chapter 16

The four supreme groups occupied the core of the universe.

Humanity possessed the vast Virtual Universe Network and a massive population. Their number of top-tier combatants surpassed all others, save for the demon race. The demon race also had a large population and boasted two universe supreme masters within its ranks.

Compared to humans and demons, the mechanical race and the zerg race had far fewer universe masters. Their population sizes, including individual mechanical beings and zerg mother emperors, were significantly smaller.

So how could they rank equally with the human and demon races?

It was due to their near-invincible strength within their respective tiers.

Each member of the mechanical race was practically a walking mechanical empire. These beings were intelligent life forms. Their combat power stemmed largely from the strength of the mechanical empires they commanded. The strength of those empires, in turn, relied on two things: control and command ability, and wealth. Both were indispensable.

The mechanical race possessed extraordinary computational and command talent. This allowed them to direct entire mechanical legions and unleash highly coordinated, law-infused attacks. With such precision and synergy, the power of mechanical puppets could increase by dozens, even hundreds, of times.

Wealth mattered because it determined the grade of mechanical legions under command. A mechanical being leading F-level puppets was naturally more formidable than one commanding E-level units.

…

Under the control of one such mechanical individual, nine obelisk-shaped base spaceships, each blazing with surface flames, rapidly flew into formation.

Up, down, left, right—every direction was covered.

Together, they formed a perfect cage.

A black, streamlined spaceship was swiftly approaching from one million kilometers away, heading directly into the formation.

"It's coming!" The mechanical race individual, watching from afar, was filled with both nervous anticipation and excitement.

At that moment, he was like a hunter watching his prey walk step-by-step into a trap.

Soon, under the mechanical being's intense gaze, the black spaceship entered the encirclement of the nine flaming pyramids.

"Attack!" he commanded without hesitation.

As the order echoed, intricate and profound secret patterns lit up across the surfaces of the flaming pyramids. Energy surged through these patterns, accumulating at a terrifying pace.

And then—

"Boom!"

A scarlet energy beam burst forth, slicing through space and striking the black spaceship head-on.

The impact sent the ship tumbling backward through the void.

"Rumble~"

Shockwaves blasted outward, spanning tens of thousands of kilometers, scattering debris and dust across space.

Watching this, the mechanical race individual smiled coldly. "As expected of an immortal with a noble title. Even your spaceship is top-tier, an F-level class. But once I kill you, everything you own will be mine."

…

Inside the ship, Caspian had been fully immersed in cultivating, focusing his consciousness on the origin of the universe and attempting to comprehend the laws of space.

Although he followed the path of the Fire-Space Beast God, he needed to fully understand the complete spatial laws to become a Venerable.

The complete laws of space consisted of three profound mysteries: space blockade, space strangulation, and teleportation. Mastering and integrating these three would allow a cultivator to transcend space and become a space Venerable, free to roam the cosmos.

Even comprehending just one of these mysteries fully was enough to become a peak-level King and pass the twentieth floor of the Tongtian Bridge.

Caspian had first touched upon the mystery of teleportation, though his current comprehension only allowed him to reach the fifteenth floor of the Tongtian Bridge.

"This teleportation law…" Caspian sometimes frowned and sometimes smiled, struggling with the subtleties of the concept.

Suddenly—

"Warning! Warning! Attack detected!" blared the spaceship's intelligent system, yanking Caspian from his meditative state.

The ship tumbled violently through the void.

Shock crossed Caspian's face. His detectors had been active the entire time, yet they failed to catch the enemy's approach. Could it be that the enemy's detectors were more advanced than his own?

That shouldn't be possible! His ship's sensors were top-tier—superior to those of many immortal Kings.

What was going on?

Boom! Caspian released a surge of immortal energy, enveloping the spaceship. The hatch opened, and he flew out swiftly.

"What is this?" As soon as he exited, his pupils narrowed in shock.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

From nine distant positions in space, a coordinated attack began. These nine points, arranged around him, suddenly unleashed streams of fiery energy. In a flash, the lines connected, forming a giant flaming cage.

It was the mechanical race's feared weapon: the Netherflame Domain.

Buzz ~ ~ ~

The moment the cage closed, the surrounding void transformed into a sea of fire. Hideous, fiery dragons soared and roared within the million-kilometer-wide prison. The domain's sheer power reduced all nearby wreckage and debris into dust.

"Not bad," Caspian murmured. "These fire dragons could probably kill ordinary World Masters."

He waved a hand, storing away his spaceship.

Then he walked through the sea of fire, blood-red feathers flowing from his back like phoenix wings rising from ashes. His expression was calm but deadly.

"No wonder my detectors didn't pick you up. So, it's the mechanical race. Only they could hide this well," he said coolly.

"A Netherflame Domain covering millions of kilometers… the cost of setting this up must be in the millions of mixed yuan units."

"Is it a high-level military master? A Marquis?" He narrowed his eyes. "Whatever your status, choosing to target me was your last mistake."

"Once I kill you… I'll get to open the blind box."

Swoosh!

In an instant, Caspian became a streak of blood-red light, accelerating at blinding speed toward one of the cage's nodes.

The mechanical race individual had only one advanced detector—one capable of hiding himself from Caspian's sensors—but not all nine of the base spaceships. So unless he was willing to abandon the entire Netherflame Domain, he couldn't hide.

Caspian would find him.

"You're trying to escape?" the mechanical being sneered. "This cage isn't so easy to break!"

"Fire everything!"

With his command, the nine obelisk spaceships opened massive hatches—each hundreds of meters wide.

Whoosh whoosh whoosh ~ ~ ~

Like a swarm of locusts, fiery-red mechanical puppets poured out, flying at lightning speed. Each pyramid launched tens of thousands of puppets in mere seconds.

These were ten-meter-tall battle machines—scarlet in color, each armed with giant axes, war blades, or massive swords.

"Ninety thousand mechanical puppets… and they're made of f9-grade Crimson Meteorite Iron Mother?" Caspian grinned.

"Excellent. The more valuable your forces, the more reluctant you'll be to abandon them. That gives me time to find you and kill you."

Just the material—Crimson Meteorite Iron Mother—used in crafting those ninety thousand puppets was worth over 900,000 mixed yuan units.

And when factoring in the nine base spaceships?

The entire setup easily exceeded three million mixed yuan units.

And Caspian intended to make it all his.

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