Inside the Limit Dojo's vast spacecraft headquarters, in a spacious, brightly lit reception room.
Yin Congyang, Hong, Thunder God, and Luo Feng sat around the coffee table, chatting with one another.
After waking, Hong and Thunder God had learned what had happened while they were asleep. Thunder God grinned at Luo Feng. "You sure stole the show this time, kid. Hahaha..."
Then, after exchanging a glance with Hong, the two clasped their fists and bowed to Yin Congyang. "Congyang, it's all thanks to you that we didn't die in our sleep. We can't thank you enough. From now on, we're brothers. We'll support each other and grow stronger together!"
Yin Congyang smiled at them. "You're too kind, Hall Masters. It was nothing. I've always admired what you've done to protect Earth and all your contributions to it. I grew up hearing stories about your deeds. Hahaha..."
Hong and Thunder God both knew that after burning their souls in a desperate battle, their souls had been nearly depleted. Yet when they woke, they found that their soul power had almost fully recovered, and they felt better than ever. Not only was their path of cultivation still open, but they could even go further than before.
As the two strongest people on Earth before, they had seen a lot and understood that Yin Congyang must have given them help akin to rebirth during the process of awakening them. That was the only way they could have returned to their peak condition so soon after waking. Such help had to be extraordinarily rare and expensive; at the very least, they had never encountered anything like it. They were sincerely grateful to Yin Congyang.
Hong looked at Yin Congyang. "You don't have to call me Hall Master. Just call me Brother Hong, like Thunder God does." Thunder God nodded beside him. "Right. Calling us that sounds too formal. From now on, call me Brother Lei. Same goes for you, Luo Feng."
Yin Congyang and Luo Feng exchanged a glance and smiled, then nodded.
After some more joking around, Hong spoke solemnly to the other three. "Thunder God and I both inherited quite a bit of knowledge from ancient civilization ruins. We even learned how to make translation software. You can probably tell that we know a lot about the universe. But the more we learn, the more afraid we become.
"The universe is vast, and there are far too many powerful nations and individuals. If a planet without an owner like Earth is discovered, it'll be a nightmare!"
Thunder God nodded. "It really would be a nightmare. There are a few possible outcomes. First, Earth could become some powerful being's territory. Second, it could become a slave planet, and everyone here would be sold into slavery. Then they'd sell Earth, too..."
"So," Hong concluded, "we need to unite, cultivate together, and spar with each other. That's the only way to grow stronger faster. And only the strong can protect their planet and their home."
At that moment, Luo Feng was talking with Babata in his mind.
After a while, Luo Feng interrupted their conversation and said seriously, "I have something to tell you. Brother Hong, Brother Lei, Congyang, please think it over!"
Thunder God widened his eyes. "What's with the serious tone?"
"Here's the thing. I once received an inheritance from a lineage that included cultivation methods for both Spiritual Masters and warriors. But this lineage strictly forbids passing its secrets on to outsiders, and I can't go against that. So I wanted to ask if you'd be willing to join the lineage I belong to and cultivate with me."
Yin Congyang's heart stirred. Joining the Yunmo Star Lineage didn't sound like a bad idea.
"What kind of organization is it?" Hong asked. "What are the requirements?"
"What kind of sect is it?" Thunder God asked. "What are its rules?"
"Would we have to leave Earth?" Yin Congyang asked as well.
"Right now, I'm the only one left in the sect," Luo Feng said.
"Then there's no question. Of course I'll join!" Thunder God's eyes widened. "I thought joining a sect meant becoming someone's underling or cannon fodder. But if it's a sect with only you in it, then I'm definitely joining."
Hong and Yin Congyang were just as enthusiastic.
"My lineage belongs to the Yunmo Star Lineage," Luo Feng said with a smile. "Don't tell anyone when we leave here. The entire Yunmo Star was destroyed by its enemies, after all. Announcing that we belong to it would be asking for trouble."
