Three Years Later

"Higher viewing permissions, along with a certain free quota... It seems the ability to create clones is highly valued even among the core members of the Virtual Universe Company." Lu Ming clicked open the notification panel and, upon entering the details page, immediately understood everything.

The Virtual Universe Company's treasury did indeed contain the genetic materials of some truly rare, even heaven-defying special lifeforms. But their point prices were basically astronomical. Geniuses still in their growth phase, like Lu Ming, simply could not afford them.

Some geniuses staying in Heaven and Earth or even the Doomsday Secret Realm might not even have sufficient permission to view them.

Yet geniuses would inevitably nurture clones during their weaker stages, before reaching the Immortal level.

If they could not obtain suitable materials for nurturing clones early on, it would undoubtedly greatly restrict the future development of those geniuses with the special ability of "clones."

After considering everything, the Virtual Universe Company established this special rule. Once it was confirmed that a genius truly possessed the special talent of "clones," their permissions to view materials for nurturing clones could be temporarily elevated, and they would also receive certain discounts when purchasing them.

As for Lu Ming, perhaps because he was a member of the Primal Secret Realm and already possessed relatively high permissions, coupled with the bonus achievement of clearing seven Trial Towers, the Virtual Universe Company naturally granted him even more favorable terms.

"Since I'll only have a chance to see the truly top-tier special lifeform genetic materials after reaching headquarters, I won't rush to spend my points for now."

Others might need to purchase cultivation secret arts, but he had the Five Chapters of Thunder taught by Marquis Zhenlei, as well as the two great secret codices gifted by the Jinlan Kingdom Lord. For the time being, there was no need to waste points on secret arts.

"Other than secret arts, I also lack none of those external things—weaponry, combat suits, auxiliary lifeforms, spacecraft. I'll save my points for now." As for the three years of travel, all he needed to do was cultivate diligently.

"With the small Huo Suo Giant Beast Statue gifted to me by the Jinlan Kingdom Lord, I can continue focusing on the Huo Suo Codex." Having previously mastered the move Starfall, he had already barely touched upon a trace of the Thunder-time Fusion Law.

Could he perhaps cross another threshold during these three years and master the move Time Walker?

If he could grasp that move, both his offensive capability and battlefield control would rise to another level.

Three years passed in the blink of an eye.

On this day, Leili came to Lu Ming's door. "Your Highness, we're about to arrive at Virtual Universe Company headquarters."

He could not help sighing inwardly. This Lu Ming really deserved to be the number one genius of this Genius Battle. He cultivated far too diligently; over the past three years, he had almost never left his room even once.

Whoosh!

The door in the wall suddenly vanished, as though it had changed from solid matter into a beam of light and been withdrawn.

Lu Ming slowly stepped out of his room. His appearance was not greatly different from a year ago, except his ink-black eyes had become even deeper. Faintly, one could see the phantom of a fierce, savage giant beast within them!

Clearly, Lu Ming's gains from these three years of cultivation were far from insignificant.

Leili looked at the black-haired youth before him, and his heart trembled. This Primal Secret Realm Your Highness seemed to have undergone another earth-shaking transformation compared to three years ago.

He vaguely sensed that Lu Ming's aura had changed. Even merely standing there, he gave off the powerful oppressive feeling of a humanoid savage beast.

In truth, this was a unique aura formed as Lu Ming's comprehension of the concept of destruction deepened and fused with talents such as the Heart of the Wild and the Will of the Overlord.

"Leili, long time no see. Are we almost there?"

With a faint smile, Lu Ming headed leisurely toward the control room.

"Yes, Your Highness. You'll soon be able to see the headquarters continent!" Leili replied.

Not long after Leili finished speaking, the spacecraft's intelligent system issued a notification.

"Beginning universe traversal. Entering the Original Universe."

"5... 4... 3... 2... 1!"

The entire spacecraft shook slightly, only returning to normal ten seconds later. Leili immediately ordered, "Exterior simulation, 100%."

The entire hall instantly became transparent and seemed to vanish. A dreamlike starry sky appeared all around them, and in the distant heavens floated an incomparably vast supercontinent!

Beside that colossal landmass in the starry sky, even stars and planets seemed utterly insignificant. The spacecraft flew toward the continent at Light Speed, yet after flying for a while, it was still unimaginably far away.

"Your Highness, this is the all-universe headquarters of our Virtual Universe Company." Leili, the blue-armored warrior at his side, smiled.

Lu Ming gazed into the distance. Though he had been mentally prepared, he was still awed by this vast expanse of stars.

Only after quite a while did Lu Ming sigh. "The Virtual Universe Company truly deserves to be one of the Human Race's top powers. Only now, after seeing headquarters with my own eyes, do I understand what a top power of the Human Race truly is!"

Leili was not surprised by Lu Ming's reaction. Anyone arriving in this starry sky for the first time would be shocked.

