In the Machine Race Divine Kingdom, Machine Father God was performing an enormous-scale calculation.
"A million years from now, the Genius Ranking will follow the Sky Screen's rules: anyone listed must be 'below Immortal.' Weighing talent and comprehension, character and willpower, and future potential. Though my Machine Race is an intelligent lifeform, we still fall within the category of beings below Immortal. As long as we make the list, we can receive another reward from the Sky Screen. We didn't get the Divine Power Burning Secret Technique last time... This time, we must break into the top five."
His computational core simulated possible futures at a speed trillions of times faster than light.
The Machine Race wasn't good at individual combat, but their advantage lay in their ability to be controlled. A Machine Race member identified as a promising talent could absorb an enormous amount of knowledge in a very short time and be trained according to a standardized system.
"The problem is that nobody can predict the Sky Screen's evaluation criteria. Talent and comprehension are one thing, but character, willpower, and future potential are difficult to quantify."
Machine Father God settled on his final strategy: over the next million years, he would cultivate three million "seeds" at once, gambling on the odds with sheer numbers.
The Starry Sky Behemoth Alliance reacted in a completely different way. Old Beast God calmly studied the Divine Power Burning Technique over and over, while bringing out rare treasures he had collected for countless eras to feed the Alliance's most talented World Lord-level young beasts.
"The Genius Ranking isn't about secret techniques or inheritances. It's about genes, bloodlines, and willpower. My Starry Sky Behemoth race is born with powerful genes and a high life level, so we already have an absolute advantage in these areas. If those little fellows are properly trained, one of them should make the list in a million years."
His enormous dragon eyes gleamed with authority and confidence.
But without a doubt, the Monster Race had it worst of all in the entire Primal Universe.
Inside the Demon Ancestor Secret Realm, Dream Demon Ancestor's enormous silver snake body writhed with agitation.
"What did you say? That old Beast Ancestor swallowed another one of our starfields?" Her voice was so shrill it seemed ready to tear space apart.
A Monster Race Venerable with a triangular head answered fearfully, "Y-yes, Progenitor. The Demon Beast Alliance sent a notice saying that starfield belongs to them as of today, and... and they also said..."
"What else did they say?!"
"They said that if the female Progenitor refuses to accept it, she can go challenge him to a duel."
"Bastard!" Dream Demon Ancestor lashed her tail, smashing several stone pillars to pieces.
Tremor Demon Ancestor said nothing beside her. He merely read through the lists of geniuses submitted by the various branches of the Monster Race in silence.
He quietly calculated their chances of making the list a million years from now.
Fortunately, the Monster Race had a large enough population, and there were still plenty of promising talents.
The problem was how to allocate resources and train them more effectively.
"Zhen Jiao." Dream Demon Ancestor suddenly turned to him, a trace of ruthlessness flashing in her crimson snake eyes. "Should we gather all our affiliated races and pick on someone weaker? Even if we can't beat the Human Race's Giant Axe, we could still attack the Crystal Race or the Prison Race. As long as we can seize some territory, we'll still have a chance to turn things around."
Tremor Demon Ancestor slowly closed his eyes.
After a long while, he finally spoke. "There's no need to rush into war. Give the order: for the next hundred eras, all the Monster Race's resources will be directed toward its younger generation below Immortal. Open up all the race's most important Inheritance Secret Techniques. No more restrictions. Any World Lord-level member of the Monster Race who shows sufficient talent will be given resources directly."
Dream Demon Ancestor fell silent for a moment, then nodded.
There was no other choice. The Sky Screen's rules allowed all beings below Immortal a chance to make the list. For the Monster Race, this was their only chance to turn things around.
If the Monster Race could get even one person onto the list a million years from now and earn a Sky Screen reward, even tenth place might bring them a Supreme Treasure or a Divine Power Burning Technique.
Then the Monster Race would still have hope of rising again.
If not a single one of them made the list, the Monster Race would truly be finished.
A silent mobilization for war was quietly unfolding throughout the Primal Universe.
On an unremarkable planet at the edge of the Milky Way Galaxy, Yang Yu withdrew his gaze and drained the last drop of wine from his flask.
"The Genius Ranking opens in a million years." He smiled faintly at the void. "That'll be quite a spectacle."
A month passed in the blink of an eye.
The transfer of half the Monster Race's territory went more smoothly than expected.
After Tremor Demon Ancestor designated the Desolate Dark Shattered Star Belt as the new boundary, the Monster Race's armies withdrew completely from the vast region east of the dividing line in just ten days.
The life-bearing planets, resource belts, wormhole passages, and Cosmic Secret Realms that had once belonged to the Monster Race had all changed hands.
The Human Race's receiving fleets poured into the newly acquired territory.
