[Generating the 161,702nd trial: The Supreme Law of Reality]
Waking up to the next trial, Maximus found himself in the Etherium Realm.
From the very first instance, he was transmigrated, bedridden, and powerless; a question burned in his mind.
"What trial is this?"
As if hearing his thoughts, the entity of the Supreme Law of Reality appeared beside him.
"Surprise! What do you think of being back at the beginning?"
As the entity that controlled all the laws of the Etherium Realm, they knew of Maximus's origin.
Unfortunately, it was too late. Before they realized it, Maximus had already become saturated with the source and origin of the Aeon Plane.
Killing or expelling him would be equivalent to harming the Etherium Realm itself.
Although they were the origin of all laws and could control everything in the Aeon Plane, they still couldn't harm any living being within it.
They were a neutral force—an arbiter of nature and cycles of the planes.
No matter what happened, they couldn't interfere. They could only guide and protect.
Looking at the scene before him, Maximus couldn't help but reminisce.
"What am I supposed to do here?"
"You just need to relive your life..."
"Relive my life?" Maximus smiled with interest.
Although he couldn't access his system, his river of knowledge, his power, his physique, or even his technical memories and experiences, it didn't dampen his intrigue.
"Yes, without anything—no knowledge or power. I want to see what reality you would create..."
"Then let me give you a masterpiece..."
Reliving his life, with only his bare memories shaping his cognition, Maximus felt the challenge ahead.
As the Supreme Law of Reality left the room, an attendant arrived to tend to his injuries.
With a calm mind cultivated through thousands of epochs, where he played under the Supreme Law of Knowledge, Maximus began managing his small territory.
With no money, power, or wealth to protect himself, Maximus regarded the world as a chessboard.
From the most insignificant peasant to the smartest minister and strongest general, Maximus used every means to stand against the world.
Maximus also didn't forget to search for his wives.
Unfortunately, the Supreme Law of Reality seemed to know he couldn't afford to be distracted by such affairs in his current condition.
Finding no trace of their existence, Maximus focused entirely on conquering the world.
Starting from the little Moonshadow City, Maximus used his weak body and clouded mind—bereft of memories—to conquer the Faerie Kingdom.
Rallying with neighboring kingdoms and continental islands, Maximus stood firm against gods and powerhouses capable of crushing him with a mere thought.
Before storms that could topple his rickety boat cobbled together from scraps of wood, Maximus appeared to steer a solid ship unaffected by any turbulence.
Soon, with the start of the supremacy of will, the Cursed Continent descended into turmoil and war.
Yet, amongst them, the Moonlight Empire, which had a mortal emperor who seemed to possess no power, remained unshaken.
With an iron-blooded army, unyielding generals, and wise ministers, nothing could topple them.
Even when facing powers far beyond the empire's means, Maximus employed conspiracies, traps, alliances, and a web of interests to stay afloat.
As tens of thousands of years passed, after a dragon's hibernation sharpening its claws, Maximus began his counterattack.
A mighty army united in loyalty, and an unyielding spirit began to demonstrate its power to the world.
Even when faced with emperors from other powers—beings capable of killing them with a mere wave of their hands—they stood firm, enduring and fighting with all they had.
After hundreds of years of surviving countless assassinations and conspiracies, Maximus led the Moonlight Empire to conquer the Cursed Continent.
Turning his sights to the world, the powers of the other three continents unconsciously trembled.
Unfortunately, before anything could happen, Maximus began to succumb to a mortal death.
No means, no life-extending potions or medicines could save him.
The mortal emperor who had led a small city to conquer an entire continent was now dying due to the exhaustion of his lifespan.
As the hundred-thousand-year mark approached, Maximus's body thinned, and his bones weakened.
Entrusting everything to his ministers, generals, and the successor he had chosen, Maximus sat silently as he gazed over the lands he had conquered one last time.
"Are you satisfied?" he muttered weakly.
"Not just satisfied, I'm impressed!" the Supreme Law of Reality replied sincerely.
Without power or technical knowledge, Maximus had conquered an entire continent.
If not for the limited lifespan imposed on him, perhaps he could have conquered the entire world and been crowned a dimensional emperor.
"I'm just reliving my life—nothing too outrageous," Maximus murmured with difficulty.
"Reliving your life? In your current situation, I'd be amazed if you could conquer even the island continent you were born in," the Supreme Law of Reality sighed.
This trial seemed like child's play to Maximus.
What kind of trials had he endured before this one?
"Hahaha, even I'm amazed I could achieve this," Maximus laughed heartily.
"I thought all of my achievements were thanks to luck and the power I possessed."
Although this trial had been far from easy, it allowed him to see the truth of his reality.
The reality was that he had grown.
If it had been the version of himself from the past—faced with such a helpless situation, stripped of everything that made him unique, without any power to stand above the world—he would have been consumed by despair.
Back then, he had been a mere mortal traveler, chosen by his plane to carry its will.
He was nothing more than a living being.
Without the system, his talents, powers, or fortunate encounters, he would have long since vanished into obscurity.
Even as an almighty powerhouse ruling over dimensions, the most talented prodigy who could sweep everything, deep down, he had always been that insecure mortal.
The mortal who believed his achievements were owed to external forces.
Yet, after facing this trial, his eyes were opened to reality.
He was no longer the helpless being who could accomplish nothing on his own.
He was no longer someone who relied solely on luck to achieve greatness.