Evolution Source Liquid, Surging Ahead! The Fall of Paradise!

"Rise, all of you." Looking down at the tens of thousands of attendants bowing before him, Huang Tian spoke. "Thank you, Your Highness!" Everyone stood up, sneaking cautious glances at Huang Tian, seemingly eager to decipher what kind of master he was. Beside him, Gu Po said with a smile, "Your Highness, my virtual personal account is 131... If you ever need anything, feel free to contact me at any time. I will never refuse." Huang Tian added him as a friend. "Thank you very much, then." "A minor matter." Gu Po chuckled heartily. "If Your Highness has no further instructions for now, I will take my leave. Once the selection for your guard commander is settled, I will inform you immediately. If you are unsatisfied, you may also replace them." "Thank you," Huang Tian repeated. Gu Po nodded in acknowledgment, then shot straight into the sky, entering the deep-black spaceship above. With a slight shudder, the ship transformed into a streak of black light and darted into the distance, vanishing completely within a second or two. After watching the vessel depart, Huang Tian turned his gaze back to his retinue of subordinates and servants. There were roughly fifty thousand of them, most of whom were martial artists at the Star Vortex consummation rank. Every single one possessed handsome or beautiful features, a pleasing sight to behold. If placed in the Galactic Empire, every one of these individuals could reign as a local hegemon, holding high status and great authority, capable of deciding the life and death of hundreds of millions with a single thought. Yet here, they were merely servants, not even qualified to be genuine guards. By regulation, the guard retinue for a member of the Yuanchu Secret Realm was staffed by one Eternal God commander, ten World Lord captains, and a hundred Domain Master soldiers. A mere Star Vortex martial artist truly lacked the qualifications to even be an ordinary foot soldier and could only serve as a menial servant. Even so, they accepted it with utmost joy, for they were serving a prestigious "Highness"! As long as a member of the Yuanchu Secret Realm did not perish prematurely, advancing to the Eternal rank was virtually guaranteed. Once the "Highness" they served grew powerful, any random, discarded scraps bestowed upon them would be enough to last them a lifetime. Even if "His Highness" gave no rewards, it hardly mattered. The cosmic source energy within the Yuanchu Secret Realm was exceptionally abundant. Cultivating here was countless times faster than on the outside, greatly boosting their chances of breaking through to higher realms. That single perk alone was enough to make people scramble to become servants. "Yu Shan greets Your Highness!" At the very front of the crowd, a middle-aged man with silver-white hair and deep blue eyes stepped forward respectfully. "Prior to your arrival, I temporarily managed all affairs on the floating island. You may order us to attend to any matter at any time." "Take me to my residence first." "Allow me to lead the way." Huang Tian and Yu Shan flew at the lead. Gazing into the distance, Huang Tian saw a sprawling expanse of interconnected estates and palaces. Each building boasted a distinct architectural style: some were solemn and somber in solid black, some were translucent and pristine like jade, and others hovered in midair like triangular spaceships. After a quick tour to familiarize himself with the surroundings, Huang Tian stepped into a white manor. "From this day forth, this shall be my residence. Unless I give an order, you need not do anything special—just ensure there is no clamor or disturbance." "Yes!" Yu Shan answered deferentially. "You may leave." Huang Tian waved a hand. Once Yu Shan withdrew, he sank onto a soft sofa and tapped a finger in midair. A light screen instantly sprang into view, displaying two primary sections: Cultivation and Trials. Tapping casually on the Cultivation section revealed multiple subcategories, such as Lectures and Resources. Lectures allowed one to log into the Virtual Universe, enter Zhouguang City, and attend open lectures delivered by Eternal and Supreme powerhouses. There, these mighty figures explained their insights into the various Laws and secret techniques. Resources was split into a free resource zone and a point-exchange zone. The former, as the name implied, cost nothing, provided completely free of charge by the Supreme Virtual Corporation. The latter featured rarer, more precious resources that required exchange points to purchase. Each member of the Yuanchu Secret Realm was granted a starting balance of ten thousand points. Huang Tian tapped into the free resource zone, and an