Chapter 91: Stirring Trouble with a New Account, Farewell to Xinia (Fourth Update)

The Heavenly Demon Soul: Freely adjust and alter one’s own mental and soul fluctuations. Soul offense and defense rank increased by one. Worth 999 specialty points.

An extremely costly, yet also highly unusual specialty.

In Jiang Chen’s view, the value of the Heavenly Demon Soul even surpassed that of the Three-Soul Transference.

Of course, its exchange price reflected that as well.

In the universe, the mainstream ways of verifying identity are through genetic traits, aura, and soul characteristics.

To put it in simpler terms: genes, force or telekinetic traits, and soul fluctuations.

Among them, force and telekinetic traits often share similarities within practitioners of the same lineage; for example, the spiritual telekinesis of the Fallen Ink Star lineage carries very distinctive marks.

This layer of identification is, in most cases, only auxiliary.

The differences in genes and soul are what matter most when determining who a person truly is.

Whether it is citizen registration, virtual universe enrollment, or even a powerhouse judging whether someone they know has been replaced by another or ‘taken over,’ the decision is made on the basis of genes and soul.

And since the Three-Soul Transference can freely switch the body of a clone, while the Heavenly Demon Soul can freely modify one’s own soul fluctuations, Jiang Chen’s three clones could each possess an entirely different identity.

After awakening this specialty, the first thing Jiang Chen did was recall the clone roaming outside, seize another slave through possession, and adjust this clone’s soul fluctuations to match the other party’s exactly, thereby fully occupying that slave’s identity.

“From this moment on, this clone of mine is the Dark Star tribesman Erso.”

A faint smile appeared on Jiang Chen’s clone.

When causing trouble outside, it was safer to use a secondary account.

The Dark Star tribe was a nearly annihilated branch of humanity.

According to the memories Jiang Chen obtained while possessing Erso, the tribe’s homeworld was called Dark Star: a peculiar planet shrouded in night for most of the time.

Several years ago, Dark Star was discovered by an interstellar adventuring team. The strong on the planet resisted desperately, but their efforts nearly brought the Dark Star tribe to extinction. Only a few hundred tribesmen with strength at the planetary level or above survived; they were implanted with biochips and sold to slave traders.

All the remaining Dark Star tribesmen perished under the slaughter of that interstellar adventuring team.

Tragedies like that of the Dark Star tribe occurred in the universe almost every day.

Jiang Chen merely promised to avenge the tribe, and Erso willingly offered himself up.

“From now on, I will play the role of a slave who has merited distinction, been freed by his master, and granted liberty.”

A thought flashed through Jiang Chen’s mind, and he quickly set a series of plans in motion.

Erso’s strength was not impressive, only at the planetary level. Jiang Chen had chosen this clone mainly because the Dark Star tribe was already on the verge of extinction, making this identity effectively unburdened by any lingering ties.

However, raising a clone’s rank was the easiest thing in the world for Jiang Chen.

The main body advanced with difficulty, tightly constrained by the system and able to improve only through it, but the clones had no such restriction.

As long as their level did not exceed the main body’s, the clones could swiftly be raised by consuming rare treasures of heaven and earth.

With just a bit of money that was, for Jiang Chen, not even worth mentioning, he raised Erso’s clone to the third tier of the stellar level.

That was also Jiang Chen’s true level in his main body.

As for the telekinetic strength boosted by free attribute points, that could not really be counted.

The interstellar adventuring team that had once destroyed Dark Star possessed a strongest member at the cosmic level, someone Erso’s clone was still incapable of confronting.

It would also take time to gather information on them, so Jiang Chen did not rush to act.

The first thing Jiang Chen did was to have Erso’s clone become a cosmic mercenary and venture constantly through the universe to temper himself.

As a cosmic mercenary, one could come into contact with a vast number of high-difficulty missions; there was never a shortage of opponents to battle.

Considering how important this identity would be to future plans, Jiang Chen even preserved part of Erso’s body’s genetic material, preparing in advance so that if this clone died, he could simply clone a new Erso and possess him again, preserving the identity.

In truth, Jiang Chen was very strong.

Although not especially outstanding in combat, his advantage in the laws was simply too great.

Having stepped across the threshold of the laws in multiple fields, he lacked the two most powerful higher laws of time and space, but for a stellar-level being, such mastery was already monstrously terrifying.

