Earth

Earth, Zhongyuan Base City.

The sky was like a sheet of emerald jade, while the sun hung overhead like a massive fireball, casting down scorching heat.

On the central avenue of Zhongyuan Base City, countless people hurried beneath the shade of the trees lining both sides of the street.

Cars occasionally drove past on the road.

At that moment, Li Ze was also among the pedestrians, strolling leisurely beneath the trees like an ordinary person.

A few days earlier, Li Ze had used the Stealth Secret Technique to successfully evade everyone on Earth and arrive on the planet.

"Walk faster! Lord Luo Feng's 6,931st match in the Reincarnation Battle of the Universe Peak Genius Battle preliminaries is about to begin. Don't miss it!"

Several young men and women dressed as students behind Li Ze spoke as they hurried in his direction.

After passing Li Ze, they rushed toward the large screen in the city center.

I never expected the Original Work's plot to have already reached the Universe Peak Genius Battle!

By now, Hong should have left Earth with that Time World Lord, Luo, to wander the universe. Thor has also become a Universe Mercenary and set out to explore the cosmos.

The prelude to Luo Feng's rise in the universe has begun.

Listening to the surrounding conversations, all sorts of thoughts flashed through Li Ze's mind.

After arriving on Earth, Li Ze had not gone to Yangzhou Base City, where Luo Feng was located. Instead, he had come to the Zhongyuan region where he had once lived.

The various cities of Earth's Zhongyuan region had long since been completely destroyed by the rampaging monsters of the past.

Although the monsters in the wilderness had already been cleared out by the now-powerful Hong, Thor, and Luo Feng,

most people had grown accustomed to life in base cities. The old urban form from before the Great Nirvana would not return anytime soon.

After coming to Earth, Li Ze had found and killed several remaining monsters in the wilderness, exchanging their materials for some Earth Coins.

After purchasing a residence in Zhongyuan Base City, he had temporarily settled there.

Through nearly a week of gathering information about Earth,

he learned that Luo Feng had already become the Earth Lord.

The Universe Peak Genius Battle had begun more than two years ago. After losing to Rong Jun, the "Savage," in the Preliminary Arena Battle, Luo Feng was now participating in the Reincarnation Battle.

The Reincarnation Battle was the stage where, after the preliminary contestants of the Ganwu Cosmic Nation division of the Peak Genius Battle underwent four rounds of arena finals, the 625 victors advanced. As for the other 9,375 participants who had been placed in the losers' group, they had to undergo intense, high-frequency Reincarnation Battles.

Every person had to fight 9,374 battles to compete for the remaining 275 spots!

The saying "Hundred Refinements into Steel" referred precisely to these three years of intense Reincarnation Battles, which laid the foundation for Luo Feng's rise in the Peak Genius Battle.

The time at which he had successfully been conceived, along with his Universe level strength, meant he could not join the core layer of the Virtual Universe Company through the Genius Battle.

But Li Ze felt no regret over that.

After all, entering the core layer of the Five Great Human Hegemons was not limited to this one path.

What truly disappointed Li Ze was being unable to personally witness the Universe Peak Genius Battle, one of the Original Work's iconic scenes.

At present, ordinary universe citizens could still watch the Ganwu Cosmic Nation preliminaries by purchasing tickets or viewing broadcasts.

Once the finals among the 1,008 Universe Nations began, however, they would no longer be accessible to ordinary universe citizens.

When he arrived at the city center, Li Ze saw the central screen broadcasting the Genius Battle.

Luo Feng's Reincarnation Battle had already begun that day.

On the screen, although Luo Feng's opponent was also a genius who had comprehended an Origin Law, he had clearly only just grasped it. His use of the law was still rather crude, and he could not perfectly integrate it into his attacks.

In less than a minute, he was crushed by Luo Feng's Illusion Sword Style from the Divine Evolution Weapon.

After watching the match, Li Ze did not linger. He shook his head and left.

Now that I've confirmed the current progress of Swallowing Starry Sky's plot, I need to consider my path ahead, Li Ze thought as he walked back.

