In the Planar Battlefield, inside a stone chamber within a cave, Lin Lei sat cross-legged in quiet meditation.
Lin Lei was indeed deep in cultivation, attempting to fuse the profound insights of four different Laws. Whether it was his main body or his three great divine clones, all were focused on this pursuit. As for his Fire System divine clone, it continued to cultivate the Fire Elemental Law.
Suddenly, Lin Lei opened his eyes.
"There is something rather strange about this." A smile played across Lin Lei's face, though confusion lingered in his heart. "My main body and all three divine clones underwent soul mutation, so why is it that the divine clones' souls are not as strong as the main body's? Moreover, in terms of willforce, it is the main body's soul that possesses the greater willforce."
The stronger the soul, the faster one's comprehension and cultivation would advance.
Because the soul mutation allowed him to sense all four elemental systems, Lin Lei had both his main body and all three clones' souls perceive all four elements. Yet clearly, the main body's speed of research far surpassed the other three clones.
"We all underwent soul mutation at the same time, so why is there a disparity?" Lin Lei thought it over, but could not find an answer. He shook his head, closed his eyes once more, and submerged himself back into cultivation.
What Lin Lei did not know was that the reason for the soul mutation lay in the period of unconsciousness following severe injury. During that formless, unaware state, a fragile soul would instinctively draw in elements of various systems. Lin Lei's main body and three clones had all fallen unconscious when struck. The three clones' souls had actually only sensed elements corresponding to their respective systems, while only the main body's soul had simultaneously attracted all four elements.
Thus, the main body's soul was the first to begin mutating.
Because the main body's soul mutated, and because all four souls were fundamentally one, it gradually triggered the mutation of the other three souls. But since the main body's soul was the primary one, it naturally became the strongest after the mutation! The three clones' souls were somewhat weaker than the main body's.
The principle was actually quite simple.
Take the High Gods for instance. A High God's power was immensely vast. But a High God typically also had divine clones, and those divine clones, benefiting from the main body, would also contain power. However, a High God's clone's power would be far, far weaker than the High God main body's power. There was a matter of primary and secondary roles.
For High Gods, the primary one was the "clone" that became the High God, while the other clones served in supporting roles.
As for Lin Lei, his main body was the primary, and the other clones were secondary.
Nearly three hundred years remained before the great decisive battle. The four of them lived leisurely lives—cultivating, and occasionally gathering together to chat about everything under the sun.
Cultivation knew no passage of time. In the blink of an eye, a hundred years had passed.
Lin Lei and the others sat together. Reskin asked expectantly, "Lin Lei, I see you smiling so happily—could it be that you've made a breakthrough in fusing the profound insights of different Laws?"
"It is still far too early for that," Lin Lei replied with a faint smile.
"Lin Lei is just being humble." A deep voice sounded—the speaker was Lei Hong, who sat nearby.
"Now he's started learning to hide his strength. Only those who are truly powerful need to hide their strength. Hmph. Those of us who are weak would love to be able to intimidate people. Soul mutation across four clones, tsk tsk—I know all about it. When the profound insights of different Laws are fused, the increase in power will be tremendous. Fusing two profound insights from different Laws is comparable to fusing three from the same Law. Fusing three from different Laws is equivalent to five from the same Law. Fusing four from different Laws… is equivalent to seven from the same Law! That surpasses even Perfection by a huge margin!" Reskin exclaimed with admiration.
Soul mutation across four clones truly did carry far greater potential than even Perfection.
"If my boss isn't powerful, then who is?"
"Fusing profound insights yields great power, but the difficulty is even greater." Lin Lei shook his head with a smile. "I knew a man—back when I was traveling on the Purplejade Continent—his name was Riemons. He was the one who killed 'Arikuen,' the former master of Pusluo. Even with Riemons' talent, it was only in a life-or-death struggle against Arikuen that he achieved his epiphany and breakthrough. He only had soul mutation across two clones! And even fusing just two profound insights from different Laws was that difficult."
Bei Bei grinned mischievously. "Boss, stop being so modest. You've already achieved soul mutation across four clones—what else could possibly be out of reach?"
Lin Lei chuckled and took a sip of wine.
"But boss, now that you've undergone soul mutation, your cultivation speed should have increased enormously. Have you considered using it to help your Fire System divine clone advance, to reach the High God stage as quickly as possible?" Bei Bei asked. "Once that happens, the fusion of four divine powers will be even more potent than High God-level force."
Lin Lei's main body soul was now a thousand—no, ten thousand times stronger than before the mutation!
His speed of comprehension and deduction had likewise increased dramatically. If the main body's soul also studied the Fire Elemental Law, the Fire System divine clone's cultivation speed would skyrocket. It might even reach the High God stage before the end of the Planar War.
"There's no rush." Lin Lei shook his head with a smile. "I do not wish to reveal the soul mutation just yet, so there is no need to hurry the Fire System divine clone to the High God stage. For now, fusing different Laws is what matters most. I should devote all my energy to that." Lin Lei understood this clearly.
The Fire System divine clone's cultivation was indeed slow!
But he had already been on the Planar Battlefield for seven hundred years, and in those seven hundred years, the fifth profound insight of the Fire System divine clone was nearly complete. Compared to the other divine clones, the speed was certainly sluggish. But since he was in no hurry, it did not matter.
Reskin's initial guess had been correct, however. Within the hundred years following the soul mutation, Lin Lei had managed to achieve harmony between the "Earth Pulse" of the Earth Elemental Law and the "Supple Flexibility" of the Water Elemental Law—though it was merely harmony, nothing more.
Time flowed on, and the great decisive battle drew ever closer.
Inside the stone chamber.
Lin Lei sat cross-legged in meditation, all four souls simultaneously immersed in deduction and comprehension.
In his mind, he visualized virtual images: a vast, sprawling earth, with pulsations radiating outward ceaselessly. Yet thread after thread—like the ones the Death Sovereign had once demonstrated in the Underworld Hotel—began to drift and intertwine, weaving through the ripples of the Earth Pulse, influencing it.
Gradually, the Earth Pulse and those continuous, pliable threads began to affect one another, to resonate with each other…
"Boss! Boss!" Suddenly a voice rang out.
In the stone chamber, Lin Lei opened his eyes and saw Bei Bei. "What is it, Bei Bei?" Lin Lei asked with a smile.
"Boss, you've been cultivating so long your brain's gone soft—have you forgotten what year it is? This is the final year of the 1000th year of the Planar War! According to Reskin, the great decisive battle will likely begin in another month or two. Are we really not even going to go watch the great decisive battle?" Bei Bei shot back.