Tian Huan

The Yunmo Star ship traveled almost silently at 50 times the speed of light through the tranquil dark universe. In the ship's lounge, Luo Feng lay half-reclined on a bed, leaning against the backrest, watching a projection screen that displayed detailed company data. “Simply using Cosmic Crystals to cultivate insectoid warriors is definitely unrealistic,” Luo Feng murmured, frowning. “And buying a company now seems very complicated.” “Indeed,” Babata’s sharp voice echoed in the lounge. “It’s very complicated. Mainly, Luo Feng, your requirements for purchasing alloy wreckage, gelatinous substances, and so on are too high. For example, for spaceship wreckage, you demand that the alloy must be at least C-grade, preferably D-grade or E-grade. The gelatinous scale-skin materials also have extremely high requirements, as do the ‘blood’ components, which must come from at least Universe-level fierce beasts or other life forms. How can businesses operate like that? While some companies have operations spanning dozens of star systems, to deal in D and E-grade spaceship and alloy wreckage, they also have to handle the lower-end A, B, and C-grade materials! After all, lower-end business... provides sufficient volume.” “But that’s useless to me!” Luo Feng frowned. He needed to create a Realm Lord army! Cultivating peak Realm Lord insectoid warriors required various raw materials like metals, gelatinous substances, and blood, all with high specifications. E-grade alloys and metals were ideal, but if not available, slightly lower grades could be compensated with quantity! However, C-grade alloys and metals were about the lowest acceptable; anything less... would be highly inefficient. However... In the entire Ganwu Universe Nation, only a very few companies dealt in high-end business like E-grade spaceship wreckage and alloy wreckage. Those capable of handling such high-end materials usually had powerful backing. Perhaps the true parent companies of these firms were the Virtual Universe Company itself, and they wouldn't easily sell. As for companies with a broad range of operations, buying them would be a poor deal for Luo Feng, because A-grade and B-grade alloys and metals would constitute the bulk of their inventory. “That Purple Lightning Marquis spoke so glowingly about this method,” Luo Feng shook his head. “Now that I’ve seen the detailed data he provided, I realize how much trouble it actually entails.” This data was all provided by the Purple Lightning Marquis. Within the Ganwu Universe Nation’s territory alone, detailed data on numerous companies dealing in such materials was considered highly classified. Without significant influence, it would be impossible to obtain this information. However, the Purple Lightning Marquis... held the position of Commerce Department Minister, so he naturally had access to this data. Luo Feng, using his authority as an Inspector Envoy to conduct an inspection, also obtained this data without being restricted by the Virtual Universe Company’s permissions. “You can’t blame the Purple Lightning Marquis, Luo Feng. He only knew you wanted to cultivate insectoid warriors, not that you’d only cultivate Realm Lord-level ones. In actual combat, vast numbers of Planet-level, Star-level, and Universe-level insectoids are usually bred. While they are cannon fodder, in large numbers, they can still be somewhat useful on the extraterrestrial battlefield,” Babata said. An endless sea of insects. A single insectoid mother nest could cultivate an astonishing number of insects, and on the extraterrestrial battlefield, the combined low-tier insectoids produced by numerous insectoid mother nests would form a terrifying insectoid tide. “I’m not using them on the extraterrestrial battlefield. I need an army capable of fighting Immortal Gods! I only have one insectoid mother nest, and cultivating low-tier insectoids... is very cost-ineffective and simply doesn’t meet my requirements,” Luo Feng shook his head. “And letting low-tier insectoids kill and devour each other to evolve into Realm Lords wastes a hundred times more energy. None of this aligns with my goals.” “Luo Feng,” Babata said, “I’ve calculated in detail. If we buy companies... we could probably acquire between 91 and 95 of them. Manufacturing insectoid warriors this way would cost about one-tenth of what it would using Cosmic Crystals!” “Hmm,” Luo Feng nodded. If that were the case, a million Realm Lord Blade Shadow insectoids would require 1 million mixed units. A million Realm Lord Tiger Armored insectoids would require 2.5 million mixed units. A million Realm Lord Mantis Hunter insectoids would require 5 million mixed units. Of course... Luo Feng didn’t even dare to consider creating King-level Realm Lords; the hundredfold cost was simply too exorbitant. “Still too high,” Luo Feng frowned. “I want a million Realm Lord Tiger Armored insectoids, and it would actually cost a full 2.5 million mixed units... My bank account only has a little over 2 million, nowhere near 2.5 million mixed units.” Huyan Bo had originally left Luo Feng approximately 3.122 million mixed units. Over 400,000 mixed units had already been spent on modifying and repairing the Yunmo Star ship and cultivating the Moyun Teng. Later, Luo Feng gave his younger brother Luo Hua 500,000 mixed units for investment. Now, Luo Feng’s remaining funds amounted to 2.218 million mixed units! “Luo Feng, this is already the limit,” Babata quickly added. “The Purple Lightning Marquis is the Commerce Department Minister of the Ganwu Branch, and you are an Inspector Envoy. That’s why we could get such detailed data and acquire these companies at a low price. Otherwise, the price would be at least half again as much! To get a million Realm Lord Tiger Armored insectoids, it would cost around 3.8 million mixed units.” Luo Feng nodded. He understood, of course, the benefits of power. From 3.8 million to 2.5 million, a full 1.3 million mixed units were saved—what an enormous asset. However... Luo Feng didn’t have much personal wealth; his current funds were only 2.218 million mixed units, so he naturally had to save wherever possible! ... The Wulong Star System, one of the nine garbage star systems, was located in a very remote area