181: Chapter 181 The Clan of Fate, the Mother River of Destiny

"Civilization Relics!"

On Star Island No. 78, Chen Mo, having returned to the quiet room of his villa, carefully examined the four relic fragments before him.

Three of them were Prehistoric Relics, including the bronze fragment he had first encountered.

Logically speaking, when it came to fragments, the value of Prehistoric Relics was absolutely the highest among all Civilization Relics.

But interestingly, Chen Mo's attention was not on these three Prehistoric Relics at all, but rather...

"As expected of one of the top ten Civilization Research Institutes in the Federation, to think such a rare relic actually exists here."

Chen Mo's eyes were filled with admiration as he carefully picked up the blade tip, which was only two fingers wide and long.

Name: Time-Space Blade · Rank 3 Divine Artifact Fragment {Original Rank 9} Category: Civilization Relics Condition: Extremely Fragmented "Please note, 'Civilization Phantoms' contained within have been detected. Do you wish to activate the Inheritance Illusion?"

"Activate."

Without any hesitation, Chen Mo directly activated the Inheritance Illusion belonging to the 'Fate Race.'

Time Travelers, who called themselves the 'Fate Race.'

They were an extremely powerful yet rarely known high-level race.

They used black holes as their breeding grounds and the River of Time as their home.

They were Demigods upon reaching adulthood and Peak Origin True Gods at their prime.

If that were all, it would be fine.

Yet, this race possessed the most top-tier innate talent for the Time-Space Law among all known natural Life, with everyone being a darling of time and space.

"Inheritance initiated!"

Following the appearance of the panel prompt, Chen Mo's consciousness left his body once again, arriving in a completely distorted world.

A black hole!

This was one of the most terrifying celestial bodies in the Void Realm; even an Origin True God could not survive entering one.

Only a Main God capable of breaking the speed of light with their own body would have any hope of escaping the chilling time-space force field of a black hole.

However, the Fate Race was an exception.

"Go, Abu. Complete your coming-of-age ceremony under the protection of the 'Holy Blade.'"

At the very core of the black hole, a dozen figures stood in the distorted time and space, watching a youth standing before a short black blade.

The youth had an appearance similar to the Human Race, but his skin presented a kind of "colorful black," as if it could devour all surrounding light.

This was the unique physiological structure of the 'Fate Race,' and it was also their reliance for comprehending the Time-Space Law and navigating through black holes.

"Yes, Great-Grandfather."

"Chen Mo" nodded at the old man behind him, then gripped the mysterious black short blade in front of him with one hand.

The moment the two made contact, the youth's right hand was already dripping with blood, and the light purple blood seeped along the hilt into the mysterious black short blade.

In the blink of an eye, a black light, far more intense than the black hole itself, began to dissipate until it completely swallowed him.

"Open!"

The youth endured the heart-piercing pain, his face twisted, as he raised his right hand and slashed down with force.

With this slash, even the space inside the black hole was torn open, and he was sucked into that rift in that instant.

"This is..."

The moment he was sucked into the time-space rift, Chen Mo, in his conscious parasitic state, saw the surrounding situation even faster than the original owner.

Then he saw a region that was both familiar and strange to him.

He had been here before, but he had never arrived at such a deep area.

The River of Time, a River of Time that spanned trillions of light-years.

Compared to this, the region Chen Mo had stepped into while comprehending the Time-Space Law before could perhaps not even be considered a tributary.

"Is this the 'Mother River'? It's just as Grandfather said."

Abu spoke softly, the mysterious black short blade in his hand continuously emitting mysterious light, preventing him from falling into the River of Time.

But the scene that followed left Chen Mo stunned.

He saw the youth raise the short blade and, without hesitation, stab it into his own chest.

What was eerie was that at this moment, no blood gushed out, because all his heart's blood had been completely consumed by the mysterious blade.

The next second, the youth fell straight down, plummeting towards the extremely fascinating yet extremely dangerous "Mother River."

There was a smile on his face, and even a hint of... piety!

"Inheritance concluded!"

Before he could continue watching the aftermath of this so-called "coming-of-age ceremony," the prompt from the panel sounded.

He and the youth Abu—one falling, one rising.

But in the very last second before Chen Mo was about to exit this inheritance space, he vaguely saw a phantom, a phantom with open arms welcoming Abu.

"Click."

With a soft sound, the Inheritance Illusion completely shattered, and Chen Mo woke up abruptly in the quiet room, his eyes filled with disbelief and shock.

"Inheritance concluded, you have gained the special status: Fate's First Embrace!"