Yin Congyang, Hong, and Thunder God looked at each other and laughed.
Yin Congyang suddenly grew serious. "There's one problem with this!"
Luo Feng and the other two were taken aback by his serious expression. Thunder God asked, "Congyang, what's the problem?"
Yin Congyang's solemn expression instantly crumbled. "...Luo Feng joined first, didn't he? Doesn't that mean we'll all have to call him Senior Brother?"
"..." Hong and Thunder God said at the same time, "Yeah, that really is a problem!"
Luo Feng gave a helpless laugh. "Let's each call things as we like. You can call me Luo Feng if you want, or Senior Brother if you want. I'll answer either way. Hahaha..."
Luo Feng called Babata out and introduced him to the three of them. It was the first time any of them had seen an Intelligent Lifeform, and they were all amazed.
Babata excitedly officiated the ceremony inducting the three into the Yunmo Star Lineage. It was simple but solemn. He couldn't help feeling both proud and sad. Boss, oh, Boss, I've found three more talented disciples for the Yunmo Star Lineage. Too bad you can't see them...
After the ceremony, Babata gave Yin Congyang, Hong, and Thunder God some basic cultivation manuals for warriors from the Yunmo Star Lineage.
The three stared at the manuals on their communication wristband screens, completely absorbed.
"Good heavens, so that's how you generate force," Thunder God murmured. "I was wrong. Compared with this, my Nine Layers of Thunder Blade is nowhere near as good."
"So that's how it works!" Hong's eyes shone as he read the manuals, utterly engrossed.
Yin Congyang was just as absorbed in the manuals on the screen. Before this, aside from the Thirty-Six Heaven-Opening Axes, all the other things he'd learned could be called second-rate at best. Now he was looking at manuals passed down through the Yunmo Star Inheritance for millions of years. Though these were only basic manuals, basics were exactly what suited him as a Planetary Level cultivator. It remained to be seen whether he could even understand higher-level manuals, and studying them might only hinder his progress by encouraging him to take on too much too soon.
Babata's projection stood nearby and said, "The foundation of cultivation is the most important thing. If you try to advance as quickly as possible right from the start, your foundation will be unstable. Later, when you try to break through from Planetary Level to Stellar Level, or from Stellar Level to Universe Level, it'll become extremely difficult. Your foundation has to be solid... Are any of you even listening to me?"
Seeing that Babata was about to lose his temper, Yin Congyang tore his gaze away from the screen on his wristband and said helplessly, "Babata, Brother Hong and Brother Lei were already martial arts grandmasters on Earth decades ago. Of course they know how important a solid foundation is. As for me, I'm confident that my foundation during the Apprentice stage is very solid. Most importantly, we all have Domains. It's impossible to comprehend a Domain without a solid foundation!"
"What?" Luo Feng cried out in shock. Hong and Thunder God also turned to look.
"What? You have a Domain too?" Babata shrieked. "How is that possible? How could a tiny place like Earth produce three Planetary Level cultivators with Domains? Especially since you're only at Planetary Level One. This is, this is simply..."
Luo Feng asked him enviously, "You really comprehended a Domain?" In his mind, a little version of himself shouted, I'm already Stellar Level Three, and I still haven't comprehended one!
Seeing how strongly they and Babata were reacting, Yin Congyang said nothing. He paused for a moment, and wisps of golden secret patterns rippled around him. "After my breakthrough, I cultivated for the first time and naturally comprehended my Domain. Of course, I'd been stuck at the Conception Level for a long time before that!"
Luo Feng stared at the golden secret patterns and murmured, "It's a Domain of Gold..."
Babata had been standing there dumbfounded for a while now, raging inwardly. Something's wrong with Earth. There must be some secret here that I don't know about!
Hong and Thunder God's eyes shone, too. They had gained a whole new understanding of this younger brother they'd met for the first time today. From now on, we're not alone!
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