In fact, for ordinary stellar-level mercenary missions, Jiang Chen did not need the laws at all.

At most, by revealing two or three layers of domain power, he could crush the situation and resolve everything.

Only when missions changed unexpectedly, or when powerful enemies beyond the mission’s original difficulty appeared, did Jiang Chen need to use stronger power.

Even if he were besieged by a group of ninth-tier stellar beings, it would not force him to rely on the laws.

His domains alone were already more than enough.

Mission after mission, no matter how difficult the mercenary assignment, Erso could resolve it with ease.

Even when missions underwent major changes and enemies beyond the original rank appeared, it was still no exception.

Little by little, Erso’s reputation began to spread among mercenaries in the Black Dragon Mountain Star Domain, quickly drawing the attention of many.

—

Virtual Universe, Black Dragon Mountain Island.

Inside a quiet chamber.

Jiang Chen’s Erso clone naturally passed the identity checks of the virtual universe system as well, possessing an independent identity.

Jiang Chen, clad in black battle armor, sat before a tea table and looked across at the person opposite him.

There sat a woman in shining silver armor with beautiful short silver hair.

Although in the virtual universe everyone’s physical condition was the same as that of an apprentice, except in a few special places, the aura radiating from the silver-haired woman still made Jiang Chen’s heart tremble slightly.

The pressure of a domain lord was not something Jiang Chen, as a stellar-level being, could easily withstand.

However, the other side was merely probing, and the aura vanished the instant it touched him.

“My name is Qiniya, special envoy of the Dry Witch Cosmic Nation branch of the Cosmic Mercenary Alliance. You may address me as Lord Qiniya.”

This visitor was none other than Qiniya, the core genius of the Cosmic Mercenary Alliance who had previously appeared outside the Realm Within the Realm to block the gate, and the disciple of the Third Military Master of the Dry Witch Cosmic Nation.

“Lord Qiniya.”

Jiang Chen leaned forward slightly in a gesture of respect and asked softly, “Did Lord Qiniya invite me here because there is a mission you wish me to undertake?”

In truth, before this meeting, when he received the message, Jiang Chen had already suspected as much.

The five great powers did not select geniuses solely through the genius battle or the strong battle.

Within the branches of various cosmic nations, there were many senior figures, or geniuses sent out for training, all carrying the task of discovering promising talent.

Once they found a worthy seedling, they would bring it into their fold.

Most, however, began from the outer ranks. After repeated screening and elimination, only those who reached the end would be absorbed into the core and become heavily cultivated core geniuses.

For the Cosmic Mercenary Alliance, the best channel for selecting geniuses was naturally the countless mercenaries scattered throughout the universe.

Jiang Chen guessed that Qiniya’s invitation was probably to absorb him into the Cosmic Mercenary Alliance system.

Not merely to be a mercenary in a hired capacity, but to formally join the power of the Cosmic Mercenary Alliance.

Sure enough, Qiniya spoke straight to the point: “During this period, in only three months, you completed twenty-six difficult and dangerous stellar-level missions, including two instances where the mission was temporarily upgraded. Your performance was truly dazzling. I hope to bring you into the Cosmic Mercenary Alliance and make you one of the alliance’s elite geniuses.”

The Cosmic Mercenary Alliance had its own standards for rating mission difficulty.

After comprehensive consideration of factors such as the possible strength of enemies encountered and the danger level of the mission, a grade was assigned.

Different grades naturally corresponded to different ranges of reward and contribution points.

However, things in the universe changed in the blink of an eye, and no one could say whether some sudden accident might occur, drastically altering a mission’s difficulty.

For example, in a conflict between two forces, one side hires mercenaries to wipe out the other, expecting at most stellar-level enemies.

Yet the opponent, spending everything they have, hires a cosmic-level powerhouse. That would be an unforeseen change and would also temporarily raise the mission’s rating.

Within the rules of the Cosmic Mercenary Alliance, if such a mission upgrade occurs, one may abandon the mission without penalty.

But if it is completed, the reward is correspondingly substantial.

Such situations were not uncommon.

Jiang Chen had undertaken more than twenty missions and encountered this twice, nearly a ten-percent probability.

Of course, it was not an upgrade from stellar-level enemies to cosmic-level ones; rather, the enemies’ strength and numbers increased, but still remained within the stellar level.

