Please be my partner.

Jun Tianqi looked at Mellen and the others and said solemnly, "Your mission is simple: while ensuring your own safety, try to uncover as many elements of the Outer Heaven as possible. If you encounter any chosen ones belonging to the Outer Heaven, do not hesitate to kill them. Of course, if you have the ability to subdue them and completely change their minds, that is also acceptable."

"Remember, your performance will be observed by the sect's powerful figures. After the training is over, you will be rewarded accordingly."

At this point, Jun Tianqi seemed to have thought of something and casually added, "By the way, besides you, there is another group of people who are also going to enter this Outer Heaven for training, but as long as they don't interfere with you, you don't need to pay attention to them."

Mellen and the others nodded slightly, understanding the other meaning behind Jun Tianqi's last words: if it doesn't bother them, they don't need to pay attention; but if it does bother them, they can take action.

As Mellen pondered what form the "heaven beyond heaven" that Jun Tianqi spoke of truly meant, the surrounding scenery returned to normal, revealing a boundless darkness.

This darkness was like a constantly churning cloud, but much thicker. Just seeing it sent a chill down your spine, as if touching even a wisp of it would completely melt away your life.

This is... the Outer Universe Ocean!

The so-called outer universe sea has no distinction between 'upper' and 'lower'. All universes float on the same level. The difference is that the powerful universes emit increasingly stronger light, while the weak universes emit only faint light.

These rays of light represent the concept of the essence of the universe. When the light of a powerful universe falls on a weak universe, it will cause erosion at the level of information and concepts, affecting the weak universe in all aspects. The most direct impact is on extraordinary systems, and even some unique cultures.

Even more remarkably, intelligent civilizations in weaker universes may spontaneously evolve myths and legends related to more powerful universes.

If observed from the outer universe, the essence of the universe is incredibly abstract. With the abilities of Melen and his group, it's like the blind men and the elephant—they can't see it clearly at all.

However, the warship they were on had a special filtering system that could convert the received information into images that they could understand.

And so, the otherworld they were about to visit appeared before them.

It was an indescribable and peculiar sight. This outer heaven was like a colorful diamond with countless facets, each facet a three-dimensional cone with different colors, together forming a perfect, colorful sphere.

Upon seeing the appearance of the Outer Heaven, Mellen seemed to understand some of what Jun Tianqi had said earlier.

If you place a monkey in front of a typewriter and let it press the letters at random, when the key press time becomes infinite, it will be able to generate any known or unknown work.

This is the allure of probability.

The outer universe is infinite, so theoretically the universe is also infinite. Therefore, any form of universe is possible!

Jun Tianqi spoke up, waking the others, and said, "Remember what I said before..."

"In addition, after you enter the Outer Heaven, you will be subjected to a special immortal technique. This technique will seal all your strength, but there is no need to worry, because the sealed strength will become your foundation. Once you forcibly break through the seal of the immortal technique, your true nature will be exposed to the Heavenly Dao of the Outer Heaven, which means that your training is over."

"Furthermore, since the powerful figures of the sect have already obtained a portion of the Heavenly Dao authority of the Outer Heaven, you are actually equivalent to the chosen ones of this Outer Heaven. Even if you do nothing, all sorts of opportunities and benefits will automatically come to you."

"Alright, you should get going now."

After saying this, seeing that Mellen and the others had no questions, Jun Tianqi waved his hand slightly, and they immediately vanished like illusory bubbles.

Mellen felt quite strange, as if he were dissipating into nothingness, or as if he were merging into the world. As he passed through one membrane after another, layers of invisible forces attached themselves to him, gradually covering and concealing everything about him.

Just as Murren's mind began to cloud over and he was about to lose consciousness...

Xiao Li suddenly leaped out, and at the same time, that invisible force began to attach itself to it.

"Master, I'm going to find the treasure first, hurry up and follow me!"

The last thing Mellen saw was that Xiaoli turned into a golden streak of light and disappeared without a trace.

…………

Beyond the heavens, within the realms.

Two radiant figures sat cross-legged.

