Over the years, Earth had undergone tremendous changes.
Many people on Earth now knew, the entire Milky Way belonged to Luo Fan.
So when humanity first began to come into contact with the greater universe, they were not overwhelmed by the dominant cultures of the cosmos.
Cultural invasion usually happened when powerful civilizations crushed weaker ones.
But now, since the entire Milky Way was Luo Fan's, Earth's people had developed an unprecedented cultural confidence.
This was something Luo Fan had deliberately arranged.
At present, humanity's contact with the wider universe was still limited; only a small number could travel to other planets.
However, every adult on Earth had already reached the Planetary level.
That was thanks to the improved Planetary-level Bloodline Evolution Serum the Mechanical Race clone had developed.
This serum was cheap to produce and could be manufactured mechanically.
Thus, all citizens below the Planetary level had used one dose.
With Jia Yi and the others providing free cultivation resources, reaching the Planetary level had become effortless.
As for Luo Fan's family, they had directly used Domain Lord–level Bloodline Evolution Serums.
Even so, they had only just reached the Cosmic level.
Luo Fan's two sons possessed extraordinary talent, they had already comprehended the realm of Intent.
He had even given them the inheritance of that unlucky Immortal.
Luo Feng and his two companions had also changed greatly.
Luo Feng's Golden-Horned Beast had long broken through to the Cosmic level.
His fiftyfold-gene Space Worm clone had also been successfully born.
Now he had stepped into the threshold of both the Metal Origin Law and the Space Origin Law.
His mastery of the Ten Thousand Thread Flow had reached the level of Nine Thread Flow.
As for Thunder God and Hong, their progress was even more astonishing.
Both had already stepped into the thresholds of the Lightning Origin Law and the Light Origin Law.
Only the Time Origin Law remained untouched.
The two had joined the Myriad Leaf Secret Realm and the Flowing Rock Secret Realm respectively.
Because their progress was so rapid, even though they were constantly taking leave, the higher-ups of both Secret Realms simply let them be.
They could also consult their instructors in the Virtual Universe at any time.
With the Cosmic Genius Battle approaching, their comprehension of the Laws was skyrocketing.
Each now had a personal Immortal-level instructor.
Luo Feng was no exception, he had followed Luo Fan's example, using his Space Worm clone to join the Star Tower Secret Realm.
The members there had not detected anything unusual about him, so he too had an instructor guiding him.
As a result, the three were far stronger than their counterparts in the original timeline.
And Luo Fan's strength had advanced even further.
In the Water Origin Law, he had already mastered twelve essences!
In the Space Origin Law, he had mastered five essences.
This was because his comprehension had once again made a massive leap.
Every essence of the Water Origin Law he mastered granted him 100,000 Comprehension Points!
For each essence of the Space Origin Law, completing its corresponding mission granted him 300,000 Comprehension Points!
Now Luo Fan's total comprehension had reached a terrifying 3,641,918.
Even though the later essences became progressively harder to comprehend, Luo Fan had still mastered a great number of them.
If he were to challenge the Tongtian Bridge now, he could easily pass five levels of the one related to the Water Origin Law.
As for the one related to the Space Origin Law, the Nine Universe Tongtian Bridge, he could probably pass the second or third level.
At this point, Luo Fan's Ten Thousand Thread Flow technique could produce thousands of phantoms.
If his Space Worm clone performed it, it could truly achieve the level of "Ten Thousand Thread Flow."
That day, Luo Fan, Luo Feng, and the others did not continue their cultivation but instead gathered at a teahouse on Earth.
"Sigh, Earth has really changed so much," Thunder God said, sipping his tea with emotion.
Hong stayed silent, quietly drinking beside him.
"Big Brother, it should be about time, right?" Luo Feng asked, setting down his cup and looking at Luo Fan.
Luo Fan nodded. "Almost. Let's enter the Virtual Universe."
In the next moment, his consciousness entered the Virtual Universe.
A glint of killing intent flashed in Luo Feng's eyes as he entered as well.
Thunder God and Hong also had a spark of battle intent in their gazes.
"It's finally here!" Thunder God said excitedly.
...
Once inside the Virtual Universe, Luo Fan saw an enormous floating announcement in the sky.
The registration for the Cosmic Genius Battle had begun!
Without hesitation, he signed himself up.
In addition, ten of his other avatars each registered separately.
Though all his avatars practiced the Water and Space Origin Laws, their weapons varied.
Some wielded Ice Mist Blades, others Hantian Weapons.
After completing registration, he exited the Virtual Universe.
Luo Feng and the others had registered as well.
Once done, they all tacitly returned to reality.
"Hahaha!"
"It's begun! The Cosmic Genius Battle has started! I can't wait to see where I'll rank among the universe's geniuses!"
The moment Luo Fan exited the Virtual Universe, he heard Thunder God's excited shout.
They hadn't met in the Virtual Universe for years, only when using anonymous accounts.
After registering with their national identities, most communication was handled through the avatars Luo Fan kept nearby.
After all, it was best that their shared origin, Earth, remained hidden.
Even though Earth was now concealed, if someone entered this void region and searched carefully, they could still find it.
To ordinary beings, an area spanning thousands of light-years was vast.
But to the strong, it was a mere blink of distance.
That was why the four rarely contacted one another in the Virtual Universe.
"This time, we can finally fight to our hearts' content!" Luo Feng said, excitement glinting in his eyes.
"Your thirst for battle is still as strong as ever," Thunder God teased.
"Why don't you try learning from me and Hong, cultivate your mind a bit?"
Because Luo Feng had seized the body of the Golden-Horned Beast, his temperament had been influenced by it, his desire for slaughter burned stronger than most.
At Thunder God's words, Luo Feng smiled bitterly.
"I can't seem to reach your and Hong's state of mind."
"But suppressing this urge isn't a problem."
Hong took a sip of the newly cultivated Earth tea and said calmly,
"Suppression isn't the answer. It's better to release it when the time is right."
"Instead of holding it in, unleash it once."
"This Cosmic Genius Battle is the perfect opportunity."
"Still, as Luo Fan said, we Earthlings have extraordinary willpower talent."
"So training our will is always beneficial."
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