"I am human."
Jiang Li arched an eyebrow and said slowly, "Babata, since you followed your master Hu Yanbo and roamed the universe for countless years, you should know the status of the human race in the cosmos!"
"The power of humanity—you cannot even begin to imagine it."
"The Virtual Universe Company, the Giant Axe Dojo, the First Bank of the Universe... do you have any idea how many Masters of the Universe exist among them?"
"And beyond the Masters of the Universe—do you know how many Supreme Beings of the cosmos there are?"
Listening to Jiang Li speak, word by word, so calmly and assuredly, even the powerful Babata froze in midair. His blood-red eyes flickered, almost dazed.
A mere native—how could he possibly know such things?Impossible.Absolutely impossible.
As the AI of the Yun Mo Planet's spacecraft, he had been monitoring the entire planet for fifty thousand years.
Without exaggeration, he was the true witness to the rise of human civilization on this world from its very beginning to this day.
And he knew better than anyone else—no human from this planet had ever stepped beyond it.
"Could it be... could it be..."
Babata's artificial mind raced furiously, analyzing and deducing Jiang Li's possible identity.
"Some true names," Jiang Li said faintly, hands clasped behind his back, "cannot be spoken aloud."
Even across billions of galaxies, uttering the true name of a Supreme Being could bring consequences beyond imagination.
"I understand now!"
A glimmer of realization flashed in Babata's eyes.
He must have seized this human body—just to earn the right to apprentice under one of humanity's cosmic giants!
At once, Babata's mind filled with images of countless human titans: the Chaos City Lord who guarded the City of Chaos, the Founder of the Giant Axe who had ruled the universe for untold ages.Such beings stood supreme through eternity.
Not even his own master Hu Yanbo, nor any Universe Venerable, could stand before them—they could only look up in awe.
"Don't overthink it."
Seeing Babata lost in reverent fantasy, Jiang Li smiled lightly. "I propose we make a deal."
"A deal?"
Babata blinked. This human wanted to bargain—with a demon?
"Yes."
"Your master can become one of my registered teachers."
Jiang Li nodded slightly. "And in exchange, when I attain the rank of Master of the Universe, I'll reverse time and resurrect your master, Hu Yanbo."
"Hahahaha!"
"Registered teacher? Jiang Li, you truly are arrogant!"
Babata suddenly burst into wild laughter.
In the history of the cosmos, disciples could be "registered," but teachers?Such absurd reversal—never before heard of in all the eons!
"I don't know where your confidence comes from!"
"Do you even understand how hard it is to reach the level of Master of the Universe?"
"Even among the peak bloodlines of humanity—the Manka people, born at Domain Lord level—breaking through to immortality is still unimaginably difficult!"
"Tens of thousands of immortals produce one Universe Venerable!"
"And among tens of thousands of Universe Venerables, there may not even be one Master of the Universe!"
"You're merely a third-rank Planet-level brat, and you dare boast of becoming a Master of the Universe?"
"Ridiculous. Utterly ridiculous!"
But Jiang Li wasn't bothered by Babata's mocking laughter. He knew full well—the AI had no other choice.
If another year passed, Luo Feng's talent would allow him to enter the ruins of Ancient Civilization No. 9, and Babata would realize his brain capacity also qualified him to inherit the Yun Mo Planet's legacy.
Unfortunately for Luo Feng, he was still only at the Warlord level—unqualified to enter those ruins.
"Ridiculous, am I?"
Jiang Li's gaze sharpened. "Tell me, Babata—by your estimation, how long would it take me to reach the Star level?"
"At least a hundred years!"
Babata replied confidently, "But if you were to apprentice under my master, with his secret techniques—and with the great demon Babata's help—breaking through to Star level within fifty years would be possible!"
"A hundred years?"
Jiang Li chuckled. "Far too slow."
"Too slow?!"
Babata almost jumped in midair, baring his fangs. "Jiang Li, you must understand—this planet's human civilization has existed for thousands of years, and not one has reached Star level!"
"Even with your talent, without vast resources, breaking through to Star level is easier said than done!"
"Star level difficult?"
Jiang Li arched a brow, his voice casual. "To me—it's as easy as breathing."
As he spoke, he gave Babata a brief glance, then sat down cross-legged, entering a state of enlightenment.
[System prompts:]
You re-comprehend the Yin-Yang Primordial Taiji Art. With immense accumulation and the foundation of world origin, inspiration surges—you create the Law of Primordial Chaos!
You re-comprehend the Peerless Sword of Love. Enlightened by the essence of Great Annihilation—you create the Void-Shattering Sword Technique!
You re-comprehend the Diamond Indestructible Ancestral Dragon Body. By merging the blood of the Phoenix, Dragon Turtle, and Qilin, and analyzing a trace of sacred beast power, with the world's origin—you master the Indestructible Primordial Dragon Body!
You re-comprehend......
Jiang Li absorbed all his prior insights at once, then opened the chat group.
[System:]
Void-Shattering Sword Technique: A supreme sword-killing art. Value: 200 million points. Upload?Law of Primordial Chaos: A cultivation method touching upon the Source. Value: 300 million points. Upload?Indestructible Primordial Dragon Body: A soul-based divine art. Value: 100 million points. Upload?
"Upload them all."
Jiang Li confirmed without hesitation.
[Chat Group:]
Zombie Taoist: "Holy crap—two hundred million?!"Long Bo: "Just how many god-tier techniques has Boss Jiang Li created behind our backs!?"Old Daoist of Wudang: "North Profound Immortal Lord, could you kindly explain what makes a two-hundred-million-point technique so terrifying?"Chen Beixuan: "..."
Even Chen Beixuan was shaken.
Two-hundred-million-point techniques—he'd never even heard of such things.
And there wasn't just one of them.
A single technique of that caliber could probably pierce through both the mortal and immortal realms with one strike.
"I really want to see it for myself..."
Even Zhang Sanfeng and the others, all the way up to tribulation-level immortals like Chen Beixuan, were burning with envy.
But such techniques were far beyond their reach.
Even if they sold all their collected techniques from their lifetimes, they might scrape together ten or twenty million points—still a vast gulf from hundreds of millions.
And worst of all—these were attack arts.
Even if they could afford them, they weren't qualified to cultivate them.
With Earth's aura nearly gone, Chen Beixuan's points had to go toward spirit stones just to maintain his cultivation.
[Jiang Li:]
"These techniques—just look, don't bother trying to buy them."
After leaving that reminder, Jiang Li switched over to the Points Mall to redeem spirit stones.
Three hundred million points—enough to exchange for three hundred thousand spirit stones.
Piled together, they would form a mountain.
But Jiang Li's mastery was far beyond ordinary means now.
The instant the 300,000 stones appeared, a single thought condensed them into a small mountain floating above his palm.
In a breath, he activated the Law of Primordial Chaos.
The boundless energy from the spirit stones surged like a torrential flood into his body.
Boom—!
At that moment, Jiang Li's aura skyrocketed.
"Jiang Li, let me tell you," Babata was still lecturing proudly, "even in mid-tier civilizations across the universe, a human who reaches Star level within a hundred years is considered a once-in-an-era genius—"
He froze.
Then his crimson eyes widened like bronze bells, and his voice cracked into a shrill scream:
"Jiang Li—you... you... what did you just do?!"
"Planet level... four?!"
"No—five?!"
"No—six?!"
"Nine—!? You actually jumped straight to ninth rank in an instant?!"
"Impossible!"
"Absolutely impossible!"
Babata's holographic projection stiffened in midair, utterly dumbstruck.