A Million Years Pass, All Factions Stir

A few days later, a piece of news quietly spread among the upper echelons of the Hong Alliance: Founder Giant Axe had taken Hong as a registered disciple.

For Giant Axe to take a Universe-level being as a disciple was extremely rare in the entire history of the Primal Universe.

Although the news was not made public, those who needed to know were already aware. Upon hearing it, City Lord of Chaos merely said indifferently, "Giant Axe is quite quick with his hands."

Darkness Master chuckled softly from the side, uncharacteristically refraining from making any sarcastic remarks.

Immediately following this, there was new movement within the Giant Axe Martial Arts Arena.

Void Gold Master personally took charge of Hong's cultivation and instruction.

"From today on, Hong will be taught by me personally."

Void Gold Master's voice echoed through the core secret hall of the Giant Axe Martial Arts Arena. "He walks the path of the 'Illusionist Warrior,' and when it comes to temperament and willpower, there is no one else in the entire Hong Alliance better suited for my inheritance than me."

His golden hair hung down to his chest, and his eyes beneath his brows were filled with seriousness.

At the same time, another top powerhouse of the Giant Axe Martial Arts Arena, Ancestor Tree Venerable, also accepted Lei Shen as a disciple under the orders of Giant Axe.

Ancestor Tree Venerable was one of only three top universe overlords in the entire human race, equal in status to Star Prison Devil Lord and Heavenly Eclipse Palace Master.

He was born with a gnarled, tree-like body and a canopy-like crown. When he looked at Lei Shen's slouching, devil-may-care appearance, his crown trembled several times before he asked in a muffled voice, "What do you want to learn?"

"Thunder attributes! The fiercer, the better!" Lei Shen grinned.

Ancestor Tree Venerable's crown trembled again. In his message, Void Gold Master had described this person as "pure of heart and unconventional."

But he did not nitpick.

He would not question a matter personally entrusted to him by Founder Giant Axe.

He simply lowered a branch and hoisted Lei Shen up from the floor of the training ground: "Go strike three thousand six hundred Thunder Tribulation Stakes first; come find me when you're done."

Within a few days, the last two of the three brothers from Earth had also successively entered the tutelage of the human race's peak powerhouses.

Luo Feng was a registered disciple of City Lord of Chaos, currently struggling to comprehend the Way of the Beast God in order to reclaim that "personal disciple" qualification.

Hong had become a registered disciple of Founder Giant Axe.

Lei Shen had entered the tutelage of Ancestor Tree Venerable.

These pieces of news were mixed in with reports of other geniuses of the human race being taken as disciples, failing to cause much of a stir in the outside world.

After all, during this period, the entire Primal Universe was staging similar dramas; Universe Masters and top universe overlords of every race were taking in disciples in large numbers, all for the same goal.

The Sky Screen, the Genius Ranking.

A countdown of less than one million years.

In the ancestral land of the Demon Race, Tremor Demon Ancestor pushed the purest royal bloodline beast eggs into the small universe incubation chamber, forcibly catalyzing them at the cost of burning his own essence blood.

Only three eggs remained in the entire incubation chamber; the other seven had cracked during the catalysis process, turning into piles of lifeless, shattered shells in the corner.

Dream Demon Ancestor glared as she picked up the three remaining hatchlings one by one to check their bloodlines. For the first time ever, she offered a "not bad" to a small beast with purple scales on its back.

In the Demon Race, this was the first time in ten thousand years she had done such a thing. But it had to survive, and it had to snatch a name on the Genius Ranking.

The Zerg Queen's screening was even more cruelly understated. She released the hazy soul fluctuations of the Eternal Pearl to shroud the No. 1 Hive, filtering out three elite individuals from hundreds of millions of larvae, codenamed "Blade," "Shadow," and "Erosion."

Among them, "Blade" had been fed with her own blood, while the other two specialized in high-speed stealth and complex toxins, respectively.

Every day, batches of unqualified Zerg warriors in the Queen Palace were painlessly destroyed, turned into nutrient solution for the hive, and reinjected into the next round of screening.

Machine Father God pushed the Seed Project to four million parallel cultivation units simultaneously. When he tested the puppet prototypes of the new generation "Law Fusion Strike Module" in the War Factory, all the prototypes exploded into scrap metal at the same moment, scorching the outer walls of several of his war factories pitch black.

He stared at the sparks and debris, falling into a brief logical self-check, and immediately added a codename: "Evaluation of Expectations in Law Fusion Topics."

The Purple Moon Holy Land and the East Emperor Holy Land were also laying plans in the shadows.

The scouts sent by Purple Moon Ancestor went into deeper hiding after being discovered by human patrol fleets at the edge of the Primal Universe.

East Emperor Ancestor remained unmoved, merely letting his subordinates nonchalantly keep an eye out for any geniuses worth naming; he had lived too long and could afford to wait.

By comparison, the news of those two human geniuses being taken in by various Universe Masters really didn't count as big news.

But Mountain Sitting Guest did not see it that way.

