Tucha Planet

"Guen, congratulations on completing a stage with a perfect score." That stiff, emotionless voice sounded.

"According to the rules, you have the opportunity to obtain citizenship on Tucha Planet. Tucha Planet is an extremely powerful planet in the universe. My master is already a remarkable Domain Lord, and my master's grandmaster, the master of Tucha Planet, is an Immortal God. The Secret Methods you have been practicing were all created by the great master of Tucha Planet, enabling such precision and simplicity." The stiff voice continued.

An Immortal God?

Guen blinked.

Since childhood, he had heard his father say that the universe was divided into many realms.

For example, Guen was a Tier 7 Warrior, but in the universe, that only counted as an Apprentice.

In the Aoyu Empire, he was called a High-level Warrior, enjoying many privileges, yet he was merely an Apprentice in the cosmos.

Above that were the Planetary Level, Star Level, and Universe Level.

The Universe Level—his father talked about it every day, saying that once he reached that realm, he could take Guen back to their true homeland. So Guen knew that this level was already strong enough to drift and fight through the universe, a very powerful warrior.

As for the higher Domain Lord, he had only heard his father mention it a few times. He didn't dare hope to reach that realm, or perhaps held onto a faint glimmer of hope.

And the World Master, even stronger than a Domain Lord, was a powerhouse respected and honored in any Universe Nation.

That was something he dared not even imagine.

An Immortal God was certainly a figure even more extraordinary than a World Master.

But for Guen, it was hard to grasp the true magnitude of that power.

Because he was only a Tier 7 Warrior, a Tier 7 Apprentice.

Each major realm was further divided into nine minor realms, so Guen could still comprehend the strength of the Planetary Level and the Star Level.

Even the Universe Level, he could understand a bit.

Looking at the Aoyu Empire—over centuries, among so many Super Tiers, only one had become a Saint Tier Star Level. Even his own father wasn't a Star Level yet, which gave him some sense of how strong a Universe Level was.

But an Immortal God?

He had no real feeling for it. He could only sense the wonder and greatness of an Immortal God from those Secret Methods, but how strong they truly were, Guen couldn't say.

The stiff voice didn't care about Guen's feelings and just continued on its own: "Becoming a citizen of Tucha Planet is something many humans dream of. On this planet of yours, only three have obtained that qualification so far, and you only have a chance."

The stiff voice was clearly emotionless, yet Guen could detect a hint of pride in its words.

"Unfortunately, you are neither an Elf nor a Spirit Reader, so I can only give you this token. If you have the opportunity to reach Universe Level, with this token, you can seek out Tucha Planet. Pass the trial, and you can become a citizen of Tucha Planet. For now, you are not yet qualified. Cherish this opportunity."

With that, the stiff voice fell completely silent.

From the stone pillar, a black-and-red token slowly emerged, engraved with a strange beast—two wings, four legs, posed as if about to pounce.

Guen was moved.

Universe Level was the minimum requirement to join, and even then, one had to pass a trial?

No wonder only three people on the entire planet had it. Guen had only been given a chance, and he wasn't even sure if he could reach Universe Level.

At the same time, he was curious—who were those three people who had obtained Tucha Planet citizenship?

Were they Elves, or Artifact Users?

But no matter how Guen called out, that voice did not reappear.

Guen carefully took the token. It felt cool to the touch and had a heavy weight. He examined it several times but couldn't tell what material it was made of, so he tucked it cautiously into his Protective Suit.

Although his Protective Suit hadn't been destroyed by the Inheritance Space, it couldn't function at full capacity either. For now, it served well enough to hold the token.

"Tucha Planet, huh?"

Guen committed the name to memory and scratched his red hair.

His father, Kolong, was a Norde Ape-man, and his mother, Ina, was a Kano human.

In the universe, there were many human bloodlines. Some powerful ones—like Ape-men, Snake People, Giants, and Elves—formed major branches. Clearly, Tucha Planet was a race dominated by Elf humans.

"Maybe Chen is some kind of cosmic human race too." Guen speculated idly.

That green hair didn't match the appearance of Aoyu Empire humans at all. He himself was half Ape-man; maybe Chen was half Elf too.

Guen thought mischievously.

"Whatever. There are still two months left before the second stage trial ends. I'll take the chance to learn more Secret Methods and make myself as strong as possible." Pulling himself together, Guen resumed his studies.

Even though he had achieved eightfold force output right at the end of the first month, that was the result of long-term accumulation.

He had the Hundred Refinement Fist, but that technique often focused on force for its own sake, lacking coherence between moves. Guen needed to think and practice to gradually master it.

The Secret Methods in the trial were progressive, each step linked to the next, allowing everyone to improve quickly.

But Guen figured he could at most reach ninefold force output before this explosive progress faded. Even the fastest breakthroughs and insights required daily preparation and accumulation.

Guen happily immersed himself in studying the Secret Methods, but others were not so fortunate.

Ganlan, for instance, felt somewhat helpless. Two months had passed, and his force output barely reached sevenfold—that was his limit. Looking at the names on the stone pillar, he could clearly see the gap between them.

