Chapter 35 The Dark Side of the Primordial Star

“Already over a trillion Cosmic Citizen viewers?” Xu Jingming noticed the data and was quite surprised.

Although the entire human race of the cosmos has 34 cosmic regions, the number of Cosmic Citizens is astronomical. But ‘one trillion Cosmic Citizens’ already surpasses some star alliances with smaller populations.

It is very rare for a virtual world confrontation to attract so many Cosmic Citizen viewers.

With so many viewers, there are naturally hidden dragons and crouching tigers! Not to mention descendants of high-level civilization families, there are even cosmic legends, alien spies, and some mysterious existences.

For various reasons, they came to watch this battle.

“Grandpa, Mom and Dad, Miaomiao and my daughter, and also Master Liu Hai, Ashuo, and the others have all come to watch.” Xu Jingming saw many specially marked friends; many Star Cluster lifeforms from Xia Country had come.

*Buzz.*

A terrifying aura was approaching from afar.

Xu Jingming stopped paying attention to the outside world and looked at the figure flying from afar.

On this cold and barren planet, a winged youth wearing gorgeous robes flew over. His appearance was so beautiful that it was somewhat妖异 (yāoyì, bewitching).

“Something’s not right.” Xu Jingming immediately realized something was wrong. “In the virtual world, appearances can be modified. I’ve seen countless people with handsome appearances, and I’ve long since gotten used to it. The reason he makes me feel bewitched isn’t his appearance, but… his mind power!”

Diweifan flew over, his mind power subtly seducing living beings, making them want to sink into depravity.

*Boom.* Xu Jingming’s mind power also spread out, like a blazing sun, scorching the surroundings.

The mind powers of both sides touched.

In Xu Jingming’s mental perception, Diweifan disappeared. All that was left was a bottomless, terrifying abyss. This dark abyss spread, attracting everything and devouring everything. Xu Jingming had been attracted and bewitched earlier by the pull of this dark abyss.

“An abyss? My Light-Based Visualization Method has already reached the eighth level, but I didn’t expect it to still affect me to some extent,” Xu Jingming thought to himself. “This Diweifan has studied the *Notes on Abyss Research* to a very high level.”

The *Notes on Abyss Research*, one of the three highest inheritances of the human race of the cosmos, is also the strongest inheritance of the Eternal Academy.

“Many ninth-level Origin lifeforms in your Eternal Academy only begin to attempt to construct an abyss,” Chihong, who was on the platform, said with a smile as he watched this scene. “But this Diweifan’s research on the abyss is already very deep. His mind power has already begun to construct an abyss. Once he becomes an Origin lifeform, he can quickly construct his own abyss.”

“His education level has reached level 99.

He has enough knowledge reserves,” Bai Yu said.

“Being able to construct an abyss, Diweifan is indeed slightly better in terms of mind power,” Chihong nodded.

“It’s just a slight advantage. How long has Wu Ming cultivated, and how long has Diweifan cultivated?” Bai Yu said modestly.

Diweifan stood in midair, looked at Xu Jingming, and smiled. “Brother Wu Ming, I won’t hold back at all. If your strength hasn’t improved significantly, then you’re going to lose this time.”

“Please go all out and let me see how strong an eighth-level Star Cluster lifeform can be,” Xu Jingming said, holding his spear.

“Alright.”

As soon as Diweifan finished speaking, endless surging cosmic power gathered. A faint, terrifying abyss began to appear behind him, and black mist缠绕 (chánrào, entwined) his wings and every part of his body. His body became indistinct.

Diweifan’s body seemed to exist partly in the abyss and partly in reality, making it extremely strange.

“An eighth-level Star Cluster lifeform can influence space to this extent by leveraging cosmic power?” Xu Jingming felt it more intensely when he saw it with his own eyes. He was also leveraging cosmic power, and endless light gathered. A gorgeous light robe was draped over his body, and there were scattered specks of light around the robe.

*Whoosh.*

Diweifan arrived in front of Xu Jingming silently, and a black saber light slashed over.

*Boom.* Xu Jingming concentrated and was able to sense the other party’s movements. He blocked the saber in the first instance.

Their weapons collided, and both of them卸力借力 (xièlì jièlì, neutralized and borrowed strength).

*Boom, boom, boom.* The muffled sound of weapons colliding rang out. Diweifan’s movements were ghostly and unpredictable as he appeared around Xu Jingming. The two black sabers in his hands attacked faster than Xu Jingming.