As Xiao Li suddenly appeared, one of the figures seemed to frown, and a cold female voice rang out: "You're from your side, and it seems you have some connection with her."

Another figure spoke in a gentle male voice, with a hint of a smile: "Time-based lifespan? What a stroke of luck. Well then, I'll cover the extra spots in advance. If these two little ones can achieve something, consider it my investment in advance."

The woman snorted, but did not object.

Chapter 624 Clues

“Merren…Merren?…Merren?!…”

The voice calling grew louder and louder as it approached, startling Mellen from his daze. He saw a young man of about twenty waving his hand in front of him with a worried expression on his face.

Mellen began, "I..."

Only then did he realize that his voice was incredibly hoarse, as if he hadn't had water for days. The young man was startled and quickly picked up the teapot on the table, poured a glass of cold water, and handed it to Mellen.

Mellen took it and drank it all in one gulp. The cool water flowed down his throat, moistening his parched flesh.

The young man said worriedly, "Slow down, slow down, don't choke."

In that short time, Mellen's thinking began to clear, and he started to observe his surroundings.

This is a small room of about 20 square meters, with four bunk beds placed on both sides. Under the beds are tables, chairs, and computers. There is a small balcony facing the window, with four iron cabinets placed side by side inside. The room has air conditioning, fans, and a small refrigerator.

This is clearly a university dormitory, and a rather high-end one at that.

As he observed, the hazy memories in Mellen's mind began to become clearer, especially with the rambling narration of the young man in front of him... who was Mellen's roommate, Chi Xiao. More memories began to surface.

His name is Mellen, and he's an orphan...

Thinking about this, Murren couldn't help but complain, feeling as if he had been an orphan many times in his life.

...Because he showed his intelligence from a young age, he received full scholarships every year starting from public school, and was later recommended to Huazhong University of Science and Technology, an excellent university that ranks among the top ten in the country.

Recently, because of the experiments assigned by her supervisor and the writing of her thesis, Mellen has been working almost non-stop during the day and late into the night.

In the past, Mellen would never miss any classes, but today, with class about to start, Mellen was still lying on the bed with a furrowed brow, which made Chi Xiao worried.

"...When I woke up this morning, I saw you organizing data. You didn't sleep all night, did you?! You can't keep doing this. Even if we're young and energetic, we can't take this kind of strain! I suspect you just suffered from exhaustion and fainted..."

Mellen shook his head and casually retorted, "What kind of exhaustion-induced shock is this?"

Chi Xiao said seriously, "Of course there is. My brother often uses this as an excuse to ask for leave when he doesn't want to go to work."

Seeing that Mellen was about to get out of bed, Chi Xiao quickly pressed him down and said, "Okay, you rest in bed first. Don't go to class today. I'll ask for leave for you in a bit. If you still feel unwell when I come back from class, I'll go with you to the infirmary."

Mellen waved his hand and said, "It's not that serious, I'm all better now."

Chi Xiao raised her voice and said, "If you keep acting tough, I'm going to get angry!"

Mellen wanted to go to the classroom to see more classmates so she could sort out her memories more quickly, but after hearing what Chi Xiao said, she didn't insist anymore.

After Chi Xiao left, Mellen couldn't help but sigh, "The friendships we made in college were truly pure."

Then, Mellen lay back down on the bed and began to sort out the current situation.

Mellen's current state is somewhat similar to his first entry into the Starry Universe Mountain and Sea Realm, where he was forcibly inserted into the world in a reasonable way by the power of 'existence'.

However, with Mellen's current perspective and knowledge, he could clearly sense that this time was much more profound than the previous one. The cosmic consciousness of the outer heavens completely regarded him as one of their own, without the slightest rejection.

Correspondingly, Mellen's strength was also sealed, but at the same time, he could feel the surging potential hidden within himself, and he only needed to find the right key to unlock this treasure.

Mellen wasn't worried about Xiao Li's sudden departure. In fact, he thought that Xiao Li might have anticipated this trial in the Outer Heavens and had made preparations in advance.

As for Xiaoli's final words, "Master, I'll go find the treasure first, hurry up and catch up," it's not hard to understand. Here, "catching up" doesn't refer to catching up in a spatial sense, but rather in terms of time.

