A New Beginning

Celestial fragment number 80389081, with a diameter of 6,200 kilometers—nearly a quarter of Earth's landmass—yet this was merely the residence of a single Taichu Secret Realm member.

Within the estate, there was a guard squad of 111 individuals.

One General (Realm Lord), ten Captains (Domain Lords), and one hundred Cosmic Warriors (Cosmic Level) formed His Highness Luo Feng's guard squad. The servants, however, were far more numerous, totaling 1,800 male and female servants. After all, the entire celestial fragment was simply too vast; even with the aid of technological tools, maintaining the entire fragment was a significant undertaking.

111 guards, 1,800 servants, and one His Highness—these were the residents of this celestial landmass.

...

“From today onwards, unless I give the order, I do not wish for anyone to enter,” Luo Feng instructed, surveying a secluded small building.

“Yes, Your Highness,” the bald elder Oduo bowed.

“Hmm.” Luo Feng looked at the bald elder. “Oduo, as far as I know, core members can use the Pool of Life to evolve their bodies to the highest stage of their current level, correct?”

“The Pool of Life?” The bald elder was slightly taken aback.

Luo Feng was puzzled. Oduo was also a core member of the Taichu Secret Realm; he should know about it.

“What Pool of Life?” Oduo asked, confused.

“After breaking through to Cosmic Level One, using the Pool of Life can directly advance one to Cosmic Level Nine, can’t it?” Luo Feng countered.

“Your Highness must be referring to the Nutrient Cabin,” Oduo said with a smile. “There’s no such thing as a Pool of Life. Yes, core members of the Virtual Universe Company do have this privilege. As long as one breaks through to Cosmic Level One, or Domain Lord One, or Realm Lord One, they can directly use the Nutrient Cabin. The Nutrient Cabin contains many precious substances that allow cultivators to complete the accumulation of quantity!”

“Oh.” Luo Feng nodded slowly.

Right!

The Pool of Life was Wuka’s term; the younger generation on Manka Star went to use the Pool of Life. Within the Virtual Universe Company, it wasn't necessarily the Pool of Life; using a Nutrient Cabin or Nutrient Pool, wasn't it the same?

“Yes, yes, the Nutrient Cabin,” Luo Feng quickly asked, “How do I apply?”

“Your Highness hasn’t entered the Virtual Universe Network yet, have you?” Oduo chuckled. “Every batch of geniuses in the company must undergo a foundational training process in Chaos City. After emerging from Chaos City, your permissions will change, and many things that couldn't be done before will become available. Your Highness will know once you log in.”

“Oh?” Luo Feng nodded slightly, then his consciousness directly connected to the Virtual Universe Network.

...

Virtual Universe, Taichu District Manor No. 1136.

Inside the study.

Luo Feng sat in a chair, opened his laptop, and immediately noticed a new file on the screen: “Backend Management.”

“Hmm?” Luo Feng gently clicked it.

The file automatically opened, revealing a page with three options: “Life,” “Learning,” and “Training.”

“Life.” Luo Feng gently clicked it open.

A multitude of sub-options immediately appeared, including ‘Star Map,’ ‘Diet,’ ‘Nutrient Cabin,’ ‘Residence,’ ‘Spaceship’… Luo Feng clicked on many of them to browse. They all concerned solutions to various issues encountered while living in the Taichu Secret Realm. Among them, ‘Nutrient Cabin’ was the option to use the Nutrient Cabin to reach the highest stage of one’s current level.

“Apply!” Luo Feng gently clicked.

Beep!

A small screen popped up, displaying a beautiful green-haired woman in a white robe, who smiled and said, “Hello, Your Highness Luo Feng, are you applying to use the Nutrient Cabin? To advance from Cosmic Level One to Nine?”

“Yes,” Luo Feng nodded.

“Your Highness Luo Feng, we will deliver the Nutrient Cabin to your residence within one day,” the green-haired woman said with a smile.

“Thank you,” Luo Feng replied with a smile.

The call ended.

“That was surprisingly simple,” Luo Feng muttered. “And many things like diet and residence are free. Only good spaceships require money to purchase. However, A-grade to D-grade spaceships are all free.” Indeed, generally, items that weren't too expensive were supplied for free.

...

Closing the ‘Life’ section, Luo Feng clicked open the ‘Learning’ section.

The Learning section was divided into ‘Theory’ and ‘Practice’!

Theory primarily consisted of public lectures for the entire Taichu District, usually given by Immortal beings, and occasionally even by Universe Country Lords! These courses either expounded on the eight great Origin Laws of ‘Gold, Wood, Water, Fire, Earth, Wind, Lightning, Light,’ or on the two most difficult Origin Laws of ‘Space, Time.’

There were also courses on mixed laws, such as ‘Space and Gold’ or ‘Space and Wood.’

Some courses focused on techniques.

Others on consciousness training.

...

All sorts of courses were available, taught by at least Immortal beings, and occasionally by Universe Country Lords. These public lectures were exclusive to the ‘Taichu District,’ meaning only Taichu District members could attend!

“There’s no compulsion at all,” Luo Feng couldn't help but smile. “This is good. Go to class if you want, or cultivate on your own if you don’t. It’s quite humane.” However, just looking at the names of the courses and the super-powerful lecturers, one could understand how abundant the resources available to Luo Feng and his peers were.

For ordinary cultivators, even dreaming of being taught by an Immortal was a fantasy.

For example, Luo Feng’s servant, Baikaluo, only had Nuolanshan as a teacher!