Among the nineteen people, only five had scores.

Having a score meant they had already completed the second stage trial.

"Guen, Lianda, Toster, Yanlefu, and Kangfu from the Central Province. Heh, that Gabulin was so cocky, but he got eliminated in the first stage—and in the very first round. The Central Province only has Kangfu standing out. Meanwhile, the Eastsea Province is getting stronger. This year, they might have three in the top ten." Ganlan decided to study the rankings.

He knew that Eastsea Province also had Charko among these nineteen, and he should be close to breaking through soon.

"But the stronger Eastsea Province gets, the fiercer the beast counterattacks in the Eastsea must be. Father said the Eastsea connects to the largest ocean, and there's a Beast Emperor there, extremely terrifying, always trying to come ashore. Could it be planning to land through Eastsea Province?" Ganlan couldn't help but dwell on it.

What humans called Saint Tier, beasts called Emperor.

Both had reached the limit realm in Ganlan's understanding.

"Forget it. At least Southeast Province stole the spotlight this time. I'll work hard too—if I can make it into the Third Stage, my father will be pleased." Ganlan went back to comprehending the Secret Method.

Three months—not long, not short.

Some trial-takers had already joined organizations and returned to the foot of Suqi Volcano, waiting for a result.

"This Guen—I've never heard of him. How did he get first place, and a perfect score?"

"Has anyone in the Aoyu Empire ever gotten a perfect score? Unbelievable."

"Lianda only got second? She performed better in the First Stage. Too bad the stone pillars calculate each stage separately, otherwise that nobody wouldn't have taken first."

"Haha, no one from West Mountain Province in the top ten this time?"

"What's there to laugh about? North Province doesn't have any either."

"That's different. North Province still has three people in the top nineteen, with a shot at the top ten. West Mountain Province only has one—probably dead last."

Many fell silent.

Before the trial began, no one had high hopes for the usual bottom-dwellers, West Mountain Province and Southeast Province. But this time, West Mountain Province was as weak as ever, while Southeast Province had snatched four of the top nineteen spots, including first place.

"Someone else finished the trial. Southeast Province's Setti? Hmph."

Today was the last day of the Second Stage. So far, including Setti who just finished, twelve people had completed the trial, while seven were on the verge of elimination.

Suddenly, another person finished.

"Chen? Another nobody."

"And he's from Southeast Province too. What's gotten into Southeast Province this year?"

Frustrated as they were, even if Setti and Chen only scraped through on the last day, they still passed. Resentment or not, they had to swallow it.

But for the Super Tier experts at the volcano's peak, this meant that barring accidents, at least thirteen Super Tier experts would emerge from this batch. Of course, the top nineteen all had good chances, while others—though not without some hope of advancement—would need a long time, possibly a lifetime, to break through.

"Swish."

Six people suddenly appeared at the entrance, their expressions varied—reluctance, helplessness, satisfaction.

But they all looked up at the same time at the name at the top of the stone pillar—Guen.

From this day forward, the Aoyu Empire would never let that name go unknown.

Inside the volcano, all thirteen people gathered together.

They could all see each other.

Most eyes inevitably fell on Guen. In this trial, Guen was too conspicuous—a perfect score, far surpassing everyone else. Even Lianda, who came second, only got seven hundred points.

As for the others, they had mostly broken through in the final month.

Guen and Chen quickly exchanged glances, happy to see a familiar companion holding out this far.

"Congratulations on reaching the Third Stage. The Third and Fourth Stages will proceed together. In the Third Stage, you will face a ten-second illusion attack. If you succumb, it means your will is too weak—you fail and will be eliminated immediately. In the Fourth Stage, you will defeat Lava Stone Monsters in various extreme environments while the illusion attack continues. Hold out for ninety seconds. The illusion attack will begin in five seconds."

The stiff, emotionless voice rang out again.

Illusion attack?

Everyone exchanged looks. Most had never experienced this kind of attack and couldn't help feeling flustered.

Guen grinned and reminded them, "There was actually a way to resist illusion attacks in the last stage."

The others shot him annoyed glances.

Chen said bluntly, "You bastard, who besides Lianda had time to look at that?"

"Boom!"

The moment he finished speaking, the illusion attack descended.

Different people showed different expressions, clearly falling into it immediately.

One by one, figures vanished in an instant, not even lasting a second. Chen was among them.

"No, Mom, no!" Yanlefu's eyes went wide, as if he saw that beast emerging from the sea, charging into his home, his mother's figure rushing forward without hesitation. Then Yanlefu's figure disappeared from inside the volcano.

"Die, die, die!" Scott, who had once pursued Lianda, fell into a frenzy, as if endless beasts were charging at him from all sides.

In the end, only three people remained in the Volcanic Space.

Guen was the most relaxed, even having the spare energy to observe the others.

Lianda's brows were tightly knit, her eyes shut, her body tense. Clearly, she was struggling, but she remained conscious.

The last person Guen hadn't expected—it was Setti.

His eyes were shut tight, he was on the ground, his body arched, clearly enduring immense pain, but he still held on, muttering something unconsciously.

"Setti..." Guen's expression shifted slightly.