In the vast Universe Sea, not far from the boundary of the Primordial Universe, a newly born Small Universe drifted silently.
This Small Universe belonged to Chaos True God.
Its surface shimmered faintly as it continuously absorbed surrounding chaos energy, slowly but steadily moving away from the Primordial Universe's membrane wall. Its direction was clear—toward the cluster of Small Universes belonging to Great Axe Founder and Origin Ancestor.
This movement was not accidental.
According to the ancient rules of the Universe Sea, newly formed Small Universes would instinctively distance themselves from the Primordial Universe after birth, seeking a relatively stable region of chaos. The more complete the internal structure of the Small Universe, the stronger this "repulsion" effect became.
Suddenly—
A rupture opened in the Primordial Universe's membrane wall.
A ripple of space spread outward, and a figure wrapped in crackling lightning stepped into the Universe Sea. The damaged membrane wall healed itself almost instantly, leaving no trace behind.
The newcomer had the upper body of a humanoid and the lower body of a horse-like creature. Azure scales covered his body, arcs of lightning danced between his limbs, and two sharp horns protruded from his forehead.
This was Lord of Leiyu, a Universe Lord of the Nine Territories Alliance.
This time, his goal had been the Cosmic Boat. He had traversed this route countless times before, yet never once had he encountered a Small Universe here.
His pupils contracted slightly as he gazed into the distance.
"A newly born Small Universe?"
Judging by its direction of movement, it had clearly just been expelled from the Primordial Universe.
"Which old monster finally broke through…?"
Lord of Leiyu immediately transmitted this discovery back through his god power clone.
The Shockwaves Within the Primordial Universe
Unlike the Human Race, most factions in the Primordial Universe lacked a supreme communication artifact like the Virtual Universe. For efficiency, Universe Lords often left god power clones gathered in central locations for rapid information exchange.
The Pantheon, headquarters of the Nine Territories Alliance, was one such place.
At this moment, more than ten Universe Lords were present in their god power forms, listening intently as Lord of Leiyu relayed what he had seen.
"A newly appeared Small Universe…"
"A newly born Universe's Strongest."
The speaker was Extinction Forbidden Ruler, a peak-tier Universe Lord and the de facto leader of the Nine Territories Alliance. His authority within the alliance was comparable to Primordial Chaos City Lord's status among the Humans before his breakthrough.
"This is the most shocking event the Primordial Universe has seen in nearly ten thousand epochs."
The Nine Territories Alliance was massive—an alliance of over one hundred thousand races. In terms of numbers alone, it surpassed even the Human Hong Alliance and the Insect Alliance.
They possessed:
Over 50 million Immortal KingsMore than 100,000 Universe ExaltsOver 10 Universe Lords
And yet—
They lacked a Universe's Strongest.
That single missing piece prevented them from ascending into the ranks of the nine peak powers.
"If we could invite this newly born Strongest One to join our alliance…"
"One decision would instantly elevate the Nine Territories Alliance."
A hint of eagerness surfaced in several gazes.
But before hope could spread, a cold, mocking voice cut in.
"Stop dreaming."
The speaker was Yan Emperor.
"This region corresponds to the territories of the four major peak races. Whoever broke through is almost certainly from one of them—most likely the Humans."
His expression was dark.
Among all possibilities, this was the outcome he least wanted to see.
Primordial Chaos City Lord was already his greatest nightmare—and now that nightmare had become reality.
If not for his ambiguous ties with Zuo Shanke, the Human Race would have erased him long ago.
Silence followed.
"Still," Extinction Forbidden Ruler said slowly, "the range is broad. Counting hidden powerhouses, there are over a dozen Universe Lords in that region who might break through."
"Contact your old friends," he ordered. "Find out exactly who it is."
The Human Race Makes No Attempt to Hide
The truth spread quickly.
The Human Race had never intended to conceal Chaos True God's breakthrough.
A Small Universe of such scale was impossible to hide.
Not long after the internal Human celebration concluded, the news was officially shared with the Great Alliance.
Even Bai Yue's breakthrough to Universe Lord was not kept secret.
The message was clear:
The Human Race had survived its weakest era.
At the Virtual Universe, atop Leiting Island, the atmosphere was jubilant.
Universe Lords of the Human Race and allied alien races gathered, voices overlapping in celebration.
"Master and disciple—one becoming a Universe's Strongest, the other stepping into the Universe Lord realm. A legendary pairing."
"A few thousand years is nothing more than a brief nap to us."
"The Human Race's rise proves our decision back then was correct."
Laughter echoed.
Then someone spoke loudly:
"The Nine Territories Alliance has already contacted me. They discovered Chaos True God's Small Universe."
A sharp grin appeared.
"Tell them the truth," another voice laughed. "And tell them about Lord of Hunyuan as well."
"I'd love to see Yan Emperor's face right now."
The celebration continued long into the cycle.
Unease Among the Peak Races
While distant factions merely observed, three races could not remain calm.
The Monster Race.
The Insect Race.
The Automaton Race.
Their hatred for the Human Race spanned countless eras.
Territory. Resources. Survival.
Peace had never been an option.
In a distant starry sky, three supreme wills pierced through layers of space and time, manifesting faintly.
One figure was slender and graceful, wrapped in radiant light—her mere silhouette could intoxicate a Universe Exalt.
Another appeared as a massive black elliptical sphere.
The third was a colossal silver-white serpent head, surrounded by countless shadowy snakes, warping the surrounding space into a vortex.
"Where is Zhen Jiao?" the black sphere spoke.
"One of us is enough," the silver-white serpent replied coldly. "The Insect Race Queen and I are here."
"Automaton," the radiant figure said calmly, "you summoned us. Speak."
No one knew what was discussed.
Only that, after a long exchange, the three supreme existences vanished.
And the Primordial Universe, though unchanged on the surface, had begun to burn quietly beneath.