Chapter 195: Lord of the Realm!
The Insect Tribe's territory.
At the heart of Firecharmer's divine kingdom stood a towering, majestic temple. Deep within the temple, a voluptuous, alluring woman dressed in a fiery red robe frowned as she stared coldly at the corpse of a crimson-armored insectoid warrior lying before her.
A frosty smile curved her lips.
"Enslaving? Enslaving my Insect Tribe's members? Very good…"
The unconscious insect warrior resembled an ant, with two pairs of golden, translucent wings protruding from its back. Catherine had split off 5% of her divine body to inhabit it, maintaining clear consciousness so she could communicate with her tribe during missions.
Yet before Catherine finally slipped into complete unconsciousness, everything Jiang Zhe did to her had already been laid bare before Firecharmer.
Under Firecharmer's watchful gaze, Catherine's fragment of consciousness never reawakened. That 5% of divine body dissolved, turning into masterless divine energy and dissipating.
Firecharmer understood this all too well—Jiang Zhe had succeeded in enslaving her.
"Three hundred years since birth, already at the peak of World Lord. Exceptionally high life gene multiplier. Can teleport. Mastery over the soul arts so profound he could enslave an Insect Tribe queen nearly at the Invincible Marquis level. Possesses a supreme treasure blade and a heavy treasure armor…"
"How long has it been since such a monstrous talent emerged in the entire Original Universe?"
"Damn it! Why does the Original Universe favor the human race so much?"
"Jiang Zhe! My Insect Tribe will see you dead!"
Her once gentle, enticing voice erupted into a sharp screech. Terrifying sound waves tore through the temple, shattering it entirely, reducing the insectoid "flying ant" warriors inside to dust.
Long after, when the chaos finally settled, servants waited anxiously around the temple's perimeter, not daring to approach, terrified of drawing their master's ire.
Suddenly, a transmission of divine power whispered directly into their ears.
"This is detailed information on Jiang Zhe, a Domain Lord-level member of the Human Virtual Universe Company's Original Secret Region. Spread it across the universe along with our Insect Tribe's bounty — whoever kills Jiang Zhe and can prove it may come claim an ordinary supreme treasure from us."
Eyes widened among the titled king-level servants. A supreme treasure bounty?
Even Universe Venerables would be tempted by this.
This unfortunate human genius was surely doomed!
"Also, contact the 'Dormant Beetles' of the Barbaric Universe Nation. Tell them to cease all attempts to assassinate Jiang Zhe. They need only monitor him, gather intelligence, and find out exactly where he intends to undertake his life-or-death tempering as a World Lord."
Streaks of light shot off in all directions as the servants accepted their orders and departed.
Back on the human side…
After confirming through repeated questioning that Catherine had merely been dispatched from outside to carry out an assassination—without direct ties to spy networks inside human territory—Dreamlord lost interest in her.
Spirit King, however, gave Catherine several lingering glances, sighing inwardly.
A near Invincible Marquis-level master of the soul arts… only slightly inferior to himself… now enslaved by his own disciple.
He calculated.
It hadn't even been three hundred years since he accepted Jiang Zhe as a disciple, yet in combat power, he was already being overtaken.
Bittersweet—pride mixed with faint sorrow.
Spirit King had reached the very limits of the undying stage, with the path to becoming a Universe Venerable still uncertain.
As for cleaning up the battlefield… there was little left of Catherine worth reclaiming.
Her marquis-level servants had all self-destructed, destroying the immortal insect warriors she'd deployed.
Inside her world ring remained only a small legion, hardly enough to matter.
Raising a new batch of immortal insect warriors would be costly—but to Jiang Zhe, it was trivial.
Besides, even without her insect legions, Catherine was still a near Invincible Marquis-level soul master, also trained in controller secret arts, and wielded a thought force heavy treasure.
Placed in the outer battlefield, she was still among the absolute elites.
Back on Earth…
Jiang Zhe and his group returned to Earth via divine kingdom teleportation.
Once home in his courtyard, Jiang Zhe instructed Oriana to brief Catherine on everyday precautions, then logged into the Virtual Universe to settle rewards.
He'd activated a live broadcast during his points mission, recording the entire "planet extermination" process. The Virtual Universe's main system had long completed its audit.
Appearing inside the stilted bamboo study, Jiang Zhe opened his mailbox and found the settlement notice.
Mission audit results:
—Killed Aikuen. Completed.
—Killed Nimos. Completed.
—Killed Jackor. Completed.
—Killed Kemos. Completed.
—Destroyed Varo Planet, wiped out all intelligent life. Completed.
Total mission completion: 100%
You have received 20 million points, now deposited into your account.