Faced with the continuous stream of saber light, Xu Jingming could no longer see Diweifan’s figure clearly.

In his perception, a dark abyss enveloped him, and dark saber light constantly attacked, trying to drown him. “So fast,” Xu Jingming felt suffocated.

He had watched the other party’s battle videos and had long realized the gap between them, but when he truly fought, Xu Jingming was still somewhat shocked.

The other party’s strength wasn’t strong; it was comparable to his own! After all, the Primordial Star lineage was domineering and powerful, while the Abyss lineage of the Eternal Academy was known for its mystery. Being comparable to Xu Jingming in strength already represented the other party’s deep accumulation.

The other party’s movements were even more ghostly, twisting space, attacking faster and more densely, naturally drowning him.

*Boom!!!*

After only a dozen or so exchanges, Xu Jingming couldn’t defend himself and was sent crashing into the ground by a saber strike.

*Rumble*

The impact on the ground was like an asteroid falling. The entire ground sank, and the shockwaves affected the entire surface of the planet.

*Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom!* In midair, Diweifan took the opportunity to attack continuously, and terrifying saber lights enveloped him one after another.

“So strong?”

After Xu Jingming fell to the ground, he sensed the terrifying saber lights coming at him one after another. He could only continue to burrow deeper into the ground in a sorry state! He used the obstruction of the planet’s rock layers to avoid this wave of power first.

While drilling deep into the earth, Xu Jingming also prepared to circle around and rush out of the surface again. But even underground, Xu Jingming felt that the terrifying saber lights seemed to have locked onto him and were continuously tracking him.

“Since you’re drilling into the ground, don’t come out,” Diweifan clearly wanted to defeat the other party in one fell swoop.

When he took action, he wouldn’t hold back.

Hiding underground?

It was useless to hide underground!

“Can’t escape.” Xu Jingming’s mind power sensed that even if the condensed dark saber lights passed through the rock layers, they would only weaken slightly. The numerous saber lights were still terrifying and enveloped all the angles he could escape to.

There was nowhere to escape!

Eventually, he would be swallowed by the dark abyss!

“Darkness devours, there’s nowhere to hide.” Xu Jingming’s brain was also working extremely fast, and he instantly determined that there was no hope of avoiding it. “I can only face it.”

Xu Jingming looked up.

He saw the incoming black saber light. *Boom!*

Soaring into the sky, Xu Jingming transformed into a beam of spear light, tearing through everything and breaking through the dark saber lights. But Diweifan, as a scholar with an education level of 99, calculated his moves very accurately.

Just as Xu Jingming was about to rush out of the surface, he could no longer break through any more saber lights. As the first black saber light cut into Xu Jingming’s body, more black saber lights followed.

*Bang*

Instantly, Xu Jingming’s radiant body was completely shattered, turning into energy.

“Is he going to lose?” Tia Nuo, Qu Fang, Prince Luno, and many others on the platform were watching, including Li Miaomiao and Xu Lixing, who hadn’t slowed down their speed, even though they couldn’t see the details of the battle at normal speed.

But they could judge the situation on the field. From the beginning, Wu Ming had been at a disadvantage, and now his body had been blasted apart.

“Condense!”

Flesh becomes energy; as long as the energy isn’t extinguished, he is undying. The scattered energy gathered.

Diweifan watched this scene. “Flesh becomes energy? Destroying two or three-tenths of your energy in one go, how many times can you condense your body?”

At the same time that Xu Jingming was condensing, his mind was also sensing above, sensing that terrifying dark abyss.

“Darkness devours light…” Xu Jingming suddenly thought of the Primordial Star he had seen when he received the inheritance.

The Primordial Star, the greatest and most incredible celestial body known to mankind.

Its light is transmitted layer by layer to all directions in endless spacetime. Its light fluctuates at all times. Small fluctuations cause the range of light transmission to be slightly larger or smaller. But large fluctuations can cause the light to explode billions of times when it’s at its strongest. When it is most restrained, its volume shrinks more than ten thousand times.

“Light illuminates, and darkness is dispelled.”

“Light contracts, and darkness occupies more space.” Light and darkness… two sides of the same coin? Do they coexist?

Xu Jingming sensed the dark abyss that Diweifan manifested, and he felt that it was somewhat similar to the darkness around the Primordial Star.

At this moment, Xu Jingming’s understanding of the Primordial Star deepened another level.

“The Primordial Star is not just light, but also the surrounding darkness.”

“I finally have some understanding of darkness.”

With a thought from Xu Jingming.

