At the pinnacle of the Virtual Universe Thunder Island. A massive, ancient table of cyan-gray stone hovered amidst an endless flow of energy.

Six colossal stone chairs surrounded this cyan-gray table, each featuring intricate carvings on its backrest. Even the table surface was laden with detailed etchings, depicting various scenes.

"Teacher." "Sit first." City Lord Chaos approached, settling into a seat directly before indicating the second position to his left, "You sit there." "Yes." Luo Feng took his seat, his gaze sweeping over the stone table before him, filled with curiosity. In all the years he had followed his teacher, he had never known of this place within the City Lord's palace.

This location... was actually a floating platform constructed high above the main body of City Lord Chaos's palace.

Luo Feng’s eyes traced the carvings on the stone table—scenes showing three powerful beings respectfully bowing to one, another single expert slaying all directions, and two figures jointly attacking a host of others... The etchings were abstract, yet Luo Feng could faintly distinguish City Lord Chaos among them.

"And my chair," before sitting, Luo Feng had also noticed the carvings on his chair’s backrest. Several scenes were etched there too, such as one figure facing tens of thousands of densely packed figures, another casting a vast, elliptical shield over thousands, and those thousands subsequently falling in a tragic wave...

"You must have guessed by now," City Lord Chaos smiled at Luo Feng. "The Human Race Supreme Council has unanimously approved.

You are now the 19th Universe Master of our Human Race." Luo Feng first suppressed an overwhelming surge of joy. Then, he gasped in astonishment, unable to contain his surprise: "The 19th?" Did that mean the Human Race already possessed eighteen Universe Masters?

This number was incredibly high based on the data Luo Feng was privy to. Races like the Bug Race and Machine Race had very few Universe Masters; it was difficult to say if they even reached ten.

The number of Universe Masters among the Demon Race likely matched that of humanity at best. "Mm," City Lord Chaos nodded slightly.

"The data I know suggests..." Luo Feng was slightly confused. His previous clearance level as a top-tier Universe Overlord allowed him to access the files of Universe Masters from other powers, including those within the Human Race.

According to his records, the Human Race should have maintained fifteen Universe Masters. "Why eighteen?" "You found fifteen, perhaps?" City Lord Chaos chuckled.

"No matter the faction, there are always secrets. Even among our Universe Masters, the Human Race has some who are not publicly disclosed.

Excluding you, the entire Human Race has eighteen Universe Masters. My Virtual Universe Company and Giant Axe Martial Arena each have five; the Universe Mercenary Alliance has three; and the Universe First Bank and Universe Star River Bank each have two Universe Masters." Luo Feng listened intently.

This indeed differed from what he previously knew. He had only been aware of four within the Virtual Universe Company, meaning one had remained hidden all along.

"Of course, including you, our Virtual Universe Company now has six," City Lord Chaos smiled. "You are also the first among all my disciples to reach the level of Universe Master.

Hahaha... at least on this point, I've managed to gain an advantage over my junior apprentice-brother." "Junior apprentice-brother?" Luo Feng raised an eyebrow, unable to hide his curiosity.

"Teacher has junior apprentice-brothers?" "Two junior apprentice-brothers," City Lord Chaos replied. "The two junior apprentice-brothers I speak of are Universe Masters.

If we include those who are not Universe Masters, there are quite a few." Luo Feng nodded. He himself had a multitude of fellow disciples.

Wait! If there were junior apprentice-brothers, there must be a master!

Since Teacher City Lord Chaos had two junior apprentice-brothers who were Universe Masters, it implied... that master had guided three Universe Masters?

Who was this master? "Let me first introduce you to the Universe Masters tracing back to my lineage within the Virtual Universe Company," City Lord Chaos said with a smile.

"The first, Lord of Dragon Walk. Dragon Walk is a very early veteran of our Virtual Universe Company lineage, having achieved Universe Master status long ago.

You have met him." Luo Feng nodded. "The second, my junior apprentice-brother, Lord of Ice Peak.

Extremely unapproachable, frigidly aloof, but he has consistently performed excellently in major affairs." Luo Feng was also familiar with Lord of Ice Peak. Lord of Ice Peak was a supreme existence in close-quarters combat, possessing terrifying combat strength, ranking among the peak Universe Masters.

He was likely only slightly weaker than City Lord Chaos. In the vast universe, he was an absolutely powerful entity, possibly even stronger than Emperor Yan.

"The third, my junior apprentice-brother, Lord of Darkness. He rarely intervenes in the major or minor affairs of our Human Race and seldom shows himself; few even know of his existence.

During our time under our teacher's tutelage, he was one of the most low-profile and secretive, becoming a Universe Master quietly without anyone noticing," City Lord Chaos continued, smiling. Luo Feng was inwardly startled.

Lord of Darkness... He had never heard of this entity.

"The major powers of the universe are unaware that our Human Race possesses this being. However, Lord of Darkness is quite famous in the Outer Universe Sea!

He is a terrifying Universe Master... Hahaha, when major universe factions encounter Lord of Darkness in the Outer Universe Sea, they likely have no idea that he belongs to the Human Race," City Lord Chaos stated.

"The fourth, Lord of Ghost Marquis," City Lord Chaos explained. "Before you entered the highest tiers, among the five Universe Masters of our Virtual Universe Company, Lord of Ghost Marquis was the youngest, and he is the direct disciple of my junior apprentice-brother, Lord of Darkness." "Ah," Luo Feng exclaimed in surprise.

