Virtual Universe

"Sett, get ready to depart," Zhenlian King said, finding Sett.

Soon, Sett finished packing. With a wave of Zhenlian King's hand, a beautiful spaceship 300 meters in length appeared in the air.

"Let's go."

Whoosh! Whoosh!

The two of them flashed and appeared inside the ship.

"My ship may not look large, but it has a 'Flame Disc' integrated into it, allowing it to reach a flight speed of 60 times the speed of light," Zhenlian King said with a faint smile, introducing her vessel.

Clearly, she was very fond of this ship; after all, any ship capable of reaching 60 times the speed of light was considered quite formidable.

"It's beautiful," Sett praised.

"We have a month until we reach our destination. Here is a smart assistant for you, which will allow you to enter the Virtual Universe." Zhenlian King tossed a bracer toward Sett.

It was etched with faint, intricate patterns.

"Virtual Universe?" It was only then that Sett remembered he had been in the universe for so long and had never actually entered the Virtual Universe.

Busy with training for the past two years, he had truly forgotten about this thing.

"The Virtual Universe is a technology developed by the Virtual Universe Company. No matter where you are in the universe, with the exception of a very few secret realms, you can connect to the Virtual Universe anytime, anywhere.

Through the means of the Virtual Universe, our human race can communicate instantly, enjoying face-to-face interaction without any delay.

Furthermore, it provides you with a sensation identical to reality, whether it be sight, sound, touch, or otherwise. Anything you can do in the universe, you can do in the Virtual Universe," Zhenlian King explained to Sett with a smile.

"That's amazing!" Sett couldn't help but exclaim.

"Indeed, the Virtual Universe Company is one of the five giants of humanity."

"We generally divide cosmic nations into primary, intermediate, and advanced cosmic nations."

"A primary cosmic nation usually controls a few to several dozen star systems, and its most powerful figures are typically at the Universe level, or perhaps average Domain Lord level."

"An intermediate cosmic nation governs a star sector, usually consisting of thousands to tens of thousands of star systems, and its strongest are usually ordinary Immortals."

"As for advanced cosmic nations, they control tens of thousands of star sectors, with over a hundred million star systems."

"The ruler of such a cosmic nation possesses the strength of a Venerable. For instance, Zhenyuan Venerable could easily establish a cosmic nation."

"Our humanity has a total of 1,008 advanced cosmic nations. Each one is incredibly powerful, but in the universe, the truly dominant forces are not the cosmic nations."

"Instead, they are those forces that appear disorganized yet are incomparably powerful."

"For example, the Universe First Bank and the Universe Galaxy Bank. These two major banks cater to the wealthy; even powerhouses of my caliber often store their treasures and wealth in these two banks."

"Wouldn't these two banks monopolize the economy?" Sett asked.

"Certainly. Additionally, there is the Universe Mercenary Alliance. It is a loose organization, but the vast majority of martial artists and spirit readers join it," Zhenlian King replied.

"Did you join as well, my King?" Sett asked.

"Not just me; even Zhenyuan Venerable has joined the Universe Mercenary Alliance. However, the organization is very loose and won't actively issue missions unless you become one of their core members."

"Then there is the Virtual Universe Company. You must know that the Virtual Universe is called the second world of humanity, and this second world is firmly held in the hands of the Virtual Universe Company."

"Finally, there is the Giant Axe Arena, which is the fairest, bloodiest, most exciting, and largest arena in existence."

"These five major powers control humanity with absolute strength, permeating every aspect of the cosmic nations."

"It's incredible. Even with cosmic nations being so powerful, there are still even stronger forces above them," Sett remarked, clicking his tongue.

However, as a Planet level, Sett felt a secret sense of shock when thinking about these five major powers.

"Now you know how formidable the Virtual Universe is, right? Both Zhenyuan Venerable and I are core members of the Virtual Universe Company. The treatment enjoyed by core members of these five major powers is incomparable to that of any cosmic nation."

