Chapter 70: Yan Di

After Alvis’s banquet ended, many guests gradually departed.

“Master!”

On the way back to the estate, Hogs, walking behind Lu Qingshan, asked with clear confusion: “Why did you refuse such a perfect opportunity just now?”

“Yes!”

Callista, beside him, also asked in bewilderment: “Lu Qingshan, even the most powerful crowned Immortals were tempted by Lord Tian Shi’s offer—why did you turn it down?”

Earlier, when Alvis had tried to recruit Lu Qingshan to serve under him, Hogs and Callista had been right beside Lu Qingshan, so they had learned of the matter firsthand.

At the time, they had both wished they could accept Alvis’s offer on Lu Qingshan’s behalf—but they were not Lu Qingshan himself, nor even officially invited guests, so they could only watch helplessly as Lu Qingshan declined Alvis’s proposal.

Now that the banquet was over, Hogs and Callista could no longer suppress their curiosity.

Seeing the confusion and concern in Hogs and Callista’s eyes, Lu Qingshan felt a quiet sense of helplessness.

After all, in the original story, even supreme crowned Qiangzhe like Longyu Wang—who had a Shengsi friend as powerful as Zhen Yan Wang—still chose to serve under the Nine Sword Sage.

Alvis, in the future, would become one of the rarest top-tier cosmic overlords in the human race; it was perfectly normal for even invincible crowned Qiangzhe to join his ranks.

In comparison, Lu Qingshan’s refusal of Alvis’s offer naturally seemed extremely strange!

But what could Lu Qingshan say now?

That he was certain he would surpass Alvis in strength? That he would become the pinnacle of this vast universe?

Hogs and Callista might think he had gone mad!

“I simply enjoy my current job!”

Lu Qingshan said calmly: “If I accept Lord Tian Shi’s offer, I won’t have this kind of leisure anymore!”

“Master, we still have to complete missions now!”

Hogs asked again, puzzled: “If you join Lord Tian Shi’s side, your duties certainly won’t…”

“Enough!”

Lu Qingshan cut him off: “Hogs, I’ve made my decision—don’t say more.”

This was the advantage of being a master!

With those words, Hogs, though disappointed, could only respectfully reply: “Yes, Master!”

Thus, Lu Qingshan quickly returned to his estate with Hogs and Callista.

But since they were still on duty, after a brief chat, Hogs and Callista each departed to carry out their own tasks.

Lu Qingshan rested only a few days before accepting a resource transport mission and promptly set out with Deloris and the others.

…

Virtual Universe, Hong Alliance City, Inner City.

In a vast hall, over a dozen figures were conversing—all Cosmic Lords, the true pillars of their respective races.

“Yan Di, well done!”

Huang Jian, Cosmic Lord of the Cosmic Mercenary Alliance, laughed as he looked toward Yan Di: “Zu Zi just suffered a major defeat at your hands—he’ll think twice before confronting our human race’s Qiangzhe again!”

“Hmph!”

Yan Di, as if no one else was present, lifted a cup of fine wine and drained it, then coldly said: “Just an old man who’s trained too long. Give me a little more time, and I’ll crush him effortlessly.”

In fact, several Cosmic Lords around him had trained longer than Zu Zi, yet they felt no offense at Yan Di’s words—instead, they all found them perfectly reasonable.

After all, Yan Di’s performance since he began cultivating had been terrifying.

When Yan Di was still a Cosmic Sovereign, without possessing any special lifeform, he had increased his life gene layer by nearly ten thousand times!

This defied the fundamental laws of the universe!

Back then, the Yaozu , insect race, and mechanical race had all sent countless forces to eliminate Yan Di—far more intense than the persecution Alvis had faced!

Even other alien races across the cosmos dispatched spies into the human race, desperate to uncover the secret of how Yan Di had broken through a hundredfold life gene layer before becoming a Cosmic Lord.

Yet to this day, those alien races had gained nothing.

Yan Di, however, had risen through this perilous environment and ultimately entered the Cosmic Lord realm.

In the past few ten thousand years, Yan Di’s performance in the Primordial Star had become even more astonishing.

Logically, a Cosmic Lord who had just broken through should tread carefully in the Primordial Star, ideally traveling with other powerful members of his race—like You Hou, for instance.

But Yan Di was different.

After entering the Primordial Star, he charged forward without regard for any other faction’s supreme Qiangzhe .

Especially three thousand years ago, during a battle for a top-tier treasure, Yan Di directly confronted Huan Hua, the Insect Race’s Cosmic Lord!

