Chapter 120: The Finals Conclude, Securing the Zerg Overmind (Part 1)

“Of course, no matter which type of Chaos Monument it is, all-encompassing knowledge can be found within. From the Law Chaos Monuments, powerful secret arts can be comprehended. Within the Technique Chaos Monuments, profound laws are embedded.”

“But overall, if you want to focus primarily on laws, choose the Law-type Chaos Monuments. If you want to emphasize a particular path’s techniques, then select the Technique-type Chaos Monuments.”

“As for the Miscellaneous Chaos Monuments… they are more suitable for niche cultivators like formation masters, alchemists, or those of technological schools. Since you have good talent in laws and illusions, it’s best not to pick these.”

“You excel in wind and time laws. Combining the two, you can follow the ‘Path of the Wind-Time Beast God Law.’ If you intend to pursue this, you could choose the ‘Wind Shadow Chaos Monument.’”

“If you want to focus more on the development of illusions, you can select either the ‘Darkness Chaos Monument’ or the ‘Void Extreme Chaos Monument.’ Both are very suitable for masters of the illusionist path to comprehend and cultivate.”

“Of course, you don’t have to limit yourself to these few. When you arrive in the Initial Universe and choose your Chaos Monument, there will be ‘Imprint Paintings’ that reveal a glimpse of the monument’s essence. Follow your first instinct—choose the one that stirs your heart the most. Based on past experience, the initial instinct usually leads to the most accurate and fitting choice.”

The Phantom Spirit King carefully explained everything about the Chaos Monuments to Jiang Chen.

Listening to the Phantom Spirit King’s analysis, Jiang Chen developed a rough idea of how to choose a Chaos Monument after entering Chaos City.

Of course, the final choice would be made upon reaching Chaos City and seeing the ‘Imprint Paintings.’

Although equipped with a system, Jiang Chen might not necessarily need a Chaos Monument to aid his cultivation.

But for the famed Chaos Monuments, which supposedly lead directly to the cosmic sovereigns and even the universe’s strongest, Jiang Chen harbored strong curiosity and high expectations.

Even if they couldn’t compare to the system’s library, they would at least offer considerable assistance... or so he hoped.

A thought flashed through Jiang Chen’s mind.

“Thank you, teacher, for your guidance. I understand,” Jiang Chen bowed respectfully.

Though the Phantom Spirit King did not specify which Chaos Monument suited Jiang Chen best, his words provided a clear direction.

The ‘Law-type’ Chaos Monuments were ruled out first.

With the system library, Jiang Chen had no need to rely on Chaos Monuments to grasp the laws.

From the Phantom Spirit King’s words, there were Chaos Monuments within the ‘Miscellaneous’ category that greatly aided the technological path, which could be considered as candidates.

Though Jiang Chen couldn’t quite comprehend how ‘technology’ could be fused into a Chaos Monument for law comprehension, since there was even a dedicated ‘Law Zone’ in the system library, having a ‘Technology Stream Chaos Monument’ among Chaos City’s fifty-two monuments wasn’t too far-fetched.

However, Jiang Chen did not plan to have all three of his avatars choose the same ‘Technology Stream Chaos Monument.’

Partly to keep the avatars’ identities secret.

And partly to enrich his own arsenal of methods.

If in the future he encountered a mechanical legion he couldn’t handle, or if the system suddenly reached its limit and stopped updating, Jiang Chen could still rely on the traditional universal cultivation system to strengthen himself.

This was a form of keeping a ‘retreat path’ and adding another trump card.

Among the Chaos Monuments his avatars might select, Jiang Chen leaned more toward the ‘Technique-type.’

Comprehending laws was sufficiently covered by the system library.

Extracting powerful combat secret arts or methods to apply laws from the Chaos Monuments was far more valuable to Jiang Chen.

“The Initial Universe is very far away. Even though I have a G-class ship, it’s more focused on defense and only slightly faster than an F-class ship. It will take over two years to reach the Initial Universe. During these two years, you should train in the lounge. If you have any questions, come ask me anytime,” the Phantom Spirit King said softly. “I will also check your progress irregularly. Don’t slack off.”

“Yes, teacher,” Jiang Chen responded promptly with respect.

—

Elsewhere, Earth.

