Chapter 135: The Clan's Resolution, the Battlefield of Glory (First Update)

"Chaos has a proposal," the Primal Chaos City Leader began. "We each excel in different areas, so let us each set a trial. If this little one can pass your trial, you shall teach him what you excel at. For instance, Chaos can teach him the path of space-time, while Darkness can teach him the paths of the soul and illusion, and so on."

"No formal apprenticeship? Yet you want to teach him your unique, signature techniques?" A Universe Master sitting at the end frowned, seemingly dissatisfied with the proposal.

"After all, this little one's talent is simply too monstrous. It is not impossible to have multiple people teach him, but to impart signature techniques, one must have the status of master and disciple."

"Indeed, the Law cannot be passed on lightly!"

The Universe Masters began to discuss among themselves.

The Chaos City Leader interjected, "No apprenticeship, or perhaps only as a named disciple. As for the techniques you impart, you will naturally be compensated. Of course, I am not forcing anyone. Those willing may set a trial. If this little one’s talent is not enough to satisfy you, or if he cannot pass your trial, you are free not to teach him."

"In that case, I have no objections."

"I think I will sit this one out. I specialize in the laws of space-time, a field everyone here is familiar with, so there is no need for me to teach him."

"Hmm, if this little one’s talent truly moves me, even without the title of master and disciple, it is not impossible to teach him a thing or two."

The Chaos City Leader’s words immediately caused many Universe Masters to heave a sigh of relief.

"He must still have a master; the master-disciple bond is very important in our race's lineage. However, given Jiang Chen’s talent, no matter which Universe Master he takes as a teacher, the others will likely be dissatisfied," the Chaos City Leader said. "I think it would be better to have him study under a Supreme Being of the Universe."

The Primal Chaos City Leader took over the conversation and said directly, "Let this little one study under the Original Ancestor, or take me as his teacher, and give him that status! Of course, if he passes your trials, he may also become your named disciple."

"Disturb the Original Ancestor? That is too much!"

"Indeed, every time the Original Ancestor makes contact with us, he is suppressed even more severely by the origin will of the universe, making the next contact even harder! Unless it is a matter of life and death for our race, we must never contact the Original Ancestor!"

"Just let him take you, Primal Chaos, as his teacher."

"I also think Primal Chaos is suitable."

One by one, the Universe Masters voiced their thoughts. The vast majority felt that disturbing the Original Ancestor was not a good idea.

To be a student of Primal Chaos, the strongest member of the human race, is an extremely high honor for a Universe Domain Lord-level genius, even if one ignores 'compatibility' and speaks only of 'status.'

"Since everyone agrees that Primal Chaos is suitable, then let him set the trial for the apprenticeship," the Chaos City Leader said, looking at the Primal Chaos City Leader.

The stronger the master, the more cautious they are when taking on a student. Beyond talent, they often examine many other aspects to determine if the disciple aligns with their will. Given the Primal Chaos City Leader’s status within the human race, even if his disciple were a little one who hadn't even reached immortality, his status would exceed that of most Universe Venerables. On a grander scale, this is a major affair concerning the entire race, so it cannot be done on a whim. At the very least, a rigorous trial is mandatory.

The Primal Chaos City Leader nodded. "My true body is still in the Universe Ocean. I will tell you the content of the trial later, and you can handle it for me." He then turned to the Master of Huang Jian and said, "Huang Jian, if Jiang Chen passes my assessment and joins my sect, have him withdraw from the Universe Mercenary Alliance. As for the resources, I will compensate you later."

The Master of Huang Jian, not knowing the meaning of modesty, replied with a smile, "Hehe, easily done, easily done!"

"As for the others, those who wish to teach Jiang Chen some methods can also set their own trials. As long as you teach him, your contribution to the race will be calculated according to the value of the secret technique," the Primal Chaos City Leader said with a wave of his hand. "Meeting adjourned! Those interested in Jiang Chen, go coordinate with the Chaos City Leader!"

***

Elsewhere, in the Virtual Universe, Jiang Chen’s 'Esuo' avatar entered the 'Glory Battlefield' plane.

The Universe Mercenary Alliance's 'Glory Battlefield,' much like the Virtual Universe Company's 'Primal Sky Mountain,' is divided into Universe level, Domain Lord level, and World Lord level. Beyond external objects, it places no restrictions on methods and tests purely for combat capability. Regardless of which secret realm a genius comes from, as long as they successfully clear the 'Glory Battlefield' of their corresponding rank, they can ignore all other requirements and directly become a member of the 'Glory Secret Realm.'

