All Heavens: Originating from Swallowing the Stars

More than half a month later, Li Tuo finally arrived at the last stop before returning to the Yousha Holy Land.

Liulan Starfield, Yuanyin Star

This planet is the headquarters of the Cosmic Mercenary Alliance within the Liulan Empire. It is located in a rich starry sky in a relatively peripheral region of the Liulan Starfield, and is a resource replenishment station, trading station, and intelligence transfer station that cosmic mercenaries are very happy to stay at.

At the same time, Yuan Yin Star is also the designated assessment location for one-star and two-star mercenaries of the Liu Lan Empire, because this planet is connected to the Alliance-certified official assessment world "Lost God Kingdom", which has stood here for more than a million epochs.

Every few decades, when the assessments for one-star and two-star mercenaries begin, this place becomes the busiest planet in the vicinity, with countless mercenaries gathering here to fight for their mercenary rank advancement.

This year marks the Alliance's assessment of one-star and two-star mercenaries. Hundreds of thousands of cosmic mercenaries have gathered here, all of whom are at least cosmic-level figures. Some have come to improve their mercenary rank, while others have come to witness the battles of others.

Li Tuo came to witness this.

His teacher, Lord Yousha, has two disciples still alive. Besides Li Tuo, there is a junior sister who joined the sect later than Li Tuo. That junior sister is now at the Universe level, and this year is the day she will participate in the Universe One Star Mercenary Assessment.

Of course, Li Tuo wouldn't wait idly. Taking advantage of his trip to Yuanyin Star, he met another old friend in a huge palace within the Cosmic Alliance branch.

This was a tall, middle-aged werewolf. Even sitting, he was about four meters tall. His bulging, tough muscles were covered with thick gray fur, and his emerald green eyes were cold and gleaming with a wild and aggressive light.

"It's rare to see you like this after a thousand years. You've already become a formidable axe warrior, Li Tuo."

The middle-aged werewolf, dressed in jet-black leather armor, was clearly delighted by Li Tuo's arrival. He squatted on a large stone chair, grinning to reveal a row of sharp fangs, looking as ferocious as a bloodthirsty wolf. Through the coarse fur on his face, one could see a deep blue, almost black, law mark between his eyebrows.

"After all, we've been separated by vast distances. If you hadn't come to the Flowing Mist Starfield this time, I'm afraid we wouldn't have met again until you became immortal, Brother Cangzhuo," Li Tuo stepped forward, smiled at the middle-aged werewolf before him, and bowed slightly, "You've been in the War-Torn Secret Realm of the Cosmic Mercenary Alliance for over a thousand years now, are you adapting well?"

The Lord of Cangzhuo Realm was once a subordinate of Li Tuo's teacher, the Lord of Yousha Army, during their campaigns in the outer realms. He was a ninth-level Lord of Realm and was recognized by the Law of the Origin of Water. He had spent more than a dozen eras in the Yousha Holy Land. He was the Lord of Realm who guided Li Tuo in the Law of the Origin of Water when he was young, and he and Li Tuo could be considered to have a half-master-disciple relationship.

This is a very ambitious martial artist. Shortly after Li Tuo went to the universe to become a free adventurer, he chose to accept the invitation of the Cosmic Mercenary Alliance and join the lowest level of the Cosmic Mercenary Alliance's War Zone, becoming a core member of one of the five major human forces.

"To be honest, before joining the alliance, I always thought I was a top world lord in the universe. It wasn't until I participated in the first battle in the secret realm that I began to understand this universe." The Cangzhuo World Lord casually opened his inner world and took out two huge wine barrels that were taller than Li Tuo himself. He was very willing to have a long talk with Li Tuo.

When he joined the Cosmic Mercenary Alliance, he was already a top-tier elite Realm Lord warrior who had made great contributions on the extraterrestrial battlefield and even injured an Immortal. He thought he would at least gain some attention from the Cosmic Mercenary Alliance, but unexpectedly, he only ranked in the middle in the Warfire Secret Realm Master-level preliminary battle.

