Invitation

Virtual Universe, Yunmeng Lake, cottage, third-floor meditation room.

Ye Muxuan looked at the other two teleportation points in front of him, reached out, and tapped one.

Virtual Universe, special plane. Floating above the vast Yuxiang Mountain was Thunder Island.

If Yuxiang Mountain was where the Virtual Universe Company's core members below the Immortal level gathered—where all members below the Immortal level, from the Primal, Primordial, Heaven and Earth, and End Times Secret Realms, lived in the Virtual Universe—then Thunder Island was where the true powerhouses gathered.

At the foot of Thunder Island lived the Immortals; halfway up the mountain lived the Venerables. Among the misty clouds at the summit stood the palaces where beings as mighty as Universe Overlords resided.

Halfway up the mountain, in a towering, splendid palace, a Human Race Immortal wearing black armor and bearing a proud, single horn atop his head reported to the palace's master.

"You're saying that among this batch of new World Lords, one has reached the Thirteenth Floor, three have reached the Twelfth, and five have reached the Eleventh?" The master of the palace, a mighty man seated on the throne, looked down at the Immortal below.

"Yes, my lord. More than 1,200 of this batch of newcomers have already attempted the Heavenly Bridge, with over 200 still remaining. The overall figures shouldn't change much."

"What about the Immortals?"

"Among the Immortals, the highest a Marquis Immortal has reached is the Sixteenth Layer, while the highest a Military Lord Immortal has reached is the Thirteenth Floor."

That was the difference in talent between genius World Lords and ordinary Immortals!

"Send them invitations as usual. Among the World Lords, those four qualify to enter the Heaven and Earth Secret Realm. The other five can choose to enter the End Times Secret Realm. I'll handle the Immortals myself." After considering the matter, the mighty man on the throne announced his decision.

Cultivating World Lord members of the Primal Secret Realm involved far too much. He couldn't even decide on the quota for the Primordial Secret Realm members by himself; he had to discuss it with the other Venerables in charge. But as for the quotas for the Heaven and Earth and End Times Secret Realms, as long as the candidates had indeed reached the stated levels on the Heavenly Bridge, he could make the decision himself. After all, he was a high-ranking member of the Virtual Universe Company's management, a Universe Overlord with considerable power and status.

Besides, it was his turn to preside over the matter.

A World Lord who had reached the Thirteenth Floor of the Heavenly Bridge was already on par with the current standards of the Virtual Universe Company's Heaven and Earth Secret Realm—and even its Primordial Secret Realm.

If these people were truly talented, they could rise against the odds wherever they ended up. If they lacked talent, then even entering the Core Layer would only put them at its outermost level.

An ordinary World Lord, even one acknowledged by an Origin Law, usually had Law Comprehension around the Ninth or even Eighth Floor of the Heavenly Bridge. With that level of talent and strength, they had no hope of breaking through to Immortality. Even if they got lucky and succeeded, they would be the weakest kind of Immortal, unqualified to enter even the End Times Secret Realm. Meanwhile, even Universe Rank members in the Primal Secret Realm had reached the Eighth Floor.

The Virtual Universe Company wasn't the only one watching these newcomers. The other four of the Human Race's Five Great Powers had also taken notice of them right away. After all, the newcomers recruited from the Outer Battlefield and auctions didn't have the obvious factional ties of those who came through the Genius Battle or Strongest Battle, nor did they have Venerables directly backing them. Even if the other powers tried to recruit them, it wouldn't count as poaching. Those who came from the Outer Battlefield in particular had all survived at least fifty thousand years of life-and-death trials. Their chances of reaching Immortality were far higher than those of newcomers recruited through auctions.

In fact, the three powers other than the Virtual Universe Company and the Giant Axe Dojo were even more earnest in their attempts to recruit them.

After all, they couldn't select talented members through the Strongest Battle and Genius Battle. The geniuses they discovered and recommended through their own organizations in the various Universe Kingdoms were nowhere near as steady a source as those available to the Virtual Universe Company and the Giant Axe Dojo. They fell short not only in numbers, but in quality as well.

A look at the current top geniuses in each power's best Secret Realm made that clear: the Virtual Universe Company and the Giant Axe Dojo were still far ahead, the Cosmic Mercenary Alliance followed close behind, and the two banks could only scrape up what was left.

The Human Race's Five Great Powers were naturally united against outsiders, but competition among them had never let up. The people at the very top knew this, of course, and they had never opposed such rivalry.

Initial Universe, Chaos City.

On the rooftop of a gray building, Ye Muxuan opened his eyes after sitting in meditation for a month.

"A month of consolidation, and I've gained quite a lot." He looked up at the Law Secret Patterns revealed in the sky. After turning all he had gained over the past month—from the Heavenly Bridge, the Illusion Sea, and studying the Chaos Stele—into a foundation for his breakthrough to Immortality, Ye Muxuan finally stood up.

He was getting closer and closer to Immortality.

"Nine Phoenix, how many emails did I get this month?"

"Master, you received 94 emails and 45 call requests."

Ye Muxuan looked up at the Law Secret Patterns and sent a wisp of consciousness into the Virtual Universe.

A month ago, after attempting the Illusion Sea and the Immortal Altar, he had disabled Virtual Universe messages and sat quietly on the rooftop of the gray building to consolidate his gains. As a result, no matter which organization or individual tried to contact him, they couldn't reach him unless they came directly to the rooftop.

But in Chaos City, no one was allowed to disturb another person while they studied the Origin Laws!

The main issue was that he was too weak right now. He was so weak that he couldn't afford to reject an invitation from any faction outright! Still, he wanted to weigh his options and carefully consider which faction to join.

Cultivation consumed far too many resources. And this universe was so vast that, while he was still weak, he also desperately needed a powerful backer. Even a Beast God, born with the strength of a Universe Master, could be torn apart simply because its blood, scales, fur, and other parts were discovered to be treasures that could aid cultivation. Even the Ancestral God Sect, one of the nine superpowers, couldn't protect them. If a tiny World Lord like him refused to seek a backer while he had the chance, he'd be a fool.

Virtual Universe, Yunmeng Lake, lakeside cottage, third-floor meditation room.

He quickly skimmed through the emails and call requests. Most were formal invitations from the external affairs directors of the Five Great Powers, along with call requests from acquaintances such as Kong Yan, Zhendan, Li Zheng, and Qing Lun.

Ye Muxuan also checked the call requests and emails from strangers one by one. Some were invitations sent on behalf of the Five Great Powers, while others came from powerhouses hoping to take him as a disciple.

Ye Muxuan looked up the identities of all these strangers, but given his current status, he could only find information on a few Limit King Level figures. He couldn't look up anyone stronger. Yet that lack of access itself vaguely revealed certain things.

Ye Muxuan leaned back on the sofa, his gaze falling on the screen in front of him.

Aside from acquaintances like Zhendan and the others, a total of 22 powerhouses were willing to take him as a disciple! Fifteen were Peak King Level, five were Limit King Level, and the identities of the remaining two couldn't be verified; all that appeared was a notice that he lacked the necessary clearance!