Sensation

Qin Cang gripped the spear in his hand. In an instant, endless flames engulfed its shaft. He slowly raised it, pointing straight at the gatekeeper.

The gatekeeper was just as unyielding. Flames roared along the spear in his hands as he aimed it at Qin Cang.

"Sky-Burning Mountain-Breaking!" Qin Cang shouted.

He thrust his spear forward, and blazing flames surged toward the gatekeeper with immense force. Fortunately, this was the Virtual Universe. Had this strike been unleashed in the Primal Universe, it would surely have split the spatial barriers and opened one spatial rift after another.

This technique was Qin Cang's greatest achievement of the past thousand years. After nurturing the Crowned Python Clone, he had used the clone's Innate Secret Technique as the core of a new spear technique.

This strike had been inspired by Heavenly Prison and combined all his insights into the laws of space and fire. One thrust possessed the power to shatter the heavens and cleave stars.

By forging a spear from flames, he sought nothing less than absolute destructive power. The gatekeeper had no chance of resisting this strike.

And just as Qin Cang had expected, the gatekeeper's figure vanished amid the endless flames.

At the same time, the gatekeeper's death meant that Qin Cang had successfully passed the eighteenth layer of the Sky Bridge and earned permanent residency in Chaos City.

"See that? That's my junior brother! Hahaha! Third Senior Sister, you'd better hurry up, or before long, you'll be the weakest in our sect." Blood Blade King laughed, taking the opportunity to tease Snow Imperial King.

Snow Imperial King wore Silver Battle Armor that accentuated her curvaceous figure. By Qin Cang's standards from his previous life, his third senior sister was a cool, aloof beauty, both in personality and appearance. She had never been willing to admit that Blood Blade King was stronger than her—not even after he had long since retired to Chaos City. Snow Imperial King still roamed the universe every day, determined to become a Venerable before him.

"I don't mind being surpassed by Junior Brother. His talent is far beyond mine. But I'll definitely become a Venerable before you." Snow Imperial King, clad in Silver Battle Armor, gave a soft snort and left the Tongtian Bridge Plane. She was still on the Outer-Region Battlefield and had no time to spend here. Still, she was genuinely astonished by her junior brother's talent. He was far more gifted than anyone she had met over the years.

In the City Lord Mansion in Chaos City, Chaos City Lord had watched Qin Cang's entire run live. As the Human Race's current second-in-command, he had seen countless geniuses, and Qin Cang was not the only one whose talent could match the very best.

But even when talent was equal, many other things mattered on the path to becoming a powerful being. Talent was important, of course, but it wasn't everything.

Fortune, willpower, and even a grateful heart were just as essential. If the Human Race spent countless resources raising someone who turned out to be an ungrateful wretch and took their side against the Human Race, who could they complain to?

Qin Cang's formidable talent had attracted the attention of many powerful members of the Human Race as soon as he entered Chaos City, including several Universe Masters.

Yet, in the end, not one Universe Master had stepped forward to take him as a disciple. The main reason was that the Yan God Clan had a truly terrible temperament. They picked fights at the slightest provocation. Who could put up with that? The Yan God Clan were the ones who fought most often in Chaos City, and they had only recently been absorbed into the Human Race.

Over the years, those Universe Masters had seen every kind of genius. They could afford to wait for one who excelled in both character and talent before making their move. After all, time was the least valuable thing to them.

Fifteen million eras might seem like a long time, but to a Universe Master with an immeasurably long life, it was no more than a blink. A single period of seclusion could easily last longer than fifteen million eras.

In the end, this promising young talent, Qin Cang, had become the disciple of Demon Wing Venerable, an old-timer among the Universe Overlords.

"Uncle-Master Demon Wing, you've found yourself an excellent disciple," Chaos City Lord remarked.

Even now, all the Human Race's Universe Masters belonged to the original group who had followed the Original Ancestor. None of them had yet raised a new Universe Master.

Even Giant Axe Founder's strongest disciple was only a Universe Overlord.

The Human Race's three top Universe Overlords were all on brotherly terms with those Universe Masters.

And now, it seemed that the Human Race's next top Universe Overlord would most likely be someone trained by Demon Wing Venerable.

And he was a formidable being with the Ability of Clones.

Although Qin Cang was still somewhat lacking in strength, he had nearly come into his own. After cultivating for just ten thousand years, his Law Comprehension was already on par with that of a King. He ranked among the very best in the entire history of the Human Race.

What was more, he had the Sky Canopy Python Clone, as well as a Third Clone whose vessel had yet to be decided. With all these factors combined, Qin Cang's future was visibly full of promise.

"The stronger this young fellow becomes, the better it is for the Human Race. Now that he's shown what he can do, who could object if we grant him treasures for his protection?" Chaos City Lord smiled, seeming to glimpse a rising star of the Human Race.

In the Human Race's Absolute Beginning Secret Realm lay the Desolate Star Region, a special region formed within the realm.

Not far from the region stood a colossal nine-story palace, constantly monitoring everything within the star region.

This was Demon Wing Venerable's territory to guard.

The ninth floor of the palace was Demon Wing Venerable's cultivation chamber. For countless years, his human clone had been stationed here, while his Two-Handed Demon Marten Clone explored the universe's many secret realms—searching for treasures on the one hand, and for a glimmer of hope of breaking through to become a Universe Master on the other.

At that moment, besides Demon Wing Venerable, a white ape-man clad in golden armor was also in the palace.

"Xuantian, what do you think of my disciple?" Demon Wing Venerable laughed heartily.

"Demon Venerable's disciple is naturally outstanding. It's been a long time since I've seen you this happy," said the golden-armored ape-man. He was rather envious, too. It had been ages since he had encountered a genius disciple of this caliber. Demon Venerable had kept a low profile for countless years, yet the moment he acted, he made a huge splash. Now, every Venerable in the Hong Alliance knew that the Human Race's number-one genius was Demon Venerable's youngest disciple.

Unfortunately, after all these years, he was still only a High Venerable. He had no clue how to create an Ultimate technique for Universe Overlords. He had come this time simply to borrow a Supreme Treasure, hoping for an extra layer of protection while exploring a secret realm. He had never expected Demon Venerable to drag him into watching the young fellow's Sky Bridge run live.

"Xuantian, you wanted to borrow my pair of Divine Hammers, right?" Demon Wing Venerable asked with a smile.

"That's right, Demon Venerable. With your pair of Divine Hammer Supreme Treasures, my attack power will be on par with a Universe Overlord. I'm sure to gain something this time. And another Venerable traveling with me has borrowed a Top-Tier Heavy Treasure palace, so there's no need to worry about staying alive. If you lend me the hammers, I'll pay the same as before: five Heavy Treasure points upfront, and we'll settle the difference once I'm back." Venerable Xuantian spoke with confidence.

As the saying went, if your secret techniques fell short, make up for it with treasures. For powerful beings like Venerable Xuantian, their potential had long since been exhausted. Rather than struggle to create an Ultimate technique for Universe Overlords, it was better to trade on their reputations to borrow treasures and increase their strength. Even if they died, all they would have to do was work off their debt. If they came back with a profit, those precious Supreme Treasure points and Heavy Treasure points wouldn't lie.

"I trust you, of course. Take the Divine Hammers for now." Demon Wing Venerable waved a hand, and a pair of black Divine Hammers appeared before Venerable Xuantian.