Tegages's Recruitment

Qi Tian and his companion spent four or five hours in the meditation room, drinking and chatting.

Bottles were scattered haphazardly across the table and floor, but as both were at the Universe level, they were only slightly buzzed rather than completely drunk.

Qi Tian told Chi Xin that this was also his first time entering the virtual universe, but he did not reveal his status as a native, nor did he disclose his true circumstances.

In Chi Xin's eyes, Qi Tian was simply a scion raised by a major family who had only entered the world at a later stage.

When Qi Tian mentioned his plan to participate in mercenary adventures, Chi Xin expressed his desire to join him.

While the Virtual Universe allowed one to experience different races and cultures and spar with countless experts, it was, in the end, virtual.

To Chi Xin, the real blades and live ammunition of a mercenary adventure were what truly aligned with his desires.

Just as the two were discussing this in detail, their Smart Optical Computers received a communication simultaneously.

Qi Tian glanced at the notification from the system sprite beside his companion and gestured for him to proceed.

At the same time, he opened his own communication system to review the content.

[I am Weitz, an external deacon of the Virtual Universe Company stationed at Beihua Island. I invite Mr. 'Wutian' to meditation room No. XXX for a meeting.]

After reading the message, Qi Tian felt a surge of pleasant surprise; he had not expected a single battle to lure out a member of the Virtual Universe Company's branch management.

"Qi Tian, an external deacon from the Virtual Universe Company is looking for me..."

After reading his own communication, Chi Xin looked up at Qi Tian, his face showing a hint of apology as he said he would have to leave first.

However, seeing Qi Tian looking back at him, he stopped mid-sentence as the other nodded slightly.

"Don't tell me you also..." Chi Xin asked in surprise.

Qi Tian nodded again, and the two rose together. With a slight vibration of their internal origin energy, the alcohol in their systems dissipated instantly, leaving them completely sober.

After leaving the meditation room, the two followed the signs to the designated room and knocked gently on the door.

"Enter."

Hearing the voice from within, Qi Tian and Chi Xin pushed the door open and walked straight in.

Upon entering, they saw that there was more than one person inside; two individuals sat on the luxurious sofas arranged in a quadrilateral.

Sitting in the main seat was a silver-haired youth wearing casual clothes, his skin pale and devoid of color.

Most striking were his eyes, black as ink; one look felt like being plunged into an endless abyss.

As Chi Xin and Qi Tian stepped through the door and met his gaze, their consciousnesses felt as if they had been pulled into a black hole vortex.

But after only a few seconds, Qi Tian broke free from the vortex. As he regained his mental clarity, his body trembled slightly, feeling as though his soul had been flash-frozen.

He dared not continue staring into the silver-haired youth's black eyes, instead shifting his gaze slightly to the person beside him.

That man wore silver combat armor and was bald, with mysterious patterns etched onto his face. He was currently nodding and looking at them with a smile.

Tegages was quite surprised that Qi Tian had broken free from his mental illusion in mere seconds.

This willpower is not low. To break free so quickly from a mental illusion at the World Lord level...

He then glanced at Chi Xin. Although this little guy from the Dragon-Man Race hadn't broken free, he was still struggling to hold on; his willpower was decent as well.

After testing their levels of willpower, Tegages dispelled the mental illusion and said with a smile.

"Sit."

After being released from the illusion, Chi Xin felt a momentary daze, but upon hearing Tegages's words, he subconsciously sat on the sofa to the side.

"Many thanks, my lord."

Qi Tian first bowed slightly to the two, offered his thanks, and then slowly sat down beside Chi Xin.

Chi Xin, having recovered, was a bit bewildered; he looked at Weitz, who sat opposite them, and then turned to look at the silver-haired youth, Tegages.

"Many thanks, my lord."

Tegages waved his hand with a smile, and Weitz spoke up first.

"I am Weitz, the external deacon of the Virtual Universe Company who sent the message to invite you here, but the one who truly wishes to see you is Lord Tegages. He is the person in charge of the Slaughter Arena on Beihua Island."

Weitz smiled as he introduced Tegages, who sat in the main seat. Qi Tian and Chi Xin bowed slightly to the silver-haired youth once more to show their respect.

"I have already watched the battle you two fought in the Decisive Battle Space earlier. Your strength is quite good," Tegages said with a smile.

"Thank you for the praise, my lord," Qi Tian and Chi Xin said in unison.

"I see that this is your first time entering the Decisive Battle Space, as neither of you had any previous combat evaluations. Are you perhaps scions raised by some faction?"

Upon hearing Tegages's question, both Qi Tian and Chi Xin shook their heads, but Chi Xin added, "I am not a scion of any major faction, but I do have a teacher."

Qi Tian, having shaken his head to indicate he was not from a major faction, remained silent; he was not prepared to offer further explanations.

Tegages observed their expressions and felt a surge of joy. Whether they had a teacher or not was a minor detail; it would not hinder him from recruiting them into the Virtual Universe Company.

As for Qi Tian's attitude, that mattered even less. As long as he hadn't joined another faction, it was fine—what did a few small secrets matter?

"Since you have no faction background, why not join my Virtual Universe Company? Of course, I am referring to the internal organization."

Tegages spoke, waving his hand to manifest a projection screen before each of them, displaying a contract.

Qi Tian scanned the information on the contract and was pleasantly surprised.

The contract offered by Tegages provided two options, both of which involved joining the internal ranks of the Virtual Universe Company.

The first option was to enter the headquarters directly, where he would be provisionally rated as a "Special Elite" and granted access to corresponding resources; during his cultivation, aside from basic training, he would also be assigned life-or-death trials.

Throughout this period, he would be required to remain at the headquarters, with a vacation period granted every ten years, during which he could visit secret realms specifically designated for leisure within the Virtual Universe Company.

A ranking competition would be held every hundred years, and the top one hundred participants would earn the right to challenge for entry into the "Doomsday Secret Realm."

The second option was to join the Beihua Empire branch, registered under the name of his recommender, Tegages, also with the rating of "Special Elite."

Although life-or-death trials were still required at the branch, the management would be slightly more lenient since Qi Tian already possessed the strength of a Universe-level 9.

Every ten years, he would need to complete a two-star mercenary mission, with the specific difficulty level left to his own choosing.

Every thirty years, he would be required to undergo a secret realm trial, with the location set within a modified secret realm inside the Noah Universe Kingdom.

A ranking competition would be held every hundred years, and the top ten participants would be eligible to compete against the elites from the headquarters for those 100 spots to challenge for entry into the "Doomsday Secret Realm."

Tegages sipped his fine wine leisurely from the main seat, and seeing that the two had finished reviewing the contract details, he added further clarification.

"Once you enter the internal ranks of the Virtual Universe Company, your freedom will be restricted, though the branch is more lenient than the headquarters."

"Correspondingly, the headquarters provides greater cultivation support and higher competition, which means the speed of becoming stronger is much faster."

"The branch, however, has weaker competition, and the speed at which you acquire resources and grow stronger is reduced significantly."

After hearing Tegages' words, Qi Tian already had a decision in mind; he was leaning toward the second option.