item immediately caught his eye: Evolution Source Liquid: Consuming it rapidly increases source energy, but it cannot aid in breaking through bottlenecks. Has no side effects... "Evolution Source Liquid is supplied for free?" Huang Tian's eyes lit up. What he lacked most right now were resources capable of growing his source energy! Yet the Supreme Virtual Corporation actually provided it free of charge—and the description stated that it was supplied without limit all the way up to the World Lord realm! In other words, members of the Yuanchu Secret Realm had no need to spend arduous hours absorbing source energy from the void. Merely ingesting Evolution Source Liquid allowed them to rapidly amass sheer volume, propelling them from the early stage of a given realm straight to consummation in short order. "Truly worthy of being one of humanity's peak factions. What staggering wealth and generosity. With an unlimited supply of Evolution Source Liquid, geniuses need only focus on comprehending realms and Laws." If martial artists in the outside world learned of this, their eyes would turn red with envy. Accumulating raw energy consumed far too much time and vast fortunes; countless martial artists fought tooth and nail, staking their very lives just to gather cultivation resources. Yet here, Evolution Source Liquid was supplied free of charge. "I am currently at the Stellar early stage, so I should consume third-rank source liquid." Without hesitation, he tapped the screen to claim ten units of the source liquid at zero cost. A single unit was enough for an ordinary Stellar early-stage cultivator to reach consummation. However, because everyone's physique and foundation differed, he ordered ten portions just to be safe. If any remained unused, he could simply return them. Once the order was placed, the system immediately displayed: "Order complete. Ten units of third-rank source liquid will be delivered within two hours." Having browsed the Evolution Source Liquid, Huang Tian continued scrolling down, but found nothing else that caught his interest. He then tapped open the point-exchange zone. This section was brimming with treasures: special fruits that boosted affinity with the Law of Lightning, secret techniques of the Eternal God rank, fifth-rank source energy guns packing the full might of a Domain Master's strike... However, the prices were quite steep, and for the time being, none held urgent significance for him. Thus, he refrained from exchanging his points and instead clicked on the Trials section. Upon opening it, numerous secret realm trial missions filled his sight. Geniuses could select a mission and enter the corresponding secret realm for tempering. Doing so rewarded points from the Supreme Virtual Corporation and allowed them to obtain rare resources seldom found in the outside cosmos. It sounded wonderful, but danger lurked within. Certain trial missions carried an astounding mortality rate of ninety percent! Yet, without the grind of trials and hardship, how could a genius ever transform into a powerhouse? The Supreme Virtual Corporation spent immense resources nurturing them not to breed parasites, but to forge pillars capable of upholding the human race. "Still, for me, such trial missions are completely meaningless." Throughout his journey, how many trials had he already endured? Why would he need to experience more of the same? As for the points and precious resources earned from missions, he had no use for them either. Evolution Source Liquid was all he required. After a brief look, he began searching through the Virtual Universe for information regarding humanity and other races. Thanks to his current clearance and identity, the records he could access were far richer and more detailed than before. He learned of humanity's five greatest factions: the Supreme Virtual Corporation, Galaxy Bank, the Universe Mercenary Alliance, the Civilization Pioneer Army, and the Yuanqi True Martial Academy. He even discovered how many Sovereigns each faction possessed in the public eye, along with their honorific titles. Over an hour passed before he stopped reading. Gu Po had sent an email recommending an Eternal God named Dong Liansha as his guard commander. Gu Po noted that this individual was considered formidable even among Gods and possessed a mild temperament, capable of both protecting his flank and serving as an instructor when necessary. Trusting that Gu Po neither would nor dared swindle him, Huang Tian accepted the recommendation directly. A few minutes later, the God named Dong Liansha proactively sent a friend request, mentioning that he would arrive by tomorrow. Another ten minutes went by before a spaceship bearing the insignia of the Supreme Virtual