After completely stripping the underground steel city on Mars, Luo Feng flew towards the city gates.
“Luo Feng, wait a moment.”
Babata suddenly called out.
“What is it, Babata?”
Luo Feng was puzzled.
“Could there still be treasure in this steel city?”
“Idiot! The most valuable thing in the entire steel city isn’t the Black Iron Mother or the Black Iron Essence. It’s the steel city itself, which is almost entirely built from Black Iron!”
Babata could not help exclaiming.
Luo Feng froze.
“Luo Feng, don’t tell me you don’t realise that you’re poor right now?”
Babata laughed wickedly.
“Poor?”
“Do you have any money? I’m talking about currency that can circulate throughout the universe, not Earth currency. Do you have any?”
Babata pressed.
Luo Feng frowned slightly.
Money on Earth no longer held any meaning for him.
But in the vast universe, he truly was poor.
His cash holdings were zero.
His universal bank account balance was also zero.
“Your teacher did leave you three bank accounts. But those can only be accessed when you reach Stellar Level, Universe Level, and Domain Lord respectively.”
Babata explained.
“Before his death, your teacher set up those accounts for you through the Virtual Universe Network. He specifically required you to personally claim them after reaching the required strength.”
“Your Golden Horned Beast body has reached Stellar Level. But are you really going to walk into a bank using a Golden Horned Beast body?”
Babata asked.
The first account could only be accessed upon reaching Stellar Level.
Yet Luo Feng could not reveal the Golden Horned Beast.
And his human body had not reached the required level.
“So your cash is zero, and your bank accounts are effectively inaccessible.”
“You do possess many treasures. The Yun Mo Planet ship is priceless. The Black Dragon spaceship is also extremely valuable.”
“But if you reveal the Yun Mo Planet ship, even World Masters will try to seize it. Even Immortals will come for it. That’s simply courting death.”
“As for the Black Dragon spaceship, you need it yourself.”
“The Cloud Contact Vine has already recognised you as its master.”
“You need the Soaring Heaven Shuttle and Arc Blade Disc.”
“The only things you could really sell are the Silver Guards, along with the Wood Crystal Essence and energy crystals I have stored.”
Babata continued.
“But the Wood Crystal Essence is needed for the Cloud Contact Vine’s growth.”
“And what about the energy crystals? The Black Dragon spaceship consumes energy. If you use it frequently, my energy crystal reserves might not even be sufficient. We’ll need to buy more in the future.”
Luo Feng was somewhat dumbfounded.
He was the successor of Yun Mo Planet.
Yet he did not possess a single unit of usable cash.
As for his possessions, the Black Dragon spaceship, spirit weapons, Wood Crystal Essence, and energy crystals were all necessities.
“So until your human body reaches Stellar Level, you’re still poor.”
Babata said helplessly.
“What about the spaceship wreckage?”
Luo Feng could not help asking.
“That’s scrap. It’s rubbish. Recycling it isn’t even worth the effort.”
Babata replied.
“How much could it possibly sell for? A single Wood Crystal Essence can be exchanged for countless piles of wreckage.”
Luo Feng frowned.
A person without long term planning will inevitably face immediate worries.
He knew very well that he would eventually have to enter the universe.
For example, the metal combinations required to cultivate Deity of Heaven and Earth would have to be purchased.
If he tried to search for them personally, who knew how long it would take?
Even Immortals valued money in the vast universe.
Of course, they valued universal currency, not local currencies issued by individual planets like Earth.
How could he survive without money?
Without money, he could not even open an account on the Virtual Universe Network.
“Luo Feng, let me be honest with you.”
Babata said.
“If you use the Black Dragon spaceship frequently, the energy crystals in my storage space will probably be exhausted within a few decades.”
“As for the Wood Crystal Essence I have, it is enough to help you reach the first stage of Stellar Level and raise the Cloud Contact Vine to approximately the fifth or sixth stage of Stellar Level.”
“That’s all. Beyond that, there’s nothing left.”
“How you choose to use the energy crystals and Wood Crystal Essence is entirely up to you.”
Luo Feng thought carefully.
His wealth could be divided into three tiers.
The highest tier consisted of the Yun Mo Planet ship and the corpse of an Immortal.
These were heaven defying treasures.
Unfortunately, displaying such treasures would be equivalent to seeking death.
The second tier consisted of the three bank accounts left by his teacher.
But he needed sufficient strength before he could access them.
The third tier consisted of the Black Dragon spaceship, the Soaring Heaven Shuttle, the Arc Blade Disc, the Silver Guards, and the Wood Crystal Essence and energy crystals held by Babata.
“I can’t bear to part with any of them.”
Luo Feng shook his head.
“Exactly! That’s why your biggest source of wealth right now is all this Black Iron!”
Babata shouted excitedly.
“These are raw Black Iron materials, not alloy wreckage.”
“Spaceship alloy wreckage has almost no practical value. Raw materials can be used to manufacture tools, weapons, and many other things. They’re still worth quite a bit.”
Luo Feng nodded slightly.
It was similar to iron ore on Earth.
Raw materials held value.
Although metal deposits could be mined throughout the universe, mining still required costs.
“Black Iron is only an A8 grade metal and is relatively cheap.”
Babata continued.
“But there’s so much of it. Don’t forget that millions of miners were specifically transported here aboard interstellar transport ships to mine it.”
“It seems this is my first real fortune.”
