Chapter 163 Contract!
In the Dark God Nation, at the top of the black-gold pyramid.
Before the most towering temple, Jiang Zhe suddenly appeared and walked inside.
"Teacher?" Jiang Zhe called softly.
From the chaotic airflow deep within the temple, a vague figure slowly emerged.
He was simply draped in a black robe, underneath which was strange armor combining silver and black. His skin was smooth like jade, his bald head bore dark mysterious markings, and his eyes were like venomous snakes lurking in the night.
Jiang Zhe did not rudely look up to stare at his teacher, but he could feel that the pressure on his consciousness from his teacher had weakened again.
His teacher was a Universe Lord, while he was only at the Universe level...
Hard to imagine what kind of monster was hiding in his own "frail" shell.
"Awake? Sit."
The Lord of Darkness walked up to Jiang Zhe, waved his hand, and a desk appeared between them. He then sat cross-legged.
Jiang Zhe gave an awkward smile and sat down across from his teacher as told.
The Lord of Darkness sized Jiang Zhe up, then suddenly smiled:
"I could sense even from within the virtual universe that your will has changed. Looks like you gained quite a lot in the Abyss World?"
"Teacher, the Duke's Heart was excellent. I benefited greatly."
"Oh? You mentioning it almost made me forget such a treasure exists. Compared to the Blood Luo Crystal with similar effects, it clearly suits you better... Tell me everything you've gained recently."
"Yes, Teacher."
So Jiang Zhe explained how he fused the Duke's Heart to obtain a genetic amplification, and also used the "Chaotic Will" to temper his own will... and so on.
Very few things could make the Lord of Darkness show surprise—Jiang Zhe was one of them.
"1.7 times? So your current life gene level really is 3000 times?"
Jiang Zhe nodded.
"Incredible!" the Lord of Darkness exclaimed.
"You're like a mouse that fell into a vat of rice. I can hardly imagine how far you'll grow in the Abyss World."
The Lord of Darkness couldn't help fantasizing that perhaps his little disciple might even touch the legendary perfect life gene level.
Even more valuable was the improvement in will.
As a Universe Lord with one of the strongest wills in the universe, and also a master of illusions, he deeply understood the importance of will.
"Indeed, your Earth lineage truly excels at nurturing the mind. Your will improves easily."
"Teacher, so you already knew."
Having his secret suddenly exposed, Jiang Zhe only raised his brows slightly, showing little surprise on his face.
After the qualification battle, chatting with Luo Feng, he was already mentally prepared.
"Mm, since both you and Luo Feng are quite special, the race had me go investigate Earth not long ago. After tracing back through spacetime, I learned of your lineage's origins."
"But in the images of the past, it seems you know quite a lot yourself? Can you tell me about it?"
"Where should I start..." Jiang Zhe scratched his head, then suddenly asked:
"Teacher, you saw Sitting Mountain Guest, right?"
Having thought it through long before, Jiang Zhe decided to use Sitting Mountain Guest as a cover to conceal some of his own unusual secrets.
When needed, he could even invoke the banner of the Original Universe's source will.
Including but not limited to his new species, clone secret techniques, special secret techniques, Orianna, wondrous treasures, cosmic common sense...
Using others' secrets to cover his own.
Not very moral—but highly effective.
Jiang Zhe thought to himself, that in the future when he had the power, he would help avenge Sitting Mountain Guest and repay the two debts he owed.
The first was because of Sitting Mountain Guest's methods, which granted him special mental cultivation talents.
The second was now, using Sitting Mountain Guest as a shield.
Of course, if his teacher didn't ask certain things, he wouldn't bring them up.
"You know Sitting Mountain Guest too?" The Lord of Darkness was surprised.
Jiang Zhe nodded:
"Sitting Mountain Guest—one of the most mysterious Universe Supremes in the Original Universe. Through inconceivable means, he guided the birth of the Flame God race and our Earth lineage, yet his sole purpose was just..."
Speaking to here, Jiang Zhe's expression grew odd. He paused, then continued:
"...just to find a suitable disciple."
The Lord of Darkness frowned slightly, finding this somewhat fantastical.
But he didn't question Jiang Zhe outright, allowing him to go on.
Guiding the birth of an entire race—it was imaginable how much effort and resources that required. Yet Sitting Mountain Guest's return was merely a disciple?
Jiang Zhe continued telling what he knew of Sitting Mountain Guest.
"He first cultivated the Flame God race, giving them bodies of limitless potential, and chose the leader Flame Emperor to nurture as a disciple... Only after some time, he found the Flame God race limited by mind and comprehension, their achievements capped, so he decisively abandoned them, treating them as a discarded draft, no longer paying attention."
