Swallowing the Stars: Starting with Panlong

Chapter 154 Analyzing Energy Life Genes

After successfully creating his Demon Slayer Clan clone, Luo Feng's cultivation entered a new stage.

On the lunar surface, four figures intertwine.

Lin Yun, Luo Feng, Hong, and Lei Shen stood on the edge of the crater, moonlight casting long shadows upon them. For the past three years, this scene had repeated countless times—Lin Yun fighting all three, suppressing his own strength. But today, the situation was different.

"Luo Feng, release your Demon Slayer Clan clone," Lin Yun said.

Luo Feng nodded, and with a thought, a black figure appeared beside him.

The Demon Slayer Clan avatar was entirely black, its skin covered in dark gold runes, its face indistinct, with only a pair of golden eyes gleaming with a cold light. Its body was translucent, revealing the flow of energy within. A sixth-tier cosmic-level aura emanated from it, far surpassing Luo Feng's original Earthling body by more than one level.

"Cosmic-level sixth rank?" Thor's eyes widened. "Luo Feng, is your clone stronger than your original self?"

"The Golden Horned Beast itself is even stronger, a ninth-tier cosmic-level beast," Luo Feng said.

Lin Yun scrutinized the Demon Slayer Clan clone, a hint of interest flashing in his eyes.

"Come on, let's attack together." Lin Yun drew his battle sword. "Let me see how much pressure a sixth-tier universe-level Demon Slayer can put on me."

Luo Feng, Hong, and Lei Shen exchanged a glance and attacked simultaneously.

Hong's spear moved like lightning, fully powered by the Law of Light. White light flashed at the tip of the spear, and its speed was extreme. His spear technique had been transformed in three years of actual combat; each strike carried a trajectory of light, making it impossible to follow.

Lightning crackled on Thor's sword, its speed and explosive power erupting simultaneously, each strike carrying devastating force. His swordsmanship was fierce and domineering, each strike seemingly capable of cleaving the heavens and earth in two.

Luo Feng's Earthling body rode the Sky-Transcending Shuttle, and his Divine Weapon disintegrated into a golden illusionary sword, attacking from the side. His Golden Origin Law had reached an extremely profound level; when he unleashed the Illusionary Sword Style, the golden sword rainbow was almost tangible, carrying an unstoppable momentum.

The three worked together seamlessly, launching attacks from three directions simultaneously, cutting off all of Lin Yun's escape routes.

But Lin Yun merely turned slightly to the side and casually swung his battle blade.

"Clang!" "Clang!" "Clang!"

Three crisp sounds rang out almost simultaneously. Hong's spear was knocked away, Thor's battle blade was deflected, and Luo Feng's golden illusion sword was bounced back. All three were forced back several steps, while Lin Yun remained completely still.

"Too weak." Lin Yun shook his head. "Your attacks are fast, but the power is too scattered. If you concentrate your attacks, you might be able to move me a step."

The three gritted their teeth and charged forward again.

The battle lasted for about fifteen minutes, with the three unable to force Lin Yun to retreat an inch. Lin Yun's swordsmanship was as fluid as flowing water; every parry was perfectly timed, and every counterattack was precise and deadly. His strength far surpassed that of the three; even with his cultivation suppressed, he remained more than capable based solely on his skill and understanding of the laws.

"Luo Feng, send your Demon Slayer Clan clones as well," Lin Yun said.

Luo Feng nodded, and the Demon Slayer Clan clone moved.

Its speed was extreme—not the speed of the Law of Light, but the application of the Law of Space. The Demon Slayer Clan's clones flickered constantly in the air, appearing in different locations each time, making it impossible to track their movements. This wasn't true teleportation—teleportation was essentially a realm that only Immortal Kings could comprehend—but the Demon Slayer Clan's innate ability as darlings of space allowed them to move rapidly over short distances using fluctuations in the Law of Space, at a speed too fast for the naked eye to perceive, resembling teleportation.

A glint of light flashed in Lin Yun's eyes.

"Spatial teleportation? Interesting."

The Demon Slayer Clan clone instantly appeared behind Lin Yun, its black claws tearing through the air as it clawed at his back. Dark golden runes shimmered on the claws, fluctuations of spatial laws—this claw strike carried the power to cut through space, enough to tear apart the defenses of a powerhouse of the same level.

Lin Yun did not turn around. He slightly shifted his body, and his battle blade thrust out from under his armpit, precisely striking the claws of the Demon Slayer clone.

"clang!"

A metallic clang rang out, and the Demon Slayer clone was forced back several steps. A small crack appeared on its claws, but it quickly healed—the regenerative ability of an energy life form was truly astonishing.

"The speed is good, but the power is insufficient," Lin Yun commented.

Luo Feng controlled his Demon Slayer Clan clone to attack again. This time, it no longer moved behind Lin Yun, but instead darted around him, launching attacks from various angles. Claws, fists, kicks... each attack carried the power of spatial laws, with tricky angles and unpredictable trajectories.

