Virtual Universe, dark Divine Temple.
Currently, the Human Race has only five powerful individuals qualified to convene Supreme Council: the four strongest individuals and the Shadow Blade Master. The rest of the powerful individuals are slightly lacking in ability.
This is the first time the Darkness Demon God has convened a meeting since gaining authority.
The many cosmic lords did not neglect this, after all, it was the Darkness Demon God's first time. Although he rarely spoke at the Supreme Council, he still handled some important matters of his race very well, showing a great sense of the big picture.
Moreover, the more than twenty Human Race cosmic lords are currently stationed in the Primal Universe, overseeing various territories, dealing with the dying struggle of the Machine Race, as well as the covetous eyes of other top races such as the Bug Race Monster Race and the demon race.
In just over ten seconds, all twenty-six cosmic lords arrived, along with the other three strongest beings.
"Dark."
"Darkness, what is it?"
"This is the first meeting held by the Dark Ones; it must be something big."
The various lords of the universe took their seats, greeted each other, and finally all turned their gaze to the Darkness Demon God at the head of the table.
"Gentlemen," the Darkness Demon God in black armor glanced at the twenty-odd pillars of the Human Race present and spoke, "Just now, Universe Master Mingwu successfully inscribed a combination of Illusion Array and Will Array patterns, enslaving the Lord of Silver of the Machine Race with his will."
"It has been proven that enslaving the Machine Race's universe lord is feasible!"
After revealing this information, the Darkness Demon God fell silent.
The twenty-odd Universe Lords present were all formal disciples who had received the inheritance of their Sect and had all witnessed the wonders of formations. However, enslaving a soulless Machine Race Universe Lord was still somewhat of a challenge to their worldview.
Before this, those races and powerful beings without souls were not at risk of being enslaved. For example, the Shadow Blade Master's Huang Clone, the Mosha Race, the Master Flint of the Hong Alliance, Lord of Rock Giant of the First Ancestral God Sect in the Universe Ocean —these soulless powerful beings were not afraid of those Illusionist at all.
No matter how powerful the Illusionist's Soul Attack, I don't even have a soul.
"Universe Master Mingwu, what is the difference between will enslavement and Soul Enslavement?"
"Does that mean that Universe Master Mingwu is equivalent to having the strength of two Universe Lords?"
"Can the Lord of Silver summon those former Universe Venerable and Universe Overlord of the Machine Race?"
"Darkness, how's your progress in enslaving the Machine Race Father God?"
"I remember the Machine Race also has two Universe Lords, right?"
"Should we capture all the Machine Race's Venerable Overlord next?"
"I think we could capture a few of the Machine Race Immortal alive and try it out. What if we could train them into Venerable or even Lords of the Universe?"
Many powerful figures spoke up, their gazes fixed on the Darkness Demon God and the Universe Master Mingwu.
After all, being able to enslave a Machine Race universe lord is equivalent to doubling one's own strength. Especially since Machine Race universe lords do not have souls, they are not afraid of Soul Attack from opponents, and the means of will enslavement are currently only possessed by the Human Race, so there is no need to fear that other races also possess this means.
"We've just enslaved the Lord of Silver, and there are still many methods we need to try," said the Universe Master Mingwu, clad in dark red armor, without concealing anything. "But personally, I feel it's similar to the master-recognition process of Intelligent Life, the difference being that this forces the Lord of Silver's will to succumb, forcibly recognizing him as its master."
"The advantage is that I can now give the Lord of Silver an order: if I die one day, the Lord of Silver won't follow me to my death, but can forcibly recognize the person I designate as its master."
Upon hearing this, the twenty-odd powerful figures present fell silent for a moment, before their eyes lit up again.
This is equivalent to providing one's family and power with a stable strongman, so that even if one were to perish, the impact on the overall strength would not be significant.
"The downside is that this forced recognition of a master severely damages the Lord of Silver's will. Even if he were to do nothing but cultivate until the end of this Reincarnation Era, he probably wouldn't be able to become the strongest."
"As you all know, for a Universe Lord to break through and become the strongest, willpower is of paramount importance." The Universe Master Mingwu's gaze fell upon the twenty-odd Universe Lords present, sweeping around them. "The Lord of Silver has forcibly acknowledged himself as a master; he will essentially become a Universe Lord from now on. His path forward is blocked."
