In one of the cultivation rooms temporarily assigned to personal guards in Hugo's manor in Garon City, Qi Yuan sat cross-legged in a quiet corner, connecting his consciousness to the auxiliary AI on his arm.
"Connecting to the Virtual Universe Network…"
A deep, majestic voice echoed in Qi Yuan's mind.
His consciousness first went dark, then was suddenly overwhelmed by a flood of vibrant colors.
…
He found himself in an ancient-looking city. The buildings lining the streets were all constructed from massive stones, the surfaces of which bore the marks of time and erosion.
People bustled about the streets—varied in size, appearance, and clearly of many different species.
Most wore simple, similarly styled gray clothing, and each person had a uniquely designed little sprite perched on their shoulder.
Swish!
Out of the crowd, a new figure suddenly appeared—it was Qi Yuan.
He, too, wore the simple gray attire, with a tiny sprite about the size of a fist sitting on his shoulder, clad in a standard green outfit and sporting transparent wings.
"So... this is the Virtual Universe Network? Incredible! It's indistinguishable from the real world!"
Qi Yuan stood in the street, gazing at the crowd in amazement, awe written all over his face.
When Hugo had asked him earlier what kind of reward he wanted, his first thought was a Virtual Universe account!
Having read the original novel, he naturally knew how magical the Virtual Universe was—it could be considered humanity's second world.
In the Virtual Universe, one could chat, shop, study, relax, spar, run businesses... virtually any real-world activity was possible here.
It was even possible to comprehend laws and cultivate—just like in reality.
Of course, the prerequisite was money.
Ever since arriving in this world, Qi Yuan had longed for access to the mysterious Virtual Universe. Stuck on Thunderstorm Star since his arrival, he desperately needed a way to access external information.
The Virtual Universe was the perfect solution.
Fortunately, Hugo had been in a great mood after discovering his talented new subordinate. Not only did he immediately gift Qi Yuan an anonymous Virtual Universe account, but he also granted him a 5 million Eternal Coins annual spending allowance.
As for how Qi Yuan chose to use that money—whether for cultivation or entertainment—Hugo didn't care at all.
"Over half a year in this world… I've finally gotten online!"
Qi Yuan's eyes sparkled with excitement.
Still, he didn't rush to explore the Virtual Universe's myriad features.
"I still don't know which part of the Swallowed Star timeline I've arrived in. I wonder if Luo Feng has been born yet… If I could take him as a disciple, I could coast all the way to the top."
With that thought, he quickly issued a command to the sprite on his shoulder:
"Search for any information related to 'Luo Feng,' 'Earth,' and 'Cosmic Genius Battle.'"
Everyone who enters the Virtual Universe has a "virtual assistant." The intelligence level of this assistant depends on the quality of the user's connection device.
The sprite created by Qi Yuan's basic-grade auxiliary AI couldn't think independently—it only acted on direct commands.
"Received, Master. Initiating search…"
The sprite responded in a somewhat sluggish voice.
"Search complete. Displaying results by relevance…"
Just a few seconds later, the assistant returned the results:
Luo Feng, Lord of the Milky Way Galaxy. Participated in the Star-level Cosmic Genius Battle 6,500 years ago and placed in the top ten. Recruited as a core member of the Virtual Universe Company.
Earth, located in the Qianwu Sector, Black Dragon Mountain Starfield, Milky Way Galaxy. Lord: Luo Feng.
Cosmic Genius Battle, hosted alternately by the Virtual Universe Company and the Giant Axe Dojo. The next Star-level Genius Battle will be held in 3,500 years.
As he read through the information, Qi Yuan's expression grew increasingly strange.
"Luo Feng… part of the Genius Battle 6,500 years ago?"
"6,500 years ago?!"
"Damn… did I transmigrate this late?! At this point, City Lord Luo is probably already dominating the Outer Battlefield! And I haven't even gotten a seat on the train yet. Do I still have a chance to cling to his thigh?"
In his previous life, Qi Yuan had loved the epic saga of Swallowed Star, rereading it countless times and becoming quite familiar with its timeline.
If the Genius Battle was 6,500 years ago…
Then right now, the story should be at the point where Luo Feng is receiving the Star Tower inheritance in the Outer Battlefield?
"Welp, it's over. At this point, Luo Feng's strength is nearing the peak of Domain Lord-level kingship. He's also the personal disciple of Chaos City Lord and secretly taught by Sitting Mountain Guest—arguably the most mysterious and powerful being in the original universe. Looks like taking him as my disciple is completely out of the question…"
After the incident at the arena, the news that Hugo had a genius slave who had mastered a domain at the Star-level spread rapidly.
At that moment, Ranka Star was full of Ortiga family elites, along with many noble scions from other powerful families of the Eternal Empire.
These people were not short on money. Many tried to contact Hugo, hoping to buy Qi Yuan and experience the thrill of having a domain-level genius serve as their slave.
Hugo was quickly overwhelmed and had no choice but to shut off Virtual Universe communications and hole up in his manor for peace and quiet.
As a result, Qi Yuan was left with plenty of free time to explore the wonders of the Virtual Universe.
"The reason the Virtual Universe is so popular, aside from its powerful communication and trading functions, is that it allows for realistic cultivation!"
"For example, I'm currently lacking a strong foundation, my combat technique is weak, and I have little real battle experience. In that case, I can go to the Slaughter Arena and use its virtual combat feature to rapidly build experience."
Drawing on his knowledge from the original novel, Qi Yuan began verifying its details firsthand.
The Slaughter Arena was one of the most popular areas in the Virtual Universe.
In reality, it was difficult to find opponents at the right level.
But in the Slaughter Arena, it was a different story.
Here, as long as you paid enough money, you could submit a request to the Virtual Universe system for any kind of opponent.
For example, Qi Yuan, currently a Star-level 4th-tier cultivator with a Level-1 Domain, could request an opponent at Star-level 5th-tier with a Level-1 Domain, or Star-level 4th-tier with a Level-2 Domain.
He could even request a 100-on-1 fight against Star-level 4th-tier warriors.
This allowed him to battle countless opponents in a short time, quickly accumulating invaluable combat experience.
Such training opportunities were rare in reality—and only the Virtual Universe could make it possible.
But when Qi Yuan saw the price tag for entering the Slaughter Arena, he couldn't help but roll his eyes.
"A Star-level 4th-tier warrior needs to pay…"
"Dear god—500 million Eternal Coins per day?!"
"My entire year's salary isn't even enough for a single day of training..."