The Lord of Yuan Ao, suddenly shrinking to the size of a raised head, violently expanded, accompanied by a burst of wild, unrestrained laughter: "Hahahaha, Nine Netherworld! The legendary Nine Netherworld! Terrifying Nine Netherworld... This is his legendary ultimate move, the Nine Netherworld Eye, famed across the Cosmic Sea, making the major powers tremble. But now I possess the Divine Wood! The Nine Netherworld is no threat to me at all!" Ha ha... In the original universe, the might of the Universe’s Strongest is limited to a certain extent, only slightly surpassing this legendary ultimate move of the Nine Netherworld. No one can touch me? Come here, Human Luo Feng! Lord You Nan, Lord An Mang, you three little fellows, come here so I can **** you all."

Lord You Nan’s expression turned grave: "Let's go."

Luo Feng nodded, and the massive serpentine head of Lord An Mang also gave a slight dip.

Whoosh!

Three streaks of light flashed and swiftly flew away.

Lord Yuan Ao, clutching the enormous black Divine Wood, stood in the void, gazing at the three fleeing figures, laughing wildly: "Only running away, ha ha, the Ancestral God Sect? Ha ha, you cannot touch the Universe’s Strongest!" With this Divine Wood, I am practically on par with the Universe’s Strongest. I fear none of you either. Hahahaha…"

The three streaks of light in the distance vanished via instant teleportation as soon as they cleared the spatial lockdown zone.

In a silent void within Yuan Ao Secret Realm, a sprawling mountain range floated, with waterfalls cascading down its peaks.

Luo Feng, Lord You Nan, and Lord An Mang were gathered near a pool beneath one of these waterfalls.

"Splash!"

A hazy light ignited.

A figure emerged from it—it was the Lord of Nine Netherworld, clad in his luxurious black robes.

"Lord of Nine Netherworld." Luo Feng, Lord You Nan, and Lord An Mang all turned to look.

"Very strong," the Lord of Nine Netherworld shook his head. "My ultimate secret technique, combined with self-detonation, could have severely injured him had he not possessed that Divine Wood. But he relied on the black Divine Wood to fiercely defend; over ninety percent of my attack was repelled. I estimate he only lost one-thousandth of his divine body in that exchange."

Luo Feng, Lord You Nan, and Lord An Mang fell silent for a moment.

Managing to inflict even one-thousandth of damage on Lord Yuan Ao was formidable. Luo Feng’s previous battles against him… had failed to wound him at all; it was Lord Yuan Ao who had suffered minor divine body loss due to overexertion from repeatedly using his strongest secret techniques. If Lord Yuan Ao had unleashed his ultimate secret technique relying on the black Divine Wood, while he might still be at a disadvantage, he could certainly have neutralized Luo Feng’s attacks without suffering any divine body depletion.

"Nine Netherworld," said Lord An Mang, "within the original universe, only the Universe’s Strongest surpasses you in terms of offensive capabilities."

"If even you cannot handle him, then what are we to do?" Lord You Nan added.

Luo Feng also frowned.

Since becoming the Galaxy Lord, Luo Feng had occasionally chatted with his teacher, the City Lord of Chaos, gaining a deeper understanding of the strength levels of Universe Masters.

Based on current knowledge…

Universe Masters were categorized into: Initial Entry, Ordinary, Peak, and Top-Tier.

The Top-Tier referred to those whose life gene level, supreme treasures, and secret techniques had all reached the absolute pinnacle. Beings like Lord Bing Feng, Lord Xu Jin, and many others scattered throughout the universe fell into this echelon.

However, figures like the Lord of Star River, the City Lord of Chaos, and the Lord of Nine Netherworld… represented an even more elite subset among them.

For instance, the Lord of Star River's secret technique could achieve a "perfect combination of dual ultimate secret techniques!" While the Lord of Nine Netherworld’s avatars, despite having a lesser life gene level—only a thousand times difference—had an ultimate secret technique… that, upon self-detonation, could concentrate all the energy of the entire divine body into a single burst! The resulting might would surge astonishingly!

