Virtual Universe Company

Half a year later, a pitch-black spaceship radiating a cold, dim light descended onto Ancient God Star, the headquarters of the Axe Fighting Arena in the Gulun Cosmic Kingdom.

Gazing at the three-hundred-meter-long giant vessel before him, Gulanxiu's eyes flickered with excitement as he strode quickly to meet it.

The spaceship's hatch opened, and a Domain Lord who closely resembled an Earthling stepped out, saying to Gulanxiu, "You're Gulanxiu? Get on board! We've been ordered to take you to the Initial Universe."

Gulanxiu hurriedly followed and entered the ship. Once inside, the Domain Lord, clearly disinclined to engage in much conversation, pointed to a room and said, "Your room is there. You can cultivate on your own inside. To reach the Initial Universe, we need to pass through the Virtual Universe Company. From here to the Company's headquarters will take about a year. I'll notify you when we arrive. Don't wander around the ship unless necessary—it wouldn't be good to disturb Lord Kasidela's cultivation."

Gulanxiu nodded and walked toward the room the Domain Lord had indicated. He wasn't bothered by the Domain Lord's aloofness; after all, he was merely a member of the Fourth Secret Realm of the Axe Fighting Arena, so his treatment naturally couldn't match Luo Feng's from the original story.

The ship's supervisor, Kasidela, was also a Fourth Secret Realm World Lord. It was understandable that he wouldn't pay much attention to a newly joined Fourth Secret Realm Universe-level member—after all, he was a World Lord, and it was common for a Universe-level to fall along the path of growth. In his eyes, Gulanxiu likely didn't have the qualifications to stand on the same level as him yet.

Honestly, Gulanxiu felt amazed at his own luck. Running into a World Lord as kind as Cal to supervise his final battle was truly fortunate.

Of course, compared to the unfortunate centuries before, this probably counted as a turn for the better.

Just then, Gulanxiu received another email from the Axe Fighting Arena.

"Gulanxiu! Congratulations on joining the Axe Fighting Arena. From now on, you are granted access to the Axe Mountain, the virtual headquarters of the Axe Fighting Arena. As a Fourth Secret Realm member, you may only move within the Fourth Secret Realm area and public zones. Additionally, as a Fourth Secret Realm member of the Company, you have an initial reward of one hundred points and one hundred mixed units, which you can use to purchase cultivation resources and techniques in the mall. Note that points are precious—use them wisely!"

Gulanxiu casually browsed the mall and couldn't help but gasp inwardly. The dazzling array of goods made his mouth water, but a glance at his pitiful one hundred points made him think better of it.

Good steel should be used on the blade's edge. Since he was already poor, he shouldn't waste money blindly. Besides, he didn't have a knowledgeable intelligent lifeform like Babata to guide him, nor did he know what suited him best. He'd wait until he reached Chaos City and had a chance to meet more experts before seeking their advice.

In the blink of an eye, another year passed. One day, while cultivating, Gulanxiu suddenly felt the ship jolt as it returned to the original universe. He couldn't help but activate the external view mode to observe the outside world.

Before him stretched an endless continent. Even the largest celestial body he had ever seen, Ancient God Star, was but a speck in its presence. Though he knew from the original story that the Virtual Universe Company's headquarters was a continent, seeing it with his own eyes still left him awestruck.

The spaceship Gulanxiu was on flew at sub-light speed for several minutes at the continent's entrance before finally stopping.

The Domain Lord who had received Gulanxiu earlier said to him, "Gulanxiu! This is the Virtual Universe Company's headquarters. Once you get off, someone will receive you and arrange your entry into the Initial Universe. Alright, you can go now."

Gulanxiu didn't mind the Domain Lord's coldness. Smiling, he thanked him and stepped off the ship. From start to finish, he never saw the ship's captain, Kasidela.

No sooner had he disembarked than a Universe-level man in uniform approached and said to Gulanxiu, "You're Gulanxiu from the Axe Fighting Arena, right? Follow me—I'll take you to the hall to wait."

Gulanxiu nodded and said, "Thank you!"

With that, he followed the uniformed man through a breathtaking starry tunnel and into a grand hall.

The uniformed man said to Gulanxiu, "Gulanxiu! Wait here for now. Once enough people have gathered, a ship will take you to the Initial Universe. Remember, no fighting is allowed in the hall. Of course, everyone here is an expert except you, the only Universe-level, so you probably won't start anything. Alright, I'll take my leave now. Good luck!"

Gulanxiu nodded, then looked around the hall. Dozens of people were already seated inside, each exuding powerful auras. By Gulanxiu's estimation, they were at least World Lord-level experts. At the center of the hall sat two super-strong individuals whose presence sent chills down his spine.

From their auras and the way some people treated them, those two were likely Undying Gods.

This secretly startled Gulanxiu. He had thought that Undying Gods would get private transport—after all, in the Domain Battlefield, Undying Gods could board ships without queuing.

He hadn't expected that even ordinary Undying Gods had to wait in line to go to the Initial Universe.

Still, faced with a room full of experts, Gulanxiu, being a small fry, wisely walked to an inconspicuous corner and sat down.

The experts in the hall reacted differently to Gulanxiu's arrival. The two Undying Gods remained motionless, not even opening their eyes.

Some of the World Lord experts glanced at him and dismissed him. Others, noticing he was only a Universe-level, showed a flicker of surprise in their eyes.

A few World Lords even wore expressions of envy when they saw Gulanxiu.

After all, many of these World Lords had paid a huge price at auctions to secure a spot to comprehend the Initial Universe.

Some had staked everything, selling off their entire fortunes for a chance to break through to Undying.

Seeing a mere Universe-level kid able to go with them to cultivate in the Initial Universe—how could they not be envious?

Moreover, most of them had participated in genius battles and expert competitions when they were young, so they knew full well what kind of talent it took to be recruited by the five major powers at the Universe-level.

The World Lords from the five major powers didn't pay much attention to Gulanxiu's presence, but those who had bought their spots at auctions clearly understood that Gulanxiu's talent far surpassed theirs, and if he became a World Lord in the future, his strength would exceed theirs as well.

Still, for various reasons, none of these World Lords came over to strike up a conversation.

Three days later, as Gulanxiu sat with his eyes closed in meditation, he suddenly felt a powerful aura surging from the corridor. An icy chill ran through his body, his breathing grew difficult, and even his blood seemed to freeze.

The overwhelming pressure even caused faint traces of blood to seep from Gulanxiu's skin.

Just then, a gentle voice rang out: "Haha! Blood Spirit! Have you just returned from the Star Domain Battlefield?"