Chapter 68: The Eclipse King

Virtual Universe, Thunder Island.

Thunder Island gathers all the powerful beings of the Virtual Universe Corporation’s lineage above the level of Immortal Deity, and is naturally extremely prosperous.

Every Immortal Deity possesses eternal life, allowing them to amass vast wealth, so commerce on Thunder Island is also highly developed.

On a broad, ancient street paved entirely with black stone slabs, various buildings lined both sides.

Among these buildings stood a nine-story tower of immense size, its entrance surrounded by breathtaking scenery, with Immortal Deities occasionally arriving or departing in small groups.

This tower was named “Thousand Treasures Pavilion,” a high-end restaurant on Thunder Island, where the minimum consumption to enter was at least one hundred Huan Yuan units!

On the third floor of Thousand Treasures Pavilion was a luxurious private room, featuring artificial mountains and flowing water in the center, surrounded by exquisite dishes and rich wines.

Around the dining table sat ten figures.

“Christopher!”

An Immortal Deity radiating explosive flame energy smiled at the banquet’s host: “You’ve clearly spent a fortune—these wines and delicacies must total over a thousand Huan Yuan units!”

“Indeed!”

Another stunning woman added: “Christopher, you’ve just broken through to Immortal Deity—there’ll be many more expenses ahead. You should start saving!”

“I understand!”

The banquet’s host, “Christopher,” quickly laughed: “I’ve finally broken through to Immortal Deity after so long—everyone came to celebrate, so I couldn’t be stingy! Don’t worry—I’ve spent years roaming the Outer War Zones. Though my strength remains modest, I’ve accumulated some wealth.”

“Christopher!”

Another Immortal Deity turned to him: “I recall you cleared the Heavenly Bridge’s twelfth level. Now that you’ve reached Immortal Deity, your divine power should be four hundred times a Domain Lord’s, right?”

“About that.”

Christopher smiled: “Unfortunately, I risked failing to comprehend the Metal Primordial Law, spending over nine million years studying Space Primordial Law—and still couldn’t clear the Heavenly Bridge’s thirteenth level!”

Though he had only cleared the Heavenly Bridge’s twelfth level, Christopher’s base divine power far exceeded four hundred times a Domain Lord’s.

Because he had a rare encounter during his Cosmic Stage!

Back then, Christopher accepted a dangerous training mission called “Blood Luo World.” Though he only completed the basic task—collecting one Blood Luo Crystal—he, under his master’s hint, used every means possible to collect eleven extra crystals.

Even though the Virtual Universe Corporation offered a high price of 600 points per crystal, he never sold a single one.

In the long years of cultivation that followed, he finally succeeded in fusing three Blood Luo Crystals, becoming one of the exceedingly rare “Blood Warriors” on Blood Luo Continent.

After becoming a Blood Warrior, whenever he activated the mysterious power within him from the Blood Luo Crystals, his base strength doubled—even after becoming an Immortal Deity.

Thus, his current base divine power has reached eight hundred times a Domain Lord’s, enough to rival high-ranking Military Lords who cleared the Heavenly Bridge’s fourteenth level!

But his understanding of the Primordial Laws is far weaker, so his overall strength still falls short of those high-ranking Military Lords.

“Clearing the Heavenly Bridge’s twelfth level is already quite impressive!”

Another Immortal Deity sighed: “You and I are both Endtime Secret Domain Lords. Though I broke through two million years before you, I still haven’t cleared the twelfth level! If I’d known, I’d have trained longer during my Domain Lord stage!”

“Actually, I owe my breakthrough to your reminders!”

Christopher raised his cup: “When I first gained recognition from the Metal Primordial Law, I thought I was just one step away from fully comprehending it—only needing another hundred thousand years. So I turned to studying Space Primordial Law!”

