Technological advancement begins with devouring.

Chapter 101 The Auction Ends (3rd Update)

As the most attractive final auction of this year, and even in the last ten thousand years, the quota for comprehending the Initial Universe has caused a frenzy among many powerful individuals.

But this has nothing to do with Jiang Chen and Luo Feng.

The two individuals simply did not have the financial resources to participate in the competition.

After leaving the auction, my consciousness returned to reality.

On their way to White Orchid Star, the two were still talking about the 'initial universe'.

"According to Babata, the environment of the primordial universe is extremely special, which can greatly accelerate the speed of comprehending the fundamental laws. If one can cultivate in the primordial universe for a long time, it is not difficult to comprehend even one law."

Luo Feng sighed, "Even my teacher never had the chance to enter the initial universe. I wonder if I'll ever have the opportunity to see the scenery there in the future."

“There will be opportunities.” Jiang Chen smiled and said, “Others who want to go to the Initial Universe have to spend tens of thousands of Chaos Units to compete for a spot at the auction. But we have the opportunity to go for free.”

"Huh?" Luo Feng was taken aback, looking at Jiang Chen with a puzzled expression, and asked in confusion, "You... do you know some secret again?"

"The Cosmic Genius Battle is a virtual universe where stellar-level geniuses from across the entire universe gather to compete for the title of the most outstanding geniuses, who will then be absorbed into the virtual universe as core members. These geniuses will receive extremely high rewards from the virtual universe, including free entry into the virtual universe."

Jiang Chen smiled and said with a hint of mystery, "The Genius Battle happens once every ten thousand years, and the next one will be held next year."

"A battle of geniuses? Once every ten thousand years?" Many heads popped up in Luo Feng's little question mark.

Babata couldn't help but pop his head out, surprised, "Jiang Chen, how do you know about the Genius Battle? And even the exact start time?"

"Although the Genius Battle is held approximately once every ten thousand years, the exact start time varies, and it could be a few years earlier or later. How do you know it will start next year?"

"I've suspected something's off about you for a while now, you know a ton of things! Just who are you?!"

Babata bombarded Babata with questions, his mouth firing off a barrage of them like a machine gun.

"Wait a minute, Babata!" Luo Feng interrupted Babata's question, shouting, "Can someone explain to me what a Genius Battle is?"

"The Genius Battle, officially called the 'Universe's Pinnacle Genius Battle,' is, as the name suggests, a selection process for geniuses. It is held once every ten thousand years, initiated by the Virtual Universe Company, which organizes stellar-level geniuses from across the universe to fight each other in the virtual universe, selecting the most powerful geniuses to be absorbed into the core layer for intensive training. The corresponding competition is the 'Universe's Pinnacle Strongest Battle,' which is held by the Giant Axe Arena and is aimed at universe-level geniuses."

Babata gave a brief explanation and continued, "Luo Feng, although you are at the Stellar level, you haven't cultivated for long enough to be among the top in the overall universe rankings and enter the Virtual Universe Company. It's simply impossible for you. However, if you can achieve a good ranking in the Qianwu Universe Kingdom, you'll probably be absorbed into the Qianwu Secret Realm and given special training. For you, that would be an incredible opportunity."

Luo Feng's talent is naturally not bad, especially after possessing the Golden Horned Beast, his affinity for the 'metal' elemental laws has greatly increased, and he has already crossed the threshold of the laws.

Even Babata had to admit that such talent was absolutely monstrous in the universe.

However, Luo Feng's weakness is that he has not cultivated for long enough.

From the time he became a formal martial artist, it has been less than ten years.

In ten years, the Golden Horned Beast itself has reached the cosmic level, and its human avatar has reached the stellar level. They have also crossed the threshold of the laws. This achievement is already incredibly extraordinary.

If given enough time, Babata has no doubt that Luo Feng can pass the selection process of the Genius Battle and enter the core of the Virtual Universe Company.

However, Babata believes that no matter how extraordinary Luo Feng's talent is, it will ultimately take time to realize its potential.

There are many other stellar-level geniuses in the universe whose talents and opportunities can rival or even surpass Luo Feng's, and they may have cultivated for decades or even centuries.

With the same talent and the same incredible opportunities, how can you compare when others have cultivated for dozens of times longer?

This is why Babata is not optimistic about Luo Feng.

