190: Chapter 190 Seven Days of Comprehension Ends! Su Bai Only Emerged with a Wisp of Red Light

The laws of the entire philosophers stone secret realm simultaneously stopped operating.

Time froze.

Space fell silent.

The nameless Stand standing behind Su Bai slowly opened its eyes, and interlaced black and white light spread from the depths of its pupils. Wherever it passed, the truth furnace, the pure white world, and even the philosophers stone itself seemed to lose their original meaning.

The mental projection of Li Qingyue froze in place.

Qin Ye and [World] were likewise unable to move.

Yet Su Bai could clearly feel that the blurry figure was lowering its head to gaze at him.

There was no hostility.

Nor was there any closeness.

It seemed to merely be waiting for Su Bai to give it a name, an ability, or a definition truly recognized by the world.

But Su Bai did not speak.

Because in the next instant, a crack suddenly appeared on the body of the nameless Stand.

"Crack!"

The crack spread outward from the chest.

Then came the second.

The third.

In the blink of an eye, the Tier 9 Stand phantom was already covered in dense black fissures.

The [Stand Arrow · Truth] in the hand of Su Bai also vibrated violently.

[Warning!]

[The concept carrier is not yet complete!]

[The Tier 9 card body does not exist!]

[The current deduction lacks physical material support!]

[Law manifestation failed!]

[The future state is about to be lifted!]

The pupils of Su Bai constricted slightly.

Future state?

Boom!

The nameless Stand shattered with a bang.

The Tier 9 Rainbow Card turned into sky-fulls of red-gold fragments.

The stopped time began to flow again, and the torrent of laws in the truth furnace resumed operation in an instant.

Qin Ye abruptly raised her fists.

[World] blocked in front of Su Bai, striking a defensive posture.

The mental projection of Li Qingyue stepped forward, and the silver laws of time and space enveloped the entire body of Su Bai.

"Su Bai!"

"What happened just now?"

Su Bai did not answer immediately.

He lowered his head to look at his palm.

There was no Tier 9 Rainbow Card.

There was no upgraded Arrow.

Even less was there that nameless Stand whose attributes could not be displayed.

Deep within his soul, there remained only that wisp of red-gold arrow light stripped from the philosophers stone.

The arrow light flickered in and out of existence, lacking a physical circuit and unable to exist independently.

Everything that happened just now was not reality.

That was a possible future deduced by the truth furnace based on the conception of Su Bai.

It displayed to Su Bai in advance the form of the Tier 9 Arrow after completion, as well as the result he might awaken after using the Arrow.

But a deduction was ultimately just a deduction.

The law arrow embryo already existed.

Yet the Tier 9 card truly capable of carrying it had not yet been manufactured.

"I see."

Su Bai spoke softly.

"Just now was merely a future deduction conducted by the philosophers stone."

After listening to the explanation, the tension on the face of Li Qingyue did not completely dissipate.

"To what step did the deduction reach?"

"The Tier 9 Arrow completed its upgrade, and I used it to awaken my own Stand."

"What was the result?" Qin Ye asked immediately.

"I did not see clearly."

Su Bai shook his head.

"I only know that it has no name, unknown abilities, and is of Tier 9."

Qin Ye fell silent for a moment.

"It sounds stronger than my [World]."

[World] behind her slowly turned its head.

Those dark gold eyes fell upon Qin Ye, carrying obvious dissatisfaction.

Qin Ye added expressionlessly,

"It just sounds like it."

[World] then looked back ahead.

The corners of the mouth of Su Bai twitched slightly.

He suddenly discovered that Qin Ye and his own Stand were becoming more and more alike.

Stubborn-mouthed just the same.

Arrogant just the same.

The philosophers stone did not give them time to continue discussing.

The truth furnace roared once more.

That wisp of red-gold arrow light flew out from the depths of the soul of Su Bai and hovered in the center of the furnace.

Countless law nodes, tens of millions of times smaller than a hair strand, continuously generated, collapsed, and reorganized inside the arrow light.

