Chapter 95: The Death Realm, Part Three

At the end of the trial, a row of numbers glowed on the screen beside the human-shaped target: thirty-three, twenty-eight, thirty-five, twenty-six, thirty-seven. Final score: twenty-six.

This final stage of the assessment tested physical power control.

Beside him, the brow of the Illusory Spirit King furrowed slightly as she said, “You need to work on controlling your body. Even as a spiritual reader, you cannot afford an obvious weakness in physical strength.”

It was clear she was dissatisfied with Jiang Chen’s performance.

However, she changed the subject at once. “Although your bodily force is poor, you performed very well in law comprehension and willpower. Your overall evaluation can still reach ‘excellent.’ You have passed this examination.”

“As long as you agree and sign this agreement, from this day on you will be a member of my Cosmic Mercenary Alliance’s Death Secret Realm.”

With a point of her finger, an agreement appeared before Jiang Chen.

The terms were numerous and complex, but in summary they came down to only a few points.

Jiang Chen, or rather the identity of Erso, would become a core genius of the Cosmic Mercenary Alliance and receive the treatment due to a genius of the Death Secret Realm level.

When Erso grew strong in the future, he would carry out the missions issued by the Cosmic Mercenary Alliance, with no betrayal and no switching allegiance allowed.

There were also various details, such as the basic benefits Jiang Chen could receive, and the way those benefits would be adjusted according to his performance from time to time.

However, a genius of the Death Secret Realm level was already the lowest tier among core geniuses; there was no room for it to be lowered further.

If it were lowered again, he would be expelled from the secret realm and demoted to an ordinary genius, and the agreement between the two sides would be resigned.

The five great powers all placed roughly the same restrictions on their core geniuses.

They cultivated them according to fixed internal standards: the greater the genius, the more resources and authority they could obtain.

Ordinary geniuses, even after they grew strong, were still merely “tools” to carry out missions.

At the very least, one had to become an Eternal, and not just any Eternal but a powerhouse among them, to possess a degree of autonomy.

Jiang Chen signed his name on the agreement without the slightest hesitation.

“As a member of the Death Secret Realm, you will have one chance to enter the Primal Cosmos, and you will also receive ten mixed elements, that is, one trillion cosmic coins, as start-up capital. This will be transferred to your account at the Cosmic Mercenary Alliance in the form of points, and the treasury for core geniuses will also be opened to you. You may exchange points freely for whatever you need.”

“However, the Primal Cosmos is not opened lightly. You will have to wait until a batch of geniuses has been gathered before you can enter.”

“Before heading to the Primal Cosmos, you will be sent first to the Alliance headquarters, and from there you will depart for the Death Secret Realm.”

The Illusory Spirit King looked at Jiang Chen and reminded him, “Do not underestimate the value of points. Many treasures in the treasury that can be exchanged for points are things you could never buy in the outside world no matter how much money you spent! You do not have many points, so think carefully before you use them.”

“Yes, thank you for the reminder, Your Excellency Illusory Spirit King.” Jiang Chen hurriedly agreed.

“I have already opened your access. You may enter Huanyu Island in the virtual universe. Your residence is in the Death Zone of Huanyu Island. The illusionist secret art I have bestowed upon you will be sent to your residence later. If you can master it before you arrive at the Alliance headquarters, then you may become my registered disciple.”

She waved her hand and ordered, “Do not leave Black Dragon Star for the time being. The Alliance will send people to escort you to headquarters, which should take a few days. That is all. You may go. Contact me again once you have mastered the secret art I gave you.”

“Yes, thank you, Your Excellency Illusory Spirit King.” Jiang Chen bowed once more and took his leave respectfully.

—

Huanyu Island, Death Zone.

Jiang Chen’s figure appeared inside a three-bedroom, one-living-room apartment.

“This place is really cramped,” Jiang Chen could not help but mutter.

Compared with the Primitive Area and the Primeval Area of the Virtual Universe Company, the Cosmic Mercenary Alliance’s Death Zone was undoubtedly very crowded.

Every genius lived in an apartment like a high-rise unit on Earth, with several hundred people residing in a single building.

Facilities such as training grounds were all shared and located in public areas.

The only somewhat private space was the study.

But this was not because the Cosmic Mercenary Alliance was stingy.

The five giants treated their core geniuses in much the same way. Their standards were divided by secret realm level, with geniuses in the highest-level secret realms receiving the best treatment.

In the lowest-level secret realms, the treatment was considerably worse.