Luo Feng looked at the steel city with excitement in his eyes.
“You dismantle it, and I’ll store everything.”
Babata shouted.
“Deal.”
…
Rumble…
The steel city continuously emitted loud rumbling sounds.
With Luo Feng dismantling and Babata collecting everything into storage space, the efficiency was astonishing.
The steel city, nearly ten kilometres long and wide, was gradually stripped apart.
Huge sections of Black Iron raw material disappeared.
Even Black Iron that had been cast into structural pillars was collected.
More than eight hours later, the steel city had completely vanished.
Only decayed remnants remained behind.
“Luo Feng, after discarding some of the rotten debris, we’ve collected a total of 9.28 billion tonnes of Black Iron raw material.”
Babata said excitedly.
“Haha! With these materials, Luo Feng, you finally have your first real capital.”
Luo Feng flew back to the surface.
From high above, he looked down upon Mars.
“What a pity. There are still huge Black Iron veins underground.”
Babata said helplessly.
“But they’re extremely difficult to mine. No matter how powerful a single person is, they can’t excavate an entire mineral vein alone. Unless it’s a pure metal vein.”
“Don’t be too greedy.”
Luo Feng understood perfectly.
Everything he had obtained represented the labour of more than three million miners and countless machines.
Earth.
Yangzhou City, Jiangnan Base City, China.
At dusk, the red sun hung in the western sky.
A giant black saucer shaped spaceship hovered several thousand metres above Yangzhou City.
Yet not a single nation on Earth detected its existence.
The spaceship’s outer hatch opened, and a young man wearing casual clothes flew out.
The spaceship instantly vanished.
The young man dived towards the ground.
“I’m back.”
Luo Feng could not help sighing in admiration.
“It’s incredible. Leaving for Mars in the morning and returning to Earth by evening.”
“And I even made a fortune.”
The hard work of more than three million miners.
Those 9.28 billion tonnes of Black Iron were worth far more than the two tonnes of Black Iron Mother.
Simply because of the quantity involved.
“Dad! Daddy!”
In the courtyard, one of the two young boys playing excitedly shouted.
The other immediately looked up as well.
Sure enough, their father, Luo Feng, was descending from the sky.
“Pingping, Xiao Hai, come here and give me a kiss.”
Luo Feng crouched down and hugged his two sons with a smile.
Beep, beep.
A car horn sounded.
Luo Feng turned to look.
Xu Xin was driving towards the garage and deliberately honking the horn.
The two children immediately shouted,
“Mum! Mum!”
“Dinner is almost ready.”
Gong Xinlan smiled warmly.
“Xiaofeng, you and Xu Xin both happened to come home at exactly the right time. What a coincidence.”
…
Luo Feng’s life was extremely comfortable.
The Golden Horned Beast remained inside its internal world, completely immersed in cultivating Absolute Space.
Every day, its internal world absorbed nearly one hundred tonnes of Black Iron Essence.
For Luo Feng, multitasking was effortless.
Immortals possessed souls whose computational abilities were no weaker than intelligent life forms, capable of trillions of calculations per second.
Luo Feng’s soul had already reached the third stage of Stellar Level.
If he focused on controlling objects, directing hundreds or even thousands of objects along different trajectories was easy.
Even if every object required maximum concentration, his third stage Stellar Level consciousness could still control thirty two streams of spiritual force at full capacity.
In other words,
Luo Feng could divide his attention into thirty two separate tasks.
Each operating at maximum efficiency.
…
Yes.
Thirty two.
Back when Luo Feng was only at the third stage of Planetary Level, his consciousness could control nineteen streams of spiritual force.
Now, with a third stage Stellar Level soul, he could control thirty two.
Luo Feng frequently left Earth aboard the spaceship and travelled to other planets within the Solar System.
No one noticed.
After all, he returned too quickly.
Even the most distant planet in the Solar System could be reached and returned from within two days using the Black Dragon spaceship.
…
Earth remained peaceful.
…
Hongning Base City.
Spring of 2062.
Inside the giant spaceship that served as the headquarters of the Extreme Dojo was a spacious room.
Two beds stood inside, surrounded by numerous medical devices.
Everything existed solely to preserve the lives of two powerful individuals.
On the left bed lay Lei Shen in a white robe.
On the right bed lay Hong in black clothing.
“Hall Master…”
Outside the room, two people stood behind the glass wall, looking inside with sorrow in their eyes.
“Mountain, when will the Hall Master wake up?”
Enchantress could not help asking softly.
“I don’t know.”
The cold faced man beside her replied.
“But I’ll wait. I’ll keep waiting forever.”
“Mhm.”
Enchantress nodded slightly.
Suddenly,
Beep! Beep! Beep!
A piercing alarm sounded outside.
Boom!
A group of doctors immediately rushed into the area.
Enchantress and Mountain, the two personal guards, stared wide eyed through the glass.
The room door opened instantly.
Two elderly doctors hurried inside while everyone else remained outside.
“Brain waves! We’ve detected brain waves!”
One white haired doctor shouted excitedly.
“Both Hall Masters have brain waves, and they’re getting stronger!”
The other doctor cried out in excitement.
The monitors displayed the readings.
The brain wave activity of the two Hall Masters rose and fell continuously, almost as if they were competing against one another.
Each became stronger than the other.
Growing stronger and stronger.
Suddenly, the eyelids of Hong, dressed in black, twitched slightly.
Then, slowly,
he opened his eyes.