Swallowing the starry sky, my clones can evolve infinitely.

Chapter 28 Moving Forward Bearing the Fate of Civilization

"This... is the domain!"

Shen Mu hovered in mid-air, sensing this strange power.

Within the area enveloped by his tidal domain, Shen Mu could sense that he had a certain degree of control over this space.

"No wonder possessing a domain makes one virtually invincible among those of the same level. Faced with the oppression of a domain, beings of the same level don't even have the ability to resist."

Shen Mu exhaled a long breath, and his domain slowly receded.

After reaching the realm of domains, Shen Mu gained a clear understanding of them.

The so-called domain is a special ability that arises from a profound understanding of the mysteries of heaven and earth, and it is not the only standard for measuring one's understanding of nature.

Of course, there are exceptions. For example, some powerful beings, such as the Golden Horned Beast, can still directly unleash their domains after advancing to the cosmic level, even if they have no understanding of the essence of gold.

For example, if someone's domain is only at the fourth or fifth level, yet they have comprehended a wisp of the mystery of the laws, then that person's understanding of the mysteries of the universe far surpasses that of those at the ninth level of the domain.

At this moment, a group of planetary-level powerhouses, led by Hong, had already approached the shore.

Seeing this, Shen Mu transformed into a streak of light and joined the others.

"Master, I have not failed you."

"Okay, okay... haha."

Hong showed no sense of crisis at the appearance of a challenger. Instead, he burst into laughter, a behavior rarely seen even by his three bodyguards who had followed him the longest.

Thor looked at Shen Mu and said, "Shen Mu, let's spar sometime and let me see your skills."

"it is good."

Shen Mu did not refuse, after all, he also wanted to test just how powerful the domain was.

However, it's unlikely that someone at the newly reached Planetary Level 2 would be able to defeat Thor.

After all, Thor broke through to the eighth level of the planetary level after obtaining the Wood Crystal, and his basic strength was 64 times that of himself.

If we take into account the technique of exerting force, Thor's burst of power is comparable to 448 times the brute force of a second-tier planetary-level being. Shen Mu's own consciousness amplitude is only about 14 times that.

With such a huge gap, it's practically impossible to win with just the support of a single domain, unless a sixth-level planetary-level Azure Dragon clone is deployed.

"Shen Mu, come to Hongning Base City tomorrow. With your current strength, there are some things you're qualified to know."

"Yes, Master." Shen Mu nodded slightly.

Hong suddenly smiled and said, "Don't call me Master anymore. If you don't mind, just call me Brother Hong like Thor does."

"Brother Hong."

Not far away, Jia Yi, Zhu happy, and other powerful figures from China, along with the inspectors from the two martial arts schools, watched this scene with some感慨 (gǎnkǎi - mixed feelings of admiration and reflection).

They witnessed firsthand the birth of Earth's third invincible being.

As Luo Feng watched this scene from the crowd, he was also talking to Babata.

"Outrageous, outrageous, outrageous! Shen Mu actually succeeded? This is too exaggerated. I thought he would at least have to be like Thor and wait until he advanced to the Hengxing level before he had a chance."

Babata's loud shouts echoed in Luo Feng's mind.

Luo Feng was somewhat puzzled and said, "There's no need to make a fuss. Brother Shen had already begun to comprehend the mysteries of the domain, so it's normal for him to break through."

"You simply don't understand. Among hundreds of millions of planetary-level martial artists in the universe, there is a chance of one being like Thor. Even if he is only one step away from the Domain Realm, it is still an insurmountable chasm."

"Therefore, while Thor is considered a genius in the universe, he is not that rare. After all, planetary-level beings are just ordinary people in the universe, and the number of them is very large. It is normal for a few geniuses with perfect artistic conception to emerge."

"But even among advanced civilizations in the universe, those like Hong and Shen Mu who have successfully possessed domains at the planetary level are considered top-tier elite geniuses. It would be difficult for even a medium-sized nation with thousands of star systems to produce just one."

"The difficulty of mastering the realm and the domain is on completely different levels. So at the beginning, I basically had no hope that Shen Mu would comprehend the domain, because it was almost impossible. It's already incredible that your Earth can produce a Hong."

Babata said excitedly, "Forget it, you don't understand at all. We can't let a genius like Shen Mu go. We'll find an opportunity to bring him under the wing of Meteorite Star."

Now it's Luo Feng's turn to have a headache. Babata makes it sound so easy, but how can he speak to Shen Mu without sounding abrupt, lest he be misunderstood?