Though the insect race had the fewest Cosmic Lords among the four peak races, each was terrifyingly powerful, excelling in soul attacks—Huan Hua was the strongest among them, her reputation equal to that of the Human Race’s Chaos City Lord, the Northern Alliance’s Star River Lord, and the Yaozu ’s Destruction Prohibition Lord…

Due to the unpredictable nature of soul attacks, Huan Hua was even more dangerous to Cosmic Lords with weaker soul willpower.

A single misstep could mean annihilation by her soul assault—then it would truly be over.

When Huan Hua saw Yan Di appear before her, she was overjoyed—she believed Yan Di, having just broken through, must have weak soul willpower; if she unleashed her full power, she could kill him with a soul attack—even if he had clones, he’d still perish.

Upon hearing this, other supreme beings of the human race panicked. They urgently warned Yan Di to avoid Huan Hua at all costs—even to self-destruct rather than let her destroy his soul—and rushed reinforcements toward the Primordial Star where Yan Di was.

After all, Yan Di possessed several supreme treasures—even if his clone perished, they hoped to recover those treasures.

Yet under these circumstances, Yan Di showed no fear—he charged straight toward Huan Hua.

After unleashing her soul attack, feared by countless Qiangzhe across the cosmos, Huan Hua inflicted not a single scratch on Yan Di—not even slowing his attack.

The sheer power of Yan Di’s soul defense stunned Huan Hua into silence.

Fortunately, Huan Hua possessed formidable physical attacks as well, and ultimately overpowered Yan Di—though she still couldn’t harm him thanks to his precious armor, she seized the newly emerged top-tier treasure.

Of course, though Yan Di failed to claim the treasure, this battle made his name echo across the cosmos.

After this fight, countless Qiangzhe learned that Yan Di’s supreme treasures included at least one peak-tier weapon, one peak-tier armor, and one peak-tier soul treasure—all likely top-grade examples.

This revelation filled the cosmos with envy, jealousy, dread, and fear.

Even powerful races with two or three Cosmic Lords struggled to assemble a set of peak-tier weapon and armor, let alone the rarest peak-tier soul treasure!

Such treasures as peak-tier soul artifacts were scarce even among the Nine Supreme Powers of the Primordial Universe.

Though Yan Di had only created a Cosmic Lord Ultimate Secret Technique, with his near-ten-thousandfold life gene layer and three peak-tier treasures guarding him, even the strongest Cosmic Being in the Primordial Universe would struggle to defeat him.

“Hahaha!”

Nearby, Xu Jin, Cosmic Lord, laughed: “Huan Hua actually thought she could kill Yan Di—she had no idea what she was up against!”

“Who can deny it? If Yan Di had trained longer, he might have already dominated her!”

You Hou sat quietly, occasionally murmuring in agreement.

He and Yan Di were both recently promoted Cosmic Lords—he belonged to the Virtual Universe Company, while Yan Di was from the Giant Axe Combat Arena.

You Hou had once been an extraordinary genius, surpassing even the newly emerged Alvis of the human race; as a Cosmic Sovereign, he had even been hunted by an Yaozu Cosmic Lord!

Yet before Yan Di—who had trained less time but already wielded three peak-tier treasures—You Hou seemed dimmed.

Still, You Hou felt no jealousy toward Yan Di; the human race treated them both equally, granting each a resource equivalent to a top-tier weapon upon becoming a Cosmic Lord.

You Hou had chosen the top-tier weapon You Hou Needle.

Yan Di’s three peak-tier treasures must have come from some other fortune.

Yet You Hou still couldn’t understand.

After all, those were three peak-tier treasures—including a top-grade peak-tier soul treasure!

Even for a true Cosmic Strongest, such treasures would be extremely precious!

What kind of fortune could have granted Yan Di so many rare treasures at once?

He had no idea that Yan Di’s supreme treasures were, to his master, the reincarnated Divine King Shan Ke—who excelled in forging—merely casually crafted items.

Yan Di glanced at You Hou, sensing the veteran Cosmic Lord’s sense of inadequacy.

But what of it?

Yan Di was destined to reach the pinnacle of the cosmos; You Hou meant nothing to him.

“Yan Di,” smiled a rock-life Cosmic Lord of the Hong Alliance.

He was the special lifeform Suishi, known as Suishi Lord, who later joined the Hong Alliance led by the human race and now ranked among its stronger Cosmic Lords.

Suishi Lord smiled and flattered: “Yan Di, your training time is still short. With more time, you’ll surely become a fourth-rank top-tier Cosmic Lord. If you one day create a fused supreme secret technique, you could rival Chaos City Lord and Peng Gong Lord—then the Hong Alliance’s power will grow even greater!”

Suishi Lord himself had already created a Cosmic Lord Supreme Secret Technique, yet he dared not underestimate Yan Di, who had only created a Cosmic Lord Ultimate Secret Technique.