“It was you who reminded me how difficult that final step is. So eighty thousand years ago, I abandoned Space Primordial Law and focused solely on Metal Primordial Law. With less than one hundred thousand years left before my Domain Lord lifespan expired, I finally mastered the complete Metal Primordial Law! Had I ignored your advice, I’d never have broken through before my lifespan ended!”

“Yes!” Another Immortal drained his wine and said: “I thought I was one step away from fully comprehending Wind Primordial Law too—but that one step held me back for over a hundred thousand years!”

“Hahaha, no matter what, we’ve all reached Immortal Deity now!”

“Exactly!” Christopher raised his cup again.

After much drinking, Christopher’s gaze turned to Lu Qingshan beside him: “Brother Qing, if only all of us could be like you—our strength still surges forward even after becoming Immortal Deity!”

At these words, everyone’s eyes turned to Lu Qingshan.

All of them were geniuses from the same generation of the Heavenly Contest who later joined the Virtual Universe Corporation.

Back then, Lu Qingshan met the old acquaintance “Luo Si” during a mission and, through Luo Si’s introduction, joined this circle.

But at the time, Lu Qingshan had only cleared the Heavenly Bridge’s tenth level, making him the weakest in the group, so he had little presence.

As his strength grew, however, he naturally gained everyone’s respect and envy.

“Hahaha…”

Lu Qingshan raised his cup and humbly said: “I’m just lucky. Keep cultivating hard—you’ll all keep improving!”

“Brother Qing!”

Another Immortal Deity, “Gallopp,” who had also cleared the Heavenly Bridge’s fourteenth level, sighed: “It’s not easy for us to improve like you! When we first met, I’d already cleared the fourteenth level—but now you’ve gone from the tenth to the fourteenth, and I’m still stuck at the fourteenth!”

“I bet even when you become a Marquis Immortal like Lu Xiusi, I’ll still be stuck at the fourteenth level!”

Hearing this, Lu Qingshan paused slightly.

Gallopp’s words echoed his own earlier thoughts about Yarvis!

Back then, when he cleared the Heavenly Bridge’s fourteenth level, Yarvis had only cleared the eighth—but now Yarvis had cleared the twentieth, while he remained at the fourteenth!

Yet even Gallopp here was already a rare super-genius in the Human Domain!

“Becoming a Marquis Immortal isn’t easy!”

Lu Qingshan raised his cup again: “Maybe you’ll break through before me, Gallopp!”

“By the way…”

Another Immortal Deity suddenly asked: “It’s been so long—where are Lu Xiusi and Luo Si?”

At this, everyone’s hearts tightened.

Even as Immortal Deities, they were not absolutely safe.

Originally, this circle had fourteen members, including Lu Qingshan.

Over a million years, two Immortal Deities had already perished—including one high-ranking Military Lord!

Lu Xiusi and Luo Si were currently in the perilous Outer War Zones…

“Could they have encountered danger?” one Immortal asked anxiously.

“Probably not!”

Host Christopher hurriedly said: “I just contacted them—they were already on their way back to the military base. They shouldn’t face much danger!”

“Could something have delayed them? Should I send them an email to check?”

As Christopher was about to send the email…

“No need!”

A voice echoed in their ears: “We’ve arrived!”

Moments later, the private room door opened, revealing two figures before Lu Qingshan and the others: “Storm Marquis” Lu Xiusi and “Purple Ray” Luo Si.

“Lu Xiusi, Luo Si!”

Host Christopher rushed forward: “You two are late—drink extra tonight!”

“No way!”

Gallopp teased: “They’re the ones late—why should they drink more? They should just watch us drink!”

Everyone laughed.

Though their strengths varied, the gaps weren’t huge, and after hundreds of millions of years together, their bonds remained strong.

“You probably don’t know yet…”

“Purple Ray” Luo Si walked to the table, drained a cup of wine, and said seriously: “Our Human Clan has suffered a major event!”

“What event?”

Everyone leaned forward. Gallopp asked directly: “Did our Human Clan produce another Cosmic Sovereign?”