Xiao Li was probably hinting to Mellen that he should improve his strength as soon as possible.

Regardless of whether that's true or not, improving one's own strength as soon as possible is the top priority right now.

Thinking of this, Mellen felt that he had recovered, so he got out of bed and turned on his computer to look things up.

The world today is somewhat similar to modern society, with the internet and computers being widespread, making it quite convenient to access information.

The first thing Mellen looked up was things related to strength, martial arts, superpowers, and cultivation. The results were either debunking gurus or just empty showmanship.

Finally, Mellen clicked on the globally popular freestyle fighting organization, WWF for short. After casually watching a few matches, he couldn't help but shake his head helplessly. With his knowledge, he could see that there might be some real skill involved, but it was far from enough.

To paraphrase a highly-rated comment below: ...the losers in WWF all go on to make movies and become Oscar winners; only the winners deserve to remain on the field.

Mellen fell into thought. Although, according to Jun Tianqi, as a chosen one, he would have a constant stream of opportunities come to him even if he did nothing, there was still a big difference between being proactive and being passive.

As the old saying goes, if you want to wear the crown, you must bear its weight.

Even those destined for greatness can be overwhelmed by fate, let alone the fact that there are quite a few destined individuals in this Outer Heaven.

Actively seeking information allows you to gather details beforehand and extricate yourself from trouble if things go wrong. In contrast, passively waiting might leave you trapped in a quagmire by the time opportunity knocks.

When Chi Xiao returned, he saw Mellen staring blankly at the computer. After glancing at the computer and realizing it wasn't a paper, he breathed a sigh of relief. He was really afraid that his studious roommate would start working on his papers again after he left.

Chi Xiao placed a cup of bubble tea in front of Mellen and said, "Are you hungry? Let's go, I'll treat you to a big meal!"

Murren pursed his lips and asked, "A big meal?"

Chi Xiao smiled and said, "The school cafeteria is like a grand hotel, a private room on the second floor, want to go?"

Mellen picked up her milk tea, inserted a straw, took a sip, chewed and swallowed the pearls, and then said, "Of course I'm going, it's a rare treat to eat like this!"

Mellen looked at the other two beds, and Chi Xiao shrugged and laughed, "Don't bother looking. Wood and Dumb went with their partners and they might not be back today. If there's a room check tonight, we'll need to cover for them."

"Sigh, it's just the two of us single dogs relying on each other for survival."

Mellen put on a coat and said as they walked, "Back when you were helping those two woo girls, weren't you quite the 'strategist'?"

Chi Xiao shook her head, feigning pain: "I regret it so much! I regret it so much!!"

Chatting and laughing all the way, the two arrived at the second floor of the school cafeteria, where there was a special kitchen. They ordered a few dishes and rice as their staple food and began to chat casually.

Speaking of which, Chi Xiao's family is quite well-off; he's a typical second-generation rich kid. He used to say that his brother always had various ways of taking leave, but actually, it was his own family's conglomerate. His father was the CEO, and the family had several small fortunes.

Chi Xiao originally intended to attend school incognito and did not intend to reveal his identity. However, he was accidentally found out by Mellen. The two had a good relationship before and did not feel anything different afterward. Chi Xiao admired Mellen for his ability to rise to the top step by step. Over time, their relationship became even closer.

During their casual conversation, Mellen suddenly heard a suppressed growl from someone at the next table: "I really saw it! It really was a ghost!! Anyone who lies is a bastard!!"

Mellen turned his head and saw a group of four people talking quietly. They looked somewhat familiar and should be some of his classmates from Class 3 of the same grade.

Perhaps noticing Mellen's gaze, the group lowered their voices even further, with one of them reminding the young man who had been growling earlier: "Keep your voice down, we believe you, of course we believe you."

The young man who growled looked visibly haggard, with dark circles under his eyes and messy hair. While slovenly appearance is not uncommon among college students, this one was clearly going too far.

Seeing that the others were speaking so softly that they were barely audible, Mellen simply asked, "What's wrong, classmates? Why don't you tell me?"

