Chaos City.
As one of the sacred lands of the entire human race in the universe, Chaos City had existed for countless years. In just ten years, there was almost no change at all.
It was still shrouded in streams of chaotic energy, and countless cultivators were still sitting on the rooftops.
If a camera had recorded the scene ten years ago and compared it with the scene ten years later, it might have been discovered that most of the cultivators in Chaos City had not moved at all for the entire ten years!
“Here they come.”
“Mm.”
High above Chaos City stood two imposing, powerfully built figures. One was an ape-man wearing golden battle armour, his eyes seemingly capable of seeing through the void. Beside him stood another man dressed in a white battle robe. He was rather thin and pale, with two black horns on his head. The surrounding space seemed to be faintly distorted and thrown into disorder. Most unusual of all, his eyes remained closed.
“Rumble!”
A curved, entirely azure-blue spacecraft appeared in the distance.
“True Yan, Tong Nan!” A clear voice rang out. A beautiful woman wearing azure-blue battle armour and possessing flowing purple hair walked out of the spacecraft cabin. The spacecraft then disappeared directly.
“Longyu!” True Yan King laughed loudly.
The thin man in the white robe, whose eyes remained closed, also smiled and called out, “Longyu, long time no see.”
“You two have been staying in Chaos City cultivating in seclusion, and rarely even enter the Virtual Universe. I’ve been in the Original Universe all this time. How could I possibly meet you?” Longyu smiled.
Longyu’s entire body seemed to have been carved from green jade, giving her an almost translucent quality, as though she did not truly exist in this spacetime.
“Come, let’s go to my place.” Tong Nan King smiled.
……
A moment later.
Inside a strangely styled building, light and darkness seemed to coexist in perfect harmony.
True Yan King, Tong Nan King and Longyu King, three super existences with extremely high statuses within Virtual Universe Company, were sitting together.
“Tsk tsk, delicious.” Longyu held a crystal-clear wine glass and took a sip of the liquid inside. Stars seemed to swirl within the wine, making it extraordinarily beautiful.
“Haha, I’m benefiting from Longyu’s presence too. I actually get to drink this ‘Five-Coloured Starlight’.” True Yan King downed the contents of his glass in one gulp, then comfortably stroked the fur around his mouth. His eyes widened as he clicked his tongue in praise. “This blind man Tong Nan is so stingy. I’ve been here with him for over a hundred million years, yet he’s only let me drink it once.”
“It is very expensive!” Tong Nan King said in a low voice. “You just drank thirty thousand mixed units!”
“Don’t be stingy, don’t be stingy. Give me some more. You made a huge profit that time in the cosmic secret realm. Why are you getting heartbroken over a little wine?” True Yan King gave a sly grin and reached towards the wine bottle.
The completely black, straight cylindrical wine bottle sat on the table. Tong Nan King did not stop him, allowing True Yan King to take it.
“Tsk tsk!” True Yan King glanced at Longyu King. “Longyu, your face really carries weight.”
Longyu King smiled faintly and glanced at Tong Nan King.
As beings who had lived for incomparably long periods of time, even if they could allow their relatives to live for a thousand eras, their relatives would still have long since died in the river of time. Thus, True Yan King, Longyu King and Tong Nan King had no relatives.
To them, friends who had experienced countless battles between life and death together were equivalent to family.
True Yan, Tong Nan and Longyu had once belonged to the same team and were close friends who had faced life and death together.
They had endured one calamity after another.
Their bond was extremely deep. In particular, Tong Nan and Longyu had developed feelings for each other. Yet neither of them had ever broken through that final barrier. Although both understood the other’s feelings, they continued to maintain their distance.
They had also grown accustomed to this relationship, seemingly friends, yet almost like companions.
“You came this time because?” Tong Nan King asked.
“Under the orders of the Venerable.” Longyu King smiled.
“Venerable Nine Swords?” True Yan King was surprised. “What does the Venerable want you to do?”
“The Venerable places great importance on this batch of newcomers. They need to stay in Chaos City for more than thirty years, and one third of that time has already passed. To a certain extent, their future achievements can already be seen.” Longyu smiled. “The Venerable will only come to collect these newcomers on the final day. As for observing them normally, he naturally sends his subordinates. So I came.”
“Oh.” Tong Nan King nodded. “That’s true. This batch of newcomers was brought here by Venerable Nine Swords. If one of them eventually becomes powerful, they will be placed under Venerable Nine Swords.”
“Exactly.” Longyu smiled. “Although the probability of these geniuses becoming Immortal is very low, I estimate that a few of them will eventually succeed. With their talent, combined with Virtual Universe Company’s long-term intensive cultivation, once they become Immortal, they certainly won’t be ordinary Immortals. Of course the Venerable is paying attention to his future subordinates.”
Every Genius Battle and Strongest Warrior Battle was presided over by a Venerable sent by Virtual Universe Company.
Whichever Venerable presided over the event, those geniuses who eventually became Immortal would be assigned under that Venerable.
Without this reason, with the status of a Venerable, why would they personally send a group of newcomers to Chaos City and then come to collect them themselves at the end?
“This batch of newcomers is indeed very good, especially that Bolan. Half a year ago, he already passed the fourth level of Heavenly Bridge!” Tong Nan King lifted his wine glass and took a light sip. “Among the other geniuses, seven have broken through the second level of Heavenly Bridge. Everyone else is still at the first level. The seven are Gu Si Luo, Long Yun, Galesi, Tao, Qianshui, Wuka and Rong Jun.”