of the entire human territory. Starting from Earth in the Milky Way Galaxy of the Ganwu Universe Nation, even traveling at 50 times the speed of light in the dark universe, it would take approximately one year and two months to reach the Wulong Star System. ... In the Virtual Universe, on Ganwu Continent. In the ground-floor lobby of a towering restaurant and tavern, a man with dark red skin, a gaping maw, and short dark green hair, yet dressed in formal and luxurious robes, entered the vast lobby. An invisible pressure immediately enveloped the entire hall. Behind him followed a line of handsome men and another line of beautiful women. Beside him was a silver-robed attendant with green skin, always grinning. “To the top floor!” the dark-red-skinned leader strode directly towards the sky-elevator. His attendant and dozens of handsome men and beautiful women stood outside the sky-elevator, seemingly blocking anyone else from entering. Whoosh! The sky-elevator ascended. “Sirs, this sky-elevator is for other guests as well...” A manager from the luxurious hotel approached, about to speak. “Scram!” The dozens of handsome men and beautiful women simultaneously released their pressure. The sheer mental pressure instantly caused the manager’s consciousness to collapse, and he fell to the ground. No one in the vast ground-floor lobby dared to make a sound. Everyone was shocked and terrified to discover... these dozens of handsome men and beautiful women were all... Immortal Gods!!! Inside the sky-elevator. It would still take a while to go from the 1st floor to the top floor, the 9822nd. “Master, is it really necessary for you to personally meet this Luo Feng? Sending a subordinate would suffice. He’s just a young fellow,” the silver-robed attendant humbly said. “What do you know? Do you know who his teacher is?” the dark-red-skinned leader grinned, revealing his gaping maw. “It’s the powerful Zhenyan King,” the silver-robed attendant quickly replied. “However, while Zhenyan King’s status is very special, Luo Feng is merely his disciple. Within our Virtual Universe Company, there are even some disciples of Universe Venerables... Moreover, which of these super-beings doesn’t have a group of disciples? They wouldn’t easily help their disciples; if a disciple falls, they fall.” The dark-red-skinned leader sneered, “Let me tell you, his current Immortal God guard is Dylan. Dylan’s teacher is the Bloodthirsty King ‘Tie Jun’, and the Bloodthirsty King is Zhenyan King’s most outstanding disciple... And Dylan, as far as I know, his true strength is barely enough to qualify as a Marquis. To have a Marquis-level Immortal God personally protect him, hmph hmph...” “Ah.” The silver-robed attendant was startled. “Master, I understand now. Zhenyan King secretly sent Dylan to protect Luo Feng. Zhenyan King truly values Luo Feng.” Universe Venerables were high above; merely giving a little guidance to their disciples was already quite good, and they wouldn’t expend too much effort. Although Zhenyan King had not yet become a Universe Venerable, in the eyes of many powerful beings... Zhenyan King was the closest to becoming one. Even if a Universe Venerable wanted to kill Zhenyan King, it would likely be very difficult to succeed. Such a formidable existence... was what made King-level Immortal Gods truly terrifying. “Buzz~~” The sky-elevator’s speed sharply decreased, then it stopped, having reached the top floor—the 9822nd. The entire top floor contained only one dining table. On one side of the table sat a black-haired youth, and beside him stood a bald, black-robed man. “Longjue King,” Luo Feng immediately stood up, calling out with a smile. “Haha...” The dark-red-skinned leader laughed heartily, walking directly to Luo Feng. He scrutinized Luo Feng for a moment, then smiled, “As expected of one of the most highly regarded geniuses of this generation. Your demeanor is extraordinary. Let’s sit and talk!” With that, the dark-red-skinned leader, Tian Huan, sat opposite Luo Feng, while his silver-robed attendant respectfully stood behind him. “Longjue King, I’m truly surprised and excited that you’re willing to meet me,” Luo Feng said. The Longjue King before him, whose real name was Tian Huan... was the Purple Lightning Marquis’s so-called friend and one of the powerful figures in charge of the Wulong Star System, having just been crowned King tens of thousands of years ago. Longjue King’s true strength was likely barely enough to qualify him as a King. However, because he was among the highest echelons in one of the nine garbage star systems, the Wulong Star System—and despite these nine star systems being called ‘garbage star systems’ by the Immortal Gods of the entire human territory—in reality, these nine garbage star systems... in terms of value, were even more precious than the nine Cosmic Nations! This was because as long as the war on the extraterrestrial battlefield continued, an endless stream of various battle wreckage was directly transferred through space and sent here! Many of these remnants were Realm Lord weapons, spacecraft, and countless treasures that flew out when Realm Lords’ internal worlds collapsed. There were also many weapons created by Immortal Gods at great cost, as well as massive technological weapons, mechanical puppets... Although they were all wreckage, once accumulated in sufficient quantities, their value remained incredibly high. The waste generated by racial wars... would fetch unbelievably high prices. Therefore, being one of the highest-ranking members in one of these star systems was even more impressive than being the Commerce Department Minister of the Ganwu Branch! Such individuals... were often sought out by King-level Immortal Gods for assistance, and even Universe Venerables would occasionally visit them. So... despite his strength not being particularly formidable, his status was very high. Luo Feng, who had initially extended a casual invitation and never expected the other party to personally receive him in the Virtual Universe, was incredibly surprised and delighted when he received a positive response. “I hear you’re looking to acquire some insectoid corpses?” Longjue King Tian Huan grinned, revealing his gaping maw, and chuckled.