Swallowing the Stars: Only in my later years did I come to the life-spending panel.

After safely escaping from the Thunder World and using Ming Yu's identity as cover, Zhou Mu successfully brought back ten million cubic meters of cosmic crystals and the legacy of Lord Kabu to Earth. He then began a five-year period of seclusion and reflection.

The wealth left behind by Kabu, the Lord of Thunder Realm, is astonishing.

Aside from some of the most core inherited secret techniques and a few top-tier treasures, Zhou Mu chose to keep them for himself. The rest of the miscellaneous treasures, weapons, and spaceships that he didn't need had to be converted into cash to maximize their value.

However, such enormous wealth, once it enters the market, is highly likely to attract the covetous eyes of those with ulterior motives. Even the identities of external members of the Virtual Universe Company cannot guarantee absolute secrecy.

Fortunately, he had a good apprentice.

Luo Feng inherited the legacy of Hu Yanbo, the immortal powerhouse and master of Meteorite Star, and now holds a "five-star account" at the Cosmic Galaxy Bank! What kind of privileges do five-star clients have? They represent absolute privacy and the highest level of VIP service. Even the high-ranking officials of the Qianwu Cosmic Kingdom have no right to access their funds.

Zhou Mu directly handed over the miscellaneous items that needed to be disposed of to Luo Feng, who then used the five-star account of the Cosmic Galaxy Bank to sell and auction them off in batches in an extremely safe manner, earning Zhou Mu an incredibly large cash flow—a full 50 Mixed Yuan Units of wealth!

With the money, the first thing Zhou Mu did was to buy the weapon that best suited him.

As a master of mental energy and a highly accomplished comprehension of the laws of lightning, he spared no expense in purchasing one of the nine divine weapons for the master—the "Divine Weapon of Strike"—also known as the Ninefold Cosmic Lightning Strike—at the Qianwu Auction House in order to push his destructive power to its limit!

This divine weapon has an extraordinary origin; its creator was a powerful being who possessed both the laws of lightning and time.

In the universe, the most famous spiritual masters are often those who wield divine weapons that combine the laws of "metal + space". But Zhou Mu went against the grain and chose the most suitable one for himself, the Divine Weapon of Strike that combines the laws of "lightning + time".

Its normal form is a purplish-gold spear about 2.5 meters long and 12 centimeters in diameter, with ancient lightning patterns flowing across its surface. Even just holding it in your hand, you can feel a slight tremor, as if you are holding a bolt of lightning about to strike from the heavens. Its core structure is composed of a full 10081 thin, purplish-gold lightning blades!

The core characteristic of this lightning strike can be summed up in just six words: "the fastest, and also the slowest!"

The laws of lightning grant it the ultimate speed in the universe, but in its advanced form, due to the integration of extremely profound laws of time, the disordered flow of time will cause most users, including themselves, to become confused and unable to adapt. It can be said that this weapon is specifically prepared for unparalleled geniuses who can clearly perceive the changes in the flow of time.

Without a profound understanding of both lightning and time, it's no better than a fire poker in your hand.

"call……"

Zhou Mu came to his senses and felt the surging power within his body, as vast as the ocean.

During these five years, he not only cultivated diligently every day, but also, during the most critical bottleneck period, he did not hesitate to consume the enormous lifespan he had plundered from those greedy martial artists in the Wind and Thunder Valley.

The burning of lifespan is exchanged for the infinite extension of enlightenment and time in the dimension of consciousness!

In this almost cheating state of enlightenment, Zhou Mu forcefully mastered the spatial secret technique left behind by the Lord of Kabu Realm, and crossed the threshold of the fundamental laws of space.

Furthermore, he deduced and broke through the extremely difficult-to-control Divine Weapon with unstoppable momentum!

First level, Lightning Strike.

Nine lightning blades were unleashed simultaneously, making them unbeatable in speed among their respective classes;

The second level, the Thunder Piercing Style, combines nine thunder blades into one, condensing thunder into a piercing strike;

The third level, Thunder Domain, uses 729 lightning blades to create a spherical lightning field with a radius of 300 meters, suppressing all enemy speed.

The fourth level, the Thunderous Strike, consists of 1600 thunder blades combined to form a giant thunder blade nearly ten meters tall, which is extremely powerful once it is formed.

The fifth level, Lightning Escape, involves 2916 lightning blades transforming into streams of light, capable of slowing down time or forcibly accelerating it.

Until... the most terrifying sixth level!

Zhou Mu slowly extended his right hand.

"Buzz—!"

With a chilling low hum, a purplish-gold spear appeared out of thin air in his palm. Then, the spear instantly disintegrated! A full 5832 thin, purplish-gold lightning blades, as if imbued with life, danced wildly around Zhou Mu!

The sixth level of lightning strike—the world of lightning!

boom!

An invisible and terrifying wave instantly enveloped the wasteland within a radius of several kilometers.

Luo Feng's expression suddenly changed. He was horrified to discover that in this "world" constructed from 5832 lightning blades, the falling sand around them had strangely stopped in mid-air! No, it wasn't stopped, but rather its falling speed had become extremely slow, as if it had sunk into some kind of quagmire!

In contrast, the purple-gold lightning surrounding Zhou Mu was so fast that even its afterimages were invisible!

In contrast, the purple-gold lightning surrounding Zhou Mu was so fast that even its afterimages were invisible!

This is the core power of the Thunder Realm—the domain evolves into a world, and the laws of lightning and time begin to merge in a rudimentary way! Within this domain, the flow of time becomes abnormal and disordered!

With Zhou Mu's current cultivation at the ninth level of the Hengxing realm, the fact that he could unleash the sixth level of the Thunder Realm Style, which should only be barely expended by top-tier Domain Lord level experts, makes him an absolute god in battles against opponents of the same or even higher levels!

"This is terrifying..." Luo Feng swallowed hard as he watched the scene unfold. He had no doubt that if his master had used this move against his Golden Horned Beast clone, the difference in the flow of time would have turned his resistance into slow motion, and he would have been instantly torn apart by the endless lightning blades!

With a thought, Zhou Mu caused the countless lightning blades to instantly shrink back into a purple-gold spear and be stored in his world ring.

The distorted flow of time around him returned to normal, and the sand fell down in a soft rustling.

Just as the master and apprentice finished their sparring match.

Suddenly, the demon Babata popped up on Luo Feng's shoulder, shouting, "Luo Feng! Breaking news! An absolute cosmic event!"

Babata's sharp, excited voice boomed across the wasteland, and the little devil's virtual projection jumped up and down excitedly.

At the same time, in Zhou Mu's mind, the aged voice of the intelligent life form "Lord Mist," tinged with solemnity and fervor, also rang out:

"Master! Top-level announcement! Virtual Universe Corporation has just issued a notice for the Genius Battle, which has just been disseminated throughout the entire galaxy network via Virtual Universe!"

Zhou Mu and Luo Feng exchanged a glance, and at the same time, a blazing flame, as intense as a star, erupted in their eyes.

The moment they had waited for for five long years had finally arrived.

Zhou Mu raised his head, his gaze seemingly piercing through the atmosphere of this barren planet, reaching the endless, dazzling starry sky. A sharp, unparalleled smile curved his lips as he uttered a few words softly but with unwavering determination:

"The battle of the ultimate geniuses across the entire human realm... has begun!"