Swallowing the Stars, Hu Yanbo's Pre-Godhood

Chapter 132 Conditions for Becoming the Lord of the Universe

"Is it Thunder Prison?" A hint of gentleness flashed across Thunder Fiend Venerable's rugged face.

Lei Yuwang was his most promising disciple, whose talent was among the best in the current generation of the Leilin Clan.

In order to cultivate him, Venerable Lei Sha spared no expense to secure a precious spot for him to receive the inheritance of a divine general, enabling him to break through from the peak of the King-level realm to the limit of the King-level realm.

"That concludes today's lecture." Venerable Lei Sha's deep voice echoed in the training ground, interrupting everyone's comprehension.

"Go back and carefully consider what I just said. Do not be negligent."

"Yes, Venerable One!" The dozens of Immortal Clan members below, though reluctant to part, dared not say a word. After bowing respectfully, they orderly withdrew from the training ground.

After everyone left, Venerable Lei Sha flashed and appeared on his throne in the heart of the palace.

A moment later, a figure shrouded in dark purple lightning strode into the main hall. It was none other than King Lei Yu, who had rushed back via teleportation from the Divine Kingdom.

He entered the hall and bowed deeply to the figure on the throne: "Disciple Lei Yu greets Master!"

Looking at His Highness's most outstanding disciple, a rare hint of warmth appeared in Venerable Lei Sha's fierce eyes as he roared with laughter, "Lei Yu, weren't you honing your skills on the outer battlefield? Why are you back!"

King Lei Yu raised his head: "I apologize for worrying you, Master. I encountered no trouble. I returned in haste because I had the good fortune to obtain a treasure while exploring a secret realm in the outer battlefield! I have returned to present this treasure to you, Master!"

As he spoke, King Lei Yu raised his hands, and a world ring appeared in his hands.

"Oh? You obtained a treasure from the battlefield beyond the realm? And you want to offer it to me?" Upon hearing this, Venerable Lei Sha was taken aback at first, then burst into loud laughter, "Hahaha! Good! Good disciple, it's truly admirable that you have such filial piety!"

He was indeed quite pleased with himself.

They didn't immediately suspect anything. Although the extraterrestrial battlefield was dangerous, it also offered many opportunities. It wasn't impossible for an immortal to occasionally get lucky and obtain a great treasure.

Moreover, Lei Yuwang was his most trusted disciple, and he would never have imagined that his disciple would harm him.

With a wave of his hand, Venerable Lei Sha sent a gentle divine power, carrying the world ring, flying towards the throne.

"Let me see what good fortune you've gained—" Venerable Lei Sha laughed, preparing to immerse his mind in the ring's space to investigate.

However, just as his divine power touched the surface of the ring, preparing to open it, "Buzz!!!"

The World Ring shuddered violently, not because it was opened, but because it was burst apart from the inside by an unimaginable force!

Boom!!!

The ring fragments scattered like dust, followed by a powerful tremor that shook the entire Thunder-Patterned Purple-Gold Palace.

A terrifying aura that made even the soul of Thunder Fiend Venerable tremble suddenly erupted, filling every inch of the palace!

A towering, ferocious, and three thousand kilometers tall black figure, like a demon god emerging from an ancient abyss, appeared out of thin air in the once spacious hall!

This figure was so enormous that even a palace five thousand kilometers high seemed cramped in its presence. The thick armor, which was covered with a dark, gloomy sheen, almost reached the sky, and the spikes on its menacing shoulder armor and helmet seemed to pierce through the palace dome.

It simply stood there, and the unparalleled sense of oppression was like a real tsunami, shattering the originally stable lightning laws within the hall!

"Wh-what?!" The smile on Lei Sha Venerable's face froze instantly, turning into extreme shock and disbelief.

He suddenly stood up from the throne, his body crackling with lightning, instinctively activating his protective treasures and divine power.

This happened so fast!

That was so abrupt!

One second he was enjoying the filial piety of his disciples, the next second, a terrifying being emanating pressure that made even a high-level cosmic venerable like him feel suffocated appeared in the core of his lair!

Lei Yuta————

Before Thunder Fiend Venerable could even process his thoughts, the giant in jet-black armor lowered his head, two crimson lights beneath his visor locking onto him on the throne, and unleashed a roar that seemed capable of shattering galaxies: "Thunder Fiend! Die!"

"Explode! Explode! Explode!" The giant in jet-black armor roared furiously, and at the same time, it completely self-destructed!

"What?!!"

Lei Sha Venerable was completely numb, his mind went blank, and his soul trembled!

Self-destruction?!

A being with a divine body reaching three thousand kilometers in height and an aura comparable to a cosmic overlord, without uttering a single word, directly chose the most extreme and tragic method—divine body self-destruction?!

This completely exceeded the thinking logic of Thunder Fiend Venerable, no, it exceeded the thinking logic of all normal universe powerhouses!

