The giant man finished his instructions and turned to leave the Thunder Arena. With his Pseudo-God Realm sight, regarding Ye Chen, a Ghost God Realm cultivator, was like looking at an ant; he paid no mind to the mobile palaces either.

Shortly after the giant man departed, Ye Chen led the Purple Cloud Island Master back to the Ancient Martial City. Based on prior estimates, the combined population of all the bases established in the Ancient World this time amounted to roughly one hundred million people!

Ye Chen summoned Xu Tianguo to the main hall and handed him the jade plaque, instructing him to copy it for distribution to the leaders of every major base city. This plaque contained fundamental information about the White Lotus Divine Province, meant to facilitate the swift acclimatization of the lower-level members to this new world.

In the Ancient World, the 'Ascension Force' and spatial confinement are 100 times that of Earth! Everyone's strength is thus weakened by a factor of 100! Furthermore, the flow of time within this world is 100 times faster than the outside! One year passing on Earth equals four years inside! This meant they would only be able to leave after 300 years!

As these pieces of information were disseminated, all members received the news through their ships, palaces, and city systems, initiating widespread communication. Unbeknownst to them, not far from the Thunder Arena, a group of beast-skin figures stood before the metal palace entrance, staring grimly toward the distant encampment of the Spiritual Civilization.

"Newcomers have arrived..."

"Tsk, tsk, it’s been so many years since our last civilization was annihilated before a new one was born. I wonder which province on Earth they hail from."

"Jie jie, whoever they are, the fat sheep have arrived. Look at their numbers—tsk, tsk—enough to feed us for a good long while..."

The group exchanged glances, cruelty flashing in their eyes.

They stood 55 meters tall, bodies thick and sturdy, with black hair covering their chests and thighs. They resembled large radishes, utterly grotesque, sporting yellow teeth that suggested centuries without cleaning.

Across the vast Thunder Arena, due to the world's restrictive forces and oppression, even the air density was significantly higher, and vision was reduced a hundredfold. Otherwise, with Ye Chen’s current strength, he would have spotted this group of prehistoric humans—who were about a city’s distance away—upon arrival.

As it stood, Ye Chen's sharpest sight could only reach about three kilometers.

Within the Spiritual Civilization led by Ye Chen, many cities and palaces were clustered together, forming a circle, establishing their encampment.

Ye Chen sat cross-legged in the main hall, his brow furrowed in silent contemplation.

Ever since arriving in the Ancient World, he had sensed a faint, oppressive atmosphere. Although he had entered once in his previous life, he had spent most of his time in an unnamed cave dwelling in the borderlands, receiving an inheritance. After gaining the first stage of the inheritance, he lacked the power to proceed to the second and was forcefully expelled.

To save his life, he immediately rushed back toward the Thunder Arena. Coincidentally, an unprecedented battle was raging there at the time, with many God-level powerhouses unleashing devastating attacks that tore a rift in the gate of the Ancient World, creating a black hole that sucked in the nearest Spiritual Civilization members, teleporting them to Earth.

This was how he managed to return to Earth.

That was the only chance to return to the surface!

If he had missed it, Ye Chen would have had to cultivate until he was powerful enough to tear open the fabric of the Ancient World himself to return to Earth—by which time, Earth would likely be overrun by zombies and monsters.

Although the Ice Age and the Volcanic Age, two major cataclysms, had caused a massive extinction of monsters on Earth, some of these creatures had developed high intelligence and gained access to relic spaces. They slipped inside when the disasters erupted. Consequently, after the Volcanic Age, a portion of these monsters, led by higher-grade fiends, emerged from those relic spaces after three years of breeding, forming a significant hostile force!

"Now, I must stabilize our position here in the Thunder Arena before I can enter that unnamed cave dwelling and claim the inheritance! It’s a shame that inheritance detached from me upon my death; it requires a complete restart to receive it again!"

Ye Chen's primary objective for coming to the Ancient World was that unnamed cave.

In his past life, while hunting monsters in the wilderness, he was pursued by a large group and narrowly escaped by stumbling upon that nameless cave, where he received the first stage of the inheritance!

"I heard the inheritance has three stages!"

"The first required a Thousand-Rank Physique. I spent an unknown amount of time inside to complete it, breaking through to the Ghost God Realm in one go, placing me among the powerful!"

"The second stage requires the Half-God Realm!"

"And the third one, I suspect, demands even more..."

Ye Chen felt an intense longing in his heart. If not for the current precarious standing of the Spiritual Civilization within the Thunder Arena, he would have already rushed toward the unnamed cave.

The Thunder Arena serves as a reception center for newly ascended civilizations, allowing them to remain here for free for one million years! Although resources here are scarce, the harsh environment is ideal for forging strong individuals!

Given the foundation of the Spiritual Civilization, they were merely infants here. If not for his memories of the past life, Ye Chen wouldn't have dared to come, knowing how dire the situation would be if they were targeted by that ancient prehistoric civilization.

"According to my previous memories, there are four major overlords within this Thunder Arena, each occupying one of the four cardinal directions, and every one of these four factions is guarded by at least one Pseudo-God Realm expert!"

