Swallowing the Stars: Cultivate to Become Stronger.

Chapter 164 The Number One Genius of the Human Race

The initial universe.

The universe is not an unchanging entity; it is constantly evolving. The initial universe was a small universe in the early stages of evolution, with spatial rifts visible everywhere in the sky. Crystalline threads flowed through the rift openings, striving to repair them.

It cracks again and again, repairs itself again and again, in an endless cycle.

Chaos City.

"Rumble~~" A long, rectangular spaceship stopped above Chaos City. The hatch opened, and a large number of figures from various cosmic nations of the human race flew out. They were quickly attracted by a black light flying from below.

"Welcome to Chaos City, everyone!"

The black-robed man with silver-white scales covering his head grinned, revealing a 'kind' smile: "Most of you are probably not newcomers to Chaos City. Those familiar with the rules of Chaos City can move freely now. As for those who are new to Chaos City, please follow me."

Upon hearing this, Luo Shen, who was mingling among the crowd, immediately joined the others in diving downwards.

Only a very small number of people who obtained their spots through auctions or other means remain in the same place, waiting.

"tread!"

Luo Shen's feet landed lightly on the wide street. Looking around, he saw many ascetics sitting cross-legged on the rooftops of the cultivation dwellings in the distance, quietly observing the laws of the universe. Among them were many world lords and immortal gods, the vast majority of whom were immortal gods.

After all, even the world lord-level powerhouses at the core of the Virtual Universe Company can only stay in Chaos City for a limited time.

There are two ways to stay in Chaos City long-term: one is to pass through the eighteenth level of the Sky Bridge and obtain a permanent resident permit; the other is to exchange points for permanent residence permits, which requires a large number of points for each day of stay.

"This is the sacred ground for human cultivation."

Looking at the few cultivators passing by, and sensing the violent aura emanating from them, he realized they were far stronger than the demons he had encountered in the Abyss of Purgatory. This didn't even include the Chaos City Lord who was in charge. If the Chaos City Lord were included, even the great being who once occupied the Abyss of Purgatory might not be a match for them.

After all, in the primordial universe, with the blessing of the power of the universe's origin, even the strongest beings in the universe dared not fight against the Lord of Chaos City.

"Let's find a good place to stay first, then go to the city lord's mansion to find our teacher."

Luo Shen looked around.

The cultivation residences around the Chaos City Lord's Mansion were mostly occupied by ascetic cultivators, but there were still some who slipped through the net. In the end, Luo Shen chose a cultivation residence that was not sought after by anyone, about three hundred miles away from the City Lord's Mansion.

Walking in front of the pale white door of this cultivation residence, he gently placed his hand on the door. Beep~~~ The door sensor system activated and began to gradually change color, turning dark gray in a moment. From then on, he was the owner of this residence.

Each meditation dwelling here has a fixed style and is very spacious.

Although they all have secret cultivation chambers, most cultivators sit quietly cross-legged on the rooftop in order to more easily observe the laws governing the universe.

Walk up the stairs to the rooftop.

Luo Shen plopped down on the rooftop floor, looking up at the sky. Chaotic air currents swirled in the sky, cracks stretched across the heavens, and intricate secret patterns flowed, revealing the laws of nature, which was breathtaking.

"Enjoy this rare moment, and then head to the outer battlefield to cause trouble for those alien kings."

Luo Shen grinned.

After the crisis on Earth was resolved, Luo Shen stopped accepting cultivation missions and instead focused on breaking through to the Domain Lord level. After gaining the right to leave the headquarters, he led King Nanga and Rongdi away from the Primal Secret Realm.

He did not return to Earth directly.

Instead, they used the tokens left behind by the Rongdi to directly teleport to the Behn asteroid cluster in the Weiss star system within the Qianwu Universe Kingdom.

In the original work, Luo Feng was carrying out one part of the highest-scoring mission, which involved judging Pan Xi, the last of the eighteen directors of the Fire Phoenix Group and the true soul of the Fire Phoenix Group. Pan Xi was hidden here.

Pansy is indeed a very legendary figure.

If it weren't for the fact that his actions were so outrageous that even the Virtual Universe Company couldn't stand it anymore and Luo Feng had to step in to judge and resolve the matter, he probably would have continued to live a carefree life.

He is capable, skillful, and able to endure loneliness.

While the other directors indulged in wild pleasures, he remained in the harsh land to cultivate himself, rising step by step from a slave to his current position. It has to be said that Pansy is definitely the protagonist template from a certain novel.

But a pity.

One step wrong, step by step wrong.

Even without Luo Feng, Li Feng, Chen Feng, and Wang Feng would have taken care of him in the future. After all, the crimes of the Fire Phoenix Group are too numerous to count, and the number of cosmic citizens whose families have been broken up because of them is countless.

Because he did not accept any points-based tasks and it was merely Luo Shen's personal action, he faced fewer constraints when taking action.