With every breath, there were hundreds of millions of structural changes.

Su Bai quickly reined in his thoughts.

The future of the Tier 9 Arrow had already been seen.

What needed to be done next was to truly bring that future back to reality.

"Qin Ye."

"Present."

"Help me freeze the seventh group of nodes on the left."

Qin Ye looked along the gaze of Su Bai.

In ordinary vision, there was only a patch of slowly flowing red light there.

But through the mental perception of [World], she could see that thousands of overlapping miniature structures existed within the red light.

They changed unceasingly.

One instant it belonged to the mental reading circuit, and the next instant it might transform into a material carrying structure.

Trying to fix one of those groups of nodes using ordinary methods was an almost impossible task.

"What is the range?"

"Three millimeters."

"Duration?"

"Zero point one seconds."

Qin Ye nodded.

She raised her right hand.

[World] extended its finger synchronously, and its dark gold Mental Power was compressed to the extreme.

"Time Stop."

"Hum!"

There was no earth-shaking momentum.

The truth furnace still operated.

The surrounding red laws were not affected in the least.

Only the three-millimeter area designated by Su Bai fell into stagnation.

Seventy-two changing nodes were forcibly fixed at the same time scale.

Su Bai immediately made a move.

His Mental Power turned into countless threads, piercing between those nodes and completely recording the fleeting structure.

Zero point one seconds later, time resumed.

The nodes continued to change.

Yet Su Bai had already obtained the data he needed.

[Dynamic soul recognition structure recording complete.]

[Current completeness: twenty-one percent.]

"On the right, the twelfth group."

"Three point seven millimeters."

"Duration zero point zero eight seconds."

Qin Ye did not waste words, once again activating directional Time Stop.

The manipulation of the Law of Time by [World] was becoming more and more precise.

One place.

Two places.

Ten places.

One hundred places!

In the subsequent enlightenment, the two of them barely rested.

Su Bai was responsible for observing how the philosophers stone transformed Mental Power, matter, and laws into one another, and selecting from them the structure most suitable for the Stand Arrow.

Qin Ye was responsible for using directional Time Stop to fix those instantaneous nodes that could not be normally recorded.

Her ability was not used to attack any enemies.

Yet the value it exerted was in no way inferior to the eighteen-second clearing in the National Competition.

The originally chaotic law structure inside the Stand Arrow also gradually became clear under the cooperation of the two.

Mental reading.

Soul anchoring.

Concept adaptation.

Law conversion.

Dynamic growth.

The five core structures stabilized one by one.

Among them, the most complex was precisely dynamic growth.

The soul of a person will not remain unchanged forever.

A person who is cowardly today may possess the courage to face death directly in the future.

A kind person today may also gradually become distorted amidst desire and power.

If the Tier 9 Arrow only recorded the soul of the user at the time of awakening, then as time passed, a deviation would inevitably appear between the Stand and the main body.

Once this deviation accumulated to a certain extent, light cases would result in the stagnation of the Stand's abilities, while severe cases would cause the soul anchor point to snap.

[World] of Qin Ye was the most direct proof.

At first, she could not bear [World].

Later, her mental state changed, and the Stand correspondingly completed its stabilization.

Now that she had obtained the Golden Spirit, her control method over the Law of Time changed once more.

A Stand was never a piece of equipment that, once completed, remained forever fixed.

It would grow together with the user.

Su Bai completely recorded this change into the arrow embryo.

[Dynamic growth circuit established.]

[After the Stand awakens, it will remain synchronized with the mental changes of the host.]

[Warning: This circuit involves the time dimension.]

[The current law structure cannot be borne by a Tier 3 card body.]

[Recommended minimum bearing grade: Tier 9.]

Seeing the last line of prompt, Su Bai instead revealed a smile.

He had never prepared to complete the final card body himself.

The philosophers stone was responsible for providing the truth laws.

He was responsible for defining the Stand.

The person who truly turned the two into a Tier 9 card had been Li Qingyue from the very beginning.

