Age of Evolution

Seeing Lin Zhen approaching, Yan Qiyue enthusiastically introduced him.

“Come on, Lin Zhen, let me introduce you. This is our team leader, Heige from the Golden Dragon Empire, a Star System Level 7 practitioner and the strongest in our team.”

A man in his thirties nodded at Lin Zhen, “Welcome, Lin Zhen.”

“Hello, team leader,” Lin Zhen nodded in response.

“This is Polo from the Shenji Empire, Star System Level 4. His race is known for their innate snipers, and each of them possesses the Divine Spear Talent. He is a key player on our team.”

A young man with purple hair smiled at Lin Zhen: “Welcome, Yan Qiyue’s lord brother. Your youth is astonishing.”

This man looked young, but he was actually over three hundred years old. Not every martial artist can advance to the Star System Stage before they turn 100. People like Ye Hua and Little Phoenix are special cases, and there might not be more than ten such people in an entire empire. Most martial artists who cultivate in the Star System realm are likely to be several hundred or even thousands of years old.

However, being older doesn’t mean they are weaker. Quite the contrary, older practitioners of the same realm usually possess greater strength because they have cultivated for more extended periods, giving them a deeper understanding of battle techniques and rules.

“Hello Polo, nice to meet you.”

Yan Qiyue pointed to the last female martial artist: “This is Yuxuan from the Qingling Empire, Star System Level 5, known as the Iron Lady. She’s ruthless in battle and has impressive strength.”

Yuxuan glanced at Lin Zhen and then said to Yan Qiyue, “You said your friend’s realm isn’t very high, but this is a bit too low. I thought he was at least in the Star System Stage. I didn’t expect he’s actually in the Black Hole Early Stage. Shouldn’t he be hanging out in the beginner’s field?”

“Yuxuan, never underestimate our lord. He’s a household name back home in our empire, single-handedly killing hundreds of millions of the Insect Clan. Those who look down on him have to pay a heavy price.”

“All right, we’ll test it out in the arena,” Yuxuan shrugged, clearly not entirely convinced of Lin Zhen’s strength but refraining from saying more.

That reaction was normal, and Lin Zhen was prepared for it. Overall, he had a good impression of this small team.

At this point, Heige said, “Alright! Since Lin Zhen has joined, he’s part of our team. His actual strength will be tested during battle, and we should trust each other to achieve good results.”

Lin Zhen asked, “When will the team battle start?”

“It depends on the scale of the team battle you want to participate in. If you want to join a five-player battle, it can start anytime. Large-scale battles aren’t always available, but they’re not rare either. There are ten thousand-player battles every day, a hundred thousand-player battles every ten days, and each month, the war zones have cross-zone battles with other war zones.”

“Has today’s ten thousand-player battle started yet?”

“Not yet, but it’s soon, in about four hours. Today, it’s a million-player scale battle.”

Lin Zhen roughly understood the schedule, then said to Yan Qiyue, “Brother Yan, now that we’ve all met, I’ll take a look around the Star System Stage area for now. I’ll be sure to come back when the million-player battle begins.”

Yan Qiyue nodded, “Remember to come back on time. We can only enter the battlefield as a full team. You can participate in the Heavenly Ladder Challenge or individual arena battles when you’re free.”

Heige and the others also said their farewells to Lin Zhen. Although they had just met, everyone’s impressions were quite positive.

After agreeing, Lin Zhen turned and left.

********

“Alright, boss, I understand. Don’t worry, there are many ways to suppress someone and prevent them from getting ahead. I guarantee that this guy won’t be able to survive in the Star System Stage area,” Xuan Jiang said after finishing the communication.

In a luxurious room with a swimming pool, a beautiful young female from the Fox Clan handed Xuan Jiang a glass of red wine. After taking a sip, he accepted a cigar from another nearby woman and took a puff.

Under his control of Star Power, he exhaled a huge smoke ring that lingered in the air forming the shape of a heart, which did not disperse for a long time. He then blew smoke out of his nostrils that formed an arrow in the air, piercing the smoke heart and scattering it like fireworks, a sight to behold.

“Wow!” A Star System Level 8 martial artist nearby applauded and said to Xuan Jiang, “Boss, your smoke trick is really amazing. It’s truly breathtaking.”

Xuan Jiang laughed, “It’s just some boring little tricks for my own amusement, nothing more.”

The martial artist said: “Boss, you seem to be in a great mood today. Did something good happen?”

“Hehe! Indeed something happened. I just got a message from my big brother, asking me to deal with a reckless kid. But coincidentally, I was already planning to deal with him. What a coincidence, huh?”

“That is quite a coincidence. Your big brother… isn’t he the one who rules the entire Sixty-Eighth Zone…?”

Xuan Jiang nodded slightly: “You’re right, one of the Seven Evil Stars in the Sixty-Eighth Zone is my big brother.”

“Who is this person that even your big brother personally informed you about?”