Yet even the worst of it was still a level of resources unimaginable to ordinary geniuses in the outside world.

Though the quarters were a little cramped, things like the points-exchange treasury and the quota to comprehend the Primal Cosmos were opportunities ordinary geniuses could not even dare to dream of.

Even children of powerful aristocratic families, if they could not enter the core ranks of the five giants, would find it extremely difficult to obtain a quota to comprehend the Primal Cosmos.

“The rules are pretty much the same as those of the Virtual Universe Company. In this respect, the five giants should all be exactly alike.”

Jiang Chen put down the booklet titled Notes for Geniuses of the Death Secret Realm and muttered to himself. Then his gaze turned to the book placed on the desk.

That book was the test given to Jiang Chen by the Illusory Spirit King: a secret art from the illusionist branch of spiritual readers.

On the cover, the words Phantom God Transformation were written in the universal language.

According to the Illusory Spirit King, this was a cosmic-level spiritual reader secret art, but its cultivation difficulty was extremely high. Out of ten thousand spiritual readers, not even one might succeed in mastering it.

The difference between controllers and illusionists was not only reflected in their combat methods, but also in the “nature” of their spiritual force.

A controller’s spiritual force was better at interfering with matter and manipulating physical weapons, while an illusionist’s spiritual force was better at infiltration and offense or defense on the soul and consciousness level.

Of course, this was not absolute.

Controllers could also cultivate illusions, and illusionists could also wield thought weapons in battle; they were simply not as skilled at the other side’s specialties.

As for the secret art Phantom God Transformation, it had no combat power whatsoever. Its only purpose was to alter the “nature” of spiritual force, allowing one to switch freely between the characteristics of a controller and an illusionist.

Both Jiang Chen’s true body and the Erso clone had spiritual force traits that leaned toward the controller branch’s manipulation of objects, making them somewhat weaker in the realms of soul and consciousness.

However, once this Phantom God Transformation was mastered, the nature of one’s thought force could be switched and adjusted at will: when thought weapons needed to be controlled, it could be shifted into the controller branch’s spiritual force; when soul attacks or infiltrating an enemy’s consciousness were needed, it could be shifted into the illusionist branch’s spiritual force. Naturally, that would be of no small help in battle.

“Interesting, indeed...”

Jiang Chen opened Phantom God Transformation and began studying the secret art.

—

Several days later, a ship from the Cosmic Mercenary Alliance arrived at Black Dragon Star and took away Jiang Chen’s Erso clone, setting out on the journey to the Alliance headquarters.

But the headquarters was far too distant. Even with an F-class ship, the trip through the dark universe would take more than a year.

This period was also the deadline the Illusory Spirit King had given Jiang Chen for his test.

Only by mastering Phantom God Transformation before arriving at the Primal Cosmos could he become a disciple of the Illusory Spirit King and gain a pillar of support at the level of an invincible king.

Jiang Chen did not take this matter especially seriously.

Being accepted under the Illusory Spirit King was certainly a good thing, but failure would not amount to much either.

That said, the difficulty of the Phantom God Transformation secret art was indeed very high.

Its principle was simple enough: through the soul’s resonance, alter the nature of spiritual force.

But putting that into practice was exceedingly difficult.

Jiang Chen tried for over a month and still showed no sign of entry.

In any case, the Erso clone was traveling through the dark universe with nothing else to do. Devoting a great deal of time to studying the secret art was hardly a waste.

Yet from time to time, the Erso clone would still enter the virtual universe to sharpen his combat skills in the Slaughter Space, or go to the restaurants and bars in Huanyu Island’s public district to relax and make acquaintance with other core geniuses of the Cosmic Mercenary Alliance.

Time passed.

One day, in a bar in the public district of Huanyu Island.

“Senior Chiniya, it’s been a while.” Jiang Chen skillfully poured two glasses of fine wine and pushed one toward Chiniya.

Chiniya accepted the glass, clinked it against Jiang Chen’s, and smiled. “I took on a troublesome mission, but fortunately I completed it smoothly, so I should receive quite a few rewards.”

A troublesome mission?

Thinking of Chiniya being a domain lord, Jiang Chen guessed it might be similar to one of the Virtual Universe Company’s domain-lord outside assignments.

Matters like that generally involved some degree of secrecy, so Jiang Chen tactfully did not ask further. Instead, he said, “I really envy you. You can roam the universe, while I’m stuck flying through the dark universe and almost going crazy from boredom.”

