I have an Apocalypse City - Chapter 1668

Chapter 1668: Chapter 1669: Divinity Chapter 1668: Chapter 1669: Divinity Having returned to the City of Hope, Song Jian first melted the godly essence of Cardis in the Blazing Fire Furnace into pure divine essence and then took out the burning dark gold flame for careful observation.

Song Jian did not dare to touch the Divine Flame with his hands, for he could sense that within this dark gold flame lingered a terrifying power that, once unleashed, might explode with the force of a million-ton nuclear bomb in his hands.

“Judging by Basford’s gaze, this Divine Flame should be of great help in breaking through to the Demi-God Realm. However, I still don’t have a better way to utilize it…” Song Jian stroked his chin while intently observing the flame, pondering internally.

After all, Song Jian’s advancement to Demi-God Level had been swift; it only took him a few years in the game world. Meanwhile, other NPC powerhouses in the game world would need to cultivate for hundreds, if not thousands, of years to become Demi-God Realm beings, with some even stranded at the peak of the Demi-God Realm for thousands of years.

For those individuals, what they lacked was not a method of breakthrough but rather the resources for it.

Everyone knew that possessing a divine essence or Divine Flame would make it easy to step into the true realm of divinity. However, such things were only possessed by divine entities, and they were the most foundational items to god-level powerhouses. How could ordinary Demi-God Realm beings possibly obtain them?

Only Song Jian had the resources at his disposal without a way to utilize them, and so he had to rely on a slow and steady approach, bit by bit polishing his Power of Law, waiting for the day he would fully master the Time Law and naturally transform into a bona fide god-level being.

At this thought, Song Jian took out the divine essence he had previously refined and swallowed it down.

A moment later, the technique of Swallowing the Sky activated naturally, beginning to voraciously absorb and digest the divine essence!

Suddenly, Song Jian’s mind became crystal clear as if entering an endless void where numerous planets were born, grew, and ultimately met their Destruction.

Beneath his feet, a river of time slowly emerged, and from it branched out countless tributaries, spreading into the depths of the cosmos.

Wave upon wave of Time Imprints congealed into ripples in the river, and Song Jian brought his gaze back, carefully observing the river of time beneath him.

Devouring the divine essence seemed to have placed Song Jian into a very special state where his insight increased exponentially. Under the boost of such a state, Song Jian’s mastery of the Time Law was rapidly advancing.

“This state has only occurred when I used Swallowing the Sky to consume the Posuo Fruit, but compared to when consuming the Posuo Fruit, the effect of the divine essence is ten times, a hundred times better!” Song Jian rejoiced inwardly.

But it was obvious, the Posuo Fruit contained only a sliver of Law Fragments. How could its effect be stronger than that of divine essence?

…

Time kept passing by, and as Song Jian was in the depths of the cosmos, stars were born and extinguished around him, emitting dazzling light, but all of Song Jian’s attention was focused on the river of time at his feet.

As his comprehension deepened, Song Jian was unaware that his body was also expanding. Originally the size of an adult, Song Jian’s form was now larger than a planet.

Yet when compared with the river of time at his feet, he still seemed rather insignificant.

However, soon, the river of time in Song Jian’s vision grew ever larger and more expansive, within reach.

Song Jian did not know how much time had passed; it felt like centuries. Here, the concept of time seemed to be lost.

He reached out and lightly touched the river of time, and instantly a refreshing coolness surged through him. The previously calm river of time, now stirred, began to surge and swell tumultuously.

Wave after wave rushed at Song Jian, and his entire being began to slowly sink, eventually sinking completely into the river of time.

Quietness returned around him, and after consuming Song Jian, the surface of the river of time gradually returned to its former tranquility!

…

City of Hope, within the City Lord Mansion.

Song Jian sat cross-legged in the quiet room, lost in meditation for an unknown length of time, until suddenly, a tear slowly seeped from his tightly closed eyes. Gradually opening them, Song Jian’s pupils seemed to reflect an endless starry sky.

“So, this is time,” Song Jian felt a sense of profound loss in his heart. He then stood up and left the quiet room.

One step, two steps, three steps…

With each step Song Jian took, wrinkles began to crawl across his face. By the time he left the quiet room, he had completely transformed into an old man, his face lined with wrinkles, back hunched, hair white as if he were in his eighties or nineties.

He walked unsteadily, as if he might fall to the ground at any moment.

“Cough cough~”
Song Jian looked at his right hand, and a smile emerged on his deeply grooved face: “With such trembling, feeble hands, I wonder if I can still wield the Sky-breaking Sword!”

At that moment, Song Jian’s energy had withered to its nadir, making him seem weaker even than an ordinary person.

But soon enough, as he continued to walk forward, his figure straightened once more. The wrinkles on his face began to vanish, and his white hair receded, turning back to black.

In just a few steps, Song Jian had reverted from an elderly man back to his youthful appearance.

“Time no longer holds any secrets for me,” Song Jian whispered with a tinge of awe. His mastery of time was complete. This was no illusion, nor was it a temporary special effect.

It was a true transformation. When he became an old man, every cell in his body was that of a man in his eighties or nineties; when he reverted to his younger self, every cell brimmed with renewed vitality.

In other words, Song Jian, who had now fully mastered the Time Law, had achieved to some extent the goal humans so desperately dream of: immortality!

“I have fully grasped the Time Law; the next step is to condense my own divine nature with spiritual attributes and, furthermore, to ignite the Divine Flame and become a true deity!” Song Jian clenched his fists, his face alight with excitement.

Rumble~
Within Song Jian’s mind, like a tempestuous storm, tiny gold light particles began to appear from nowhere, coalescing bit by bit. Within just a few minutes, they formed a crystal the size of a fingernail.

This crystal, though seemingly composed of countless facets, each smooth to perfection, looked somewhat unsightly as a whole.

That was his divine nature–belonging to Song Jian himself, imprinted with his spiritual essence!

However, after the divine nature reached the size of a fingernail, no more golden light particles appeared in his mind. Song Jian’s face betrayed no hint of discouragement. Having fully mastered the Time Law had granted him this fingernail-sized divine nature, something that other powerful individuals mastering different Laws could perhaps only manage to condense to the size of a grain of rice at the beginning.

“For the average person, what follows is a grind, slowly refining the Power of Law they’ve mastered to constantly condense their divine nature. But for me, that’s not necessary…” Song Jian said with a smile.

After completely mastering the Time Law, the subsequent information on how to become a deity seemed to suddenly become clear–or rather, it just appeared magically in Song Jian’s mind.

“A deity!” Song Jian clenched his right fist, looking up into the sky as ambition blazed like wildfire in his eyes.

…