The Machine Race had brought at least forty Universe Masters. Add their own Peak Supreme Treasure puppets and puppet legions numbering in the hundreds of millions, and their fighting strength was no weaker than that of any peak faction.
Worse, the Machine Race was naturally immune to Soul Attacks. That meant her most powerful weapon was nothing but scrap metal against them.
"The Machine Race..." The Beast Ancestor's hand trembled slightly around his blade. The cold light of the Ice Wind Domain flickered around him. "You've completely set yourselves against us."
"No." Machine Father God's reply was crisp and decisive. "This is merely a transaction. Once it's complete, my Machine Race can still cooperate with you."
"You!"
"Of course," Machine Father God added leisurely. "The Machine Race is quite willing to fight alongside the Monster Race."
The Beast Ancestor and the Zerg Queen's expressions darkened at the same time.
They were both ancient monsters who had lived for billions of years. Each had fought their way through bloodshed and intrigue. It took only a single sentence for them to hear the unspoken meaning: today, the Machine Race could help the Monster Race fight you; tomorrow, an unexpected ally might appear to fight them.
And if the Machine Race could help the Monster Race, it could naturally help someone else, too.
"Are we still fighting this battle?" Lord Juefeng turned all nine heads toward the Beast Ancestor and asked in a low voice.
The Beast Ancestor did not answer. He stared at the five enormous War Factories in the Machine Race's formation, at the densely packed puppet legions, and at Zhen Jiao and Dream Demon Ancestor in the Monster Race's ranks. Though battered, their eyes remained ferocious. At last, his gaze settled on the Machine Race Father God's cold flagship.
His mind rapidly ran through every possibility.
In a direct clash, he and the Zerg Queen would no longer have the numbers against the Monster Race and the Machine Race.
More importantly, the Machine Race's puppet legions feared no death and could be expended without limit, while every Universe Master from his affiliated races who died was one less.
If the fight truly went to the end, the Insect Race might be able to retreat unscathed, but his Demon Beast Alliance would suffer devastating losses.
He tightened his grip on the Starfall Blade. The dark golden scales on his arm scraped against one another with a piercing metallic rasp.
"Withdraw."
The word was forced through clenched teeth.
All nine of Lord Juefeng's faces showed shock. "Alliance Leader..."
"I said, withdraw!" the Beast Ancestor growled. His scarlet eyes burned with unwilling fury, but he forced it down. "Now is not the time for a head-on fight. The Monster Race would rather cut off a piece of itself to give to the Machine Race than let us benefit from it. I'll remember this score. One day, I'll make them understand who the true Beast Ancestor is."
He swept his blade, and the Ice Wind Domain carried the Universe Masters under his command as they slowly retreated.
The Zerg Queen watched the Demon Beast Alliance fall back, then looked at the iron wall formed by the three Universe Strongest Ones opposite her. Complicated emotions flashed through her beautiful eyes.
She, too, was weighing her options.
A hard fight did not necessarily mean defeat.
Her Queen Palace had peerless defenses. Though the Eternal Pearl's Soul Attack was useless against the Machine Race, it still threatened the Monster Race's two Ancestors.
As long as she could hold Zhen Jiao and Dream Demon Ancestor in place, then send in the Zerg Warrior legions to break through, she might well tear open the Monster Race's defenses.
But what then, even if she did break through?
The Machine Race would not stand by and do nothing.
Nor would the Monster Race simply stand there and take a beating.
With all three sides fighting, the outcome would become a long, uncontrollable war of attrition.
Would the Universe Masters from the affiliated races under her command lose more than half their number?
Would the Mother Emperors of the Insect Race themselves fall?
Every Mother Emperor at the Universe Master level was one of the Insect Race's most precious assets. She could not afford to lose them.
"Machine Race..." Her red lips parted, her voice cold. "I'll remember this score, too."
The Queen Palace let out a low hum, and all the Zerg Warriors retreated into it like a receding tide. The Universe Masters in the Insect Race's ranks were shrouded in the hazy starlight released by the Eternal Pearl, their silhouettes gradually fading into the sea of stars.
The Insect Race and the Demon Beast Alliance had retreated.
In the void at the edge of the Demon Ancestor Secret Realm, the traces of battle had yet to fade.
Broken spatial rifts were still slowly healing, and fragments of stardust drifted through space like countless silent tombstones.
Zhen Jiao and Dream Demon Ancestor stood before the reorganized Monster Race forces, gazing in the direction the Insect Race and Demon Beast Alliance had withdrawn. For a long while, neither spoke.
"We saved half and lost a quarter," Zhen Jiao said slowly. No emotion could be read in his eyes beneath his serrated shell.
It was the only option left to them.
The Machine Race had sent troops to help them withstand the most difficult joint attack. In return, the Monster Race had to permanently cede a quarter of its territory.
But if they had not asked the Machine Race for help, they might have lost all the territory they still had.
"The Machine Race doesn't want habitable planets, only resources and trade routes. Giving them this quarter will have the least impact on our foundations."
