Swallowing the Stars: Starting with the Battle of Geniuses

Chapter 177 The Giant Axe Conference: The Shock of the Human Universe Masters

Hunzhen's attitude was clearly incredibly arrogant. Even the usually arrogant Lord Youhou was slightly shocked and exclaimed in surprise that Hunzhen dared to talk back to his own master.

"good."

But the Lord of Darkness showed no anger whatsoever; instead, he smiled with admiration: "Long Xing was being conservative in his assessment. Your talent not only surpasses mine, but in my eyes, it even surpasses that of the Giant Axe Founder! Since you are such a genius, you should have the pride of a genius. Surpassing me, surpassing your teacher, is only to be expected!"

Lord Youhou's mouth formed an "O" shape; at that moment, he realized the diversity of the world.

Hunzhen met the Lord of Darkness's piercing gaze with an air of calm and composure, despite the oppressive aura of evil.

"it is good."

The Lord of Chaos swept his gaze across the area and said, "Now, all six universes of my Virtual Universe lineage are gathered here."

As soon as the Lord of Chaos spoke, all the Universe Lords present turned to look and listened quietly. Regardless of strength or status, the Lord of Chaos was undoubtedly the leader of the Virtual Universe Company.

"The birth of another Lord of the Universe is a blessing for my virtual universe and for humanity as a whole."

The Lord of Chaos smiled faintly, glancing sideways at the Lord of Darkness, and said, "Moreover, my disciple's actual combat strength is no less than mine."

"Oh?" The Lord of Darkness tilted his head to look at Hunzhen, his eyes flashing with a sharp light.

"Hmm?" The Lord of Ice Peak looked up and spoke, a rare occurrence.

"Huh!?" The Lord of Dragons looked shocked.

"Hiss—" Lord Youhou gasped.

However, the Lord of Darkness pondered for a moment and spoke first: "In that case, your killing of the Lord of Heaven that day was not an unrepeatable trick."

Regarding the Lord of Darkness's deduction, Hunzhen smiled faintly and said, "No, it was indeed a clever trick. If we didn't use a trick, it would be quite difficult to kill him so easily."

The Lord of Dragons and the Lord of Youhou were taken aback upon hearing this, but then they both burst into laughter.

The Lord of Ice Peaks also slightly curled the corners of his mouth and said, "Impressive."

The Lord of Darkness also showed an expression of approval: "You have only just broken through to the level of the Lord of the Universe and you already possess such strength. Hmm, you must use spacetime as a guide. Others are not qualified, but it is different for you."

He grinned, a chilling aura emanating from him: "If it's just some small fry making a fuss, with your status as a lone wolf, you can handle it without any pressure. Good!"

The Lord of Darkness, who was able to teach a disciple like the Lord of Youhou, was himself a free spirit. He had not been averse to Hunzhen using such a heaven-defying title as "Time and Space." On the contrary, he felt that this junior disciple had the wildness and vigor of a young man, which suited his taste.

Now that the Lord of Chaos City says that Hunzhen's strength is no less than his own, he feels that this title is very suitable for his junior disciple.

With the Chaos City Lord's assessment of Hunzhen's strength, the four Universe Lords' recognition of Hunzhen increased significantly.

The law of the universe is that the strong are respected; those with strength will naturally gain respect and importance.

As for questioning the Chaos City Lord's judgment?

They all knew the Chaos City Lord's personality; for him to say such a thing, he must have actually tested Hunzhen's true strength.

And that was indeed the case. At Hunzhen's level, even the Primordial Ancestor couldn't offer him much guidance due to the difference in their paths. Over the centuries, when Hunzhen sought instruction from the Lord of Chaos City, it was no longer through verbal instruction or the application of divine power, but rather through direct sparring within the virtual universe.

They were well aware of each other's strengths.

The two of them, master and disciple, could be open with each other, so there was no need for them to deliberately show off their strength in front of others as proof.

"Alright, then the sixth Universe Lord of my Virtual Universe lineage will be the Lord of Time and Space."

The Lord of Chaos nodded, glancing at the five people, and said, "The Lord of Time and Space, like the Lord of Darkness, is a hidden pawn for humanity, capable of playing a crucial role in critical moments. Going forward, the Lord of Time and Space will primarily operate in the Cosmic Sea, but will leave behind a special avatar in the Primordial Universe capable of unleashing its full power at any time. In the event of conflict with humanity or the Hong Alliance, it will proceed as follows..."

The Lord of Chaos City did not explicitly state that the so-called "clone" was actually an avatar, indicating a degree of protectiveness. He then carefully explained some specific countermeasures.

"That's all for now."

Immediately afterward, the Lord of Chaos City stood up abruptly: "Now, let's go and see the founder of my virtual universe lineage."

