Transformation

The Prime Universe, the Virtual Headquarters at Rain Phase Mountain.

The Doomsday Region, inside a cultivation room in a Tube Building.

A black-clad young man with short hair sat cross-legged. He slowly opened his eyes and rose. In an instant, his figure blurred, transforming into thirty-six silhouettes that circled like ghosts around the small cultivation room.

"The second level of the Thousand Body Formation—the Heavenly Gang Formation. I've finally mastered it!"

Feng Hui was overjoyed.

Over the past three years, especially during the two years when Teacher Wala had carefully instructed his Dongdi Clan clone, Feng Hui had undergone a complete transformation in both his Law Comprehension and combat ability.

It could be said that those two years of Teacher Wala's guidance had been crucial to his future growth!

After all, he was still very weak, and his perspective was limited. It was easy for him to make small mistakes in his cultivation.

Some mistakes were so minor that even the cultivator himself couldn't notice them, and they seemed to have no effect. But once enough mistakes accumulated, cultivation would hit a bottleneck!

Some people could eventually break through such bottlenecks after enough time had passed, and grow stronger once more.

Others might never break through again for the rest of their lives, remaining stuck where they were!

For problems like these, a teacher's role was crucial!

The stronger and more discerning the teacher, the better they could help their disciples spot flaws in their cultivation when they first embarked on the path of cultivation, and correct them. Through gradual influence, they could help their disciples progress ever more smoothly along the right path.

If the foundation was unstable, everything would crumble. The firmer the foundation, the faster and farther a disciple could go in the future.

That was why so many geniuses were eager to find a powerful master while they were still weak.

Teacher Wala was a Peak Marquis, and an Immortal God powerful enough to barely qualify as a King. Guiding a young fellow like Feng Hui was well within his capabilities.

More fortunately still, Teacher Wala had grown up in the incomparably ancient and deeply established Eastern Emperor Holy Land Universe. He might not have been particularly powerful, but his perspective and ability to guide disciples were in no way inferior to those of a King-level Immortal from the Human Race in the Prime Universe.

Under these circumstances, how could a mere "immense benefit" describe Feng Hui's transformation?

He could now easily defeat his self from the Genius War three years ago in an instant.

Even so, Feng Hui didn't dare slack off.

During the three-year journey, all one thousand young geniuses admitted into the Core Layer of the Virtual Universe Company had worked extremely hard. Not one of them dared to let up.

This Genius War had affected them all profoundly. Before it, each of them had been the top genius in their own region, with few worthy opponents. But the Genius War had brought together countless stars, and the battles against evenly matched opponents had taught these geniuses a great deal. After the competition ended, many had carefully reflected on their performance and made significant breakthroughs. They had all improved considerably.

They had also each received points from the Virtual Universe Company, though the amount varied depending on the level of their Secret Realm.

But at their level, there was no need to buy anything too expensive. Even the one hundred points given to members of the Doomsday Secret Realm were enough to buy decent basic cultivation techniques.

Over the three-year journey, they had all improved greatly by cultivating techniques and studying them intently. So they could never afford to underestimate the heroes of the world.

"I need another fight to see how powerful this newly mastered Heavenly Gang Formation is." Feng Hui's thoughts stirred. "Too bad my cultivation room is so small."

The cultivation rooms specially equipped for members of the company's Core Layer came with a Killing Space, allowing them to simulate any opponent they wanted. The only limitation was that the simulated space was relatively small.

The enormous cultivation grounds for members of the Taichu Secret Realm, for example, were fifty kilometers long and thirty kilometers wide. Though still limited in size, they were large enough for ordinary cultivation needs.

Feng Hui, however, was a member of the Doomsday Secret Realm. His residence was a suite in a Tube Building, and the cultivation room inside it was even more cramped. He couldn't properly practice if he made even the slightest big movement, so he had to go to the Killing Space.

On a cultivation ground in the Killing Space, Feng Hui stood with the Black Longblade in hand.

"Simulated battle. Opponent: Guge the Ape Man, first place in the Genius War. Set his combat strength to the strongest level he displayed in the Genius War."

The Ape Man Guge gradually took shape on the cultivation ground. He stood over two meters tall.

A golden circlet rested on his head, silver battle boots covered his feet, and he held an ancient-looking War Blade. A fierce aura radiated from him. But his eyes were blank, and he stood motionless.

"Begin!" Feng Hui shouted.

"Boom!" The simulated Guge's eyes lit up, and he charged at Feng Hui like a mountain bearing down on him.

"Come on, Heavenly Gang Formation!"

Holding his War Blade, Feng Hui split into thirty-six figures and formed a profound formation. Like thirty-six ghostly streaks of green Flowing Light, they shot toward Guge.

"Clang!" Their blades clashed.

"Falling Leaf Blade!" Feng Hui unleashed the Falling Leaf Blade technique, erupting with force. He swept through his opponent like an autumn wind scattering leaves, clashing with Guge thousands upon thousands of times in almost an instant.

His footwork was also profoundly subtle. The thirty-six figures drifted unpredictably, seeming both real and illusory, impossible to read.

"Gold Slash!" The Ape Man Guge's eyes flashed like lightning, and his roar boomed like thunder. Golden light burst from his entire body.

Gold was the most unyielding and blazing of all. Even his ancient-looking War Blade was tinged with dazzling gold, and countless golden blade lights converged before crashing down in a single strike!

"Falling Leaves!" Feng Hui roared as well. The very space around him seemed to be suppressed.

"Bang!"

"Pfft!" Blood sprayed wildly as Guge was sent flying, then crashed to the ground like a broken sack.

"Rumble~~~" The cultivation ground shifted. The simulated Guge vanished, leaving Feng Hui standing alone.

"Not bad. I can defeat Guge fairly easily now."

"But I still need to keep training. I only defeated the Guge from the Genius War. He's had three years' worth of points and resources from the Primordial Secret Realm. He must have grown much stronger."

Inside the hall of a spaceship.

Feng Hui, his short black hair and black battle suit, sat cross-legged and focused on cultivation.

The aquiline-nosed, middle-aged man Ka Yu walked over and said with a smile, "Feng Hui, we're about to reach the company headquarters."

"Oh? We're almost there?" Feng Hui finished cultivating and slowly stood up.

"Beginning Cosmic Shuttle. Entering the Prime Universe."

"10...9...8...7...6...5...4...3...2...1!"

As the spaceship's intelligent assistant counted down, Feng Hui felt the vessel shudder slightly. Ten seconds later, everything returned to normal.

He casually ordered, "Set exterior simulation to 100%."

As soon as he spoke, the entire hall seemed to vanish and turn transparent. A fantastical starry sky appeared all around him.

Far away in the depths of space floated a supercontinent, vast beyond measure.

Even from so far away, he couldn't see where it ended.

This was the Virtual Universe Company's headquarters in the entire universe!

Although he had already known from the original story's descriptions how magnificent the company headquarters was, seeing it with his own eyes still left Feng Hui deeply shaken. He felt like a country bumpkin seeing a grand mansion for the first time.

The vast continent, the celestial bodies that looked like natural cosmic wonders but were actually fearsome technological weapons... It truly lived up to its reputation as one of the Human Race's five great powers, the Virtual Universe Company.

Of course, Feng Hui also knew that no matter how frightening these technological weapons were, they were merely decoration. They couldn't do much.

The ones truly guarding the headquarters were the Virtual Universe Company's Universe Masters. They stood high above, looking down upon the vast universe. Wherever they were, there lay the heart of the Human Race.

This is what a man should aspire to, Feng Hui thought to himself.