Chapter 124: The Choice of the Primal Chaos Stele (Fifth Update)

"Alright, the half-hour is up. Tell me which Chaos Stele you have chosen, and I will record it!" The voice of the reception envoy jolted the geniuses from their thoughts.

"I choose the 'Dragon Walk Chaos Stele'."
"I choose the 'Giant Axe Chaos Stele'."
"I choose the 'Wind Shadow Chaos Stele'."

One by one, the geniuses made their selections. Thirty minutes were more than enough for them to sense the 'artistic conception' contained within the 52 Chaos Steles and determine which one suited them best.

The envoy walked among the crowd, recording each choice.

"I choose the 'Nine Universes Chaos Stele'," Jiang Chen said, making the same choice as in the original story.
"I choose the 'Heavenly Craft Chaos Stele'," Jiang Chen said with a smile.
Beside him, his 'Uchiha Shisui' clone also spoke up: "I choose the 'Heart Trace Chaos Stele'."

The 'Heart Trace Chaos Stele' belonged to the 'technique' category of Chaos Steles, focusing on blade techniques, which was highly compatible with the combat style used by the 'Uchiha Shisui' clone. Naturally, there was another option that was even more fitting—the 'Desolate Mirror Chaos Stele', which was specifically designed for 'illusionist martial artists'. However, since his 'Erso' clone was already specializing in soul and illusion-based secret techniques, there was no need to study a stele where nearly half the content was dedicated to illusion methods. Before making his choice, Jiang Chen had wavered between the 'Giant Axe Chaos Stele' and the 'Heart Trace Chaos Stele', but ultimately decided on the latter due to its focus on blade work. The 'Giant Axe Chaos Stele' was indeed powerful, but the one that suited him best was the superior choice.

After recording the trio's choices, the envoy continued to the next candidate. When all the geniuses had finally made their decisions, the envoy arrived before 'Erso', the 'transfer student' from the Universe Mercenary Alliance.

"Which Chaos Stele do you choose?" the envoy asked.
'Erso' did not hesitate for a second. "I choose the 'Darkness Chaos Stele'."

Among the 52 Chaos Steles, there were over twenty 'technique' style steles, many of which leaned toward the soul and illusion systems. While 'illusionist' was a single profession, it was divided into many schools of thought. The 'Darkness Chaos Stele' was widely recognized as the most powerful stele for the path of illusion. When Jiang Chen had viewed the corresponding 'rubbings' of the 'Darkness Chaos Stele', he had been most deeply moved.

*Teacher Illusion King's 'Void Extreme Chaos Stele' is also excellent, but I still feel the 'Darkness Chaos Stele' is better suited for me,* thought Jiang Chen.

"Your choices have been recorded. Follow me," the envoy said, turning to lead the group of geniuses toward an open plaza.

"Currently, of the 52 meditation chambers for the Chaos Steles, 12 are occupied. Those who chose these 12 steles will need to wait for the people inside to finish. The other 40 chambers are empty; you may enter them immediately." The envoy announced, "I will now read the names of these 40 steles: 'Yanshan Chaos Stele', 'Heart Trace Chaos Stele'..."

After reciting all 40 names, he pointed ahead. "Those who chose these 40 steles, enter through the leftmost entrance. Someone inside will guide you."

Out of the thousand-plus geniuses, more than half left, leaving only about a hundred people in the plaza. It was unclear whether Jiang Chen’s luck was good or bad, but the steles chosen by his three identities were all currently vacant. Being able to start immediately without waiting was a good thing; however, for someone like Jiang Chen with multiple clones, if they were to study separately, it would be more efficient if their consciousnesses were linked to study a single stele together. Even if it didn't reach four times the speed (main body + three clones), at least doubling it would have been effortless. Nevertheless, since this was his first time choosing, he did not want to appear unconventional and followed the envoy's instructions, entering through a massive gate on the left side of the plaza.

