The First Step Toward the Universe

Virtual Space.

Vegetation flourished across the boundless land, and a huge villa stood beside a crystal-clear lake.

Dongguan saw people moving around inside and outside the villa. Like him, they all had a vertical mark between their brows.

Aside from that, some resembled Huaxia people from Earth, just as he did. Others had features similar to other ethnicities, while some had blue or green skin, scales on their faces, or long, pointed ears like elves.

Qiong's little figure of light appeared on his shoulder, now somewhat smaller, only a few dozen centimeters tall.

"These are images of Qiong Luo Race members I once met, recreated here."

"The Qiong Luo Race was spread across entire galaxies and had quite a few branches. But the Qiong Luo Royalty looked like you—similar to Huaxia people from Earth, with the signature Spirit Eye."

As Qiong explained, he guided Dongguan toward the villa.

Instead of going to the largest building, however, he led him to a small building beside it.

"Over there are some recreational facilities, including online games copied from the Virtual Universe. You can play them when you're feeling down, but remember not to get addicted."

Dongguan entered the small building and discovered that it was merely a stairwell. Only after following the stairs down did he find a whole new world.

Bookshelves stretched farther than he could see. It was an underground library.

"Those contain a great many secret arts and reference materials. Many were created by our people, while others were collected from elsewhere. You can read them in the future if you like. They cover just about everything, after all, though the most precious ones aren't here."

Dongguan made a mental note.

In this world, cultivators had incredibly long lifespans. Once they reached immortality, they could only die from external causes; their lifespans had no limit.

The books might look numerous, but as long as he kept cultivating, he would certainly be able to finish them someday. Even if he surpassed their level, he might still find inspiration in them.

But not now.

They entered a side room furnished with a desk and chair. The lighting was pleasant and comfortable, ideal for reading.

Several bookshelves filled with books stood to one side.

"This is a translation guide between the Universal Language and Earth's languages. I made it myself. I'll also leave a sub-intelligence to answer your questions about pronunciation. Of course, teaching you the Universal Language is all it can do."

As Qiong spoke, another little figure of light split off from him and flew down onto the desk.

"These cover basic common knowledge. Without it, people will easily take you for a bumpkin. You can read them after learning the Universal Language." Qiong pointed to the other books on the same shelf as the Universal Language dictionary.

"Then there's this one. Psychic Fundamentals is on the first shelf, and Martial Artist Fundamentals is on the second. Just read through them."

This was another, shorter bookcase with two shelves.

"Finally, over here." Qiong grew serious. "These secret arts are the Qiong Luo Race's most essential secret teachings. You absolutely must not pass them on."

"I can't pass them on?" Dongguan nodded, but voiced his confusion. "Is this another secret inheritance of a particular lineage?"

"Not exactly," Qiong explained. "In the past, these secret teachings were treasures of our race. Any cultivator who dared pass them on would be hunted down by our people."

"But now our race is gone, so naturally there aren't so many restrictions on you. It's just that these arts bear the distinctive traits of the Qiong Luo Race. If you're the only one using them, taking some care should be enough. But if you teach them to others and they leak out, someone might follow the clues right to you."

"Is this all?" Although they filled a bookcase, this still seemed like too few secret teachings for the Qiong Luo Race-a race with three billion years of history.

"Of course not. These are the ones I selected for you, the ones best suited to you right now. If you ask for any others, I'll find them for you. Or if you need them during your cultivation, I'll give them to you as well."

"Cultivation is ultimately your own affair. Others can only offer guidance and advice, not make decisions for you. Those were your father's words."

Dongguan thought of the wild, uninhibited figure he had seen in that video and nodded.

He pulled a book from the bookcase.

On its cover, the title was written in both unfamiliar characters and Chinese.

"Heavenly Blade."

"This is a martial artist saber art. Its level isn't particularly high, but it's very interesting, so it was included among the secret teachings. As a foundation for your martial artist cultivation, it's far better than that Ninefold Thunder Blade of yours."

He took out another book.

"Light Control."

"This is a light-attribute cultivation manual, a secret art intended for study. It explains everything from domains to worlds of light, and it was created by Lord Donghua. Your Origin Force attribute is light, and Lord Donghua achieved immortality through the light attribute. It suits you very well."

Although Donghua Qiong Luo had only been an army-lord immortal, anyone who reached immortality had to have fully comprehended a lower law. "Light Control" was undoubtedly a guide to the pure light-attribute path.

"Body Transformation."

Another book.