However, even if you can't be among the top performers in such a grand event that attracts worldwide attention, as long as you have a sufficiently outstanding performance in the selection process of the Genius Battle, you can still attract the attention of major powers.

Babata was quite enthusiastic about having Luo Feng participate in the Genius Battle.

"Genius Battle..."

Listening to Babata's explanation, Luo Feng couldn't help but feel hopeful.

Countless geniuses from across the universe gather here, possessing the same physical attributes and mental strength. What they compete in is the laws, domains, secret techniques, and combat skills.

Countless geniuses battled and were eliminated, ultimately producing the strongest group of prodigies.

Just hearing Babata describe the process made Luo Feng feel a surge of excitement, and he couldn't wait to get involved.

Suddenly, Luo Feng came to his senses, looked at Jiang Chen, and asked in confusion, "Ah Chen, how do you know about the 'Genius Battle'?"

"I have an avatar wandering the universe, you know that, right?" Jiang Chen asked in return.

Luo Feng nodded.

Jiang Chen did not hide the fact that he had a clone from his friends.

Babata had previously mocked Jiang Chen, believing it was a waste to use his rare clone slots on slaves of the 'Black Mongols'.

It couldn't imagine that Jiang Chen's clone slots could be changed at will.

"I originally had three clones. One of them wandered the universe and also encountered some opportunities."

Jiang Chen spoke softly, "I'm not at liberty to tell you the specifics. I can only say that my clone joined a major power and became the disciple of a powerful expert. The start time of the Genius Battle was told to me by my teacher."

"So that's how it is..." Luo Feng and Babata both realized and didn't ask any further questions.

Luo Feng didn't know much about this, but Babata knew very well that Jiang Chen's 'teacher' was probably no ordinary immortal who could know the exact start time of the Genius Battle a year in advance.

At the very least, he must be the commander of a legion or a high-ranking official in an important department.

However, none of this has anything to do with Luo Feng or Babata.

Their focus was more on the upcoming battle of geniuses.

"Luo Feng, you need to intensify your training before the Genius Battle begins! If you can perform exceptionally well in the Genius Battle and be valued by major forces, your future path will be much smoother," Babata reminded him.

Luo Feng understood this as well, and nodded, saying, "Competing with so many geniuses in the universe—just thinking about it makes one's blood boil!"

Seeing Luo Feng and Babata's reactions, Jiang Chen couldn't help but chuckle to himself.

Luo Feng at this point cannot be considered particularly extraordinary.

After the Demon Slayer Clan clone was born and he obtained the Demon Slayer Clan's 'Spatial Law' talent, Luo Feng was finally able to soar to the sky and rise at an astonishing speed.

As for Luo Feng now, even without external assistance, Jiang Chen is confident that he can easily defeat Luo Feng with one hand simply by suppressing him in terms of laws.

However, the process of the battle of geniuses is very long.

As long as he isn't eliminated at the beginning, with Luo Feng's talent, he'll eventually make it to the end.

-

Bai Lanxing.

This already desolate planet became even more deserted after Jiang Chen relocated its inhabitants.

The snow and ice covering the earth create a desolate beauty.

Jiang Chen and Luo Feng walked toward a spaceship bearing the logo of Virtual Universe Company.

The crew on the spacecraft were already waiting there, and they picked up a device to scan the two people.

"Guest's identity confirmed, transaction permitted."

Following an electronic voice prompt, staff placed large boxes in front of the two individuals.

The box in front of Jiang Chen was enormous, large enough to hold several large stadiums.

After inspecting the goods, the two put the box directly into their world rings.

"Dear guest, thank you for your support of our Virtual Universe company. Thank you."

The staff shook hands with Jiang Chen and Luo Feng respectively, and then immediately boarded the spaceship and left.

Jiang Chen did not return to the spaceship, but instead walked towards another spaceship marked with the logo of the Cosmic Galaxy Bank.

"Sir." The bank staff had already confirmed Jiang Chen's identity and bowed slightly.

"This is a new batch of energy blocks to be sold. Same as always, the payment will be transferred directly to my account." Jiang Chen waved his hand, and a dense pile of energy blocks appeared on the ground.

The energy block is not large, slightly smaller than a cigarette box, and is a translucent purple color. It contains an astonishing amount of energy.

If such an energy block were to explode, the resulting power would be far more terrifying than a nuclear explosion.

However, this energy is extremely stable and is difficult to extract unless stimulated by special instruments.

The most important aspect of this high-density energy aggregate is its sufficient stability.