For these Immortal Deities, many things mattered greatly—even Christopher’s breakthrough to Immortal Deity was worth celebrating.

But Luo Si had said “a major event for the Human Clan!”

Consider how vast the Human Clan’s domain was!

For a peak race in the cosmos, even the deaths of dozens of Marquis Immortals weren’t considered major.

The last major event in the Human Clan was over a million years ago, when Dream Moon Marquis broke through to Cosmic Sovereign in the Outer War Zones.

“Not quite—but close. And I think this event is even more important than our clan producing another Cosmic Sovereign!” Luo Si refilled his cup and drank it down.

Everyone’s curiosity was fully aroused—they didn’t care that he was sneaking extra wine.

Even Christopher walked over to refill his cup and said: “What’s the big news? Luo Si, tell us!”

“Hahaha…”

Luo Si grinned: “This news is shocking. Lu Xiusi and I only learned of it because we were right there in the Outer War Zones. Do you remember Prince Yarvis of the Original Secret Realm?”

“Prince Yarvis?”

“I heard he cleared the Domain Lord-level Original Heavenly Mountain—did some alien spy assassinate him?”

“Aren’t the alien spies unable to find Prince Yarvis’s whereabouts?”

“Of course! But after he cleared the Domain Lord-level Original Heavenly Mountain, those alien spies went mad, scrambling for information. Our intelligence unit just destroyed a bug-creature spy base recently—apparently led by a Marquis Immortal enslaved by a bug-creature elder!”

“You’re all wrong!”

Amid their curious gazes, “Purple Ray” Luo Si continued: “Prince Yarvis had long gone undercover into the Outer War Zones—specifically, the Seventh Outer War Zone, where Lu Xiusi and I are stationed!”

“Half a day ago, as a Domain Lord, Yarvis wiped out a Peak Marquis-level mechanical race commander in the Twin Vortex Region—but his identity somehow leaked. Countless Marquis-level warriors from the other three factions rushed there to kill him!”

“In that dire moment, Yarvis didn’t retreat—he shattered his limits and broke through to Immortal Deity right in the midst of thousands of alien warriors!”

“Reports say over a thousand Marquis Immortals arrived—but after his breakthrough, Yarvis slaughtered over three hundred Marquis-level warriors in one go, including dozens of Peak Marquis and Limit Marquis!”

“Afterward, Cosmic Sovereigns from the other three factions broke the Outer War Zones’ rules and appeared personally to kill him. Though our Human Clan’s Cosmic Sovereigns also showed up, Yarvis held off one alien Cosmic Sovereign alone before escaping under the protection of our own Cosmic Sovereigns!”

“This…”

After hearing Luo Si’s words, everyone in the room froze.

Only after a long pause did they recover.

“Prince Yarvis is terrifying—he slaughtered over three hundred Marquis Immortals at once!”

“Yes! This is truly terrifying!”

At this moment, the entire group was utterly stunned.

Among these people, the strongest is none other than Lord Storm, Lucius, who has only cleared the fifteenth level of the Sky-Piercing Bridge.

Even Lucius has no chance to struggle against the weakest royal-level immortal.

Yet Alvis, who has only been cultivating for tens of thousands of years, has already wiped out hundreds of royal-level immortals in one go—and even survived encounters with cosmic sovereigns!

“Alvis’s current strength must qualify as unmatched among royal-level immortals!”

“Absolutely! But Alvis will surely break through to the cosmic sovereign realm very soon!”

“This is simply unbelievable!”

“Yes! I thought Dream Moon Sovereign was already incredible, but I never imagined our human race would produce a genius like Alvis!”

At this moment, the group in the private room couldn’t stop marveling.

Just then, “Purple Radiance” Ross continued: “It’s said that Alvis uses the alias ‘Tian Shi’ on the Outer Battlefield, and now foreign powers all refer to him as King Tian Shi!”

King Tian Shi?