Xuan Jiang thought for a moment: “A World King powerhouse found my big brother and asked him to deal with this kid. The kid’s name is Lin Zhen. He’s been acting recklessly in the Black Hole Zone and already swept through all the personal arenas. I had no choice but to let my subordinates clean up after him once, which finally forced him to run to the Star System Zone.”

“Haha! He ran onto Boss’ territory; isn’t that just asking for death? Did he join a team?”

“He did. I just checked his information, and he has already joined a team. My brother’s call came in before I could make a move on him.”

“How does Boss plan to deal with him?”

Xuan Jiang sneered: “I warned him before, but he was arrogant and ignored me. Since that’s the case, I’m not going to hold back. From now on, I’ll make sure no one dares to team up with him, so he can never participate in a team battle again. Let’s see how he survives in the Star System Stage.”

After he finished, he ordered the martial artist beside him: “Tonight there’s going to be a large-scale battle with a million people. Notify everyone to be ready, set up a sniper group, and as soon as Lin Zhen’s team appears, kill them instantly!”

“Understood, Boss. I’ll arrange it right away!”

Xuan Jiang nodded and was about to pull the two Fox Clan girls next to him closer when he suddenly stopped his subordinate again: “Also, remember to spread the word that Lin Zhen is my enemy. Anyone who dares to team up with him in the future will be against me, Xuan Jiang. His teammates will share the same fate!”

*********

Meanwhile, in the Machine World King’s mansion on Kirin Holy Star.

The Machine World King ended the call and said to Ye Hua: “Ye Hua, I’ve made the arrangements.”

“Dad, who did you arrange?” Ye Hua asked.

“Hehe, don’t you trust your father’s arrangements? Do you know who the Seven Evil Stars are in the Sixty-Eighth Zone?”

Ye Hua was stunned: “Are they actually the Seven Evil Stars? They are the gods of the Sixty-Eighth Zone! The seven of them ruled the entire Star System battlefield in the Sixty-Eighth Zone. Their strength is incredibly powerful. Which one are you talking about, dad?”

“Ying Huo, do you know him?”

Ye Hua nodded: “I do. I once fought Ying Huo. However, I am ashamed to say that at the time, I had just entered the Star System Stage and encountered him in the Interzone battlefield. He was at Tier Nine of the Star System, and I thought I could at least hold my own against him. But he just punched me with one hand, killing me in the Interzone battlefield.”

Ye Hua’s face turned serious: “It was then that I realized that my so-called genius status in the Fire Kirin Empire was nothing, and since then, I’ve become low-key and humble because I know there are always people better than me and there’s always heaven beyond heaven.”

“I felt shame and humiliation at that time, and I’ve been looking forward to one day finding Ying Huo and defeating him. But then Lin Zhen appeared and shifted my attention. A year ago, before Lin Zhen came out of the Chaotic Star River, I met Ying Huo again in the Interzone battlefield. And the result was the same as the last time: he killed me with one punch. But I was already at Tier Nine of the Star System! He was at Tier Nine of the Star System as well, yet the gap between us was still so huge!”

Ye Hua looked somewhat disheartened: “Dad, am I too useless?”

The Machine World King shook his head: “No! There’s no need for you to be disheartened. Losing to the Seven Evil Stars is completely normal. You probably don’t know this, but the Seven Evil Stars and I were peers. When I was in the Star System Stage, they were also in the Star System Stage. If you consider age, they’re even older than many World Kings. So isn’t it normal for you to lose to them?”

“Ah! Is that so?” Ye Hua was stunned.

“That’s right. The Seven Evil Stars are virtually untouchable in the Sixty-Eighth Zone. I used to stay in the Sixty-Eighth Zone as well, so I know Ying Huo.”

“Why didn’t they break through?” Ye Hua asked.

“Perhaps it’s psychological reasons. There are always people in this world who would rather be the head of a chicken than the tail of an ox. It’s none of our concern, but you should know their strength is enough to challenge a general Domain King!”

“Challenge a Domain King?” Ye Hua was instantly stunned. As a Tier Nine Star System cultivator, he knew how strong a Domain King was, and they were not on the same level as a Star System cultivator. He didn’t expect the Seven Evil Stars to be on par with a Domain King.

When he thought about how the opponent’s strength was comparable to a Domain King, Ye Hua’s mentality immediately balanced. He no longer compared himself to such a strong character, and it was better to focus his energy on dealing with Lin Zhen.

“Ying Huo has already given the order. Lin Zhen won’t be able to make a name for himself in the arena. So you can rest assured that no matter what Lin Zhen’s plan for making money is, he won’t be able to complete it!”

The Machine World King looked somewhat triumphant: “The Mixed World King keeps an eye on me every day, not giving me a chance to deal with Lin Zhen. But how could he possibly protect Lin Zhen in the arena? I’m going to make sure that kid can’t survive in there!”