Inside lay a corridor approximately 60 meters wide and 120 meters high. On both sides were bronze-like metal doors, each inscribed with the name of a Chaos Stele in ancient calligraphy. In front of every door stood an elderly man with kind eyes and three eyes on his forehead. Curiously, every single one of these old men looked identical.

Jiang Chen followed the crowd until he reached the door marked 'Heavenly Craft Chaos Stele' and stopped.

"A new batch of little ones from the Virtual Universe Company?" The three-eyed elder looked at Jiang Chen and nodded. "You have chosen the 'Heavenly Craft Chaos Stele'. Since this is your first time in Chaos City, you are granted one qualification to study. It is empty inside; you may enter."

"By the way, I must remind you: each session for studying a Chaos Stele lasts seven days. When the time is up, I will alert you, and you must come out immediately." The elder opened the bronze door. "Go on in. The 'Heavenly Craft Chaos Stele' is rarely studied; I hope you gain something from it."

"Thank you, sir," Jiang Chen said, bowing respectfully before entering the chamber.

Behind him, the bronze door slowly closed. Jiang Chen paid no mind, focusing instead on the massive stone stele surrounded by chaotic air currents. The stele was nearly square, roughly 100 meters in length, width, and height, featuring ten patterns with the words 'Heavenly Craft' written in the universal language of the universe along the edges. Each pattern was unique, yet the aura they emanated was vaguely similar to the 'rubbings' he had seen outside.

However, it was only a faint similarity. The 'rubbings' could not even convey one ten-thousandth of the true artistic conception of the Chaos Stele.

The first pattern depicted nine mine shafts, filled with a sense of deathly silence. The second pattern showed 108 mines arranged in a peculiar formation, subtly creating a 'strategic layout'. By the third pattern, the number of mines soared to 10,081, forming an incredibly complex array where it seemed that no matter which mines were chosen at random, they could form a complex formation. The fourth through sixth patterns depicted humans working busily within the mines, while the seventh through ninth shifted the scene to various factories. The ninth pattern itself was very similar to the 'rubbing' he had seen outside, with countless workers delivering massive amounts of ore into factories to produce various products.

The tenth pattern, however, was devoid of all workers, machines, and mines. It depicted a single, massive planet covered in various technological weapons. Even as a mere painting, it gave Jiang Chen a sense of immense pressure.

Jiang Chen scanned the ten patterns and did not linger long on the others, focusing his attention on the first. Whether studying any Chaos Stele, one must 'proceed in an orderly fashion,' starting from the first pattern. Only after fully comprehending the first could one move to the second, deepening the study bit by bit. This was a 'little trick' taught by his 'Erso' identity's teacher, the Illusion King. Skipping ahead might yield great initial gains, but without a solid foundation, one could easily hit a dead end.

In the first pattern, each of the nine mines seemed to hide infinite mysteries, and together, they formed a unified whole.

*Indeed, the 'Heavenly Craft Chaos Stele' deals with material synthesis. These nine mines can be seen as nine 'basic elements' that, when combined, form new materials with unique properties. Although there are only nine 'elements,' in reality, each could represent countless 'basic materials' in the universe...*

*No, it's not just material synthesis. Treating the mines as 'gene fragments' for biotechnology research is also feasible.*

*If the mines are viewed as 'secret patterns,' then combining different patterns to create more powerful ones is also a path...*

*And all these systems, based on the technological theories I know, are entirely viable! Materials, genes, secret patterns—and this is only what I can see. There seems to be even more, though with my current knowledge base, I cannot yet perceive deeper levels...*

*Choosing this stele was definitely the right decision!*

Jiang Chen felt a surge of excitement, which he quickly suppressed, immersing himself in the study of the first pattern. The knowledge he had learned from the system library was, in the end, just knowledge. How to use that knowledge to strengthen himself required him to construct and design various technological weapons. Among different systems of technology, factors like materials, genes, and secret patterns were all crucial 'foundations.'

