Chapter 92: Disguise

'Drip!'

Following the traction signal emitted from Origin Star, Lu Qingshan soon boarded a spacecraft and flew along a designated corridor into the interior of Origin Star, then landed on its spacecraft parking platform.

'Class-E spacecraft? Must be a Boundary Lord!'

A young man in a silver uniform, upon seeing Lu Qingshan's spacecraft, said: "This should be the 91st Boundary Lord. Just nine more, and this batch of powerful warriors can head to the Outlands Battlefield!"

Beside this middle-aged man, another middle-aged man, upon seeing Lu Qingshan's spacecraft, immediately said: 'What do you know? There are differences even among Class-E spacecraft. Don't stand there dumbfounded—come with me to greet this elder!'

As he spoke, the middle-aged man swiftly walked toward the direction of the spacecraft.

Whoosh!

The hatch opened.

A figure stepped out from inside the spacecraft—a middle-aged man clad in purple-gold battle armor, his face stern, radiating an extremely powerful aura of pressure.

This man was Lu Qingshan, who had used a secret technique to alter his appearance; after casually stowing the spacecraft into his personal World Ring, Lu Qingshan turned directly toward the staff member beside him.

'Respected Immortal Deity, I am a staff member of Origin Star. How may I assist you?'

The middle-aged man in standardized battle armor hurriedly bowed in respect, while inwardly he was slightly astonished: 'The pressure radiating from this Immortal Deity is so immense—he must have crossed into the Marquis rank! But why is his spacecraft so ordinary?'

After all, for a Marquis-rank powerhouse, crafting a Class-F spacecraft was an extremely simple matter; the Class-E spacecraft Lu Qingshan now rode, worth only 2,000 credits, was undeniably shabby.

Lu Qingshan casually glanced at the staff member clad in standardized armor—he had golden fur covering his body and a long tail trailing behind him, unmistakably a Domain Lord from the Ape Clan.

'I intend to head to the Outlands Battlefield. Which direction should I take?' Lu Qingshan asked softly.

'My lord, the Cosmic Army must use the collective corridor. As a solitary traveler like yourself, you must follow this corridor to the gathering point!'

The Ape Clan's Domain Lord staff member quickly pointed to a wide corridor entirely made of transparent crystal, then bowed respectfully: "My lord, this corridor is approximately three thousand kilometers long. Simply walk to its end, and you will reach the gathering point—there, a dedicated attendant will be assigned to receive you!"

'Hmm!'

Lu Qingshan nodded slightly, then walked forward along the corridor ahead; moments later, he reached its end, where a vast, beautifully scenic square lay before him.

Lu Qingshan looked out—the square was enormous, its diameter exceeding a hundred kilometers; even with nearly ten thousand cosmic warriors gathered here, it still appeared sparsely populated.

At the entrance to the corridor, several Boundary Lords were already gathered.

'Sigh, us solitary travelers—we always have to wait until we gather a hundred Boundary Lords before departing. What a drag!'

'Tell me about it! I spent over ten years traveling by spacecraft just to reach Origin Star, and now I have to keep waiting here!'

'No choice. Compared to the Cosmic Nation armies, our numbers are pitiful. If every single one of us could be teleported directly to the Outlands Battlefield, Origin Star's logistical costs would be astronomical! You're lucky to arrive now—I came here when there were only three Boundary Lords, and I've waited sixteen days already!'

'What can we do? We're weak—just have to wait patiently!'

These Boundary Lord powerhouses gathered together, drinking and chatting.

'Huh, look, someone else just arrived.' One Boundary Lord, glancing casually toward the corridor, said.

Hearing this, another Boundary Lord turned his head—and immediately stood up, bowing deeply toward the middle-aged man in purple-gold armor: 'Greetings, my lord!'

The other nearby Boundary Lords, seeing this, also quickly rose and bowed slightly.

Seeing this, Lu Qingshan merely nodded slightly, inwardly marveling at the power of time.

When he first traveled to the Outlands Battlefield, his situation was much like these Boundary Lords' today—but now he had crossed into the Marquis realm!

At that moment, murmurs arose from elsewhere in the hall.

'Wow, an Immortal Deity!'

'Is this an Immortal from within Origin Star?'

'Probably not—I've seen Origin Star's Immortals; they mostly wear white robes!'

As these murmurs rose, the gate at one side of the square opened, and out stepped an Immortal Deity clad in white robes.

This white-robed Immortal stood four meters tall, with two thick, powerful legs and four immensely stout arms, his face bearing only a single vertical eye.

He clearly belonged to a renowned human race: the 'Anjialuo Clan'!

Anjialuo Clan members reach Cosmic rank upon adulthood; though not as formidable as Man Ka Starfolk or Huangshen Clan members, who attain Domain Lord rank at maturity, their bloodline is still quite exceptional among humans.

Of course, whether Anjialuo Clan, Man Ka Starfolk, or Huangshen Clan, their bloodlines had been enhanced generation by generation through postnatal effort—thus their life gene levels remained only double that of ordinary cosmic life.

