"Isn't this just a fight for market share? Who's afraid of whom!"
Meng Yi's face darkened as he said through gritted teeth, his tone extremely hostile, "I may not be able to beat them now, but will I still lose to them in the future? It all comes down to whether my rate of Technological Iteration is faster than those beasts'!"
"What a terrible guy! 'Paradise Beast' really is terrible!"
Thoroughly disappointed in the "Free Trade Zone," he swore that once he advanced to become a 15th Order "Strategic Partner," he would ruthlessly clean up the Paradise's unhealthy practices.
No! He couldn't think like that!
He had suffered losses, so why should the newbies who came later get to enjoy the benefits without lifting a finger?
Because he had been caught in the rain, he liked tearing away other people's umbrellas.
He thanked the beasts, questioned the beasts, cursed the beasts, understood the beasts, became a beast, and finally...
With black blood flowing through his veins, Meng Yi completed the transformation that ordinary players needed to suffer countless losses and fall into countless traps to achieve—all at incredible speed—and honorably became a member of the "Great Benefactors" of the Paradise.
"Other beasts are beasts, but I'm different. I'm a 'Great Benefactor' who's thinking about helping newbie players survive their Instance Missions!"
Utterly shameless, Meng Yi gilded his own reputation.
Little did he know that the "Paradise Beasts" he spoke of also branded themselves in exactly the same way.
After integrating into the "Evolution Paradise" in such a short time, Meng Yi and the "Evolution Paradise" were far too compatible in a sense. Put bluntly, they simply shared the same foul smell.
Leaving the "Free Trade Zone," where pitfalls were everywhere, the Mist Vortex opened a path leading to the "Omnipotent Enhancement Zone."
Meng Yi sighed, "This place is pretty good. I've finally found somewhere normal people are supposed to go."
The "Omnipotent Enhancement Zone" was broadly divided into two areas: ① the "Enhancement Zone"; ② the "Omnipotent Zone."
The "Enhancement Zone" on the left was deserted, with its bizarre facilities receiving very few visitors.
As the name suggested, these facilities could enhance skill levels, equipment quality, bloodline tiers, innate abilities, cultivation technique proficiency, conceptual depth, rule mastery, law comprehension, physical scale...
Tier 5 Players had initially embarked on their own paths. Only someone with a screw loose would use the "Evolution Paradise's" facilities to directly enhance themselves, wastefully spending World Origin Crystals.
Anyone who only knew what something did but not why it worked—someone who pursued the superficial while abandoning the fundamental—would never survive to Tier 5.
There was a Sea of People before the entrance to the "Omnipotent Zone," forming a stark contrast with the "Enhancement Zone" across from it.
This place was truly impressive. There was nothing players could imagine that the "Evolution Paradise" couldn't provide.
Even if someone wanted to create an "Infinite Multiverse" to verify a theory, they only needed to pay the "Evolution Paradise" the corresponding currency, and their request would be granted.
Of course, Tier 5's public facilities couldn't reach that level. At most, they could mass-produce a planet-grade "Testing Ground."
Meng Yi even saw several neighbors he had encountered that morning standing before the entrance.
Without wasting time on pointless greetings and pleasantries, Meng Yi entered the "Omnipotent Zone" a few minutes later.
He entered a private reception room. A faint, hazy light screen appeared, and the Paradise's notification rang out in his mind.
[Notification: Will player "White Devil" pay the equipment activation fee: 1 B-Rank World Origin Crystal?]
Meng Yi did not answer. Instead, he patiently examined the notes on the "Omnipotent Zone."
The starting price was 1 B-Rank World Origin Crystal. The fee varied according to the type of "Testing Ground" set by the player.
The "Testing Ground" would provide everything required in "infinite" quantities, but if players wanted to take the final results out with them, they needed to spend currency to have them certified.
At the same time, the player's comprehension, thought-processing speed, flashes of inspiration, innate aptitude, talent, and creativity... would all receive the temporary enhancement of the current tier's "Omnipotent Domain."