Then Leili slowly introduced, "Your Highness, our Virtual Universe Company Headquarters Continent has a diameter of several dozen Light-years. The stars, planets, meteorites, and other celestial bodies floating around it are actually extremely terrifying technological weapons."

Lu Ming nodded continuously. The Virtual Universe Company was the technological holy land of the Human Race, so naturally it possessed all kinds of weapons for defense.

However, he also understood that while these technological weapons were powerful, they were no more than decorations before truly powerful experts.

The reason the company headquarters continent had stood in this starry sky for endless ages was still the Human Race's very strongest experts, such as Chaos City Lord and Ice Peak Lord.

In the boundless starry sky, spacecraft constantly flew toward the headquarters continent, while others continuously departed from headquarters.

Lu Ming looked toward those spacecraft. Even from a distance, he could tell that not a single one of them was inferior to the F-class spaceship he was riding.

The spacecraft slowly approached that vast continent. While Lu Ming felt reverence in his heart, he could not help yearning for it as well.

One day, he too would stand at the very summit like those great beings, overlooking the boundless starry sky and roaming freely through the vast universe.

After the silver sword-shaped spacecraft continued flying at sub-light speed for roughly a dozen more hours, it finally neared one of the continent's entrances.

The spacecraft flew through the entrance passage at sub-light speed for several more minutes before gradually slowing down and finally coming to a stop.

Crash!

The hatch opened.

Accompanied by Leili and the others, Lu Ming flew out of the spacecraft.

More than ten uniformed men and women were already waiting outside. Upon seeing Lu Ming, a white-robed man at the front stepped forward and respectfully said, "Your Highness Lu Ming, I have been ordered by the Venerable to await you here. Please follow me."

Lu Ming nodded slightly. After bidding farewell to Leili and the others, he followed the white-robed man and his group down a dreamlike corridor, eventually entering an oval hall.

The surroundings and ceiling of this oval hall were entirely transparent. Once Lu Ming entered, he could look up and see the boundless starry sky, a truly magnificent sight.

"Lu Ming, you're here!"

Quite a few geniuses were already waiting in the hall. Upon seeing Lu Ming appear, several stepped forward to greet him.

"Liya, Tiffany, Kun Zhou..."

Lu Ming also smiled and greeted each genius who welcomed him. Come to think of it, this was the first time he had met these peerless geniuses in reality.

Although Lu Ming was the number one genius of this Genius Battle, he was not the aloof and arrogant type.

During the three-year journey, Lu Ming had not completely isolated himself from the world while cultivating in Rain Aspect Mountain. He had communicated and exchanged insights with many geniuses. However, given his strength and status, aside from Liya, who was also in the Primal Secret Realm, most of those familiar with him were in the Taichu Secret Realm.

After arriving in the hall, Lu Ming went directly to sit beside Liya. After all, they were both members of the Primal Secret Realm.

"Lu Ming." Seeing him sit down beside her, the somewhat absent-minded Snow Elf Race girl smiled and greeted him as well.

After another roughly six hours, all one thousand peerless geniuses who had joined the Virtual Universe Company had gathered in the hall.

"Everyone, follow me."

Once all one thousand had assembled, a green-eyed girl draped in an elegant white robe suddenly appeared. The faint aura emanating from her made every person present feel alarmed.

Then an incomparably immense force instantly enveloped all the geniuses present.

Whoosh!

The green-eyed girl directly transformed everyone into a streak of light. After flying for several minutes, they arrived before an exceedingly strange spacecraft.

"Everyone, enter the spacecraft." The green-eyed girl set them down and spoke coldly.

Lu Ming looked at the spacecraft ahead.

This spacecraft was extremely unusual. Its entire body resembled a giant fish, dark blue all over and nearly a thousand meters long, with its tail fin gently swaying at the rear.

Yet the hatch of this giant fish spacecraft was located on the "fish's" belly.

It seemed this spacecraft had fused with a lifeform at least at the Immortal level. It had already surpassed F-class and reached G-class.

Only a Venerable-level being like Venerable Yun Meng could possess such a spacecraft.

Urged by the green-eyed girl, Lu Ming and the other thousand geniuses had no time to marvel at the spacecraft's peculiarities. They entered through the hatch one after another and then stepped into the spacecraft's main hall.

Inside the hall.

An invisible pressure suddenly descended, leaving the thousand geniuses afraid to make a sound. Even the more than ten Immortal Beings aboard the spacecraft, including the green-eyed girl, bowed slightly.

The Dream Snail Wing Race Venerable who had presided over the Genius Battle stood at the front. Though she stood there, she carried a wondrous sense of emptiness, as if she did not exist within this space. The female Venerable swept her gaze around, finally pausing on Lu Ming for an instant.

Only then did she say, "Set off for the Initial Universe."

Rumble...

With a flick of its "giant fish" tail fin, the spacecraft instantly vanished from its spot.