Chapter 209: Star Ring Belt

Time passes.

"One hour left until we reach our destination, the Star Ring Belt," Captain He Si said, his gaze stern as it swept over the nine present Realm Lord commanders. "The Star Ring Belt is extremely dangerous; Space-time and Jin Zhuan probably know very little about it. Before that, let me give you a brief introduction."

Xiao Yu and Jin Zhuan listened attentively.

Xiao Yu also dared not be careless; the Outer Realm Battlefield is teeming with powerful alien beings, and their tactics are bizarre and varied. If we remain careless, even great strength could still lead to ruin.

"Every part of the Star Ring Belt is a battlefield; combat could erupt anywhere. There is no safe zone here."

"Combat can be divided into two types: one is legion warfare, the other is elite squad skirmishes."

"Ordinary Realm Lord warriors, if not invited to an elite squad, will eventually have to lead large groups of Universe-level Domain Lords, forming legions. These legions, under the Immortal Divine Spirit, wage war against other alien legions."

"The other type is elite Realm Lord squads like ours; a single squad can match a legion."

"Across the Seventh Battlefield, many areas are empty voids; you can see the enemy from afar, and if they're not a match, you can flee early. Therefore, such places cannot serve as battlefields."

He Si lightly tapped the screen on his wrist, and a three-dimensional virtual image materialized in midair within the lounge.

……

"The combat zone we are heading to today is designated No. 003894059682 Starry Sky Combat Zone — the 'Star Ring Belt', a rather famous battleground. Over billions of years, countless alien strongmen have fallen here."

"Fragmented Star Belt, where countless strongmen have fallen, has an extremely terrifying aura," Zu Yi chuckled. "If you feel uncomfortable, you can split a thread of consciousness into the Virtual Cosmic Network."

The true determinants of the Human Race's territorial size are the Universe Overlords, the Lords of the Universe, and the Great Axe.

That is what is called the flesh-and-blood grindstone.

"Perhaps because it used to be a Universe Secret Realm, the planetary fragments are extremely cold and hard; even a Realm Lord's full‑force strike can hardly shatter them," He Si said. "You two must remember, there are too many alien strongmen lurking in the Star Ring Belt, so prolonged combat is prohibited! The longer a fight lasts, the more likely other alien strongmen will swarm in, and even a Marquis‑level strongman may not escape."

A colossal Star Ring region appeared, floating with countless dense meteoroids; when scaled down, it resembled a smooth ring.

"So the Mechanical Race's earlier ambush was just an appetizer!" Xiao Yu laughed.

"Thus the Seventh Battlefield has formed numerous special zones, where countless human and alien strongmen lie in wait, slaughtering each other."

Even aboard the spacecraft, Xiao Yu could still sense an invisible hostile aura approaching. His decades of covert cultivation on Viscara Star, living alongside such aura, made him extremely sensitive to it.

"This is the Star Ring Belt. Its total diameter reaches 1.2 light‑years, the ring's width is one trillion kilometers, and its core formed a dense black hole billions of years ago. Throughout the belt, roughly every million kilometers a massive meteoroid appears, and countless wreckage lies in the middle," Captain He Si continued.

The Star Ring Belt is so vast, and to generate such a level of hostile aura, the number of strongmen of all races who have perished here is unimaginable.

These eleven battlefields of the Human Race's territory are deliberately preserved by the four major races, intended as life‑and‑death trials, from which true strongmen are forged among countless Realm Lords and Immortal Divine Spirits.

The disc‑shaped spacecraft finally arrived at the Star Ring Belt.

In fact, once one reaches Universe‑level, one can split consciousness into the Virtual Universe. Luo Feng, when receiving inheritance on Mo Yin Mountain, even participated in a Universe‑level qualification battle.

Of course, Xiao Yu doesn't need that; his primary soul only needs to focus on matters within the Primordial Universe, leaving all Virtual Universe affairs to his Soul Split.

Xiao Yu's primary soul can simultaneously be aware of everything the Soul Split experiences, including all insights of the World Tree's split within his body.

"Three hundred million kilometers away, there is a Human Realm Lord squad."

"Seven hundred million kilometers away, there is a Human Realm Lord squad."

The Virtual Universe System pushes the coordinates of human comrades and allies within one billion kilometers.

In emergencies, one can also use the Virtual Universe System to call for help; all humans and allies within ten billion kilometers will receive the distress signal.

These two functions constitute the Virtual Universe System's battlefield applications.

"The Star Ring Belt has many alien strongmen," Kuang Feng smiled, "Human strongmen are also numerous, as are alien allies; within a billion kilometers, we have detected two human comrades' coordinates and one alien ally coordinate."

The Human Race, as one of the six pinnacle races of the universe, shelters numerous human sub‑populations such as the Golden Horn clan. Their main battlefields naturally involve these races as well, both to assist the humans and to hone the younger ones.

"Stop."

At Captain He Si's command, "Our base in the Star Ring Belt is temporarily set here."

The spacecraft's hatch opened, and Xiao Yu and the others flew out; Captain He Si alone retracted the lounge, then subsequently retracted the ship.

The ten of them descended onto a star fragment.

"Our recent scan found a deep cavern base there, likely left by a previous team, so we need not expend effort," He Si said, pointing at a protrusion in the distance.

The ten strongmen surged through the void, instantly arriving at the protrusion a hundred kilometers away; around it were eighteen deep passages, all leading to caverns within the fragment's interior.

Xiao Yu and the others flew dozens of kilometers along the deep passages, arriving at an open cavern about a hundred meters in diameter.

"Just right," Captain He Si gestured toward the ground, and the lounge module materialized out of thin air.

The lounge hatch opened, and the ten entered the safe nook.

"I'll first contact comrades and allies within a billion kilometers to assess the surrounding alien strongmen," He Si said, closing his eyes as his consciousness entered the Virtual Universe.

Xiao Yu sat on the sofa, contemplating his future battlefield path. He has two quotas: one is 1 billion merit points from the Military System; once completed, he will be free, no longer bound to solo or squad travel, and can periodically return to camp for supplies, rest, and merit exchanges.

Completing the 1 billion merit by following an elite squad will also let him familiarize the battlefield more quickly and gain detailed experience.

Combat isn't solely a test of raw strength; timing and terrain matter too. Creating better conditions is crucial, as in the previous encounter with a Mechanical Race trap.

Setting traps to craft a favorable combat environment, one that allows both attack and retreat, expands tactical options and raises survival odds.

"Once I reach the 1 billion merit quota, I'll act alone," Xiao Yu thought. "Whether to fulfill the life‑and‑death trial set by the Virtual Universe Company or to gather soul power and complete the Primordial Soul Third Rank cultivation, I must demonstrate sufficient strength. Staying would bring catastrophic ruin to this Realm Lord squad."

Xiao Yu still prefers the current Realm Lord squad's atmosphere.

"Ha ha, I've already contacted our three neighboring squads; they're also Immortal Divine Spirit‑led Realm Lord elite squads. We'll form an attack‑defense alliance—if a super alien strongman attacks, the four of us can unite," He Si opened his eyes.

(End of Chapter)