Hidden Plan (Part 1)

Slow comprehension?

Fine, I won't play with you anymore.

Li Dui made up his mind. He couldn't advance to Domain Lord rank just yet.

Besides, his previous comprehension speed had been so fast it even scared Li Dui himself.

Think about it—when did Luo Feng receive the acknowledgment of the Space Origin?

Li Dui couldn't remember the exact details. But he was certain that before entering the Star Tower, it absolutely hadn't happened.

At that time, Luo Feng was around eight or nine thousand years old and had been a World Lord for many years. And let's be clear, Luo Feng during his World Lord phase was utterly monstrous.

Originally, Li Dui had planned not to touch any laws beyond Earth and Void until he reached World Lord.

Plans never keep up with changes.

Now that the Law of Space was stuck, he'd go play with the Law of Time instead, Li Dui thought to himself.

Not just the Law of Time—he'd also dabble in the other Lower Laws when he had the chance.

This decision meant that for a certain period, Li Dui's combat power ceiling wouldn't rise.

Not that it really mattered. As he'd said before, if his body was too frail, high output was meaningless.

He left half his mind to comprehend the Origin Law of Time.

Just as he got into the groove, Xiao Le reminded him that he'd received an email from the Giant Axe Martial Arena system.

Li Dui glanced at it. There were already seven unread messages—all points distribution emails. He opened them one by one.

"Congratulations, Li Dui. You have cleared the fifth floor of the Heavenly Bridge, earning 1,600 points. We hope you continue to strive and clear the sixth floor soon."

"Congratulations, Li Dui. You have cleared the sixth floor of the Heavenly Bridge, earning 3,200 points. We hope you continue to strive and clear the seventh floor soon."

Seventh floor: 6,400 points. Eighth floor: 12,800 points. Each floor doubled. In total, Li Dui had earned 203,200 points. Adding the 800 points from the fourth floor long ago, his total points came to 207,528.

Oh, not bad.

He opened the newly arrived email.

"Li Dui, member of the Battle Axe Secret Realm. In recognition of your outstanding performance, and upon the application of your supervising Venerable, the Giant Axe Martial Arena hereby upgrades your system permissions effective immediately. From Battle Axe Secret Realm Universe Rank permissions to God Origin Secret Realm Domain Lord Rank permissions."

Wow, there was a bonus like this? Originally, Li Dui had planned that when he needed to upgrade Xi to World Lord, he'd clear Battle Axe Heavenly Mountain and Mad Axe Heavenly Mountain, fighting his way into the Mad Axe Secret Realm.

Not for any other reason—in the Mad Axe Secret Realm, exchanging items with points came at a 20% discount.

Now it was settled. No need to stir up trouble. The God Origin Secret Realm offered a 30% discount on exchanges. Venerable Meng Yu really came through. And she'd given him Domain Lord rank permissions. Domain Lord and Universe Rank had the same discount, but when it came to checking data or buying things, the permissions were far higher than Universe Rank.

Li Dui noted this favor.

He casually started searching for treasures that could boost the gene multiplier of Universe Rank beings.

As expected, the information was pitifully scarce. A few scattered sentences, all vague and off-topic.

That was just how it was. You couldn't just type in two keywords and find it. You had to sift through a sea of information to pick it out. Some came from secret realm introductions, some from mission world data, and some from footnotes when describing certain items. And they were all shrouded in mystery, as if afraid you'd figure it out.

Forget it. No need to rush. He'd look into it slowly. Li Dui settled his mind and earnestly began comprehending the Law of Time.

The clone in the clouds slowed its descent and headed downward.

Virtual Universe, a luxurious private room.

"Oh!" In front of the massive floor-to-ceiling window, Qianshui raised her arms and cheered.

Looking down from the window, you could see tens of millions of seats packed tightly together, and the enormous arena in the middle of them.

At that moment, the seats were nearly full, and most of the audience was just like Qianshui—wildly shouting.

