The Barbarian Hammer King Bestows a Treasure

A world of flowing water-blue, Yunmiao, dressed in white like a celestial maiden, glanced at Bafen's email and promptly dismissed it from her mind. The fifth layer of the Sky Bridge was nothing to warrant her serious attention.

Within the Original Secret Realm of the Virtual Universe Company, Xiusite stared grimly at the email before him, exclaiming in shock, "Gulanxiu actually passed the fifth layer? How is that possible?"

He knew the time flow in the Initial Universe differed from the real universe. Thirty years had passed since he left the Initial Universe, and in that time he had undertaken a training mission and gained some opportunities, yet even so, he had no confidence in passing the fifth layer of the Sky Bridge. Gulanxiu had entered Chaos City later than him, broken through the third layer slower than him, and now, before even finishing his training in Chaos City, had already surpassed him—how could this not shock him!

His face dark, he muttered, "Gulanxiu isn't worth worrying about. He's from the Axe Fighting Arena after all; no matter how strong he gets, he can't threaten me. What I need to worry about is the Secret Realm qualification battle a hundred years from now. Our Original Secret Realm currently has four Cosmic-level members. Besides me and Yunmiao, the other two are at the seventh layer. If I don't push hard, I'll almost certainly drop to the Primordial Secret Realm. Once I lose access to the Original Secret Realm's resources, clawing my way back will be tough."

"Those training missions definitely hide big secrets... Should I take a gamble?"

With that, his gaze settled on the desperate-level missions, thinking about risking it all for a bigger payoff.

Bafen's email wasn't sent just to the two of them; it went to all core Cosmic-level personnel in the Axe Fighting Arena.

The geniuses of the Fourth Secret Realm were only mildly surprised that a newcomer who had just joined the core layer had already passed the fifth layer, and soon they stopped caring.

After all, as fellow Fourth Secret Realm members, Gulanxiu posed no conflict of interest with them. The ones who should worry were the geniuses of the Third and Second Secret Realms. Though Gulanxiu might not yet be a match for the seasoned veterans of those realms, he had already shown considerable potential. Once his strength improved further, he would inevitably challenge upward.

The lower-ranked geniuses of the Second and Third Secret Realms also felt a pang of urgency. If Gulanxiu truly challenged them and won, they would drop to the Fourth Secret Realm, and getting back would be incredibly difficult!

After all, challengers only acted when they were confident in both aspects, and the gap between geniuses in the same Secret Realm wasn't huge. With the front-runners having the right to choose, those behind faced far greater difficulty challenging upward than those defending their positions.

If Gulanxiu did challenge, he would naturally target the lower-ranked geniuses in the same Secret Realm—after all, with equal rewards, you pick the softest persimmon.

As for the three Cosmic-level members of the Axe Secret Realm, they paid little attention to Gulanxiu. Each of them had their own trump cards to hold their ground in the Axe Secret Realm. In their eyes, Gulanxiu challenging them anytime soon would be nothing short of overreaching.

Gulanxiu had no idea about the ripples caused by his passing of the fifth layer of the Sky Bridge. Even if he did, he wouldn't care—after all, he had only gotten through by taking a shortcut. In terms of real strength, he ranked somewhere in the middle to lower end of the Fourth Secret Realm.

With only a few days left before leaving Chaos City, Gulanxiu planned to go comprehend the Chaos Tablet one last time. Once he left, his next visit would only come when he broke through to Domain Lord.

After bidding farewell to Barbarian Hammer King, Gulanxiu once again entered the City Lord's Mansion to comprehend the Chaos Tablet!

Having fully grasped all the variations of the first axe, Gulanxiu skipped it this time and directly began studying the second axe.

Seven days passed in the blink of an eye. Gulanxiu reluctantly left the City Lord's Mansion and returned to Barbarian Hammer King's residence.

Barbarian Hammer King said to Gulanxiu, "Gulanxiu! You've completed your full thirty years of training in Chaos City and are about to leave. I've seen your hard work all these years, and your progress has barely met my requirements. As promised, your master has a gift for you!"

With that, he handed over a World Ring.

Gulanxiu quickly replied, "Thank you, Master!"

Without standing on ceremony, he took the ring and swept it with his divine sense, finding a golden dragon inside. Judging by its aura, it was at the Domain Lord level.

Gulanxiu asked in confusion, "Master, what is this?"

Barbarian Hammer King smiled and said, "This is a metallic auxiliary lifeform called Heavy Metal Stym. After bonding, it will form an armor covering your entire body. Though it takes the shape of armor, it doesn't provide much defensive power."

He paused, then continued, "Its real function is to grant you attack power equal to its own level! For example, right now it's at Domain Lord Ninth Stage, so once you wear it, you'll have the combat power of a Domain Lord Ninth Stage. As long as you have enough resources, it can continue to evolve. In theory, its foundation can reach Marquis-level Immortal, which is ten thousand times the power of a Realm Lord. At the same time, when you wear it, its aura will mask yours. Even if you're at Cosmic Level, others will perceive you as a Domain Lord."

Gulanxiu's eyes lit up. "It's that strong? Are there any limitations? Can it be upgraded?"

Barbarian Hammer King shook his head with a smile. "Of course there are limits. It can't fool a Universe Venerable. And while it can be upgraded, matching a Marquis-level Immortal is its ceiling. The resources needed to upgrade it to Marquis-level Immortal exceed my entire net worth. Practically no Marquis-level can afford it, and those who can afford it look down on the power it provides. Over time, this thing became a white elephant."

Gulanxiu nodded and asked, "Master, how do I bond with it?"

Barbarian Hammer King chuckled. "Just blood-bond it. Metallic lifeforms are still life, but their intelligence is basically zero, so the bonding method is simple."

Hearing this, Gulanxiu immediately checked the price of Heavy Metal Stym through the virtual universe.

When he saw the price of five million contribution points, his heart skipped a beat!

He hadn't expected it to be this expensive—the price was equivalent to the entire wealth of a Marquis-level Immortal.

Barbarian Hammer King laughed. "What are you standing there for? Give it a try!"

Gulanxiu shook his head. "Master, this is too precious!"

Barbarian Hammer King waved dismissively. "You're my only disciple. Of course I'll give you the best training resources. Don't overthink it. The price of this thing means nothing to me. The real cost is upgrading it later. I can provide resources to get it to peak Realm Lord at most. Beyond that, you'll have to work for it yourself."

Hearing this, Gulanxiu stopped being polite. He immediately blood-bonded the lifeform, silently vowing in his heart that if he ever became a true powerhouse, he would repay his master well.