Even so, it was already an exceptionally brilliant performance.

Especially since Jiang Chen had not formed or joined any mercenary group or mercenary squad and had always completed missions alone. That made it all the more remarkable.

It was perfectly normal for Qiniya to take notice of him.

Even if it had not been Qiniya, with such performance the other senior figures of the Dry Witch branch of the Cosmic Mercenary Alliance would sooner or later have noticed Jiang Chen’s outstanding display.

“Lord Qiniya...”

After a slight hesitation, Jiang Chen asked very directly, “If I agree, what would I need to give up? And what would I receive in return?”

“I will give you two choices. First, become an outer member of the Cosmic Mercenary Alliance. You will receive fewer resources, but greater freedom. So long as you do not betray the alliance, it will not forcibly assign missions to you; it will merely require a certain number of mission quotas within a given period. As for which missions you take, that is up to you.”

“Second, become an internal member of the Cosmic Mercenary Alliance. You will receive more resources, but your identity will become bound to the alliance, and you will no longer be able to join any other power. While cultivating you, the alliance will also assign all kinds of tasks to you, and if you fail to complete them, there will be corresponding punishment.”

Qiniya quickly finished explaining the two options, then paused before adding, “Whichever option you choose, the resources you receive will be based on your evaluation rank. At present, I rate you as a third-tier elite. If you believe you deserve better treatment, you may apply for a higher-level assessment, but you will only have one chance.”

“Third-tier elite?” Jiang Chen asked curiously. “Could you tell me the specific standards for a third-tier elite?”

Qiniya said bluntly, “A nine-star rating in the slaughter field counts as a third-tier elite. Although you have not obtained a rating there, based on your mission record, I judge that you possess third-tier elite strength.”

A nine-star rating...

Jiang Chen roughly understood the concept of a third-tier elite.

If limited to the stellar level, one could still achieve it by mastering powerful secret techniques, having a high telekinetic amplification or force output level, or possessing excellent combat skill, even without understanding domains.

And even if one fell short in other areas, as long as one had a domain, one would certainly earn a nine-star rating in the slaughter field.

“It seems the Cosmic Mercenary Alliance still underestimates me quite a bit.”

Such a thought flashed through Jiang Chen’s mind.

But that was normal enough.

Among stellar-level geniuses with domains, there were extremely few across the entire Black Dragon Mountain Star Domain.

Most geniuses were cultivated by major powers.

As for wild geniuses, without backing and without resources, their talents could not be fully brought out. Naturally, one could not demand too much of them.

If the standards were too high, how could geniuses be selected for cultivation?

“Let’s set aside the matter of the rating.” After a moment’s thought, Jiang Chen asked the question he cared about most: “I’ve heard that the genius battle held once every ten thousand years will be taking place in the next few years. If I join the Cosmic Mercenary Alliance, can I still participate in the genius battle of the Virtual Universe Company? And if I achieve results there, would I still be able to join the Virtual Universe Company?”

“The genius battle? You do know quite a lot, but aren’t you being far too ambitious!”

Qiniya reprimanded him once, but quickly composed herself and answered Jiang Chen seriously: “If you choose the identity of an outer member, then you may pay a certain price to terminate your agreement with the alliance and join the Virtual Universe Company. But if you are an internal member, and wish to leave, the alliance will pursue you without rest until you die. As for participating in the genius battle, you may take part freely; however, if you choose to become an internal member, then even if you pass the preliminary selection, you must withdraw and may not continue into the subsequent contest. Of course, if your performance in the genius battle is excellent enough, the alliance will also grant you a generous reward and raise your treatment.”

“So that’s how it is...”

Jiang Chen nodded.

“I do not know where you heard of the genius battle. But our Cosmic Mercenary Alliance, standing alongside the Virtual Universe Company as one of the great powers, is in no way inferior in its cultivation of geniuses.”

Qiniya patiently tried to persuade him. “Among the five great powers, whichever one you join, so long as your talent is outstanding enough, you will never be buried. Although my Cosmic Mercenary Alliance does not have a genius battle or a strong battle, it does have a very complete system of assessment and promotion. So long as your performance is bright enough, you can still earn the attention of the higher-ups and become a core genius.”

The End of Chapter One of Three