The Peerless Emperor (TPE)

After returning to his room, Lin Qian sat down cross-legged on the bed, closed his eyes, and began his cultivation.

Lin Qian was well aware that in this world, he could only rely on two things.

First, his innate talent.

Second, the Huaxia Empire.

His talent would allow him to grow stronger faster, with a ceiling far higher than others. And his personal strength would determine how much support he could draw from the Huaxia Empire.

While he wasn't proficient in alchemy or crafting, the Huaxia Empire was filled with talented individuals at his disposal. Additionally, with someone as capable as Ye Xin by his side, he could attract even more talented people to his service.

Therefore, making the most of every spare moment to train and improve his strength had become Lin Qian's top priority.

There were still a little over two months left before the Octopus Sea Tribe's clan gathering. Shortly after that event, it would be time to venture into the ancient human ruins.

Before that, Lin Qian needed to elevate his cultivation as much as possible.

After all, he would be dealing with prodigies from the South Sea and the Southern Region's human and aquatic clans. Lin Qian didn't believe that these talents from major regions outside of Linhai Prefecture would be easy opponents.

According to Zhang Nianxin, the human factions attending this event from the Southern Region weren't even the most powerful ones. The Southern Region was vast, with countless powerful factions, but only those near the South Sea had the advantage of proximity.

Moreover, the truly top-tier factions from the Southern Region wouldn't bother with such an ancient ruin—it simply wasn't worth their attention.

While Lin Qian himself didn't care much about the ruins, he was interested in any ancient texts or knowledge they might contain, which could aid in the Huaxia Empire's technological research.

Lin Qian also had another, more personal reason for participating in this venture—finding clues about his parents.

Based on his speculations, Lin Qian believed that his parents were no ordinary people and might have some renown outside of Linhai Prefecture.

Given that this gathering would attract factions from the Southern Region, it was possible that he could learn something from them.

However, Lin Qian was well aware that these so-called geniuses were likely to be arrogant and difficult to approach. Without sufficient strength to earn their respect, asking for information would be pointless.

With just two months left, Lin Qian knew he needed to train hard.

The Emperor's Codex had once again undergone changes, updated by Zhuge Ming to the Emperor's Codex 2.0 – Supreme Edition (Beta).

Given that Lin Qian's physique and soul were unique—possessing dual ancestral martial souls and three types of soul power—Zhuge Ming had enhanced the Emperor's Codex to better harness these powers. The updated codex not only optimized the use of Lin Qian's Emperor-attribute soul power but also accommodated his thunder and ice soul powers, enabling him to control them with greater precision.

Moreover, the codex had been refined to cater to the characteristics of the Void-Breaking Realm.

Unlike other realms, the Void-Breaking Realm emphasized the accumulation of soul power. The Nirvana Realm was focused on the delicate balance of the martial soul, where cultivation required caution to avoid damaging the soul.

But the Void-Breaking Realm was different. Its advancement hinged on one thing: amassing soul power!

Void-Breaking Realm cultivation wasn't about quality—it was purely about quantity.

For soul warriors, soul power was their most crucial resource. It wasn't just about having high-quality power; they needed a large reserve as well.

Compared to the Nirvana Realm, the soul power of a Void-Breaking Realm warrior was immense.

For example, Lin Qian, even with his vast soul power during the Nirvana Realm, couldn't compare to a first-stage Void-Breaking Realm warrior in terms of sheer quantity.

Although Lin Qian's soul power was of extremely high quality—each small amount equivalent to one-tenth of a first-stage Void-Breaking Realm warrior's—it still couldn't match them in volume.

This demonstrated just how vast the soul power of the Void-Breaking Realm was.

For lower-realm warriors to exhaust a Void-Breaking Realm warrior's soul power through sheer volume was nearly impossible.

Of course, Lin Qian was an exception.

In Linhai Prefecture, cultivation in the Void-Breaking Realm was notoriously slow, often requiring years to amass enough soul power to advance.

However, according to Wei Wushuang, cultivation speed outside Linhai Prefecture was much faster. The difference lay in the concentration of spiritual energy.

Linhai Prefecture, as one of the most remote corners of the Southern Region, had scarce spiritual energy. Only the core territories of the Three Sects and Five Clans cultivated spirit trees to generate a small amount of energy.

Yet, while Linhai Prefecture was lacking, the Huaxia Empire had no such shortages!

Thus, Lin Qian had taken many spirit tree saplings from the empire and planted them across Linhai Prefecture, cultivating them on a large scale.

Since spirit trees were difficult to transplant, growing them from saplings was more practical. Once the saplings adapted to the land, they would grow rapidly.

At that point, both Linhai Prefecture and the Initial State would see a dramatic boost in overall strength.

As a ruler and empire-builder, watching his territory grow stronger was Lin Qian's greatest satisfaction.

If not, in his previous life, after dominating his server, he wouldn't have been the only player still obsessively developing his empire, finding endless joy in it.

Bang! The sound of something being placed down echoed, and three large wooden barrels appeared before Lin Qian.

Next, he produced three crystal bottles filled with a special solution—not the familiar Nirvana Flame Bath but Zhuge Ming's latest creation.

Pouring the contents of the bottles into the barrels, the liquid inside began to change.

The first barrel's liquid turned a fiery gold, crackling with thunderbolts. It looked less like liquid and more like a vat of golden lightning.

The second barrel's liquid became an icy blue, exuding a bone-chilling cold that even froze the barrel's surface.

The third barrel, however, was filled with a soothing green liquid, emitting a refreshing fragrance. Just inhaling its scent left one feeling clear-headed and invigorated.

It was clear that the third barrel offered the most comfortable experience.

But Lin Qian gritted his teeth and, following Zhuge Ming's advice, approached the first barrel—brimming with crackling lightning.

As soon as he stepped into the barrel, the searing lightning penetrated his body from every possible orifice.

That's right—from every orifice!

"To train fast, let the lightning strike where it hurts!"