Ye Zhongming sat alone in a corner, quietly watching two beings fighting not far awayâwell, letâs call them "people" for now.
Those were two creatures standing two and a half meters tall, their bodies packed with muscle, their heads draped with long white hair reaching past their shoulders. They closely resembled humans, except their hands and feet had only four digits, and their elbows and knees were covered with obvious bony armorânot something acquired later, but naturally grown.
Also, their backs werenât flat. Along both sides of their spines, two rows of bones protruded symmetrically. It was unclear why they had such a structure.
Ye Zhongming could tell that these two obviously related beings werenât actually fighting to the deathâit was more of a test of strength. As for their powerâŠ
The King of Cloud Peak was inwardly shocked.
Whether it was the force of their strikes, the speed of their movements, or even the aura they exuded, Ye Zhongming detected a familiar scent.
Yes, the same scent as his ownâthat of a level-nine lifeform.
And it wasnât just these two restless fellows. Nearly all the beings in this mysterious space were at this level. Even the few slightly weaker ones werenât far behind.
Back when Ye Zhongming had finished his arrangements outside Holy City, a beam of light from the sky locked onto him. To outsiders, the King of Cloud Peak simply vanished into the light. But he knewâit was some kind of energy guidance, and the trigger was the admission ticket he carried.
He wasnât clear on the exact process. All he remembered was a sudden feeling of weightlessness, then losing consciousness. When he woke up, he was inside an ecological pod.
The moment he opened his eyes, the podâs door slid open. Ye Zhongming stepped out and found himself in a very narrow, elongated room. Aside from the pod and an open bathroom at the back, there was only a passageway ahead.
Walking through the passage, he arrived in this oval-shaped, light-colored space. Around him were nearly a hundred identical passageways, just like the one he had emerged from.
Here, there were also nearly a hundred beingsâall kinds of existences. In Ye Zhongmingâs eyes, few could be called "human."
Of course, in the eyes of those other beings, he probably wasnât human either.
Was the purpose of the admission ticket just to come here? Were all these beings here because they obtained admission tickets? If on Earth, perhaps a dozen or so people had acquired themâlike Ji Ruiguang and Mu Hanyiâbut they werenât seen here. Did that mean there were other spaces like this one?
Ye Zhongmingâs gaze swept across the room again. Aside from a few spots where small groups of beings were whispering in different languages and methods, the only movement came from those two wrestling clanmates. The rest, like Ye Zhongming, sat near their respective passageways, watching coldly and maintaining vigilance.
Though these beings were all different, they shared one thing in commonâeach wore only a single thin garment. Nothing else.
Ye Zhongmingâs equipment, including his space ring, had all disappeared. He didnât know if they had been taken after being transported here.
After staying here for several hours, nearly every being had grown impatient. Some had already begun exploring this enclosed space. Strangely, there were no windows or exitsâit seemed completely sealed. The ecological pods and bathrooms were at the innermost part, backed by the same white walls of unknown material.
A few had even tried attacking the walls, but to no avail. Aside from drawing attention with loud bangs, it had no effect.
Just as the crowdâs mood was turning restless and irritable, the ceiling suddenly lit up. The beings looked up and saw the previously seamless space split openâlike an egg standing upright, with the top third sliced off.
Seven or eight beings descended from above, landing at the center of the space.
The leader had facial features similar to a humanâs, but its face seemed melted, with over a dozen uneven fleshy strips hanging down, pale and sickly-looking.
It wore a red robe-like garment and clasped its hands behind its back. Only when it turned did Ye Zhongming see that its "hands" were actually two tentacles, loosely tied together.
Ye Zhongming wasnât about to laugh at itâbecause from this being, he sensed a long-unfelt pressure.
The pressure of something far stronger than himself.
But Ye Zhongming wasnât afraid. Since arriving here, he had also felt something different.
How to describe it? It was a purely instinctive bodily reaction. If he had to put it into words, back on Earth, after becoming a nine-star evolved and stabilizing his energy, he had felt a natural sense of fullnessâa feeling that once made him believe he couldnât progress further.
Over time, through cultivation, the King of Cloud Peak realized that while the path forward wasnât completely blocked, it was extremely difficult, as if Earth itself refused to allow existences that could threaten it.
But here, that feeling was gone. In its place was a kind of hungerâhis body instinctively craving energy, yearning to absorb more.
It seemed that before long, he would progress again, just like on Earth.
"A little better than I expected. But you recruits are still trash."
A mental transmission forced its way into the minds of every being in the space, conveying those words.
"Donât ask where this is. Donât ask who I am. And definitely donât ask what weâre doingâbecause soon, others will come to claim you. Ask them if you want answers."
"All I can tell you is, most of you will never see me again. Because becoming a top-tier lifeform and receiving an invitation from the sky isnât the start of good fortuneâitâs a trial⊠one you might not return from."
"Alright then. Good luck."
With that, the being and its companions flew back up. Before anyone could digest its words, various voices began calling down from above, summoning one being after another.
Ye Zhongming didnât know the selection criteria, but the arriving beings always chose their targets instantly, without hesitation.
Had the universal races already "divided" them while they were unconscious?
As Ye Zhongming observed, puzzled, three black-robed beings wearing bronze masks suddenly entered. After a brief scan, they walked straight toward him.
"Come with us, trash."