Hong and Thor seized the opportunity to attack from both sides. Luo Feng's Earthling self controlled the Divine Weapon from above, the golden phantom sword circling in the air, searching for Lin Yun's weakness.

The four of them surrounded Lin Yun, finally forcing him to move.

He sidestepped Hong's spear, parried Thor's sword with his own, kicked Luo Feng's golden illusion sword away, and simultaneously slashed at the Demon Slayer clone with a backhand strike. The Demon Slayer clone used spatial teleportation to dodge, but Lin Yun's blade was too fast—the blade grazed its shoulder, leaving a deep wound.

Black energy seeped from the wound, but it healed quickly.

"A sixth-tier Demon Slayer at the cosmic level is indeed much stronger than a star-level being," Lin Yun said. "However, it's still not enough."

He no longer passively defended, but instead took the initiative to attack.

Lightning crackled on his battle blade, and he unleashed the full speed of lightning. His speed was extreme, weaving between the four men, each strike carrying the force of a thunderbolt. Hong, Lei Shen, and Luo Feng were forced to retreat repeatedly, with only the Demon Slayer Clan clone managing to keep up with his speed using spatial teleportation.

However, the Demon Slayer Clan's avatar had a shallow understanding of spatial laws, limiting its movement distance and frequency. Under Lin Yun's continuous attacks, it was quickly forced into a corner.

"Heavenly Profound Thunder Break".

With a single slash, the lightning bolt hurtled straight for the Demon Slayer's clone's chest. The clone desperately activated its spatial laws to dodge, but the lightning bolt was too fast—it grazed the clone's shoulder and blasted a huge crater into the moon's surface.

"Stop." Lin Yun sheathed his sword. "That's enough for today."

The four of them stopped, panting heavily.

Luo Feng's Demon Slayer clone had several wounds, most of which had healed, but the energy consumption was considerable. Hong and Lei Shen were covered in sweat, their armor riddled with knife marks.

"Lin Yun, you're a monster." Thor plopped down on the ground. "The four of us couldn't even touch the hem of your clothes."

"It's not that you're weak, it's that Lin Yun is too strong," Hong said calmly.

Luo Feng put away his Demon Slayer Clan clone and walked to Lin Yun's side.

"Lin Yun, what do you think of my Demon Slayer Clan clone?"

"Not bad," Lin Yun said. "With your sixth-level cosmic-level cultivation, combined with spatial teleportation, you're hard to beat among cosmic-level beings. However, your understanding of spatial laws isn't deep enough, limiting the distance and frequency of your teleportation. If you could raise your spatial laws to another level, combined with the Golden Horned Beast's true form, your strength would experience a qualitative leap."

Luo Feng nodded, keeping Lin Yun's words in mind.

In the days that followed, the four continued their combat exercises on the moon. With Luo Feng's Demon Slayer clone joining the fray, the intensity of the battle increased significantly. While Lin Yun remained relatively composed, he could no longer be as relaxed as before—the Demon Slayer clone's spatial movement did put some pressure on him, but only a little.

Lin Yun's basic human strength far surpasses that of others of the same level. Coupled with his comprehension and profound fusion with the Ten Great Laws, his strength far exceeds that of others of the same level. Even Luo Feng's strongest combat force—the ninth-level Golden Horned Beast of the Universe level—could not force Lin Yun to unleash his full power.

But during the battle with the Demon Slayer Clan's clone, Lin Yun noticed something new.

The Demon Slayers are energy-based life forms.

Its body was not flesh and blood, but pure energy. Its life form was completely different from the flesh-and-blood life forms that Lin Yun had previously studied. This difference triggered a new understanding of Lin Yun's life rules.

"Energy life..." Lin Yun murmured.

He sat cross-legged on the lunar surface, immersing his consciousness in the perception of the rules of life. Life affinity—analysis.

In his perception, the life essence of the Demon Slayer avatar slowly unfolded. It was not flesh and blood, not bones, not cells, but a ball of pure energy. This ball of energy contained complex genetic information, which was the essence of the Demon Slayer's life—the genes of energy life, not written in DNA, but in the vibrational frequency of energy.

"So that's how it is." A sudden realization dawned on Lin Yun.

The essence of energy life is the vibration of energy. Every energy life form has its own unique vibrational frequency, which determines its life form, level of existence, and innate abilities. The vibrational frequency of the Demon Slayer Clan is extremely special, containing the mysteries of the laws of space.

Lin Yun withdrew his consciousness from the Demon Slayer clone, closed his eyes, and carefully savored the insights he had just gained.

His human form, his golden-horned behemoth avatar, and his spacetime nightmare beast avatar are all flesh-and-blood beings. His understanding of the rules of life is primarily based on the analysis of flesh-and-blood beings. However, there are countless life forms in the universe: energy life, plant life, metallic life… each with its unique mysteries. Only by analyzing a sufficient number of life forms can the rules of life be continuously improved.

For the next month, Lin Yun spent a lot of time studying Luo Feng's Demon Slayer Clan clone every day.