The gazes of many universe lords calmed down. They basically couldn't improve any further. Did that mean that if someone was Venerable during the enslavement, they would always be Venerable? If that's the case, then the effect wasn't that great.
"That's not important." Below the Chaos True God, Ye Muxuan, dressed in a simple white robe, tapped his fingers on the stone table and slowly spoke, "Leaving aside the fact that the Machine Race were defeated and captured alive, cutting off their path is nothing. Even if the Machine Race hadn't been defeated, unless they could obtain a legacy left by Ancient Civilization like Sect, few of these Universe Lords themselves have the potential to become the strongest."
"Moreover, and most importantly, after we enslave the powerful Machine Race, all we need to do is obtain the method by which the Machine Race creates the 'Evolution Heart.' This will allow our own Intelligent Life to cultivate as well, and it's not impossible for them to reach the level of a Universe Master."
Ye Muxuan saw it very clearly: after annexing the Machine Race, the most important thing for the entire Human Race as a whole was the territory of the Machine Race, which would significantly enhance the overall strength of the Human Race. Only with more territory could more geniuses be nurtured, and in the future there would be more Immortal, more Venerable, and even more universe masters.
Besides these, what can assist these powerful beings is the "Evolution Heart" unique to the Machine Race. Only when every Intelligent Life can integrate an Evolution Heart can it be considered a true Machine Race.
Creating Intelligent Life is not difficult for humans. Even the Auxiliary Optical Computer and Intelligent Optical Brain computers purchased by ordinary people at the Planet Rank or Star Rank have the potential to evolve into Intelligent Life. For example, "Nine Phoenix," who have always followed Ye Muxuan, is Intelligent Life that evolved from an Intelligent Optical Brain.
Intelligent Life must integrate the Evolution Heart to sense the fluctuations of laws and thus be able to cultivate. Thanks to the numerous resources provided by Ye Muxuan, Nine Phoenix is now a Machine Race life form that has cultivated to the Intermediate Venerable level.
Many powerful figures' eyes lit up. Previously, most people had focused on territorial expansion, and even with the possibility of enslaving the Machine Race's powerful members, this aspect had been overlooked.
Once the method for creating the Evolution Heart is obtained, each of these powerful Human Race may be able to cultivate numerous Machine Race life forms in the future. If handled well, the strength of each powerful individual could be doubled.
In comparison, one or two Machine Race universe masters don't seem so important.
"Muxuan is right." The Giant Axe Founder nodded in agreement. "Darkness, you will continue to be responsible for enslaving the Machine Race Father God. Mingwu, you must obtain the method for creating the Evolution Heart from the Lord of Silver; this is very important."
"Can."
"OK."
The Darkness Demon God and the Universe Master Mingwu both responded.
"Giant Axe, and everyone else, since you're all here, I'd like to address another issue." The Chaos True God looked at the cosmic lords present and spoke, "We now have 1688 Universe Kingdom, and the next Star Rank Genius Battle is just around the corner. Will we still be selecting one thousand members this time?"
Upon hearing this, the eyes of Peng Gong True God and the others lit up.
Before this, the Human Race had a total of 1,008 Universe Kingdom, with the Virtual Universe Company and the Giant Axe Founder each controlling half. The Star Rank Genius Battle and the Universe-Level Expert Tournament were held once every five thousand years, taking turns.
However, the Universe Kingdom has now increased to 1688, and thanks to the great efforts of the three major powers led by Peng Gong True God, the Master Huang Jian and the Master Qingdong are about to become the Universe Supreme Being. It would be inappropriate to continue to let the Virtual Universe Company and the Giant Axe Dojo share the world equally.
The Universe Supreme Being should have the respect due to them, and Peng Gong True God and his cosmic Star River are qualified to participate. However, Master Huang Jian and Master Qingdong are not currently the strongest beings and cannot stand on equal footing with Peng Gong True God.
In terms of the number of Universe Lords, the Virtual Universe Company alone has one more than the next three combined. Not to mention that Qingmei Venerable and Venerable Yueqiang are currently in seclusion and could break through at any time, Universe Master Mingwu just enslaved the Lord of Silver.
However, although the voting rights are held by the Virtual Universe Company, they can't make a decision now and then change it a few years later when the Master Huang Jian and the other two have made a breakthrough.
Changing policies frequently is unacceptable.
PS: Bonus chapter for 200 monthly votes