Inquiry

Bai Muye was just about to start searching for the information he wanted when the Little Sprite on his shoulder spoke up: "Master, a call request has been received from Samao. Shall I connect it?"

"Wait a moment," Bai Muye asked, "If I take this call standing here, can others hear me?"

"You can request a privacy shield, but it requires an additional fee," the Little Sprite answered immediately.

"Apply for the shield, then connect."

A screen appeared before him, and after the connection was established, Samao's face appeared on the display.

"Lord Samao." Bai Muye bowed slightly.

"Is everything you said in the email true?" Samao had already calmed his emotions and asked in a very steady tone.

"Yes, my lord."

"Where are you right now... I mean, in reality."

"I am at... the entrance of the Virtual Universe Company branch."

"Stay right there, I'm coming to find you."

After hanging up, less than a minute passed before Samao appeared in front of him.

"Follow me." Samao didn't offer any explanation; he wrapped Bai Muye in his World Force and returned directly to the building housing the Giant Axe Arena at high speed.

Before Samao had appeared, a Domain Lord level nine youth had been observing Bai Muye from the shadows, seemingly waiting for him to walk into a secluded area.

But seeing Samao take Bai Muye away, a look of helplessness welled up in the youth's eyes. Having finally found him, he had been snatched away by a World Lord; it seemed he would have to find another way to avenge his sister.

"This is my office," Samao said in the spacious room, tossing him a drink. "Take out the dagger and let me see it."

Bai Muye took out the dagger and handed it to Samao.

Though called a dagger, it was actually quite small, with a total length of only thirty centimeters, the handle and blade being equal in length. As soon as Samao gripped the dagger, he could immediately see the information contained within.

After reviewing the information, he took a high-tech instrument from a cabinet and aimed it at the dagger.

The instrument emitted a hazy beam of light that enveloped the dagger. A second later, the instrument let out a "beep." Samao looked at the information displayed on the screen and nodded.

"This dagger was made from the secondary tooth of a Myriad-Tooth Earthworm; it can indeed transmit information over short distances... You are truly lucky. Ye Yunqing didn't set up any protective measures to view the information on it, otherwise, even if you had obtained the dagger, you likely wouldn't have discovered anything unusual..."

He chuckled softly: "Fortunately, I gave you that Space Ring. If it had been confiscated directly, we probably wouldn't have discovered it."

He looked at Bai Muye: "How do you want to handle this?"

"Everything is at your discretion, my lord." Bai Muye answered immediately without the slightest hesitation.

"Very good." Samao was very satisfied with his response. "It is wise to leave the handling to me. I will submit it directly to my superiors... Rest assured, you will not be treated unfairly."

"Yes."

Samao looked at him: "After submission, the process from investigation to final arrest will take a long time. You likely won't be able to wait for the reward to be issued. You are heading to the Outer Battlefield soon, and your strength at Universe Rank level seven is still a bit low. How about this: I will prepare fifty kilograms of Yulang Liquid for you. It is the best auxiliary treasure for cultivation at the Universe Rank..."

"The journey to the Outer Battlefield is long, taking at least twenty years. You can take advantage of this time to use up this Yulang Liquid; you should be able to cultivate to the peak of Universe Rank level nine."

"Thank you, my lord." Bai Muye expressed his gratitude.

Samao was thoughtful; since he was about to head to the Outer Battlefield, he certainly couldn't wait for the reward to be issued, so providing him with treasures to boost his cultivation now was undoubtedly the best plan.

Samao logged into the virtual universe with a sliver of his consciousness to make arrangements. Soon, someone delivered a bottle. It wasn't large, roughly equivalent to a bottle of mineral water from his previous life, yet it weighed over a hundred pounds.

"That's that, then. You are about to go on a long journey and likely need to prepare many things, so I won't keep you..."

After he stored the bottle in his Storage Space, Samao issued the dismissal.

He walked Bai Muye to the door and reached out to pat his shoulder: "I won't say any unnecessary words. The Outer Battlefield is treacherous and unpredictable, filled with countless alien races and experts, but it is also the best place to make a name for yourself. Be careful in all things..."

