Time passed, and in the blink of an eye, Luo Feng had already spent three years on the main continent of Yanji Land.
Over these three years, Luo Feng led an extraordinarily fulfilling existence—a relentless cycle of battle and cultivation that saw his power grow ever stronger. The majority of his time was devoted to meditating on combat insights, unraveling the mysteries of the Laws, grasping the profound essence of the Beast God’s artistic conception, and delving into forbidden techniques. Across this period, he engaged in fifteen battles, claiming the lives of twenty-two alien Marquises and nineteen undying Legion Commanders.
Among them, eighteen Marquis and thirteen Army Lords were slain by the Golden-Horned Giant Beast’s clone, while the Earthling Luo Feng himself had only killed four Marquises and nine Army Lords—and even those Marquises were eliminated solely by the Shiwu Wings.
This made Luo Feng increasingly realize…
That he was still very weak!
Though his grasp of the Laws was astonishingly swift, he had merely cultivated for a few millennia. In comparison, the original secret realm lords of the Virtual Universe Corporation might not match his speed in comprehension, yet they had honed their skills for hundreds of thousands—even millions—of years. Their mastery of the Laws was scarcely inferior to his, and every one of them had attained the rank of Marquis.
Furthermore, the top twenty or so were nearly on par with the comprehension level of a King.
And the strongest few had even reached the 18th Floor of the Heavens-Touching Bridge in Law comprehension!
However, they were still far, far behind Kedi. The higher one advanced in Law comprehension, the more difficult it became to ascend each level. For example, Zhenyan and others were stuck at the 20th Floor, unable to step into the 21st Floor even after countless eons, clearly showing how incredibly difficult it was to progress further. Advancing from the 18th to the 19th Floor was nearly as difficult as progressing from the 1st to the 18th Floor combined!
The difficulty increased exponentially.
Therefore, although the 18th and 20th Floors might seem close, almost every generation of original secret boundary lords could reach the 18th Floor, but reaching the 20th Floor… perhaps only one emerged in ten million epochs.
…
During these three years, Luo Feng did manage to build a reputation.
The clone of the Golden-Horned Colossal Beast was even capable of slaying peak-level Marquis powerhouses. Though among the eighteen Marquises it had slain, only two stood at the pinnacle of their rank, the Golden-Horned Colossal Beast’s reputation had already spread far and wide. After all, numerous high-ranking Marquises had met their demise beneath its wings—a feat typically achievable only by high-tier Kings.
Yanji Land teemed with mighty beings and innumerable exotic races, yet scarcely more than a thousand Monarchs existed among them.
Each king was bestowed with a royal title.
The Golden-Horned Giant Beast always appeared as a “Silver-Colored Beast,” and with the terrifying power of his wings, he gradually earned the nickname “Silver-Winged King.” As for Luo Feng’s Earthling body, he was merely at an ordinary level on Yanji Land and thus remained unnoticed.
…
In the fourth year of Luo Feng’s stay on Yanji Land, within the central virtual world of the Machine Race.
“Tzvika,” a tall Machine Race youth suddenly called out on the street.
“Senior Brother.”
A handsome Machine Race youth, primarily silver in color, with some golden accents on his waist and arms, slightly bowed his head in respect.
“Tzvika, how did you fare in the battlefield beyond the domain?” the tall Machine Race youth asked with a smile.
“I’ve already fulfilled 51.2% of the master’s requirements. Currently, I’m stationed at the seventh battlefield—the Yanji Land. This place is teeming with elite alien warriors, so my efficiency should improve significantly. I estimate that after eliminating another thousand alien Marquises, I should be nearing mission completion,” the handsome youth of the Machine Race replied with a confident smile.
The Machine Race was very different from other races. When a Machine Race individual was first born, they were merely an intelligent lifeform. As intelligent beings…
They were naturally inclined to acknowledge a master.
Within the Machine Race, a cosmic-level Machine Race individual would have some “Machine Race immortals” acknowledge their mastery!
