Chapter 69

One month later, in a quiet small villa within the Virtual Universe Company’s universal headquarters.

“Master, you’re far too calm!”

Hogs, dressed in full ceremonial attire, stood behind Lu Qingshan and said earnestly: “Today is the day Lord Tian Shi holds his banquet—won’t you go earlier?”

“The banquet doesn’t start for another half-day!”

Lu Qingshan smiled and said: “Why the rush?”

Yes!

After leaving the Outer Battlefield, Lord Tian Shi Arvis swiftly returned to the core territories of the human clan.

After learning the news from ‘Zi Mang’ Luo Si, Lu Qingshan had sent Arvis a congratulatory message.

Half a month ago, Arvis decided to host a banquet at the Virtual Universe Company’s headquarters and sent Lu Qingshan an invitation.

Once the invitations were sent out, many elders of the human clan were stunned.

Most invitees were King-level Immortals, some Cosmic Sovereigns and Marquis-level Immortals, but Lord-level Immortals were few—Lu Qingshan was one of them.

When Marquis Qingcang learned Lu Qingshan had received an invitation from Lord Tian Shi Arvis, he was immensely envious.

Had he not still been Lu Qingshan’s superior and slightly stronger in cultivation, he might have wanted to accompany Lu Qingshan to the banquet himself.

After all, as a formally invited guest, Lu Qingshan was entitled to bring two others.

Considering that all attendees would be at least Immortal deities, Lu Qingshan carefully decided to assign one spot to his disciple and the other to Kalista, who had gotten along well with him in recent years.

After hearing Lu Qingshan’s words, Hogs quickly said: “Master, I just wanted to get there early to meet more big figures!”

“Don’t worry!”

Lu Qingshan smiled: “Once the banquet begins, you’ll have plenty of time to meet them.”

Soon after, Kalista arrived at Lu Qingshan’s villa, dressed in full ceremonial attire.

“Lu Qingshan, I’m not late, am I?” Kalista asked with a smile.

“No.”

Lu Qingshan shook his head: “We won’t leave for a while yet.”

“Good!”

Kalista nodded, then smiled: “Lu Qingshan, thank you so much for letting me attend Lord Tian Shi’s banquet!”

“Kalista, you’re too polite!”

Lu Qingshan waved his hand: “It’s just a small thing.”

“This isn’t a small thing!”

Kalista shook her head: “Even my teacher couldn’t get an invitation! My ancestral master received one, but he brought two other uncles—my teacher couldn’t even tag along!”

“Before I sent you the message, my teacher was depressed because he couldn’t attend Lord Tian Shi’s banquet—then I got the chance! When he heard, he was insanely envious of me!”

Here, Kalista glanced at Lu Qingshan, then said shyly: “I actually wanted to ask you to give the spot to my teacher, but he thought it inappropriate, so I gave up.”

Hearing this, Lu Qingshan couldn’t help but laugh.

Kalista’s teacher was the Peak Marquis-level powerhouse ‘Jin Yan Hou’—it would indeed be inappropriate for him to accompany a high-ranking military lord to this banquet!

…

After resting briefly in the villa, Lu Qingshan led Hogs and Kalista swiftly toward Lord Tian Shi Arvis’s estate.

Moments later.

In a core region nearly a thousand kilometers across on the Virtual Universe Company’s universal headquarters continent.

A month ago, this had been a public zone—but within this short month, all facilities here were relocated, and in just three days, a luxurious estate spanning nearly a thousand kilometers appeared: Tian Shi Palace!

Normally, even a King-level Immortal granted residency on this headquarters continent couldn’t obtain permission to build a luxurious estate of this scale.

But Lord Tian Shi Arvis was a disciple of Long Xingzhu, and had achieved King-level invincibility after only tens of thousands of years of cultivation; everyone believed he would swiftly ascend to Cosmic Sovereign—so building him such a grand estate was no surprise!

At this moment, Lu Qingshan had arrived with Hogs and Kalista near the luxurious estate.

“This is Lord Tian Shi’s estate?”

Kalista stared at the opulent, massive villa ahead, her face flickering with awe: “It’s far larger than my ancestral master’s residence!”

“Lord Tian Shi is a disciple of Long Xingzhu, and already possesses King-level invincibility—his residence being on par with those of Cosmic Sovereigns is perfectly normal!”

Beside her, Hogs couldn’t help but say: “But Lord Tian Shi is usually low-key; he ordered the builders to reduce the scale.”

“Enough!” Lu Qingshan waved his hand: “Let’s go in.”

Hogs and Kalista quickly followed.

Soon, the three arrived before the main gate of Arvis’s estate.

At the gate, several stunningly beautiful female World Lords greeted guests; seeing Lu Qingshan’s trio, one stepped forward, bowed slightly, and smiled: “Sir, may I ask your name?”