"This one concerns body cultivation. Although practicing Heavenly Blade can also increase your power multiplier, that isn't what makes Heavenly Blade valuable. Body Transformation takes a different approach, starting from the very beginning and reaching a power multiplier of 100, fully unlocking your own strength. That's a prerequisite for achieving immortality, so you must practice it. Also, after cultivating Body Transformation, your control over your body will become more complete, allowing you to hide your Spirit Eye."

Hiding his Spirit Eye-the vertical eye between his brows-was important. Then he would no longer have to wear a forehead protector.

"Thousand-Leaf Psychic Control."

"This is a secret art for cultivating Spiritual Force. Once you come out of the Nutrient Pod, you can be equipped with specialized plant lifeforms. Thousand-leaf grass is used to replace psychic weapons and can be continuously nurtured as you grow stronger. This manual teaches you how to control thousand-leaf grass and increase your mental power amplitude."

"Soul Control."

"An illusionist manual. At advanced levels, it allows you to perform Soul Enslavement."

"Flow of Time."

"Why is this one here? Ah, I took the wrong one. Still, you'll need to try cultivating it in the future. After all, the Time Law is the Upper Law corresponding to the Light Law. Even gaining an initial understanding would be quite good."

Dongguan returned the books to the shelf, his face expressionless.

After opening them, he had discovered that he could not understand a thing.

It was not a matter of comprehension. The books were simply all written in the Universal Language.

"I'm not trying to trick you. The more profound a manual is, the more precise its wording must be, and the more errors translation introduces. The Universal Language is used throughout the universe, and these manuals were written in it too. Read them once you've learned it."

Looking at the three bookcases, Dongguan took a deep breath and picked up the dictionary, ready to study the Universal Language while cross-referencing the other books, learning as he read.

First came "Heavenly Blade."

After mastering the Ninefold Thunder Blade, he had combined it with 《World Destruction》 and other manuals to explore ways to improve, attempting to condense an eleventh strand of hidden force. But he had never succeeded.

Later, he had changed direction and decided to create his own manual. After all, the Ninefold Thunder Blade belonged to Thunder God. Rather than innovate on someone else's foundation, he might as well use the house already built as a reference and construct a new one of his own.

Now that he had a new manual, he could put creating his own aside for the time being.

He read it while cross-referencing the dictionary.

First was the preface.

"Heavenly Blade was created by Biluò, a genius of the Qiong Luo Race. He compiled its first edition at Universe Level and revised it at World Lord Level. Because Biluò fell on the Outer Domain Battlefield, he never completed a third revision. This preface was written to first explain the unique nature of Heavenly Blade and provide a reference for younger members of our race in their cultivation."

"Biluò was not of the imperial lineage. He comprehended a domain at Planetary Grade and gained an initial understanding of laws at Star Level. From Universe Level through World Lord Level, he possessed greater combat strength than others with equivalent comprehension of laws. After studying his Heavenly Blade secret art, we discovered that it was not specific to the Law of Metal. Instead, it could be applied to all laws and used to aid in comprehending domains and even laws."

"Donghua Qiong Luo."

Then came the main text.

"Heavenly Blade consists of five forms. The first is Blade Intent; the second, Blade Momentum; the third, Ninefold Blade Domain; the fourth, Blade World; and the fifth, Refining Laws into the Blade, also called Heavenly Blade. I intend to create a sixth form, but my ideas remain unclear. I will add it next time."

These were Biluò's words, but Dongguan knew how his story ended. He had died on the Outer Domain Battlefield, so the supposed sixth form naturally did not exist.

Next came the explanation of the first form, Blade Intent. With his experience cultivating the Ninefold Thunder Blade, along with the phantom artistic conception he had comprehended himself, Dongguan quickly gained some insight.

This, too, was a kind of artistic conception-the artistic conception of the blade.

As he read, Dongguan grew eager to try it and looked toward Qiong, who had not yet left.

"I'd like to practice it. Where can I go?"

"Right next door. Just go there yourself. You already know how to operate the Virtual Space. I'll be leaving now."

"You're leaving? Why?"

"Aren't I supposed to repair your spaceship?" With that, the little figure of light vanished.

"Wait, help me send a message."

He wanted to let Zhang Yu know he was safe, but Qiong was already gone.

Looking at the little figure of light on the desk, which was less animated than Qiong, Dongguan vigorously rubbed its head. It felt tender yet hard.

"Forget it. I'll study the Universal Language, then read."

Time gradually passed, and three months went by in the blink of an eye.

Hong arrived at Ruins No. 32 aboard a blood-red fighter jet.