Even a powerful Machine Race overlord like the Chaos City Lord would have “cosmic-level Machine Race individuals” acknowledge their mastery! Such acknowledgments had long been established… unless one day a servant surpassed their master, in which case the Machine Race’s upper echelons would order the master to immediately dissolve the master-servant relationship. Otherwise, the master-servant bond would last forever.
The entire Machine Race was structured like a pyramid.
A single Cosmic Overlord controlled numerous cosmic-level Machine Race individuals, who in turn controlled even more Machine Race immortals!
They had emotions, they could feel resentment, jealousy, anger, excitement, joy, and many other emotions. However, “acknowledging a master” was a core ability of intelligent life. Once a master was acknowledged, the servant would be absolutely loyal to their master by nature, without a hint of betrayal. They might feel jealousy or dissatisfaction toward others of their kind, but their loyalty to their master was absolute!
A pyramid-like ruling structure!
This was the Machine Race—a race of absolute hierarchy, utterly free of betrayal, and an extremely terrifying race.
“Completed 51.2%? Tzvika, you’re truly excellent. No wonder the master favors you,” the tall Machine Race youth said with a half-smile.
“The master’s grace, I must repay with all my strength and life,” the handsome Machine Race youth remained humble, maintaining a respectful demeanor.
“Very well, continue your efforts and ascend to the throne of kingship at the earliest,” commanded the towering youth of the Machine Race.
“Yes, senior brother. I will work hard and learn from you,” the handsome Machine Race youth bowed deeply.
“Hmm.”
The towering youth of the Machine Race snorted and ignored “Tzvika,” seething inwardly, “Hmph! Just because you evolved from the master’s starship as an intelligent lifeform during his vulnerable years and shared life-and-death trials with him—now merely a peak Marquis—yet you receive more of the master’s favor than us, the Kings! Hmph… Had the master not granted you so much aid, how could you have slain so many alien Marquises? You speak so flippantly, claiming you’ll complete the mission after slaughtering another thousand alien immortals! Hmph… I truly wish you’d perish on the battlefield!”
(Note: “封侯” and “封王” are rendered as “Marquis” and “Kings” respectively, reflecting the hierarchical titles in a fantasy context while preserving the original resentment and sarcasm. The term “Tzvika” is retained as a proper name without translation.)
The handsome youth glanced at the departing senior brother, a flicker of coldness flashing in his eyes.
“The master’s servants, especially these so-called ‘Kings,’ all strut about arrogantly just because their power exceeds mine, offering unsolicited advice and flaunting their superiority. What a pack of fools. Do they even remember where they were when the master and I faced life and death side by side in the old days? Hmph, they must be seething with envy over the unbreakable bond we forged back then. If not for the clan’s laws demanding deference to higher ranks, I wouldn’t even deign to acknowledge their existence,” Tzvika mused with cold contempt.
He truly looked down upon those who were crowned as kings.
The master regarded him as a brother of flesh and blood; how could he possibly care about these mere titles of nobility?
“Going to see the master, to report directly to him. Hmph, those fellows… probably wish to see the master but must wait for their chance. Unlike me, I get to meet the master frequently.” Tzvika touched his alloy nose slightly, raised his head, and walked toward where his master was.
The Machine Race’s virtual world could span an entire star sector.
Therefore, across the hundreds of star sectors of the Machine Race’s territory, each sector had its own virtual world.
Although scattered across different sectors, each sector could communicate with the “Central Base” for overall coordination. Of course… this was very cumbersome, and generally only a few Machine Race individuals had the privilege to enter the “Central Base.” Tzvika… through the virtual world deployed by the Machine Race on the battlefield, after a long transmission, finally entered the Central Base with his consciousness.
This was the only way he could communicate with his master.
The “Central Base of the Machine Race’s Virtual World” was also known as the “Yulan World.”
…
A pyramid-shaped spaceship was flying over Yanji Land.
“Haha!”
The Machine Race youth “Tzvika,” wearing emerald battle armor, opened his eyes and smiled, “The master treats me so well. I only need to complete 80% of the master’s requirements, and he has given me another treasure. If those envious senior brothers knew, they would probably be even more resentful. But what can they do?”