Therefore…

The Lord of Star River, the City Lord of Chaos, and the Lord of Nine Netherworld were considered the pinnacle of the Top-Tier, potentially known as the strongest Universe Masters currently recognized in the universe!

Of course, the Lord of Nine Netherworld had an obvious weakness: each avatar could only unleash that terrifying attack once. After execution, another avatar would have to be transported via divine kingdom teleportation, by which time the enemy would long have fled. Thus, the Lord of Star River and the City Lord of Chaos were comparatively more frightening.

When comparing the Lord of Star River and the City Lord of Chaos, the City Lord of Chaos lacked the sustained capability in deploying his ultimate moves that the Lord of Star River possessed.

The divine body of the Lord of Star River remained a mystery; it was only known that he could unleash his ultimate techniques repeatedly and sustain them for a considerable time, naturally making the Lord of Star River’s deterrent force in the vast cosmos slightly stronger than even the City Lord of Chaos.

Above the category of ‘Strongest Universe Masters’ came the Universe’s Strongest!

The original universe placed severe restraints on the might of the Universe’s Strongest; every such being faced fetters… resulting in the actual displayed strength of a Universe’s Strongest being only slightly superior to that of the Lord of Star River or the City Lord of Chaos. Nothing more! Of course, their advantage was also clear… they could unleash such power continuously without worry about divine body depletion, as this level of exertion was far from reaching the limits of a Universe’s Strongest.

"In a direct confrontation within the original universe, no one can kill Lord Yuan Ao," stated the Lord of Nine Netherworld.

"Then what do we do?"

"None of us can hold him off."

The Lord of Nine Netherworld swept his gaze over Luo Feng and the other two: "We wait! We wait until the others arrive before deciding anything."

"Understood."

"It's the only way."

The first to arrive were the Insect Race, represented by Lord Ming Lian. The Insect Race had pitifully few Universe Masters, but every single one was terrifyingly powerful. The weakest Insect Race Universe Master could be considered Peak level. Not only were they adept at soul-based techniques like illusion casting, but they could also employ material attacks through their subordinate insect warriors, making them exceptionally troublesome opponents.

"Rumble nmn"

The spatial fabric of the universe collapsed; spatial particles flowed like countless grains of sand cascading down.

A dazzling, dark-gold Mother Nest hung suspended in the void, encircled by no fewer than fourteen powerful insect warriors. Each warrior exuded terrifying might; every one could be called a Top-Tier Universe Hegemon, and under the conscious control of a Universe Master, their power was incomparably ferocious.

"Whoosh!"

Countless blades of light converged, sweeping across the vastness.

"Hahahaha... Ming Lian... useless, these tactics of yours are futile," Lord Yuan Ao, standing a million kilometers tall and wielding the millions-of-kilometers-long black Divine Wood, swept and smashed through the void, unstoppable, directly blocking the combined assault of the insect warriors.

In the distance, the Lord of Nine Netherworld, Luo Feng, Lord An Mang, and Lord You Nan watched.

Lord Ming Lian was ruthless in her retreat tactics; knowing she could not win, she quickly withdrew with her insect warriors, subsequently rejoining the group with the Lord of Nine Netherworld and the others.

"Nine Netherworld, you didn't even help me," the stunningly beautiful Lord Ming Lian said, her delicate wings trembling slightly as her beautiful eyes fixed on the Lord of Nine Netherworld.

"You saw how powerful he is; my helping you would be useless," the Lord of Nine Netherworld replied with a shake of his head.

"Then what does your Ancestral God Sect plan to do?" Lord Ming Lian inquired.

"And what about your Insect Race?" the Lord of Nine Netherworld asked back.

"I will observe and report everything back to the Empress. The final decision on what to do rests with Her Majesty," stated Lord Ming Lian.

The Lord of Nine Netherworld chuckled: "Then we wait."