While the Testing Ground was active, a Tier 5 Player had to spend 1,000 Paradise Coins each day to maintain its operation.
The "time axis" of the "Omnipotent Zone" differed from the outside world. No matter how much time passed there, it was all merely "an instant," with no delay relative to the outside world, whether in the narrow or broad sense.
Of course, Meng Yi could also open a Tier 4, Tier 3, Tier 2, or even Tier 1 "Testing Ground."
The starting prices were, respectively, 1 C-Rank Source Crystal, 1 D-Rank Source Crystal, 1 E-Rank Origin Crystal, and 1 F-Rank Origin Crystal.
The daily maintenance costs were 300 Paradise Coins, 100 Paradise Coins, 30 Paradise Coins, and 10 Paradise Coins, respectively.
As for players who developed something heaven-defying or obtained an enormous improvement, the intricacies of how they should choose the scope of certification were worth careful study.
"So that's how it is. The wealth accumulated by High-Level Players is basically spent in the 'Omnipotent Zone.' The 'Free Trade Zone' only accounts for a small portion."
"No matter how much time they spend in the 'Omnipotent Zone,' it's never too much. That's why players' wealth is never enough."
The expenditures between adjacent tiers increased overall according to a ratio of [3:1].
From Tier 2 to Tier 3, Tier 4 to Tier 5... the increase was slightly higher than [3:1], but not by much.
"The 'Evolution Paradise' loads players with the theoretically most perfect 'Omnipotent Domain' for their current stage?"
Meng Yi opened the introduction to the "Omnipotent Domain."
Whenever the "Evolution Paradise" gave birth to a new "High-Level Player," or whenever a "High-Level Player" advanced to a higher tier, the "Omnipotent Domain" would receive a slight improvement within its existing scope.
Whenever the "Evolution Paradise" gave birth to a new "Top-Tier Player," the "Omnipotent Domain" would receive a tremendous improvement, taking a great step toward the ideal of "Infinite Perfection."
What did the lowest-level "First Order - Omnipotent Domain" represent?
For example, its running would rival Bolt's, its boxing would rival Tyson's, and its intelligence would rival Einstein's. It possessed all-around, flawless strength and mastery of every science, occult discipline, language, and form of wisdom known to human civilization from ancient times to the present...
That was already beyond the category of "genius."
"Oddball," "monster," and "prodigy" were all incapable of being mentioned in the same breath as the "First Order - Omnipotent Domain." There was not the slightest basis for comparison!
And this was only the "First Order - Omnipotent Domain."
Players were divided into Tiers 1 through 15, so the "Omnipotent Domain" most likely had fifteen different levels as well.
How powerful would the "Fifteenth Order - Omnipotent Domain," constructed from the final stages of countless systems, be?
Perhaps this "Omnipotence," constantly evolving toward "perfection," was the meaning behind the "Evolution Paradise's" existence.
Meng Yi was awestruck and deeply shaken.
When he had a choice, of course he couldn't abandon the "Tier 5 Omnipotent Domain" and settle for something lower.
A B-Rank World Origin Crystal? He would pay it!
Money could be earned again after it was gone, but if he failed to seize an opportunity, he could rot forever in the lowest-level Shit Pit Paradise!
"Before opening the 'Omnipotent Zone,' I need to first understand what I currently need."
Meng Yi's thoughts raced, and he soon organized a list.
① D++-Rank Body Strength → C-Rank Body Strength, allowing him to bear higher-level "Psionic Power."
② Raise the newly acquired "Biochemical System" to the level of the "Mind System" and unlock the still-inaccessible "Biological Force Field" and "Electromagnetic Manipulation"...
③ "Artificial Intelligence · Red Queen" → "Psionic Lifeform · Red Queen."
④ C+-Rank "Psionic Power" → B-Rank "Psionic Power."