The body that had just condensed, and the gorgeous light robe on its surface, triggered even more vast cosmic power! But this cosmic power was no longer condensed on the body, nor on the robe, but… scattered around.

A dark territory appeared around Xu Jingming, and boundless power gathered in the darkness.

Xu Jingming’s light robe power and dark power seemed to be two sides of the same coin, making the overall power even greater.

“Hmm?” Diweifan’s expression changed as he was about to attack. He looked at Wu Ming at this moment.

Around the gorgeous light robe, there was a large area of darkness.

Everything was under Xu Jingming’s control.

“What?” Bai Yu was somewhat astonished on the platform. “He actually comprehended the ‘dark side of the Primordial Star’ in a life-and-death battle? Light and darkness can coexist?”

“The Primordial Star is a high-dimensional space celestial body,” Chihong said with a smile. “Although Wu Ming has received the inheritance, it’s difficult for him to understand its existence. He should have seen the dark abyss constructed by Diweifan and understood what the ‘darkness’ of high-dimensional space is like.”

“He comprehended it in battle, and then he knew how light and darkness can coexist?” Bai Yu couldn’t believe it. “What kind of talent is this?”

“That’s why he only needs 30 years of cultivation in the evolutionary method to become an Origin lifeform. That’s his talent in the Primordial Star lineage,” Chihong said. “The Primordial Star is a high-dimensional space celestial body that we can’t come into contact with. Human science’s research on it is just speculation! Some people don’t need to come into contact with it. They can understand the dark side of the Primordial Star just through some superficial knowledge, or even the appearance of the abyss. That’s a genius.”

Vice-Dean Chihong was very expectant.

Bai Yu was very envious.

“A monster.

This ‘Wu Ming’s future achievements are unknown, but at least before becoming an Origin lifeform, he’s more amazing than Vice-Dean Chihong.

However, after becoming an Origin lifeform, he will encounter more difficulties, and the evolutionary path will be much more difficult,” Chihong said. “His future is also uncertain; perhaps he will only stop at a tenth-level Origin lifeform.

“Don’t be modest. Your Primordial Research Institute must be cultivating him with all your might. A tenth-level Origin lifeform? I bet you he’ll be at least a cosmic legend,” Bai Yu said.

“I won’t bet,” Chihong said. “Continue watching the match. It’s almost over.”

“Yes, it’s almost over,” Bai Yu also watched.

After the cosmic power that Xu Jingming leveraged greatly increased, Diweifan saw Xu Jingming’s light robe and the large dark territory around him, and he calculated, “The energy he controls is at least three times stronger. I can’t clash head-on. I have to use my advantage.”

So he changed his battle strategy.

Instead of overwhelming him head-on, he used his movements to the fullest extent, attacking and killing him at close range.

The sound of the weapons colliding was very weak.

They constantly flickered and changed positions on the planet’s surface, and the aftermath of the battle left ravines and basins on the planet.

However, two minutes later, Xu Jingming pierced Diweifan’s chest with his spear. At the same time that Diweifan’s body exploded, he condensed again in the distance and continued to attack.

Another minute passed, and Xu Jingming tore apart Diweifan’s body again.

Diweifan stopped after condensing again.

“Not going to try anymore?” Xu Jingming looked at him.

“Your moves are more powerful, and your defense is stronger. Even if my weapon hits you, you’re only slightly injured. But if your weapon brushes against me or touches me, my body explodes,” Diweifan shook his head. “The Primordial Star lineage is indeed advantageous in head-on battles. I lost.”

The three strongest inheritances were specialized in different areas.

“You can even break through in a battle with me.” Diweifan looked at Xu Jingming. “I’m speechless.”

“I also have to thank you,” Xu Jingming said. Breaking through wasn’t that easy. He had been confused about the ‘light and dark unity’ of the Primordial Star for a long time, and today’s battle gave him some understanding.

“There’s nothing to be ashamed of in losing to a genius like you,” Diweifan smiled. “Perhaps in the future, I can brag about it.”

Diweifan knew very well how long Wu Ming had cultivated for. He was truly a monstrous existence.

“By the way, this battle is over, and I’ll break through to become an Origin lifeform,” Diweifan said. “What about you? When do you plan to break through?”

“Now that I’ve won, I can also break through,” Xu Jingming said with a smile.

“Good! Let’s contact each other after breaking through,” Diweifan said.

“Let’s contact each other,” Xu Jingming nodded.

After breaking through, the two of them could publicly reveal their true identities in reality. At that time, it would be more appropriate for them to interact.