202: tip of the iceberg

Three immense life forces were gently enveloped by the Galaxy Level barrier set up by Yun Xi, not disturbing Kunlun Star in the slightest.

Three beams of light, three different phenomena, descended simultaneously!

Chen Jun was still sprawled on the lounge chair, chuckling to Chen Xu, who stood beside him like a javelin: "Look, your younger brothers are here."

Chen Xu's face was calm, his gaze sweeping over the three anomalies. He nodded slightly: "All are excellent talents, a blessing to the Family."

Inside the delivery room, the process was equally smooth, almost unbelievably so. The might of Innate Aptitude combined with the Human Federation's top medical technology made childbirth seem like a mere formality.

Soon, the delivery team emerged, leading three 'youths'.

Why 'leading'?

Because these three little ones also didn't go through an infancy period!

Emerging from Liu Ruyan's delivery room was a youth who appeared to be about thirteen or fourteen years old.

Although his figure was slightly slender, there was an undeniable sharpness in his brows. His black hair was short, his eyes frighteningly bright, and his aura was clearly Stellar Level initial stage!

He was precisely an Innate Yao Body! Because he had been gestated for an additional sixteen years, he was one Realm higher than Yun Qinglan's Planet-level Peak when she was born!

He wore a set of self-condensing dark red battle attire, his steps steady. His gaze swept across the room, finally landing on Chen Jun. Without any stage fright, he strode over, cupped his fists, and bowed with clean, decisive movements:

"Son greets Father!"

"Good! With Killing Intent contained within, you're excellent material for a soldier. You shall be named... Chen Yan. May your small spark ignite a prairie fire and bring Radiance to the Family's name."

"Chen Yan! Thank you, Father!" Young Chen Yan's voice was clear and loud; he was clearly very satisfied with this name.

Next, emerging from Chu Yueyao's delivery room was another thirteen or fourteen-year-old youth.

He wore a simple and elegant blue long robe, with a handsome face and clear, calm eyes. His cultivation was also Stellar Level initial stage, an Innate Yao Body.

He turned to Chen Jun, his voice peaceful: "Son greets Father."

Chen Jun looked at him and smiled: "Meticulous in thought, calm as water. You shall be named Chen Lan. May you have the capacity for greatness and wisdom like the sea."

"Chen Lan, I will remember Father's teachings." Young Chen Lan bowed in response, his eyes utterly placid.

Finally, emerging from Qing Lin's delivery room was a young man who appeared to be seventeen or eighteen years old.

He had a tall and slender physique, his face more similar to Chen Jun's, extraordinarily handsome, with a gentle temperament, yet his eyes held a trace of purity, newly born and not yet fully faded. His cultivation was clearly Stellar Level Peak! An Innate Venerable Body!

He first looked around, then quickly walked to Qing Lin, who was somewhat exhausted from childbirth and being supported by Lin Wei, gently helping her. His tone was filled with concern: "Mother, are you alright?"

Qing Lin looked at this son who appeared 'older' than herself, her small face blushing. She was both joyful and shy, shaking her head repeatedly: "No, no! Child, I'm fine!"

Only then did the young man relax. He then looked at Chen Jun, his eyes respectful. He walked closer and bowed: "Son greets Father."

Chen Jun looked at this another 'factory-fresh adult' Venerable Body son, stroking his chin: "Hmm, simple-hearted and gentle as jade. You shall be named Chen Yu. Possessing virtue and integrity, with the demeanor of a gentleman."

"Chen Yu, I thank Father for the name." Young Chen Yu responded respectfully, his posture impeccable.

In the blink of an eye, Chen Jun now had four more sons!

Eldest son Chen Xu, second son Chen Yan, third son Chen Lan, fourth son Chen Yu!

Chen Jun looked at these four outstanding sons, especially Chen Xu and Chen Yu, these two Innate Venerable Bodies, and felt an unprecedented sense of satisfaction.

"Hmm, the foundation is established, the household prospers." Chen Jun nodded in satisfaction, leisurely sipping his nine revolutions star tea.

However, this tranquility and warmth did not last long.