This was also his purpose in fighting for the championship of the National Competition.

Without the philosophers stone, ordinary Tier 9 materials could not bear the dynamically changing Stand laws.

Without Li Qingyue, relying solely on his current strength as a Tier 3 Card Creator, he also could not encapsulate this wisp of truth laws into a card.

Now the two most important puzzle pieces were complete.

Next, he only needed to complete the enlightenment.

Time passed quickly amidst the roar of the truth furnace.

There were no sun or moon within the secret realm.

Su Bai could only judge how much time had passed outside through the time-space markers Li Qingyue left in the silver ring.

The first day.

The third day.

The fifth day.

Until the seventh day was about to end, the red road condensed by the philosophers stone finally began to dissipate.

The truth furnace stopped operating.

That wisp of red-gold arrow light also completed its final quenching.

It still had not turned into a physical entity.

Its volume had even shrunk a lot compared to the beginning.

Yet the five core structures inside had already formed a closed loop.

Su Bai extended his hand.

The arrow light fell into his palm, then sank along his arm into his soul.

[Truth law enlightenment ended.]

[Obtained: Stand Arrow law core.]

[Status: Non-physical.]

[Status: Cannot be used independently.]

[Status: Waiting for card body bearing.]

[Remaining secret realm stay time: ten seconds.]

Qin Ye walked to the side of Su Bai.

"Is it over?"

"This stage is over."

Su Bai felt the arrow light in his soul.

"What follows is truly card creation."

The ten-second countdown reached zero.

The philosophers stone suddenly erupted with dazzling red light.

The entire pure white space folded inward like a mirror surface.

The bodies of Su Bai and Qin Ye were simultaneously enveloped by an irresistible force.

In the next instant, the two disappeared from the secret realm.

——

Beneath the imperial city.

Outside the bronze gates.

The seven days time had expired.

The Empress stood before the Ninefold National Fortune Barrier, watching the tightly closed doors with a calm expression.

Li Qingyue stood at the position closest to the bronze doors.

Her silver long hair hung down behind her, her gaze firmly locked onto the Mental Power coordinates left behind by Su Bai.

Qi Yuan, Researcher Yun Zhi, and more than a dozen Truth Sanctuary researchers were all waiting on the periphery.

A large number of detection arrays were floating in front of each person.

"Seven days have already passed."

Qi Yuan lowered his head to glance at the time.

"Why is there still no movement?"

Li Qingyue did not turn her head.

"The Secret Realm is currently repelling them."

"How long until they can come out?"

"Three breaths."

As the words fell,

on the first breath, the nine golden dragons on the bronze door opened their eyes simultaneously.

On the second breath, the dark red cracks running across the face of the door burst out with dazzling light.

On the third breath—

Rumble!

The hundred-meter bronze door slowly opened.

A torrent of red and gold laws surged out from behind the door.

The figures of Su Bai and Qin Ye walked out from the light.

Qin Ye's aura was steady and calm, and while [World] did not manifest, a Mental Power oppression that people could not ignore naturally emanated from her body.

As for Su Bai, he looked like he hadn't changed much.

There was no philosophers stone in his hand.

There were no legendary tier-9 materials.

Nor were there any new cards.

In the palm of his hand, there was only an extremely faint red and gold light.

That light flickered in and out of existence, as if it would extinguish at any moment.

The surrounding detection arrays activated rapidly.

[No newly added physical cards detected.]

[No philosophers stone fragments detected.]

[No tier-9 materials detected.]

[Faint unknown law fluctuations detected.]

[Target cannot be rated.]

The peripheral researchers looked at each other in dismay.

"Only a wisp of law?"

"Su Bai didn't condense the power of the philosophers stone into a card?"

"Could the seven-day comprehension have failed?"

"Qin Ye's Mental Power state has indeed improved, but wasn't Su Bai the main one comprehending the champion's reward?"

Although the murmurs were very low, they didn't escape the perception of the powerhouses present.

Qi Yuan also furrowed his brows.