Any super strong person who possesses such a massive divine body must have gone through endless hardships and spent countless resources and years to accumulate such formidable divine power.

Their divine bodies are their foundation, the guarantee of their strength, and the cornerstone of their long lives!

A single self-destruction would result in such a massive loss of divine power. The amount of divine power resources required to recover would be astronomical, enough to drive even a cosmic overlord crazy with pain!

This is a completely self-destructive and even suicidal act by a madman!

"He is clearly far stronger than me! In a normal fight, he could definitely suppress me, and might even kill me! Why did he choose to self-destruct?!" Thunder Fiend Venerable roared in his heart, filled with incomprehensible and boundless fear.

In a normal battle, although he would be at a significant disadvantage, he was confident that with the experience of a veteran high-level Venerable, he could at least hold out for a while and hold out until he could send a distress signal to the powerful members of the Nine Domains Alliance, or even wait for nearby allies to come to his aid!

But now it's self-destructing!

This is completely unreasonable!

Within this enclosed palace environment, facing the self-destruction of a divine body spanning three thousand kilometers, suspected to be a cosmic overlord—

The sheer power of that weapon was enough to freeze his soul!

"No-!!!"

Thunder Fiend Venerable's eyes were bloodshot with rage, all his thoughts turning into desperate roars. He frantically burned his divine power, pushing his protective treasure to its limit, the purple scales on his body radiating a blinding light, attempting to withstand this devastating impact.

Everything happened in the blink of an eye.

The next moment—

"boom!!!!!!!!!"

An indescribable destructive energy erupted from the center of that jet-black armored giant!

It's like millions of supernovae being ignited simultaneously in a small palace!

Light, sound, laws—all existence was annihilated and swallowed up by this pure, ultimate energy!

Not only the majestic palace, but even parts of the core area of ​​the entire Thunder Wasteland were directly decomposed into the most basic particle streams!

As for Thunder King?

At that level of self-destruction core, even a peak-level King wouldn't leave behind a trace of remains. He would have already been reduced to the most basic particle stream along with his teacher and his clan's stronghold, his soul scattered and gone.

In no time—

hum!hum!hum!

Powerful auras descended upon this desolate void one after another. The spatial sealing runes had long since vanished along with the palace. The nearby powerhouses, especially the other universe venerables of the Nine Domains Alliance, who sensed the earth-shattering change taking place here, immediately rushed over via teleportation.

The first to arrive was a avian demon lord surrounded by a swirling blue wind. Its enormous wings folded, and it stared in horror at the scene before it: "This...this is Lei Sha's palace?! What happened? Could it be that a cosmic lord has infiltrated here?!"

Immediately afterwards, a figure as massive as a metallic mountain appeared in an instant: "Self-destruction? What kind of being would choose to self-destruct here?"

More and more cosmic venerables arrived, and in a short period of time, more than ten venerables from different races of the Nine Domains Alliance gathered here.

Looking at the area before them, which had been completely erased from the secret realm, and feeling the terrifying, destructive energy ripples remaining in the void, they were all horrified and their minds were shaken.

"Report this to the league's top management!"

"We can request a great being to reverse time and space! Let's see what kind of person dares to infiltrate the territory of my Nine Domains Alliance!"

"This is outrageous!"

This kind of thing can't be left uninvestigated!

A high-level cosmic venerable was assassinated within the core stronghold of a secret realm controlled by his own alliance, and the stronghold was even erased from the map. This is an absolutely earth-shattering event!

If the truth cannot be thoroughly investigated and an explanation cannot be given to the many affiliated groups within the alliance, the Nine Domains Alliance will surely lose its prestige, its people will be filled with fear, and the cohesion within the alliance will be severely damaged.

However, what they didn't know was that an investigation was destined to yield no substantial results.

Even if the Lord of the Universe reversed time and space, he still wouldn't be able to find out the reason!

What is the origin of that black-armored giant?

It was transformed from Huyan Bo's Nine Netherworld clone!

Not only has no sign of life appeared, but it also cannot be revived!

As for the Thunder Demon Venerable who can be resurrected?

He looked completely bewildered, no better than the others!

On the other side, there's the Ancestral God Cult.

Huyan Bo's true form was sitting quietly in the palace's meditation room.

He closed his eyes and focused his mind, as if he were simply meditating.

However, just as that distant, thunderous wasteland vanished into nothingness, and the Thunder Fiend Venerable's divine body was completely annihilated—

Hu Yanbo slowly opened his eyes and smiled.

Deep within my consciousness, the mysterious system panel appeared as promised, and the text on it reappeared:

[Repayment Condition: Kill a High-Level Universe Venerable! (Completed!)]

[Current number of advance payments available: 1.]

"In the blink of an eye, an advance payment has been completed," Hu Yanbo thought to himself.

This hunt was clean and efficient, leaving no loose ends.

Using the identity of a soul servant to lure the victim, and then using his Nine Netherworld clone to carry out an absolutely destructive assassination, the whole process was like a meticulously choreographed drama, with him as the sole director and audience.