After registering the departure location, Jiang Chen exited the virtual universe, his consciousness returning to reality.

“The Genius Battle is finally over.”

Jiang Chen sighed.

With a sweep of his mind, countless factories and machines within the ring world were operating at full capacity, transforming mountains of materials into various products.

Under Jarvis’s control, everything was orderly.

Though he hadn’t paid much attention recently, Jiang Chen’s enterprises and dealings with various factions continued flawlessly without the slightest error.

“Jarvis,” Jiang Chen called out, “how’s the production of the items I asked you to prepare?”

Before the Genius Battle’s grand finals, Jiang Chen had finalized many blueprints and assigned Jarvis two production tasks:

An armored [‘Gundam’ Mech] with armor strength reaching the realm lord level.

And a [Psychic Shield Generator].

The combined cost of these two, plus the activation consumption of the Psychic Shield Generator, was staggering—over two hundred mixed-yuan units.

Over the years, Jiang Chen had poured nearly all surplus funds, after necessary line construction and raw material procurement, into this.

“Production is complete. Should I transfer them over now?” Jarvis asked.

“Yes, transfer them. And has the Psychic Shield Generator been installed already?” Jiang Chen confirmed.

The modules used for the [‘Gundam’ Mech] required some micro-adjustments to the mech itself for perfect compatibility; they weren’t easily interchangeable.

Without prior preparation, additional time and funds would be needed for simple modifications.

Of course, this process wasn’t troublesome and could be done within a day.

“Yes, it’s already installed on the mech’s left arm,” Jarvis replied promptly.

“Then send it over,” Jiang Chen ordered.

—

Moments later, outside on Earth.

Above Shennongjia in Asia.

An eighteen-meter-tall mech with blue paint appeared in the sky.

Jiang Chen did not enter the cockpit but controlled it remotely through psychic power.

Although simulations in the virtual universe showed the mech could easily withstand the toxic fog of the ‘Zerg Mother Nest,’ Jiang Chen didn’t want to take risks in reality.

Below, an over eight-hundred-meter-diameter, uneven sphere oozing venom lay quietly on the ground.

The venom flowed beyond the sphere, rapidly spreading like mist, encircling the Zerg Mother Nest.

This seemingly ordinary fog contained incredibly potent poison.

Ordinary realm lords with weaker bodies might be killed by it.

Even E-class metals eroded after prolonged contact.

Jiang Chen kept his distance, using psychic power to maneuver the mech into the toxic fog.

The ‘Psychic Shield’ activated at maximum power, an E9-level shield appearing over the mech’s surface, completely isolating the poison.

The fog’s range was limited to a few hundred meters and was quickly pierced by the mech.

With one hand pressing on the massive sphere, the next moment—whoosh!

The huge zerg nest vanished, along with the surrounding air, soil, and poisonous mist, all absorbed into the world ring.

“Done!”

Confirming through the ring’s monitoring facilities that the Zerg Mother Nest showed no signs of waking, Jiang Chen exhaled in relief and immediately flew toward Yangzhou City to borrow Hu Yanbo’s bank account from Luo Feng.

Jiang Chen himself was already a three-star client, qualified to use the Universe Galaxy Bank’s ‘Entrusted Consignment Service.’

However, the fees differed between three-star and five-star clients.

Though less than a one percent difference, on a treasure of the Zerg Mother Nest’s caliber, it meant tens of thousands of mixed-yuan units in fees.

Naturally, saving this money was preferable.

“This the Zerg Mother Nest?” Luo Feng asked as he took the world ring from Jiang Chen and scanned it with psychic power, his expression turning surprised.

“Yes,” Jiang Chen nodded. “This is the legacy left by your teacher, Hu Yanbo. You can’t use it now, so I’ll sell it first. After a few hundred years, when you’re strong enough to enslave the Zerg Queen, I’ll buy you a new one. Such things are rare in the universe, but for core geniuses of the Five Giants, money can buy them.”

They had discussed this before, and Luo Feng agreed.

“Don’t worry, I’ll go to the universe in the next couple of days and contact the Universe Galaxy Bank. Once the funds arrive, I’ll transfer my share to you,” Luo Feng said decisively.