Otherwise, if it were to explode, it would be no laughing matter.

Energy blocks were piled up like mountains.

This is not a description, but a fact.

The 'mountain' formed by the accumulation of energy blocks does indeed resemble a large mountain in appearance.

The bank staff took out a scanning device to scan, and the device quickly displayed the number of energy blocks: eleven trillion.

"Eleven trillion high-grade energy blocks. According to the agreed price, our Cosmic Galaxy Bank will purchase these energy blocks for ten trillion cosmic coins." The bank staff quickly said, "The goods have been received, and the money will be transferred to your account within ten minutes."

Jiang Chen sold all the energy blocks produced by the Space Furnace to the Cosmic Galaxy Bank.

After negotiation, the Cosmic Galaxy Bank agreed to exchange the energy blocks in Jiang Chen's hands for Cosmic Coins at a ratio of 11:10.

That is, 11 energy blocks can be exchanged for 10 universe coins.

If you establish your own sales channels, you can get a slightly higher price.

However, given that the transaction involved wealth calculated in mixed units and was a long-term transaction, Jiang Chen knew he couldn't protect it with his own strength.

It's safer to earn less and sell through the Cosmic Galaxy Bank's channels.

Moreover, 11:10 is already a very good ratio.

Even if Jiang Chen sells them himself, he can't possibly reduce the ratio to 1:1, and he won't earn much more.

Considering the time and effort involved, as well as the risk of being coveted, it is actually more cost-effective to transact with the Cosmic Galaxy Bank.

For the Cosmic Galaxy Bank, this transaction also yields substantial profits, making it a win-win situation.

"Thank you for your support of our Cosmic Galaxy Bank. Now, I'll take my leave."

The staff shook hands with Jiang Chen and left on a spaceship with a large amount of energy blocks.

Watching the spaceship depart, Jiang Chen and Luo Feng said goodbye. The two of them also boarded the spaceship and left Bailan Star, traversing the dark universe and heading towards Earth.

-

As the spaceship entered the dark universe, Luo Feng and Jiang Chen were eager to check their gains.

However, there wasn't enough space inside the spaceship, so Jiang Chen couldn't take out the 'Void Dragon Bone' he had purchased. He could only check out his other acquisitions first.

"A Berna metal life form? This appearance is truly peculiar." Jiang Chen took out a box containing a mass of metal that seemed to flow like liquid.

If you sense it carefully, you will realize that this mass of metal is actually 'alive', with a distinct life force.

However, its aura was not particularly strong, barely reaching the level of a stellar being.

Moreover, it is quite obvious that this Berna metal life form seems to lack intelligence.

"The information says that the Berna metal lifeforms are initially very unintelligent, but their intelligence grows as their strength increases. Once they reach the level of Domain Lord or Realm Lord, they are almost the same as ordinary humans."

Luo Feng looked curiously at the liquid-like metal inside the box and asked, "Ah Chen, the Berna clan's metal lifeforms are best suited for fusion with spaceships. Do you plan to fuse it with your spaceship?"

“No, it’s mainly for research.” Jiang Chen shook his head and said, “As for fusion… if it’s still alive after I finish my research, we’ll see.”

Jiang Chen's current 'vehicle' is only a Class C spaceship; fusing it with a metal life form would be a bit of a waste.

Among all the metallic life forms that can fuse with spaceships, the Berna metallic life forms are not particularly outstanding, but at least a D-class or E-class spaceship is required to be worthy of them.

“Research…” Luo Feng was speechless for a moment.

The way they looked at Jiang Chen was as if they were looking at a freakish scientist.

Luo Feng had also visited Jiang Chen's laboratory and witnessed how Jiang Chen conducted his "research" on some special extraordinary life forms.

Segmentation and dissection are just the most basic operations.

Jiang Chen's 'research' on his targets often delves into the genetic level, and even the level of the soul.

Whenever conditions permit, Jiang Chen conducts live experiments to maximize the value of the 'materials,' a process that is all the more bloody and terrifying.

"It has no soul, yet possesses self-awareness; this life structure is quite peculiar." Jiang Chen observed for a while before closing the box.

Research on Bernard metallic life still requires the use of laboratory equipment.

Jiang Chen quickly shifted his attention and greeted Luo Feng, "I'll go into the world inside the ring first to check on the 'Void Dragon Bone.' If anything happens, contact me through Jarvis."