"Ancestor Chen! Ancestor Chen! This is bad! Something big has happened!!!"

A figure stumbled and scrambled, practically crawling on all fours, rushing in from outside the manor!

It was none other than the Dean of the Academy of Sciences — Mo Heng!

This usually calm scientific giant now had disheveled hair, crooked glasses, and his white coat was stained with traces of unknown energy liquid. His face was filled with unprecedented panic and... a bewilderment almost akin to a collapse of faith?!

He even disregarded basic etiquette, rushing directly to Chen Jun's lounge chair, his voice trembling almost beyond recognition:

"Ancestor Chen! The virtual universe! The virtual universe, it... it..."

Mo Heng was so agitated he couldn't catch his breath, coughing violently, his face flushed red.

His disheveled appearance instantly drew everyone's attention.

Chen Xi and the others, who were about to take their new younger brothers to 'get familiar with the environment,' stopped in their tracks.

Lin Wei, Chu Yueyao, Liu Ruyan, and Qing Lin, who were gently watching their sons, looked up.

Even Yun Xi in the Star Gazing Pavilion and Yan Ji in the side room cast their gazes of concern.

The newly appointed 'Chief Guard Officer' Liu Ruyan frowned, instinctively about to step forward and throw out this fellow who 'disturbed Ancestor Chen,' but she was stopped by a look from Chu Yueyao.

The four new generation members, Chen Xu, Chen Yan, Chen Lan, and Chen Yu, looked at the disoriented Chief Scientist of the Human Federation with curious, probing eyes.

Chen Jun frowned slightly, put down his teacup, his tone still calm:

"Mo Heng, why such panic? Even if the sky falls, there's... uh, there's Yun Xi and Qinglan to hold it up."

He almost blurted out "there's me to hold it up," but luckily he changed his words in time, maintaining his 'self-sealed' image.

Mo Heng took several deep breaths, finally catching his breath. He pointed in the direction of the virtual universe access pod, yelling incoherently:

"It's the virtual universe! Ancestor Chen! Just now! The moment we successfully optimized and increased the virtual universe consciousness time flow ratio to ten thousand to one! An incomprehensible, irresistible will, so vast that all our monitoring instruments instantly overloaded! It forcibly intervened in our virtual universe core! Leaving behind a... a piece of information!"

"Ten thousand to one?!" Chu Yueyao exclaimed in shock. As the Acting Leader, she knew too well what this number meant!

This was one of the hallmark thresholds of Level 3 civilization technology!

Yun Xi's figure appeared silently in the living room, her cool gaze filled with solemnity: "What kind of information?"

Yan Ji also walked gracefully over, her beautiful eyes sparkling with wonder. The Dragonborn Empire's virtual universe technology was far from reaching this level.

Mo Heng's face was a mixture of fear and excitement, gesticulating wildly:

"I don't know! We can't analyze it! Can't copy it! Can't even locate it again! It's like... like the Law of the Universe itself is imprinted there! It's terrifying! It demands... demands that the highest authority of the civilization personally immerse their mind to read it!"

Everyone's gaze instantly focused on Chen Jun.

Chen Jun raised an eyebrow.

Interesting.

In his days of 'lying down and winning,' he hadn't encountered such an 'over-the-syllabus' event for a long time.

He slowly rose from the lounge chair. Although his movements still carried a hint of laziness, the invisible aura belonging to 'Ancestor Chen' naturally permeated the air.

"Since it demands to see the highest authority," Chen Jun yawned, as if merely going for a stroll:

"Then let's go take a look. Weiwei, you all take good care of the children. Xu'er, you guys... hmm, never mind, it's good for you all to come along and broaden your horizons."

"Yes, Father/Husband/Ancestor Chen!" Everyone responded in unison.

A moment later, at the virtual universe Administration Bureau, the highest authority core node.

This place was supposed to be the pinnacle of Human Federation technological crystallization, with countless energy circuits and Law runes interwoven, exuding a cold, technological beauty.

But at this moment, the entire core node hall was permeated with an indescribable sense of grandeur and oppression, as if facing the Universe itself!