"Hall Master." The base supervisor hurriedly saluted.

"Where did Dongguan disappear?"

"Right here." The base supervisor pointed to the ground where Dongguan had vanished.

"Dig," Hong ordered.

Fog Island.

Luo Feng had come here once again.

This could be considered the place where his rise began.

The last time he had come here, he had been with Dongguan.

Spirit of Plants and Trees, the cloud-touching vine—quite a lot had happened.

Luo Feng stepped onto the damp grass and walked slowly.

He had still only mastered the first level of the Beast Taming Secret Art and was working on the second. However, his mental power amplitude had risen to 9, allowing him to control nine Flying Daggers at once and attack at full strength with each.

After this period of cultivation, his Spiritual Force had become more condensed, and his physical fitness had reached its peak. Aside from breaking through to Planetary Grade, he could no longer improve his foundations.

"Planetary Grade." As he walked, Luo Feng recalled his travels.

He had visited the European Union, Russia, the Americas-both North the Americas and South the Americas-Africa, Antarctica, and the Arctic. Now he had come to Australia.

He had seen much in the base cities and Wilderness Zones: the ruins of cities from before the Great Nirvana, and the different customs and ways of life in the present-day base cities.

He felt that the opportunity to break through was right before him, yet no matter what he did, he could not grasp it.

"Hm?" He felt the ground tremble and extended his Spiritual Force.

"It seems to be in that direction, underground." Controlling his Flying Daggers, Luo Feng charged downward.

One hundred meters, one thousand meters, two thousand meters...

Soon, he was more than three thousand meters underground.

He moved stealthily through an underground river.

"What..." Luo Feng's pupils contracted. "What is that? A king-level monster?"

It was a monster with thirteen tentacles and a turtle shell. Its tentacles were nearly a kilometer long.

Judging by its aura, it was not merely at Planetary Grade; it had even surpassed the first stage.

"A sea monster?"

This creature clearly did not look like something from land. Only monsters from the sea had such bizarre forms.

Luo Feng cautiously circled around, intending to observe it more closely.

Suddenly, he caught a faint scent of rice.

He focused his gaze.

"A wood bud crystal!"

Because he had read the relevant information this time, Luo Feng recognized it the moment he saw it.

One of the monster's tentacles was wrapped around a wood bud crystal, but it had not swallowed it. Judging by the faint fluctuations emanating from its body, it was probably still digesting one and could not swallow a second.

"I'll risk it." Luo Feng had never lacked an adventurous spirit.

Moving covertly and relying on the advantage of his Spiritual Force, he launched all nine Flying Daggers at once. He targeted a single spot, cut through the monster's tentacle, and snatched away the wood bud crystal.

Boom!

The earth shook.

Realizing that its hope of advancing further had been stolen, the tentacle monster went berserk. Its tentacles lashed out, trying to seize Luo Feng.

Run. Keep running.

At that moment, Luo Feng was intensely focused, as though he had returned to the days just after becoming a martial artist, when danger lurked everywhere in the Wilderness Zone.

It also felt as though he had returned to that moment in City 024 when he had alerted the Long-Armed Ape King.

He desperately burrowed downward.

Five thousand meters, ten thousand meters-if that was not deep enough, he would keep going.

The Spiritual Force in his Sea of Consciousness continuously gathered, forming a blood-red planet.

"I broke through." Luo Feng was somewhat surprised, but he had no time to attend to the changes in his Sea of Consciousness. His momentum continued carrying him downward.

The nine Flying Daggers cleared the way ahead while his Spiritual Force pushed rock and soil to either side.

At a depth of roughly fifteen thousand meters.

Clang!

He seemed to have struck something.

"What is this? Why can't I drill through it?"

Fortunately, he was now far enough from the monster, and it had not pursued him, so Luo Feng began investigating carefully.

As he pushed aside the surrounding rock, an enormous object gradually emerged.

A hatch slowly opened.

"Ancient Civilization Ruins." Luo Feng hesitated cautiously outside, but ultimately stepped inside.

Light and shadow gathered, revealing the figure of a black-robed child.

"My name is Babata. I've been waiting for you for fifty thousand years."

In truth, Babata felt rather speechless.

While feeding the tentacle monster, Babata had been discovered by Luo Feng, who had stolen the wood bud crystal. Even more absurdly, Luo Feng had actually crashed straight into the Yunmo Star Ship.

"Perhaps this, too, is a kind of fate."

Babata still chose Luo Feng as the heir to Hu Yanbo's legacy.