Evolution Begins With A Big Tree

Chapter 1155, Below the Eternals, All Are Ants

Translator:  Ashish

Translation Checker: Silvain

[Not only is his Talents extraordinary, but he’s also blessed with great fortune…] Anzuiel, who had taken the form of a young child, couldn’t help but mutter in his heart, as he found himself increasingly fond of Yu Zi Yu the more he found out about him.

Of course, even if Yu Zi Yu noticed this change in attitude, he would pretend not to.

He could tell that Anzuiel was not just childlike in appearance, but also in temperament.

If he were to point it outright… who knows, the other might just retreat into his True Body out of embarrassment.

…

Seasons passed, and in the blink of an eye, half a year slipped by.

At this moment, Yu Zi Yu had thoroughly attuned himself to his new found Seventh Order strength.

Now, even the slightest movement from him could stir up immense might and grandeur.

However, it was still far from Yu Zi Yu’s target.

Currently, his most urgent goal was to bear the Principles and step into Tier-7, the Realm of Hegemony.

While his combat strength was already enough to contend with Hegemons, who wouldn’t want to grow stronger?

Moreover, having evolved his body to Seventh Order, if he could now bear the Principles and step into Tier-7, the increment in his strength would not be a simple addition.

He might even undergo another metamorphosis, which might push his strength close to that of a taboo.

He might even reach the level known as ‘Half-Step Eternal,’ those nigh-invincible beings beneath the stars who defied all comparison.

As for attaining true Eternity, Yu Zi Yu did not even dream about it.

Even the fastest cultivators in history took many Cosmic Cycles to reach that realm.

At this point it should be brought to notice that the Cosmic Cycle was a time unit in an era. One Cosmic Cycle is composed of twelve Cycles, and each Cycle is 10,800 years long.

So, one Cosmic Cycle was 129,600 years long.

And five Cosmic Cycle makes a Cataclysmic Aeon, which was 6.408 billion years.

480 million Cataclysmic Aeons make an Endless Aeon of Chaos, which would be 3.1104 quintillion years (18 zeros).

This period is incredibly long, so long that life itself has no intuitive grasp of it.

And yet, the universe of today has already existed for 14 billion years, equivalent to two Cataclysmic Aeons.

As for an Era, that was the full span of a universe’s life, from birth to destruction.

Short eras might last only a few dozen Cataclysmic Aeons before ending.

Long ones… like the Primordial Era, took nearly half an Endless Aeon of Chaos just to be born.

And that was the scale of an Era.

And even within such periods, the first known Eternal—an existence beyond words—took several Cosmic Cycles to attain Eternity, meaning hundreds of thousands of years of cultivation.

As for the exact number? No one knows.

Eternity was a realm Mortals could not even begin to fathom.

It is said that even speaking their true names may draw their attention.

For such beings, who could possibly know how long their cultivation truly took?

Even words themselves could not contain the truth of their existence.

Only the ancient legacies of each race mentioned them, and that too only introduced a little bit of their lives. Just these traces served as the proof that they once walked reality.

Which is why Eternity was never something one can reach overnight.

Even someone like Yu Zi Yu, blessed by Heaven, must count his journey in millennia.

And currently, he had not even stepped into Tier-7.

With a bitter smile, Yu Zi Yu realized how lofty his thoughts had become.

Achieving Seventh Order had ultimately shaped his mindset, made him underestimate Eternity.

*Haaaa…* With a light sigh, Yu Zi Yu turned to glance at the nearby Sixteen Golden Wings, “Anzuiel…What is the Eternal Realm really like?”

“Eternity, huh…” With a wistful tone, Anzuiel replied frankly, “The Eternal Realm… is beyond words. Speak no more of it until you’ve become a Peak Hegemon.”

Then, pausing for a beat, he added, “But remember this well… Below the Eternals, all are Ants. Only those who become Eternal possess boundless lifespans, wonders beyond imagining. Anything less… is simply dust, waiting to be ground away by time. I recall the longest-living Hegemon in history, Longevity Venerate, only lived for four or five Cataclysmic Aeons. He was once called a ‘Living Fossil.’”

…

Hearing this, Yu Zi Yu was struck dumb.

[The longest-lived Hegemon… only lived four or five Cataclysmic Aeons …? That’s still 30-40 billion years. That’s truly a terrifyingly long period. Even the current universe had only existed through two Cataclysmic Aeons so far.]

“So that means… if I never break through to Eternity…I’ll eventually be worn away by time itself?” Yu Zi Yu chuckled softly, but there was no fear in his expression.

After all, he had only lived for less than a century.

Even a mere millennium, or ten millenniums, already felt long beyond measure. Let alone those units of time measured in the hundreds of millions.

Such immense time… was simply beyond description.

However, there was one thing he could say with certainty: If he truly wished it, within a millennium, no within ten millenniums, he would step into Tier-7 and become a Hegemon.

Why? Because the Principle he focused on cultivating had already reached a level that could only be described as terrifying.

And beyond that, he had delved into many other Principles: Time, Lightning, and more.

So long as he could condense enough Marks of Principle, Yu Zi Yu would naturally be able to fully bear a complete Principle and thus, ascend to the Realm of Hegemony.

And this was mostly thanks to the Tenth Realm.

The flow of time in the Tenth Realm was vastly different from that of the universe.

And Yu Zi Yu’s Divine Lightning Tree, his Divine Tree of Myriad Forms, and all other Divine Trees he cultivated had taken root there, spreading teachings, answering questions…

At the same time, they experienced the vicissitudes of Mortal life, enduring countless tribulations.

Their comprehension of Principles had soared like a shooting star.

Currently, if Yu Zi Yu were to fully immerse his consciousness into the Tenth Realm…His consciousness would become slow and blurry.

The sheer flood of Principle comprehension would surge into him like a wave.

At that point, for Yu Zi Yu, it wouldn’t even be about comprehending the Principles anymore, it would be about digesting them.

There was simply too much insight, too much vast and boundless understanding of Principles for him to absorb all at once.

]

That… was his true trouble.

The comprehension he had accumulated was so overwhelming that even his Soul trembled beneath the weight.

Every now and then, when he was not paying attention, his consciousness would begin to blur.

And in that moment, it was as though he had merged with Heaven and earth, as though he had become one with the Principles themselves.

He became the first bolt of lightning beneath the skies.

He became the life force that nourished all things.

He became… the Principle itself.

That one time, had it not been for Anzuiel calling him back in the nick of time, Yu Zi Yu’s Soul might’ve been lost to the Principles forever, his body left behind like an empty husk.

Because of that experience, Yu Zi Yu now held a certain reluctance and caution toward immersing his awareness in the Tenth Realm again…