In the very center of the hall, at the 'Origin Point of Ten Thousand Realms' originally used for large-scale cosmic simulations, a ball of light that could not be described by any color or form was quietly suspended.

It seemed to not exist, yet also seemed to be everywhere... It emitted no energy fluctuations, yet it made the Souls of all beings who perceived it tremble and submit involuntarily!

Chen Jun arrived here with his entire Family, young and old, as well as Mo Heng and other high-ranking officials from the Academy of Sciences.

"It's it!" Mo Heng pointed at the 'light,' his voice still trembling:

"All our detection methods failed the moment they touched it! It... it's like a sticky note left by the 'backend administrator' of this Universe!"

Chen Jun looked at the ball of light, his eyes moving slightly.

With his true Star River Level cultivation and 1.2 times Innate Venerable Body perception, he could vaguely sense that the will level contained within this ball of light was extremely high!

It even... subtly exceeded his current scope of understanding!

"Father, this object... is no small matter." Chen Xu stood beside him, his brows slightly furrowed, his Star River eyes filled with vigilance.

Although he was newly born, the instinct of his Innate Venerable Body made him perceive a huge threat.

"What's there to be afraid of!" Chen Yan stepped forward, Battle Intent faintly emanating from him, his Stellar Level initial stage aura bursting forth:

"No matter what it is, if it dares to run wild in the Human Federation, we'll fight it first!"

Chen Lan calmly analyzed, "Second Brother, don't be impulsive. This object can silently bypass our strongest virtual universe firewall, meaning its technological or power level far surpasses ours. Rushing to attack might lead to unforeseen consequences."

Chen Yu frowned slightly, as if sensing something, and softly said, "It... has no ill intent. It's more like a... declaration?"

Chen Jun looked at his sons approvingly. Not bad, each has their own distinct qualities.

He waved his hand, signaling everyone to calm down, then asked Mo Heng, "How do we connect?"

"You... you just need to immerse your mind, Ancestor Chen..." Mo Heng quickly replied.

Chen Jun nodded, without hesitation, directly separated a wisp of his mind, like an extending tentacle, gently touching the 'light'.

At the moment of mental contact—

"Buzz!!!"

It wasn't a sound, but a grand resonance directly affecting the Soul Origin!

All the scenery before Chen Jun's eyes instantly vanished, replaced by an boundless, vast star map seemingly composed of countless galaxies, nebulae, and Star Rivers!

This star map was so immense, so intricate, far exceeding the scope of the Universe currently observed by the Human Federation!

At the same time, a calm, ancient, emotionless yet grand voice, as if containing the birth and death of the Universe and the rise and fall of civilizations, directly resounded in the depths of his consciousness, and simultaneously appeared in the consciousness of all high-ranking Federation officials who connected with his mind:

[Detecting nascent Level 3 Civilization 'Human Federation'... Access permission confirmed... Information database matching... Information transmission commencing...]

[Congratulations, young civilization.]

The view zoomed in, focusing on a swirling structure emanating brilliant Radiance.

[You have reached a Galaxy Level civilization. Perhaps you believe that a galaxy, small ones tens of thousands of light-years, large ones tens of millions of light-years, is already a vast stage.]

The star map shifted again, and that swirling structure was infinitely minimized, eventually becoming a tiny speck of light within a larger structure.

Countless such specks of light converged into an indescribably brilliant... river, spanning the void!

[But do you know that while a 'galaxy' is vast, a 'Star River' is composed of hundreds of millions, billions, or even more galaxies!]

The scale of the star map expanded wildly once more!

That brilliant Star River revealed its full scope against the larger background—

A colossal entity with a diameter of one hundred billion light-years!

[A Star River can have a diameter of fifty billion to one hundred billion light-years! This is why many primitive civilizations in the Universe, relying on rudimentary observation methods, mistakenly believe that the 'Universe' they see is only ninety-three billion light-years in diameter.]

[The truth is—the Universe observed by these primitive civilizations is merely the size of the 'Star River' they inhabit! They call it the visible Universe, which is like a mayfly ignorant of the vastness of the sky; the immensity of the Universe far exceeds your wildest imagination!]

