In the Light Source Star System, ships traveled back and forth between three planets.
After a great technological leap, the Light Source people had spent the past decade developing the two planets beyond their homeworld and building ecological bases.
"Whoosh!"
Suddenly, ripples spread through space as a pale-golden spacecraft shaped like an equilateral triangle burst out of the Dark Universe.
Whoosh!
As the hatch opened, a burly figure with a snake's head and a human body appeared alongside Yu Duan.
"So this is the little highness's home planet? Hmm... It's quite pretty."
The burly snake-headed figure looked at Light Source Planet. It was so ordinary that there was little to praise; all he could say was that it was quite pretty.
Yu Duan bowed to the burly figure beside him. "Sorry for the trouble, Senior King Qiongtao. You brought me home, and now I have to trouble you to protect me for a while longer."
King Qiongtao waved his massive hand and laughed. "I'm following my master's orders to protect the little highness. It's my duty."
Clearly, King Qiongtao was one of King Qinghuan's Soul Slaves. He was more than ten times stronger than a Peak King-level super Immortal, a powerhouse at the King Limit level.
Yu Duan naturally needed a powerful protector for his "visit home." King Qinghuan wouldn't feel at ease assigning anyone else, so he had sent King Qiongtao.
"I haven't been back in nearly twenty years. I wonder what Light Source Planet is like now."
Yu Duan's gaze settled on the blue-green planet teeming with life.
Light Source Planet, the Civilization Temple.
"Yu Duan, this is the current state of our clan's development..."
"And these are the companies our people have founded in the universe, using the funds you provided back then..."
"And this list shows the new Planetary Level experts our clan has produced over the years."
Master Zhen Li's aged voice rang through the hall as he "briefed" Yu Duan on the clan's progress over the years.
Kun Zhu and Shen Jian stood behind Master Zhen Li, both looking rather reserved.
Over the years, as Master Zhen Li and the others had come into greater contact with the universe, their understanding had deepened.
In particular, several years ago, a great World Lord-level expert had personally stationed himself on Light Source Planet out of regard for Yu Duan.
This had given Master Zhen Li and the others a much deeper understanding of Yu Duan's standing.
He was the most talented Star Level warrior in the entire Universe Country, the personal disciple of a super Immortal, and held such a high status that even Immortal Gods treated him as an equal—or even addressed him as "Your Highness."
"Senior Master Zhen Li, there's no need to go on. I'm completely at ease with you managing the clan's development."
Yu Duan waved a hand, interrupting Master Zhen Li's lengthy report. Then he took a silver-white briefcase from his World Ring.
It was a gift Yu Duan had prepared for the three of them.
From the moment he had crossed over into this world, Yu Duan had been an orphan, raised in an orphanage.
He had started showing talent after taking up martial arts at the age of eight. In just two years, he had mastered the "perfect" level of movement techniques, and Master Zhen Li had personally taken him under his wing, guiding him for six years. Only then had he successfully reached Planetary Level.
"This contains Bloodline Evolution Agents. They can raise your bloodline's potential and greatly improve your chances of breaking through to Universe Level."
Yu Duan briefly introduced the three agents inside the case.
Even if Yu Duan could afford an agent for Domain Lord Level, buying one would still cost him everything.
But Universe Level Bloodline Evolution Agents were much cheaper for him. Each was worth about as much as ten Universe Level ninth-stage slaves, roughly between thirty and a hundred billion Universe Coins.
"Universe Level?"
"Bloodlines can actually be improved?"
Kun Zhu and Shen Jian both looked stunned. Clearly, they had never heard of Bloodline Evolution Agents before.
Master Zhen Li drew a deep breath and accepted the case. "Then... I'll take it."
Kun Zhu hesitated, then bowed slightly. "Thank you, Your Highness Yu Duan."
Yu Duan, who had been smiling, froze. Then he said softly, "There's no need for that. Master Zhen Li, you all can go about your business. I'd like to take a walk by myself."
"Very well. We'll take our leave."
As soon as Master Zhen Li finished speaking, he led Kun Zhu and Shen Jian out of the Civilization Temple.
After Yu Duan returned to Light Source Planet, the Civilization Temple had naturally become his "royal palace."
Once the three had left, Yu Duan sighed. As he looked at the familiar hall, he suddenly found it a little strange.
How did that saying go...? There was already a thick barrier between us.
"Mr. Ku Mixiu, you know... I've been at Senior Master Zhen Li's side since I was ten. He was practically my teacher."
Yu Duan spoke suddenly, his voice tinged with regret.
Ku Mixiu's figure emerged from Yu Duan's shadow. He chuckled. "Your Highness, you'll experience many more things like this in the future."
"With your talent, perhaps many years from now, An Yao, Chi Li, and the other students will also gradually drift away from you."
"Yeah..."
Yu Duan let out a long breath, then smiled. "I'm going to visit the orphanage where I grew up."
On the eastern continent of Light Source Planet, in an unremarkable little city.