Li Dui was a bit speechless. This thing was called Tabo, a competitive sport vaguely similar to soccer or basketball. Thirty players on each side engaged in fierce combat. It was popular in some cosmic nations.

The match currently underway was a high-level one, with Universe Rank contestants.

Qianshui's cosmic nation was crazy about this stuff. She'd been watching it since she was a kid and loved it.

Li Dui and Luliduo had accompanied her to watch it many times.

"Shuiniu, I'm out. I'll take off first—got things to do today." The match would still take hours to finish. And ten minutes ago, in reality, his body had recovered to peak condition. Li Dui couldn't wait any longer.

Qianshui shot him a glare. "You just don't like watching Tabo with me. Go on, get out of here."

Li Dui laughed heartily, waved to Luliduo, and vanished on the spot.

Today's business was important. He couldn't afford to be careless.

After recovering from the damage of creating his first clone, Li Dui had almost nonstop created four more clones in succession.

Now, four clones and his true body were placed in two World Rings.

Creating clones required full concentration—no distractions. Li Dui had even stopped hunting City Lords, focusing entirely on finishing them all first.

The spacecraft hatch opened.

The triple-gene clone flew out, equipped with a full set of gear Li Dui had bought from the Giant Axe Martial Arena.

Send a report to the docking account of Heavenly Eclipse Palace. The content is a request for the spacecraft to exit for resupply.

Li Dui's training mission is not yet complete. Unless he finishes the mission or abandons it, no one else can leave here.

The person stays, but the spacecraft leaves.

In the past, a mere fringe secret realm member like him might not have been acknowledged. Now, though, he should have that much face.

He's been in the Xueluo World for decades now. Claiming his supplies have run out is reasonable. After so many years on a mission in such a dangerous place, shouldn't he be allowed to restock some favorite food and drink to relax?

A reply comes quickly, permitting the spacecraft to leave the secret realm after inspection.

The spacecraft accelerates toward the spaceport. Only there can it perform a universe transition.

About three hours later, the spacecraft reaches the designated position.

Li Dui's heart tightens. This step must not go wrong. If it does, his entire plan will have to start over.

Ten seconds pass. Li Dui feels each second like a year.

Ding. An email arrives. "Transition permitted."

"Got it!" Li Dui's heart surges with joy. Success. From now on, he is a bird freed from its cage, a small fish leaping into the vast sea.

His clone floats in the void. Li Dui acts completely normal. He looks cautious—his spacecraft is gone, and he doesn't enter the Xueluo World.

The spacecraft, approaching ten times the speed of light, can fly over two hundred thousand light-years in a single day in the Dark Universe. A trip to a commercial planet outside the secret realm won't take many days.

Dark Universe.

The spacecraft maintains eight times the speed of light, moving neither hurried nor slow. Xiao Le stays connected to Li Dui through the Virtual Universe.

Li Dui previously issued a command to it, requiring Xiao Le to transition back to the Original Universe 0.00003 seconds early, then fly toward the destination at sub-light speed.

The auxiliary AI naturally executes without hesitation.

Generally speaking, when a spacecraft transitions between universes, timing must be extremely precise. The speed ratio between the Dark Universe and the Original Universe is as high as 1:10,081,000.

For example, Li Dui's spacecraft at eight times light speed should transition from the Dark Universe back to the Original Universe after 20 seconds. But if it transitions one second early, that one second in the Original Universe would require flying for 10,081,000 seconds—over 115 days.

And that's not all. Because the spacecraft in the Dark Universe is at eight times light speed, in the Original Universe it can only fly at sub-light speed at most. Reaching light speed would trigger another transition.

"Master, the spacecraft is about to arrive. It will transition as planned."

"Master, the spacecraft has returned to the Original Universe."

"Master, the spacecraft will fly at sub-light speed and arrive at Ousai Planet in approximately 50 minutes."

"Master, arriving at Ousai Planet in 30 minutes."

"Master, arriving at Ousai Planet in 10 minutes."

"Observe the surroundings. Prepare to execute the predetermined plan." Li Dui gives the order.