Meeting on Yuxiang Mountain

On the Ganwu Continent, within Pinghai Company's 89th floor, in Xu Xin's office, a tall, slender, Yinmou-eyed elder in a simple white robe smiled and said, "Your Highness Xu Xin, congratulations. From now on, you are an official core member of the Virtual Universe Company. In the Virtual Universe's Yuxiang Mountain, Doomsday District, you have a residence. You also have a residence in the Doomsday Secret Realm, and you may choose to go there."

"Doomsday Secret Realm? Where is that?" Xu Xin asked with a curious smile.

"Very far," the white-robed elder chuckled. "The company has arranged a special spaceship to pick you up. Even in the dark universe, it will take several years of flight."

"Is it close to the Taichu Secret Realm?" Xu Xin pressed.

"No," the white-robed elder shook his head. "The four great secret realms were born in the vast universe a very, very long time ago. They are all very far apart. The Doomsday Secret Realm and the Taichu Secret Realm are in different star sectors."

"Star sector?" Xu Xin felt a little disappointed. A star sector was arguably the largest unit of scope in the universe. One star sector typically encompassed the territory of a single Cosmic Nation! That was an incredibly vast domain. If the Taichu Secret Realm and the Doomsday Secret Realm were close, Xu Xin would genuinely want to go, so she could be with her husband in reality.

"Your Highness Xu Xin, as a member of the Commerce Department, there's no need for you to travel to the distant Doomsday Secret Realm," the white-robed elder said with a smile. "The environment of the cosmic secret realms is only beneficial to warriors. Almost all Commerce Department members who enter the core reside in their homeworlds. Of course, if Your Highness Xu Xin wishes to go to the Doomsday Secret Realm, you may submit an application."

"No need," Xu Xin shook her head.

"I have conveyed everything. Your Highness Xu Xin, I shall take my leave," the tall, slender elder bowed respectfully and then departed.

Only Xu Xin remained in the office. Looking at the documents on the desk before her, her eyes were filled with excitement.

"Tap! Tap! Tap!" A knock sounded at the door.

"Come in," Xu Xin called out.

"Sister Xu, Sister Xu!" A short-haired woman rushed in, exclaiming, "The review for entering the core has passed?"

"Mm," Xu Xin nodded repeatedly, her heart full of joy.

"That's wonderful!" the short-haired woman cheered excitedly. "Sister Xu, you finally succeeded!"

"Mm, A Lan, thank you for all these years too." Xu Xin looked gratefully at her good friend beside her. This short-haired woman was a close companion she had met when starting her business on Earth. For all these years, the two had been a golden team. Her friend, Dong Lan, had also benefited from her connection with Xu Xin; for instance, even after 100 years, Dong Lan's appearance had changed very little.

"Why are you saying all this? Hurry up and tell your special someone!" the short-haired woman chuckled.

"Mm." Xu Xin took a deep breath. How long had it been... How long had she fought for this day...

"Requesting call." Xu Xin sent a call request to Luo Feng, but it disconnected automatically as soon as it was sent.

"Hm?" "Call request closed?" Xu Xin was startled. "No, he's supposed to leave Chaos City in about seven days. There shouldn't be anything important happening during this time."

"What's wrong, Sister Xu?" the short-haired woman asked, puzzled.

"Can't connect," Xu Xin shook her head.

...

Chaos City. Luo Feng walked out of the City Lord's Mansion, his mind still filled with the insights he had gained from comprehending the Jiuyu Chaos Stele.

"Hurry, there are only two days left before I leave Chaos City." Luo Feng transformed into a streak of light and flew towards his cultivation residence. "I have a vast amount of insights from comprehending the Jiuyu Chaos Stele that I need to digest and internalize into my own understanding. Observing the operation of the cosmic laws in the sky will aid my comprehension."

Whoosh! Luo Feng landed on the rooftop of his cultivation residence, then sat cross-legged, closing his eyes to sort through the insights he had gained from comprehending the Jiuyu Chaos Stele over the past seven days. Occasionally, he would look up at the sky, observing the naturally flowing secret patterns of the universe's origin laws in the cosmic spatial rifts, correlating them and gaining new understanding.

One day, two days...

"Prepare to depart!" A voice suddenly echoed in Luo Feng's mind.

"Hm?" Luo Feng woke with a start, immediately seeing a dark blue spaceship shaped like a 'giant fish' hovering in the sky above Chaos City. Figures were soaring up towards it.

"Time to leave?" Luo Feng also shot up into the sky.

Over eight hundred people flew from various parts of Chaos City towards the spaceship.

As he flew towards the spaceship, Luo Feng looked down at the ancient city shrouded in chaotic energy below: "Master!"

"Outside, it will be hundreds, even thousands of times more dangerous than in Chaos City. Be careful, don't disgrace Zhenyan." A voice, spanning thousands of miles, directly echoed in Luo Feng's ear.

"Mm." Luo Feng nodded heavily. Having spent 20 years with his master, their bond was naturally very deep.

Figures streamed into the spaceship through the entrance of the 'giant fish's' belly hatch.

In the spaceship's lounge. As soon as the 816 young people entered, those who were familiar with each other began to chat.

"Luo Feng, you're ruthless! And you too, Rongjun!" Prince Wuka of Manka Star said with a disgruntled expression. "You two, one passed the fifth level of the Sky-Reaching Bridge, the other the fourth, leaving me far behind. It's too... too disheartening!"

"If you realize the gap, then work harder," Luo Feng patted Wuka's shoulder.