For example, Luo Shen didn't want to take action himself.

With just a few orders, Rong Di could easily suppress the two plant life forms that Panxi relied on for survival, turning Panxi into dust as well! After all, not everyone can fight beyond their level.

Not to mention that world lords possess combat power comparable to immortals.

Thanks to the hints in the original work, and with Luo Shen's careful search, he finally found Pansy's biggest hidden secret: a lake of Locke Divine Water, which was definitely the best resource for cultivating plant life.

After easily capturing Panxi, Luo Shen returned to Earth with the King of Nanga and the Rongdi.

Luo Feng had not yet received instructions for the highest-scoring mission, so he was temporarily staying in his old home in Yangzhou City on Earth. When Luo Shen returned, the two brothers had a chance to catch up, mainly by helping Luo Feng cultivate his Moyun Vine to the peak of the World Lord level.

Luo Shen did not stay on Earth for long.

He originally planned to break through to the World Lord level directly, but in order to obtain the Locke Divine Water from Pansy, he chose to break through to the Domain Lord level first, and incidentally leave some trump cards for Earth.

After cultivating several peak-level World Lord level Brahma Flower plants using Locke Divine Water, Luo Shen left King Nanga on Earth to oversee the situation before heading to Chaos City.

King Nanga naturally did not want to remain on Earth.

After all, she and Luo Shen hadn't had much time to meet since leaving the Blood Continent, let alone spend time together. Luo Shen had finally returned from the Abyss of Purgatory and broken through to the Domain Lord level, only to be abandoned by her again. She almost lost her temper on the spot.

Fortunately, after Luo Shen patiently persuaded her, she finally managed to reluctantly agree.

However, Luo Shen also promised her that when he returned from Chaos City and went to the outer battlefield, he would definitely take her with him.

"It seems like it's been quite a few years since I last ventured across the Tongtian Bridge. I should also take this opportunity to break through that original Tongtian Mountain. Otherwise, there are always some people secretly talking behind my back, which is always a bit unpleasant."

After thinking it over, Luo Shen decided to get the reward from Tongtian Mountain first.

As for the question of not being able to get through, it never even crossed his mind. After all, he hadn't spent those years in the Abyss of Purgatory for nothing. Not to mention, he had made great progress in the fundamental laws of time, and could even use the three secret techniques of the fundamental laws of space. If he couldn't even get through this, he might as well just buy a block of tofu and smash his head against it.

Clicking on the Sky Bridge dimension, Luo Shen vanished from his spot in a flash.

The Skybridge plane.

In the central square, the overseer Baffin finally changed out of his long robes and into casual clothes, looking much younger. Upon seeing Luo Shen, whom he hadn't seen in a long time, he greeted him with a smile: "Long time no see, Your Highness Luo Shen!"

"It's been a long time, Mr. Baffin."

Luo Shen laughed and said, "You've finally decided to change out of that robe! This outfit is much better, haha."

Previously, Luo Shen and the others had only been joking around, never expecting that Baffin would actually listen to their advice and change out of the robe. But to be fair, this casual outfit suited Baffin quite well, at least much better than the robe, which was too old-fashioned.

"I took your advice, didn't I?" Baffin laughed.

Baffin glanced at Luo Shen a few times, then suddenly felt something was off. His gaze finally settled on the faint mark on Luo Shen's forehead, and he was somewhat surprised: "His Highness Luo Shen's comprehension of the fundamental laws of space is really fast. A hundred years ago, his comprehension of the fundamental laws of space was still far from teleportation. I didn't expect that in less than a hundred years, he could teleport."

Although he was just a guardian of the square, Baffin was quite powerful, at least among the strongmen at the level of the universe's rulers.

Otherwise, they wouldn't have been sent to guard the Tongtian Bridge dimension.

"Which level does Your Highness Luo Shen intend to overcome this time?" Baffin asked with a smile.

Now that he knew Luo Shen could teleport, Baffin knew that Luo Shen would not simply pass the sixteenth floor; it would probably be difficult to stop him even on the nineteenth or twentieth floor.

However, it is indeed a bit outrageous that a Domain Lord-level being possesses the understanding of laws that has at least passed through the eighteenth level of the Bridge to Heaven.

Although Lord Baffin has seen countless human geniuses over the years, including many super geniuses of the level of Kodi, he has never seen anyone like Luo Shen who comprehends the laws as easily as drinking water or eating. No, it is even easier than drinking water or eating, just like breathing air. He has easily completed the comprehension of the laws that most immortals cannot comprehend.

"Perhaps, Luo Shen really has the potential to become the strongest genius in the history of humankind."

Baffin muttered to himself.

Of course, Baffin was unaware of the existence of the Primordial Ancestor, otherwise he would have had to think it over again. After all, the Primordial Ancestor's talent was among the best in the Origin Continent, and Luo Shen might not be able to surpass him now.