The universe is too vast. A realm lord recognized by the fundamental laws might be considered a figure in a mid-level civilization, but in a high-level universe, he would only be considered a backbone force. Within the universe, he would be even more insignificant. There are far too many powerful realm lords vying to join the five major powers, and recognition by the fundamental laws is merely the threshold.

Li Tuo remained silent, using his genetic power to condense a dark blue ladle. He scooped a ladleful of wine radiating the light of black laws from the bucket, signaling the Lord of Cangzhuo Realm to continue telling his story.

"Take our secret realm for example. Although it's the lowest-ranked core secret realm in the alliance, the number one ranked realm lord is a very powerful guy. He's a rare barrier master among mentalists. At the realm lord level, he can create law barriers that can seal ordinary immortal gods. If he weren't not bad at combat and wasn't too old, he probably would have already advanced to a higher-level secret realm..."

"The second place is from the Wild God Clan, a top-tier bloodline. That guy's physique is incredibly powerful; I tried fighting him..."

The Lord of the Chaotic Realm held the wine barrel in his arms and enthusiastically recounted his experiences over the past thousand years. The Cosmic Mercenary Alliance's War-Torn Secret Realm was a gathering place for the most outstanding figures at his level, greatly enriching his knowledge.

At the same time, he was amazed by the superior conditions of the Cosmic Mercenary Alliance. Top-level secret techniques, qualifications for cultivation in sacred cultivation grounds, and personal instruction from immortal gods at the Marquis or even King level could all be purchased with points. Some top experts' open classes were even completely free for core members.

When Cang Zhuo talked about attending a free public lecture held by a certain cosmic ruler, Li Tuo felt that this werewolf's eyebrows were about to fly off.

"So, brother, how's your strength progressing?" Li Tuo listened with great interest. He and the Lord of Cangzhuo Realm were in fact master and disciple relationship, but they did not address each other as master and disciple. They had called each other "brother" for many years, and their relationship was still quite deep.

"The thousand years in the War-Torn Secret Realm were probably the period when my strength increased the fastest in my life," said the Cangzhuo Realm Lord with a slightly smug expression when talking about his strength. He grinned and said, "Decades ago, I was already able to pass through the eleventh level of the Bridge to Heaven. If evaluated by the war system of the extraterrestrial battlefield, I should be a mid-level Realm Lord General."

It was clear that the Lord of Cangzhuo Realm was very satisfied with his progress. When he first joined the Warfire Secret Realm, he had been cultivating in the universe for more than a hundred epochs and had only barely passed the tenth level of the Bridge to Heaven. After more than a thousand years in the Warfire Secret Realm, he was already able to consistently pass the eleventh level. This progress was something he could hardly have imagined before.

"Quite a step forward." Li Tuo nodded, not entirely surprised. The ability of the five major human powers to cultivate geniuses was evident to all. The eleventh level of the Sky Bridge was only average among the core members of the realm lords of higher-level secret realms, but it was already very outstanding in the realm lord circle of the universe.

"If I can maintain this pace of progress, I may be able to take the most crucial step and become an immortal god."

At this point, the Lord of the Chaotic Realm spoke with an irrepressible longing and yearning. Immortal gods were truly immortal and indestructible, beings that could theoretically live as long as the universe.

This is a reasonable expectation. Theoretically speaking, one needs to accumulate the understanding of laws to the tenth level of the Bridge to Heaven to reach the minimum standard to become immortal. At this level, a realm lord only needs to comprehend a lower-level law to try to break the shackles of the "singularity" with his own power, open up a divine kingdom, and become an immortal god who is neither dead nor destroyed.

Cang Zhuo has only lived for a little over a hundred epochs. If he can comprehend the fundamental laws of water within the next eight hundred epochs, he still has a good chance of becoming immortal.