After glancing at his balance, Jiang Zhe remained in the Virtual Universe to dive deeper into the soul enslavement arts. Having just run a live experiment, countless inspirations exploded in his mind. He quickly headed to the training ground, manifested test subjects, and immersed himself in research.
A week later, Jiang Zhe finally remembered to check on Luo Feng's situation and sent him an email.
The reply came quickly.
Luo Feng's mission in the Dreamy Empire's imperial capital had ended without serious mishap, though he'd been chased in utter chaos by an Insect Tribe queen, escaping only thanks to Marquis Tavin's teleportation.
Jiang Zhe felt a twinge of regret.
That queen Luo Feng ran into was likely one of the spy network's standing forces. If he'd enslaved her, he might have traced out countless hidden agents.
Unlike Catherine—she'd revealed that the Insect Tribe spies had always been fishing for a big catch like Jiang Zhe, even specially requesting aid from their race in the form of Catherine herself.
All those dark seeds exposed within the Qianwu Universe Nation—including their headquarters on Varo Planet—were deliberate, carrying Catherine's coordinate tokens.
Once they confirmed he was leading the mission, they would summon Catherine directly.
Luo Feng even lamented in his letter that the mission had some minor hiccups, so he wouldn't get a 100% completion. At the end, he asked Jiang Zhe to look after matters on Earth, as he was off to visit Tavin's homeland on Lasao World.
Jiang Zhe wrote back, telling Luo Feng that around the Hanxia calendar year 2400, he planned to return to Chaos City for secluded cultivation.
Meanwhile, Catherine was perfect for running a few errands—better than Oriana.
Catherine soon set off with "Thunder" and "Aegis," delivering them to the outskirts of the Silent Wind Belt where Silverclad's avatar awaited.
Years passed…
By Hanxia 2323, Jiang Zhe spent his days alternating between delving into soul arts and watching over his four children as they grew.
Elsewhere in the Virtual Universe…
Inside a vast hall on one of its many planes, 108 ancient thrones stood arranged in a circle. Seated atop each throne was a mighty being—some human, some alien—every one radiating immense power.
From one throne, a tall human clad in purple armor and wearing a strange cross-star helmet spoke in a deep voice.
"I've gathered you all today to discuss the application submitted by Dreamlord—she wishes for us to induct Jiang Zhe into Hong Alliance."
"Jiang Zhe? Who's that?"
"Never heard of him. Just a peak World Lord? Has he fulfilled the entry requirements?"
"Are you humans trying to break your own rules? Grant special privileges to a mere World Lord?"
As skeptical voices rose, some powerhouses stared at Jiang Zhe's dossier on the projection screen, eyes flashing uncertainly—clearly they'd caught certain rumors.
Such as… the bounty on him.
Before the purple-armored figure could elaborate, a dragon-headed brute snorted twin jets of flame from his nostrils.
"Is the absurd rumor from the Insect Tribe actually true?"
"What rumor?"
"What new spectacle is the Original Universe putting on now?"
"Out with it—don't keep us in suspense!"
An alien that resembled a weasel clawed at his console, pulling up two images—one of an alluring Insect Tribe queen, the other a wanted poster—and projected them.
"Look here. Catherine Isabelle Morven, also known as Fire Velvet. A little one close to Invincible Marquis, made quite a name for herself on the outer battlefield.
She went to the Qianwu Universe Nation to assassinate Jiang Zhe, aiming to enslave his soul so the humans couldn't revive their genius…
Instead, she ended up enslaved by Jiang Zhe—a mere World Lord."
More than half the powerhouses hadn't heard this before. Now they sat dumbstruck.
Insane!
A World Lord enslaving a near Invincible Marquis? Especially a queen renowned as a master of the soul arts?
But since it was being presented here, the authenticity was beyond doubt.
Still… despite how shocking it was, somehow it sounded hilariously absurd.
The Insect Tribe had tried to outsmart the humans, only to lose heavily instead.
Many also eyed the wanted notice and its promise of a supreme treasure, but tactfully refrained from bringing it up.
One powerhouse asked,
"Does the Virtual Universe have a recording of that battle? We're quite curious how a World Lord turned the tables on a near Invincible Marquis. Was it perhaps due to a protector?"
"If a guardian intervened, we can't induct him into Hong Alliance."
"Seconded!"
"Agreed!"
A chorus of assent followed—even some humans hesitated before agreeing. They too wanted to see.
"Judge Yezhen, is there a recording? If so, bring it up."
The tall man in purple nodded solemnly.
"There is a recording, but its viewing permissions far exceed ours."
"Huh?"
