The Green Pouch Secret Realm

In the pitch-black expanse of space, only a scattering of distant stars glimmered, lending it an air of mystery and tranquility.

After executing Buluo Nolan Mountain and all the members of his squad, Yin Congyang, Hong, and Thunder God flew Buluo's spaceship back to Earth, where they waited for Luo Feng to return after becoming Earth Lord.

Yin Congyang was greatly relieved that they had resolved the Nolan Mountain Family's affairs so easily. At least all the planning he had started more than a year ago hadn't gone to waste.

"Brother Hong, Brother Lei, I know you're eager to venture into the universe," Yin Congyang told them. "Although the Nolan Mountain Family's fleet has withdrawn, Nuolanshan lived for over eighty thousand years. Calling him an old fox would be no exaggeration. Who knows whether he secretly left some people behind? So I suggest you stay on Earth a little longer. With the Planetary Defense System in place, after three months we should at least be able to confirm whether all of Nuolanshan's people have left!"

Hong and Thunder God agreed that Yin Congyang had a point. Besides, they didn't have a spaceship of their own yet. Yin Congyang insisted that they stay another three months so they wouldn't miss the World within a World in Thunder World. That opportunity would determine whether Luo Feng could buy the Yan Shen Armament and obtain a Mo Sha Race clone. If he missed it, there was no telling whether he would still be able to enter the Primordial Secret Realm.

This was the last time Yin Congyang would interfere with their decisions. From then on, their progress would depend on their own opportunities.

He didn't plan to interfere even if Luo Feng was later assassinated on a garbage planet, Hong reached the twentieth island in the Illusion Sea at the Giant Axe Dojo and drew the attention of the Undying Venerable and others, or the Virtual Universe Company later bought half the ownership rights to Earth. Even if the company bought the rights to Earth's oceans, the people living there would, at worst, have to put up with a more stifling existence. If they really couldn't stand it, they could always emigrate. And from another perspective, the deal would make Earth safer. Besides, once Luo Feng—or Yin Congyang himself—reached the pinnacle of the Human Race, they could take the rights back.

Luo Feng returned to Earth soon afterward. The entire incident had been resolved beyond Earth, and the people there, including the various nations, knew nothing about it. That was for the best.

A few days later, Luo Feng took Yin Congyang to Bailan Planet in the Black Dragon Spaceship. Yin Congyang stayed behind alone to wait for the spaceship Ming Yu had arranged, while the others headed back to Earth. After they bade one another farewell, the spaceship lifted off and disappeared into the sky.

Yin Congyang waited less than a day on Bailan Planet before an E9-Grade Spaceship arranged by Ming Yu arrived. Once he boarded, the ship's intelligent system scanned him.

"Beep. Yin Congyang confirmed. Ready for departure."

The spaceship shot into the sky. A few minutes later, it made a Cosmic Shuttle into the Dark Universe.

"Beep."

The screen lit up, and Ming Yu appeared on it.

"Yin Congyang, this spaceship will take you to the Green Pouch Secret Realm, which belongs to the Ganwu Universe Kingdom and lies thirty million light-years from the Black Dragon Mountain Empire. The Special-Class Elite Training Camp of the Virtual Universe Company's Ganwu Branch is located in the Green Pouch Secret Realm. As an external affairs executive, I don't even have clearance to go there, so I know little about the place. The trip will take about seventy-five days. The Virtual Universe Company's AI will control the spaceship directly. When you arrive at the Green Pouch Secret Realm, someone will come to meet you."

Ming Yu added with a meaningful look, "Every Special-Class Elite receives the best and most rigorous training, along with life-and-death trials. How far you go in the future will depend on you..."

"Yes. Thank you, Lord Ming Yu. I'll remember your words," Yin Congyang replied confidently. "I won't let you down!"

"Hahaha..." Ming Yu laughed heartily. "I believe you! I can see in your eyes that you're a man of great resolve. As long as you don't fall along the way, you have a bright future ahead of you! One last piece of advice: competition in the Training Camp is fierce. Don't be softhearted... And make sure you improve your strength as quickly as possible!"

"Thank you for your advice, sir," Yin Congyang said solemnly.

After the call ended, the spaceship continued through the Dark Universe at more than ten times the speed of light. Its AI told Yin Congyang that he was the only passenger. As long as he didn't interfere with the ship's flight, he could do whatever he liked. It had every facility he could need, with food, drink, entertainment, and more.

Yin Congyang ignored the AI and sat in the largest cabin, thinking. My strength is approaching Planetary Level Three. I should reach the third level before I arrive at the Training Camp. Judging by how quickly I advanced during the Apprentice stage, it'll probably take another five or six years to reach Planetary Level Nine. Then I'll need at least another five or six years to reach the limit of the Planetary Level!

That was his physical strength. His Spiritual Force had progressed at about the same rate. The fluctuations in his Dantian were constantly evolving his body and Spiritual Force, but the process accelerated as his physical constitution improved. It was gradual and couldn't be rushed. However, those fluctuations seemed to strengthen his soul faster than his body and Spiritual Force. Yin Congyang could feel his soul and will steadily growing stronger, greatly enhancing his Illusion Technique. Unfortunately, he still hadn't obtained any manuals on illusion techniques. The Black Ink Star inheritance for Spiritual Masters could only be cultivated by Luo Feng, and Babata couldn't help him either.