Corporation descended upon the floating island. The Evolution Source Liquid Huang Tian had ordered had arrived. After a brief handover, Huang Tian carried a case containing a hundred vials of Evolution Source Liquid back to the manor. The Evolution Source Liquid glowed with an enigmatic purple sheen, reminiscent of hazy starlight in a night sky. Without hesitation, he downed a vial. An overwhelmingly surging force flooded into all his limbs and bones at once. Moreover, this energy required no focused guidance, meaning he was entirely free to attend to other matters in the meantime. And so he did, calming his mind to contemplate and deduce the Laws of this world. After delivering Huang Tian to the Yuanchu Secret Realm, Gu Po revealed the news that Huang Tian had been taken as a personal disciple by Sovereign Chuheng. In truth, even if he had not disclosed it, the outside world would have learned of it soon enough, as such an occurrence could never remain hidden for long. The news instantly exploded across the entirety of the Supreme Virtual Corporation—no, it swept through all five of humanity's peak factions and the upper echelons of more than a thousand cosmic nations! The reason was simple: the great Sovereign Chuheng had not accepted a new disciple in nearly six hundred thousand epochs—six billion years! What was more, this newly accepted disciple was only at the Stellar rank! Countless jaws dropped in sheer disbelief. Many wondered what could possibly be so extraordinary about this person named Huang Tian to earn the favor of a Sovereign. People dispatched agents to collect intelligence on him. At first, they found nothing, but someone eventually discovered that he was the very same "Zhonghuang Taiyi" who had created a massive stir in the Saint Martial Arena. Yet after reviewing Zhonghuang Taiyi's hundreds of matches, while everyone had to admit his talent was staggering, questions remained. "Even so, it shouldn't have disturbed Sovereign Chuheng!" In the Yuanzhong Cosmic Nation, the Lord of Yuanzhong and Supreme Longxu looked at each other in utter bewilderment. "This Zhonghuang... Huang Tian has a fair chance of advancing to Supreme. His talent is indeed immense, ranking among the first rate across countless epochs," Supreme Longxu mused, perplexed. "Yet, throughout history, a fair number of geniuses at this level have appeared, and most of them were never taken in by a Sovereign. Why would he catch Sovereign Chuheng's eye?" "Sovereigns value karmic affinity above all when accepting disciples. Perhaps Huang Tian simply caught Sovereign Chuheng's notice through a twist of fate?" the Lord of Yuanzhong guessed. Supreme Longxu frowned. "Even if he caught a Sovereign's eye, he shouldn't have been accepted directly as a personal disciple! Wouldn't a nominal disciple have sufficed? It wouldn't be too late to make him a personal disciple after he attained the World Lord or Eternal rank." Never in history had a Stellar-rank martial artist been accepted directly as a Sovereign's personal disciple. The Lord of Yuanzhong pondered for a moment. "Could it be that this Huang Tian possesses some other unique trait we have yet to discover?" Supreme Longxu exchanged a glance with him, nodded slightly, then shook his head with a sigh. "Regardless of the truth, I no longer have any chance of taking him as my disciple. Alas! I'm off! I'm off!" With those words, his figure dissolved into mist and dispersed, leaving only the Lord of Yuanzhong behind, lost in silent thought. Meanwhile, in outer space above Yangfa Star in the Divine Light Empire, over a hundred spaceships and tens of thousands of powerful figures hovered in formation. A bald youth in a white robe stood at the forefront, hands clasped behind his back. His expression was cold and stern as his voice echoed across the entire planet: "By order of the Supreme Virtual Corporation, we are here to arrest Mo Jia, Fifth Prince of the Divine Light Empire, and all personnel associated with the Paradise Corporation. Any who resist shall be executed without mercy!" As his voice rang down, the tens of thousands of soldiers behind him—every single one at least of the Domain Master realm—dived toward Yangfa Star below. Down on the planet, Mo Jia stared up at the sky, watching the soldiers descending like ravenous wolves and ferocious tigers. His face turned deathly pale, his lips trembling. "The... the Supreme Virtual Corporation?!" He had no idea what he had done to deserve such a colossal entity sending an army to arrest him. Just because of a trivial Paradise Corporation? Paradise Corporation had only farmed several tens of thousands of life planets and several tens of trillions of humans. What kind of evil was that? The universe was vast, and there were far more wicked people than him. Some interstellar slave traders had slaughtered hundreds or thousands of times more people than he had! Why weren't those people targeted by the Virtual Corporation, while he was being hunted down? He refused to accept it! Yet he dared not resist. He immediately projected his consciousness into the Virtual Universe to send an urgent plea for help to his father on the imperial capital star, praying that their ancestor—an Eternal God in seclusion—might step forward and intervene. Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Tens of thousands of Domain Masters descended. Following a predetermined list, they rounded up every individual associated with the Paradise Corporation. No one dared flee; their legs shook violently as sweat poured down like rain, and they were rounded up like helpless chicks. "Kneel!" A soldier kicked hard against the back of Mo Jia's knee, forcing him to the ground. Swish! The bald youth descended from above and came to a stop before Mo Jia. "Y-You... I... I indeed committed great crimes..." Mo Jia said in panic. "B-but the ancestor of my clan is an Eternal God! Even the Lord of Yuanzhong accords him some face! I beg my lord to show mercy and spare me this once! I will turn over a new leaf, I will—" The bald youth chuckled softly. "Your clan's ancestor? If the Virtual Corporation hadn't confirmed he truly knew nothing about this, his punishment wouldn't have been merely taking the blame for negligence." Mo Jia felt as though struck by lightning. "N-negligence?" Even their ancestor had been implicated? "Impossible, absolutely impossible..." he muttered in a daze. The bald youth's smile broadened. "Oh, and by the way, your father, the reigning Emperor of the Divine Light Empire, has already been apprehended for being aware of and shielding your wicked deeds. Ah, his sentence matches yours... death!" At the word 'death,' Mo Jia trembled all over and cried out in frantic terror, "How could this be! How could it be the death penalty? Impossible! Someone is framing me! Someone is definitely trying to destroy me!" "Did you not butcher and farm humans?" "I... I—" "Since you did it, you must own up to it." The bald youth smiled pleasantly. "However, you did guess part of the truth. What moved the Supreme Virtual Corporation to order your arrest was indeed that you offended someone you should never have crossed." "Who!" Mo Jia's breath hitched. "His Highness Huang Tian!" "Huang Tian? His Highness?" "You've seen him before—Zhonghuang Taiyi!" "It's... it's him?!" Mo Jia instantly recalled that invincible figure who had swept all before him in the Saint Martial Arena, and his mind went completely blank. "B-but I never crossed him! I even intended to recruit him!" The bald youth burst into laughter, leaning in close as he lowered his voice. "His Highness Huang Tian hails from a native planet. Yes, exactly as you're thinking—the planet he was born on was designated by your subordinates as a Paradise planet. And now, His Highness Huang Tian has caught the eye of a supreme figure and entered the core circle of the Virtual Corporation..." Mo Jia's eyes widened to dinner plates. Huang Tian... native planet... three Laws... core circle of the Virtual Corporation... Paradise planet... Everything clicked together. It all connected! "I... I hate this!" He wanted to scream at the heavens. How could his luck be so wretched? Why did that Zhonghuang Taiyi have to originate from a native planet—and why did that very planet have to be designated as a Paradise World by his own subordinates?! Just as Mo Jia was on the verge of spitting blood, on another yellowish planet, Fan Ya and Miao Sha—the very pair who had orchestrated the "source-energy resurgence" on New Star—were likewise seized by a squad of soldiers and hauled, dazed and terrified, to the imperial capital star of the Divine Light Empire. That day, on the imperial capital star, fifty-nine million four hundred and eighty thousand people knelt upon the ground, including the Emperor of the Divine Light Empire, Fifth Prince Mo Jia, and every single member of the Paradise Corporation. The Divine Light Empire's old ancestor, along with the rest of the imperial royal family and countless subjects, watched in trembling terror. "I hereby announce: you are all sentenced to death!" the bald youth shouted. As the words fell, amidst the weeping and wailing of tens of millions, their bodies exploded in unison, bursting into plumes of bloody mist that hung over the imperial capital star for ten days without dispersing. Alone amidst the scene, the bald youth smiled as he watched the recording of Mo Jia and the others being executed. "Surely His Highness will appreciate this meeting gift."