Inside the grand hall, a patch of grass appeared between the two men. With visible speed, the withered weeds on it turned green, while grass seeds buried in the soil sprouted and grew. In the end, both bloomed with flowers at the same time.
The Molten Sector Lord said nothing as he watched the projection, continuing to listen to Frank's report.
"According to the surveillance satellites, this anomaly has affected a wide area, covering one-third of the core region of the Kuka Planet Prairie."
Frank waved his hand again, and the projection between them changed.
A circular map appeared before them. It was a complete map of the Kuka Planet Prairie, and a bright green area at its center occupied a considerable portion of the map.
Finally, Frank added, "This anomaly has accelerated the conversion rate of wood-attributed Gene Origin Energy in the area. According to Lorenzo, there have also been fluctuations of Laws."
"Fluctuations of Laws?"
The Molten Sector Lord became interested upon hearing that.
He recalled the matter briefly and realized he had no memory of such an anomaly. His expression turned grave.
With wealth slightly exceeding that of a Marquis Immortal, he knew a great many secrets.
Yet even he had never heard of such an anomaly. That alone was enough to show how extraordinary it was!
The Molten Sector Lord ordered, "Block all news of this. Await my orders."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Frank nodded respectfully before withdrawing from the grand hall.
After Frank left, the Molten Sector Lord connected to the Virtual Universe with a thought.
Virtual Universe, Qianwu Continent, Qianwu Mountain.
Qianwu Mountain was where many Immortal powerhouses under the Qian Wu Universe Country resided within the Virtual Universe. It was said that the Qian Wu Ruler's palace stood atop Qianwu Mountain.
On the mountainside of Qianwu Mountain stood several hundred palaces. Their masters were all trusted subordinates of the Qian Wu Ruler, each one a powerhouse among Immortal Deities.
The Molten Sector Lord arrived at one of the palaces and entered amid the respectful salutes of the guards at its gates.
It was not only the guards at the gates. Every other guard inside the palace saluted the Molten Sector Lord respectfully upon seeing him, as though he were the palace's master.
Within the palace's main hall sat a burly man on a throne.
Seeing the Molten Sector Lord arrive, he stood with a smile to greet him. "Haha! Fifth Brother, I was just about to look for you, and here you are."
"Congratulations, Second Brother, on getting your wish and successfully becoming a Marquis Immortal! From now on, I should call you Marquis Rongdian."
The Molten Sector Lord smiled as well. His sworn brother had successfully become a Marquis Immortal, and he was sincerely delighted.
Though the burly man spoke modestly, the joy in his voice was impossible to conceal. "Barely! I only barely became a Marquis Immortal."
Clearly, unlike what he said, he was extremely proud of having become a Marquis Immortal.
After exchanging congratulations, the two sworn brothers, who had not met in decades, began chatting. However, they deliberately avoided the subject of Immortals and only discussed amusing incidents.
As they talked, the Molten Sector Lord mentioned the unprecedented anomaly that had appeared on one of the training planets under his command.
Marquis Rongdian could not help becoming interested when he heard it. He had never heard of such an anomaly either.
As a trusted subordinate of the Qian Wu Ruler, Marquis Rongdian's authority had risen after barely becoming a Marquis Immortal. He used that authority to investigate what kind of special ability this anomaly belonged to.
When they saw the information provided by the Virtual Universe, both were rather surprised.
"Special ability: Origin of Life. A top-three special ability in the universe. It possesses extremely powerful self-recovery abilities. Its Gene Origin Energy can strengthen and cultivate plant life, and it has a high affinity for the Wood Law.
"Note: Those with exceptionally powerful Origin of Life abilities possess an extraordinarily fast Divine Power recovery rate after breaking through to become Immortal."
Seeing the final line of the information, the Molten Sector Lord softly read it aloud. "Value: from 1 Mixed Origin Unit to 1,000 Mixed Origin Units."
Marquis Rongdian clicked his tongue. "As expected of a top-three special ability in the universe. The highest value of this Origin of Life is equivalent to the entire fortune of an Immortal Army Master."
The Molten Sector Lord shook his head. "Its value isn't low, but the range is too great. The minimum is 1 Mixed Origin Unit, while the maximum is only 1,000 Mixed Origin Units."
"Only 1,000 Mixed Origin Units? Fifth Brother, that is equivalent to the fortune of a relatively poor Immortal Army Master!"
Even Marquis Rongdian, an Immortal powerhouse who had barely become a Marquis Immortal and possessed wealth exceeding that of ordinary Marquis Immortals, would never consider 1,000 Mixed Origin Units a small sum.
Of course, when he and his Fifth Brother had first inherited the assets of an alien King Immortal, 1,000 Mixed Origin Units truly had been pocket change.
"Only 1,000 Mixed Origin Units."
After shaking his head again, the Molten Sector Lord asked, "If it were you, Second Brother, and there were a treasure that could rapidly restore Divine Power for 1,000 Mixed Origin Units, would you buy it?"
"Buy it! As long as I had the money, I'd buy as many as I could!"
Marquis Rongdian, who had been focused on the price, brightened. "You mean the greatest value of Origin of Life lies in rapidly restoring Divine Power?"
"Yes. The greatest value of Origin of Life lies in rapidly restoring Divine Power, but reaching that maximum value is too difficult!"
The Molten Sector Lord sighed softly. "Only exceptionally powerful Origin of Life abilities can rapidly restore Divine Power, but before becoming Immortal, who can know whether it is an exceptionally powerful Origin of Life ability?"
Hearing this, Marquis Rongdian said, "The lower limit is guaranteed by foundational abilities like affinity for Laws, while the upper limit of rapidly restoring Divine Power is more like a gamble.