Of course, Li Tuo also understood that things wouldn't be as wonderful as Cang Zhuo had described. You have to give something to gain something. To join the core of the Cosmic Mercenary Alliance, Lord Cang Zhuo would have to give up something very important.

That is freedom!

The five major forces of the human race, as direct extensions of the will of the cosmic rulers, govern the entire human race, and there are countless trivial matters to attend to.

Serving as a bodyguard for core members of advanced secret realms, carrying out war missions on extraterrestrial battlefields, managing a local alliance branch in a remote star system, exploring a brand-new cosmic secret realm as an advance team, searching for and executing alien spies within human territory...

The Cosmic Mercenary Alliance is a massive machine covering the entire human territory. To maintain its stable operation, a vast number of weak grassroots personnel are essential, and powerful realm lords and immortal gods who are always active on the front lines are equally indispensable.

For example, right now, the Lord of Cangzhuo Realm is carrying out his first mission after joining the Warfire Secret Realm—serving as the captain of the personal guard under a core genius of the Triumph Secret Realm of the Cosmic Mercenary Alliance.

"Oh, so the genius you were in charge of recently became a domain lord?"

Li Tuo nodded. The Triumph Secret Realm should correspond to the Primordial Secret Realm of the Virtual Universe Company. According to the rules of the five major forces, the genius under the control of the Cangzhuo Realm Master should now be working as an inspector-like position in the Cosmic Mercenary Alliance of the Homeland Universe Kingdom.

In other words, the genius that Cangzhuo was in charge of should have come from the Qianwu Universe Kingdom. Otherwise, according to the rules, Cangzhuo at this time would definitely not have had the opportunity to come to Yuanyin Star and chat with Lituo.

"You don't need to ask any more questions. The whereabouts of His Highness, which I am in charge of, are kept secret, and the internal management regulations are very strict." The Lord of Cangzhuo Realm stretched out a hand, wiped the wine residue from the hair around his mouth, and shook his head.

"Never mind then, that kind of intelligence isn't of any value to me," Li Tuo said nonchalantly, then asked with concern, "According to the regulations, how many years do you expect to handle this kind of miscellaneous work?"

"It's still early..."

The Lord of Cangzhuo Realm looked up, gazing at the sky above Yuanyin Star. It was a pity this planet had no satellites, and therefore no moon, which was their werewolf's favorite feature.

"According to the contract signed back then, I must unconditionally serve the Alliance for six hundred eras and carry out all reasonable requests. Only then can my freedom be increased, allowing me to accept one mission per era. If I break through to immortality during this period, I can apply for..."

The Lord of Cangzhuo Realm roughly recounted the contract he signed when he joined the Cosmic Mercenary Alliance. Its absurdity even made Li Tuo think it was outrageous. According to the contract, even if the Lord of Cangzhuo Realm became an immortal god, he would still have to fulfill certain requirements, such as guarding a dangerous secret realm, doing some trivial tasks for the Cosmic Venerables, or acting as a field agent to escort goods for high-end buyers of the Cosmic Auction House...

"It's really not easy being a mid-to-low-level member of the five major powers..." Li Tuo sighed softly.

"It's all for achieving immortality," the Lord of Cangzhuo Realm grinned. He had benefited from the five major powers, and he was willing to stay even if it meant sacrificing some of his freedom.

But then, the burly middle-aged werewolf sighed softly, turned his gaze to Li Tuo, and warned, "Compared to me, your problem is actually bigger."

"Me?" Li Tuo raised an eyebrow.

"The more powerful a Realm Lord is, the stronger they become after breaking through to Immortal Godhood. However, correspondingly, these individuals are too powerful at the Realm Lord stage, with an extremely solid primordial core, making it much more difficult for them to break through to Immortality."

The Lord of Cangzhuo Realm stared at Li Tuo, his face solemn.

"Look at the Time Lord of the Black Dragon Mountain Starfield. Although he is powerful, he is nearing the end of his life and has not yet broken through. You have greater potential than him, and I don't want you to become the next him."