"Little guy, work hard and strive to enter the Virtual Universe or the Giant Axe Arena as soon as possible. These two powers are far stronger than the other three."

"Yes!" Sett quickly agreed.

The Giant Axe Arena was a force founded by the single strongest human, so it was naturally terrifying. The Virtual Universe Company controlled the Initial Universe and possessed several powerful Universe Masters, making it on par with the Giant Axe Arena.

Knowing the plot, Sett naturally understood the might of these two major powers.

But it was still too early to think about joining, as he was only a Planet level martial artist.

Generally speaking, a Planet level martial artist could only scrape by in the universe; only upon reaching the Star level would there be real possibilities.

I possess two Innate Secret Techniques. As long as I work hard to display my talent, whether it's through the recommendation of Zhenlian King or Zhenyuan Venerable, the upcoming genius competition, or performing well in the Giant Axe Arena, I will have plenty of opportunities, Sett thought to himself.

After putting on the smart assistant, Zhenyuan Venerable said, "Come with me and enter the Virtual Universe."

"Okay." Sett nodded and said to the smart assistant, "Enter the Virtual Universe."

"Connecting to the Virtual Universe." A low voice echoed in Sett's mind.

Sett's consciousness plunged into darkness.

Suddenly, Sett appeared in an ancient city. The streets were paved with large, cut stones. The passersby had strange appearances, varying heights, and belonged to different races, but most wore simple gray robes, and each person had a small sprite on their shoulder.

"Is this the Virtual Universe?" Sett looked at the flow of people around him; it felt exactly like the real world. If he didn't have the memory of entering the Virtual Universe, he would have mistaken this for a living world.

"We are on Dark Star Island in the Ganwu Continent. Since this is your first time entering the Virtual Universe, you will appear directly at the location connected to the real world," Zhenlian King said, walking over from the side.

"Dark Star Island?" Sett asked, as he had never heard of this place.

"Dark Star Island is the island where the Dark Star Universe Kingdom is located. Since our Zhenyun Planet is within the territory of the Dark Star Intermediate Universe Kingdom, it naturally appears on Dark Star Island," Zhenlian King explained.

"Follow me." Zhenlian King led Sett as they walked along the street.

"In the Virtual Universe, you can chat with friends remotely, transfer funds, and even complete financial transactions."

"You can learn martial arts, trade and conduct business, or participate in auctions inside the Virtual Universe."

"You can also play virtual games—one hundred percent realistic virtual games that are exactly the same as reality, causing many ordinary people to become addicted and enjoy a second life."

"You can also eat delicacies and drink fine wines that you can't afford in reality. Of course, it still costs money, though much less than in the real world."

"All of humanity's elites gather here; anything you can't achieve in reality can be realized here. However, the virtual is ultimately virtual. No matter how long you stay inside, you cannot cultivate your physical body. For a powerhouse like me, the Virtual Universe is merely a tool."

"It provides us with a convenient channel to meet and communicate with many like-minded friends," Zhenlian King introduced along the way.

"This Virtual Universe is truly incredible," Sett praised.

Only by experiencing it personally could one realize how monstrous this one-hundred-percent simulation truly was.

More importantly, the universe was vast, yet the Virtual Universe could manage to facilitate real-time communication regardless of where you were. Otherwise, at the speed of light, it would take one hundred thousand years to travel from one end of the Milky Way to the other.

"Since we still have a month, I will take you into the Virtual Universe to have a confrontation with people of the same level," Zhenlian said.

Sett vaguely guessed where Zhenlian King was going to take him.

The Killing Field allowed one to fight against other powerhouses; for a martial artist, the best way to improve one's strength was through combat! Preferably, combat that made one feel the danger of death.

The potential a person could unleash between life and death was immeasurable, so naturally, life-and-death battles provided the greatest boost to one's strength.

"I'll take you to see the Killing Field," Zhenlian King said.

It really is this place. After being abused by a monster like Zhenlian King for two years, I wonder what it's like for me to deal with others of the same level now, Sett thought to himself.

I should be able to crush them, right?