In the Source of Knowledge.
Maximus slowly woke up, exiting the Trial of Origin.
"Plane Origin is really effective…" Maximus smiled, seeing his progress.
To complete the Trial of Origin, one had to experience the life of every being and creature ever born in the Aeon Plane.
In the past, he estimated that such an experience was worth at least billions of epochs.
Now, after further deduction, completing the Trial of Origin required experiencing 4.5 trillion epochs' worth of time!
He also had to be conscious the entire time, living through the most primitive stages of countless species.
Experiencing such an immense span of time and a variety of species, without a little trick, anyone would have gone insane.
Fortunately, he could access the Plane Origin in advance.
Like a panacea that could heal everything, using it allowed Maximus to endure an epoch of trial each day without much issue.
Although he felt a little dizzy afterwards, it didn't affect his self-awareness or sense of reality.
Over ten thousand years in the Trial of Origin, Maximus completed over 3.5 million epochs of experience.
If this continued, he would only need a little over a million years!
Without the Plane Origin, even after a few billion years, he might not even be halfway through the trial.
Satisfied with his progress, he checked the integration status of the Seed of Absolute Creation.
After over ten thousand years, his family's progress had only increased slightly.
At this rate, he estimated it would take another 200–300 thousand years to fully integrate the Seed of Absolute Creation.
Thinking of the dozens of Seeds of Absolute Law he had on hand, it seemed it would be long before the Source of Knowledge integrated all paths.
Maximus might even advance to the Overlord Realm before that happened.
Turning toward Nero, Maximus frowned.
"Mira is gone? It seems she regained her memories…"
Looking at Nero, who seemed to have grown overnight, he could only cheer for him in his heart.
"This is good. Now that kid has some motivation."
Nero had already completed dozens of chaotic phenomena.
A little more, and he could conquer the Chaotic Continent.
However, his rapid rise also caught the attention of the Absolutes.
Slaughtering and defeating opponents like chickens and vegetables, he became both admired and feared.
Some even began to speculate whether Nero was a reincarnation of a previous Overlord.
As for guessing that Nero was part of the Shadowcrest family, that thought never crossed their minds.
For Nero's protection, only a few knew of his connection to the Shadowcrest family.
Although Maximus's reputation already put him on par with the Overlords, his strength did not.
Who knew if the Absolutes would go crazy and kidnap Nero for ransom?
After confirming everything was fine, Maximus shifted his focus to helping his family integrate the Seed of Absolute Creation.
Though he wasn't mentally affected by the Trial of Origin, it was still exhausting.
Wanting to relax his mind and hasten the integration of the seed of path into the Source of Knowledge, Maximus decided to rejoin his family.
He also took this time to wait for his son's rise to become the Chaos Lord.
Wanting to witness the evolution of the Chaotic Continent, he can't afford to be stuck in the Trial of Origin while it happened.
Thousands of years later.
In the Chaos Continent, Nero looked around, his body battered and bloodied.
Surrounded by dozens of Absolutes and thousands of Masters of the Ocean and River of Law, he seemed to be at his limit.
"It's over, little kid! Try again next time!"
"Did you really think becoming the Chaos Lord would be easy? Now give up and surrender!"
"Tsk, no matter how talented you are, you're still just one person…"
Seeing Nero at his wit's end, the surrounding powerhouses laughed, ending yet another of his winning streaks.
To become the Chaos Lord, one had to win 100 consecutive chaotic phenomena.
However, unwilling to let a ruler disrupt the Chaos Continent, powerhouses, weak or strong, would unite to kill anyone who came close to achieving such a feat.
Because of this, Nero had failed and died multiple times.
At first, he believed he could conquer the Chaos Continent in just a few hundred years, but now, thousands of years had passed yet he was about to lose another opportunity.
His opponents were simply too many and too strong.
In some challenges, he was even too unlucky that the power limit was at tier 10 or 11 realm.
Without mastering the Origin of Law or forging his own Path of Law, he was suppressed in both categories.
Fortunately, his death didn't mean starting over from zero.
As a privilege for the top powers and the wealthy, as long as one had enough strands of causality, they could pay to restart at full strength.
Challenging the chaotic phenomena again and again, Nero never stopped—pushing his limits, breaking through them each time.
Standing on his last knee, Nero was unwilling to give up.
Through all the chaotic phenomena, this had been his luckiest run yet.
If he lost here, who knew how many thousands or even tens of thousands of years it would take to get back to this point?
Looking at the haughty powerhouses surrounding him, he couldn't help but clench his fist.
"What's wrong? Unwilling to accept defeat?"
"No need to be angry, kid. It's just business…"
The Absolutes offered their false comfort, feeling embarrassed as they ganged up on Nero.
As mighty Absolutes, they had stooped so low, bullying a kid who hadn't even advanced to the Tier 10 realm, all for their benefit.
But despite their guilt, the wealth they had gained in the Chaos Continent held them back from regret.
This place was simply a treasure trove, a paradise that had everything they desired.
Not only did it generate wealth comparable to an entire generation's fortune, but the unique challenges, diverse opponents, and chaotic phenomena also made it an excellent training ground.
Fighting in the Chaos Continent, they felt their bottlenecks loosen, their paths toward greater power clearing once more.
As Absolutes, nothing mattered more than advancing to the Overlord Realm.
Now that a place that gave them hope existed, how could mere guilt, status, or morality stop them from exploiting it?
Though they didn't know what would happen if a Chaos Lord ever emerged, they were certain it wouldn't be good for them.
Seeing Nero glare at them with anger and grievance, they could only feel a shred of pity in their hearts.
"Now, it's time to end this…"
"That's right. It's time to end this." Nero smiled, throwing their words back at them.
"Huh? What do you mean?"
"I mean, it's time to end you and this fiasco once and for all."
After countless defeats, how could he not have prepared for this moment?
Thinking of the price he was about to pay, pain coursed through his heart.
But with victory ahead, he could only grit his teeth and push forward.