Recently, Yin Congyang had nearly perfected the first stage of his Gold-Water Mutual Generation Domain. But when he tried to deduce it to the second layer, he ran into a barrier, as if an invisible membrane stood in his way, impossible to pierce. (If your minds wandered, go face the wall.)

He had a theory. The principles and relationships behind the Five Elements' generation and suppression were a crystallization of ancient Huaxia wisdom, but they could also be applied to cultivation laws and Domains. The Law of Space was an upper-level law, and he hadn't come into contact with it yet. But why were the Five Elements the subordinate laws of the Law of Space? Why could the Domain of Gold give rise to the Domain of Water? If he wanted to break through from the first Domain layer to the second, did he have to develop all five elemental Domains and form a perfect Five Elements Domain before he could advance?

It was easy enough to test his theory. Gold generated water, and water generated wood. He only needed to cultivate more in areas related to the Domain of Wood, then enter the Strange Light Point in his Dantian and see whether he could cultivate a Domain of Wood.

Once the idea occurred to him, he acted on it. Over the past few months, he had borrowed plenty of ancient books from Hong. With the strength of his soul, he could glean some insight from them, even though their contents were abstruse and difficult to understand and couldn't be applied wholesale.

He took out the Heaven-Opening Axe and began practicing his axe techniques in the cabin, spreading his Gold-Water Mutual Generation Domain over a small area as he repeatedly performed the Thirty-Six Heaven-Opening Axes. As long as he had enough stamina, Yin Congyang never tired of practicing. After all, he had chopped trees for twenty years in his previous life. Who could have stuck with it if he hadn't genuinely loved wielding an axe?

Immersed in his axe techniques, Yin Congyang didn't notice that green markings occasionally appeared among the golden-blue secret patterns of his Gold-Water Mutual Generation Domain. Each time, they had barely appeared before the golden-blue patterns suppressed them again.

Yin Congyang was, in fact, very familiar with trees. Apart from the axe in his hand, they were what he knew best. But the Five Elements didn't only generate one another; they also suppressed one another. In the Five Elements, metal generated water, water generated wood, and wood generated fire. In the opposite direction, fire suppressed metal, and metal suppressed wood.

Yin Congyang's current Domain consisted of the Domain of Gold and the Domain of Water. For him to truly comprehend the Domain of Wood, he had to find a balance between water's generation and metal's suppression.

After practicing for an unknown length of time, Yin Congyang began to feel tired. He asked the spaceship's AI to prepare some food. After eating, he hurriedly washed up, couldn't be bothered to find a bed, and lay down on the cabin floor to sleep.

When he awoke, Yin Congyang felt refreshed. After moving around a little, he sat cross-legged on the cabin floor and immersed his entire mind in the Strange Light Point in his Dantian.

Back in that wondrous space, Yin Congyang didn't waste any time. He conjured the Heaven-Opening Axe and immediately began practicing his axe techniques. Practicing in that space made it even easier to lose himself in the movements. As he trained, all sorts of wondrous scenes and profound images appeared and vanished in fleeting glimpses, though Yin Congyang didn't notice any of them.

When he eventually stopped on his own, Yin Congyang left the space. The familiar feeling of antiquity quickly faded away once more.

Yin Congyang didn't mind. He stood up, took out the Heaven-Opening Axe, and began practicing his axe techniques and Domains. This time, something was different: a green glow slowly spread through the blue of his Domain. Once it grew to a certain size, golden light wore some of it away, while the blue replenished what it consumed. Gradually, the three colors reached a balance.

When the gold, blue, and green finally reached perfect balance, they began to circulate on their own, greatly increasing the Domain's power. Yin Congyang tested it and found that it seemed considerably stronger than Hong's Third-Stage Domain.

Looking at the three-colored Domain, Yin Congyang laughed with delight. This proved that his theory was right. If he kept going this way, he could soon cultivate a Five Elements Domain. By then, advancing to the second layer would come naturally.

As Yin Congyang rejoiced over cultivating the Domain of Wood, far away in the Green Pouch Secret Realm, several powerful figures of different heights and expressions stared open-mouthed at the many suspended screens showing Yin Congyang. There were several hundred of them.

"Is this kid a freak? He's done nothing but train ever since boarding the spaceship. Train, train, train—he hasn't even taken the time to enjoy himself. And now he's cultivated a Domain of Wood too..." A burly man with short golden hair like needles glared at the screen, his eyes wide. "The kid's talent is certainly impressive, but why isn't his Domain developing vertically? Why is it developing horizontally instead?"

"It doesn't look weak, either. It's even stronger than a single Domain at the third layer," another speaker added. He was a white-browed old man about the same height as a normal human. There was a hint of curiosity in his voice.

"We can study him after he arrives. Judging from these past ten days or so, he's resolute, works hard, and has exceptional talent. He meets the standards for the Special-Class Elite Training Camp. Once he arrives, if he passes the A9-Level Assessment, we'll let him enter Planetary-Level Class A. Send that report to the higher-ups. Any objections?" A cold voice came from a woman nearby with purple hair and a purple robe. Her features were exquisite, and even her eyebrows were purple.

"Agreed."

"Agreed."

"Fine, I agree too." A lazy voice sounded. A figure dressed in green stood less than a meter tall, with wings on his back and the appearance of a child of eight or nine. He looked up at the woman in purple. "If there's nothing else, I'm going back to cultivate."

The woman in purple said coldly, "Stay put. There are still a few days left!"