Name: Fate's First Embrace {Fragmented} Introduction: Fate, witnessing the present, tracing the past, looking to the future; fate holds fixed numbers, yet has no fixed Laws; the extreme of time and space, the beginning of fate!

Effect: Time-Space Law comprehension efficiency +20%!

Note: You have initially grasped the mysteries of "Fate."

"So the legends were all true."

Chen Mo was speechless for a long time after reading the panel introduction.

Among the four top-tier Laws, Fate had the deepest connection with time and space; even the River of Time was essentially a tributary of the River of Fate.

At first, Chen Mo was not entirely sure, but after witnessing the Fate Race's coming-of-age ceremony, he no longer thought that way.

That time-space channel opened from the depths of the black hole in a "special way" was clearly connected to the "River of Fate."

"What a pity, this thing is too severely fragmented. If I could completely experience a Fate Race coming-of-age ceremony, I might really be able to find traces of the River of Fate."

Holding the "Fate Blade" fragment in his hand, Chen Mo's eyes were full of regret.

The era of the Time Travelers, or the 'Fate Race,' was actually similar to the "Void Sect," but very few Civilization Relics were left behind.

Besides the long historical span, it was mostly because the Fate Race itself was a race even rarer than the Void Giant Beast.

According to current research, even at their Peak, the number of Fate Race members existing at the same time would not exceed three thousand.

The dozen or so Fate Race members Chen Mo had just seen in the Inheritance Illusion, if converted to a normal civilization, would actually be equivalent to the total population of a large city.

"However, it was not without gains."

Chen Mo smiled and raised his hand; a wisp of Divine Power and a fluctuation of Law manifested simultaneously, merging into the three-inch fragment in his hand.

He had seen every detail of how Abu used the "Fate Blade" clearly.

Chen Mo was very clear that the original form of this so-called Civilization Relic should also be a "great treasure."

"Swish!"

A wisp of black light exploded in Chen Mo's hand; his neck instantly felt cold, and blood surged out wildly.

"Damn!"

Chen Mo clutched his slashed throat, using his Law and Divine Power to heal his injuries while staring intently at the fragmented blade in front of him that had returned to silence.

In that instant just now, he had indeed awakened this "supreme treasure of the Fate Race" which had not been used for countless years.

But facts proved that as an item used for a race's Legacy, the "Fate Blade" itself possessed extremely harsh conditions for use.

Logically speaking, this thing could not be used by anyone other than the Fate Race.

Being able to complete the awakening was also thanks to the "Fate's First Embrace" status.

But Chen Mo still underestimated the "Fate Blade," or rather, overestimated his own Law comprehension.

"Interesting."

Holding the "Fate Blade" fragment that had fallen into silence again, Chen Mo's eyes were burning with fervor.

Although he could not fully control it, the value of this thing was unquestionable.

As long as it was used properly, it could definitely become a "Sharp Weapon" in his hands.

Of course, the prerequisite for everything was that Chen Mo could "buy" this thing.

"Logically, the value of a Civilization Relic generally depends on its completeness and origin."

"Although Time Travelers belong to the most top-tier high-level civilization, their research value is actually not high because the stock of relics is too small, and the research difficulty is the highest among the same Rank."

Chen Mo's eyes grew brighter and brighter; he wished he could contact Shen Xinghe right now to ask about the price of buying the relic fragments.

But after pondering for a few seconds, Chen Mo was no longer in a hurry.

The relic fragments that could be placed in the first-floor hall of the core area were almost all second-rate goods that the research institute deemed of low value for "newcomers" to practice with.

The Fate Blade fragment hadn't been exchanged for so many years; it was clear that no one had discovered its true value at all.

"Anyway, no one is snatching it."

With a light chuckle, Chen Mo turned his attention back to the other three Prehistoric Relics.

Just as Shen Xinghe said, what the research institute valued most was never strength, but "research achievements."

Publishing research achievements and gaining Civilization Value was the only means to improve a researcher's status.

Although these three relic fragments were just things Chen Mo had brought along incidentally, he should also be able to gain something from them.

"That's fine. Making some achievements early can also be considered an explanation to Professor Xu Bo."

Shen Xinghe had told him before that Professor Xu Bo faced some pressure for breaking the rules to promote him to a Rank 3 researcher, and quite a few professors in the research institute were dissatisfied with this.

Therefore, whether from the perspective of personal interest or from the perspective of repaying Professor Xu Bo, he had to show some "real skills."

Thinking of this, Chen Mo reached out towards the bronze fragment without hesitation, and the panel sounded a prompt in an instant.

"Do you wish to activate the Legacy?"

"Activate."