Chapter 823: The Legendary Tenth-Level Ultimate

The application of the eternal gene was no longer a trivial or useless concept; countless individuals in this era had developed its full potential.

*Boom!*

Di Zun stood tall, his body beginning to emanate a brilliant, transparent white-gold light. Limitless, surging energy converged around him, imbued with an inexplicable sense of sanctity and ancientness. He stood in the cosmos, appearing to transcend all, like the sole true deity between heaven and earth.

Everyone felt as if they were witnessing the hidden laws of existence.

Di Zun's body encompassed five ultimate paths, the culmination of five civilizations' final systems, appearing as five rainbow-hued divine bridges erected deep within his being:The Demonic Cores of the Three Pillar Gods.The complete lineage of Caroline.Emperor Qi's Nine-Revolutions Profound Art.Moon God Ji's elementalization.The immortality of the Overlord God.

These five energies, vast as the sea, intertwined, leading towards the ultimate destination of the universe.

"How is this possible?"

"His lineage, incredibly, comprises only the strongest bloodlines."

Emperor Qi and the others looked up, a mix of disbelief and shock on their faces. It was as if they saw reflections of their own cultivation methods, their most powerful paths, flawlessly manifested within Di Zun.

The Great Octopus gazed at the sky. Only it understood the implications, its face filled with awe. "Five perfect paths, five distinct bloodlines," it stammered. "Di Zun is, astonishingly, the fabled ultimate bloodline descendant of a Tenth-Tier being."

Di Zun, a blood descendant of a Tenth-Tier being? Everyone's minds went blank, overwhelmed by the terrifying implications.

Descendants of Eighth-Tier deities inherit a portion of their progenitors' high-dimensional space, much like the Great Octopus. Descendants of Ninth-Tier deities inherit a part of their progenitors' law-infused organs, with a portion of their very being naturally completing the Ninth-Tier path. Yet, before them stood a descendant of a Tenth-Tier being.

What abilities of a Tenth-Tier being did this imply he inherited? That was the ultimate Tenth-Tier!

It was a legendary level that even great beings like the Overlord God and Moon God Ji had never attained.

What, then, truly defined "ultimate"?

In the eyes of these powerful beings, the term "ultimate" was not to be used lightly. It signified the absolute culmination, reaching the end of the Great Dao with no path left to explore.

And Di Zun was the descendant of such a great and supreme being?

Everyone gasped in awe, feeling the overwhelming pressure of an ultimate life form that left them breathless.

"I had always believed that was merely an ancient legend from a distant cosmic era," the Great Octopus continued. "It's said that even across billions of years, from the birth to the destruction of an entire vast cosmic era, perhaps only a few ultimate beings of this caliber would ever emerge! Yet, I never imagined truly witnessing a bloodline left behind by such a level."

"It's simply too incredible. Such an existence seems to herald the very trace of a great, ultimate Tenth-Tier life having once existed."

The Great Octopus, eyes wide with shock, looked at Di Zun. "If each gene corresponds to a life level, and igniting the third gene's divine spark marks an Eighth-Tier deity, and four genes represent a Ninth-Tier world, then five genes define the Tenth-Tier—the legendary, ultimate state."

Beside the Great Octopus stood Lord Youshan and a group of players. They remained silent, staring at the overwhelming true form.

The Great Octopus whispered, explaining, "The Tenth-Tier Ultimate isn't as simple as you imagine a five-gene being to be. The Tenth-Tier signifies the ability to fully adjust all five of one's bloodlines. This is the fundamental reason why Di Zun is so immensely powerful! He is a five-gene ultimate life form!"

Everyone's hearts trembled as they instantly grasped the profound meaning.

Each genetic level represented a qualitative leap. Adding even one more gene to one's body did not result in a simple additive increase; it multiplied power by factors of ten, twenty, leading to a geometric surge!

For instance, if one individual possessed only the Inner World gene, while another had both the Inner World and Demonic Core genes, the integration of these two extraordinary genetic combinations would lead to a qualitative transformation in combat power!

Thus, each genetic level corresponded to an elevation in life form.

While the difference between four-gene and five-gene levels might seem to be merely one gene, appearing to be a qualitative change similar to previous stages, in reality, it represented an absolutely fundamental and insurmountable gap.

For example, Caroline, Emperor Qi, and others had indeed integrated with four-gene beings, but not all four of their genes were equally effective or powerful.

Some genes were inherent from birth; for instance, Emperor Qi, as a Solar Golden Crow, was a golden bird by nature and thus inherently possessed a fire gene.

Likewise, a phoenix, despite being a four-gene creature and seemingly high-tier, possessed only one truly effective gene: rebirth through fire. The other three genes were largely redundant.

Others were genes integrated during one's development, like Armin's wizard evil eye gene, which became ineffective and largely useless in later stages.

Consequently, many powerful individuals possessed only two or three truly useful bloodlines.

The five-gene realm, however, represented the ability to constantly override one's original genetic talents and perform new genetic recombination, reconstructing oneself into an entirely new form of extraordinary life.

Everyone turned their attention back to the Great Octopus.

The Great Octopus shook its head. "This is the ultimate form of extraordinary life. In my memories, descriptions of such great beings are very vague. I only know that this is the strongest level of life in legends; the Tenth-Tier is the ultimate realm of the cosmos, allowing one to freely adjust their own life structure. Beyond that, nothing else is known."

The Great Octopus grew increasingly certain that this was the center of the universe, a realization that was truly terrifying.

"Five genes, Tenth-Tier ultimate." Lord Youshan gazed up at the terrifying being, his face overcome with shock, as if witnessing the very culmination of life, the ultimate object of his own pursuit. It was a profound and mystical sensation, as though he saw five distinct paths—five of the strongest paths—embodied within this entity.

In that moment, they finally understood. The forms life could take were both terrifying and utterly perfect.

A terrifying aura, vast as the sea, emanated from him, instilling in everyone an overwhelming sense of oppression from a far superior life form.

It was akin to a lower-dimensional being observing a higher-dimensional one, experiencing an intense, suppressed fear. Everyone gazed in shock at Di Zun's form, the five-gene life level referred to as the Tenth-Tier Ultimate.

Perhaps Emperor Qi's path was the strongest. Perhaps Caroline's path was the strongest. Or perhaps the Three Pillar Gods' path was the strongest. There might be much debate among these individual powers, but when all were integrated into a single being, that would undoubtedly represent the undisputed pinnacle of strength.

Emperor Qi's eyes gradually brightened, kindling with fierce battle intent, revealing his profound interest. "Di Zun, you have hidden your true nature too well. Are you truly the legendary ultimate five-gene life form?"

"You can adjust your genetic structure at will? That is truly enviable. If I were like you, I wouldn't have to agonize over cultivation techniques I've mastered but lack the corresponding life genes for." Emperor Qi suddenly burst into laughter, his gaze sharp as an eagle's. "You are indeed astonishingly powerful, but that, precisely, is what makes this interesting!"

Emperor Qi moved instantly, unleashing his full power. The universe was immediately warped.

An explosion of endless light ensued, and two figures instantly intertwined: a colossal Pangu giant of flesh and blood, standing immense against the cosmos, and an energy giant, radiating blinding power, inextricably tangled, making their forms indistinguishable.

The very next second, Emperor Qi was swiftly sent flying backward, his body instantly disintegrating only to re-coalesce.

"Emperor Qi was instantly defeated once! This halted his breakthrough!" The Three Pillar Gods, Caroline, and the others felt a surge of cold dread welling up from within.