As a mentor, the Lord of Cangzhuo Realm was genuinely proud of Li Tuo's achievements. However, as his understanding of the Lord of Realm's stage deepened, he couldn't help but worry about Li Tuo's situation.

To the Cangzhuo Realm Lord, it was not a question to choose between becoming an ordinary immortal god and living eternally in the universe, or becoming a revered and invincible realm lord who shone for a thousand epochs.

Only eternity is the beginning of all the future.

"I understand, brother. I'm aware of these issues and have considered them," Li Tuo nodded.

The affinity of the laws at the realm lord level is high enough that the accumulation at this stage can greatly reduce the time wasted at the immortal level. Li Tuo was unwilling to waste time and was confident that he could break the primordial core's constraints.

"Immortality... that's a qualitative leap..."

The Lord of the Chaotic Realm put all the wine in the barrel into his mouth. The word "immortal" seemed to have a magical power, and he couldn't help but show a slightly intoxicated smile.

"What are your plans for the future, brother?" Li Tuo was not in a hurry. He slowly savored the wine in the barrel while lightly flicking his fingers in the air, producing pleasant spatial sounds, and asked casually.

"Of course I'll follow my prince. I'm still on guard duty, and except in special circumstances, I have to go wherever he goes."

The Lord of the Chaotic Realm spoke as if it were the most natural thing in the world, but then a faint smile appeared on his face.

"Before I become immortal, I also want to go back to my hometown, show my power to the old folks in my clan, find a mate, have a few litters of wolf cubs, and pass on my best bloodline."

For humans, advancing from the realm lord to the level of immortal gods means transforming from a flesh-and-blood life form into a divine life form. This is a kind of evolution, but in the process of evolution, divine life forms lose the ability to reproduce naturally like flesh-and-blood life forms.

Therefore, within the human race, many realm lords who are about to become immortal will seek mates to reproduce sufficiently excellent offspring in the form of flesh and blood.

Li Tuo remembered that the Cangzhuo Realm Lord's hometown was in this star field. Their bloodline could reach the fifth or sixth level of the planetary level after reaching adulthood, and they had produced six or seven immortal gods. Although they were not a major branch among the cosmic werewolves, they were still considered to have an excellent bloodline due to their huge bodies and decent affinity with the law of water.

"With your level, brother, it might be difficult to have a litter," Li Tuo teased. For a realm lord to have children is not a task that can be completed in a few months; it truly requires a great deal of effort.

"Hahaha! After all, I possess the finest bloodline. If I could unite with one of the female realm lords in my clan who are recognized by the fundamental laws... tsk tsk, my wolf cub's potential would probably frighten even his father!"

The Lord of the Chaotic Realm became more and more excited as he spoke. Passing on bloodlines was a memory engraved in the instincts of flesh and blood, and almost all powerful beings hoped to pass on their bloodlines.

"Then you'd better hurry, because if you suddenly break through to immortality one day, your bloodline will be wasted," Li Tuo said, shaking his head.

"I should be the one saying that, kid. Don't be stingy with your bloodline!" The Lord of Cangzhuo patted Li Tuo on the back with a large hand. "Your bloodline is beyond question. You are an exceptionally outstanding individual. It must be passed down. This is important for the clan and for us."

"I know." Li Tuo understood this principle, but he could only sigh and feel somewhat helpless.

After being strengthened multiple times by the Hunyuan Seed, Li Tuo's current genetic level should be around 22 times. Although instinctively he feels that he still has the ability to reproduce and will not evolve to lose his reproductive ability like some special life forms, in terms of the probability of producing offspring, it is really difficult for this level of bloodline to be passed down.

Besides, finding a truly outstanding member of the opposite sex isn't easy...

"That's why you have to work hard, kid! How can you be careless about the bloodline inheritance?" The Lord of Cangzhuo patted his chest, revealing a smile that every man understands.