Zhen Jiao sounded as if he were comforting Dream Demon Ancestor, but he was also trying to convince himself.
Dream Demon Ancestor did not reply. He simply closed his eyes wearily.
In the Machine Race Divine Kingdom, a new round of calculations in Father God's consciousness had already projected the game three million years into the future.
"We've secured the Monster Race's territory. The next step is to consolidate the trade routes in this star region and increase the War Factories' efficiency by another five percent. The Zerg Queen won't act rashly again in the short term. After the battle, the Demon Beast Alliance leader has a 73.4 percent chance of redirecting his hatred toward the Insect Race, because he'll believe they withdrew without informing him."
"After receiving its new territory, Giant Axe of the Human Race will enter a recuperation period of roughly ten thousand eras. During that time, the Hong Alliance's main focus will be clearing and developing the new territory, and the probability of outward expansion is only 15.3 percent."
"Optimal strategy: consolidate forces and secure the gains."
The great battle came to an end. Each faction withdrew to its own territory, harboring its own intentions.
Humanity's Virtual Universe, Supreme Roundtable Conference.
Founder Giant Axe sat at the head of the table and projected the newly received intelligence onto it. All eighteen Human Universe Masters were present, including City Lord of Chaos, Darkness Master, Peng Gong Lord, and Dragon Walk Master.
"The Insect Race and the Demon Beast Alliance attacked the Monster Race and got their noses bloodied. And the Machine Race actually sided with the Monster Race in secret. Zhen Jiao ceded a quarter of his territory to them." Giant Axe's voice was low. "Interesting. Very interesting."
City Lord of Chaos furrowed his brow. "The Machine Race's move took everyone by surprise. They'd been in secret contact with us and the Insect Race. No one expected them to suddenly side with the Monster Race."
"It's not surprising." Darkness Master's hoarse voice rang out.
"Machine Father God is an intelligent life-form. His logic differs from ours. Helping the Monster Race is just a transaction to him, not a matter of taking sides. Today, he can help the Monster Race fight the Insect Race; tomorrow, he can help the Insect Race fight the Monster Race. It all comes down to the price."
"The price." Peng Gong Lord sneered. "The Monster Race paid a steep one this time. Anyone would feel the loss of a quarter of their territory."
"But the Monster Race preserved the rest of its territory." Giant Axe set down the battle report, a meaningful smile crossing his rugged face.
"Zhen Jiao played this beautifully. When everyone thought the Monster Race was finished, he found a helper no one had ever considered. The price was substantial, but it was still better than being swallowed whole by the Insect Race and the Demon Beast Alliance."
"If I were Zhen Jiao, I couldn't think of a better solution either." City Lord of Chaos shook his head. "But this has made the Primal Universe's situation even more complicated. The Monster Race, Machine Race, Insect Race, Demon Beast Alliance, and us humans—the four factions are now interlocked like the teeth of a dog. None of them will dare to act lightly."
"Isn't that perfect?" Giant Axe smiled. "We need time to consolidate our new territory and cultivate our geniuses, preparing for the Genius Ranking ninety-nine thousand years from now. It would be best if everyone left one another in peace during this period."
His gaze swept over all the Universe Masters present, a confidence he could barely conceal in his rough voice.
"While the Monster Race and Demon Beast Alliance are still bogged down in territorial disputes, we humans are already doing what we should be doing: recruiting talent and building our foundations. When humanity's name is high on the top ten at the Genius Ranking's opening, it'll be too late for them to catch up."
City Lord of Chaos and the others nodded one after another. A sharp glint lit their cold eyes.
Humanity now held the Primal Universe's most expansive territory and had more than a hundred Universe Masters. Founder Giant Axe, with his tenth-tier strength, anchored their top combat power.
Their backbone consisted of a group of fifth- and sixth-tier top Universe Masters, including Darkness Master, Peng Gong, and City Lord of Chaos.
Among all the peak races, humanity's overall strength could be said to stand firmly in the first rank.
More importantly, humanity had the strongest reserve of up-and-coming geniuses.
Even before the Sky Screen appeared, the Virtual Universe Company's system for cultivating geniuses had been honed for nearly a hundred million years. Its accumulated experience, resources, and inheritance system far surpassed those of any other faction.
Now, with the Genius Ranking a million years in the future as their goal, the Human Race was directing even more resources toward its younger generation.
City Lord of Chaos personally oversaw the effort. Every Universe Master opened up their most closely guarded secret techniques, and even Founder Giant Axe regularly made time to teach the super-geniuses.
The moment Luo Feng completed his mission in the Blood Stone Galaxy, Giant Axe even casually added a note to his divine power records: "Domain Lord, first rank; killed sixty World Lords alone. Luo Feng of the Virtual Universe Company's Primal Secret Realm. Give him special attention."
Meanwhile, on an unnamed planet at the edge of the Milky Way Galaxy, Yang Yu turned his gaze away from the battlefield and smiled faintly.
