The 999th Floor

The female Golden Horn Clan member, Sesi, spoke with unconcealed envy. "Then let's go to the 999th floor," Luo Feng said with a slight smile. "Yes, Your Highness." The female Golden Horn Clan member, Sesi, muttered to herself, 'Just as I expected.' Luo Feng led the female Golden Horn Clan member, Sesi, steadily up the stairs. The higher they ascended, the fewer Golden Horn Clan members they saw on each floor. Above the 800th floor, it was common to find a floor with only a single receptionist overseeing it, with no Golden Horn Clan members present to choose Secret Manuals. Sesi quickly added, "Our Golden Horn Clan has strict regulations. To enter each floor of the Secret Manual Tower, there are stringent Contribution Point requirements. Without enough Contribution Points, one is simply not qualified to enter a higher floor. For instance, to enter the 999th floor, one's Contribution Points must meet the requirement for the cheapest Secret Manual on that floor, which is around 98 million Contribution Points. Only His Highness... because you can freely choose one for free, there are no Contribution Point requirements." Luo Feng smiled. Contribution Points? He didn't have a single one. "How are Contribution Points calculated within your Golden Horn Clan?" Luo Feng asked as they continued up the stairs. "Contribution Points have many sources," the female Golden Horn Clan member, Sesi, explained. "For example, giving birth to a child for the clan earns Contribution Points. Improving one's strength, reaching the Domain Lord level, Sector Lord level, or breaking through to Immortal status, all come with Contribution Point rewards. There's also joining the army... earning military merits by participating in wars for humanity can also be exchanged for Contribution Points. In short, as long as one contributes to our Golden Horn Clan, one earns Contribution Points." Sesi continued, "Contribution Points are extremely useful. They can be used to purchase Secret Manuals, weapons, treasures, and even large numbers of guards. Many things that cannot be bought with currency can be acquired with Contribution Points." Luo Feng was secretly astonished. The Golden Horn Clan, as an affiliated race, possessed a strong sense of crisis. The importance of Contribution Points had been elevated to an alarming degree, even extending to earning points for bearing children. Under such measures... a race's cohesion would be astonishing, and the power it could unleash would be exceptionally terrifying. This was evident from the fervent challenges Luo Feng had received from so many young Golden Horn Clan members earlier. Before they knew it, they had reached the 999th floor. At the entrance of the 999th floor, there was also a receptionist for this level. Their primary duties were to ensure that those selecting Secret Manuals had sufficient Contribution Points, and to monitor for any clan members daring to damage the trial copies. "His Highness, Luo Feng of humanity," the old man at the entrance bowed slightly. Luo Feng also smiled and nodded. This old man was already an Immortal God, and the strongest among all the reception and oversight members in the entire Secret Manual Tower. "His Highness, Luo Feng of humanity," the old man said, gesturing to the surrounding bookshelves. "The 999th floor is the highest level of the entire Secret Manual Tower, where the most precious trial copies of Secret Manuals are gathered. There are a total of 128,120 trial copies of Secret Manuals displayed on the 999th floor. Your Highness may browse freely and choose any one." "Understood." Luo Feng walked among the towering bookshelves. Beside him, the female Golden Horn Clan member, Sesi, said, "His Highness Luo Feng, the Secret Manuals are arranged spiraling inwards from this staircase entrance. The further inside a Secret Manual is, the higher the Contribution Points required to exchange for it. The one placed on the very top shelf in the furthest corner is the most expensive Secret Manual on the entire 999th floor." As she spoke, she pointed towards the distant top right-front. "Oh?" Luo Feng smiled, then immediately floated into the air and flew towards it. The bookshelves varied in height from 60 to 90 meters. The trial copies of Secret Manuals were spaced out relatively loosely, certainly much more so than on the 2nd or 3rd floors Luo Feng had seen, considering this floor only held nearly 130,000 Secret Manuals in total. Luo Feng weaved through the bookshelves, finally flying to the very top of the shelf in the far left-front corner. "Hmm?" Luo Feng glanced over. The Secret Manuals on this particular shelf were clearly much more expensive. This eighty-meter-tall shelf only displayed three Secret Manuals, making it the most sparsely stocked of all the shelves. The prices marked next to these three trial copies were: the top one at '1,680,000,000', the next at '1,620,000,000', and the one below that at '1,600,000,000'. All reaching 1.6 billion! "Tsk tsk," Luo Feng murmured, hovering at the top of the shelf. He directly picked up the trial copy of the Secret Manual with the highest price tag. The entire trial copy seemed to be cast from an exotic metal. "A Secret Manual cast from F-grade metal? How extravagant," Luo Feng exclaimed in surprise, then shook his head with a chuckle. "Then again, the Secret Manual Tower is a crucial place for the Golden Horn Clan, meant to endure through countless generations. These trial copies also need to last for billions of years. Ordinary materials would certainly decay over time, so using F-grade metal isn't strange. After all, the Red-Mixed Copper Mother from a single Yunmo Star Ship would be enough to cast countless trial copies of Secret Manuals. For the Golden Horn Clan, it's truly nothing." He picked up the metal book, which weighed about two tons. The book bore a title—*Golden Soul*. "What is this? Usually, the most peak Secret Manuals describe space, or time, and so on. A book that solely describes the 'Law of Gold' can't be that powerful, can it?" Luo Feng muttered to himself. After all, comprehending the Law of Gold would only lead to becoming an ordinary