Secret Realm Qualification Battle

Qin Ming rose to his feet and stretched his stiff body.

The dark red sheen covering his skin slowly seeped back into his body, and he temporarily suppressed it.

Qin Ming took out the Blood Luo Crystal and tried to fuse with it again.

This time, although the violent Killing Will still struck with the same ferocity and the pain remained unbearable, Qin Ming could clearly feel that it was easier to resist than before, and he could hold out longer.

In the end, the energy of the Blood Luo Crystal flowed back again because his life essence was incompatible with it, and the fusion still failed. But the whole process was no longer as hasty and desperate as the first time.

"As expected, strengthening my will helps me resist the impact during fusion. But the fundamental incompatibility is still there."

Qin Ming put away the Blood Luo Crystal, undiscouraged. He had never expected to fuse with it easily.

He looked up toward the depths of the Ancient God Ruins, where the Evil Aura was even denser.

"Next, I should head farther in."

Nearly ninety years passed in the blink of an eye!

For all those ninety years, Qin Ming had remained in this deadly place, like the most devoted ascetic. Starting at the outermost edge, he gradually ventured deeper, continually challenging regions with denser Evil Aura and enduring increasingly violent Will Impacts.

That day, he was sitting cross-legged in the center of a region where the Evil Aura was as thick as blood mist, his consciousness immersed in the struggle against an endless torrent of Killing Will.

"Master, you have an incoming external communication. It's an email from the Virtual Universe Company, and it has a high priority." The voice of his intelligent assistant, Xiaoye, rang directly in the depths of Qin Ming's soul, rousing him from his intense battle of wills.

"Hm?" Qin Ming's brow twitched. With a thought, he immediately connected to the Virtual Universe.

Virtual Universe, Rain Phase Mountain, Primal Secret Realm, Manor 114.

Qin Ming's figure appeared in the study, and he quickly opened the email.

"Secret Realm Qualification Battle..." As he read through it, a look of understanding flashed in his eyes.

The Virtual Universe Company's Core Members belonged to one of four secret realms—the Primal, Primordial, Heaven and Earth, or End of the World Secret Realm—but membership was not permanent. Instead, they faced a brutal system of internal competition.

The weak were demoted, the strong retained their places, and the strongest were promoted!

The Primal Secret Realm Members on Rain Phase Mountain were divided by strength into World Lord Level, Domain Lord Level, and Universe Level.

The Primal Secret Realm had 100 World Lord Level spots, with a Qualification Battle held every 100,000 years.

There were 10 Domain Lord Level spots, with a Qualification Battle every 1,000 years.

At Universe Level, there were only three permanent spots. However, this round had expanded to five because of the Genius Tournament, and a Qualification Battle was held every 100 years!

Nearly a century had passed since they left the Initial Universe and returned to the Primal Universe.

That meant the Qualification Battle for Universe Level members was about to begin.

The email listed the five current Universe Level members of the Primal Secret Realm: Qin Ming, Ailuos, and three veterans who had been cultivating there for many years.

The rules were simple: all five would fight each other in a round-robin, then be ranked according to their number of victories.

The top two would retain their Primal Secret Realm membership.

The bottom three would compete against the top three from the Primordial Secret Realm Qualification Battle for the final Primal Secret Realm spot.

"A Qualification Battle..." Qin Ming closed the email and returned his consciousness to his clone in the Ancient God Ruins. He slowly stood up.

"Fine. I'll put my willpower training on hold for now. It's time to stretch my muscles and see what I've achieved over these ninety years." Qin Ming's expression was calm as he looked toward the edge of the Ancient God Ruins.

"Besides, my original body has been 'following the usual routine' in the Primal Secret Realm for ninety years. It's time to show a little 'progress.'"

With a thought, he turned into a streak of light and flew away from the Blood Luo Continent.

In the void, Sky Erosion Palace floated motionless!

A black triangular spacecraft, about eight hundred meters in diameter, flew out of Sky Erosion Palace and quickly approached Qin Ming, who had just emerged from the Ancient God Ruins.

"Beep! Your Highness Qin Ming, hello. I'm Morlock, the Sky Erosion Palace escort. Congratulations on completing your trial in the Blood Luo World." The spacecraft sent him a message.

With Morlock guiding him, Qin Ming arrived at a vast hall on the first floor of Sky Erosion Palace.

The hall stretched for thousands of kilometers. Countless spacecraft were docked inside, the smallest of them E-class. He could even see F-class spacecraft.

"Your Highness Qin Ming." Morlock, a World Lord with blue skin and six eyes, led the way beside him, dressed in a Silver Battle Suit.

"You actually spent nearly ninety years in the Blood Luo World. That's astonishing."

"I mainly wanted to try completing the Blood Warrior mission," Qin Ming replied calmly as they walked.

"The Blood Warrior mission? Did you complete it, Your Highness?" Morlock asked in surprise.

"No." Qin Ming shook his head, his tone tinged with just the right amount of resignation.

"I thought I could make a breakthrough by training in the Ancient God Ruins, but even after nearly ninety years, I still fell short."

"Since the Universe Level Qualification Battle is about to begin, I decided to come back first."

"I see." Morlock nodded in understanding and offered a few words of comfort.

"Don't be discouraged, Your Highness. This is quite normal. I've received many geniuses from the five great powers here, and very few of them have managed to become Blood Warriors."

"Mm." Qin Ming nodded and said nothing more.

With Morlock's arrangements, Qin Ming soon boarded a spacecraft bound for the Virtual Universe Company Headquarters.

The spacecraft powered up and departed from Sky Erosion Palace.

Qin Ming sat inside the cabin, gazing at the Blood Luo World and Sky Erosion Palace as they gradually receded into the distance, his expression calm.

Ninety years of tempering in the Evil Aura had made his will as steadfast as rock.

And the upcoming Qualification Battle wouldn't even count as a warm-up for him.

Primal Secret Realm, Manor 114.

After returning, Qin Ming logged into the Virtual Universe at once.

He went to the management interface, selected "Cultivation," opened the cultivation missions page, and clicked "Apply to Confirm Cultivation Mission Completion."

"Hello, Your Highness Qin Ming." A gentle electronic female voice came through the screen.

"Are you applying to confirm the completion of your mission?"

"Yes." Qin Ming nodded.

"May I ask how many of your two Blood Luo World missions you completed, Your Highness Qin Ming?" the gentle voice continued.

There were two missions in the Blood Luo World.

1. Obtain one Blood Luo Crystal. Reward upon completion: 10,000 points.

2. Fuse with three Blood Luo Crystals and become a Blood Warrior. Reward upon completion: 100,000 points.

Qin Ming couldn't fuse with even one, so naturally he hadn't completed the second mission.

"I completed the first one," Qin Ming replied calmly.

"Understood, Your Highness Qin Ming. Please wait a moment. A spacecraft will soon arrive at your manor to verify this in person. Once the verification is complete, you will receive the corresponding points."

A few hours later, in the real world.

A spacecraft belonging to the Virtual Universe Company landed at the docking berth of Manor 114.