The loss from the self-destruction of the Nine Nether clone was nothing more than a drop in the ocean for him, who possessed the Endless Nether Sea, yet it could be exchanged for such an efficient repayment. This deal was simply too good to pass up.

"Moreover, I also asked Teacher Huangjian to help revive King Leiyu. As soon as I learned that the mission had been completed, I notified the teacher!" Huyanbo thought to himself.

Reviving a peak-level King without any powerful treasures is not too easy for a Lord of the Universe. Moreover, the Lord of Desolate Mirror did not refuse the request of such an outstanding disciple as Huyan Bo, but it was a bit strange!

"After the system learns about the breakthrough to become the Lord of the Universe, will it issue similar missions?" A thought naturally arose, and Hu Yanbo subconsciously took stock of the slave resources in his hands.

Indeed, there are a few servants with special identities, who are the personal disciples of certain cosmic lords—if handled properly, they might not be able to repeat the same trick to lure others into a trap!

Hu Yanbo quickly calmed down after only a moment's thought.

He shook his head slightly, suppressing this overly bold idea for the time being.

The Lord of the Universe—that's an existence standing at the pinnacle of the primordial universe!

Each punch is extremely difficult to kill, and its ability to survive is beyond imagination.

Even if it is successfully induced, the commotion within the primordial universe will be earth-shattering, likely attracting intervention from other universe masters, and possibly even alarming powerful beings in the universe.

"Difficult, too difficult," Hu Yanbo sighed softly.

Fishing for the "King of the Universe" involves a high risk-reward ratio. A slight miscalculation could result in the bait being swallowed, the line breaking, or even the fish being dragged into the water.

"Let's see if I can become the master of the universe first!" Hu Yanbo suppressed those unrealistic thoughts, focused his mind, and communicated with the mysterious system again.

The next moment, a radiant light flowed deep within his consciousness:

[Available advance payment project: Lord of the Universe.]

Repayment terms (choose one):

[1. Kill any one of the universe's rulers.]

[2. Comprehend the Laws of Time/The Way of Beast Taming!]

"As expected, you can get an advance!" Hu Yanbo was initially delighted, but when he saw the two repayment notes, his brows first relaxed subconsciously, then he frowned tightly, and his expression became extremely serious.

"One of the options is indeed to kill the Lord of the Universe?" Hu Yanbo thought to himself.

"If I were to break through to become a universe master right now, I would only be an ordinary universe master!" Hu Yanbo was very clear about his own situation.

Don't be fooled by the fact that he has now reached the level of a Cosmic Venerable, comparable to a top-tier Cosmic Overlord; he is incredibly powerful.

However, if one were to enter the realm of the universe in this state, then secret techniques, treasures, and experiences would all be at the bottom level, and one might only rely on the power advantage brought about by the leap in life level.

However, the advantage of officialdom is only temporary!

After all, once you become the master of the universe, the limitations of life genes will be eliminated, and each master of the universe can continuously improve their life genes!

Six thousand times the life genes are only considered average among the Lords of the Universe!

"With your strength, you want to kill another 'Fist Universe Master'? That's just wishful thinking!" Hu Yanbo shook his head.

In the vast universe, countless cosmic rulers have roamed for billions of years, vying with each other, but how many have actually managed to kill someone of the same level with a single punch?

Which one is a peak existence with special opportunities, powerful treasures, or who has created heaven-defying secret techniques?

This option, seemingly straightforward, may actually be a dead end.

Once he makes that choice, he may not be able to repay it for many years, and he may even be countered by his opponent while trying to kill him.

"As for the second option, comprehending the Law of Time or the Way of Beasts—" Hu Yanbo turned his gaze to the second option, scrutinizing it carefully, then revealed a wry smile, "This option sounds gentler than killing the Lord of the Universe, but in reality, its difficulty is probably no less!"

The masters of the universe are either those who have reached the pinnacle of the two paths of time and space, or the path of beasts and humans.

A hint of helplessness flashed in Huyan Bo's eyes: "If what it helped me with in advance was becoming a master of the universe by comprehending the laws of time," then the way to repay it is to comprehend a complete path of beasthood!

"vice versa!"

"Hmm, if the Path of Beasts were to become the master of the universe, its authority to control spacetime would allow it to comprehend the laws of time even more!"

"Even just a simple bowl will take a long time!" Hu Yanbo fell into deep thought.

To kill the Lord of the Universe, one needs strength, timing, luck, and even the courage to pay the price.

To truly comprehend a great path requires painstaking effort, exceptional insight, and a crucial opportune moment; such a path is often measured in "epochs."

"It seems that if I truly want to rely on the system to reach the level of a universe master, and then continue to rapidly advance my progress, I'll first need to use some other means through the system!"

"To give me a sufficiently solid foundation for reaching the level of a Cosmic Venerable!"