"Let's see how far we can get."

Luo Shen smiled.

He did not intend to fully reveal his strength. Even if he could pass the twentieth level of the Bridge to Heaven, so what? As long as he did not have the ability to pass the twenty-first level of the Bridge to Heaven and did not become a Universe Venerable, he would only have the enlightenment of a King-level expert. No matter how strong he was, his strength would be limited.

This time, he only set a small goal: to pass the eighteenth level of the Sky Bridge.

The reason it's the eighteenth level is because after passing the eighteenth level, he can enter and leave Chaos City at any time, which, at least on the surface, would be worthy of the title of the strongest genius among humans.

After saying that, Luo Shen took a step forward, and his figure disappeared from the spot.

Baffin's pupils contracted for a moment, then quickly returned to normal. Watching Luo Shen's figure disappear from sight, he couldn't help but shake his head and sigh, "He truly is the strongest genius of humanity in this era. Compared to Luo Shen, Luo Feng and Bo Lan are still slightly weaker."

However, what Baffin didn't know was that in a few years, he would witness the birth of another legend.

The end of the sixteenth dimension of the Sky Bridge.

Looking at the opponent leaping out from the endless stars before him, Luo Shen stroked his chin and said, "Last time I was in a rush and didn't get to feel the strength of the sixteenth level guardian. I hope this time it can bring me some surprises."

With Luo Shen's current strength, he wouldn't even need to use teleportation to deal with the sixteenth level guardian. With his understanding of the laws and his mastery of swordsmanship, he could easily defeat his opponent.

In fact, the outcome of the battle was just like that.

After exchanging blows with the sixteenth-level gatekeeper for more than ten rounds, Luo Shen figured out his opponent's moves and routines. He then unleashed an incredibly powerful slash, forcing the sixteenth-level gatekeeper to retract his sword and parry. With another slash, he broke through the gatekeeper's defense and killed him instantly.

The guardian of the seventeenth floor.

Although his strength had greatly improved compared to the sixteenth level, whether in the application of the spatial origin law or in the application of swordsmanship, he had almost reached the level of a king-level immortal. Unfortunately, he still couldn't gain any advantage against the powerful Luo Shen.

They sparred for more than ten rounds before he was killed by two powerful strikes.

The guardian of the eighteenth level is stronger.

Even without using teleportation, Luo Shen was at a disadvantage, since he was slightly inferior in his understanding of the laws. However, he had acquired the ability of teleportation ahead of time by using a clever trick.

But whether it's a clever trick or something else, any means that can be used are good means.

Relying on the overpowered ability of teleportation, and taking advantage of the fact that the guardian of the eighteenth level did not yet possess the ability to seal space, and also because the guardian was only at the Domain Lord level and could not use divine power to seal space, the guardian could only passively take the beating, and was ultimately defeated under Luo Shen's relentless attacks.

After passing the eighteenth level of the Sky Bridge, Luo Shen did not continue.

Although he was able to defeat the guardians of the next two levels with some of his trump cards, he knew his own limitations. After all, his understanding of the laws was still lacking, and there was no benefit in continuing. So he stopped.

The original Tongtian Mountain plane.

Three majestic mountain peaks stood proudly in the center of the entire plane, each one larger than the last. Luo Shen flew straight towards the largest one, the Primordial Tongtian Mountain.

Because his strength has reached the Domain Lord level, Luo Shen's current challenge is naturally the Domain Lord level Primal Tongtian Mountain.

It is worth mentioning that in the recent tens of millions of genius battles, not a single domain lord-level genius has managed to pass through the domain lord-level Primal Heavenly Mountain. This also indicates that in the past tens of millions of eras, the human race has not produced any outstanding geniuses.

The guardians of Tongtian Mountain remain the same ape-man, snake woman, and minotaur.

The three checkpoints remain: the foot of the mountain, the mountainside, and the summit. The strength of the guardians at each checkpoint gradually increases. The guardian at the foot of the mountain is roughly equivalent to the twelfth level of the Tongtian Bridge. The guardian at the mountainside is considerably stronger, with each individual being stronger than the guardian at the fourteenth level of the Tongtian Bridge. And at the summit, the three guardians working together are almost comparable to the guardian at the seventeenth level of the Tongtian Bridge!

Unfortunately, Luo Shen had already made it to the eighteenth level of the Tongtian Bridge, so how could he possibly fall on this primitive Tongtian Mountain?

Having successfully traversed the eighteenth level of the Bridge to Heaven and the Primal Tongtian Mountain at the Domain Lord level, Luo Shen's name once again resounded throughout the entire human race. Whether they had ever harbored ambitions towards Earth or were considering taking action against the rulers and overlords of the universe, they all had to admit that Luo Shen was indeed the strongest genius of humanity at this time.

(End of this chapter)