At the end of the passage lay a beautiful, expansive plaza over a hundred kilometers in diameter.
Thousands of people had already gathered there, mostly World Lords, Domain Lords, and Universe-level warriors. The plaza still looked somewhat sparse.
"Hello. Please wait over here for now."
A female receptionist with an alluring appearance and a fluffy tail behind her came over.
Lu Ming casually sat down on an alloy bench and glanced over the crowd in the plaza.
Most of these solo warriors had keen auras and sharp eyes. Clearly, they were all confident in their own strength.
"Hey, brother, did you come alone?"
A burly-looking World Lord from the Ape-man Race, his body exuding a wild aura, struck up a conversation with him. Another Ape-man Race World Lord sat beside him, so the two were evidently together.
"Yeah."
Lu Ming nodded slightly.
The Ape-man Race World Lord smiled. As he spoke, he took out a bottle of wine and some cups, then poured three drinks.
"My name's Mo De, and this is my younger brother, Long Yuan. Come on, have a drink."
"Thanks."
Lu Ming picked up his cup and gave the alias he often used while adventuring.
"My name's Flame Edge."
"Flame Edge?"
Clarice laughed heartily and didn't ask any further.
They chatted casually. Lu Ming mostly just listened and didn't reveal a thing about himself. Keeping one's identity hidden was standard practice on the Outer-Domain Battlefield.
The solo soldiers gathered in groups according to their three levels: World Lord, Domain Lord, and Universe Level.
There were also rules governing how many could gather. For example, the World Lords had to reach a full group of 100 before the soldiers could be transported to the Outer-Domain Battlefield.
What if there weren't enough? Then they could only wait!
They didn't have to wait long.
About half a day later, the number of World Lords gathered in the plaza reached the required 100.
"Universe-level warriors, gather over here!"
"Domain Lords, gather over here!"
"World Lord warriors, all of you come over here!"
The passageway gates opened, and the tens of thousands of solo soldiers were quickly sorted into groups.
Lu Ming also stood up and joined the other World Lords.
"World Lord warriors, you are about to head to the most glorious and most brutal Outer-Domain Battlefield."
An Immortal God, his entire body thick with killing intent and seemingly forged from metal, spoke solemnly.
"But the army has its own rules. You won't be free to act as you did when you were adventuring alone!"
Lu Ming and the hundred or so other World Lords listened.
"Before you set off!"
"You must undergo the traditional ceremony of rank assignment."
The Immortal God spoke gravely.
"Ceremony of rank assignment?"
"What does that mean?"
"What's it for?"
Many of the World Lords quietly communicated with one another. Clearly, most of these solo warriors knew very little about the details of taking part in the Outer-Domain Battlefield.
Lu Ming, however, had some idea.
The Immortal God was evidently aware of that. He continued, "Rank assignment determines your precise standing in the army. The army is a place of strict hierarchy, and subordinates must obey their superiors... So we have to determine your rank and authority within the army. How do we do that? By assessing your strength."
"Every one of you World Lords has surely trained in the Virtual Universe Network time and again. Based on your performance, the Virtual Universe Network will give you a rating of your strength. This rating is very important in determining your standing in the army."
"The ratings are divided into three levels. The first is 'Ordinary World Lord Warrior,' the second is 'Elite World Lord Warrior,' and the third is 'World Lord General.'"
"Most World Lords are Ordinary World Lord Warriors."
"Those acknowledged by an Origin Law can just barely qualify as Elite World Lord Warriors."
"Generally, only one in a hundred Elite World Lord Warriors can become a World Lord General!"
The Immortal God explained.
"I believe every one of you has displayed your full strength in the Virtual Universe. If any of you haven't, and you're worried that the rank assignment ceremony won't be fair, you can enter the Virtual Universe Network now and show your full strength. We'll begin the rank assignment ceremony shortly."
The Immortal God fell silent for ten seconds, then spoke again. "There shouldn't be any problems. Come forward one by one to receive your rank assignment."
The 100 World Lords walked up to the Immortal God one after another. A blue beam shot from the screen on his arm guard and enveloped each approaching World Lord.
"Elite World Lord Warrior!"
"Ordinary World Lord Warrior!"
"Elite World Lord Warrior!"
"Elite World Lord Warrior!"
The screen on the Immortal God's arm guard automatically announced each rating. At the same time, every World Lord receiving a rank assignment also received a message from the Virtual Universe System.
The higher one's rank, the different one's standing in the army would be.
Watching this, Lu Ming thought to himself, There are a lot of Elite World Lord Warriors. Normally, Ordinary World Lord Warriors should make up most of the World Lords. Oh, right. Anyone daring to venture alone specifically to join the Outer-Domain Battlefield must be confident in their strength. Most of them must have been acknowledged by an Origin Law.
He was quite confident in his own strength. Ever since reaching the ninth rank of Domain Lord Level, he had trained with all his might for a thousand years.
Could he become a World Lord General?
The World Lords lined up and received their rank assignments one by one. Soon, it was Lu Ming's turn.
The blue light enveloped him.
"World Lord General!"
The clear announcement rang out.
Quite a few World Lords nearby looked at Lu Ming, their eyes filled with scrutiny and a hint of respect.
World Lord Generals were definitely among the best of this group.
Lu Ming nodded to himself.
As expected, he had reached the World Lord General level.
In the end, of the 100 World Lords, three—including Lu Ming—were World Lord Generals, 65 were Elite World Lord Warriors, and 33 were Ordinary World Lord Warriors.
Once all the rank assignments were complete, the Immortal God's voice rose. "Everyone, follow me! In a moment, we'll transport all of you to the Outer-Domain Battlefield! There are countless warriors taking part in this war between the races, so there are eleven battlefields in all. They're all outside Human Territory, which is why they're called the Outer-Domain Battlefield. You're headed to the Ninth Battlefield!"
"The Ninth Battlefield?"
All kinds of discussions broke out at once.
Led by the Immortal God, everyone used Divine Kingdom Teleportation and experienced a brief shift through space and time.
When their vision cleared, Lu Ming found himself in a vast teleportation hall filled with a murderous atmosphere.
"Ha ha, the new recruits are here!"
"Get to work, the new recruits are here!"
Shouts rang out.
More than a dozen soldiers wearing standard-issue battle armor quickly came over. At their head was a red-haired, red-armored Immortal God, who smiled as lightning seemed to flicker in his eyes. "New recruits, welcome to the Ninth Battlefield's 'Barracks Base No. 38.' All the World Lords, follow him. All the Domain Lords, follow this one. All the Universe-level warriors, follow this young lady."
The red-armored Immortal God quickly assigned three guides.
The Universe-level warriors, Domain Lords, and World Lords headed down three different passageways.
"World Lords, the camp is just ahead."
The guide spoke as he led them onward.
A moment later,
they arrived at an elegantly decorated hall. It held more than ten million seats. Looking around, Lu Ming estimated that there were at least several hundred thousand World Lords there.
His true career on the Outer-Domain Battlefield was about to begin!