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

But Mingyu's kindness to Zhou Mu goes far beyond that.

In the vast universe, the bloodline of Earthlings belongs to the lowest "ninth class" bloodline. At most, they can only reach the apprentice level after adulthood, and their human foundation still seems weak.

Upon learning of this situation, Ming Yu actually used the immense merit he had accumulated over half a lifetime at the Qianwu Universe Corporation headquarters, even at the cost of incurring a huge favor, to obtain for Zhou Mu an extremely precious treasure from the headquarters' higher-ups—a treasure that was practically priceless on the market.

Domain Lord-level Bloodline Evolution Agent!

This incredible potion can forcibly alter a person's life trajectory from the very bottom of their genes, directly elevating the lowest ninth-class bloodline to the second-class top-tier bloodline that grants the person the title of Domain Lord upon adulthood!

This bloodline evolution agent filled the last remaining gap in Zhou Mu's human form.

With the blessing of the second-class bloodline, Zhou Mu's physical foundation and the speed of his Origin Force cultivation reached an outrageous level, which allowed him to soar to the true peak of the ninth level of the Hengxing star without any obstacles in just five years!

Mingyu's kindness and investment can be described as invaluable.

He did this for two reasons. First, he highly valued Zhou Mu's extraordinary talent and wanted to befriend a peerless genius who was likely to become a cosmic giant in the future. Second, it was also due to his generous and loyal personality.

"Come, come, sit down! Try my newly acquired 'Nebula Brew'."

In the spacious and bright reception room, Mingyu personally poured two glasses of dreamy wine, radiating dazzling starlight, for Zhou Mu and Luo Feng.

The three raised their glasses and drank them down in one gulp.

"happy!"

Ming Yu put down his wine glass, his gaze fixed intently on Zhou Mu. The joking expression on his face vanished, replaced by an extremely serious one. "Zhou Mu, after five years of dormancy, I've bet everything on you. Now, even I can't fathom your strength. Today, the Genius Battle has officially begun, and I want to hear the truth from you."

Ming Yu leaned forward slightly, his thick arms resting on his knees, and asked, word by word, "In this ultimate showdown that brings together 1008 cosmic nations from across the universe, what exactly is your goal? Is it to break into the top 1000 of our Qianwu Cosmic Nation? Or... do you have the ambition to compete for the top 1000 in the overall universe rankings and officially enter the core of the head office?"

Luo Feng, standing to the side, couldn't help but hold his breath and turn to look at his master. He knew his master was very strong, but this was a competition across the entire universe! In the vast universe, countless peerless geniuses with special physiques, nurtured by immortal gods with painstaking care from childhood, were hidden.

A brief silence fell over the reception room.

Zhou Mu gently swirled the glass in his hand, watching the liquid inside rotate like a miniature nebula. His expression was extremely calm, without the arrogance of youthful impetuosity or the fear of facing the vast universe.

After a while, Zhou Mu slowly placed the wine glass on the table, making a crisp "tap" sound.

He raised his head, his deep eyes, which seemed to contain endless thunder and the power of time, quietly gazing at Mingyu.

"Dude, your perspective is too narrow."

Zhou Mu's lips curled into a faint, confident smile as he casually uttered two words:

"First."

boom!

[Remember the fastest online novel website: 1 ...

These two words were like a bombshell, crashing into the minds of Ming Yu and Luo Feng!

Mingyu's eyes widened instantly, and his hand, which was holding the wine bottle, trembled violently, spilling the expensive Nebula Wine directly onto the table.

"What...what did you say?!"

Ming Yu's voice even trembled slightly with extreme shock, "Number one?! Zhou Mu, bro! Do you know what you're talking about?! That's the entire universe! A concentration camp of monsters selected from 1008 cosmic nations and trillions of star systems!"

"There are energy life forms nurtured by ancient secret realms! There are freaks who have lived for tens of thousands of years, suppressing their cultivation just for this one genius battle! You... you want to take first place among these monsters?!"

Seeing Ming Yu's almost out-of-control shocked expression, Zhou Mu did not refute him. He simply stood up slowly, walked to the huge floor-to-ceiling window, and looked down at the bustling Black Dragon Mountain Island below.

"I know it's difficult. In fact, to everyone else, it seems like a pipe dream." Zhou Mu's voice was ethereal and otherworldly, yet it exuded an undeniable and absolute domineering aura.

"But in these past five years, I've crossed the threshold of the laws of space, pushing the Divine Weapon of Strike, which perfectly blends time and lightning, to its current pinnacle. If even this doesn't allow me to contend for the once-in-ten-thousand-years throne of the universe, then what use have all my opportunities and these five years of arduous cultivation been?"

Zhou Mu slowly turned around, his gaze sharp as a sword:

"I'll either not compete at all, or if I do compete, I'll be the absolute number one, dominating my generation! Unstoppable, the number one in the entire universe!"

Seeing the terrifying aura emanating from Zhou Mu, which seemed to pierce the heavens and even make way for the laws of the universe, Ming Yu was completely stunned.

After a full half minute, this domain lord-level powerhouse, who had experienced countless life-and-death situations, suddenly had reddened his eyes, slapped his thigh hard, and burst into wild laughter:

"Hahahaha!! Great! What an unstoppable number one!! The best thing I ever did in my life was stopping you back on Canglan Star!"

Ming Yu suddenly picked up his wine glass, his hands still trembling slightly. He raised the glass high, his eyes burning with fervor.

"Brother! My strength is too weak to help you much in the battle of geniuses. But I toast you with this drink! I, Mingyu, will be right here on Black Dragon Mountain, watching with wide eyes how you carve out a bloody path to the top among all the geniuses in the universe!!"

"Thank you for your kind words, brother."

Zhou Mu raised his glass and drank it all in one gulp.

……

At the same time, countless billions of light-years away from the Black Dragon Mountain star field, in the endless, deep expanse of space.

The Qianwu Secret Realm. This is a vast continent suspended in the void, its edges bordered by endless chaotic currents, isolated by an invisible force of law. In the center of the continent, majestic mountain ranges stretch endlessly, their peaks shrouded in mist, with countless palaces and pavilions faintly visible among them.

Deep within the continent, a colossal, jet-black island floats suspended in mid-air, surrounded by nine waterfalls cascading down from the void. The waters of these waterfalls contain an incredibly concentrated cosmic energy, each drop enough to drive countless cosmic-level powerhouses in the outside world mad.

In the center of the island, a majestic palace built of dark golden jade stands tall. The palace's surface is engraved with densely packed law runes, which shimmer with a faint light and exude a powerful pressure that makes people tremble.