"Thank you for your concern, my lord." Bai Muye bowed slightly, then took his leave.

Walking down the street and looking at the dazzling array of shops, Bai Muye shook his head helplessly. The little money in his pocket couldn't buy anything useful, and the things that were truly useful were beyond his reach.

Finding a quiet corner, he sat down. Fusing with Ye Yunqing's cultivation insights would require a significant amount of time, so he decided to wait until he was on the spaceship to begin the fusion.

Now, he finally had time to look into the question he cared about most.

In the virtual universe, Bai Muye appeared once again on the streets of the ancient city.

"Master, what would you like to search for?" The Little Sprite was as cheerful as ever.

"Search for the time of the last Universe Peak Genius Competition, the organizer, and the final rankings..."

These were public records; if he were to search for the identity of the Venerable who presided over the genius competition, he likely wouldn't be able to find it.

The Little Sprite quickly provided the answer:

"The last Universe Peak Genius Competition's grand finale was held 3,852 years ago. The organizer was the Giant Axe Arena, and the first-place winner was..."

The Little Sprite recited a long list of names, none of which Bai Muye recognized.

After thinking for a moment, he gave a new command: "Search if 'Luo Feng' appears in the top ten rankings of any past genius competitions."

This time, it took the Little Sprite a bit longer, and after a dozen seconds, it gave the answer: "After searching the top ten of all past genius competitions, the name Luo Feng was not found."

"So, that means Luo Feng hasn't been born yet? I wonder if the next genius competition will be the one where he shines..." Bai Muye muttered to himself.

After searching for a long time without success, he could only confirm that the plot of the original story had not yet begun.

The main issue was his insufficient clearance; he simply couldn't access information involving higher levels. For instance, the last time a Primal Star appeared, the Little Sprite couldn't even find out what a Primal Star was.

"Query Outer Battlefield, show me all information regarding the Outer Battlefield..."

With a swish, a dense wall of information appeared before Bai Muye. It was all about the Outer Battlefield, but the vast majority consisted of forum posts discussing how brutal it was, with very little useful, concrete information.

"Filter for those who have actual experience in the Outer Battlefield..."

The information instantly dwindled by ninety-nine percent. Bai Muye read through it slowly; the remaining entries were mostly experiences from Domain Lord or Universe Rank warriors who had returned from the Outer Battlefield.

After finishing all the relevant information, he had gained a preliminary understanding of the Outer Battlefield.

Although the original story had described the Outer Battlefield, it was observed from the perspective of Luo Feng. At that time, Luo Feng was at the World Lord level, and the battlefield from his perspective would inevitably be vastly different from his current Universe Rank strength.

In the Outer Battlefield, Universe Rank soldiers and Domain Lord captains had no possibility of venturing out alone. Even if they accumulated enough Military Merit, they could only choose to retire or continue fighting, but they could not become free agents.

This was because Universe Rank and Domain Lord level individuals could not possibly survive if they acted alone in the Outer Battlefield.

In the Outer Battlefield, the most important piece of equipment was the Detector. Without a Detector, one was like a blind and deaf person, unaware even when an enemy reached their doorstep.

Furthermore, the lowest-level Detector required World Lord clearance or higher to exchange for. No matter how high their Military Merit was, Domain Lords and Universe Rank warriors could not exchange for one.

After studying all the information, more than a day had passed.

Bai Muye continued to wander around the Virtual Universe. For over a hundred years, he had either been in life-or-death battles or on his way to them, never having the chance to experience a leisurely life.

After exiting the Virtual Universe, he went to a shop on Purple Crown Planet that specialized in weapons. He sold the Trident he had been carrying and exchanged it for a Thunder Staff he was accustomed to using. After a moment of thought, he also bought a lightning-attribute Telepathic Weapon—the Thunder-Striking Needle.

Afterward, he began to stroll around Purple Crown Planet without a care in the world until the morning of the third day, when he arrived at the No. 3 Spaceport of Purple Crown Planet.

The scene before him made him gasp in shock.