Upon hearing Ross’s words, the others in the room felt nothing unusual, but Lu Qingshan’s heart jolted violently.

Yaozhidao ， Yuanzhuzhongluofengjueqizhiqian ， Renleizuqunzhiyousanweidingjianyuzhoubazhu ， Qizhongzhiyibianshizuozhenlexueluodaluwujinsuiyuedetianshigongzhu ！

Lu Qingshan had once visited the Blood Luo Continent in the Tai Chu Secret Realm, delivering precious resources to a royal-level immortal.

But now, a “Youhou Sacred Palace” hovers above the Blood Luo Continent, so according to Lu Qingshan’s deduction, the current ruler must be the Lord of Youhou from the Virtual Universe Corporation.

“I’ve been with the Virtual Universe Corporation for so long, yet I’ve never heard of the Lord of Tian Shi Palace!”

Lu Qingshan thought to himself: “With Alvis’s extraordinary talent and the title ‘King Tian Shi,’ he must be the Lord of Tian Shi Palace from the original story!”

「 Erqietianshigongzhuzaiyuanzhuzhongnenggouyongyoudingjianyuzhoubazhudeshili ， Kendingshiduosheguoshuqianbeishengmingjiyincengcideteshushengmingde ， Jiexialaitayitupo ， Shilikongpahenkuaijiunenggoudadaogaodengyuzhouzunzhele ， Jiushibuzhidaotaxuyaoduojiucainenggouchuangchudingjianyuzhoubazhudemingshengle ！」

Thinking of this, Lu Qingshan couldn’t help but sigh: “This is truly the most astonishing genius in the history of our human race! Less than tens of thousands of years have passed, and I haven’t even finished my current assignment—yet he’s already advanced from a mere cosmic-level cultivator to an unmatched royal-level immortal! Even if this journey doesn’t rival Luo Feng’s in the original story, in the vast cosmos, he is unquestionably the most terrifying and extraordinary genius ever seen!”

Originally, Lu Qingshan had assumed Alvis would at most match the trajectory of the original story’s Shi Huo Sovereign: becoming a royal-level immortal in tens of thousands of years, a cosmic sovereign in hundreds of thousands, and eventually reaching high-tier cosmic sovereign power after eons of cultivation.

Kemeixiangdaoyaerweisijingranshinenggouyongyoudingjianyuzhoubazhushilidetianshigongzhu ！

At that moment, Lord Storm Lucius suddenly turned to Lu Qingshan: “Brother Qingshan, I heard you’re quite familiar with Alvis?”

At these words, everyone’s eyes turned toward Lu Qingshan.

After all, just becoming a disciple of Thunder Illusion King had already made them envious—but now Lu Qingshan had somehow connected with a genius like Alvis…

No!

He should say, he had connected with a supreme powerhouse like King Tian Shi!

“I only escorted Alvis once during a work assignment,” Lu Qingshan waved dismissively. “I wouldn’t say we’re particularly close.”

“Still, that’s impressive!” Lucius quickly said. “Once Alvis breaks through to cosmic sovereign, he’ll surely recruit many immortals into his ranks—you should definitely try to join him!”

“Having a cosmic sovereign as your patron would dramatically elevate your status within the corporation!”

Hearing this, everyone around him looked at Lu Qingshan with envy.

But inside, Lu Qingshan silently shook his head.

Although he and Alvis had a decent relationship, he had no intention of serving under Alvis.

Erluqingshanxinzhongxinzhongqueshiananyaotou 。

If he were merely an ordinary immortal, such a choice might be awkward but still reasonable.

But Lu Qingshan possesses the Multiverse Chat Group as his divine advantage—given enough time, even a cosmic lord won’t be his limit!

Therefore, he has absolutely no need to serve under a friend like Alvis.

(End of Chapter)

Ruciyilai ， Taziranshimeibiyaoquyaerweisizheyangyigepengyoudehuixiaxiaolide ！

(Chapter End)