⑤ "Cellular-Level - Microscopic Domain Interference" → "Molecular-Level - Microscopic Domain Interference."
⑥ Digest and absorb the "Tech Tree" brought out of the Selection Dungeon and enrich the broad framework of "Baiology."
⑦ Cellular-Level Immortality → Molecular-Level Immortality.
"No! This isn't right!!"
Meng Yi restrained his greed. If he wanted everything, he would end up with nothing.
He had 2B + 1D + 43,870 Paradise Coins left. Activating the "Tier 5 Omnipotent Domain" required 1B, but he had no idea how many Paradise Coins were needed to maintain the "Tier 5 Omnipotent Domain."
He also had no idea what it would cost to certify the results after the temporary state of the "Tier 5 Omnipotent Domain" disappeared.
"I can slowly modify my Body Strength, and I can research the 'Biochemical System · Psionic Power' branch myself."
"Once my body reaches C-Rank, my C+-Rank 'Psionic Power,' which has reached its bottleneck, will naturally break through. The precision of my 'Microscopic Domain Interference' will also rise accordingly."
After forcing himself to calm down, Meng Yi eliminated ①, ②, ④, ⑤, and ⑦ first.
"The 'Omnipotent Domain' is deadly poison wrapped in honey."
"If I can't hold on to my original intent, I'll lose myself sooner or later!"
Once he had sorted out his thoughts and achieved Clear Heart, See Nature, Meng Yi was no longer confused.
He needed to transform the "Red Queen" into a "familiar · Psionic Lifeform" to assist with future scientific research.
He needed to digest the civilizational wisdom of the Selection Dungeon and incorporate the useful portions into the "White Studies System."
"That's right. I made my fortune through 'knowledge.'"
"If one day I begin pursuing 'perfect evolution' blindly while abandoning the fundamental, then I won't be myself anymore."
Faced with short-term improvements that took effect immediately and long-term improvements, Meng Yi chose the latter.
His current level was only lv5, and the Tier 1 Instance Missions he had experienced were not very difficult.
There was no need to abandon his own path and rely on the "Omnipotent Domain" to become stronger.
How would that make him any different from those who relied on the facilities of the "Enhancement Zone"?
"As expected, Shit Pit Paradise is full of pitfalls!"
"Damn it, even the seemingly most reliable 'Omnipotent Zone' has hidden traps!"
These two chapters had established the main theme.
The lowest, leek-level players relied on external objects and were repeatedly harvested by High-Tier Players.
Slightly better trash-level players understood that the self was fundamental and used the Paradise's Enhancement Zone for immediate improvements.
Better still, newbie-level players were bewitched by the Omnipotent Domain provided by the Omnipotent Zone. They became addicted to the feeling of omnipotence and relied on the Omnipotent Domain for so-called "perfect evolution."
At the very top, normal-level players treated the Omnipotent Domain only as a tool for saving time and relied entirely on their own efforts for everything else.
Leek-level and trash-level players could not survive to Tier 5, while newbie-level players could not survive to the 11th Order.
Tiers 1–4: Seedling Stage. Tiers 5–10: Youth Stage. Tiers 11–14: Adulthood Stage. Tier 15: Shareholder Stage.
Leek → trash → newbie → normal. These were different stages based solely on "state of mind," without considering scale or power.
Only a player like the protagonist, who had achieved Clear Heart, See Nature, had a chance of advancing to the 11th Order and becoming a "High-Level Player."
Anyone capable of achieving a current-tier ++ breakthrough evaluation was a ruthless figure of the fourth category, such as the Fire Mage Loli.
Did the Omnipotent Domain's omnipotence equal perfection? If so, what was the point of the Evolution Paradise's existence? Why did the Omnipotent Domain continue to evolve?
What suited you was what was best.
Only by refusing to let dazzling external things confuse your original intent could you walk the path for a long time.
The Omnipotent Domain couldn't tempt the protagonist. So-called opportunities, treasures, women...
Before you continue