……

The following morning, Hongning Base City.

"Inspector Shen." The headquarters guards bowed respectfully to Shen Mu.

Shen Mu nodded slightly, and then, led by the staff, entered the global headquarters and went into a meeting room.

At this moment, Hong, dressed in black, was communicating with Lei Shen, who was wearing a white monk's robe, in the reception room.

"Brother Hong, Brother Lei," Shen Mu said with a smile.

"Please sit down. I called you here today to tell you some secrets about the universe."

Hong and Thor's expressions also turned serious.

Then Thor said, "Shen Mu, you should be able to guess that the origins of those ancient civilization ruins are not actually from ancient civilizations on Earth, right?"

After Shen Mu nodded, Hong Cai said, "In the vast universe, there are countless powerful civilizations. Our Milky Way galaxy belongs to the Silver Blue Empire, a cosmic nation!"

"Moreover, if an unclaimed life-bearing planet like ours is discovered, the consequences will be extremely serious!" Thor's expression was extremely solemn.

A complex expression flickered in Hong's eyes: "If we're lucky, our Earth will become the territory of a powerful being. But more likely... all Earthlings will become a slave race, packaged up and sold to some powerful individuals."

At this moment, Shen Mu felt immense pressure from Hong's tone. For decades, Hong and Thor had been cultivating desperately for the future of all humanity on Earth.

As a time traveler who knew the approximate timeline of the future, Shen Mu couldn't truly empathize. However, he could roughly understand why Hong and Lei Shen possessed such high levels of mental cultivation.

Carrying the hopes of an entire civilization on one's back—such immense psychological pressure would likely cause one to collapse long ago if one's mindset wasn't strong enough.

"Brother Hong, Brother Lei, I understand. From today onwards, I will shoulder the future of human civilization together with my two brothers."

Upon hearing Shen Mu's words, both Hong and Lei Shen showed expressions of relief.

"Good lad, I knew I hadn't misjudged you." Thor patted Shen Mu on the shoulder.

"Come on, want to have a little sparring session?"

"no problem."

Seeing that Shen Mu wanted to spar with Thor, Hong was also very interested: "I'll be the referee."

A moment later, Shen Mu and the other two boarded Hong's Primordial-class fighter jet and arrived at the depths of the desolate African desert.

"Little Sanzi, get ready, I'm about to make my move!"

Lei Shen's voice fell, and he used his palm as a blade, transforming himself into a dazzling bolt of lightning, rushing directly towards Shen Mu.

It was just a friendly sparring match; neither Shen Mu nor Lei Shen chose to use weapons.

"Second brother, be careful."

Shen Mu's voice suddenly became ethereal, as if echoing over an endless ocean.

In the next instant, a vast tidal domain swept out, and an endless swampy land appeared faintly in mid-air.

boom!

Shen Mu's whip kick swept out like a spear. Having reached the realm of oneness with heaven and man, he could still use spear and sword techniques even without a weapon.

Boom! Boom!

From a distance, one could only vaguely see a streak of light blue and lightning intertwining and colliding, unleashing terrifying fluctuations of primal force.

shhhhhh!

Suddenly, the azure light changed abruptly, and countless flying knives transformed into sharp streams of light, blooming and converging along mysterious trajectories, like rivers flowing into the sea, unleashing an incomparably terrifying power.

Even without Thor unleashing seven times his normal power, Shen Mu, relying on his second-tier planetary level cultivation, forcefully suppressed Thor with the might of his domain.

Tear!

The lightning that Thor transformed into suddenly became dazzling, bursting forth with a deafening thunderous roar like a thousand birds singing. He held nothing back and went all out, unleashing a power that was more than four hundred times that of Shen Mu's own strength.

Boom!

Shen Mu's tidal domain trembled violently, erupting in waves.

Thirteen seconds later, a dazzling bolt of lightning ripped through the endless swamp and then hovered in front of Shen Mu's brow.

Regarding the protagonist possessing a domain but failing to defeat Thor: In the original work, Thor, who possessed a domain and was at the ninth level of the planetary realm, was defeated by Luo Feng, who was at the eighth level of the planetary realm. Luo Feng defeated Thor using the second level of the Sky-Piercing Shuttle, whose final power was amplified by 128 times. This demonstrates the strength of a first-level domain. In this book, Thor's final burst of power, including his power-generating techniques, is over 400 times that of a second-level planetary realm cultivator. If he were to win, it would contradict the established storyline.

(End of this chapter)