Father

Li Che's father in this life was named Li Hong. When Li Che was born, he had been a ninth-stage Universe Level warrior with a ninth-tier domain and a trace of understanding of the Water Origin Law.

Ever since Li Che could remember, his parents, relatives, and all the family friends and elders around him had emphasized Li Hong's extraordinary standing.

He was a gifted Universe Level expert who had once placed among the top two hundred thousand in the universe country during the Peak Powerhouses Battle.

When he first transmigrated, Li Che had not thought his father's achievement amounted to much.

Only later did Li Che finally change his opinion of that result.

The format of the Peak Powerhouses Battle was much the same as the Peak Genius Battle, except that it was open to Universe Level experts. It was held roughly once every fifty thousand years, and its number of entrants was not much lower than that of the Peak Genius Battle, held once every five thousand years.

For example, the Peak Powerhouses Battle Li Hong had entered had approximately five billion participants. Its preliminary round had been divided into fifty World Districts, and Li Hong's final ranking in one of those districts had been around four thousand.

With a crude bit of arithmetic, the empire had billed Li Hong as one of the top two hundred thousand Universe Level experts in the Ganwu Universe Country. His status had risen accordingly, and the Rongbing Empire had come to regard him as an exceptionally promising world lord prospect.

That ranking might have seemed unremarkable, but dividing those two hundred thousand people among the Ganwu Universe Country's more than ten thousand starfields made it clear just how impressive it really was.

Only after reaching the planetary level and beginning to interact with the wider world did Li Che understand why his father held such a special position among the empire's many Universe Level experts.

His standing was comparable to Nuo Lanshan's in Luo Feng's era.

After Li Che rose to prominence, his father Li Hong had gradually attracted the Rong Bing Country Lord's personal attention as well, receiving preferential resources and focused training.

By now, over the course of these fifty thousand years, Li Hong had become a sixth-stage domain lord. His understanding of the Water Origin Law had grown increasingly profound, and he had become one of the more capable domain lord instructors in the Holy Land Genius Camp.

"The first thing you'll face in the Peak Genius Battle's selection process is an exceptionally brutal and intense mass elimination round. The Giant Axe Battle Arena will select the best hundred thousand from at least seven billion entrants in the universe country. Your ability to survive will be absolutely crucial..."

When Li Che saw his father in this body again in the physical universe, Li Hong was inside an enormous building in the Rongbing Holy Land, explaining the Peak Genius Battle's preliminary selection rules to a group of Stellar Level youngsters.

He certainly had the qualifications to do so. After all, he was an expert who had fought his way through the Peak Powerhouses Battle and had extensive experience in melees, survival, and staying alive against the odds.

Below him sat more than a thousand Stellar Level youngsters. They gazed with longing at Li Hong as he spoke confidently on the raised platform, their eyes filled with anticipation for the Peak Genius Battle.

They came from a wide range of backgrounds. Some were geniuses from the Rong Bing and Qi Yao imperial families, some were core disciples raised by the two holy lands from childhood, and some were even princes and princesses from the lower-tier civilizations under the empire's rule.

By the standards of a middle-tier civilization, they were all stellar-level talents. At the very least, they had mastered a first-tier domain at the ninth stage of the stellar level, giving them, in a sense, the potential to become domain lords.

Many of these young talents saw the Peak Genius Battle as a crucial stepping stone in their lives.

After all, it was an excellent opportunity to display their talent. Even if they failed to place among the universe country's top hundred thousand and advance to the second round, they might still catch someone's eye and become peripheral members of the Five Major Powers or join the Ganwu Secret Realm, which answered directly to the Ganwu Universe Country.

Li Che had no intention of interrupting his father. Only after Li Hong finished his address did he reveal himself, making the sixth-stage domain lord's eyes light up.

"Li Che! My son! You're finally back!"

He let out a hearty laugh. His Gene Origin Force surged, and he rushed up to Li Che in a few strides, clapping his son firmly on the shoulder.

"Father!"

The force of a domain lord's hand naturally had no effect on Li Che. He smiled at his father in this life, a hint of nostalgia showing in his eyes.

During the first few decades of Li Che's life, his father had helped him a great deal. Whether through money or connections, he had spared Li Che much trouble in the earliest stages of his cultivation.

"I heard from the Divine Master that you achieved something extraordinary on the Extraterrestrial Battlefield. You're even qualified to stand as an equal with undying deities like her. That makes me so happy!"

Li Hong studied the intricate black law mark shimmering with silver light between Li Che's brows, then nodded after a moment.

He knew very well that his rapid advancement to domain lord and his current standing were largely thanks to Li Che, so he paid close attention to his son's circumstances.

"That's true, Father. At least within the Rongbing Starfield, my words carry some weight." Li Che smiled as he transferred a large sum of universe currency into his father's bank account.

Li Che knew his father and mother in this life fairly well.

His mother had originally come from a noble family in a lower-tier cosmic civilization. Back then, she had only been at the ninth stage of the Stellar Level and had worked as a low-ranking instructor at the Ganwu Dojo, teaching combat experience to Planetary Level young warriors.

After Li Hong and Li Che rose to prominence one after the other, Li Che's mother had used the resources available to her to cultivate to the universe level. She was now a junior instructor at the Ganwu Dojo. Although she had yet to master a domain, she was still considered part of the backbone of a Ganwu Dojo branch in a small locality.

Although Li Che's father had once been a powerful Universe Level expert ranked among the Rongbing Empire's top ten, Li Che knew very well that he was easygoing and lacked ambition.

Otherwise, with Li Hong's talent, he could easily have applied to become a peripheral member of the Five Major Powers. That would have given him access to considerable resources and far greater prospects than serving as a minor instructor in an undying deity's divine kingdom.

"Father, do you think the empire has anyone this time who can make the top thousand in a World District during the first preliminary round?"

Li Che had no intention of interfering with his parents' choices. As father and son chatted casually, the conversation turned to the upcoming Peak Genius Battle. Li Che was clearly quite interested in the seeded contestants representing their divine kingdom this time.

He had never actually experienced the Peak Genius Battle firsthand in this life, after all, and he felt some anticipation for this premier competition spanning the entire universe.

"There might be a chance. Our empire has been lucky this time. The Qiyao Holy Land has produced a promising youngster, a descendant of a lower-tier civilization's imperial family. He's very talented. He's only at the stellar level, but he's already close to mastering an eighth-tier domain, and he's particularly good at fighting. With some luck, he could certainly make the top thousand in his World District."

Li Hong spoke freely, pulling up the information on a ninth-stage Stellar Level warrior to introduce him to Li Che.

"The Divine Master Qiyao did mention that she hoped I would guide this youngster's cultivation..." Li Che nodded, remembering that before he came, the Divine Master Qiyao had indeed asked him to look after the seeded contestants from their divine kingdom.

He had plenty of time anyway, so he simply asked Li Hong to summon the Stellar Level youngster and personally taught him the knowledge of a warrior.

After careful consideration, Li Che decided to set everything else aside and focus on training the youngster's force-exertion techniques to improve his strength amplification. He would help him gain greater control over his body before the Genius Battle began, boosting his combat strength in the most direct way by increasing his force multiplier.

For the young Stellar Level warrior, this was an enormous and welcome surprise. For Li Che himself, it was merely a matter of spending a few hours each month offering a little guidance.

Time flew by, and more than three years of this quiet, unhurried life soon passed.

Only after those three years did the Divine Master Rongbing contact Li Che through the Virtual Universe, inviting him to discuss the details of competing for the marquis-level undying deity's legacy.