In a corner of the city stood an inconspicuous building: an orphanage.
Unlike in Yu Duan's day, the orphanage now housed only a dozen or so children.
In the courtyard, a young teacher led a group of children through some basic lessons.
Yu Duan hovered in midair, watching without making a sound or disturbing them. He simply stood there for a while.
There were no familiar faces left at the orphanage from more than twenty years ago. They had all gone their separate ways and started their own lives.
The old director who had cared for him had passed away of old age before Yu Duan reached Planetary Level.
"Mr. Ku Mixiu, I don't have any family left." Yu Duan spoke suddenly, turning to Ku Mixiu beside him.
Ku Mixiu fell silent, unsure how to comfort him.
He was the most, most, most fortunate person in the universe to have become his master's follower and servant. The boundless honor he felt made it impossible for him to understand Yu Duan's grief.
"Come on, let's go have hot pot at the restaurant next door. I came up with this way of eating back then. After I became the top genius of the civilization, it really caught on."
Yu Duan suddenly smiled and beckoned Ku Mixiu over. The two landed outside a restaurant in the city, pretending to be ordinary passersby as they ate in a corner.
There was no sliced lamb hot pot on Light Source Planet, of course, but people there had a similar dish: fish hot pot.
Before uniting the planet, the Light Source people had fought the Sea Clan for thousands of years. As a result, they all loved eating fish.
That night, three moons hung in the sky.
Yu Duan strolled high above the clouds, gazing at the three moons of different sizes in the night sky. He felt as if he didn't belong.
"Sometimes, I don't even know whether this life is a dream. It's like dreaming that I've become a bird..."
Yu Duan told Ku Mixiu about the idea of Zhuangzi dreaming he was a butterfly.
Had Zhuangzi dreamed he was a butterfly, or was Zhuangzi merely a dream in a butterfly's mind? It was a fascinating philosophical idea.
Ku Mixiu chuckled. "Your Highness, people can't dream up the details of things beyond their understanding. In your dream, did you see the mysteries of the Source Law?"
"No. It was a very ordinary world."
Yu Duan shook his head, leaving one thing unsaid.
That world wasn't just ordinary; it also had a work called Swallowed Star.
In fact, Yu Duan had spent years trying not to think about a certain question.
This world was clearly just a story in a work of fiction. At least, that was how everything had been in the worldview of his previous life.
And yet he had "crossed into a book."
Why had he crossed over? If it had something to do with the Book of Causality, why had he possessed the Book of Causality in the first place?
In his previous life, Yu Duan had been an ordinary person—not exceptional, but not at the bottom either. He had simply been one among many.
He hadn't gotten into a terrible accident before crossing over, nor had his life been full of hardship and resentment.
He had simply opened his eyes after waking up and found himself in this world.
The next morning, dawn broke.
The highest peak on Light Source Planet towered above the clouds, rising more than thirty thousand meters.
Layers of snow covered the open summit, where the temperature was so low that it should have been uninhabitable.
Yet a unique kind of vine grew there. It was dark green, reaching up through the snow and swaying in the cold wind, its deep green leaves facing the morning light.
At the center of the snowy ground, Yu Duan sat in a loose white robe, watching the eastern dawn gradually brighten.
"Is Your Highness comprehending something...?"
Ku Mixiu was a little puzzled, but he didn't ask. He simply stood guard over Yu Duan in silence, preventing any mishap from interrupting him.
The days passed, one after another.
Yu Duan didn't return to the Civilization Temple. He didn't want to live in the "royal palace" that Master Zhen Li and the others had prepared for him.
The sun and moon revolved, day and night passed.
In the blink of an eye, nearly half a year had gone by.
Throughout that half year, Ku Mixiu had stayed by Yu Duan's side.
Ku Mixiu had also noticed that Yu Duan seemed to have undergone some kind of change, beginning around three months ago.
It wasn't a change in his life aura, nor in his laws or domain aura. He just... felt different from before.
The old Yu Duan had been modest and steady, the sort of person who inspired goodwill and admiration for his willpower and character.
Now he had gained a certain vitality, and seemed... more clear and open?
Clear and open.
That was probably the best way Ku Mixiu could describe it.
Although Ku Mixiu didn't know what Yu Duan was comprehending, he knew he must have made some progress, so he did his best not to disturb him.
Even when people contacted Yu Duan through the Virtual Universe, Ku Mixiu and Tianran would step in to explain, making sure Yu Duan could focus on his insights without interruption.
But today was different.
Registration for the Humanity's Peak Genius Tournament had begun.
In the Virtual Universe, on countless continents and islands, immense black curtains could be seen hanging down from the sky.
On each black curtain, enormous Universal characters shone with dazzling white light.
"Humanity's Peak Genius Tournament!"
"Beginning soon!"
"Held once every ten thousand years by the Virtual Universe Company in partnership with all the Universe Countries... Countless geniuses from across the universe will fight it out!"
"For details, enter the official Virtual Universe Network website through the Virtual Assistant."
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