Swallowing the Stars, Hu Yanbo's Pre-Godhood

Chapter 157: Perhaps I've broken through to become the Lord of the Universe!

As the minds of the various universe lords raced with thoughts and speculations, the Chaos City Lord, seated at the long stone table closest to the head of the table, slowly spoke. Instantly, all the whispers and probing gazes ceased.

"Huyanbo, you can sit on the side where your teacher Huangjian is."

As soon as the words fell, two seats behind the Lord of Desolation, where there had been nothing before, the space rippled slightly, and an ancient stone chair silently materialized, just like the seats of the other universe lords.

This scene caused the pupils of most of the universe lords present to shrink and their hearts to tremble!

Stone chairs gather!

This is not simply giving up a seat to listen in; it is a formal recognition that Huyanbo has the right to sit at the same table with them!

This instantly overturned all their previous guesses!

"Chaos!" A majestic man with dazzling long golden hair and a sharp aura exuded from him—the Lord of Void Gold!

He frowned slightly, his gaze sweeping over Huyan Bo before finally settling on the Lord of Chaos City: "I remember there's a long-standing rule in our clan. If a powerful figure is to be allowed to attend the Giant Axe Conference and participate in top-level decision-making, it requires the joint discussion and majority agreement of many of our clan's highest-ranking members."

"How could you discuss this with Huang Jian and then directly arrange for Huyan Bo to be brought in?"

The five major factions of human races are naturally a united front when facing external threats.

However, internally, there is also competition and even open and covert struggle among the various factions for resource allocation, discourse power, and the cultivation of talents.

Every Universe Lord who holds a seat at the Giant Axe Conference represents the interests and power of their respective faction; every point gained is valuable. If Huyan Bo is already confirmed as a Universe Lord, then there's no question; follow the rules and add a seat.

But he is not the ruler of the universe yet!

Therefore, for the benefit of himself and the forces behind him, even though the Lord of False Gold was praising Huyanbo a moment ago, he made a completely different move the next second.

After the Lord of Void Gold finished speaking, several Lords of the Universe at the long table nodded slightly in agreement.

Even the several universe lords from the Virtual Universe Company faction, though they did not speak immediately out of respect for the Chaos City Lord, revealed a hint of confusion in their eyes, clearly feeling that this move was somewhat hasty and unconventional.

Only the three Lords of the Yu Shen Mercenary Alliance remained expressionless.

Although the Lord of Desolation hadn't figured out the situation yet, that didn't stop him from preparing to refute it!

"My disciple is a thousand times more outstanding than Tian Shi and his two companions, relying on..."

However, before the Lord of the Wasteland could finish speaking, a deep voice instantly filled the space in front of the temple.

"it's me."

The sound came from the main stone chair at the head of the long stone table, which had been empty all along.

At this moment, a giant, wild man with long, flowing hair, an ancient face, and a towering, mountain-like figure was sitting upright on the stone chair.

Even in the virtual universe, he simply sat there without emitting any aura, yet he naturally became the center of the entire universe. Even the vast aura of the Chaos City Lord seemed somewhat peaceful in his presence.

He is the only strongest being in the universe among the human race, the creator of the giant axe!

The founder of the Giant Axe swept his gaze across the entire room, finally speaking slowly to the Lord of Void Gold: "It was I who instructed Chaos to include Huyan Bo in the list of those who could attend the Giant Axe meeting."

"Xu Jin, if you feel that this is against the rules, then today we will add an item to the agenda: everyone present will vote on whether Hu Yanbo is qualified to be a member of this Giant Axe Conference."

As soon as the founder of the giant axe uttered these words, the Lord of Void Gold's originally serious, even questioning, face instantly froze, followed by a visible unnaturalness, and he almost couldn't hold back!

The founder of the Giant Axe spent many years venturing into the cosmic sea. He mostly delegated the management of specific internal affairs of the clan to the Lord of Chaos City, while he was in charge of the specific affairs of the Giant Axe Arena!

Despite being the Lord of the Universe and the strongest being, both at the highest level of their respective races, Xu Jin is merely a subordinate of the Giant Axe, both within the Giant Axe Arena and within his own race!

How can a deputy openly question the decisions of the top leader?

Isn't this creating conflict?

"Giant Axe! Since you've already approved, then I definitely have no problem with it," the Lord of False Gold hurriedly said.

"Judging from Hu Yanbo's performance, he is indeed stronger than Tian Shi and others, and is fully qualified to enter."

His sudden change of attitude caused those universe lords who had previously nodded in agreement to immediately become indifferent and withdrawn.

Are you kidding me!

The founder of Giant Axe has personally set the tone, so who would dare to object?

Moreover, even in a vote, the three factions—the Giant Axe Arena, the Virtual Universe Company, and the Universe Mercenary Alliance—all agreed.

Then the matter is settled.