He instructed Luo Feng to leave the Demon Slayer Clan avatar on the moon, using his life affinity to carefully perceive its life essence. He scrutinized every detail: the vibrational frequency of energy life, the patterns of energy flow, the distribution of spatial law runes…

Although Luo Feng didn't understand what Lin Yun was researching, he readily agreed. The spatial laws comprehension of his Demon Slayer Clan clone was also constantly improving during Lin Yun's research, which was a good thing for him.

A month passed in the blink of an eye.

On the lunar surface, Lin Yun sat cross-legged with his eyes closed. There was no light emanating from him, but the surrounding space seemed to be slightly distorted—a phenomenon that occurred when the rules of life were operating at their extreme.

Deep within his consciousness, a complete energy life gene map is gradually taking shape.

The vibrational frequency of the Demon Slayer Clan, the nodes of energy flow, the distribution of spatial law runes… everything was clearly presented in his consciousness. He finally understood the essence of energy life—not flesh and blood, not bones, but a mass of energy vibrating at a specific frequency.

This understanding led to a qualitative leap in his life's rules.

In the Panlong World, his true form sat cross-legged on a stone bed in a miniature plane, emanating a faint green light. Fragments of the rules of life flowed around him like green rivers. Many previously indistinct areas now became clear. The insights into six branches—Life Affinity, Life Source, Life Enhancement, Endless Regeneration, Life Gift, and Life Origin—simultaneously increased at this moment.

The limit of the Holy Land.

His life rules have finally reached the limit of the Saintly Realm. The next step is Godhood.

In the world of Swallowed Star, the changes are even more drastic.

Lin Yun's human form sat cross-legged on the lunar surface, emanating no light, but his life genes were undergoing a dramatic transformation. Life-enhancing power flowed through every cell, optimizing the gene sequence and elevating his life level.

His life gene level had been hovering around ninety times, and he hadn't made any progress for a long time. Inspired by the energy life gene, this bottleneck was finally broken. His life gene level rose like a flood bursting its banks, eventually stopping at 100 times.

In the world of Swallowed Star, a life gene level of 100 times is the limit for ordinary life forms—including humans, golden-horned behemoths, and other reproductive life forms—before reaching the level of a universe master. This is the rule governing the universe, and it cannot be broken through through cultivation alone. Special life forms, such as the Sacred Tree of Life, are born with a life gene level far exceeding this limit, but the limit for ordinary life forms is 100 times.

Currently, Lin Yun's human form, the Golden Horned Beast avatar, and the Time-Space Nightmare Beast avatar have all reached this limit. Only the Life Tree avatar remains unchanged; it was originally at a life gene level of 200 times, far exceeding the limits of ordinary life.

A 100-fold increase in life gene level means his basic strength is 100 times that of an ordinary ninth-tier Constant Star. More importantly, the leap in life gene level brings about a further increase in his affinity with the laws.

He closed his eyes and sensed the fluctuations of the laws around him.

The fragments of the ten fundamental laws—metal, wood, water, fire, earth, wind, thunder, light, time, and space—became several times clearer in his perception than before. The previously somewhat blurry patterns of these laws were now clearly discernible. Mysteries that previously required long periods of contemplation to comprehend now seemed within reach.

"Finally arrived," Lin Yun murmured.

In the universe, geniuses capable of elevating the genetic level of life to its limit are extremely rare. This requires not only powerful resources but also luck. In the original story, Luo Feng broke through this cosmic limit only by relying on the "Nine Tribulations Secret Manual" provided by Zuo Shan Ke.

Lin Yun stood up and looked at the blue Earth in the distance.

The breakthrough in the rules of life further boosted his confidence for the finals. A life gene level 100 times higher, all ten basic laws having been mastered, wind, thunder, and light elements at a minor level, and profound fusion far surpassing others of the same level—such strength is probably unmatched among the eternal geniuses of the entire universe.

"There's less than a year left," Lin Yun said softly. "That's enough."

He transformed into a streak of light and flew back to Earth.

In the training room of Mingyue Residential Area, Luo Feng was practicing with his Divine Weapon. Seeing Lin Yun enter, he sheathed his golden illusion sword and asked, "Finished your research?"

"It's over." Lin Yun nodded. "Thank you for your Demon Slayer Clan clone. You were a great help."

"Don't mention it." Luo Feng smiled. "Your strength has improved, which is a good thing for us Earthlings. By the way, your strength has advanced again?"

"Yes, there have been some breakthroughs." Lin Yun did not explain in detail, as these involved the rules of life and the genetic level, which Luo Feng could not access at present.

"You're a monster." Luo Feng shook his head. "No wonder the four of us couldn't beat you even once."

Lin Yun smiled but didn't reply.

"By the way, the finals are less than a year away," Luo Feng said. "What are your plans?"

"Continue your cultivation," Lin Yun said. "The Wind God Seven Kills technique still has room for improvement. I want to perfect it before the finals. You also need to work on the third level of your Divine Weapon. Although there may not be enough time, you should at least raise your spatial laws to another level."

"Understood." Luo Feng nodded.