Jiang Chen replied, “Let’s split it fifty-fifty. You’ll need plenty of money to boost your strength. I’ve checked—realm lord-level Zerg Mother Nests can be sold for over two million mixed-yuan units. Splitting that, each of us will get over one million, enough to reach domain lord level.”

Here, ‘domain lord level’ referred to the strength of their avatars.

Luo Feng’s Golden Horn Beast main body had reached domain lord slightly earlier than Jiang Chen; both their main bodies were now domain lords.

Luo Feng considered for a moment, nodded, and said, “Sounds good.”

Setting down the world ring, Luo Feng pulled Jiang Chen along.

“You’ve finally come out of seclusion. We have to have a proper drink. Though we’re both on Earth, it’s been almost a year since we last met in reality!”

“Sure, but if it’s not good wine, I’m not agreeing!” Jiang Chen laughed.

With the Genius Battle concluded, their time on Earth was already ticking down.

As soon as the virtual universe company’s ship arrived, they would head to its headquarters and then depart for the Initial Universe.

—

The next time they returned to Earth would be at least a hundred years later.

Possibly several centuries.

Before leaving, Luo Feng naturally spent more time with his family.

Jiang Chen had no close relatives but had grown up with Luo Feng’s family, considering them his own.

Before departure, he made sure to spend as much time as possible with them.

—

A few days later, Jiang Chen, Luo Feng, and their friends and family on Earth bid farewell and boarded a ship bound for White Orchid Star.

All their subordinates and slaves remained on Earth.

Jiang Chen also left a sub-intelligence of Jarvis on Earth to manage his enterprises.

Though Luo Feng was lord of Earth, the two Americas were assigned to Jiang Chen.

Within each of these territories, hidden inside world rings, were numerous factories, production lines, and warehouses owned by Jiang Chen, churning out massive quantities of goods daily.

Energy blocks produced by space furnaces on the solar system’s edge also passed through Earth as a transit hub, shipped along with other goods to White Orchid Star for sale to various factions of the Qianwu Universe Nation.

Managing such vast enterprises was impossible with slaves alone; the core was intelligence-led, which reassured Jiang Chen.

Though called a sub-intelligence, its wisdom and computing power were on par with Jarvis’s main body.

It was more than sufficient to manage these businesses and maintain universal trade.

White Orchid Star.

Amidst the icy wasteland, Jiang Chen and Luo Feng stood on an expanse of ice, waiting.

Suddenly, a sword-shaped ship descended from the sky, landing not far ahead.

The ship was about six hundred meters long, with a width and thickness of roughly a hundred meters, appearing somewhat unusual.

Upon the ship’s appearance, Babata’s exclamation rang in their ears: “Mother Guiyan Stone! It’s a ship made from Mother Guiyan Stone! How extravagant!”

Jiang Chen’s heart stirred as he immediately recalled the data.

Mother Guiyan Stone was a natural F-class ore with exceptional defense and excellent blocking against various energies.

Of course, it came with a staggering price.

Much pricier than the Red Mixed Copper Mother used on the Meteor Ink Star.

Constructing such a large ship purely from Mother Guiyan Stone would cost billions of mixed-yuan units.

While Babata marveled, a group of people emerged from the ship.

At the forefront was an Immortal Deity.

His appearance was not much different from Earth humans—a middle-aged man with striking blood-red long hair.

Behind the Immortal Deity were realm lords, domain lords, and a large group of cosmic-level beings numbering over a thousand.

“Your Highness.”

The group approached Jiang Chen and Luo Feng.

Except for the slightly reserved Immortal Deity leader, the others, including several realm lords, saluted Jiang Chen and Luo Feng.

In the original story, the virtual universe company’s team sent to escort Luo Feng was led only by a realm lord recognized by the source law.

But this time, with Jiang Chen, the ‘Primal Secret Realm’ genius, and Luo Feng of the Primordial Secret Realm, the virtual universe company dispatched an Immortal Deity leader to maximize security—a strong show of force.

“Your Highness?” Luo Feng looked puzzled.

“Let’s board the ship first,” Jiang Chen smiled. “We can talk on the way.”

“Your Highness, please,” the Immortal Deity stepped aside.

Jiang Chen nodded slightly in greeting. “Thank you.”

Regardless of this Immortal Deity’s origin, and though his status might be far above this primal secret realm genius, respect was due given his strength.

(End of chapter)