"I think Origin of Life has powerful recovery abilities and is suitable for body possession to cultivate younger generations.
"However, a special ability is not a racial talent. After body possession and changing souls, how much of the most valuable lower-limit talent—affinity for Laws—can be retained is questionable.
"So, I believe the value of Origin of Life is between 3 and 5 Mixed Origin Units."
Marquis Rongdian finally gave his estimate, and that price was already equivalent to half the fortune of most World Lords.
"Only 5 Mixed Origin Units."
The Molten Sector Lord smiled faintly. "I plan to cultivate him. Unfortunately, there are only eighty-two years left until the Universe Peak Genius Battle. Otherwise, I could have assessed his potential in advance."
Marquis Rongdian patted the Molten Sector Lord's shoulder. "No matter what decision you make, Second Brother will support you!"
"Thank you, Second Brother." The Molten Sector Lord smiled.
"Why are brothers like us being so polite?"
Marquis Rongdian took out several bottles of fine wine the Molten Sector Lord enjoyed. "Come! Let's drink to our hearts' content today!"
The two then drank heavily, and the wine they consumed during that session was worth 0.1 Mixed Origin Units.
After drinking, Marquis Rongdian smiled as he saw the Molten Sector Lord off.
After the Molten Sector Lord left, the smile on Marquis Rongdian's face faded.
He lowered his head and looked at the many empty wine bottles in the hall. "Sigh, if only you had listened to me and set aside your pride back then, why would it have come to this..."
After leaving the Virtual Universe and returning to reality, the Molten Sector Lord summoned a projection with a thought.
The projection displayed a half-body portrait of a youngster, alongside written details of his name and background.
The youngster in the projection was only in his teens, with black hair, black eyes, fair skin, and a somewhat slender frame.
The Molten Sector Lord softly read, "Li Qi Royce."
Kuka Planet, the Royce Family.
Putting those two names together, the Molten Sector Lord thought of another youngster with equally outstanding talent: Ron Royce.
He had reached the eighth level of the Domain before turning fifty. Among the talents the Molten Sector Lord had cultivated over more than three hundred epochs since founding the Molten Empire, that aptitude was considered quite good.
Had he been properly cultivated for another few thousand years, he would have had an excellent chance of entering the top 1,000 of the Qian Wu Universe Country in the Universe Peak Genius Battle held by the Giant Axe Battle Arena.
Unfortunately, he had fallen during a trial at the Stellar Training Camp, and the empire had destroyed a Domain Lord family because of that incident.
After reviewing Li Qi's information, the Molten Sector Lord shook his head inwardly. His foundation is too poor. He still needs to be polished properly.
But it doesn't matter. Eighty-two years from now, he will not even be a hundred years old. This Universe Peak Genius Battle can serve as training for him.
The Stellar Level lifespan was ten thousand years, while the Universe Peak Genius Battle was held twice every ten thousand years, alternately hosted by the two peak powers, the Virtual Universe Company and the Giant Axe Battle Arena.
The Molten Sector Lord had cultivated talents for more than three hundred epochs. Over those more than three million years, the geniuses he had nurtured had participated in over seven hundred Universe Peak Genius Battles.
More than ten of them had entered the top 1,000 of the Qian Wu Universe Country.
Yet only one had entered the top 7,300 in the universe, and he had been eliminated in the first round of the second stage.
Still, entering the top 7,300 in the universe was already impressive. After all, there were 1,004 Human Universe Countries, and each universe country sent 1,000 geniuses to the finals. That meant more than a million geniuses participated in the finals.
More than a million geniuses!
After the first stage, only 7,300 remained. That showed just how brutal and intense the finals of the Universe Peak Genius Battle were!
"With the special ability Origin of Life, his talent ranks among the best of all the geniuses I have cultivated over the past three million years."
The Molten Sector Lord was one of the strongest among World Lords and possessed extensive experience in cultivating geniuses.
He knew well that talent was merely the foundation. Comprehension, willpower, state of mind, luck, and other factors were also crucial in determining how far someone with exceptional talent could go.
I hope you can bring me a surprise, the Molten Sector Lord murmured inwardly.
Over his more than three million years of cultivating geniuses, he had endured disappointment after disappointment. By now, he rarely held much hope for any particular genius.
Cultivating a genius capable of entering the top 1,000 in the universe was simply too difficult!
If not for that promise from the Qian Wu Ruler sustaining him, he would have long since given up cultivating geniuses.
That opportunity in the past had brought enormous wealth to him and his sworn brother, Marquis Rongdian. At the same time, it had forged the shackles preventing him from breaking through.
In the eyes of most people, he was incomparably powerful, having defeated an Immortal Deity head-on with the body of a World Lord. Yet only a few knew the bitterness and suffering he carried.
For an ordinary World Lord to break through and become an Immortal Deity, they only needed to overcome two great difficulties. First, they had to fully comprehend a Lower Law. Second, they had to completely control their body.
Now, he had fully comprehended the Fire Law, and the Earth Law was close to being fully comprehended as well. He could also completely control his body, and had even begun to grasp the Space Law.
Yet even so, he still could not break through and become an Immortal Deity!
Because a World Lord with as solid a foundation as his faced a third great difficulty!
That third great difficulty was to rely on his own strength to shatter the Origin Core and complete the infusion of Divine Power!
If he could not shatter the Origin Core, then even if he fully comprehended the Fire Origin Law, he could not become an Immortal Deity.
Without becoming Immortal, one would ultimately become dust and ashes!
Immortal Deities possessed eternal lifespans and were not eroded by time.
Yet without becoming Immortal, even the most powerful World Lord had only a lifespan of ten million years!
Once those ten million years passed, only the inner world within their body would remain in existence.
Before you continue