After all, Yan Di had just broken through—it was perfectly normal he hadn’t yet created a Supreme Secret Technique; and even now, his strength rivaled Suishi Lord’s, who possessed only one peak-tier weapon and a life gene layer of just over four thousand, while Yan Di’s survivability far surpassed his.

“Hahaha…”

Yan Di looked at Suishi Lord and laughed heartily: “Suishi, Xu Jin and the others told me you were stubborn and blunt—but you’re not like that at all!”

Hearing this, Xu Jin’s face flushed with embarrassment.

He had indeed described Suishi this way to Yan Di earlier—and it was true—but now Yan Di said it directly to Suishi’s face, which was inappropriate.

Yet Suishi Lord paid it no mind.

He was usually stubborn and blunt—but that depended on the person.

If Yan Di were using only the top-tier treasures granted by the human race, he’d have dismissed them.

But Yan Di now wielded a peak-tier weapon, a peak-tier armor, and a peak-tier soul treasure!

Such treasures—even given infinite time—he could never hope to possess.

Combined with Yan Di’s near-ten-thousandfold life gene layer, his ten-thousand-kilometer divine body, and the backing of the human race, he faced no danger in the Primordial Universe.

Yan Di no longer needed to compete for treasures or hoard resources to raise his life gene layer—he only needed to focus on comprehending secret techniques.

Once he mastered a peak-tier technique, his strength would rank among the top among Cosmic Lords; if he created a fused supreme secret technique, his power could rival legends like Star River Lord, Chaos City Lord, and Destruction Prohibition Lord.

“Yan Di, you flatter me!”

Suishi Lord raised his cup: “I toast you—may you soon master the Cosmic Lord Supreme Secret Technique, even the fused supreme secret technique, and make the Hong Alliance even stronger!”

“Hahaha…”

Upon hearing these words from the Master of Flint, Emperor Yan was clearly delighted, and laughed: “Flint, I’ll take your good words as an omen—hahaha!”

Of course, at this moment, Emperor Yan had no intention of making the creation of a fused supreme technique his own goal.

After all, his goal was to become the strongest being in the universe, like his master, Mountain Guest—and even stronger than other universe dominators!

Nearby, the Master of Youhou felt a pang of unease seeing how warmly the Master of Flint treated Emperor Yan.

Emperor Yan had never witnessed the Master of Flint’s stubbornness, but he had.

It was thirty thousand years ago—he had Ouran encountered a top-tier treasure emerging on the Primordial Star, but while waiting for it to surface, he ran into the Master of Blackfire from the Northern Frontier Alliance.

A top-tier treasure was incredibly precious; neither the Master of Youhou nor the Master of Blackfire would willingly give it up, so they quickly began fighting over it.

As soon as the battle began, the Master of Youhou was already at a disadvantage, and his armor was only a high-grade treasure, causing his divine power to drain at an alarming rate.

Had the Master of Flint not arrived in time, even if he managed to retreat, he would have lost vast amounts of divine power for nothing.

After the Master of Flint arrived, although the top-tier treasure ultimately ended up in the hands of the Master of Blackfire, the latter compensated both him and the Master of Flint with four high-grade treasures!

The Master of Flint was actually quite reasonable: at the time, he had contributed the most, and even if he had taken only one high-grade treasure for himself and given the Master of Youhou just one, the Master of Youhou would have said nothing—but in the end, the Master of Flint chose to split them evenly: two each.

But after dividing the treasures, the Master of Youhou finally understood just how stubborn the Master of Flint was, and how blunt his speech could be.

Even now, he remembered every word the Master of Flint had said.

“Master of Youhou, I know your talent is excellent, but your cultivation time is simply too short!”

“Your current strength is perfectly fine when facing Universe Sovereigns, Universe Tyrants, or weaker Universe Lords.”

“But if you compete for treasures against someone like the Master of Blackfire, you’re far from adequate! The Northern Frontier Alliance is also a supreme faction, and their Universe Lords far outnumber ours in the Hong Alliance!”

“You’ve only created a Universe Lord Ultimate Technique, and your life gene level has barely surpassed a thousandfold—if you encounter a Universe Lord with a natural inclination toward slaughter, you might perish!”

“I know you have the ability to create avatars, but if your main body perishes, all your treasures on it will be lost!”

“Your Youhou Dagger was granted by your clan, right? If you lose this treasure, your human clan will never give you a second one—your strength will only grow weaker!”

At the time, hearing the Master of Flint’s words, the Master of Youhou felt deeply helpless.

He wanted to be angry—the Master of Flint had just helped him, and even split the spoils equally with him;

But he couldn’t bring himself to be happy either, not after hearing the Master of Flint’s words!

And now, Emperor Yan had created only a Universe Lord Ultimate Technique, just like him—yet the Master of Flint treated him with a completely different attitude!

(End of Chapter)