"I'm going to win! I won't die!" Emperor Mu was drenched in blood, his battle robe fluttering as he stared with a bone-chilling gaze. The blade in his hand had even begun to curl at the edge.
Every lash of the Demon Island Vine twisted and warped space. Exhausted, Emperor Mu could only grit his teeth and withstand the blows.
"I still don't know just how vast the world outside is."
Emperor Mu roared. The only thing sustaining him was the belief that he would get out and see the world beyond.
"Yes, the world outside is vast. Too bad you won't get to see it." Chen Beixun smiled darkly, then quickly composed himself and focused on the battle.
The Demon Island Vine had wrapped itself tightly around Emperor Mu, constricting him like an octopus. The air seemed to freeze, leaving only the sounds of cracking bones and flesh grinding together.
"Master, Emperor Mu is dead," the Demon Island Vine reported telepathically.
"Alas..." Chen Beixun sighed deeply. "A galaxy produces, on average, only one Universe Level fighter. I've met very few Domain Lords so far."
"Bad timing for you, Emperor Mu."
He then asked the Demon Island Vine, "How badly are you damaged?"
"Not too badly, but I took a heavy hit. I underestimated his combat strength," the Demon Island Vine replied telepathically.
"Good. This fight was clearly too rushed. I need to reflect on what I did wrong." As Chen Beixun spoke, he took the Space Rings of Emperor Mu and Emperor Ta from the Demon Island Vine and gave them a cursory inspection. Then he turned into a streak of light and left.
In the air, he spotted quite a few other ancient Emperor-level fighters who had come to watch from afar.
Everyone was shocked by Chen Beixun, but they feared the Demon Island Vine even more. Chen Beixun ignored them, stepped onto the Gold Cloud Shuttle, and sped away like a golden point of light.
A few days later, he reached Center Island.
Center Island was shrouded in mist, with water and trees everywhere.
Chen Beixun traveled through the island's dense forest. Above him, clouds gathered like ink, and rain poured down in curtains.
"Chunqiu, where exactly is it?" Chen Beixun asked, slowing the Gold Cloud Shuttle beneath his feet.
"154 meters ahead, 2,150 meters underground," the snail Chunqiu said, hovering beside him.
Chen Beixun frowned in thought. "My telekinetic sense can't detect anything at all. That's a serious problem!" His brow furrowed as he controlled the Tianqu Cone to pierce the ground and bore downward.
Inside Center Island...
"He's here. That kid's Demon Island Vine is quite strong. It can kill a Domain Lord-level powerhouse who has already crossed the threshold of the Laws," the Intelligent Life Qishan said.
There had originally been three candidates: Chen Beixun, Emperor Mu, and Emperor Ta. The latter two were dead, so this enormous stroke of fortune naturally belonged to Chen Beixun.
The 2,150-meter distance was nothing to Chen Beixun. Before him appeared a vast, circular chamber, with a spaceship floating at its center. It was 364 meters long from bow to stern.
The F9 spaceship was called the Linkong. Its entire hull was made of Cyan Geng Metal. From above, it looked a little like a B-2 bomber. It needed no preflight warm-up and could start up instantly. Of course, Chen Beixun knew none of this.
"Chunqiu, what metal is this spaceship made of?" Chen Beixun asked calmly.
"Unknown!" Chunqiu replied, shocked.
"It should be F-Grade Metal, probably not much inferior to Huyan Bo's," Chen Beixun guessed, drawing on his knowledge as a transmigrator.
Chen Beixun circled the spaceship several times, probing it with his telekinetic sense and even daring to knock on it. Although the ship's hatch stood open for him, he still thought it best to be cautious.
"Quite cautious, aren't you?" The Intelligent Life Qishan couldn't help admiring him, then sent a telepathic message.
"Come in. I mean you no harm."
Chen Beixun frowned and replied, "Senior, you're nowhere to be seen, yet your voice comes from everywhere."
"Enough. If you're scared, you can leave." The Intelligent Life Qishan sounded impatient. As the Intelligent Life of a Marquis Immortal, he had never even bothered to look a Universe Level fighter in the eye.
Chen Beixun gritted his teeth. If I win this gamble, I'll turn my fortunes around. If I lose, I'm finished. He flew to the hatch, hesitated for a long while, then finally went inside.