In a villa district not far from the city center, Li Ze returned to his current residence on Earth.

After returning to Earth, Li Ze had registered as a Senior General at the Limit Martial Hall.

Using the Earth Coins he had earned from selling monster materials, he bought a villa.

After returning to the villa, Li Ze did not enter the Cultivation Room to train. With Universe level strength, what he needed to improve was mainly his comprehension of the Origin Laws.

As for absorbing Universe Primal Energy to raise his cultivation?

With his Universe level strength, he could probably absorb all of Earth's Gene Primal Energy in an instant, immediately alarming the experts currently on Earth.

At the Universe level, one could no longer rapidly improve simply by absorbing the energy present in the universe. One needed more heavenly treasures to advance quickly.

"The Universe Peak Genius Battle has already begun. It's obviously unrealistic to quickly enter the core layer of the Five Great Human Hegemons."

"Besides, even if it hadn't started yet, I couldn't participate with my current Universe Level 1 strength."

"And the Universe Peak Powerhouse Battle, which only Universe level experts can enter, won't happen for another 5,000 years."

"Although 5,000 years isn't long for a Universe level expert with a lifespan of 100,000 years, by then Luo Feng will probably have gone to claim ownership of the Star Tower."

Li Ze lay on a lounge chair in the courtyard, silently considering the path ahead.

Taking the competition route to enter the Five Great Human Hegemons was clearly unrealistic. Based on the information in his inheritance and combined with the Original Work, aside from being nurtured by major factions, there were only two ways for a Universe level expert to improve quickly.

"Outer Domain War" and "Cosmic Secret Realm."

Through the "Outer Domain War," one constantly fought and slaughtered the experts of the universe's major races on the Outer Domain Battlefield. On one hand, this allowed one to improve comprehension of the laws and increase one's strength more quickly. On the other, the resources gained from killing Alien Races could be used to purchase or exchange for resources suitable for increasing one's own strength.

Although he had entered the first level of the Golden Crow Body Refining Art, its progress was extremely slow due to his lack of Life Energy. Killing Alien Races would also allow him to quickly absorb their Life Energy and raise his Gene Level.

"Cosmic Secret Realm," on the other hand, focused more on adventuring and treasure hunting, seeking out all sorts of opportunities within to increase one's strength.

But because he knew the Original Work's plot, Li Ze clearly understood that this path was currently unsuitable for him.

First, he had not joined any of humanity's major factions. The secret realms within Human Territory that contained plentiful opportunities and could be explored by Universe level experts were all controlled by major factions and guarded by powerful experts. He simply could not enter them at present.

Second, the secret realms outside Human Territory were far too dangerous for his current strength.

Therefore, for now, only the path of "Outer Domain War" suited him.

His Gene Level was 160 times higher. Although he was only Universe Level 1, his Original Force strength was also 160 times that of an ordinary Universe level expert, nearly comparable to Universe Level 9. He also possessed the Golden Crow Physique, and his soul had been transformed to a level far beyond ordinary Universe level experts.

Thus, on low-level battlefields such as those for Universe level and Domain Lord level experts, there would be no enemies capable of threatening him.

He had already comprehended the Fire Origin Law, making him an absolute genius even among Universe level lifeforms.

Therefore, from his current perspective, participating in the Outer Domain War was the fastest route for his growth.

"Since I've made up my mind, I need to prepare for heading to the Outer Domain Battlefield."

After thinking through the path he would take next, Li Ze considered his current state of having nothing.

"Looks like I need to find a way to make some money first. Otherwise, I won't even be able to put together a set of equipment for fighting on the Outer Domain Battlefield."

Earth, Yangzhou Base City, Yangzhou City West Lake Villa.

Luo Feng had just finished a day of training and was about to take a brief rest.

"Luo Feng, meet me outside the north gate!" A voice appeared in Luo Feng's mind.

Luo Feng's expression suddenly changed dramatically.

Telepathic Transmission!

"Who is it?"

With Hong and Thor absent from Earth, aside from the slaves he had purchased, who else possessed the ability to communicate through telepathic transmission?