Each faction that arrived first at the Yuan Ao Secret Realm to confront Lord Yuan Ao suffered heavy losses. Fortunately, the Universe’s Strongest from every major power knew that Lord Yuan Ao possessed an artifact, so the Universe Masters dispatched were either incredibly strong or equipped with supreme life-saving measures; consequently, no one perished.

"Haha, look, Lord Tian Lang and Lord You Mo have arrived too."

"Just the two of them? They are also destined to be beaten."

A battle was currently unfolding in the void. It was the Demon Race representatives, Lord Tian Lang and Lord You Mo, joining forces against Lord Yuan Ao.

"Hah! Tian Lang, You Mo, you two think you can fight me? What kind of things are you?" Lord Yuan Ao stood tall in the void, wielding the black Divine Wood, like an invincible god.

He was unrestrained and arrogant, his black Divine Wood sometimes violently stretching out to lash, sometimes smashing down with crushing force. Lord Yuan Ao understood that he could not kill these individuals who held trump cards, so he saw no need to use his ultimate secret technique. He limited himself to using only ultimate secret techniques each time. With Lord Yuan Ao's massive divine body, the consumption from an ultimate secret technique could be naturally replenished by the body itself; no matter how long the battle lasted, he would not tire.

"Hahahaha!"

"Even using an ultimate secret technique, I can **** both of you." Lord Yuan Ao’s black Divine Wood, every swing sent Lord Tian Lang flying, or forced Lord You Mo to retreat repeatedly mid-air.

"Bastard…"

"Damn Yuan Ao!"

Both Lord Tian Lang and Lord You Mo were furious. They had already noticed that the commotion from their initial clash with Lord Yuan Ao had attracted the attention of the group of Universe Masters watching from afar—the Lord of Nine Netherworld, Lord Ming Lian, Lord Jin Jiao, and others belonging respectively to the Ancestral God Sect, the Insect Race, and the Star Beast Alliance. That contingent of Universe Masters was observing from a distance with leisure. Lord Tian Lang and Lord You Mo wanted to salvage some dignity!

But Lord Yuan Ao, who was only marginally stronger than them before he acquired the black wood, now clearly held a distinct edge even when using only ultimate secret techniques! They were utterly suppressed.

"No more fighting."

"The Lord of Nine Netherworld and the others surely didn't gain any advantage either. Let's go."

"Go."

Once Lord Tian Lang and Lord You Mo made their decision, they acted immediately. Lord Tian Lang instantly burrowed into the Tian Lang Palace… while Lord You Mo instantly dissolved into endless black airflow. Both departed swiftly.

"Hahahaha… The Ancestral God Sect, the Insect Race, the Star Beast Alliance, the Demon Race… all of them fled because of me! I know you all covet this Divine Wood, but it’s in my hands, so just glare at it! Even the Universe’s Strongest seems useless against me. Hahahaha…" Lord Yuan Ao laughed loudly in the void.

Time passed, and waves of powerful experts arrived. Most of the universe’s major super-powers had shown up, and every arriving contingent was beaten back before naturally merging with the group gathered around the Lord of Nine Netherworld.

"Hmph." Lord Tian Lang, completely black like ink, gazed towards the distant human Luo Feng. Its four hooves rested on a peak floating in a distant secret realm, a fierce glint flashing in its eyes: "Human Luo Feng!"

Luo Feng, seated cross-legged on a rock nearby, sensed the gaze and looked over, meeting Lord Tian Lang’s eyes.

"Tian Lang," Luo Feng gave a light smile, then turned away, ignoring the Tian Lang Lord.

Luo Feng surveyed the assembled Universe Masters of various races—some standing, some seated, some sprawled out in the distance—and a question arose in his mind: Strange, why haven't the Universe Masters from my human race arrived? Of the super-powers, only the Machine Race and my human race are missing. I should ask Teacher!

Immediately, Luo Feng connected his consciousness to the Virtual Universe.