes.

“It’s been two years, and finally, after the Dark Star, I’ve made progress in the Black Hole Realm and entered the middle stage.”

Over the past two years, Lin Zhen has made several breakthroughs.

First, several of the top-quality artifacts were released, allowing his wealth to accumulate rapidly. In half a year, his flame power advanced again, reaching a light blue color.

With light blue flames, he can create Heavenly Tools, and Lin Zhen has the purple qi to open the Dark Star World in his body, which can be used to create Heavenly Tools.

First, he upgraded the Yin Yang and Cliff Corner Double Guns to Heavenly Tools. Then, Lin Zhen began his journey of creating Heavenly Tools.

To advance the flames from light blue to medium blue, he needed Cosmic Crystals worth 500 billion!

Up to now, Lin Zhen has not accumulated a wealth of 500 billion, after all, creating Heavenly Tools is very difficult, the materials are hard to get, and often it takes several months to make one piece. At present, he has only gathered over 100 billion. There’s still a gap of nearly 400 billion.

Over the past two years, the Dark Star has progressed from the early stage of the Mesozoic Era to the middle stage, bringing Lin Zhen an additional nearly 800 Star Power.

Lin Zhen only bought one Heart of Star Plants and stopped, as it was too expensive; otherwise, he would have advanced more than one small stage.

With this practice, he reached the Black Hole Middle Stage, his Star Power increased by more than a thousand, and Lin Zhen’s Star Power value has reached 7,500.

“Now if I go back to the arena, I shouldn’t be unable to compete. I would even be qualified to compete with ordinary veteran Star System Stage martial artists.”

“But it’s still not very stable. Like Xuan Jiang, I’m afraid his Star Power is over 10,000. Only those with over 10,000 Star Power can be called Gods. I haven’t reached that level yet.”

Calculating the time, it would be three more years before the resurrection of Little Phoenix. Lin Zhen was not particularly anxious, and he should practice for a while longer.

Chris’s reminder suddenly sounded.

“Master, there are two good news. Which one do you want to hear first?”