"In addition to them, there are numerous smaller civilizations..." Some civilizations, upon birthing a powerhouse, would abandon their kin, leave the Thunder Arena, and move to the nearby Azure Water City. Although the two locations weren't far apart, leaving the Thunder Arena meant losing the protective shield, exposing them to invasive noxious gases and attacks from bandits, 'Lost Souls,' and monsters along the way."

"This Thunder Arena is, after all, just an arena; it lacks resources and the ability to grow crops. We must hunt outside every time, and over time, there will inevitably be dangers leading to casualties and a gradual population decrease." Ye Chen clenched his fist, deciding to wait for some time until the situation stabilized and the hundred million population could function normally before heading to the unnamed cave.

In the blink of an eye, a month passed.

During this month, Ye Chen cultivated diligently, gradually grasping the first stage of the Nine Absolutes Spear, believing he would master it soon.

Over the month, the Spiritual Civilization gradually stabilized, resuming normal operations. Everyone adapted to the local gravity. Due to strict prior regulations, personnel from the major base cities had not ventured far beyond the Spiritual Civilization’s designated encampment, and everything remained peaceful.

One day, as Ye Chen sat cross-legged in the main hall cultivating, his arm communicator suddenly began flashing urgently. His eyes snapped open, and he quickly activated the device. He heard Xu Tianguo’s anxious voice: "Something’s wrong, someone is trying to rob us!"

"Robbery?" Ye Chen paused, then his expression darkened. He took a step, surging out of the hall like a hurricane. As soon as he exited, he saw a cluster of imposing figures floating above the boundary of the Spiritual Civilization's territory, their auras vast and powerful.

On the other side, Xu Tianguo, accompanied by Bai Long, the Purple Cloud Island Master, and others, stood hovering above the border, occasionally exchanging sharp shouts.

Whoosh!

A cold glint flashed in Ye Chen's eyes as he sped toward the confrontation.

"Guild Leader!" Xu Tianguo's eyes lit up upon seeing Ye Chen arrive.

Ye Chen surveyed the scene. Besides Xu Tianguo, Bai Long, and the Purple Cloud Island Master's group, he noticed the powerhouses from the other base cities were absent. His brow furrowed, and a slow shadow of gloom spread across his face.

"Brother!" Ye Zhu’s figure flickered, appearing beside Ye Chen. He quickly reported, "These people claim to be from the Bruu Civilization. They demanded to 'borrow' one million of our people. When we refused, they threatened to take them by force!"

"Bruu Civilization?" Ye Chen's eyes flashed with cold light. This was a minor civilization whose glorious history on Earth was shorter than the Spiritual Civilization's. It had risen briefly before being wiped out by dark creatures, forcing them to flee into the Ancient World.

The Bruu people were uniformly tall, and their greatest aptitude lay in medicine! Every Bruu native was inherently an excellent physician, proficient in all forms of healing arts. Once they awakened their Qi, their power carried innate energy capable of healing any wound and purging any toxin.

Glancing over, Ye Chen saw about a thousand people from the Bruu Civilization—not a large number—but with a slight focus of his eyes, he realized every single one of these thousand individuals was a Ghost God Realm expert!

"In my previous life, I encountered the Bruu Civilization first as well; I was defeated by Yun Shaojing back then..." A cold, sharp curve touched Ye Chen's lips as he fixed his gaze on a beast-skinned man leading the Bruu contingent. This man was about six meters tall, covered in dense fur, wearing a leather vest, and possessed an exceedingly plain appearance, yet an intensely dangerous aura emanated from him! Divine Power!

Ye Chen frowned. He hadn't expected them to dispatch a Half-God expert. Although he was currently certain of defeating a peak Tenth-Layer Ghost God Realm expert, facing a Half-God granted him less than a fifty percent chance of success.

The gap between a Ghost God and a Half-God was not minor. Even the most ordinary Half-God could instantly annihilate a peak Ghost God wearing high-grade Ghost Treasures!

Of course, Ye Chen's Holy Flame Armor, being a supreme artifact among peak Ghost Treasures, offered some mitigation against Divine Power, but the effect was minimal. At most, he could sustain two solid hits before being rattled enough to vomit blood.

"Stinking brat!" The beast-skinned man glared at Ye Chen with arrogance. "Yesterday, I saw you speaking with that guide; you must be the overlord of this so-called civilization. Hand over one million people quickly, and I will spare you. Otherwise..."

"Or what?" Ye Chen raised an eyebrow.

The beast-skinned man's expression slowly darkened. "Are you provoking me? A mere Sixth-Layer Ghost God kid. While you might be the strongest in your civilization, here in the Ancient World, within this Thunder Arena, you aren't even worth a fart!"

Ye Chen stared straight at him for a long moment, then suddenly averted his gaze. The chill in his eyes receded, and his voice was level. "Seen enough of the show? Why aren't you coming out yet!"

At these words, everyone present was momentarily stunned.

Some of the surrounding civilizations, secretly observing the situation with high-powered satellite mirrors, also froze, their expressions turning oddly speculative.

Just then—"Hahahaha..." A burst of loud laughter echoed from below. "I just finished my beef meal, waiting too long, hahaha..." As the laughter faded, a figure draped in white suddenly shot out like a laser beam, stopping precisely beside Ye Chen... without the slightest sense of abruptness, as if he had been standing there all along.

As the light dissipated, a youth completely wrapped in white bandages materialized before the crowd.