“I am Lu Qingshan.”

Lu Qingshan displayed his invitation, then smiled: “Lord Tian Shi invited me to the banquet.”

Hearing this, the female World Lord gestured behind her; another World Lord advanced.

“Mr. Lu Qingshan, welcome to Lord Tian Shi’s banquet!”

The female World Lord pointed to the new arrival, then smiled at Lu Qingshan: “Follow him to the banquet hall—he’ll inform you of the etiquette.”

“Mm.” Lu Qingshan nodded, then followed the World Lord into the estate.

Watching Lu Qingshan’s retreating figure, the greeting female World Lords whispered among themselves.

“That Lu Qingshan must be just a Lord-level Immortal.”

“Correct! I’ve heard of him—he’s a well-known high-ranking military lord in the Transport Department.”

“Among Lord Tian Shi’s invitees, there should be only a dozen or so Lord-level Immortals—Lu Qingshan must have a good relationship with him.”

…

Under the World Lord’s guidance, Lu Qingshan and his two companions soon entered the vast hall.

Though Lu Qingshan’s group arrived early, the hall already held over a hundred figures—mostly Marquis-level Immortals and Lord-level Immortals.

Lu Qingshan quickly spotted a familiar Marquis-level Immortal: Yerman, disciple of Lei Huanwang and his senior brother.

“Senior brother!” Lu Qingshan approached with Hogs and Kalista.

“Junior brother!”

Seeing Lu Qingshan, Yerman was clearly surprised: “You received an invitation from Lord Tian Shi too?”

“Mm.”

Lu Qingshan nodded and smiled: “I met Lord Tian Shi during my work, so I got invited.”

“It’s surely more than just acquaintance.”

Yerman smiled: “I know most invitees are King-level Immortals or Marquis-level Immortals—even some Cosmic Sovereigns—but only a dozen or so Lord-level Immortals received invitations!”

“Don’t be fooled by the number of Lord-level Immortals here—most came as companions! For you to be invited directly, your connection with Lord Tian Shi must be deeper than mere familiarity.”

“I just got lucky,” Lu Qingshan laughed.

Thus, Lu Qingshan chatted with his senior brother Yerman, occasionally greeting other powerful figures.

As time passed, one superpower after another arrived.

Not only from the Virtual Universe Company, but also from the other four great factions.

Some wore gray robes; others had long, flowing hair; some donned noble, ornate robes; others wore blood-stained Immortal battle armors; some even rode miniature strange beasts…

Some stood dozens of meters tall; others were less than half a meter.

“My master is here!”

Standing beside Lu Qingshan, Yerman suddenly spoke: “Junior brother, let’s go greet him.”

Lu Qingshan turned and saw Lei Huanwang approaching with several familiar King-level Immortals, including Jing Lei Wang.

“Alright!” Lu Qingshan nodded and hurried over with Yerman.

“Master!” Both Lu Qingshan and Yerman bowed respectfully before Lei Huanwang.

“Mm.”

Seeing them, Lei Huanwang was clearly pleased: “You two are lucky—your thirteenth senior sister didn’t even get an invitation; she came with me. Yet you both received yours!”

“Master, I just got lucky!”

Yerman quickly said: “Lord Tian Shi’s family once faced trouble—I…”

“Don’t tell me that,” Lei Huanwang cut him off: “Being here is your fortune. Later, I’ll introduce you to other powerful figures.”

“Thank you, Master!” Lu Qingshan and Yerman nodded quickly.

“Alright, I’ll go greet others.” With that, Lei Huanwang walked off with the other King-level Immortals.

“Alright! I’ll go greet the others first!” With that, Lei Huanwang walked over with several other Immortal Kings.

As time passed, Lord Tian Shi Arvis finally appeared, greeting arriving Cosmic Sovereigns and a few select King-level Immortals.

With thousands of guests and attendants present, Lu Qingshan was utterly unremarkable—Arvis had no reason to approach him personally.

Once all invited guests had arrived, the banquet was about to begin.

“Ladies and gentlemen!” A King-level Immortal stepped onto the raised dais at the front of the banquet hall, addressing the assembly of Immortal deities.

Lu Qingshan immediately recognized him: one of the Grand Masters of Yanshan Line, a King-limit powerhouse whose strength rivaled Lei Huanwang—Jushi Wang!

Hearing Jushi Wang’s voice, the Immortal deities scattered throughout the hall fell silent and looked up.

“In our human clan, geniuses are as countless as fish swimming down a river!”

Jushi Wang declared loudly: “Each of you here who has reached your current realm is not without extraordinary talent!”

“Many call geniuses once-in-a-thousand-year or even once-in-ten-thousand-year wonders—but the one I speak of today is far greater, so much so that even Long Xingzhu himself called him a once-in-ten-million-year genius of our human clan!”