“Rong Jun broke through the second level in his fourth year.” True Yan King also smiled. “Tao passed the second level in his seventh year. Gu Si Luo, Long Yun and Galesi all passed the second level in their eighth year. Wuka and Qianshui both broke through the second level in their ninth year.”
Longyu smiled. “I know. In terms of strength, Bolan is first, Rong Jun is second. The next six, Tao, Gu Si Luo, Long Yun, Galesi, Wuka and Qianshui, are not far apart. That Tao who uses the blood axe is slightly ahead. By the way, what about Luo Feng, who had performed so well before?”
“I’m not sure.” Tong Nan King shook his head. “True Yan definitely knows. He’s been paying attention to that boy all this time.”
“True Yan.” Longyu King looked at the ape-man before her.
“This Luo Feng…” True Yan King stroked his chin, then rubbed his head, frowning. “How should I put it? His performance was very good when he first arrived, but these ten years have been rather strange. This boy has only gone outside the city to kill Chaos Beasts a few times. At all other times, he’s been sitting on that rooftop comprehending the laws. And he hasn’t attempted Heavenly Bridge even once.”
“Oh?”
Longyu King nodded slightly, then smiled. “I came this time specifically to observe them personally. My first target is Bolan.”
“The Venerable has praised Bolan too. Heavenly Bridge becomes more difficult with every level, with the difficulty increasing along a geometric curve. I originally thought he would need twenty years to pass the fourth level. I didn’t expect him to accomplish it in just ten years.” Longyu sighed with admiration. “The second is Rong Jun. He ranks second among this batch. I estimate that he should be able to pass the third level within the next few years.”
“Mm.”
“That’s right.”
Tong Nan King and True Yan King both nodded.
“He passed the second level in his fourth year after arriving in Chaos City. Especially this year, he has already attempted it twice. He’s not far from passing the third level!” True Yan King laughed loudly. “And with the personal guidance of Universe Country Master Yuan Chen, how could his progress be slow?”
Although he was praising Rong Jun, True Yan King felt somewhat unhappy inside.
Because neither Rong Jun nor Bolan belonged to the Nine Universe School.
“Could I have made a mistake with this Luo Feng’s study of ‘Piao Xue’?” True Yan King was worried inwardly. “Analysing the essence of the laws of space is extremely difficult. Could it have delayed him?”
Taking the wrong path meant wasting time. If this path ultimately failed, Luo Feng would have wasted ten precious years.
……
Longyu King had come under the orders of Venerable Nine Swords to observe this batch of newcomers personally.
With Longyu King’s strength, she could quietly observe from a distance without any of the newcomers noticing her.
“This Bolan is truly excellent. No wonder he is a super genius who could rank first even among geniuses appearing once every ten million years.” Longyu King floated within the streams of chaotic energy, looking at Bolan practising his swordsmanship in the distant wilderness.
Bolan’s gaze was firm and unwavering, as though nothing external could affect him.
……
“This Rong Jun is a born warrior. But what exactly about him attracted the attention of two Universe Country Masters?”
Longyu stood in the void, looking down at another rooftop in the distance. Rong Jun, barefoot and with dishevelled hair, was slowly practising his techniques. From time to time, he raised his head to observe the operation of the laws of the universe.
……
“Long Yun, mm, very steady. If he can maintain his strengths, his future will be limitless.”
……
“Wuka, worthy of being a generation’s genius from the Man Ka Star. His combat talent doesn’t seem much inferior to Rong Jun.”
……
Longyu King quietly observed one newcomer after another, making assessments in her heart, preparing to report them to Venerable Nine Swords after returning.
“So this is Luo Feng?”
Longyu King walked along an alley in Chaos City, looking at a rooftop of a cultivation residence in the distance. A black-haired youth wearing dark red battle armour was sitting there motionless with his eyes closed.
Ten years had caused his short hair to grow long, and it now hung completely loose.
“Could his comprehension have gone down the wrong path?” Longyu King wondered.
When universe experts comprehend the laws of the universe, they sometimes take a wrong route without realising it. Only many years later do they discover their mistake.
Taking a wrong path during comprehension was extremely common among the experts of the countless races throughout the vast universe.
Taking the wrong path was not frightening.
What was frightening was taking the wrong path without knowing it.
“These thirty years are the most crucial thirty years for laying your foundation. Little fellow, I wish you good luck.”
Longyu King turned around and left.
……
On the rooftop of the cultivation residence.
Luo Feng sat cross-legged in silent meditation. No one knew that inside his internal world…
The Mosha clan clone was undergoing one frenzied cultivation session after another.
For ten whole years, the Mosha clan clone had practically never stopped, completely immersed in the exhilarating process of analysing the essence of the laws of the universe. He could almost no longer feel the passage of time.
“Boom!”
A wave of air shook around Luo Feng, who was sitting cross-legged on the rooftop. Dust drifted away, and he opened his eyes.
Whoosh!
He stood up and gazed into the distance.
Chaos City was still exactly the same as before. Time had left not the slightest trace upon it.
“How long have I been cultivating this time?” Luo Feng asked.
“This time was longer than the previous few times, three years and nine months,” Babata replied.
“Mm.”
Luo Feng gently waved his hand. A series of palm afterimages remained in the air, and he smiled slightly.
“Give up after twenty years without success? Fortunately, after ten years, I’ve completely comprehended this first sword technique. At least I’m qualified to cultivate ‘Piao Xue’. Mm, it’s time to make another attempt at Heavenly Bridge.”