Sure enough, after checking into it, Yan God Clan had indeed broken away from the Human Race—and they had done so a long time ago.
Yan Ning stared at the email from Golden Feather Venerable, his expression grave.
Golden Feather Venerable was his teacher, a High Universe Venerable and an ancient being as old as Ganwu Kingdom Lord.
He opened the email.
As expected, it was a message from Golden Feather Venerable telling him to return to Chaos City.
The email showed that it had been sent nearly a hundred thousand eras ago.
"A hundred thousand eras... I was asleep for that long?"
Yan Ning was stunned.
In the world of Swallowed Star, time spanned vast stretches. A hundred thousand eras might not be that long for an Undying, but it was still enough to change many things.
He quickly checked the public information in the Virtual Universe and soon confirmed it.
Yan God Clan was no longer part of the Human Race!
According to the records, within tens of thousands of years after Yan Ning fell asleep, Emperor Yan had suddenly announced that he was leading Yan God Clan out of the Human Race.
The Virtual Universe Company had sent several Universe Venerables to negotiate, but Emperor Yan had stood firm and even seriously injured a Human Race Venerable.
In the end, the Human Race's upper ranks had been enraged. They declared Yan God Clan a hostile force and ordered the pursuit of all its powerful members.
"This is trouble..."
Yan Ning furrowed his brow.
His position was extremely delicate. He was a member of Yan God Clan, and Yan God Clan had betrayed humanity.
On top of that, he had been asleep for nearly a hundred thousand eras without a word.
It was an incredibly awkward situation. He couldn't exactly go join Yan God Clan—that would be a complete trap. He still wanted to live his perfect life.
He'd have to be an idiot to go follow that moron, Emperor Yan.
"The Virtual Universe Company still hasn't revoked my access. That means they haven't declared me a traitor."
Yan Ning analyzed the situation calmly.
For now, he could only contact his teacher.
Yan Ning quickly composed an email in the Virtual Universe System and sent it to Golden Feather Venerable.
"Teacher, your disciple Yan Ning has returned. I encountered a Demon Sealing King Limit in the Outer Domain Battlefield and was gravely injured, falling into a coma until I awoke today. I know nothing about what happened with Yan God Clan, and I'm willing to go to Chaos City immediately to be investigated."
After sending the email, he waited quietly.
Only a moment later, the Virtual Universe System notified him that Golden Feather Venerable had replied.
"Come to Chaos City at once."
The five brief words made Yan Ning breathe a little easier.
"Looks like my teacher is still willing to trust me."
He didn't hesitate. He immediately used Divine Kingdom Teleportation to travel to Chaos City.
Primordial Universe · Chaos City.
Yan Ning stepped inside again for the first time in a hundred thousand eras.
Chaos City, the ancient city suspended in the Primordial Universe, was just as magnificent as he remembered.
The moment he entered Chaos City—
"Ding! Congratulations, host, on entering Chaos City. Check-in System activated."
"Ding! Congratulations, host, on triggering your first check-in. Base Gene Multiplier ×100."
Boom!
As soon as the system's voice faded—
His body changed instantly!
An indescribably scorching torrent burst forth from the depths of his genes. His five-hundred-meter divine body shuddered violently, and the fiery red patterns beneath every inch of his skin suddenly lit up, flowing like magma.
Yan Ning's pupils constricted. He could clearly feel every cell in his body frantically dividing and recombining.
His Gene Level, already as high as 48 times, was now climbing at a terrifying rate!
Crack! Crack! Crack!
His bones boomed, and his body swelled out of control, shooting up from five hundred meters to nearly a thousand!
He hurriedly tried to control his growth!
His fiery red armor creaked as it stretched, while the secret patterns on his horn blazed with dazzling light.
"Damn it, this is too much commotion!"
Yan Ning dropped to one knee and slammed a fist into the ground of Chaos City, trying to steady himself.
But the energy of his genetic evolution was far too violent. The space within a thousand meters of him rippled visibly.
This was definitely more than just a hundredfold increase.
What the hell!!
Now he understood. Each evolution of Yan God Clan was equivalent to one tribulation of the Nine Stages Secret Manual: an evolution based on the original foundation.
And now, his base Gene Multiplier had been multiplied a hundredfold!
That meant his Gene Multiplier had increased a hundredfold too!!
So his current Gene Multiplier was... 4,800 times!!
Straight to the top!!
But this commotion...
Damn it, system! You couldn't have waited until later? You just had to activate the moment he entered Chaos City.
Hadn't the Chaos City Lord seen the whole thing?
There was nothing he could do now. He'd just have to grit his teeth and go see his teacher first.
He shrank his body to normal human size.
Yan Ning headed for Golden Feather Venerable's residence.
As a Universe Venerable, Golden Feather Venerable had the right to live in Chaos City permanently.
He arrived at Golden Feather Venerable's residence, a grand hall of gleaming gold.
He pushed open the doors with practiced ease.
Inside the hall, Golden Feather Venerable stood with his back to him, hands clasped behind him. His blue-gold wings spread slightly, radiating a faint pressure.
"Teacher."
Yan Ning bowed respectfully.
Golden Feather Venerable slowly turned around. His gaze was as sharp as a blade as he looked Yan Ning up and down. After a moment, the corner of his mouth lifted in a faint smile. "You little rascal. A hundred thousand eras gone, and you come back making this much of a fuss?"
Yan Ning gave an awkward laugh. "It was an accident, purely an accident..."
Golden Feather Venerable snorted. "Do you know that when you went missing, I nearly thought you'd been enslaved by the Alien Race?"
Yan Ning blinked. "Enslaved?"
"What else?"
Golden Feather Venerable shot him a glare.
"Yan God Clan has a special talent, but its soul defenses are weak. You're a Sealed King Undying. If the Insect Clan or Mechanical Clan had their eyes on you, being subjected to Soul Enslavement wouldn't have been impossible."
"So..."
He paused, his tone suddenly growing heavier.
"I even asked the Chaos City Lord to Reverse Time and Space to bring you back to life."
Yan Ning's heart trembled.
Reversing time and space to resurrect someone was an incredible technique only a Universe Master could use—and it came at a tremendous cost!
"Teacher..."
His throat tightened.
Golden Feather Venerable waved a hand, his tone lightening again. "But after investigating, the Chaos City Lord discovered that your Life Imprint hadn't vanished, which meant you were still alive, just nowhere to be found. So the Virtual Universe Company kept your access active all these years."
Yan Ning breathed a sigh of relief and smiled. "Looks like your disciple was lucky, then. I didn't make you worry for nothing."
Golden Feather Venerable glanced at him. "Quit flattering me! Tell me, where exactly have you been hiding for the past hundred thousand eras? And..."
His gaze sharpened.
"What was that commotion just now?"
Yan Ning had prepared an answer. He said, half truthfully, "Back then, your disciple encountered a Demon Sealed King Invincible in the Outer Domain Battlefield. I was badly injured and fled, then fell asleep and drifted into a secret realm. I only woke up recently."
"As for my Gene Level..."
He pretended to hesitate.
"While I was asleep, I seem to have undergone some kind of Bloodline Transformation unique to Yan God Clan. When I woke up, I found that my Gene Multiplier had soared. It only fully erupted just now."
Golden Feather Venerable narrowed his eyes. "Soared? How high?"
He knew a little about Yan God Clan's innate abilities. His disciple had previously had a Gene Level of 48 times.
Yan Ning gave a slight cough. "About... 4,800 times?"
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