The Giant Axe Founder's gaze swept over the now completely silent and undisputed cosmic lords, finally settling on Huyan Bo, who had just taken his seat: "Huyan Bo? You seem to have grown considerably stronger?"

In the virtual universe, although strength cannot be perceived, things like will and consciousness can still be detected.

Especially for beings like the Giant Axe Founder, who stand at the pinnacle of the universe, they could still vaguely perceive some clues.

The other universe masters didn't notice it because Hu Yanbo was already the top universe overlord in everyone's eyes, not far from them. Once someone is not far from them, it's like one basin of water can't accurately measure the depth of another, so it's naturally difficult to perceive subtle changes and true strength.

But the founder of the giant axe was different!

He is the strongest being in the universe. Even in the entire universe, he is an extremely powerful being. If he were to acquire his own supreme treasure, he would definitely aim for the top three and strive for the top two!

Therefore, his perception far exceeded the imagination of the Lord of the Universe.

In the eyes of the Giant Axe Founder at this moment, Huyan Bo gave him the feeling of facing a veteran like the Lord of Desolate Mirror.

The illusion of a powerful fourth-tier top-tier universe master!

This is unbelievable!

This is absolutely incredible!

The founder of the giant axe was overwhelmed with emotion. A little guy who was only a Marquis Immortal tens of thousands of years ago could not only rival the top overlords in combat power in such a short time, but now he also gave him the illusion of being a top fourth-order universe lord in terms of will and consciousness!

"It must be that after the Battle of the Nine Netherworlds, he had another earth-shattering opportunity that caused his will and consciousness to undergo some kind of special transformation, becoming more condensed and powerful, right?" The founder of the giant axe could only speculate like this, forcibly suppressing the thought that even he himself found absurd.

"It's absolutely impossible to have directly broken through to the level of a Universe Master! Even with the most extraordinary opportunities, the path from Universe Venerable to Universe Master requires a long period of accumulation and transformation!"

"Tens of thousands of years? Absolutely impossible!"

He preferred to believe that Huyanbo had obtained some kind of heaven-defying treasure specifically for tempering one's will, or had undergone some kind of inconceivable environmental tempering.

However, just as the founder of the giant axe was rapidly searching for a plausible explanation for this incredible phenomenon—

Sitting upright on the stone chair, Hu Yanbo met the probing gaze of the Giant Axe Founder and said, "Perhaps it's because I've just broken through to the level of Universe Lord!"

There's nothing wrong with admitting that you've broken through to become the Lord of the Universe.

Those present were the true highest echelons of the human race, eighteen in total including the founder of the giant axe (and soon nineteen if you include himself).

According to Hu Yanbo's understanding of the original work, these eighteen universe masters may have factional disputes and conflicts of interest among themselves, but they are still the ones who have experienced the most brutal years of humankind, who are able to put aside their differences for the overall benefit of the race, and even sacrifice themselves for the sake of their own people!

It's not a big deal to reveal your strength to them.

silence!

Deathly silence!

As soon as Hu Yanbo finished speaking, it seemed as if time and space in front of the Giant Axe Temple had frozen!

All the lords of the universe, including the Lord of False Gold who was just refuting Hu Yanbo's entry, the Lord of Desolate Mirror who has always supported Hu Yanbo, the Lord of Chaos City who has always been as calm as a mountain, and even the founder of the Giant Axe himself who had a guess in his heart but forcibly denied it!

At this moment, all the great beings were completely frozen in place, as if struck by the universe's most advanced petrification technique!

Their gazes, as if pulled by invisible chains, were fixed intently on Huyan Bo's excessively calm face.

Has he broken through to the level of the Lord of the Universe?

Just broke through?

Over tens of thousands of years, he rose from an immortal noble to a revered being, and from a revered being to become the master of the universe?!

How...how is this possible?!

Even the most extraordinary and unbelievable progenitor in human history had to go through many hardships before finally becoming the master of the universe!

Those few seconds felt longer than an epoch to the cosmic rulers present.

They need time to process this news, which is enough to overturn their understanding of things that have lasted for countless years.

In the end, it was the founder of the giant axe, who sat upright in the main seat and whose mental cultivation was the most unfathomable, who was the first to come back to his senses.

A broad, unwavering smile slowly spread across his usually placid face, a smile of immense joy and satisfaction spreading across the temple with a booming laugh that seemed to shake the heavens and the earth: "Hahaha! Good! Good! Good!"

"God bless my human race! From this day forward, our human race will have one more Lord of the Universe! The nineteenth!" The Giant Axe Founder stared intently at Huyan Bo!

He pondered for a moment, then smiled with a hint of anticipation: "With your previous strength that allowed you to defeat top overlords, now that your life level has leaped and your divine power has undergone a qualitative change, coupled with your unique soul attack, your combat power will probably rival that of Youhou right after your breakthrough, right? Hahaha!"