Luo Feng's performance had satisfied him.
From the coordination of space laws and saber techniques, to the combined operation of the Nine Tribulations Manual and the Internal World, to the composure and patience displayed in his hunting strategy, every aspect met Yang Yu's standards and even slightly exceeded them.
"The Machine Race played that move rather well."
Yang Yu offered the casual remark, set down his wine flask, and turned to look toward the Universe Ocean. His gaze pierced layer upon layer of spacetime and settled on the ancient, unchanging Star Tower on the Outer Domain Battlefield.
"Let them fight and squabble. It won't affect you anyway. When you reach the Star Tower, you'll learn what a real battlefield is."
The mission points for the Blood Stone Galaxy arrived soon after.
Sitting in his secret chamber, Luo Feng opened the Virtual Universe's points interface. Looking at the long string of numbers, he could not help smiling.
He had independently killed sixty-three World Lord-level members of the Monster Race, earning one hundred thousand points for each, for a total of 6.3 million.
He received an additional one million points for completely clearing the Blood Stone Galaxy.
The two rewards added up to 7.3 million points.
Including the base points he had earned during his fifty years as Inspector Envoy and his accumulated points from these years as a Domain Lord in the Primal Secret Realm, his total had already surpassed ten million.
"Ten million points." Babat's voice rang in his mind, excitement barely contained. "Luo Feng, do you know what ten million points mean at the Virtual Universe Company? Your teacher, Hu Yanbo, was worth about that much back then!"
"That really is a huge amount of points." Luo Feng smiled and nodded. "I can buy the resources the Golden Horned Beast needs to advance to the World Lord level."
In the time that followed, Luo Feng placed order after order.
Using his status as a Primal Secret Region Member, he bought vast quantities of precious metals from the Virtual Universe Company's treasury to accelerate the Golden Horned Beast's evolution.
As one spaceship after another came and went, Luo Feng gathered all the metals needed for the Golden Horned Beast's fastest evolution within a year.
Yang Yu noticed this as well and realized that Luo Feng intended to advance his Golden Horned Beast clone to the World Lord level, allowing him to enjoy the greatest possible cultivation acceleration ahead of time.
That way,
Luo Feng's Human Main Body could remain a Domain Lord and continue enjoying the Virtual Universe Company's benefits, without having to go to the exceedingly dangerous Outer Domain Battlefield. At the same time, he could greatly accelerate his cultivation through his Golden Horned Beast clone.
Yang Yu was happy to see it.
Time passed.
Several years went by.
Luo Feng's Golden Horned Beast clone advanced to the World Lord level as he had hoped.
At once,
Luo Feng's cultivation speed soared!
After just a few days of secluded cultivation, he gained recognition from the Origin of Gold!
Luo Feng's soul and comprehension had both undergone a transformation.
At last, he set his sights on the sleeping Zerg Mother Emperor on Earth.
Virtual Universe.
Luo Feng opened the treasury interface and directly searched for the Ten Thousand Heart Soul Control Secret Technique.
He had coveted this secret technique for a long time.
It was one of the best techniques for Soul Enslavement of a Zerg Mother Emperor.
<The complete Ten Thousand Heart Soul Control Secret Technique>: 1.5 million points (Primal Secret Realm members receive a 30% discount; Primordial Secret Realm members receive a 20% discount; Heaven and Earth Secret Realm members receive a 10% discount; End of World Secret Realm members pay full price).
"1.5 million..." He took a deep breath and clicked to purchase it. "Worth it."
Even many Marquis Immortals would wince at spending 1.5 million points.
But for Luo Feng now, this investment was essential.
After all, he already had a Zerg Mother Emperor right at hand.
The Mother Emperor was a legacy left behind by Hu Yanbo when he occupied Earth. She had been trapped in the Zerg Mother Nest in Shennongjia ever since.
After Hu Yanbo died, the Mother Emperor had been left without a master. The Luo Family had guarded her with heavily armed forces all these years.
A World Lord-level Zerg Mother Emperor.
If he could successfully enslave her, it would be like having a World Lord-level Zerg Warrior legion at his command.
That would become one of his strongest trump cards during both the Domain Lord and World Lord stages.
Once he had obtained the Ten Thousand Heart Soul Control Secret Technique, Luo Feng immediately began secluded study.
Three months later.
Having mastered the third layer of the Ten Thousand Heart Soul Control Secret Technique, Luo Feng emerged from his secret chamber and flew toward Shennongjia.
He did not alert anyone along the way. Even the family members guarding the Mother Nest only sensed a breeze passing by; they did not catch so much as a glimpse of him.
Deep in Shennongjia, the enormous Zerg Mother Nest was inside a sprawling ancient castle.
The castle walls bore the marks of time and were covered with all kinds of vegetation. From time to time, figures could be seen atop its battlements. Their auras were formidable, and every one of them was at the Universe level. A Universe-level slave army was currently stationed there.
"Rumble—"
The castle's main gate opened.
Before you continue