Looking at the vast, lush garden before him, Huang Wuye had a feeling that this had to be the place.
It had been nearly three years. If nothing unexpected happened, this would be the final stop on his journey.
Thinking back on everything he had seen and experienced on Giant Wood Planet over the past three years, Huang Wuye was extremely satisfied. He planned to bring this journey to a perfect close.
He patted Dragon Owl's massive body, leaped down from his back, and slowly landed on the soft earth.
Breathing in the fragrant scent of the soil and green leaves, he felt especially cheerful.
He had no intention of taking the big fellow inside, since that would disturb this rare, pristine sanctuary.
As for the Pygmy Kingdom and the enormous cluster of flowers before him, neither could cause him any trouble. The past three years hadn't been wasted.
"General Mighty, wait here for me! I'll be right back!"
He turned and spoke to Dragon Owl's enormous form.
"Roar. All right!" A low growl and a mental message came in reply. Then the mountain-like figure gradually moved away.
After watching General Mighty disappear into the distance, Huang Wuye headed straight into the Pygmy Kingdom.
By now, countless members of the Pygmy race had already gathered around the kingdom's outskirts, standing ready. They had been drawn there by the commotion Huang Wuye and Dragon Owl had caused earlier.
As Huang Wuye approached, they grew excited, chattering among themselves without pause.
Huang Wuye walked briskly and soon reached them. He didn't hurry, simply waiting where he was.
Seeing that he didn't advance or make any other move, the Pygmies held their ground. The two sides fell into a standoff.
As time passed, more and more Pygmies gathered. Their figures covered the surrounding giant vines and the ground.
After an unknown amount of time, a series of lilting, cheerful melodies rang out, and the Pygmies spread their wings and flew into the sky.
They danced to the ancient, melodious song. Their movements were beautiful, and smiles lit their faces.
Countless flowers burst from the enormous blossoms all around, adding a touch of color to the beautiful dance.
The Pygmies formed flowers of all sizes in the sky, circling one another.
They moved their bodies to form the leaves of these enormous flowers, as if swaying in the breeze.
This was a grand ceremonial tribute, a ritual unique to the Pygmy race, used to welcome honored guests, royalty, or mark important occasions such as sacrifices.
Huang Wuye watched with interest. The Pygmies' dance had a style all its own.
As time went on, their dance became more dazzling, and silver runes appeared in the air.
The song that accompanied them was nearing its end. At last, after a clear, ringing note, it fell silent.
The dance in the sky had stopped. A huge silver flower was inscribed in midair, breathtakingly beautiful.
A spacious path opened through the smaller flowers formed by the Pygmies.
At that moment, a procession slowly advanced along the path.
Before long, a huge flower basket caught Huang Wuye's eye. A stunning woman sat inside it.
The entire basket floated through the air, followed by a guard of attendants dressed in white.
Surrounded by countless Pygmies, the strange procession approached Huang Wuye. At the same time, a soft, gentle voice reached his ears.
"Honored guest, greetings! Yu Nuo, clan leader of the Flower Language Clan, welcomes you on behalf of the clan!"
Huang Wuye was somewhat surprised. So the Pygmies—no, the Flower Language Clan—could communicate. He then looked at Yu Nuo in puzzlement. The little one didn't seem surprised by his arrival.
"You must be surprised, honored guest. I was fortunate enough to see your ancestor's face once. Since you've come, I assume you're here for the Ancestral Beast. Please, follow me."
Yu Nuo smiled warmly and explained in a soft voice.
Clearly, Yu Nuo knew why Huang Wuye had come. She had brought it up before he could say anything.
Huang Wuye saw no reason to ask more, so he followed Yu Nuo deeper into the Pygmy Kingdom.
On the way, Huang Wuye took the opportunity to learn a little more. It turned out the so-called Ancestral Beast was a giant beast that had been gestating since long ago. A member of the Desolate God Clan had discovered it and used special means to control it.
It had been kept for outstanding members of the clan to possess, but first, it was precious, and ordinary disciples weren't qualified to be granted the chance. Second, most of the clan members couldn't accept the idea of becoming enormous, so it had been left untouched.
The Flower Language Clan served as the guardians who watched over the Ancestral Beast. That was why they were now guiding Huang Wuye there.
With the help of Yu Nuo of the Flower Language Clan, the Night Emperor Clone's journey was nearing its perfect conclusion. Meanwhile, Huang Wuye's true self had finished his cultivation and made tremendous progress.
At that moment, Huang Wuye's true self was in the Virtual Universe, along with many other Universe Level geniuses who had passed the preliminary selection.
Every one of them had truly been chosen from among tens of millions. That was no exaggeration.
They were all alert and energetic, their auras surging, each radiating a keen edge.
These were the thousand contestants initially selected by the Meteor Universe Kingdom.
All one thousand Universe Level geniuses selected by the Meteor Universe Kingdom for the Universe-Level Warrior Tournament were gathered here.
Huang Wuye and the other three were among them, of course. But right now, they stood out from the crowd. A large circle had formed around the four of them, with nearly a thousand pairs of curious eyes studying them.
The reason lay with Huang Wuye. His effortless slaughter in the Eighty-Third World Zone hadn't spread beyond those involved, but it had still caused a stir among the geniuses.
"Little Uncle, what did you even do? Just look at how everyone's treating us."
Feeling the prickling gazes on him, Huang Hu, despite his rough-and-ready nature, couldn't help exclaiming.
"Nothing much!"
Huang Wuye couldn't admit the truth. He'd just gotten a little carried away, which was perfectly normal, right?
"Silence!"
Just as the surrounding chatter grew louder, a voice that seemed to reach straight into their souls rang out, bringing the distracted Universe Level geniuses back to their senses.
A towering figure had appeared in the air without anyone noticing. A vast wave of power radiated from him. He was a Marquis Immortal, a flame god from the Meteor Sacred Land.
He wasn't one of the three Immortals who presided over the Sacred Land, but he was undoubtedly one of the Meteor Kingdom Lord's most trusted men.
He swept his gaze over the thousand Universe Level geniuses beneath him and nodded slightly.
"Haha, my name is Xichen. You may call me Lord Xichen.
"Not bad. This year's youngsters are pretty good!
"But only a few of you will make the top thousand in the Universe-Level Warrior Tournament for Cosmic Humans and be selected by the Virtual Universe Company.
"For most of you, the purpose of this final battle is to see the gap between yourselves and the true geniuses.
"After all, the greatest gaps are between geniuses.
"Keep a level head. It doesn't matter if you fail! The gates of the Meteor Sacred Land will be open to you."
The words of Xichen, the Immortal God, left the geniuses dazed. After all, geniuses were confident. Every one of them was a formidable opponent, and before they had fought, none would yield to another.
Xichen didn't mind. With a wave of his hand, he swept them all up. He still had to take the youngsters to meet the others.
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