Wuka was startled.

"Indeed, you need to work harder," Rongjun also walked over and patted Wuka's shoulder.

"Damn it, you two bastards! I'm so sad, and you won't even comfort me!" Wuka cried out. Luo Feng and Rongjun both laughed. As Luo Feng, Rongjun, and Wuka chatted and joked in the crowd, others also conversed in groups of three or five, based on their usual closeness.

However, there were still some reclusive individuals who didn't interact with others. Like the white-robed youth carrying a blood-red sword, who always stood alone at the edge, not communicating with anyone else.

Boom~~

As the figure in the cyan battle robe walked into the hall, the heart-pounding aura made everyone fall silent, not daring to utter a sound. "The 30 years of foundational cultivation in Chaos City have concluded." Jiujian Venerable's gaze swept over the 816 young people before him. Everyone lowered their heads, not daring to meet his eyes. "This batch of yours has a relatively poor survival rate, but in terms of achievements, it's an excellent one. Especially Bolan, Luo Feng, and Rongjun among you three, you are very good."

Immediately, a large group of young people below stirred slightly, many turning to look at the three. Bolan had passed the sixth level of the Sky-Reaching Bridge! He had been so far ahead from the start that everyone was already numb to it. Luo Feng had passed the fifth level of the Sky-Reaching Bridge! Rongjun had passed the fourth level of the Sky-Reaching Bridge! Among these three, everyone felt 'numb' towards Bolan, the God of Death. They felt 'envious' of Rongjun, envious that he had a Cosmic Nation Lord as a master. But towards Luo Feng, they felt 'astonished and admiring.' Without a Cosmic Nation Lord as a master, he had actually passed the fifth level. His rate of progress was indeed astounding!

"Hm?" Luo Feng turned his head and saw the white-robed youth, Bolan, looking back at him. Their gazes met. Bolan nodded slightly. Luo Feng also nodded slightly. Both regarded the other as a rival. Luo Feng's goal was to catch up to Bolan and even surpass him. Bolan, on the other hand, aimed to leave the astonishingly progressing Luo Feng far behind.

And at this moment—

"Luo Feng?" Longyun, in a corner of the crowd, silently watched Luo Feng in the distance. "The gap between us is actually growing wider and wider! I'm from the Primal Secret Realm!"

...

After passing through the temporal distortion tunnel, the spaceship finally entered the Original Universe.

"You have left the Initial Universe." The cyan-robed, purple-scaled man looked at the group of young people below. "This signifies the official end of your safest cultivation in Chaos City! Next, you will be divided into four teams and sent to the Primal Secret Realm, Taichu Secret Realm, Tiandi Secret Realm, and Doomsday Secret Realm, respectively."

"From now on, it won't be as peaceful as it was in Chaos City. I wish you good luck, and I hope to see 500 of you alive next time." The cyan-robed, purple-scaled man finished speaking.

Boom~~

The spaceship began to decelerate. Moments later, the hatch opened. Luo Feng and his group filed out of the spaceship, immediately seeing rolling mountains in the distance, numerous other spaceships, and figures flying across the sky. The sky itself was filled with countless stars.

"We've arrived at the Virtual Universe Company's universal headquarters." Luo Feng flew out of the hatch, then slowly descended. "Oh, right, Babata, enable network reception."

"Understood."

...

Virtual Universe, Yuxiang Mountain, Taichu District, Manor No. 1106. In the study. "Xu Xin, there are actually 111 call requests?" Luo Feng appeared out of thin air in the study, opening his laptop. "So urgent? Did something important happen?"

Beep! On the laptop screen, the call request quickly connected, and Xu Xin's image appeared.

"So many call requests, is there something important?" Luo Feng asked, a hint of tension in his voice.

"There is something important," Xu Xin said on the screen.

"What is it?" Luo Feng quickly asked.

"Go to the Wan Yu Tower in the public district of Yuxiang Mountain right now and meet someone," Xu Xin said.

"Yuxiang Mountain public district?" Luo Feng was puzzled. Besides servants, only core members could be in Yuxiang Mountain. He didn't know many core members. Which core member would need to notify him through his wife? There was no such person!

"Who is it?" Luo Feng was full of questions.

"Go, and you'll find out," Xu Xin quickly said. "Hurry, it's very important."

"Oh?" Luo Feng grew even more puzzled.

...

Luo Feng walked out of the Taichu District entrance, then transformed into a streak of light and flew directly towards the public district.

"They know about Wan Yu Tower in the public district? And they're asking me to meet them in the public district? Who exactly is this person?" Luo Feng mused. "In the entire Heilong Mountain Starfield, there aren't many who've entered the core."

The more Luo Feng thought about it, the more puzzled he became...

The public district was very prosperous. This was the only place where the many core members from Yuxiang Mountain's four districts could gather. Core members were known to be very wealthy, so commerce here was highly developed.

"Wan Yu Tower."

"Wan Yu Tower." Luo Feng spotted the name of a nine-story black wooden tower in the distance. The tower was surrounded by a profusion of rare and exotic flowers and plants, filling the air with a faint floral fragrance. Luo Feng then descended into the crowd below and walked towards Wan Yu Tower.

"Who could it be?" Luo Feng, inhaling the floral scent, walked towards the entrance of Wan Yu Tower, then suddenly stopped. In the distance... at the entrance of Wan Yu Tower, beside the beautiful flowers, stood a graceful figure. She was silently watching him. The two stood facing each other from afar, right in front of Wan Yu Tower.