Still, as darlings of the earth, Anjialuo Clan members possessed considerable advantage in comprehending the Earth Primordial Law; the dense aura radiating from this white-robed Immortal confirmed he had broken through using the complete Earth Primordial Law.

'Hello!'

The white-robed Anjialuo Immortal soon walked to Lu Qingshan's side: "I am Wang Feng, assigned to guide solitary powerhouses arriving at Origin Star. You're here to head to the Outlands Battlefield, correct?"

'Correct,' Lu Qingshan replied with a smile.

'Wait a moment,' the Immortal Wang Feng said promptly.

Then Wang Feng turned to the other solitary powerhouses in the square: "You youngsters are lucky! Because you've encountered an Immortal Deity, you no longer need to wait for a full hundred Boundary Lords—you'll be teleported shortly to the most glorious, yet most brutal, Outlands Battlefield!"

Hearing Wang Feng's words, the solitary powerhouses in the square were delighted.

'Great! Finally no more waiting!'

'We're really lucky this time!'

'Of course! That's a true Immortal Deity—how many Immortals does a single Cosmic Nation have? Even if Origin Star's logistical costs are high, they'd never make an Immortal Deity wait here!'

'Exactly! In our entire star region's endless history, only one Immortal Deity has ever appeared! But now that I've reached the Outlands Battlefield, I'll become our star region's second Immortal Deity!'

'Silence!' Immortal Wang Feng barked.

The square instantly fell utterly silent—not even a pin could drop.

Wang Feng swiftly scanned the entire square, beginning to divide the solitary powerhouses into groups by realm.

'Cosmic rank—all gather here.'

'Domain Lords—all gather here.'

Most solitary travelers were quickly separated; only dozens of Boundary Lords remained where they stood.

Wang Feng continued: 'As for the Boundary Lords, follow me shortly—I will conduct the basic authority-granting ceremony for you.'

'Authority-granting ceremony?'

'What does that mean?'

"What is that for?"

A group of realm lords quietly whispered among acquaintances; those familiar with the rules of the Outer Battlefield remained calm.

Wang Feng continued explaining: "The authority grant is to determine your rank within the army after you arrive at the Outer Battlefield!"

"The army is not like the idle environments you're used to—it's a place with strict hierarchy; every subordinate must obey their superior's orders."

"Therefore, before you depart for the Outer Battlefield, the Virtual Universe Network will evaluate each of your strengths based on your maximum displayed power within the Virtual Universe, then determine your corresponding authority level in the army!"

"There are three ranks for realm lord evaluation: 'Common Realm Lord Warrior,' 'Elite Realm Lord Warrior,' and 'Realm Lord War General!'"

"Of course, if any of you have never displayed your maximum power in the Virtual Universe, you can still connect your consciousness to it now to do so!"

Lu Qingshan stood quietly to the side, listening.

He had already experienced all this the first time he came to the Outer Battlefield—back then, he was one of those realm lord powerhouses, and he'd been rated as an Elite Realm Lord Warrior merely for crossing the threshold of the Lightning Primordial Law.

Fortunately, his luck was good: one of the realm lord war generals who entered the Outer Battlefield with him had the authority to form an elite squad, and the man refused to join any other strong team, so he directly recruited over a dozen Elite Realm Lord Warriors to form a new squad—Lu Qingshan was among them.

Had it not been for that, he would have been forced to join the Cosmic Army led by an Immortal Deity.

Later, after years of roaming the Outer Battlefield, most of the dozen or so realm lords from his original squad perished there; only he and his squad leader survived until retirement.

But the squad leader was much older than Lu Qingshan, and had already perished over three million years ago—Lu Qingshan had even visited his clan to pay respects!

After giving instructions to those realm lords, Wang Feng handed the authority grant procedures over to several subordinates, then turned to Lu Qingshan and said: "You're a newcomer too, but as an Immortal Deity, you're naturally different from them—come with me!"

Lu Qingshan quickly followed.

That's right!

When Lu Qingshan left the Outer Battlefield before, he had chosen retirement, and the military merit system had erased all his previous records.

And now, hundreds of millions of years had passed; Lu Qingshan had broken through to the Immortal realm, so naturally he was to be treated as a newcomer.

Leading Lu Qingshan down a corridor, Wang Feng asked as he walked: "How should I address you?"

Lu Qingshan paused briefly, then said: "You may call me 'Lei Bao.'"

This time, Lu Qingshan had no intention of revealing he was Lu Qingshan of the Virtual Universe Transport Department—after all, the body-splitting technique was exceedingly rare, and he truly didn't want to draw attention.

So before coming to the Outer Battlefield, he had already learned a secret art to alter his appearance and specifically modified his identity data.

Of course, such disguise could never fool the Virtual Universe—whether body or original self, his consciousness was identical upon entering.

But the mechanical race Cosmic Master who controlled the Virtual Universe likely wouldn't pay attention to a minor figure like him, so there was no need to worry about exposure.

As for the issue of identical divine power signatures, there was no need to worry either—he had never set foot on the Outer Battlefield since becoming an Immortal, so no one here could possibly know his divine power signature or recognize his identity.

Moments later, Lu Qingshan followed Wang Feng into a spacious hall.