Lord of Ghost Marquis was known for being exceedingly arrogant, flamboyant, and possessing formidable killing power in battle. While weaker than Lord of Ice Peak and City Lord Chaos, he was still a relatively powerful Universe Master in the universe, perhaps comparable in fighting power to the strength that Lord of Blood Cloud feigned in the past.

To think such a Universe Master was the disciple of Lord of Darkness. "My junior apprentice-brother's disciple has become a Universe Master, and now, my disciple has also become a Universe Master," City Lord Chaos smiled.

"From this moment on, our Virtual Universe lineage possesses six Universe Masters." "Good, I will summon those four now." "At the very least, let our Virtual Universe lineage gather first," City Lord Chaos proposed. Luo Feng nodded slightly.

Like allies in battle, the internal structure of the Human Race was divided into several small factions, and his own Virtual Universe lineage certainly counted as one. However, based on the current composition, this small faction's combat strength appeared terrifyingly potent.

City Lord Chaos and Lord of Ice Peak were among the absolute top tier of Universe Masters; Lord of Dragon Walk was not far behind; and Lord of Darkness sounded mysterious and unpredictable, likely comparable to City Lord Chaos. Lord of Ghost Marquis was the junior, yet his battle prowess was already extremely high.

Within this constellation, Luo Feng estimated his own combat strength was likely comparable only to Lord of Ghost Marquis—of course, this excluded his Star Tower. Luo Feng sat, waiting in silence.

Moments later, a figure approached from the distance. He was tall and slender, with a horn curving upwards from each ear, resembling two scythes, and an eye set in the center of his brow.

He wore a set of deep-cyan, scale-like armor. Since this was within the virtual universe, he was not carrying his signature 'Ghost Marquis Sting'.

"Lord of Ghost Marquis," Luo Feng recognized him instantly and stood up. "Luo Feng," Lord of Ghost Marquis was an expert saturated with murderous intent, but upon seeing Luo Feng, he walked directly over with a smile, calling out loudly.

"Ghost Marquis," Luo Feng replied with a grin. "Senior Martial Uncle," Lord of Ghost Marquis performed a slight bow to City Lord Chaos as a sign of respect.

Though it was only a cursory gesture, it sufficed, given that he, too, was a Universe Master. "Sit," City Lord Chaos instructed.

As soon as Lord of Ghost Marquis sat down, he burst into laughter. "Senior Martial Uncle, our Virtual Universe Company lineage now has one more Universe Master than the Giant Axe Martial Arena!

Hahaha, the looks those Universe Masters from the Giant Axe Martial Arena gave us during the resolution earlier were quite amusing." "Quite amusing indeed..." Another figure walked in from the distance. That mountain-like, robust physique, the emanating dragon-like winds—it was clearly Lord of Dragon Walk.

"It's been a long time since I've seen the Universe Masters from the Giant Axe Martial Arena look so displeased," Lord of Dragon Walk chuckled as he approached, taking a seat, and nodding a greeting to Luo Feng. "Luo Feng, you were incredibly formidable on Primitive Star.

Killing over six thousand Universe Venerables in one move—we estimate that for those three alliances, each suffered a loss equivalent to at least one peak domain-type ultimate treasure." Luo Feng shook his head. "The calculation was flawed.

I should have entangled Lord Banfu for a bit longer, drawing more Universe Venerables into my attack range." Lord of Dragon Walk and Lord of Ghost Marquis were momentarily stunned, then broke into hearty laughter. Amidst the laughter, an icy aura permeated the area.

It was a silver-haired man with streaks of white at his temples, bearing a battle sword, clad in ancient, blood-spattered armor. Judging purely by appearance...

among the six Universe Masters of the Virtual Universe Company, Lord of Ice Peak was likely the most handsome! Furthermore, he aligned with the general aesthetic preferences within the Human Race.

Lord of Ice Peak gave a slight nod to City Lord Chaos, then sat directly down. His gaze swept over Lord of Dragon Walk, Luo Feng, and Lord of Ghost Marquis.

As their eyes met his, the three nodded slightly in return. "So cold," Luo Feng thought internally.

After a brief wait, a final figure approached from afar. Before the figure was clearly visible, an eerie, dark aura began to spread.

Through the endless flow of energy, the silhouette gradually clarified: he was simply draped in a black outer robe, beneath which lay strange armor combining silver and black. He was bald, with skin as pale as jade.

Extremely bizarre and complex black secret patterns covered his head. Wherever his gaze fell...

it felt like the flicking tongue of a viper in the darkness behind one's neck. Even the surrounding space seemed affected by him, falling into a strange, heavy atmosphere.

"Junior apprentice-brother," City Lord Chaos spoke. "Senior martial brother," Lord of Darkness replied.

Luo Feng was suddenly stunned. He suddenly perceived a vast difference between his teacher, City Lord Chaos, and Lord of Darkness.

Where City Lord Chaos sat, the surrounding area radiated endless peace and magnanimity, a serene stillness! Whereas the area around Lord of Darkness was filled with infinite darkness and malevolence that chilled the heart.

Their auras were diametrically opposed. And yet, they seemed perfectly matched.

"As expected of one who could mentor Lord of Ghost Marquis," Luo Feng mused. Lord of Darkness had taken his seat and turned his gaze toward Luo Feng: "Senior martial brother, is this your disciple, Luo Feng?"