The Lord of An Yong stood in the shallows, the one-eyed phantom in the halo behind his head looking monstrously fierce.

"Silver-winged, black-haired human!"

"Coming to save the Lord of Flint, and you are with the Lord of Lang An... it seems you must also be a human from the Original Universe." The Lord of An Yong mused. Humans have emerged in all three great cosmic eras, and in the First and Third Eras, the human race reached the pinnacle among all races!

Only in the Second Cosmic Era was the human race a weaker force, having produced only a single Universe Master.

Perhaps a race that has produced a Universe Master in the Original Universe could be considered a peak race.

But the First and Second Cosmic Eras, having undergone complete reincarnations... their numbers of Universe Masters were significantly higher. Therefore, although the Second Era's human race was comparable in strength to the humans of the Original Universe like Luo Feng, they were not considered a peak race in the context of the Second Era.

"I have never seen him."

"And he is not in the database collected by my Divine Eye Race." The Lord of An Yong pondered. "This must be a newly emerged expert. Moreover, he is using that Flame Sand Cup belonging to the Lord of Yuan Ao. The Lord of Yuan Ao appeared last time and also used the Flame Sand Cup, clearly indicating this human has possessed it for a short time."

"Could the Lord of Yuan Ao be dead?"

"Otherwise, how would the Flame Sand Cup end up in this human's hands?" Numerous doubts surfaced in the mind of the Lord of An Yong.

The Divine Eye Race of the First Cosmic Era possessed seven Universe Masters, naturally possessing seven small universes as well.

Within one of those small universes.

"Seventh True Master."

The avatar of the Lord of An Yong stepped out of the exquisitely beautiful, semi-transparent palace emitting a white glow, looking up at the sky. "Has a new Universe Master been born in the human race of the Original Universe? I was about to kill the Lord of Flint just now, but I was stopped by a silver-winged, black-haired man. I want to know his information."

"Stopped? Is he stronger than you?" A voice came from the sky.

"No, he is naturally far inferior to me." The avatar of the Lord of An Yong looked up. "However, he possesses the Flame Sand Cup and a special treasure capable of controlling time and space, which allowed him to suppress my Ice Sand Sea. Furthermore, there were three of them present—him, the Lord of Lang An, and the Lord of Flint. Dealing with three while I was alone, even if we tangled further, a decisive victory would be difficult. So I did not pursue them further."

Previously, the Lord of An Yong had instantly teleported over and found the three of them, including Luo Feng.

If he had been supremely confident...

The Lord of An Yong would have immediately cast a space lock and engaged them again.

But he knew clearly that firstly, the opponents had the advantage in domain control, allowing them to escape at will. Secondly, there were three of them. Thus, he simply watched Luo Feng and the others leave.

"Wait a moment, I will contact the investigation department." A voice sounded from the sky.

"My apologies for troubling you, Lord Seventh True Master." The avatar of the Lord of An Yong bowed respectfully and expressed his gratitude.

A moment passed—

In reality, the nearly one hundred factions in the Sea of Universe were sometimes engaged in combat, and sometimes involved in clandestine trades. For example, trading treasures, or exchanging intelligence. As long as benefits and interests existed, various transactions would naturally occur.

And the Divine Eye Race of the First Cosmic Era, being an overwhelmingly powerful faction, had quite a few entities seeking to curry favor with them.

"We have found the information." The voice rang out from the sky.

The Lord of An Yong immediately looked up.

"Silver-winged and black-haired, someone you haven't seen—that must be Luo Feng, the newly ascended Universe Master of the human race in the Original Universe." The voice from the sky stated. "His personal strength is average; in terms of material attacks, he is only comparable to the Lord of Ban Fu. The strongest secret technique he uses resembles a miniature Chaos World."

"Oh... a newly ascended youngster?" The avatar of the Lord of An Yong smiled. "The Lord of Ban Fu excels at soul attacks, but his material attacks are quite weak. It seems this youngster is rather frail."

"The six tiers of Universe Masters—he should belong to the second tier," the voice from the sky clarified.

"It seems his special treasure is what makes him hard to deal with; the human race has given him a precious ultimate treasure for protection and escape." The Lord of An Yong smiled. A youngster whose only notable skill is escaping is hardly a threat. "Only the second tier..."

In the First Cosmic Era, the strength of Universe Masters was divided into six tiers.

The first tier: Newly ascended Universe Masters, life gene level 100 times, who have not yet created Ultimate Secret Techniques, and whose ultimate weapons are ordinary.

The second tier: Life gene level 1000 times, who have created Ultimate Secret Techniques, and possess decent ultimate treasures. This is the 'ordinary standard.'

The third tier: The 'peak standard,' such as Emperor Yan, the Lord of Flint, and others.

The fourth tier: The 'top standard,' such as the Lord of Ice Peak, the Lord of An Yong, or the Lord of Star River when not using ultimate moves.

The fifth tier: The pinnacle among the top—the level of the Lord of Star River and the City Lord of Chaos. They generally either create a merged ultimate secret technique or possess rare marvelous items.

The sixth tier... this division does not exist in the Original Universe. This sixth tier refers to those heaven-defying Universe Masters who possess Ultimate Treasures.

"Just a second-tier youngster," the Lord of An Yong scoffed.

The strength of the Lord of An Yong was considered fourth-tier.

But he possessed a plant-life avatar divine body, with a life gene level nearing ten thousand times, and armor that could reduce incoming attacks to one hundred-thousandth. Even Luo Feng, perhaps, could only match him after becoming a Universe Master. If it came down to an exchange of injuries, the Lord of Ice Peak and others would likely only be able to dodge cautiously.