He didn't believe that Su Bai would gain nothing at all.

Yet that wisp of red light was simply too weak.

It had no physical form.

It had no stable energy.

It couldn't even exist independently away from Su Bai's soul.

From the perspective of traditional Card Creation, it couldn't even be considered a material at all.

The Empress raised her hand.

All discussions instantly ceased.

She didn't ask Su Bai first, instead looking at Li Qingyue.

"Qingyueqing."

"What do you think?"

From the very moment Su Bai appeared, Li Qingyue's gaze had never left his right hand.

Silver space-time ripples flashed across the depths of her eyes.

Ordinary researchers could only see a faint wisp of red light.

What she saw, however, were five core laws that had already completed a closed loop.

Mental Reading.

It wasn't crudely breaking into memories, but judging the true shape of the soul.

Law Conversion.

It was able to transform Mental Power traits into capabilities that stably existed in reality.

Soul Anchoring.

It ensured that the Stand and the main body shared existence, preventing it from becoming an independent parasite.

Dynamic Growth.

It allowed the Stand to evolve together with the host's future Mental Power changes.

Conceptual Adaptation.

It decided what kind of Stand the target was truly suited for, as well as what kind of laws they could carry.

Any one of these five structures, taken out alone, would be enough to become the core of a tier-9 mental card.

Yet now, they were simultaneously compressed within a tiny wisp of arrow light.

A bright light gradually emerged in the depths of Li Qingyue's eyes.

"He has succeeded."

Qi Yuan immediately took a step forward.

"What is that red light?"

"The thing that tier-9 insect arrows are most lacking."

Li Qingyue replied.

"The law core."

Qi Yuan was stunned.

Immediately afterwards, he stared fixedly at Su Bai's palm.

"Mental Reading, Law Conversion, Soul Anchoring..."

He continuously analyzed that wisp of red light, his breathing gradually becoming hurried.

When he realized that Dynamic Growth and Conceptual Adaptation also existed within it, the eyes of this tier-9 materials science master completely lit up.

"So that's how it is!"

"What the primitive insect arrow lacks is fundamentally not energy!"

"A tier-2 insect arrow can already achieve mental manifestation. What truly restricts it is that the card body cannot adjust the law structure according to different souls!"

"With this thing, the fixed template can be turned into dynamic adaptation!"

When he said this, he suddenly stopped.

"Wait."

"If this is the law core, then where is the card body?"

"It hasn't been made yet."

Su Bai replied.

The surroundings fell silent once more.

A researcher couldn't help asking:

"In other words, you comprehended in the philosophers stone Secret Realm for seven days, and in the end, you didn't bring out a finished card?"

"Of course not."

Su Bai glanced at him.

"The philosophers stone is responsible for providing laws, not for making cards for me."

That researcher opened his mouth, finding that this sentence seemed to have no problem.

Yet everyone in the entire country was waiting for Su Bai to bring out an earth-shaking new card from the Secret Realm.

In the end, he only brought out a wisp of red light that could not be used independently.

No matter how one looked at it, it was somewhat unexpected.

However, the Empress heard the more important meaning within it.

"Beloved Minister Su."

"What will this wisp of law ultimately be used for?"

Su Bai did not answer immediately.

He raised his right hand and took out a dark red card from his storage space.

In the center of the card face, an insect arrow with a bizarre shape was engraved.

It was precisely the initial core medium of the Stand System.

[Tier-2: Stand Insect Arrow Card.]

Qin Ye's [World] was awakened by it.

The moment this card appeared, the red and gold arrow light in Su Bai's palm immediately resonated.

One streak of dark red.

One streak of scarlet gold.

The two lights intertwined across the air.

All the circuits on the surface of the primitive insect arrow lit up simultaneously, but the card body quickly emitted a burst of unbearable cracking sounds.

Crack!

A tiny crack appeared on the edge of the card.

Li Qingyue raised her hand and pointed.

Space instantly froze, forcibly separating the red and gold arrow light and the tier-2 insect arrow.