Wang Feng looked at Lu Qingshan and smiled: "Lei Bao, the war between our Human Clan and the other three peak clans involves countless cosmic powerhouses. The entire Outer Battlefield is divided into eleven zones, all located beyond our Human territory—that's why it's called the Outer Battlefield!"

"Under normal circumstances, our logistics bases randomly teleport batches of newcomers to various garrison bases on the Outer Battlefield, as assigned by the Virtual Universe system!"

"But Immortal Deities coming to the Outer Battlefield enjoy certain privileges—you may choose which zone and garrison base you wish to be sent to!"

"Of course, if you're unfamiliar with these eleven zones, I can give you a brief introduction!"

"No need."

Lu Qingshan shook his head slightly, then said: "I wish to go to the Seventh Battlefield, Garrison Base 026!"

The Seventh Star Domain Battlefield was originally a vast Cosmic Secret Realm over a million light-years in diameter, filled with numerous dangerous zones.

But after countless eons of brutal slaughter, most of its original dangers had vanished; now the primary threat comes from enemy aliens of other factions.

There are one hundred garrison bases on the Seventh Battlefield, each corresponding to a different combat zone.

For Lu Qingshan, his main purpose in returning to the Outer Battlefield was to hone himself through life-or-death combat—where he went didn't matter, so he chose the place he had fought in during his realm lord days.

"Back then, by chance, I was assigned near Yanji Continent, but I never got the chance to explore Yanji Continent before leaving the Outer Battlefield!"

Lu Qingshan thought inwardly: "Now that I've returned, I can finally fulfill that wish—perhaps I'll even have a chance to claim the Pagoda's treasure!"

"Also, I wonder if the Purple Zi Zi Zhong Wang, who appeared in the original story, has shown up yet—if he has, once I'm stronger, I can take his Purple Bell!"

Lu Qingshan remembered the Purple Bell from the original story vividly—it was a supreme treasure worth 89 Rebao points, nearly as valuable as the soul-type supreme treasure he'd once obtained!

But all this depended on the Purple Zi Zi Zhong Wang already appearing on the Outer Battlefield and already possessing the Purple Bell!

Of course, even if the Purple Zi Zi Zhong Wang hadn't appeared yet, it didn't matter—wherever he trained, it wouldn't hinder Lu Qingshan's self-honing.

"No problem!"

Wang Feng smiled: "The Seventh Star Domain Battlefield has an average mortality rate of 96.8%, ranking third among the eleven Outer Battlefields—definitely a good choice!"

Seeing Lu Qingshan choose his destination so quickly, Wang Feng realized he was well-acquainted with the Outer Battlefield, so he offered no further explanation and continued: "Also, Lei Bao, I now need to grant you your authority level!"

"Though you're an Immortal Deity, your status and military merit requirements upon entering the Outer Battlefield still differ—roughly divided into 'Immortal Commander,' 'Marquis,' and 'Hei Fengwang'—and within each level, military merit varies by faction!"

"I understand," Lu Qingshan nodded.

"Then let's begin!"

Seeing Lu Qingshan nod, Wang Feng's arm-screen emitted a blue light that swiftly enveloped Lu Qingshan.

"Marquis, Initial Rank!"

A voice rang out from Wang Feng's arm-screen, and simultaneously, Lu Qingshan received several messages from the Outer Battlefield's military merit system.

"Indeed, a Marquis Immortal," Wang Feng thought inwardly.

He had already suspected it when sensing the powerful aura radiating from Lu Qingshan—and now his guess was confirmed!

Although there were many Immortal Deities on the Outer Battlefield, the vast majority were merely Commander Immortals!

Even Wang Feng himself was only an ordinary Commander Immortal!

Of course, even Marquis Immortals with their immortal bodies faced grave dangers in the perilous Outer Battlefield.

After completing the authority grant ceremony, Wang Feng quickly led Lu Qingshan to a quiet chamber to rest.

Once all others had finished their authority grants, Lu Qingshan followed him into a grand hall.

The grand hall had a diameter of over a thousand kilometers, with eleven water-curtain-like space corridors built along its perimeter.

Each water curtain was over a kilometer wide and more than a kilometer high.

Wang Feng quickly led the crowd to the seventh water curtain, then said in a clear voice: "This is the spatial passage leading to the Seventh Extraterritorial Battlefield. You are about to be teleported to Barracks Base 026 on the Seventh Extraterritorial Battlefield, where your journey across the Extraterritorial Battlefield will begin!"

"Before you leave, I wish every one of you the ability to leave the Extraterritorial Battlefield alive!"

"Thank you, Immortal!" the gathered lone-walkers shouted respectfully in unison.

Wang Feng's gaze turned to Lu Qingshan, and Lu Qingshan gave a slight nod in acknowledgment.

Then Wang Feng glanced at the others and directly ordered: "Set off!"

Whoosh!

Every gaze fell upon Lu Qingshan at the very front, clad in purple-gold armor.

Lu Qingshan immediately stepped forward, passing straight through the water curtain ahead and vanishing.

Seeing this, the others stepped up one by one and walked into the water curtain.

(End of chapter)