"Then, learning from that failure, he guided the birth of our Earth lineage. Mediocre bodily talent, but with special soul and will."
"The rest is what you saw in your spacetime trace..."
"The first generation, the World of Mountains and Seas civilization, whose realm lord leader underwent the test, failed, died, and the civilization perished.
The second generation, the Source Star civilization, whose immortal leader underwent the test, failed, died, and the civilization perished.
The third generation is our Earth civilization. I, Luo Feng, Hong, and Thunder God are all candidates. The leadership position is still undecided, but if none of us satisfies him, then we'll have to give way to the next generation."
At this, the Lord of Darkness couldn't stay calm.
This treasure disciple he snatched from his senior brother would end up a disposable pawn?
He quickly probed:
"Jiang Zhe, have you decided to follow Sitting Mountain Guest's arrangements and accept the test?"
"Teacher, how can anyone say for sure about the future? Even if he chooses me, that would only be at the realm lord or immortal stage before he comes knocking."
Jiang Zhe said frankly:
"If I don't want to, our race is my backing. You, Teacher, and Senior Axe would never stand by and do nothing.
If I choose to accept the test, eat the cake he gives, and then die, it's my own fault."
"Teacher, don't worry. Luo Feng, Hong, Thunder God and I—we've always seen ourselves as part of the human race. We won't change because of outsiders."
"Good. Having this mindset is good."
The Lord of Darkness smiled, reaching out to pat Jiang Zhe's shoulder.
"Teacher believes in you. Do as you wish. The race will always be your backing."
Jiang Zhe smiled slightly, then brought up the main topic.
"Teacher, did you call me here this time to discuss Earth's lineage, or Earth itself?"
"Yes, to discuss Earth's ownership." The Lord of Darkness nodded.
"Your senior, the Founder of Giant Axe, and I have discussed and prepared three plans. For the sake of the race, you'll need to choose one. I hope you understand."
Jiang Zhe was calm and nodded:
"Teacher, go ahead. I understand.
But after seeing the plans, I may hope to make some tweaks, to add conditions that protect the rights of Earth humans.
They're my kin. I hope they can have a relatively equal environment to grow up in."
"Mm. I'll promise you that for now, but whether it changes will depend on specific conditions."
Having given this answer, the Lord of Darkness continued:
"Before telling you the three plans, I must ask a question that involves your privacy. It concerns one of the plans."
"Teacher, please ask." Jiang Zhe had a sense of foreboding.
"Jiang Zhe, what's the situation with your life gene level? Was it already mysteriously growing back on Earth?"
Sure enough, his abnormality back on Earth couldn't be hidden.
Jiang Zhe said:
"Teacher, I also don't quite know the origin of this talent."
He shook his head, then continued:
"I knew from a young age I had a spiritual force master's talent—and very strong!
But with our civilization's level, we couldn't guarantee a spiritual force master would awaken safely.
So my family arranged for me to meditate, slowly strengthening my body, waiting for the talent to awaken naturally.
Who knew, on my 16th birthday, not only did my spiritual force master talent awaken, but I also birthed a 'proto-core' and gained a portion of inherited memories."
Inherited memories?
Hearing this, the Lord of Darkness froze.
As the name suggested, these were things passed down by ancestors to their race's descendants, usually recording cosmic knowledge and secret techniques suitable for the race.
So Jiang Zhe's new species already had a source?
No! Impossible!
In this cycle era, across the entire Original Universe, such a race had absolutely never appeared.
Judging by its performance, it was undoubtedly a new human species!
The Lord of Darkness frowned. Was it really as he suspected—a variant of the Flame God race?
Inherited memories from the Flame God line?
Jiang Zhe continued explaining, so the Lord of Darkness set aside his thoughts and listened closely.
"I learned then that my race wasn't simple, but due to many constraints hadn't fully developed.
Fortunately, there was a way to complete it later, using the talent secret technique [Conqueror] mentioned in the inherited memories.
So before the talent secret technique even manifested, I painted the representative secret pattern on myself using pigments rich in cosmic source energy, to preemptively tap its effect.
Through killing beings to seize nourishment, I nurtured my transformation. After a few months of rebuilding my genetic code, I became a true new species."
Jiang Zhe spread his hands:
"I was born to have 3 times the life gene level... mm, and I still haven't decided what to name my race."
"No race name in the inherited memories?" The Lord of Darkness was puzzled.
"No, Teacher. I'm the origin of my race."
Jiang Zhe gave a wry smile:
"Teacher, I've obtained inherited memories from giant valley beasts and golden horned beasts.
Mine is very different—only cosmic common sense and explanations of my race, talents, secret techniques. Not a single cultivation technique.
Otherwise I wouldn't have gone to Teacher Huyan Bo to find basic secret techniques."
