Undercurrents

The light from the distant, scorching binary stars, as it pierced through the clouds and illuminated the land, painted the clouds in a beautiful orange-red hue. Many green-skinned beings of the Yan Ya Clan lived on this land. The Yan Ya Clan were flesh-and-blood creatures, possessing the lower body of a four-hoofed beast and an upper body similar to humans, but with four arms. Naturally peace-loving, they could become incredibly fierce warriors if provoked. Peace! Tranquility! Joy! These were the main themes of the planet inhabited by the Yan Ya Clan. In front of an elegant wooden building, a Yan Ya Clan woman knelt on all fours, leisurely observing her surroundings. “Boom!” A streak of light suddenly descended from the sky, landing directly in front of the Yan Ya Clan woman. It coalesced into a burly figure, whose entire body seemed forged from metal, clad in purple armor. With cold eyes, he looked at the kneeling Yan Ya Clan woman and spoke, “Yan Ya Master!” The Yan Ya Clan woman offered a slight smile: “Hengxian of the Mechanical Race, my friend, what brings you here? This is quite rare.” “This matter concerns the fate of your Yan Ya Clan, its rise and fall. We once shared life-and-death experiences in the Universe Ocean; how could I not come to inform you?” Hengxian Master sat down directly. “My clan’s fate?” The Yan Ya Clan woman looked at Hengxian Master. “You must be aware of the battle between my Mechanical Race, the Insectoid Race, the Monster Race—the Three-Race Alliance—and the Human Faction,” Hengxian Master said. The Yan Ya Clan woman chuckled, “Of course I know. This news has spread throughout the entire Original Universe; it would be rare for a Cosmic Overlord not to know. The Three-Race Alliance clashed with the Human Faction, only for the Three-Race Alliance to retreat in the end… it truly astonished everyone. Come, try the Jade Fruit Wine brewed by my clan.” With a wave of her hand, two wine cups floated before them. The cups were tall and deep, filled with a pale green liquid that exuded a fragrant aroma. A deep gray, elegantly crafted wine pot rested on the ground nearby. Hengxian Master raised his wine cup, stating solemnly, “Humans obtained an Ancient Civilization Legacy, and they are already so powerful despite having just acquired it. If given some time… they will become even more terrifying than the God-Eye Clan during the First Reincarnation Era, that’s for sure. If they can defeat the Three-Race Alliance now, what about in the future? I fear that even a combined force of all major powers in the Original Universe wouldn’t be their match. Once humans become that strong, why wouldn’t they expand aggressively? You know, humans are an extremely invasive race.” The Yan Ya Clan woman paused slightly. Yes. Aggressiveness. In truth, the six peak races—Insectoid, Monster, Mechanical, Human, Prison, and Crystal—were all extremely aggressive and offensive! The laws of racial propagation dictated that a powerful race would inevitably seek to occupy more territory. “Who occupies the most territory in the Original Universe?” Hengxian Master continued, “It’s not us peak races, but your billions of scattered races. Each of you is weak, and each occupies a small domain, but all combined, it’s an incredibly vast territory. If humans truly become invincible, would they spare you? This war is not only a struggle for the Ancient Civilization Legacy but also a battle for the survival of our many races!” “Humans have the Initial Universe; no matter what, they cannot be destroyed,” the Yan Ya Clan woman stared at Hengxian Master. “They cannot be destroyed, indeed. A race with Cosmic Ultimate Experts is destined not to be wiped out, but… while they can’t be destroyed, they can be suppressed,” Hengxian Master said. “We can capture their Cosmic Overlords. If we can’t capture them, we can occupy their territory, or force them to retreat into that Initial Universe.” “Hiding within a small universe, suppressed by the major powers of the Original Universe. The major powers of the Universe Ocean will also covet their legacy and threaten humans to hand it over!” “In this way, the Human Race will find it impossible to advance. They wouldn’t dare send their weaker members out for life-and-death tempering, because it wouldn’t be tempering… it would be certain death! Once a human appears in the Original Universe or the Universe Ocean, they will be besieged and captured! Becoming bargaining chips for the major powers in negotiations with humans.” “If that happens, no human will truly be able to rise. Only a select few like Luo Feng and Chaos City Lord might survive by adventuring or fleeing. But what are just a few of them, even with a few more Cosmic Ultimate Experts, among the major powers? Trapped in one place, unable to propagate enough clan members or geniuses, their racial potential will be limited… they will no longer be a threat!” Hengxian Master stared at Yan Ya Master: “Therefore, for us many races with territory, we must either fight humans, or make them hand over the legacy, or suppress them to prevent their development!” “For lone Cosmic Ultimate Experts, no matter how strong humans become in the future, they won’t fear them. But the chance to force humans to hand over the legacy might be lost later. So, to transcend reincarnation, they must seize this opportunity!” “In summary.” “Whether it’s lone Cosmic Ultimate Experts or us many races with territory, we will besiege humans. My Mechanical Race, the Insectoid Race, the Monster Race, the Prison Race, the Crystal Race, the Northern Territory Alliance, and numerous scattered forces have already joined. You’ll know if you investigate,” Hengxian Master said solemnly. “If you don’t join, you will be excluded! Those who join will naturally form