Xueluo World

"Beep."

A notification sounded in the room.

Then a voice came through.

"Li Dui, the ship is about to arrive at the Primordial Secret Realm. We'll make the Cosmic Shuttle in twenty minutes."

Li Dui opened his eyes and couldn't help shaking his head. The universe was just too vast. Even a casual trip somewhere meant spending fifteen months aboard a ship.

And this was an F9-Grade Spaceship capable of traveling at fifty times the speed of light. If he'd used his own E9-Grade Spaceship, which could only reach a little over eight times the speed of light, the journey would have taken more than ninety months.

He got up and headed for the ship's control room. A tall woman with a lightning-shaped mark between her brows gave him a calm nod in greeting.

Li Dui, by contrast, bowed slightly. "Your Highness."

That was right—she was a World Lord Level member of the Mad Axe Secret Realm. Her status and standing were both higher than Li Dui's.

She had come to see him off as part of a mission.

After a short wait, the ship trembled slightly.

The tall female World Lord said softly, "Activate the virtual exterior."

The view around them shifted. Far away, a magnificent, colossal palace floated in the void.

Li Dui couldn't hide his astonishment. He'd been in this world for many years now and had seen his fair share.

But a palace this enormous was simply overwhelming. Massive cities and floating continents were impressive too, yet they couldn't deliver the same immediate impact as a single structure like this.

"This is the Heavenly Eclipse Palace. A great being from the Virtual Universe Company is cultivating here, guarding the Xueluo World."

"You're going to the Xueluo World on a mission. If you encounter a danger you can't withstand, find a way to escape. If you manage to fly out of the Xueluo World, someone will naturally ensure your safety."

"I'll see you this far. Take your own ship to the Xueluo World."

Though the tall female World Lord was cool in her manner, she still told him what he needed to know.

The cabin door opened.

Li Dui smiled. "Thank you, Your Highness."

He turned and flew out of the cabin. After marveling once more at the magnificent palace, he looked down at the boundless continent, its farthest reaches hidden by clouds, meteorites, and debris.

The Xueluo World was, of course, much larger than the Heavenly Eclipse Palace. But a palace was clearly man-made, whereas a continent felt like a celestial body. They gave him entirely different impressions.

Li Dui waved his hand and released his ship, then went inside.

"Activate camouflage. Make us look like one of the countless meteorites here," Li Dui ordered Xiao Le.

"Understood, Master. Camouflage is in progress. Shall we set off now?"

"Go. Let me know when we're near the edge of the cloud layer." Li Dui closed his eyes and steadied himself.

Before coming to this world, he'd never even killed a chicken. At most, he'd stepped on a few bugs.

Since arriving here, he hadn't actually killed any living creature either. But he had his predecessor's memories to fall back on, and he'd fought countless times in the Virtual Universe. He'd beheaded opponents, stabbed them through the heart, chopped off their hands, broken their legs, and split them in two. He'd also been killed by opponents countless times.

He'd thought that, when necessary, he wouldn't fear killing or danger. But now, at the very moment he was about to face it all for real, he felt strangely uneasy.

That was right—it wasn't exactly fear. He just felt uneasy. And that unease only strengthened his resolve to face it all.

This world was exceedingly dangerous. If he wanted to live freely, he had to become strong. And to become strong, he had to get used to surviving in dangerous conditions.

About three hours later, Xiao Le woke Li Dui. The ship was nearing the outer cloud layer.

It flew on for a little longer before Li Dui told Xiao Le to stop. He flew out, stored the ship in his storage space, and plunged straight into the clouds.

A tremendous force of attraction dragged him rapidly downward.

The information had said that the Xueluo World had eighteen layers of clouds. The higher the layer, the greater the pressure. One had to be at least Universe Rank to fly through the eighteenth layer.

A little over ten minutes later, Li Dui began resisting the pull of gravity to slow his descent.

When he finally broke through the lowest cloud layer and truly entered the Xueluo World, he looked like a warrior who'd just finished cultivating in the clouds and was seeking a place to rest.

Li Dui lowered his altitude at an unhurried pace.

A calm river flowed below, with lush forests lining both banks.

He descended to about three hundred meters above the water, already lower than most of the trees on either side. He planned to follow the river downstream. Sooner or later, he'd come across a human settlement.

He felt both nervous and excited. More than anything, he felt free.

In Chaos City and the Battle Axe Secret Realm, he'd been safe.

But there were always powerful figures looming over him. He couldn't let loose, constantly afraid that his secret would be exposed.

Here, on the other hand, no one knew who he was. If he had to, he could do whatever he wanted.

He could always run afterward.

What if he couldn't get away? Then he'd run for his life!

And if he really couldn't escape, he'd just die. Exciting, right?

Damn, it was exciting!

Li Dui might have had some reckless thoughts, but he was actually quite cautious. Ever since entering the cloud layer, he'd kept in contact with Ring. It had taken him quite a while to figure out how to do that.

He'd taken a look from above earlier. The forest stretched for some twenty to thirty thousand kilometers in every direction.

Desolate Beasts roamed the forest, mostly ordinary ones, though there were Planet Rank beasts as well. The gravity on the Xueluo Continent was immense. One had to reach at least Star Rank to fly.

He'd flown for more than ten minutes without encountering a single Desolate Beast foolish enough to pick a fight. He was wondering whether he should take the initiative and kill a few to get some practice. He'd spent thirty years training hard and learned plenty of skills, yet had never had a chance to use them.

Just then, distant clamor reached him from the forest to his front right.

Curious, Li Dui picked up speed and veered in that direction. As he drew nearer, he could faintly hear people speaking in one of the common languages of the Xueluo World, which he'd studied. The Xueluo World was vast, with dozens of common languages. Li Dui had learned twenty-two of them.

It turned out to be a hunting party out to kill Desolate Beasts in the forest. They were fighting a group of the beasts.

Li Dui flew over and landed on a large tree not far from the battlefield. He watched the fight below with interest.

There were more than twenty humans: two at Star Level Nine—called Sky Rank here—one at Sky Rank Seven, and about twenty young people at Earth Rank, or Planet Rank.

Their opponents were more than a dozen Desolate Beasts with manes circling their heads and faces resembling civets.

The largest beast was being attacked by the two Star Level Nine fighters. They worked well together: one wielded a long spear and focused on offense, while the other carried a large shield and focused on defense. The beast already had several wounds, and blood ran down its body.

The twenty-odd young people were locked in battle with the dozen or so beasts. Nearby, a Star Rank Seven expert stood guard, and their side had the upper hand.

Li Dui's arrival caught the attention of the three Star Rank fighters. The one with the least to do, the Star Rank Seven expert, eyed him warily and edged a little closer in his direction.

Li Dui smiled.

He knew they were afraid he'd steal their kills, so he didn't take it to heart. He was thinking about something else: Should I save them in a moment, or just watch them die?