Nuolanshan, a Cosmic Level Nine, simply because he was a ‘Giant Axe Title Warrior,’ attracted a large number of people to seek him as a master. One can imagine how precious teaching resources are in the cosmos… yet Luo Feng and his peers were being taught by a large group of Immortals, each teaching their specialized fields, and even Universe Country Lords occasionally lectured!

What extravagance!

“The Learning section is divided into Theory and Practice?” Luo Feng mused. “Theory involves lectures from various powerhouses, but what about Practice?”

He gently clicked it open.

Whoosh!

The Practice section was divided into ‘Sky-Reaching Bridge,’ ‘Illusory Sea,’ and ‘Immortal Altar.’ The page also contained introductions to all three.

Sky-Reaching Bridge: All core members of the Virtual Universe Company are eligible to challenge the Sky-Reaching Bridge. The Sky-Reaching Bridge assesses one’s comprehension of the cosmic origin laws. The deeper one’s comprehension, the higher the number of Sky-Reaching Bridge levels one can clear. The higher the level, the more points one earns!

Illusory Sea: All core members of the Virtual Universe Company are eligible to challenge the Illusory Sea. The Illusory Sea assesses a cultivator’s consciousness strength and willpower! Consciousness and willpower are extremely important in cultivation, breaking through bottlenecks, and combat. By challenging the Illusory Sea, constantly delving deeper from the outermost layer… the deeper one goes into the Illusory Sea, the more points one can earn!

Immortal Altar: The Immortal Altar assesses body exertion. The same body, but different cultivators can unleash different amounts of power! Pure brute force is considered 1 unit. Some powerful cultivators can reach 10 units, 20 units… The true limit of body exertion is 100 units, which is the mark of perfect control over the body. Perfect control over physical strength is a prerequisite for breaking through to Immortality. The Immortal Altar… tests precisely this body exertion! The stronger the exertion, the more points one earns!

“Sky-Reaching Bridge? Illusory Sea? Immortal Altar?” Luo Feng held his breath. “I didn’t expect there to be the Illusory Sea and Immortal Altar in addition to the Sky-Reaching Bridge?”

“Damn!”

“The Virtual Universe Company is truly the Virtual Universe Company; everything is standardized,” the little demon Babata on Luo Feng’s shoulder exclaimed, eyes wide. “They actually have a large group of Immortals, and even Universe Country Lords, giving lectures? And not just the Sky-Reaching Bridge, but also the Illusory Sea and Immortal Altar? How did they create these?”

“Body, consciousness strength, willpower, and comprehension of origin laws—these are the main critical factors for becoming an Immortal,” Babata quickly explained. “Especially the Immortal Altar; this Immortal Altar can actually test pure strength?”

“What’s wrong with testing strength?” Luo Feng chuckled. “Even on Earth, we could test exertion, couldn’t we?”

“It’s different!”

“When cultivators reach your level, a punch naturally contains a trace of law,” Babata quickly clarified. “For example, your brute force might be 1 unit, but your actual exertion can reach 20 units. However, when infused with laws… your attack power reaches 100 units. The testing device measures 100 units, but that’s not your true exertion, do you understand?”

Luo Feng suddenly understood.

Indeed.

Infusing with laws greatly amplifies attack power, making it no longer purely physical strength.

“Click on the Immortal Altar,” Babata urged.

Luo Feng gently clicked.

Immortal Altar: A special testing ground specifically created by the Virtual Universe, which isolates cosmic origin laws, cosmic origin energy, and internal primal energy and mental force, allowing for precise measurement of body exertion.

“Tsk tsk, I’ve never even heard of such a place. Ordinary cultivators wouldn’t know about this kind of place at all,” Babata sighed, shaking his head.

“The best part is that the Sky-Reaching Bridge, Illusory Sea, and Immortal Altar can all earn points,” Luo Feng said with a grin.

...

After reviewing the ‘Life’ and ‘Learning’ sections of the backend management system, Luo Feng was in a good mood and clicked open the third section, ‘Training.’

Clicking it opened a page with a passage of text.

“Within our Virtual Universe Company, points are more effective than money.

Besides challenging the ‘Sky-Reaching Bridge,’ ‘Illusory Sea,’ and ‘Immortal Altar,’ points can also be earned by undertaking training missions.

True powerhouses aren’t forged in comfort.

Only through repeated blood-soaked battles can one continuously surpass oneself and grow stronger.

Training missions are real-world trials.

Training missions are divided into five levels based on their danger: ‘Safe-level,’ ‘Normal-level,’ ‘Difficult-level,’ ‘Dangerous-level,’ and ‘Desperate-level.’

Safe-level: 0% mortality rate.

Normal-level: 10% mortality rate.

Difficult-level: 20% mortality rate.

Dangerous-level: 50% mortality rate.

Desperate-level: 90% mortality rate.

The danger level varies, and the points earned upon successful completion of each training mission also differ. All core members are advised to act according to their capabilities; do not make yourselves too comfortable, or you will be surpassed by others. But also, do not blindly choose the most dangerous missions; without sufficient preparation, you will only lead yourselves to a dead end.

Whether it is ‘Learning’ or ‘Training,’ everything is your own choice as core members. You make your own choices, and you must bear the consequences yourselves.

The path to immortality is fraught with danger. We wish you well, that you may traverse this journey and become Immortal beings.”

...

After reading the final Training section, Luo Feng remained silent for a long time.