"Impossible!"
"Let me try… request denied?"
"Same here, insufficient clearance."
"That clearance was set personally by Chaos City Lord. Jiang Zhe is already a preselected personal disciple of the City Lord."
At these words, the purple-armored Yezhen asked,
"Any objections to inducting Jiang Zhe into Hong Alliance?"
"None."
"No problem."
"Agreed."
One after another, human and alien alike nodded decisively.
Mentioning Chaos City Lord made them all instantly compliant.
"Good. I'll immediately arrange an envoy team to invite Jiang Zhe to formally join Hong Alliance."
With that, Yezhen's figure vanished. The other mighty presences soon faded as well.
The humans had played a clever trick here. They spoke only of inviting Jiang Zhe into Hong Alliance, never linking him publicly to "Soulharvest King."
Later, Jiang Zhe would be Jiang Zhe, while Soulharvest King remained Soulharvest King—just as Luo Feng had joined under an alias, "Blade River King - Yang."
Of course, this was thanks to figures like Darkness Lord and Dreamlord leaving Jiang Zhe this avenue.
If in the future Jiang Zhe himself chose to merge his identity with Soulharvest King, that would be entirely his decision.
By Hanxia 2323, September…
In his estate in the Rain Elephant Mountains' original region, Jiang Zhe received a team of nine marquises representing Hong Alliance. He accepted their invitation, becoming a one-star member.
He secretly clicked his tongue.
Given his battle record, he'd thought he might leap straight to three-star (peak Marquis).
Apparently, he'd need another stunning feat to qualify.
Then, time flowed onward.
By Hanxia 2400, the second lunar month, the Jiang family still upheld traditions from before the Great Nirvana—only after this festival did the new year truly conclude.
After the family banquet that evening, Jiang Zhe's four children approached him with their request.
"Dad, we want to head to the heart of the universe. To join the Virtual Universe Company or the Giant Axe Arena. To compete against the brightest geniuses of the human race."
"Father, aside from our elder sister Yuan Zhu, the three of us have all started families and given our own children the complete childhood you gave us. We have no regrets. It's time to set off."
"Dad, you've stayed by our sides so many years—it's more than enough. You should continue your path to power. Don't let us become your shackles."
"Father, we've all decided to leave. But who knows—maybe we'll meet you again soon in Chaos City."
Jiang Zhe smiled warmly.
"Indeed, it's time. You should spread your wings."
Before they could rejoice, his tone changed.
"But—"
All four tensed, eyes wide.
"But you'll have to wait a little longer. I have a parting gift for you."
Jiang Yuanming blurted out,
"Dad, are you finally going to pop out gold coins? When will you explode?"
Jiang Yuanmiao hastily clamped a hand over his youngest brother's mouth.
"Father, we'll handle our rascal internally. How long must we wait for this gift?"
Jiang Zhe shot his impulsive youngest son a glare.
"Wait until I break through to World Lord. I'm preparing right now. Now off with you all—don't disturb me."
"Yes, sir!"
"Yes, sir!"
The eldest and third dragged the youngest out of the courtyard, while the second covered her giggles and followed behind.
Jiang Zhe shook his head, chuckling, watching them vanish from sight.
Then he closed his eyes, fully immersing his consciousness into his inner world.
Inside his inner world…
The vast continental plate, once over 9 trillion kilometers across, began madly devouring the boundless chaotic mist at its edges. The ancient tree shook violently, pulling in even more of that chaos, merging it into the land.
Unlike past evolutions, the more chaotic mist the continent absorbed, the smaller it grew.
Hiss— hiss— hiss—
As the swallowing continued, the space of his inner world expanded, racing toward a diameter measured in light-years.
Meanwhile, the continental plate not only shrank but began curling upward.
Like a dumpling wrapper folding over its filling—the ancient tree—the land wrapped itself up, performing a "dumpling-making" act right before Jiang Zhe's eyes.
As more and more chaotic mist fused in, it finally formed a sealed gigantic orb, its chaotic surface etched with countless intricate runes.
Jiang Zhe murmured in surprise.
"Hm? It's a bit like the nascent universe origin space that forms when a miniature universe emerges…"
"But is this more akin to some unique place like the Twin Realms Abyss?"
"Or is it simply the embryonic origin space that precedes my divine kingdom's evolution into a miniature universe one day?"
He shook his head.
Unclear—but it hardly mattered.
The chain reaction of breaking through to World Lord continued.
Inside his core, the soul crystal and origin force crystal melted into twin liquid streams.
When they touched, spiritual force and origin force fused together.
The very first wisp of world power was born.
World Power— Awakened!
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