An avatar of City Lord of Chaos personally oversaw the arrangements. Ice Peak Master, Peng Gong Lord, Dragon Walk Master, and the other Human Race Universe Masters each led a team, assigning Universe Masters from more than a hundred affiliated races to key locations and ensuring that every starfield remained under control.
The transfer did not go entirely smoothly.
West of the dividing line, the Monster Race had withdrawn only its core members and upper-level fighters. But billions upon billions of low-level Monster Race members remained scattered across the vast starfields. There was no way to evacuate them all in a month.
Or rather, Tremor Demon Ancestor had never intended to evacuate them.
"Most of the Monster Race members left behind are from branches that reproduce quickly but have thin bloodlines." City Lord of Chaos calmly analyzed the situation at a Virtual Universe meeting. "Tremor Demon Ancestor has made a shrewd move. To the Monster Race, these low-level members are cannon fodder that can be sacrificed at any time. But to us, they're a threat in our new territory. Clearing them out will take a great deal of manpower and time. If we don't, Human immigrants won't be able to settle here in peace."
"Then clear them out." Founder Giant Axe waved his hand, not a trace of hesitation on his rugged face.
"Besides, those youngsters in our race need a chance to gain experience. They can't just stay in secret realms and cultivate if they want to make the Genius Ranking a million years from now."
"Give the order: compile the locations and numbers of the remaining Monster Race members in every star system in our new territory, then assign missions according to threat level. The World Lord-level ones go to our core Domain Lord-level geniuses. For anything at or above Immortal, send King-level teams to wipe them out. We'll clean up the entire territory within ten thousand years."
At Giant Axe's command, the vast mission system of the Human Race's Hong Alliance began operating at full speed.
Reconnaissance fleets scattered throughout the new territory reported the number, level, and location of the remaining Monster Race members one by one. The Virtual Universe collected and analyzed the information, then generated one cleanup mission after another.
Some missions were for individuals; others required teams to work together. The rewards ranged from a few hundred points to over a million.
The core geniuses of countless Human Race powers grew excited, like sharks smelling blood.
"Five hundred thousand points! I've had my eye on that Blood Stone Galaxy mission for days. Anyone who tries to take it from me will have to deal with me!"
"You're a second-tier Domain Lord, and you're going to Blood Stone Galaxy? That's not how you go looking to die. There are dozens of World Lord-level Monster Race members over there."
"What's there to be afraid of? I cultivate the Time Law. Even if I can't win, I can still get away."
For a time, cleanup missions in the new territory became the talk of every circle in the Virtual Universe.
For Human Race geniuses who had grown up cultivating in secret realms and lacked real life-or-death experience, this was a rare chance to fight real enemies with real weapons. No teacher would accompany them, and there would be no safety net. If they died, they were dead.
But that was exactly why the missions offered such generous point rewards.
When Luo Feng received the mission email, he was cultivating in seclusion.
"It's finally here." He opened the email, anticipation flashing in his eyes.
As expected, the mission came from the Virtual Universe Company's mission system. His title as Inspector Envoy was only an honorary one; missions like this were what could actually earn him points.
"Mission location: Star Zone 8921 of the former Monster Race Territory, Blood Stone Galaxy."
"Mission level: Dangerous."
"Mission objective: Eliminate all remaining Monster Race members in Blood Stone Galaxy."
"Mission description: This star system was not completely cleared during the Monster Race's retreat. Approximately twelve million low-level Monster Race members remain. Universe-level members make up roughly sixty percent; there are more than thirty thousand Domain Lord-level members and more than sixty World Lord-level members, all ordinary World Lords who have not been acknowledged by the Origin Laws. No traces of Immortal-level Monster Race members have been found."
"Mission reward: Ten thousand points for each World Lord-level Monster Race member killed alone; an additional one million points for completely clearing Blood Stone Galaxy. The two rewards can be combined."
"Recommendation: This mission is recommended for high-tier Domain Lords. Low-tier Domain Lords should assess their strength before accepting. Military Department forces may be mobilized."
After reading the mission description, Luo Feng's lips curved into a faint smile.
Ordinary World Lords.
To other Domain Lord-level geniuses, an ordinary World Lord might not be as strong as a Peak World Lord, but they had still crossed the gulf between life levels.
The difference between a World Lord and a Domain Lord was like that between a grown man and a child. Even a frail grown man was beyond the reach of an ordinary child.
But Luo Feng wasn't an ordinary child.
He had the body of his Golden Horned Beast clone to strengthen him, the spatial talent of his Mosha Race clone, and the first tribulation of the Nine Tribulations Manual, which he had recently cultivated. It had tripled his Gene Level.
In terms of physical strength alone, he was now no weaker than a member of the Monster Race Royal Family. Add the boost the Xueluo Power gave his right claw, along with his insights into the Space Law...
Luo Feng's actual combat strength was now formidable.
