Chapter 134: The Lord of Eclipse Palace!
The orders from the Immortal Shrine were specifically directed to the southeastern region of the Xueluo Continent.
At the same time, countless other "World Lords" across various territories were also warned to stay vigilant and strengthen their defenses.
Within the vast southeastern area, spanning nearly a trillion kilometers, all World Lords received this message. Some scoffed, some frowned, others grew solemn—but each made their own preparations, whether in terms of military force or mental fortitude.
Incidentally, this was also Jiang Zhe's hunting ground.
Jiang Zhe was straightforward by nature. He didn't just hit one place and move on. The 46 World Lords he had slain were all within a hundred billion kilometer radius, spreading fear and panic across over a hundred nearby worlds.
Most of the remaining World Lords lived in constant dread. No one knew who would be the next unlucky victim. Some newly ascended World Lords simply couldn't withstand the psychological pressure and had already abandoned their cities to flee.
Frankly, for someone still at the cosmic level (Universe Rank) to wield such terrifying might, Jiang Zhe was perhaps unprecedented in this era of reincarnation—no one before or after could compare.
The native powerhouses even gave him a title: "Thunder Emperor."
Of course, gaining such a bold, positive title was thanks in large part to his domain lord servants, who took the lead in spreading the name far and wide.
After all, with World Lords dying one after another, the cities were now mostly governed by domain lords.
On the way to his next hunting ground, Jiang Zhe suddenly asked:
"Anna, calculate for me: if I enter my 'Divine Ascension' state and unleash all my power, could I take on an Immortal?"
"Master, that would be very difficult. You wouldn't be able to overcome the laws domain barrier."
Jiang Zhe's face darkened in frustration.
It was true. Every Immortal lifeform possessed a laws domain. Though rarely used against equals, it was extremely effective against World Lords.
Only cosmic pinnacle bloodlines like the Golden Horned Beast could use a world projection to offset such a domain and fight Immortals across ranks.
Oriana offered a suggestion:
"Unless you allow me to release a world projection to negate their laws domain, then use the Blood God Blade to strike them."
Jiang Zhe shook his head with a wry smile.
"I promised my teacher not to use your power to complete training tasks before entering the 'Abyss World.'"
"Besides, with your three trillion kilometer diameter world projection, you could easily pin down a native Immortal, forcing him to watch as I slit his throat. That wouldn't temper me at all."
Oriana fell silent, then reminded him,
"Also, Master, you still need to practice the body amplitude secret technique. When you activate the [Divine Ascension] innate technique and turn into an energy lifeform, although you become immune to soul attacks, you also can't use mental force or soul amplitude."
"I'm practicing, I'm practicing," Jiang Zhe said, scratching his head in annoyance.
"The fifth refinement is almost complete. Once I integrate the energy battle armor into my body, that'll give me nine times the physical amplitude."
"And with a steady supply of origin essence to assist, cultivating the body amplitude secret technique will only get faster."
The [Conqueror] innate secret technique could enhance both physical and soul amplitude.
Without matching amplitude secret arts, he could use pure origin essence to reshape his body or soul to raise the amplitude. But with proper secret arts, origin essence served as a catalyst, greatly accelerating progress.
Top-tier secret techniques like Demonic Sound God General Heritage, Xuan Crystal Nine Refinements Body, and Golden Beast God were not things just anyone could obtain.
In theory, the [Conqueror] technique was effective up to the cosmic hegemon level—still extraordinarily valuable.
And so, the "Thunder Emperor" continued his hunts.
The Eclipse Palace
Floating in the void, the Eclipse Palace was larger than most planets.
Many members of the Virtual Universe Company stationed here served their full terms and left without ever catching a glimpse of the palace lord.
The Eclipse Palace had nine levels.
A burly man over three meters tall, hair disheveled and carrying a giant axe on his back, entered the grand central hall on the ninth floor.
Far across the hall stood a lone figure.
He wore a silver robe, with long chestnut-red hair cascading down. His garments seemed to spawn countless illusions, faintly etched with golden runes.
He stood there gazing into the endless void beyond the palace, motionless for hundreds or even thousands of years—like a statue.
"Palace Lord!"
The burly man bowed respectfully.
"What is it?"
His voice was gentle and elegant, conjuring a serene scene of summer days, bamboo groves, streams, and soft breezes.
"Palace Lord, the king of Xueluo World sent a message. One of our members is on the continent, slaughtering World Lords and seizing Xueluo Crystals."
"A World Lord requested entry into Xueluo World? Why wasn't I informed?"
The burly man's expression twitched as he delivered a truth so absurd even he struggled to believe it:
"No, Palace Lord. The one slaughtering World Lords… is a Universe Rank member."
The Eclipse Palace Lord froze. With his strength as a top cosmic hegemon, he even wondered if he'd misheard.
"Repeat that. What power level is doing the slaughtering?"
"A Universe Rank. Currently, there are only two members from the secret realms in Xueluo World—one from the Primal Secret Realm, one from the Beginning Secret Realm."
"Based on their starship trajectories, the one who killed the 46 World Lords is Jiang Zhe from the Primal Secret Realm."
The Eclipse Palace Lord understood at once.