Immortal God, whereas comprehending the Origin Law of Space or Time could directly elevate one to the lofty status of a Universe Master. It was like this— One needed to pass the 21st level of the Jiuyu Sky-Reaching Bridge to signify full comprehension of the Law of Space. And assuming one didn't try to comprehend space or time, but solely focused on the Law of Gold, Law of Wood, and so on, even if one comprehended them to become an Immortal God, it would only grant the strength equivalent to the 10th level of the Sky-Reaching Bridge. Of course, comprehending just gold, wood, water, fire, earth, wind, lightning, light... was very easy at first. However, taking that final step was also extremely difficult. This was why so many Sector Lords couldn't become Immortal Gods. It was also why Sector Lord Luo of Time, despite having over 20,000 years of lifespan remaining, had no confidence whatsoever in taking that final step to become an Immortal. That final step was incredibly hard. Yet, merely gaining recognition from the Origin Law of Gold was much easier. Conversely, because one needed to pass the 21st level of Jiuyu to be considered to have fully comprehended the Law of Space, gaining recognition from the Law of Space... was thousands, even tens of thousands of times harder than fully comprehending the entire Law of Gold. To gain recognition from an Origin Law, one had to completely master one aspect of that law to its absolute limit. For example... Being able to teleport? In short, gaining recognition from the Law of Space was an incredibly difficult feat. "*Golden Soul*?" Luo Feng opened the metal book and began to read. *Golden Soul* was created by 'Karofuen,' a great elder in the history of the Golden Horn Clan. It primarily started with the Law of Gold and delved into the Origin Law of Space, combining the two to create the *Golden Soul*, a Secret Technique with terrifyingly extreme offensive power. This was a pure combat Secret Technique, not one for guiding comprehension. Just like *Black Hole Evolution* in humanity's treasury, that was also a combat-oriented Secret Technique. Combat-oriented Secret Techniques purely explained how to fight more powerfully. Whereas *Musings on Space-Time*, which Luo Feng had exchanged for, was meant to help people better comprehend laws and aid in understanding the *Jiuyu Chaos Stele*. These were two different styles: one was 'research-oriented,' the other 'combat-oriented.' Which was better? It depends on one's perspective! Combat-oriented Secret Techniques could enhance fighting power, while research-oriented ones could help cultivators improve their comprehension of laws faster, and law comprehension was, after all, the foundation. The combat Secret Techniques of *Golden Soul* were divided into 72 types, from low to high. The first to the 35th combat Secret Techniques could be performed by those below Immortal God level. The 36th to the 70th Secret Techniques could be performed by those who had become Immortal Gods, but were below Universe Master level. The 71st and 72nd Secret Techniques could only be performed by those at the Universe Master level. "If one could comprehend the 35th combat Secret Technique at the Sector Lord level, they could completely kill an ordinary Immortal God? And even rival a Marquis-level Immortal God?" Luo Feng drew a sharp breath as he read the Secret Manual's explanation. This power was indeed terrifying. Even mastering the ninth stage of the Yanshen Blade to its limit only rivaled an ordinary Immortal God. Moreover, this was a complete combat Secret Technique. It could be used all the way up to the Universe Master level! "I currently have the Beast God Statue and *Musings on Space-Time*, but these are all research-oriented, helping me comprehend laws. I truly lack a proper combat Secret Technique," Luo Feng mused to himself. "And at the peak of the Sector Lord level, I should be creating Secret Techniques suitable for myself. Of course, I need to create combat Secret Techniques too. But before creating them... learning a top-tier combat Secret Technique would also help broaden my horizons." "Hmm, this will be one of the candidates." Luo Feng casually held the metal book in his hand and continued to look at other books. Luo Feng wasn't in a hurry to confirm which one to choose. Instead, he quickly read through them one by one to identify those most suitable for him, ultimately selecting the best among them. Luo Feng stood before a row of bookshelves, his invisible psychic energy spreading out, simultaneously flipping through thousands of Secret Manuals. He watched as the metal books opened and were read all at once. *Whoosh.* Thousands of books were read. Luo Feng used his psychic energy to close all the metal books, then continued to browse the next few thousand Secret Manuals. Seeing this, the female Golden Horn Clan member, Sesi, couldn't help but grimace, "His Highness Luo Feng of humanity is truly... truly..." "Too ruthless." "Who chooses Secret Manuals like this, flipping through thousands at once? This posture is too arrogant." Not long after. Luo Feng walked to a seating area at the edge of the 999th floor, carrying three metal books. He sat directly on a chair and placed the three metal books beside him. "His Highness Luo Feng," the female Golden Horn Clan member, Sesi, approached with a smile. "Have you made your choice?" Her gaze swept over the books, and the first one she saw was *Golden Soul*. She couldn't help but grit her teeth again. 'He just had to pick the most expensive one. This human Highness is truly...' "Almost. I'll choose from these three," Luo Feng said with a smile, looking at the three trial copies of Secret Manuals. The three metal books were engraved with titles: *Golden Soul*, *Yanshen Thirty-Six Layers*, and *Xiluoduo's Sayings*. Their prices were 1.68 billion Contribution Points, 910 million Contribution Points, and 100 million Contribution Points, respectively. "Each of these three has its own benefits. Which one should I choose? If only I could choose all three," a thought flashed through Luo Feng's mind. He then chuckled wryly, shaking his head. He was truly too greedy.