The Universe Mercenary Alliance's 'Glory Secret Realm' is the equivalent of the Virtual Universe Company's 'Primal Secret Realm'—it belongs to the highest level of secret realms.

As for the difficulty... for a genius specializing in a single direction, the Universe-level 'Glory Battlefield' or 'Primal Sky Mountain' is roughly equivalent to the difficulty of the twelfth floor of the Sky Bridge. However, for geniuses who are adept in several directions, it does not restrict the systems used like the Sky Bridge does; it is generally expected that they would need to have the level of the tenth or eleventh floor across several Sky Bridges to have a chance at passing. Of course, having the level of the tenth or eleventh floor across several bridges is no less difficult than clearing the twelfth floor of a single bridge; it might even be harder.

When he first arrived in Chaos City, Jiang Chen wasn't sure he could pass if external objects were restricted. However, after cultivating in Chaos City for thirty years, even if he only used the methods of a single system, Jiang Chen was absolutely certain he could clear the 'Glory Battlefield.' Not to mention, Jiang Chen’s abilities were incredibly comprehensive, reaching the level of the tenth floor or higher in over a dozen fields. Clearing the 'Glory Battlefield' was merely a formality for him.

Yet, no matter how easy it was, the formality still had to be completed. Within the Virtual Universe Company, the treatment of members of the Heaven and Earth Secret Realm and the Primal Secret Realm is worlds apart. Within the Universe Mercenary Alliance, the treatment of members of the Death Secret Realm and the Glory Secret Realm also differs significantly. Although Jiang Chen had already obtained the privilege of '50% off in the treasure vault,' the 30% discount for the Primal and Glory Secret Realms was already useless to him. However, in terms of the number of 'cultivation missions' one could receive, the two secret realms were on different orders of magnitude. From the descriptions in the original text, the vast majority of cultivation mission worlds hold deep secrets, many of which are opportunities that even powerful King-level immortals and Universe Venerables crave immensely. Clearing more mission worlds is the only way to reap more benefits.

***

The 'Glory Battlefield' plane.

Unlike the Primal Sky Mountain, this plane is an incredibly desolate plain. The earth is dark brown, resembling the traces left behind after blood has dried for a long time. The entire plain spans over ten thousand miles, incredibly vast. In the center of the plain lies a military camp stretching for hundreds of miles. Jiang Chen’s 'Esuo' avatar turned into a streak of light and stopped a hundred miles from the camp.

A giant creature with eight arms, over thirty meters tall, and a lower body resembling a python's tail emerged from the camp. It was a member of a very rare branch of the human race: the Eight-Armed Naga tribe.

The Eight-Armed Naga looked at Jiang Chen in confusion and asked, "Are you here to challenge the Glory Battlefield?"

"Yes," Jiang Chen nodded and asked, "Is my opponent this army of yours?"

"Haha, yes! As long as you defeat us, you will have cleared the 'Universe-level Glory Battlefield'!" The Eight-Armed Naga raised the scepter in his hand and shouted loudly, "Little ones, wake up! Someone is here for a challenge!"

As the Eight-Armed Naga’s voice fell, figures rose from the camp, ascending into the sky and forming neat formations. There were exactly 10,080 soldiers of different races. Together with the Eight-Armed Naga, it was an army of 10,081 Universe-level beings.

However, if they were just ordinary Universe-level beings, one-versus-ten-thousand would be no difficult task even for a bottom-tier genius of the Death Secret Realm. Being the trial for promotion to the 'Glory Secret Realm'—and the highest-difficulty one at that—one could easily guess that the individual strength of these Universe-level soldiers was definitely extraordinary.

"A newcomer from the Death Secret Realm coming to challenge the Glory Battlefield? I'm afraid you don't know the difficulty here, do you?" The Eight-Armed Naga looked at Jiang Chen with a smile. "Your Highness, if you are ready, you can make the first move at any time. Just make sure to last a while, don't let us steamroll you!"

"Fine."

Jiang Chen did not argue with him. With a thought, a soul-power weapon flew out from his space ring. It was not some peerless divine weapon, but merely a Grade 5, attribute-less soul-power weapon called 'Moon Wheel.' Although it was among the top tier of Grade 5 soul-power weapons, in terms of power, it was far inferior to a divine weapon like the 'Yan Shen Weapon.'

Seeing Jiang Chen's weapon, the Eight-Armed Naga wore a strange smile. "A Grade 5 soul-power weapon? You don't even use a divine weapon; I'm afraid you won't even be able to break our military formation..."