Although he had only overheard a few snippets of information, Mellen instinctively felt that this might be what he was looking for, or at least something related to it.

The people at the next table were taken aback, not expecting Mellen to ask such a question directly. But it was normal, after all, he was a college student, and social anxiety and being socially awkward were common traits.

Amidst the hesitant gazes of the others, Mellen gave a wink to the somewhat bewildered Chi Xiao, then carried the dishes from the table directly to the next table and asked, "You don't mind eating with us, do you?"

After saying that, without waiting for a reply, she plopped down and sat down. Chi Xiao had no choice but to take the remaining dishes, give them an awkward but polite smile, and sit down as well.

Mellen said, "I'm from Class Two. We should have met before. Tell me, what happened just now?"

The young man who growled was named Xia Tian. In the past few days, he had told his story to many people, but no one believed him. Even his parents thought that he might be under too much pressure from his studies, which led to some mental instability. They had already arranged their work and were preparing to take leave to come and see him.

Now that someone is interested in his past experiences, although he doesn't have much hope, he still recounts them in detail...

It was three nights ago. Xia Tian and her roommate Bian Jie were out having fun and didn't get back until almost midnight.

As the two were riding their bicycles past a deserted intersection, Xia Tian suddenly stopped, his face pale. Bian Jie asked him what was wrong, but Xia Tian didn't answer. He just picked up a cigarette and started smoking, his hands trembling.

After a moment, Xia Tian threw away the half-smoked cigarette butt in his hand and pedaled quickly. But after a while, when he was about to turn the corner and reach the school gate, Xia Tian stopped again and started smoking again, his fingers trembling.

Bian Jie finally couldn't hold back any longer and frowned, asking, "Old Xia, what's going on? Are you smoking or doing drugs?! It's pitch black, we're almost at school, can't you wait a little while?!"

But suddenly Bian Jie noticed that Xia Tian's eyes were fixed on him, and his face was pale with a bluish tinge, just like a corpse that had been left out for a long time in a horror movie.

After more than ten minutes, the two returned to the classroom, and Xia Tian immediately wrapped herself in the blanket and kept shivering.

Bian Jie remained silent for a long time before asking, "Old Xia, tell me the truth, what exactly happened just now?!"

It was only then that the other two roommates realized something was wrong, and all three looked at Xia Tian.

Xia Tian opened the blanket a crack, revealing empty eyes, and said in a low voice, "Didn't you see? When I stopped, didn't you really see...?"

Bian Jie's tone became more urgent as he asked, "What...did you see?!"

“A sedan chair, a… bridal sedan chair, with black trim and red curtains, carried by eight paper figures, and wooden figures in formal attire leading the way in front and behind.”

The cold, gloomy tone made Bian Jie shudder. He forced a smile and said, "Old Xia, this joke has gone a bit too far."

“Twice!” Xia Tian’s tone was even more hollow and cold: “That sedan chair appeared in front of us twice, and both times it stopped in our path. If I hadn’t stopped to smoke, we would have crashed into it.”

At that moment, the entire dormitory fell silent.

"In the following days, Lao Xia did not experience any loss of appetite and ate normally, but as you can see, he lost more than ten kilograms in three days, and he couldn't sleep. Whenever he fell asleep, he would be startled awake as if he were having a nightmare. After a few days, he was tormented like this."

Bian Jie sighed and said with a wry smile, "We took him to the hospital for a check-up, and apart from malnutrition, there was nothing wrong. The doctor advised him to maintain a normal diet and sleep schedule and not to stay up late."

"I also went to the school's psychological counseling center. Teacher Murong also thought that these were all psychological effects on Lao Xia. She prescribed two days' worth of medicine and said that if there was no effect after taking it, I should go see her again."

Bian Jie and the others exchanged glances and said helplessly, "After all, even if we post these supernatural things online, they will only be seen as sensationalism, and no one will believe them if we tell others."

After listening, Mellen was basically certain that this was a supernatural event, and that following this lead would likely yield some results.

However, the risks involved are also considerable, since Mellen is now an ordinary person and has no means of dealing with supernatural phenomena.