Lord Youhou is a disciple of the Dark Lord from the Virtual Universe Company lineage. He is also the youngest and latest to break through among the original eighteen Universe Lords of the human race.

However, its strength is also quite remarkable, and it is very powerful.

The fact that the founder of the Giant Axe compared Huyan Bo, who had just entered the realm of the Lord of the Universe, to the Lord of Youhou was already an extremely high evaluation and expectation.

As for his previous vague feeling that Huyan Bo's willpower was unusually strong, almost comparable to that of the Lord of the Wilderness?

That must be because Hu Yanbo obtained some kind of heaven-defying opportunity to temper his will during or before his breakthrough to the level of the Lord of the Universe, which made his will and consciousness advance ahead of his current level of divine power and understanding of the laws.

After all, strength is strength (including divine power, secret techniques, and supreme treasures), and willpower is willpower. Although the two are related, they are not absolutely equivalent.

In the cosmic ocean, there are some special life forms that may have extremely strong consciousness, but their strength may only be that of an ordinary universe lord. This situation is quite common.

The founder of the giant axe's words and hearty laughter set the tone, like lighting a fuse, instantly shattering the frozen atmosphere in the temple!

"Hahaha! That's right! God bless the human race!" The Lord of the Wasteland was the second to react, and he stood up abruptly, laughing the most heartily. His rugged face, half dragon and half human, was full of undisguised excitement and pride, and he was practically beaming with joy!

He slapped his thigh hard. "Good lad! My Huangjian Sect can now have a disciple of a Universe Lord!"

His elation was indescribable! The Cosmic Mercenary Alliance had always lagged far behind the Virtual Universe Company and the Giant Axe Arena in terms of top-tier combat power. Now, Hu Yanbo's rise would instantly greatly enhance the Cosmic Mercenary Alliance's voice and status within the race!

"Huyanbo! Congratulations!" The Chaos City Lord also smiled sincerely and nodded to Huyanbo.

His smile was pure, purely out of joy for the greater strength of his race. Other universe lords, regardless of whether they still harbored shock, doubt, or even a hint of barely perceptible envy or jealousy, all composed themselves, smiled, and offered their congratulations.

Even the Lord of False Gold, who had previously raised questions, cupped his hands towards Hu Yanbo and said in a complicated tone, "Hu Yanbo, congratulations! False Gold misspoke earlier."

At their level, they all understand one thing: when faced with a fait accompli, especially one that benefits the community, the best choice is to accept it and celebrate.

As for why Huyanbo was able to break through so quickly, perhaps he had some extraordinary opportunity or some heaven-defying inheritance, but those are his personal secrets and destiny.

As long as he is loyal to the human race, the stronger he becomes, the more beneficial it will be to the race! Investigating the root of the problem may actually cause unnecessary conflicts.

As for whether Huyanbo is lying?

This thought did not appear in the mind of the Lord of the Universe.

What a joke! At the level of the Lord of the Universe, lying about such things is completely meaningless; it will only make one a laughingstock and ruin one's future.

A minor character might boast for the sake of empty fame, but before his breakthrough, Hu Yanbo was already a terrifying existence capable of joining forces to kill twenty-three overlords. His strength and status were already close to that of their circle, so why would he tell a lie that would be easily exposed?

It would do nothing but diminish one's own credibility and prestige. Therefore, all the lords of the universe accepted this miracle.

"Thank you, founder of the Giant Axe, and thank you all," Hu Yanbo replied.

After the congratulations subsided, the founder of the giant axe placed his hands together, and the temple fell silent again.

He looked at Huyan Bo, a gentle smile on his face, and said, "Huyan Bo, now that you have broken through, according to custom, you should have a formal title as the Lord of the Universe. Your previous codename was 'Soul Annihilation King,' later 'Soul Annihilation Venerable.' Do you wish to change your title now?"

The title of Lord of the Universe often represents his path, qualities, or glorious achievements, and is an extremely important symbol.

All eyes were once again focused on Hu Yanbo, eager to hear what choice this newly crowned ruler of the universe would make.

However, Hu Yanbo shook his head slightly: "Founder of the Giant Axe, there's no rush regarding the title."

"I wish to keep my breakthrough to the level of the Lord of the Universe, as well as my true level of strength, a secret for now, limited to those of you present here today."

Upon hearing this, many universe lords were initially taken aback, but then their eyes revealed expressions of understanding and approval.

"That's for sure. If you were an alien race with this speed of breakthrough, the Giant Axe would definitely have to personally kill you!" the Chaos City Lord laughed.

Too fast, too scary!

At this rate of progress, if one isn't careful, they might become the strongest in the universe the next time they meet.

Therefore, once the strongest beings who are hostile to the human race learn of this, they will inevitably cooperate and launch a full-scale attack to kill Huyanbo!

The sixth-tier Lord of the Universe easily killed the second-tier Lord of the Universe.