“By my estimate, you’re about to reach the Alliance headquarters, aren’t you?” Chiniya suddenly thought of something and asked, “How is the secret art bestowed upon you by the Illusory Spirit King coming along?”

“It took nearly half a year before I could make some progress. I’ve only just barely entered the gate, but I’m still a long way from mastering it,” Jiang Chen said, shaking his head. “At the ship’s current speed, it will take another three months to reach the Alliance headquarters. Whether I can master it within those three months... I have no confidence.”

“Whatever the case, this is an extraordinary opportunity. You must give it your all,” Chiniya urged.

As the one who had recommended Jiang Chen into the Cosmic Mercenary Alliance, Chiniya naturally hoped that Jiang Chen would achieve ever greater things in the future.

With that connection, and with Chiniya having actively set aside her pride to deal with Jiang Chen over the past year or so, the two of them had formed a rather good relationship.

The higher Jiang Chen’s future achievements, and the stronger the support behind him, the greater the benefits he could bring to Chiniya and her family.

“Whether it succeeds or not, I still have to thank you, Senior Chiniya,” Jiang Chen said with a smile, raising his glass. “If not for your recommendation, I would never have had the chance to join the Cosmic Mercenary Alliance’s core secret realm. I didn’t feel much before I entered, but during this period alone, what I’ve seen in the virtual universe has shown me just how great this opportunity really is.”

“Don’t say that. If I successfully recommend a genius into the core secret realm, the Alliance gives me a hefty reward too. I’m benefiting from your light as well.”

Chiniya handled herself with remarkable tact, not at all like the haughty figure she had been when they first met outside the boundary world.

It could only be said that children of major families were terrifyingly thorough in how they judged people.

For those with value, they did everything possible to curry favor and win them over. For those without value, they simply ignored them and never spared them a glance.

The high-ranking figures of the many powers in the Black Dragon Mountain Empire were certainly unimaginably stronger than Jiang Chen, but in Chiniya’s eyes, they all belonged to the “without value” category, and thus she naturally did not take them seriously.

Jiang Chen was very weak now, but as a genius in the core secret realm of the Cosmic Mercenary Alliance, with a chance to become a disciple of the Illusory Spirit King, he instead fell into the “very valuable” category in Chiniya’s eyes, someone she had to make every effort to befriend.

Jiang Chen could not say he saw through the other party’s thoughts completely, but he could guess a fair bit.

Still, he did not find Chiniya’s attitude objectionable.

At this stage, building a good relationship with Chiniya was beneficial to Jiang Chen from every angle.

In the less than a year since he joined the Cosmic Mercenary Alliance’s Death Secret Realm, the advice and reminders Chiniya had given him had saved him a great deal of time and effort that would otherwise have been spent adapting.

What was more, some of the “friends” Chiniya had introduced had also helped Jiang Chen integrate smoothly into this circle of geniuses.

“Since you did not enter through the normal route and joined the core secret realm partway through, some of the procedures are different from those for geniuses who joined in the usual way,” Chiniya said. “You haven’t been to the Primal Cosmos, so many of the core functions are unavailable to you. And after you arrive in the Death Secret Realm in reality, it will be hard to obtain resources and grow normally; you must wait for the Primal Cosmos to open.”

“I have reliable information that there are still seven or eight years before the Primal Cosmos opens. In other words, it will be another seven or eight years before you can officially come into contact with the most precious cultivation resources of a core secret realm genius.”

“But you are only at the stellar level now. Those seven or eight years are very important for your growth and cannot be wasted.”

“Your most important task right now is to comprehend and cultivate the secret art bestowed upon you by the Illusory Spirit King. If you can master it and smoothly become her disciple, your future cultivation will naturally be arranged properly by the Illusory Spirit King, and your talent will not be wasted.”

Chiniya spoke at length, offering many suggestions.

Even though Jiang Chen was not very familiar with the growth paths of other geniuses, he could tell that Chiniya was speaking entirely from his own perspective.

“Thank you, Senior Chiniya.” After thinking for a moment, Jiang Chen tested the waters and asked, “If I fail to cultivate the secret art and cannot become the Illusory Spirit King’s disciple, how should I spend the next few years? Do you have any advice?”

Chiniya thought about it and said, “I honestly don’t know much about your situation. First focus on cultivating the secret art and strive to become the Illusory Spirit King’s disciple. If you fail... after some time, I’ll ask the elders of my clan.”

The end.