And to do so without him noticing at all.

Luo Feng immediately spread his Spiritual Power toward the area outside the north gate.

His Spiritual Power arrived in an instant, directly covering the scene outside the north gate within his perception.

Suddenly, Luo Feng seemed to sense something and vanished directly from his residence.

When he appeared again, Luo Feng was already outside the north gate.

"Who are you? Why have you appeared here? What are your intentions?" The instant he appeared, Luo Feng fired a series of questions at the figure in a Dark Red Robe not far away.

It was not that Luo Feng was overly cautious. The main reason was that he sensed intense danger from this person. Whenever he looked at him, his body unconsciously trembled slightly.

It was as if he were seeing the Golden Horned Beast for the first time again.

His Golden Horned Beast Clone had already broken through to the Universe level and possessed peak bloodline at ten times the Gene Level. What sort of person could give him such a powerful sense of danger?

"Don't be nervous, Luo Feng!"

The man made no other move. A faint smile appeared on his face as he looked at Luo Feng.

"My name is Li Ze. You could say I'm also one of the Earth Humans. It's just that, for some unknown reason, I haven't been on Earth these past years. I only returned a few days ago."

After deciding on his direction for the coming period, Li Ze had spent three days making plans before deciding to meet Luo Feng.

After all, he currently had no wealth on him. He did not even possess a spacecraft capable of traveling to other Life Planets.

Although Universe level experts could fly through space at considerable speed, that speed was only enough to travel within the Solar System. For distances that spanned tens of thousands of light-years, without breaking the speed of light and entering the Dark Universe, it would take him an extremely long time to fly there.

Earth was still at a stage where it had not fully contacted other cosmic civilizations. The only people able to travel between Earth and other life planets were Luo Feng and a handful of others.

That was also why Li Ze had come to contact Luo Feng.

As for his explanation of his identity, Li Ze had planned it in advance. Of course, whether Luo Feng believed it was another matter.

Most likely, he would not. No one would believe a suddenly appearing stranger with immense strength.

"Babata, Babata." Seeing that the man had made no move and had even taken the initiative to speak with him, Luo Feng relaxed slightly. However, he did not continue questioning the man and instead called for his Intelligent Life.

"What is it, Luo Feng?"

Babata's voice immediately sounded in Luo Feng's mind.

Upon hearing Babata's reply, Luo Feng directly explained Li Ze's situation.

"Ah! Don't believe him!" After hearing Luo Feng's information, Babata immediately scanned Li Ze.

As a result, Babata sensed enormous energy within the other man's body. Once that energy erupted, it could destroy Earth in an instant.

Babata immediately roared in Luo Feng's mind, and even Babata's image within his mind became twisted and ferocious.

Hearing Babata's words, Luo Feng was deeply shocked. Although he had made some preparations, he was still stunned by Babata's intense reaction.

Babata had only reacted like this once before—when he first encountered the Golden Horned Beast.

"Don't be nervous, Luo Feng. I have no ill intentions in coming to find you. I only want to make a deal with you." Seeing that Luo Feng had not responded, Li Ze roughly guessed that he was discussing matters with Babata, that Intelligent Life.

Seeing Luo Feng's current state, as though he might explode into action at any moment, Li Ze knew he was not viewed very favorably.

"A deal? What kind of deal?" Luo Feng was stunned when he heard Li Ze's words, but he quickly recovered and asked, "Also, can you introduce your background?"

"I can, but since I'm your guest now, shouldn't you invite me into your home for a seat first?" Li Ze said with a smile.

Hearing this, Luo Feng thought for a moment. The man before him was powerful. If he intended to harm Luo Feng, he probably would not have chosen to meet in such a manner.

"Fine, Mr. Li, please." Luo Feng nodded in agreement.

After speaking, he took the initiative to invite Li Ze toward Yangzhou City.

Seeing this, Li Ze could not help admiring Luo Feng's strong mental fortitude. He smiled faintly and followed Luo Feng toward Yangzhou City.

To be continued.

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