a huge interest group… you should know what to do.” The Yan Ya Master frowned, “Envoys from the Human Faction have also spoken with me.” “Human Faction envoys?” Hengxian Master was surprised. So fast! “They said that if we don’t interfere, they promise never to invade our territory in the future,” Yan Ya Master stated. She actually had another sentence she didn’t say—if they joined the Human Faction, humans would inform them of the ancient civilization cultivation experience on how Cosmic Overlords could become Cosmic Ultimate Experts. “You believe that?” Hengxian Master scoffed. “This war sweeps across the Original Universe. We are friends, so I’ll tell you directly. If you don’t join any side… your fate after the war will likely be tragic.” “And without a doubt, the alliance of major powers is destined to win.” Hengxian Master raised the Jade Fruit Wine. “To join the winning side, or the losing side, it’s all up to you, Yan Ya Master.” He then tilted his head back and drank the Jade Fruit Wine. Gulp~~ “Jade Fruit Wine truly lives up to its reputation as the Yan Ya Clan’s famous wine,” Hengxian Master looked down at the cup. “But if this choice is wrong, I might never drink this fine wine again.” Boom! Hengxian Master transformed into a streak of light and vanished into the high-altitude clouds. The Yan Ya Master… was a highly influential Cosmic Overlord within the secondary power, the ‘Three Mountain Alliance’. Therefore, Hengxian Master was specifically dispatched to persuade her. Persuading the Yan Ya Master… could potentially influence the entire Three Mountain Alliance. “In this war, the allied forces indeed have an extremely high chance of winning. However, too many forces are joining the alliance. Even if I and the experts of the Three Mountain Alliance join, it would merely be icing on the cake. How much benefit could we truly gain? It would likely be negligible!” Yan Ya Master sighed inwardly. Even if they managed to obtain some legacy from humans with great difficulty, with the peak races and Cosmic Ultimate Experts present, would they really give it all to these smaller forces? “But if we join the Human Faction, we will certainly receive guidance. However, they are almost certainly destined to lose and retreat into the Initial Universe… at that time, races standing with the Human Faction will likely face trouble. They would then have to unite, with many scattered races in the Human Faction forming alliances to deal with attacks… it would be very bad.” Cosmic Overlords were not foolish. They all clearly understood… the pros and cons of joining the two factions. The Allied Faction was almost certain to win! But they would gain no benefits and would risk their lives. After all, quite a few Cosmic Overlords had already fallen. The Human Faction was almost certain to lose! But they offered the benefits of Ancient Civilization guidance. However, after the war, there would be trouble. How to choose? … While the Allied Faction was persuading various scattered races, lone Cosmic Ultimate Experts, the Ancestral God Sect, and the Starry Sky Behemoth Alliance in the Original Universe… the Human Faction was also trying to win them over. The Human Faction’s persuasion was more gentle; if they remained neutral, the Human Faction promised never to invade their territory in the future. This point was specifically designed to counter the Allied Faction’s argument that ‘powerful humans would expand and invade your territories’. … The two major factions tried every possible means. However, the decisions of the experts from countless scattered races concerned the fate of their entire race; how could they not be cautious? Therefore, both the Human Faction and the Allied Faction initially saw little success. Clearly, those scattered races… also began communicating in twos and threes, discussing how to address the ‘joining two factions’ problem. There was even another voice—don’t join either faction! In short, it was utter chaos! Both factions employed overt and covert tactics. For example, offering numerous benefits to bribe a Cosmic Overlord, thereby influencing that power… in short, all kinds of methods were utilized! Desperately recruiting forces! If our side gained ten Cosmic Overlords, the opposing side lost ten. This back and forth… was equivalent to 20 Cosmic Overlord combat powers. How could they be soft-hearted? … In the endless desolate starfield, where life could not survive, this vast desolate starfield was Zuoshanke’s territory. “Teacher, Teacher.” Luo Feng came directly to Zuoshanke to pay his respects. “You came to me personally? Your Human Faction is very busy right now, and you are an important figure. Why would you come to me personally? It seems you need something from me again.” Zuoshanke, holding a crystal, walked out, descending the steps one by one. “You only come to me when you need something.” “Disciple is ashamed. I will definitely visit Teacher often in the future,” Luo Feng said, feeling embarrassed. Zuoshanke sat down leisurely: “Let me guess, you came to me to have another will-shocking treasure crafted. And, you probably personally killed a Cosmic Overlord, with video proof, right?” Luo Feng could only nod obediently: “Teacher is amazing.” “In the future, whether you kill a Cosmic Overlord or not, there’s no need for video; just tell me. I trust you wouldn’t lie,” Zuoshanke nodded casually. “Crafting another one is simple. Just wait here for three days. Oh, the Old Beast God from the Starry Sky Behemoth Alliance asked me to contact you. Since you’re here, I’ll inform him, and he’ll be here soon. Meet him, talk… as for whether you succeed or not, don’t worry about my reputation. I have no interest in getting involved in your so-called faction wars.” “Old Beast God?” Luo Feng was surprised.