He knew some inside information about Jiang Zhe. This was a prodigy whose talent far surpassed that of Koty. He had already been accepted by the Chaos City Lord as a disciple and begun training. However, the plan was to wait until he reached the domain lord level and returned to the primal universe's Chaos City for seclusion before making this public.
Otherwise, carrying the labels of "peerless genius" and "disciple of the Chaos City Lord," he wouldn't even have to do external missions at the domain lord level—alien races might directly send a Venerable to assassinate him.
After all, being certified by the Chaos City Lord meant: kill without doubt, and it'd infuriate the Chaos City Lord—bringing prestige.
Thinking of Jiang Zhe naturally brought to mind Koty, and the Eclipse Palace Lord sighed.
Still, he couldn't quite believe someone could slaughter World Lords while only at the Universe Rank. A World Lord's formidable will alone could shatter a Universe Rank soul with just a glance.
"Did he smuggle in technological weapons?"
"Palace Lord, according to the king of Xueluo World, he killed the World Lords head-on with spiritual force methods—utterly overwhelming them."
The Eclipse Palace Lord frowned slightly.
"Understood. Keep this to yourself. Dismissed."
"Yes, I take my leave."
The burly man exited the hall, turning into a streak of light. As he left the ninth floor, a light screen shimmered at the stairway—then vanished, sealing the passage.
"Kukulin, compile Jiang Zhe's movements since he left Chaos City."
He summoned his intelligent assistant: a winged tiger cub that flapped through the air, tapping virtual screens to investigate Jiang Zhe's history.
"Boss, Chaos City Lord sent an email."
"What does it say?"
"Everything you suspect about Jiang Zhe's uniqueness must not be shared or further investigated."
"Understood. Kukulin, reply to the Chaos City Lord: message received."
By then, Jiang Zhe's detailed records were displayed.
The Eclipse Palace Lord studied them closely. A Universe Rank peak who could casually kill World Lords—he had never seen such a human genius. He was deeply curious.
"Passing the twelfth level of the Tongtian Bridge for law comprehension—that's one essential condition."
"Willpower on the tenth island of Illusion Sea? Comparable to Immortals, so paired with soul defenses he can stay conscious before World Lords…but that alone isn't enough. His soul isn't strong enough."
"He went to the Ancient God World, during the Millennium Festival, and stayed nearly fifty years—so his mental amplitude…no, soul amplitude, definitely surpassed '1.' Could it reach '10'?"
He shook his head.
"Still not enough. He needs a solid foundation to serve as bones to support the flesh woven by these three factors."
"Boss, that's his life gene level—like those special lifeforms. It's the key to fighting across ranks: as long as the multiplier is high enough, a World Lord can match Immortals, an Immortal can challenge Venerables."
The Eclipse Palace Lord nodded, eyes flashing with astonishment.
By normal calculations, it would take nearly a thousand times life gene level—energy reserves rivaling a ninth-level domain lord—to then leverage those three conditions to match or even slay lower-tier World Lords.
His eyes burned with excitement.
"Perhaps our human race will gain another top cosmic hegemon. I must meet him."
The last genius of such magnitude who successfully grew into this level was Venerable Shihuo, who took hundreds of thousands of years to go from Immortal to Venerable.
If Jiang Zhe truly had a thousandfold life gene level, then after becoming Immortal and spending hundreds of thousands of years, he'd find it even easier and faster to become a top cosmic hegemon.
Given that Universe Masters couldn't move lightly, these were humanity's highest field forces. Only three currently existed.
Now seeing the possibility of a fourth, how could the Eclipse Palace Lord not be thrilled?
With Jiang Zhe's talent, as long as he didn't die, in just tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands of years—dozens of cosmic epochs—he would surely grasp a higher origin law!
Before the thought even finished, the Eclipse Palace Lord's figure vanished.
It was teleportation.
The next instant, he appeared on Xueluo Continent and locked onto Jiang Zhe's location.
"Perfect, just in time for a good show."
He teleported again, arriving at his destination.
The Feidi Great World
Feidi, a World Lord of the eighth level, ruled a territory nearly five billion kilometers in diameter.
The Eclipse Palace Lord hovered high above the world capital, looking down on the bustling city lord's mansion. None of the gathered strong ones below sensed his arrival.
Inside, a banquet of "World Lords" was underway.
After receiving the Immortal Shrine's order to band together, many World Lords sneered. But those who knew their own limits decided to latch onto a stronger figure, hoping to avoid the fate of the 46 dead.
Feidi, as a level eight World Lord, became the most sought-after ally among the local weaklings.
"So, he's finally making his move?"
The Eclipse Palace Lord smiled faintly.
The words had scarcely left his lips when Jiang Zhe, who had infiltrated the banquet, struck.
[Divine Ascension]!
Suddenly, a thousand-meter-tall energy giant appeared inside the hall, crushing it. Amid the chaos, he raised his fists wrapped in dark energy and brought them down.
Nine Refinements Fist!
Burning his divine body, multiplying his power a thousandfold—striking with the might of a level nine World Lord!
The giant endured layer after layer of world projections and instantly killed two level three World Lords with a single blow.
Up above, the Eclipse Palace Lord's eyes widened in shock.
"What the…?!
That's enormous—and such terrifying explosive power.
If he can sustain this beyond Immortal…what then?!"
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