Next, the Lord of Chaos City began his introduction of the Primordial Ancestor as usual.

Xiang Hunzhen recounted the time when the Primordial Ancestor was still active, his invincible exploits across the universe, and the strength of humanity during that period.

If it were anyone else, even the Lord of the Universe, they would be deeply moved upon hearing this. But for Hunzhen, who already knew a series of past events, there was both respect and admiration for the achievements of the original ancestor after merging with the human race, and at the same time, he secretly chuckled to himself.

He couldn't help but think of the classic nickname given to the original ancestor by the Mountain Hermit in the original work—"That silly boy, the original ancestor."

Silly boy?

Upon closer reflection, isn't that the case?

Due to insufficient information, the Primordial Ancestor appeared to have severe paranoia in the eyes of the Mountain-Sitting Guest, suspecting that the Primordial Universe was involved in a conspiracy and that he, with only the strength of a True God, was attempting to seize the Primordial Universe, whose life essence was comparable to that of a God-King.

The people sitting on the mountain were probably shocked at the time.

Because of the vivid memories, even though Hunzhen knew about the Primordial Ancestor's contributions to the human race and knew that this ancestor was a great figure, he just couldn't feel the same admiration as the Lord of Chaos City and his other uncles.

So, on the way to the location of the ancestral statue, to avoid the Chaos City Lord noticing his emotional fluctuations and thinking he was disrespectful to his teacher, he changed the subject, saying, "Teacher, actually I had some idea. Among those books you gave me a long time ago, many were teaching materials left by our grandmaster, right? Even the Traceless Pearl I used to open the path to the first Primordial Spirit Weapon was left by our grandmaster?"

Not only the Lord of Chaos City, but also the Lord of Darkness and the Lord of Ice Peak were somewhat surprised upon hearing this.

The Lord of Chaos couldn't help but ask, "How did you figure that out?"

Hunzhen blinked upon hearing this, looking puzzled: "Teacher, when you gave me those classics, you mentioned a great being. The respect and admiration you showed when you spoke of this person made it clear that you had a special feeling for him, or at least a close relationship."

"After that, he gave me another traceless pearl made by the same person. Others couldn't see the profound emotional changes in it, but I, as his apprentice, could at least discern some of them."

"You keep mentioning the same person, providing corresponding texts and weapons, isn't it just to see if I can inherit some of the true essence of this person's legacy? The person you respect and admire so much is probably not even as good as the founder of the giant axe, because I feel that when you occasionally mention the founder of the giant axe, you treat him more as an equal. So when I heard that you and your two senior uncles have a common teacher, I made a few guesses after a little connection."

The Lord of Chaos City sighed with admiration for Hunzhen's keen insight, nodding and saying, "That is indeed the case. Hunzhen, in my eyes, your talent is the only one I have ever seen that can rival your grandmaster's. Naturally, I have also considered whether you could inherit a part of your grandmaster's mantle. Although your main cultivation path is fundamentally different from your grandmaster's, it is indeed of the same lineage. Now that you have carried this path forward, I can say without any pressure that I have lived up to your grandmaster's legacy!"

When the Lord of Chaos said this, apart from the Lord of Youhou, the other three Lords of the Universe, who had close ties with the Primordial Ancestor and had direct communication with him, looked at Hunzhen with increasing approval.

Although Lord Youhou respected his teachers and valued the Way, he ultimately only knew about the deeds of the original ancestor through hearsay, so his emotional changes were naturally incomparable to those of the others.

then……

"What's wrong? Why do I suddenly feel like I'm not in the same circle as them, and that I'm the only one being excluded?"

Lord Youhou felt a sudden jolt in his heart. Looking at the few people whose eyes met his, he inexplicably felt an invisible, thick barrier erected between him and the other universe lords of the same lineage.

Unfortunately, no one paid much attention to Lord Youhou's emotions.

"arrive."

The Chaos City Lord, who was flying at the forefront, landed first and beckoned Hunzhen to admire the majestic statue surrounded by endless chaotic energy in the void.

As Hunzhen listened to the Chaos City Lord recount the story of how the Primordial Ancestor was not dead but merely suppressed by the Primordial Universe, he observed the statue.

He knew that this seemingly inorganic statue was actually the original form of the progenitor.

Although they cannot use divine power or escape suppression, as described in the original work, they can still move their eyelids and speak a few words.

The reason I didn't speak...

"Seclusion in isolation?"

"Pretending to be a statue?"

Hunzhen listened attentively to the Lord of Chaos City's story, but his mind was wandering.

For hundreds of years, apart from the Demon God Dance, Hunzhen did not engage in any cultivation; he simply relaxed and traveled.