“A bunch of fools.”
“Though my own power may pale in comparison to theirs, in battles of life and death… the Machine Race has always thrived on cunning stratagems. With the myriad treasures and hidden aces bestowed upon me by my master, not even an immortal Monarch could lay a finger on me. Driven to desperation, I could inflict grievous wounds even upon a peak-level Monarch.”
(Note: “封王” is translated as “Monarch” to convey the regal, supreme connotation in a fantasy context. The phrasing maintains the original’s defiant tone while adapting martial arts/fantasy terminology for fluid readability.)
Tzvika was quite confident.
For in recent years, he had slain numerous celestial beings from beyond, among them many who bore the title of Marquis. Countless battles had tempered his spirit, forging within him an unshakable confidence.
“Huh?”
“This Human Realm Lord… Detector, projection!”
Tzvika ordered.
In an instant, as Tzvika sat upon the alloy chair, a shimmering three-dimensional projection materialized before him. Within the luminous display, a human Realm Lord clad in obsidian battle armor sat in meditative repose, legs crossed in perfect stillness.
“A human Realm Lord? Yanji Land actually has a human Realm Lord?” Tzvika touched his alloy nose, frowning. “His detector must be top-tier. Even among our Machine Race, only peak-level Marquis would be equipped with such technology. As for other alien species… typically only immortal-level Kings would possess gear of this caliber.”
“A feeble human Realm Lord wielding such a sophisticated detection device.”
“Luckily—”
“My detector was bestowed upon me by the master—far more advanced than the scanning instruments even the Machine Race’s Kings wield!” Tzvika slammed the alloy chair and rose to his feet. “This little one is still in cultivation and hasn’t even sensed my presence yet… To possess such cutting-edge equipment as a mere World Lord, his origins must be extraordinary indeed.”
“He might even possess great treasures of the human race!”
“And he’s likely a super-genius among humans. Even if he’s not a super-genius, he must have a formidable background. The bigger the background, the better. The bigger the background, the more astonishing his wealth might be. The more of a genius he is… the higher his military merit value will be.” Tzvika’s eyes gleamed. Alien experts didn’t care about the background of a human genius.
“Approach!”
“I shall slay this mortal Realm Lord,” Tzvika commanded without hesitation.
The cheap pyramid-shaped spaceship immediately flew toward Luo Feng’s cultivation location.
…
As the saying goes, “One who often walks by the river is bound to get their shoes wet.”
These three years, relying on his detector, Luo Feng could attack whoever he wanted and block whoever he didn’t want to be detected by. However—when the enemy’s detector was more advanced than Luo Feng’s, the initiative would shift to the enemy’s hands.
…
At this moment, Luo Feng was completely unaware of the approaching danger. He had split off a thread of consciousness to connect to the virtual universe.
In the virtual universe, within the private movie theater of Luo Feng’s mansion on the Nine-Star Bay of the Black Dragon Mountain Island.
Luo Feng and Xu Xin were sitting inside the movie theater watching a film.
It was just the two of them.
“This is much more entertaining than Earth’s movies,” Xu Xin whispered. Luo Feng held his wife’s hand and smiled, “There are so many talented people in the universe dedicated to creating films. Whether it’s the plot or the virtual technology, it’s all incredibly exciting. Naturally, it leaves the viewers awestruck and thrilled.”
The couple watched the film together, occasionally whispering and conversing.
This was the most common way Luo Feng and his wife exchanged feelings.
“Hmm?” Suddenly, Luo Feng’s expression changed.
“What’s wrong?” Xu Xin was startled.
“Honey, I’m sorry,” Luo Feng smiled apologetically and instantly vanished, his consciousness returning to reality because he had already encountered a terrible danger in the real world.
Xu Xin abruptly stood up, feeling nervous and anxious.
She knew Luo Feng was wandering the battlefield beyond the domain and couldn’t help but feel deeply worried.
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