Chapter 161: The Extraterritorial Battlefield

After the completion of Luo Yuan's induction ceremony as a member of the Hong Alliance, King Black Horn departed with his retinue of divine envoys. Luo Yuan then logged into his Hong Alliance account in the Virtual Universe to browse information regarding the organization. He was somewhat surprised to find that the number of Immortal Kings led by humanity alone reached a staggering three million.

The headquarters of the Hong Alliance is situated in the supreme plane of the Virtual Universe—the Hong Alliance Space. It contains the Hong Alliance City, which is divided into outer cities, inner cities, and the Hong Alliance Hall. Members are ranked from one to seven stars based on their strength. City Lord Chaos is one of the seven-star Hall Masters.

Venerable Guiyi took Luo Yuan for a stroll around Hong Alliance City, and Luo Yuan found it immensely bustling. However, even the weakest entity in the city was a one-star Immortal King. Trade here was extraordinarily advanced; the rarest treasures in the primordial universe could be acquired here, provided one had sufficient funds or contribution points.

When Luo Yuan saw a bottle of Purple Fire Ape Wine priced at tens of billions of contribution points, he could only sigh that poverty limited his imagination. There were many treasures in Hong Alliance City that made his mouth water, but he found his pockets distressingly empty. Therefore, he decided to send his avatar to the Outer Battlefield to accept missions and earn military merits, as the military merit exchange system in the Outer Battlefield was also operated by the Hong Alliance, and the items he desired were available there as well.

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The 10,811 universe countries controlled by the human race possessed eight mega military logistics bases, and Cangniao Star was one of them. With a diameter reaching over a million kilometers, it was a massive artificial planet.

As a logistics base, it housed personnel, weapons, and living supplies transported from various universe countries. The base resembled a massive military fortress, with countless individuals entering and exiting. Yet, even the weakest person here was at the Universe Level.

Luo Yuan's avatar arrived here aboard an F-grade Falling Ink Star spaceship, which parked in the planet's docking harbor.

"My goodness! Is this an F-grade spaceship? It's forged entirely from Chihun Copper Mother and is worth a fortune. The owner of this vessel must have an extraordinary background!" exclaimed a docking harbor worker upon seeing Luo Yuan's spaceship.

"Clack~"

Luo Yuan's avatar stepped out of the spaceship wearing the golden king armor of the God-Flame race, radiating an aura of overwhelming wealth.

"Greetings, Honorable Sir. I am an attendant here. How is it that you have arrived here alone?" the worker asked with a respectful smile, eyeing Luo Yuan while inwardly shocked. "Judging by his appearance, this person should be a World Lord-level powerhouse with a formidable background. Yet, I've never seen or even heard of the golden wheel mark between his eyebrows. Could it be a mark of the origin laws?"

"I came alone to voluntarily join the Outer Battlefield and earn military merits. Do you know where I should go to complete the formalities?" Luo Yuan asked.

"Ah, a lone wanderer, I see. Please take that pathway over there, which is specifically designated for lone wanderers," the worker said, pointing to a futuristic steel path in the distance. He assumed Luo Yuan was likely a disciple from a major power out to temper himself, as he had seen many such lone wanderers before.

"Many thanks."

Luo Yuan smiled at the worker and walked toward the pathway. Moving with astonishing speed, a single flash of his figure spanned over a hundred kilometers, bringing him to an immensely spacious plaza where over ten thousand other lone wanderers had already gathered.

"Hello, please come this way to rest and wait," a pretty maid with cat-like ears and a tail said to Luo Yuan with a smile.

Luo Yuan nodded, ordered a glass of fruit wine from the maid, found a random seat, and waited quietly. He knew the rules here: a batch of lone wanderers would only be transported away once the number reached ten thousand.

……

"Hello, are you here by yourself?"

Suddenly, a mature and alluring female voice sounded in Luo Yuan's ear. He turned his head to see an exceptionally stunning woman with the aura of an ice-cold beauty, instantly recognizing that she was also at the peak of the World Lord level.

Luo Yuan glanced around; among the more than ten thousand people present, fewer than ten had reached the peak of the World Lord level. Out of courtesy, Luo Yuan smiled and replied, "Yes, beautiful lady. Is there something you need?"

The alluring woman took a sip of her red wine and laughed, "What, Demon King, don't you recognize me anymore?"

Hearing this woman suddenly call out his code name from the Slaughter Arena, Luo Yuan was slightly startled. He rapidly searched his mind for information on her and managed to recall it. Her code name was Blood Thorn, a core member of the Giant Axe Dojo—one of the five behemoths—and a member of a secret realm equivalent to the Primordial Secret Realm. Furthermore, this woman had once been ruthlessly whipped by Luo Yuan in the decisive battle space while he was farming attributes.

Luo Yuan could only sigh that the world was truly small; he could actually run into an acquaintance here. However, given how badly he had treated her back then, was she here seeking revenge? At this thought, Luo Yuan frowned. Although his combat prowess was staggering, he was not one to slaughter the innocent indiscriminately unless someone provoked him first.

Seeing Luo Yuan's expression, a flash of sly amusement crossed the woman's eyes. She smiled and asked, "Did you remember?"

Luo Yuan asked directly, "I came here to earn military merits and have no desire to get into a conflict with you. If you're looking for revenge, I'm sorry, but you're still too weak."

The woman was slightly stunned upon hearing this, then slowly spoke, "You've misunderstood. I want to team up with you. I know you're very strong—you cleared the World Lord-level Primordial Tongtian Mountain and the 20th level of the Tongtian Bridge—but I'm not bad either. Since it's so hard to run into someone I recognize, teaming up will give me much more peace of mind."

Hearing this, Luo Yuan simply waved his hand and ignored her completely.

A short while later, a stern-faced general arrived. He was an Immortal King god and immediately began categorizing the ten thousand people present. Naturally, Luo Yuan headed to the designated area for World Lords. There were fewer than a hundred World Lords present; all the others were Domain Lords or Universe-level lone wanderers.

Next came the authority-granting ceremony, which determined one's status and authority within the military based on combat performance demonstrated in the Virtual Universe Network. Luo Yuan directly obtained the rating of World Lord Warrior. In truth, Luo Yuan's strength far exceeded this, but the highest rating available here was merely World Lord Warrior.

Standing upon the high platform, the Immortal King general coughed a few times to quiet the crowd, followed by a passionate pre-battle motivational speech:

"The authority-granting ceremony is now concluded! Attention everyone, eyes front, at ease! In a moment, you will be transmitted to the Outer Battlefield. Our enemies are countless powerful alien races. This is neither an exercise nor a solo fight, but a war—a struggle for the survival of our race! Warriors of humanity, use your flesh and blood to protect the territories of the human race! I am proud of all of you! Charge forth! Fight for humanity!..."

Luo Yuan listened with mild interest from below. He wondered how many times this general had recited this exact speech. Combined with some minor soul-affecting techniques, it certainly packed a punch; even he felt a stirring of hot blood in his veins. However, for Luo Yuan, he had another major objective here: acquiring the second metal plate of the *Nine Tribulations Secret Code*, alongside harvesting massive military merits to exchange for fine treasures.