Witness and integrate into countless racial uniquenesses, experience various social ecosystems, curiously venture into those cosmic secret realms that are dangerous to the cosmic venerables, and visit Earth on a pilgrimage to sacred sites.

This experience allowed my pure and simple mindset to return to its original state, making me more free and unrestrained than before my travels.

The latest novel is first published here!

"We disciples take our leave."

After the worship ceremony, the Chaos City Lord, along with several other Universe Lords from the Virtual Universe lineage, bowed respectfully and departed gracefully.

Just like in the original story, the primordial being, who was dressed as a statue, secretly opened his eyes a crack after his disciples and descendants had left, and a faint voice murmured: "Hunzhen?"

After the rulers of the virtual universe lineage finished their visit to the progenitor, they immediately received a communication from the founder of the giant axe, instructing them to attend the "Giant Axe Conference," the highest meeting of humankind.

On the bronze platform, which resembles a small gathering of virtual universes, sit numerous cosmic lords.

The Cosmic Mercenary Alliance, led by the Lord of Desolation.

The Universe's Number One Bank lineage, headed by the Lord of Qingdong.

The Universe Galaxy Bank lineage, headed by Master Peng.

Finally, there is the Giant Axe Arena lineage, led by the Giant Axe Founder, currently the strongest and only active human being.

Apart from the host, Giant Axe, all the other leaders were present.

At this moment, everyone was looking at Hunzhen with curious eyes.

Not long ago, the Lord of Chaos City had already decided on the title of Hunzhen—Time and Space—through the channel of the highest resolution.

They had heard many stories about Hunzhen killing the Lord of Tianheng, but what about the title of Lord of Time and Space?

No one believed that Hunzhen, a junior who had cultivated for ten thousand years, truly possessed heaven-defying strength. They speculated that he had killed the Lord of Tianheng through special means, and concluded that Hunzhen could not suppress such a reputation.

As their seniors, they felt that Hunzhen was a bit too arrogant.

Such thinking is quite normal.

Hunzhen could guess that the Lord of Chaos City would directly inform the founder of the Giant Axe of his combat strength, without hiding it from this person who was the pillar of humanity.

The Lord of Chaos City and the Founder of the Giant Axe respected each other the most, both knowing that the other was someone who completely put the clan first.

The Lord of Chaos City would naturally not conceal such information from the other party. As for whether to disclose this information to the other human lineages, he would not interfere; that was entirely up to the founder of the Giant Axe to decide whether to issue a notification.

Wow.

A soft sound attracted the attention of all the lords of the universe.

A burly, wild man with disheveled hair then appeared in the main seat.

Instantly, all the lords of the universe fell silent, even their divine telepathic communication stopped, and they looked respectfully at the belated founder of the giant axe.

The founder of the giant axe nodded slightly to Hunzhen: "Hunzhen! This is the first time we've met."

Hunzhen also respectfully replied: "The founder of the giant axe."

The Giant Axe Founder withdrew his gaze, looked around at the assembled universe lords, and laughed, "It's been a long time since our human race has witnessed such a scene, haha, all the universe lords gathered together."

The 19 cosmic lords sitting on either side of the bronze table all laughed.

The atmosphere was harmonious.

"We've gathered here today to welcome Hunzhen to be one of us."

The Giant Axe Founder looked at Hunzhen: "From today onwards, our human race has gained another Universe Lord. Although Hunzhen has only recently broken through to the Universe Lord realm, his strength is already formidable..."

The Giant Axe Founder glanced at the Chaos City Lord, the Dark Lord, the Lord of Peng Gong, and other top-tier fifth-order universe lords, then suddenly laughed and said, "He is now second only to me."

The human cosmic rulers were in an uproar.

Even those from the Virtual Universe faction, apart from the Chaos City Lord, were somewhat shocked.

No one doubted the words of the founder of the giant axe.

The founder of the giant axe simply pressed down with his hand, and the scene returned to calm.

"According to the rules of humanity, every person who becomes the master of the universe will receive a treasure of the value of a top-tier weapon from their race."

The founder of the giant axe said, "But given Hunzhen's potential, and the fact that he must remain hidden as a pawn and cannot rely on the power of my human race... he will soon be exploring the Cosmic Sea alone. Given his combat potential, I intend to make a slight change and personally bestow upon him a treasure of supreme value."

The human cosmic rulers were once again in uproar.

However, everyone knows that the founder of Giant Axe was not asking questions, but announcing a decision.

Then the creator of the giant axe smiled slightly at Hunzhen: "Hunzhen, do you have any requests?"

Hunzhenziran means to speak out frankly what you have prepared.

He nodded and asked, "Founder of the Giant Axe, forgive my boldness, but this is indeed something I urgently need right now—a treasure of supreme value. So, may I choose ten top-tier supreme armor pieces?"

(End of this chapter)