However, in the next moment, the Eight-Armed Naga's expression changed abruptly.

An invisible wave of soul power swept across the battlefield, and the entire scene changed instantly. The desert vanished, replaced by a world flowing with magma. The magma lake below, which looked like an ocean, was even hotter than the interior of a star. The extreme heat caused even space to distort slightly. Beside him, the 10,080 fellow soldiers had vanished, leaving only the Eight-Armed Naga himself.

"Illusion?! You are not a controller, you are an illusionist?!" The Eight-Armed Naga let out a cry of surprise and immediately exerted his mental power to the limit, trying to break through the illusion.

In reality, in just a split second, Jiang Chen’s illusion had dragged all 10,081 soldiers into an illusory world. Each soldier had entered a completely independent 'illusory world.'

"Their willpower has reached the Domain Lord level; controlling so many people at once is quite taxing for me..." Jiang Chen tried his best to control the illusion while simultaneously splitting a sliver of energy to manipulate the soul-power weapon.

Blades resembling half-moons detached from the 'Moon Wheel,' turning into streaks of light that shot toward the military formation ahead. Under the control of the illusion, not a single soldier resisted as they were pierced through the head by the crescent blades. Like reaping grass, a large number of them fell in the blink of an eye.

Inside the illusion, the Eight-Armed Naga was frantically slamming against the world, feeling incredibly anxious.

"Break! Break for me!"

"How can the illusory world of a Death Secret Realm genius be this stable?!"

"Break!"

Under the Eight-Armed Naga’s constant assaults, violent tremors erupted within the illusory world, and cracks even began to appear. But, it ultimately held on. Even the strongest, the Eight-Armed Naga, could not break through the illusion immediately. The ordinary soldiers were even less capable, trapped firmly within the illusion, unable to break free.

As Jiang Chen reaped lives in the outside world, the number of dead soldiers increased, making it easier for Jiang Chen to maintain the illusion and allowing him to focus more of his attention on the few remaining 'strong' ones. At first, the Eight-Armed Naga could cause cracks in the illusory world, making it look precarious and on the verge of breaking. But as the other soldiers died one by one, Jiang Chen’s focus became more concentrated, and the illusory world trapping the Eight-Armed Naga became increasingly stable.

To the Eight-Armed Naga’s perception, the entire illusory world felt increasingly real. At the same time, a voice deep in his heart told him that this was the real world, causing his consciousness to involuntarily want to sink into it.

"You want to control me with this level of illusion?! Don't even think about making me submit!"

The Eight-Armed Naga let out a roar, desperately squeezing his potential, gathering all his power, and preparing for a final burst. Suddenly, in the next moment, huge cracks appeared in the illusory world, and it shattered with a boom. Before the Eight-Armed Naga could react, he saw a blinding light rushing toward his face at an astonishing speed. A giant 'full moon' streaked across the sky, slicing the Eight-Armed Naga’s head in two.

"Hmm? I was using my full power to control the illusion, yet he still managed to break free?" Jiang Chen was slightly surprised. But he immediately understood what had happened: "The crisis of death really can force one to unleash their greatest potential. I don't know how the Virtual Universe manages to simulate even this in its created life forms. However, I should be more careful about this in the future when using illusions in reality."

The battle ended in less than a minute. Under the control of the illusion, the 10,081 soldiers had no power to resist and were essentially just standing there waiting to die. Even though Jiang Chen could only spare a sliver of his energy to manipulate the soul-power weapon, it was enough to kill them in a very short time.

In the next moment, space fluctuated. The corpses disappeared, and the 10,081 soldiers reappeared in the military camp. The Eight-Armed Naga seemed to retain his previous memories; he looked at Jiang Chen with a complex expression and said, "Your Highness 'Esuo,' congratulations on clearing the Universe-level 'Glory Battlefield.' This battle has been recorded, and you are now a member of the 'Glory Secret Realm.'"

"Additionally, as a reward for clearing the 'Glory Battlefield,' you will receive a one-time reward of 100 million points when you break through to the World Lord level." The Eight-Armed Naga bowed slightly and spoke respectfully.

"Hmm, thank you." Jiang Chen nodded and immediately initiated the teleportation, leaving the 'Glory Battlefield' plane.

With the final task complete, the next step was to meet the spaceship sent by the Universe Mercenary Alliance to pick him up, leave the Initial Universe, and return to the Primal Universe.