On a nameless planet at the edge of the Milky Way Galaxy, Yang Yu sat cross-legged on the mountain peak manifested by the Jin King Palace, the Fire Dao at his fingertips slowly fading away.

He had just swept his consciousness across the Giant Axe Martial Arts Arena and happened to see the scene of Hong kowtowing to Void Gold Master to become his disciple.

The black-clad youth's eyes were as calm as a bottomless pool of black water; even with a Universe Master standing before him, his heartbeat, breathing, and soul fluctuations were no different from usual.

It was not the tension suppressed beneath a mask of composure, but a true, bone-deep indifference.

Void Gold Master broke protocol and asked one extra question: "Are you afraid of death?"

Hong nodded: "I am. But even if I am afraid, I must move forward."

Void Gold Master did not ask again.

Yang Yu withdrew his divine sense and picked up his wine pot, drinking indifferently.

Time flowed like water, and a million years passed in the blink of an eye.

For mortals, a million years was long enough for species to evolve and civilizations to be extinguished.

For the peak races of the Primal Universe, a million years is merely the duration of a single long seclusion for their high-level powerhouses, a cycle for strategic planning to bear fruit, and the inevitable path for a genius to grow from a seedling into a towering tree.

During these million years, the entire Primal Universe completed a round of reshuffling amidst an eerie calm.

Territorial disputes were shelved, the contention for supreme treasures was deferred, and even the frequency of exploration in the major dangerous lands of the Universe Ocean dropped to a historical low.

All peak races reached an unspoken consensus: before the Genius Ranking was finalized, no one would be the first to ignite a full-scale war.

But the calm was merely a facade.

The undercurrents beneath the surface were more turbulent than in any previous era.

Every peak race poured countless resources into the cultivation of the new generation; Masters of the Universe took on disciples personally, top-tier Universe Overlords held closed-door lectures, and secret realm inheritances were fully opened.

Resources that were once reserved only for the core direct descendants were now provided to anyone with sufficient talent.

This was true for humanity, the Insect Race, the Machine Race, and even the battered Demon Race, which, with bloodshot eyes, poured all its family assets into its descendants.

Because everyone knew clearly.

The outcome of the Genius Ranking would determine the direction of the power landscape in the next cycle of the Primal Universe.

Initial Universe, Chaos City.

Luo Feng sat cross-legged on a prayer mat in the inner hall of the City Lord's mansion.

A million years had passed, and Luo Feng's appearance had not changed much from back then.

However, his temperament seemed to have been repeatedly polished by the whetstone of time, grinding all his outward sharp edges into an internalized keenness; his gaze was as calm as autumn water, without a ripple.

He raised his right hand, and a palm-sized golden scale emerged from his fingertips.

Unlike the trembling instability of his first attempt to condense a prototype scale a million years ago, this time the formation of the scale was so fast it was almost instantaneous.

With a mere thought, golden light and spatial ripples bloomed at his fingertips simultaneously, as if they had long been agreed upon, syncing perfectly without a fraction of a second or a hair's breadth of delay.

The transparent patterns on the surface of the scale that had once caused him such agony were now as smooth as a mirror, binding the fusion of the Gold Laws and Space Laws without leaving a single trace.

Seven Changes of Yan God; he had already mastered the first four changes.

His realm in the fusion of Gold and Space Laws was already comparable to that of an ordinary Venerable!

City Lord of Chaos sat opposite him, his golden robes trailing on the floor, watching calmly as his disciple retracted the final lingering traces of the fourth change of the Seven Changes of Yan God into his body.

He had lived too long and seen too many peerless geniuses; some fell halfway, some were stuck before bottlenecks, and some stopped progressing after a breakthrough.

But from the first day he took this black-haired youth as a registered disciple, he had been constantly revising his judgments.

Until today, it had completely exceeded the expectations City Lord of Chaos once held for him.

Chaos knew clearly that when the Sky Screen opened shortly, Luo Feng would definitely make the list!

In the wave of genius explosions within the human race over the million years, the other two from the Earth lineage also carved out their own reputations.

Under the dual tutelage of Founder Giant Axe and Void Gold Master, Hong's cultivation had long since stepped into the World Lord level.

His combat style was completely different from Luo Feng's; Luo Feng took the path of grand, sweeping, frontal crushing, while Hong was more like a silent dagger tempered in darkness, every strike so precise it was hair-raising.

His willpower had reached the threshold of a Universe Venerable hundreds of thousands of years ago, and now, through training in the Illusion Sea, it had progressed to a degree that even Void Gold Master found noteworthy.

Void Gold Master once said to Founder Giant Axe in private: "If this child can secure a spot on the Genius Ranking, the illusionist martial artist path of my Giant Axe Martial Arts Arena will be truly glorified."

Lei Shen, meanwhile, remained his usual devil-may-care self.

A million years had passed, and while his cultivation had also stepped into the World Lord level, his temperament had not changed in the slightest.

Ancestor Tree Venerable had been angered to the point of his branches trembling countless times, yet he would silently nod after every assessment.