"Heh heh."

"Peak domain-type ultimate treasures are truly too scarce. Among the nearly one hundred Universe Masters of my Divine Eye Race, the peak domain-type ultimate treasures have long been claimed by the strongest among us. If I could acquire one, Human Lord of the Galaxy, you would be doomed." The Lord of An Yong quietly looked forward to it.

The Divine Eye Race, after all, was the strongest among the peak races of the First Cosmic Era!

Seven Universe Masters! Nearly a hundred Universe Masters!

Each living an incomparably long life...

The Lord of An Yong, among the nearly one hundred Universe Masters of the Divine Eye Race, could only be considered 'average.'

"Just wait, Human Lord of the Galaxy."

"This is our first encounter."

"In the future, we will have plenty of opportunities to cross paths."

Outside the periphery of the Apex World, in the void surrounding a celestial body's mountain stone, three imposing figures stood.

"Lord of Flint, there's no need to..." Luo Feng began.

"You saved my life; that is the greatest debt of gratitude." The Lord of Flint held his head high. "The repayment I promised before was just that—repayment. You need not be humble. In the future, if you ever need anything... just notify me. No matter what I am doing, I will rush over immediately, without a hint of hesitation, even if it means giving my life."

Luo Feng let out a wry smile.

That was just the nature of the Lord of Flint.

Stubborn!

Incredibly stubborn!

Even if you criticized him, it wouldn't matter how high your future achievements might be. Once a promise was made, he would never back down, even if it meant wading through fire and water.

"Lord of Flint, you couldn't handle the danger this time?" Luo Feng couldn't help but ask. He was quite curious that someone who had survived so long in the Sea of Universe should possess some means of self-preservation.

"Even if I encountered a Universe Master, as long as they didn't use an Ultimate Treasure to attack me... I could hold them off for a long time. First, my ultimate weapon's ultimate move could block them, generally weakening over ninety percent of the power. Then, when it impacts my divine body armor, the threat becomes minimal," the Lord of Flint sighed. "Unfortunately, the combat style of this Lord of An Yong perfectly counters me... He is constantly changing moves unpredictably, while I am straightforward and aggressive, not skilled at blocking. And he even engaged in an exchange of injuries with me!"

"Actually, my divine body is also very strong; a hundred-thousand-kilometer divine body means I generally don't fear trading blows. But the Lord of An Yong is even fiercer when fighting head-on."

"Those who know several sets of ultimate secret techniques and can change moves instantly—there aren't many like that who are so unpredictable. Those who can overwhelm my defense are even fewer. And someone whose divine body confrontation is stronger than mine... that is even rarer," the Lord of Flint admitted. "In the entire Sea of Universe, there are only a few like that. Normally, if I spotted one from afar, I would flee immediately. I never expected to suffer a loss this time."

Luo Feng nodded.

That was right.

Knowing several sets of ultimate secret techniques, excelling at rapid movement changes, being known for fast attacks, and possessing stronger divine body defense than the Lord of Flint... these traits combined were indeed rare.

"Having suffered a loss this time, I have also made up my mind," the Lord of Flint declared. "My divine body suffered significant damage this time and will take a long time to recover. During this period of recuperation... I will thoroughly study shield defense methods. I am a 'Flint Special Lifeform'; I am naturally not flexible enough. I should create a shield combat style—one hand with a shield, the other with a long shuttle. That way, I'll be much safer."

"You should have done that long ago," the Lord of Lang An commented.

"Mhm," Luo Feng also nodded.

Different lifeforms would have different combat styles.

The Lord of Yuan Ao was like that; his massive size meant insufficient flexibility, so he also used a shield.

Of course—

Humans are naturally very flexible. Luo Feng, using a single saber, could easily block attacks quickly. Those huge rock lifeforms were much worse in that regard.

"I was too self-confident. Luo Feng, I, Flint, will never forget this great kindness. Just give the word if you need anything." The Lord of Flint's voice boomed. "I will return to the Original Universe first. Next time I come, I will bring a shield with me."

"No need to see me off," Luo Feng said with a smile.

The Lord of Flint also bid farewell to the Lord of Lang An, then instantly teleported away.

"Although my armor defense is ten times stronger than the Lord of Flint's, his divine power is several tens of times greater than mine... Combined, his defensive capability is indeed superior to mine. In terms of divine body size, he is also slightly larger than me," Luo Feng mused inwardly. Fortunately, he was more agile; even if he encountered the Lord of An Yong, he could still defend himself.

Moreover, relying on the Wu God Wings and the Flame Sand Cup...

He had the choice to fight or flee as he wished.

"I need to temper myself."

"My current weakness is... my attack secret techniques are only Ultimate Secret Techniques," Luo Feng thought silently. "Those at the peak level, like the Lord of Flint and the Lord of Lang An, have already created Ultimate Secret Techniques. The Lord of An Yong has created several sets of Ultimate Secret Techniques."

...

Afterward, Luo Feng and the Lord of Lang An parted ways, continuing to venture through the outer void of the Apex World.

Time flowed on...

While exploring the Apex World, Luo Feng occasionally encountered experts from various races who predated the Great Destruction. However, relying on the 'Wu God Wings' and the 'Flame Sand Cup,' he never encountered any real danger, as the top-tier Universe Masters and Universe Masters had all entered the inner domain of the Apex World.

One year, two years, three years...

Luo Feng, the human from the Original Universe, gradually became known among the experts of the other two great cosmic eras. They also learned that although this human Luo Feng's inherent strength might be average, he was exceptionally troublesome.

...

P: Two chapters complete. RF