The spaceship's interior wasn't lavishly decorated. It was plain and simple.
The more understated it is, the more impressive it must be, Chen Beixun thought as he glanced around.
"My name is Qishan. Congratulations on becoming my master's disciple—the first personal disciple, and the final inheritor of the Qiongling Planet legacy."
Chen Beixun froze, startled. What? It was that simple? He opened his mouth to speak.
"Senior, about this, I..." Before Chen Beixun could finish, the Intelligent Life Qishan cut him off.
"I'd originally planned to have you compete with the other two candidates."
"Who could've known your Demon Island Vine would kill them both?"
"What a shame. I went to all that trouble setting up those trials." The Intelligent Life Qishan snapped his fingers, and three three-meter-tall blue mechanical guards appeared before Chen Beixun.
"That was the first trial. It's useless now, so you can have them as guards."
"To introduce them briefly: Red Gold Guards, made of D9-class alloy. They're equivalent to a third-stage Domain Lord, and are usually used to train sixth- or seventh-stage Domain Lords. I didn't set them that strong. But working together, the three of them can kill a fifth-stage Domain Lord!"
"Ah?" Chen Beixun's mouth twitched. They really thought a lot of us three!
The Intelligent Life Qishan appeared in the flesh. He was two meters tall, with blue skin and two sharp curved horns on either side of his forehead. He looked at Chen Beixun and asked, "Are you willing to become my master's disciple?"
Without a second thought, Chen Beixun dropped to his knees with a thump. "This disciple is willing to become... become... um..."
"Marquis of Fate, Murong Shujia," the Intelligent Life Qishan said with a chuckle, projecting Murong Shujia's image before Chen Beixun.
"This disciple is willing to take Marquis of Fate as my master!" Chen Beixun hurriedly said.
The Intelligent Life Qishan took out a transparent, twelve-faceted gemstone and handed it to Chen Beixun, then said, "Absorb it. You understand—we can't let the inheritance get out."
Chen Beixun absorbed it immediately without a second thought. He felt a brief pain in his head, but it didn't last long.
"Follow me," the Intelligent Life Qishan said.
Chen Beixun stood up and followed him.
The two walked side by side as Qishan calmly recounted Marquis of Fate's deeds: how he rose from a planet, became an Immortal, and earned his title by stepping over the corpses of the Alien Race. Chen Beixun listened attentively.
Qishan stopped before a cabin door and raised his head slightly, his expression composed.
"I'll broaden your horizons." With a wave of his hand, the cabin door opened.
"Take a look."
"What... what is this?" Chen Beixun exclaimed.
"The spoils chamber. It holds the bones of Immortal Level powerhouses."
"This is a scale from a Horned Python, part of the royal bloodline of the demon race, one of the peak races. Don't underestimate this Horned Python. It's much stronger than some Immortals in the Xuyu Universe Kingdom. Your teacher only managed to seriously injure him."
"There are twenty-three trophies, all from enemies your teacher killed by himself! Some of them were even Marquis Level powerhouses, though only just barely."
Chen Beixun sucked in a breath, startled. No wonder he was called Marquis of Fate. If you ran into him, your fate was sealed.
Qishan chuckled at his reaction. "Heh." Then he continued, "My master left behind treasures worth tens of millions of mixed units. If you count the items he deposited at the First Universe Bank... In short, as long as you're willing to work hard, reaching the World Lord level will be easy."
Chen Beixun closed his eyes, doing his best to control his emotions.
"This is way too insane!" Chen Beixun couldn't help shouting.
"I'll explain briefly. A mixed unit is the currency Immortals use to trade. One trillion Universe Coins equals one mixed unit," Qishan said slowly, glancing at Chen Beixun with interest.
Keep it together. I've lost my composure—but one trillion Universe Coins! Chen Beixun's heart surged, though his expression remained calm.
"I have some treasures here. Please help me estimate their value." He projected a list of his possessions.
"Oh." Qishan seemed curious. He glanced through the list and said, "The treasures are worth 7.2 mixed units in total. Including the universe crystals, about 8.6 mixed units."
"Not bad."
"All right, follow me. I'll give you a thorough aptitude assessment so we can make a cultivation plan." Qishan patted Chen Beixun on the shoulder.
The two entered the spaceship's cultivation chamber.
Qishan pointed to an object that looked like an altar. "That thing is called the Black Altar."