Lei Shen's Lightning Laws and Wind Laws had reached the peak of the World Lord level, and combined with his self-created "Thunder Wind Domain," he was already top-tier among World Lords. However, Ancestor Tree Venerable's evaluation of him remained a single sentence; that "not bad" had been repeated over ten thousand times in a million years, each time with a slightly different tone, from reluctant approval to secret appreciation, and finally to the low, firm certainty of this moment.

As for their Luo Feng, he was already outside the same reference system as the other two.

Hong once commented after breaking through to World Lord: "Luo Feng is the one among the three of us responsible for being the monster."

Luo Feng's three major clones each cultivated a different path. The Golden Horned Beast clone focused on the Gold Laws, having long pushed the origin of Gold from the peak of World Lord to its ultimate bottleneck.

The Mosha Race clone focused on comprehending the Space Laws, and his mastery of the Space Laws had reached the extreme, lacking only a sliver to be fully understood.

The Earthling original body fused the paths of Gold and Space to wield the Seven Changes of Yan God, pushing the Way of the Beast God to the fourth change.

And this was not the end.

During an adventure in the Ancestral God Secret Realm, Luo Feng discovered the Nine Nether Blood Sea, which was shocking in its sheer size.

Moreover, the Nine Nether Blood Sea had birthed World Lord-level offspring.

Luo Feng tried it and discovered that the Golden Horned Beast could actually gestate one!

Thus, the Blood Sea Clone was born.

This was Luo Feng's fourth clone, and also his most special one.

With a size far exceeding that of the Golden Horned Beast, a life gene level far beyond his peers, and a near-terrifying life recovery ability, the existence of the Blood Sea Clone itself was a heaven-defying trump card.

The evaluation given by City Lord of Chaos after observing it was only four words: "An undying body."

From then on, Luo Feng held four major clones, his law comprehension reached the extreme of the Domain Lord peak, and his combat power far exceeded that of an ordinary peak World Lord, enough to go head-to-head with any King-level Immortal.

At the same time, the frenzy of geniuses across the major races was surging just as violently.

Within the Demon Beast Alliance, the Beast Ancestor had unearthed three great geniuses: Lie Tianzun, Star Devourer, and Blood Fang.

Any one of these three had reached the peak of King-level in their comprehension of laws, and their willpower was already comparable to that of an average Immortal.

They were the kind of geniuses rarely seen even once in a hundred million years.

In the Zerg territory, the three World-Master-level Zerg Queens personally cultivated and guided by the Zerg Queen herself had also each reached the King-level in law comprehension, with willpower capable of rivaling Marquis-level Immortals, and attainments in soul techniques that could even compare to an average Universe Venerable.

These three were the Queen's greatest source of confidence!

In the Machine Race territory, the number of geniuses born over the past million years was not high, even after endless screening and elimination.

Only one World-Master-level Machine Race individual named "Zero" possessed talent that was worth noting.

The situation for the Demon Race was better, as they had birthed two geniuses: Demon Wing and Frost Parasite.

Both of these individuals had reached an extremely high level of law comprehension and willpower, leading the Tremor Demon Ancestor and the Dream Demon Ancestor to believe they were fully capable of making the list.

Deep within the Universe Ocean, the Purple Moon Ancestor paused for a long time while personally reviewing the intelligence on Hong. He then opened the comparison of Luo Feng's progress in laws, ultimately scribbling a cold, icy question mark next to the curve graph of the Original Ancestor from back in the day.

The East Emperor Ancestor, as always, made no statement. Yet, one day while idly pruning the branches of the World Tree, a subordinate Universe Master mentioned in passing that "the human named Luo Feng has gained another Blood Sea Clone." His pruning motion faltered for a brief moment, and a leaf drifted into the sea of mist at his feet without even causing a ripple.

On a nameless planet, Yang Yu sat cross-legged as always atop the mountain manifested by the Jin King Palace.

A million years was merely the time for a short seclusion to an existence of his level, but for him, these million years had been incredibly brilliant.

It was in no way inferior to the experiences Mountain Sitting Guest had in his original memories regarding the Origin Continent.

Over these years.

Aside from the initial period when major races and factions were frantically scrambling for territory, the Primal Universe had seen the situation stabilize, shifting the focus toward cultivating geniuses.

This was the optimal choice made by the major races after weighing the pros and cons.

There was no other way.

The existence of the Sky Screen made it impossible for them to ignore.

As long as they could cultivate one genius capable of making the list, then everything would be worth it!

Watching countless races and factions engage in open strife and veiled struggles.

Watching countless geniuses emerge only to fall.

Yang Yu found it all very interesting.

Especially while observing Luo Feng's cultivation progress from the shadows, Yang Yu felt a sense of satisfaction akin to "raising" someone.

After a long while, Yang Yu withdrew his gaze.

"It is about time."

Yang Yu drained the last drop of fine wine from his flask and looked up toward the massive Sky Screen above the Primal Universe, which had been silent for a million years and was about to light up once again.