"They cannot be fused right now."

"The tier-2 card body cannot withstand the truth laws."

Su Bai nodded.

"That's why I need Master."

He put away the primitive insect arrow again, then looked at the Empress and the surrounding crowd.

"I did not obtain a third card."

"Nor did the philosophers stone create any new system for me."

"It simply told me—"

Su Bai raised his hand.

That wisp of red and gold arrow light slowly condensed in his palm, finally forming an illusory arrowhead.

"How to turn this tier-2 card into tier-9."

Boom!

This short sentence caused the expressions of all the researchers present to change simultaneously.

Turn tier-2 into tier-9?

It wasn't imitating the primitive insect arrow to re-create a higher-level card.

Instead, it was letting that original tier-2 insect arrow directly complete a system upgrade?

This meant, what Su Bai brought out from the philosophers stone was fundamentally not some defective reward.

Rather, it was a path spanning seven ranks!

Qi Yuan stared fixedly at the primitive insect arrow.

In his mind, the six auxiliary lines responsible for the initial reality anchoring had already emerged.

If they wanted to let the tier-2 insect arrow carry tier-9 laws, they first had to solve the anchoring problem between the low-tier conceptual circuits and the tier-9 materials.

This happened to be his most proficient field.

"What can this old man do?"

Qi Yuan asked immediately.

Su Bai looked at Li Qingyue.

He himself was not the true main Card Creator.

Li Qingyue naturally understood his meaning.

She first looked at Qi Yuan.

"You are responsible for material purification and peripheral anchoring."

Qi Yuan's expression stirred.

"No problem!"

"Researcher Yun Zhi."

"Here!"

"Collate all the Mental Power fluctuations during Su Bai's comprehension period and establish the truth law conversion model."

"Yes!"

"Everyone else, seal the National Treasure Secret Realm data. Before the tier-9 insect arrow is completed, no structures may be leaked outward."

More than a dozen Sanctuary researchers saluted simultaneously.

"Understood!"

Finally, Li Qingyue looked at Su Bai.

In her silver eyes, there was no longer the hesitation she had previously faced when confronting the Stand theory.

Conceptual creation was Su Bai's domain.

Yet sealing a wisp of illusory truth laws, together with the conceptual structure within the tier-2 insect arrow, into a tier-9 card body—

This was her domain.

"The materials have all been prepared."

Li Qingyue said.

"Tier-9 space-time crystal."

"Tier-9 soul mithril."

"Karmic dragon bone powder."

"And a blank Rainbow Card made from tier-9 void divine wood."

Every time a material was spoken, the breathing of the surrounding researchers grew a fraction heavier.

Any one of these items was enough to become a national-level treasure.

Yet Li Qingyue was going to use all of them on the very same card.

"Rest for one hour."

"One hour later, the Truth Sanctuary's highest Card Creation Room will open."

Li Qingyue walked up to Su Bai and reached out to grasp that wisp of red and gold arrow light.

The truth laws did not repel her.

Nor did they merge into her soul.

Because what this wisp of law recognized was the Stand path defined by Su Bai.

Li Qingyue could touch it, guide it, and create a vessel of burden for it, but she could not replace Su Bai to become the master of the concept.

This was precisely the division of labor between the master and apprentice.

Su Bai was responsible for creating an unprecedented path.

Li Qingyue was responsible for sending this path to tier-9.

She loosened her hand.

The red and gold arrow light returned once more to Su Bai's palm.

"Apprentice."

"Hmm?"

"The philosophers stone has already completed its part."

Li Qingyue turned around and looked toward the direction of the Truth Sanctuary.

A silver space crack slowly unfolded in front of everyone.

On the other side of the crack, the massive outline of the tier-9 Card Creation Room loomed faintly.

Countless slumbering arrays were awakening one after another.

"Next—"

Li Qingyue's silver hair fluttered upwards, and for the first time, the law coercion belonging to a tier-9 space-time supreme completely enveloped the entire underground Secret Realm without reservation.

"It's my turn."