“When many praise geniuses, they say the person is a peerless genius born once every thousand or even ten thousand eons of our human lineage! But the individual I speak of today is far stronger than those geniuses—even the exalted Lord Longxing once called him a peerless genius born once every tens of millions of eons of our human lineage!”

Who is he?

Grandstone Marquis smiled at Alvis, then shouted loudly: “He is the prodigy who successively shattered the Cosmic, Domain, and World Lord levels of the Original Ascension Mountains, and upon attaining Immortality, instantly gained the power of an Invincible King—on the Outer Battlefield, he wiped out hundreds of Invincible Immortals in a single strike and escaped unharmed from the furious assault of the Demon Clan’s Golden Kow Lord. My junior brother—the ‘Sky Eater King,’ whose name strikes terror into the hearts of alien Immortals—Alvis!”

“Let us all welcome Alvis up here! May he grow even stronger in the future and wipe out even more alien elites!”

At Grandstone King’s enthusiastic invitation, Alvis quickly ascended to the stage.

Below, the guests were all filled with awe.

“He wiped out hundreds of Invincible Immortals at once—Sky Eater King is truly incredible!”

“Yes! If I could wipe out that many alien Invincible Immortals in one go, I’d gladly perish right then and there!”

“Don’t dream! Even the weakest Invincible Immortal could crush you and me without effort!”

“I wonder how long it will take Sky Eater King to break through to Cosmic Zun er realm?”

“It shouldn’t take long! I bet he’ll surpass Dream Moon Zun er, who broke through not long ago!”

…

On another side, after greeting everyone on the stage, Alvis soon entered a quiet chamber beside the hall.

Inside the chamber were only about twenty figures, but aside from Alvis, every single one was a Cosmic Zun er of the Human Clan!

“Sky Eater!”

A Cosmic Zun er radiating intense heat smiled and said: “You’re being far too courteous to those youngsters. With your current power, even if you ignored them, they wouldn’t dare utter a word of complaint!”

Hearing this, Alvis smiled: “Still, they came here to celebrate me—I couldn’t just leave them standing by.”

“Enough of that talk now!”

Another Cosmic Zun er raised his cup: “Sky Eater, congratulations on becoming Immortal. May you soon join us as a fellow Cosmic Zun er!”

“I will.”

Alvis raised his cup as well and drank it down with the other Cosmic Zun ers.

“Junior brother!”

One Cosmic Zun er quickly turned to Alvis: “Fifth Senior Brother and Seventh Senior Brother originally planned to come celebrate you, but they happened to encounter a supreme treasure emerging on the Original Star, so they were delayed.”

“Iceheart Senior Brother, just you coming has made me very happy!”

Alvis smiled in reply, then asked curiously: “What exactly is this Original Star? How can a supreme treasure emerge there?”

Hearing this, the surrounding Cosmic Zun ers exchanged glances, then one spoke: “Sky Eater, normally we don’t reveal the truth of the Original Star to anyone below Cosmic Zun er level. But given your talent, you’ll likely become a Cosmic Zun er soon—so telling you won’t hurt.”

“There are 10,081 Original Stars—these are the very heart of the boundless universe. They brim with endless treasures; supreme artifacts are common, and supreme treasures frequently emerge. Each opening triggers bloody battles among countless Qiangzhe across the universe.”

“The Original Stars open only once every eon, and each opening lasts only a thousand eons. This one has already been open for tens of thousands of years, and many precious supreme treasures have already appeared.”

“So that’s how it is!”

After hearing the Cosmic Zun er’s explanation, Alvis’s eyes gleamed with eagerness.

Others noticed his interest, and soon one said: “Sky Eater, the Original Star draws countless supreme Qiangzhe from across the universe—even Cosmic Lords and Cosmic Tyrants gather there. You generally need at least High Cosmic Zun er power to enter, and there’s always the risk of death.”

“I understand,” Alvis nodded.

…

Alvis’s banquet lasted three full days, during which Lu Qingshan met many powerful figures of the Human Clan, especially Lei Huanwang, who introduced him to several Invincible Immortals.

Though Lu Qingshan was only a High Military Lord, his complete comprehension of the essence of the Time Primordial Law earned him respectful treatment from those Invincible Immortals.

During this time, Alvis also sought out Lu Qingshan himself.

Because Lu Qingshan had left a deep impression on Alvis, he intended to recruit him into his service.

For many Immortals, this was a golden opportunity—once Alvis became a Cosmic Zun er, they would gain a powerful patron.

Yet despite this coveted chance, Lu Qingshan ultimately refused.

Of course, Lu Qingshan’s refusal did not anger Alvis; instead, it raised Alvis’s estimation of him.

(End of Chapter)