"More than sixty ordinary World Lord-level Monster Race members. If I kill them all, the kill rewards alone will be over six million points." A fiery glint flashed in Luo Feng's eyes. "Add the one million points for clearing them out, and that's over seven million altogether."
Even if he spent a full ten thousand years as a Domain Lord in the Primal Secret Realm, his basic points—excluding cultivation missions—would only amount to about that much.
"I'll take it."
Luo Feng selected the option to accept the mission.
He wasn't afraid of losing. If he really couldn't win, he could always afford to lose one clone.
As long as his most important Origin Core remained safe, forming a new clone would cost him only some energy.
Blood Stone Galaxy lay in the west-central part of the Human Race's new territory, about twelve thousand light-years from Earth.
Luo Feng's Yunmo Star Spaceship entered the Dark Universe and traveled through it. Several days later, it reached its destination.
Through the porthole, he saw that Blood Stone Galaxy was a small star system about 0.6 light-years in diameter.
At its center was a yellow star in the prime of its life, surrounded by six planets and two asteroid belts.
The third planet was a strange dark red, its surface covered with vast stretches of reddish-brown rock. This was where Blood Stone Galaxy got its name, and it was also the Monster Race's largest settlement in the system.
"Babat, are the scan results ready?" Luo Feng stood by the cabin door. The black battle armor formed by his Mosha Race clone clung closely to his Earthling Main Body, its patterns faintly radiating a sharp, murderous aura.
"They're ready." Babat's voice rang in his mind, more serious than usual. "They're basically consistent with the mission intel. Across the six planets and two asteroid belts, we've detected about twelve million Monster Race life-signals. Most are Universe-level, scattered throughout the system. But all the World Lord-level Monster Race members are concentrated on Blood Stone Planet."
"On the third planet, at the four o'clock position, where those two mountain ranges meet. Two are hiding ninety thousand meters underground. They might be hibernating, and their life-signals are so weak they nearly fooled the scanners."
"Impressive." Luo Feng raised an eyebrow. "What kinds?"
"One is a Sawtooth Armored Beast, a third-tier World Lord skilled in the Earth element. It's about three hundred meters long, and its armor is nearly as hard as E-grade metal. The other is a Three-Eyed Flame Serpent, a fourth-tier World Lord skilled in the Fire element. It's about two hundred meters long and can spew flames hot enough to melt E-grade alloys. They're both ordinary World Lords and neither has been acknowledged by the Origin Laws."
"A three-hundred-meter-long Sawtooth Armored Beast..." Luo Feng pictured it in his mind, then nodded. "Fighting both at once might be a bit troublesome. Let's draw them out one at a time."
"How?"
"Simple." Luo Feng smiled faintly.
Then he turned his gaze toward a cluster of Monster Race nests on the surface of Blood Stone Planet.
In the sky, he calmly drew the Blood Shadow Battle Blade.
The blade glimmered dark red. Combined with the spatial fluctuations imbued in it by his Mosha Race clone, it gave off a sharp, elusive aura.
He took a deep breath and brought the blade down.
A blade ray ten thousand zhang long split through the gloomy sky over Blood Stone Planet and struck the center of the nest cluster with pinpoint accuracy.
The ground cracked, lava surged, and tens of thousands of Universe-level Monster Race members evaporated instantly in the blade ray's aftershock.
"Roar—!"
An enraged roar erupted from deep underground, and the entire mountain range shook violently.
Luo Feng stood with his blade lowered, calmly watching what lay ahead. The ground at the junction of the mountain ranges split open into a huge chasm. A scorching, dark-red demonic aura, thick with the stench of sulfur, burst out. The first to emerge was a giant serpent wreathed in dark-red flames. Its body was about ten meters thick and over two hundred meters long. Three vertical pupils, arranged in a triangle, all fixed on Luo Feng.
It opened its jaws and unleashed a torrent of blazing white fire streaked with crimson, drenching Luo Feng from head to toe. The air ionized in its wake, and even the hard red-rock surface of Blood Stone Planet melted into a river of lava tens of meters wide.
Compared with a volcanic eruption on Earth, the power of that attack was more than ten thousand times greater!
Luo Feng didn't dodge. He stood still and let the flames engulf him.
When the flames died down, he was still standing in the same spot. Space rippled across the surface of the battle armor formed by his Mosha Race clone, diverting most of the heat and impact into warped space. The remaining warmth seeped through the armor, making his skin only slightly hot.
"An attack from an ordinary fourth-tier World Lord is, at most, about as powerful as an attack from someone who's just crossed the World Lord threshold." Luo Feng assessed it silently, letting go of the last trace of caution in his heart.
With his body strengthened by the first tribulation of the Nine Tribulations Manual and the Space Law weakening the attack in multiple ways, an attack of this level couldn't even count as a minor injury.
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