The Lord of Darkness nodded, no longer fussing over these minor details.
He connected his mind to the virtual universe system.
"I just modified the Dark Temple's permissions. You can now communicate directly with the virtual universe system to upload your lineage's details. It will help manifest them."
Then the Lord of Darkness revealed his purpose:
"I want to test the potential of your lineage."
Jiang Zhe nodded. He vaguely understood and spread out his mind.
Instantly he linked with the virtual universe system. After figuring out how to operate it, he recalled some "parameters" from his mind and pointed forward.
Threads of light scattered from the void, weaving together into a tall figure clad in a white robe.
He was nearly two meters tall, with full, well-shaped muscles and perfect proportions brimming with strength.
Like a masterpiece by a master sculptor—only unfortunately, his face was shrouded in a thin mist, unseeable.
Only his forehead bore a blood-red banner mark that flickered in the mist.
Similarly, there was a dark purple diamond mark on his chest.
"Teacher, this is my race's initial form. I call it the 'Heroic Human.'
It has 3 times the life gene level, and two talent secret techniques: [Conqueror] and [Brute Strength]."
Jiang Zhe explained:
"Also, I've set this body's power at the peak of realm lord for testing."
It was obvious from the look in the Lord of Darkness' eyes that complex emotions were surging, which he finally suppressed.
He raised his hand.
A monster from the demon race—an imperial clan member with 6 times the life gene level—appeared in the temple.
The surroundings transformed into a training ground.
Under the virtual universe system's control, the Heroic Human and the demon wolf were given equal law comprehensions.
The two flew into the arena and engaged in a fierce battle at realm lord peak level.
3 times vs 6 times!
In the end, after simultaneously unleashing their talent secret techniques, it was a draw.
Actually, if examined closely, the Heroic Human was slightly at a disadvantage, but not by much.
The Lord of Darkness' eyes nearly overflowed with satisfaction.
Turning to Jiang Zhe, he knew this was merely his little disciple's starting point—not his limit. He anticipated even greater surprises.
Jiang Zhe communicated with the virtual universe system again, pointing once more. Light weaved into another figure exactly the same, but with a more powerful aura.
Comparable to... a starry sky beast! One of the twelve peak bloodlines!
That was the thought that arose when the Lord of Darkness saw this second tall figure.
Jiang Zhe gave a brief introduction:
"Second stage—'Demi-God Human.'
10 times life gene level, talent secret techniques [Conqueror] and [Divine Strength], the latter evolved from [Brute Strength], giving a 3 times boost."
The Lord of Darkness thought for a moment and had the virtual universe system manifest a golden horned beast.
It was Jiang Zhe's old acquaintance—Luo Feng.
A realm lord peak golden horned beast with two clone slots already used—one Earth human clone, one Mosha clan clone.
In the arena, the three jointly attacked the Demi-God Human.
With equal law comprehension, the Demi-God Human triggered [Divine Strength], gaining 30 times realm lord power, overwhelming the [Enhanced] golden horned beast's mere 20 times power, crushing its true body and both clones.
Afterward, the blood-red banner mark on the Demi-God Human's forehead flashed, and sparse light particles drifted from the golden horned beast into the banner mark.
Jiang Zhe explained:
"Teacher, this is the [Conqueror] talent secret technique. Those light particles are called 'origin essence.' In normal sight in reality they can't be detected.
Their effect is to raise bodily amplification, soul amplification, and even... life gene level!"
"Good, good, this... does it have a limit?"
The Lord of Darkness uncharacteristically lost composure, his voice trembling.
Even as a Universe Lord, he had never seen such a heaven-defying talent.
Raising life gene level was unbelievably hard. How could there exist something that improved just by killing? Was he dreaming?
But Jiang Zhe gave a wry smile:
"Teacher, rather than worrying about its limit, better to wonder if it can even appear in a second individual."
The Lord of Darkness looked puzzled.
Jiang Zhe explained:
"Teacher, [Conqueror] is a gift from the heavens, bestowed by the Original Universe's source will... I don't know if it can imprint into my bloodline for inheritance."
The Lord of Darkness quickly asked:
"If this heaven-given talent can't be inherited, what happens to your race?"
"They lose their path to advance.
Born with just 3 times life gene level and a single talent secret technique [Brute Strength]. As for..."
Jiang Zhe pondered, then added:
"As for whether later improving their life gene level by other means would let them awaken that stage's abilities—I'm not sure."
Jiang Zhe spread his hands:
"Teacher, I don't even have a girlfriend yet. Some things can't be verified."
The Lord of Darkness frowned, then thought it through and relaxed.
Worst case... still acceptable.
3 times life gene level!
1 talent secret technique!
This melon might be small and not sweet, but it still quenched thirst.
**The human
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