The principle was simple: a blade forged from iron is certainly sharper than one carved from wood. Only by laying a good foundation could he create more powerful weapons. For instance, laser guns, mechas, and warships all required high-strength materials. Powerful biological weapons, such as monsters cultivated through gene modulation, required the synthetic creation of potent genes.

The 'Heavenly Craft Chaos Stele' did not teach him how to build these weapons directly; instead, it guided him to find the logic and direction for researching all kinds of powerful materials. In the universe, the variety of materials was astronomical, and the number of materials that could be synthesized from them was even more staggering. But it didn't mean that just any synthesis resulted in something good; two D-grade metals fused together might result in an alloy that dropped to C-grade in strength.

The same principle applied to genes and secret patterns. For many researchers, material synthesis was a process of infinite trial and error using the 'brute-force method,' recording the successful formulas among a sea of failures. But the 'Heavenly Craft Chaos Stele' pointed out a mysterious, underlying regularity in this synthesis process. Following this rule wouldn't necessarily guarantee a 100% success rate, but it was far superior to the brute-force trial-and-error method.

*I don't know which Universe Master left this stele behind, but it is too powerful!* Jiang Chen was inwardly thrilled. Although the system contained countless blueprints for material synthesis, for him, mastering a universally applicable 'method' was far more important.

***

In another chamber, the 'Heart Trace Chaos Stele' also featured nine patterns. The first was a portrait of a human youth holding a long blade, locked in combat with a terrifying monster. The second showed the youth facing a swarm of monsters. The third depicted the youth on a battlefield set against a starry backdrop, swinging his blade against endless enemies. The fourth pattern changed, showing the youth practicing a set of blade techniques. The fifth and sixth were similar, but with different techniques.

By the seventh pattern, the youth, the enemies, and all scenery had vanished. There were only 10,081 dense, overlapping slash marks. The eighth pattern was similar, but with only 109 marks. The ninth pattern was empty, save for a single crack running through the center of the image, radiating a terrifying blade intent that seemed to want to sever the very world.

*This blade technique...*

The 'Uchiha Shisui' clone followed the 'Illusionist Martial Artist' path, specializing in blade techniques for close combat. Although Jiang Chen's focus was scattered and he lacked the buffs of a specialized expert, making his blade work far inferior to his technology or illusion skills—and even far behind the weakest geniuses of this batch—the moment he saw the stele, a wealth of insights regarding blade techniques flooded his mind.

*This stele can certainly make up for my weaknesses in close combat. However, to truly become strong in this area, I still need to acquire a corresponding expertise...*

'Uchiha Shisui' suppressed his wandering thoughts and focused on the first pattern. The opportunity to study the stele was limited, and he could not afford to waste a single moment.

***

In the 'Darkness Chaos Stele' chamber, there were ten patterns. Starting with a strange beast, the perspective expanded from the beast itself to the entire continent, the planet, and finally, the vast galaxy. As the 'map' expanded, the beast grew larger and larger, as if it would never stop. By the ninth pattern, the beast was already larger than a galaxy, comparable to a vast star region like the Black Dragon Mountain Empire.

In the final pattern, in the vast universe, a beast nearly the size of the entire cosmos stood in the void, as if about to shatter the edges of reality. Beyond the universe, endless darkness surged from all directions and dimensions, as if to swallow the entire cosmos.

The 'Erso' clone stood among the crowd, gazing at the patterns. In his mind, many of the secret techniques bestowed upon him by the Illusion King—those he had previously found confusing—suddenly sparked with inspiration the moment he saw the stele. With just one glance, over thirty secret techniques that had been stuck at bottlenecks reached the introductory level or broke through, and a few that had been stuck at the final step were suddenly mastered.

*As expected of the strongest Chaos Stele for the path of soul and illusion!*

'Erso' kept his eyes fixed on the first pattern, concentrating with all his might.