[Like a frog in a well, looking up at the sky and mistakenly thinking the sky is only as big as the well's opening! They detect a few galactic spiral arms and mistakenly think it's one galaxy! They detect a few galaxies close together and mistakenly think it's a supercluster! This is due to insufficient understanding!]

This subversive realization exploded in the minds of all connected individuals like billions of Stellar Level stars!

Mo Heng's eyes were vacant as he murmured, "So... we... we haven't even left our own 'village'...?"

Chu Yueyao, Liu Ruyan, and others also turned pale, experiencing for the first time a profound sense of their own insignificance.

Even powerhouses like Yun Xi and Yan Ji had their pupils contract, their minds greatly shaken!

Of Chen Jun's four sons, Chen Xu's eyes were extremely solemn, Chen Yan clenched his fists, Chen Lan was rapidly calculating something, while Chen Yu showed shock and... longing.

That grand voice continued, carrying a cold cruelty:

[A vast stage means more brutal competition. Young civilizations, if you wish to give birth to true powerhouses—beings of the 'Starry Sky Level' (also known as Star Sea Level)—there is almost only one path to take...]

In the image, countless scenes of civilizations battling unfolded within that brilliant Star River!

Starships clashing, powerhouses falling, galaxies annihilated... until finally, a powerful figure, stepping over the bones of countless civilizations, unified the entire Star River!

[Unify the entire Star River you inhabit!]

[Only an individual at the Star River Level Peak, after unifying the entire Star River, will receive a reward from the Universe Law, and then have a sliver of Opportunity... to step into the Star Sea Level!]

[The Star Sea Level allows one to live as long as the Universe, truly... immortal! This is truly stepping into the cosmic Starry Sky, hence also known as the Starry Sky Level! The Star Sea Level can only be naturally achieved by an Innate King Body! And the Star Sea Level Peak is just their starting point!]

[Alas... Heaven does not bless our Human Race; a Star River may not even give birth to an Innate King Body in hundreds of millions of years! Let alone an Innate King Body, even an Innate Venerable Body is difficult to produce!]

[Even an Innate Venerable Body, with its billion-year Innate Universe Origin affinity period, will find it difficult to Breakthrough to the Star Sea Level without unifying a Star River and receiving the Universe's blessing!]

[Don't even think about an Innate King Body being born in your civilization; only by conquering and unifying the Star River is there hope for your civilization!]

[And only by reaching the Star Sea Level can your civilization be officially recognized by the 'Human Collective' and become a... member of it!]

"Human Collective?!" Everyone's hearts were once again greatly shaken!

[No need to be surprised. The Universe is not a lonely wasteland. 'Human' is also not a term exclusive to you. It is a vast collective of populations, scattered throughout the endless Universe, varied in form and culture, yet possessing similar life Origin characteristics.]

In the image, various strange 'human' forms began to flash: some had radiant wings on their backs, some were covered in scales, some resembled energy lifeforms, while others were a pure combination of machinery and flesh... but they all shared one commonality—

A certain quality, originating from the depths of the Soul, belonging to 'humans'.

[However, our Human Collective, in the vast Universe, before those truly powerful races... is simply too weak!]

The screen suddenly darkened. A gigantic hand, seemingly composed of countless galaxies, indescribably vast, gently swept across, and thousands of Star River-like structures, similar to their own, burst and vanished like soap bubbles... [Our Human Collective is so weak, even more insignificant and negligible than an ant in a primitive civilization! Alas... our Human Collective has always struggled for survival in the Universe!]

[For those powerful races, their newborns, from birth... are Starry Sky Level! Born immortal!]

"Newborns... Starry Sky Level?!" Liu Ruyan cried out in disbelief, her face filled with incredulity.

She had fought her entire life and was already at the Peak of the Federation, yet she was still two major Realms—Galaxy Level and Star River Level—away from the Star Sea Level!

And others... were born that way?!

A tremendous sense of powerlessness swept over all the high-ranking Federation officials who heard this news.

[For the continuation of humanity! To preserve the spark of our race in the Universe... Gu-raising is imperative!]

In the image, countless Star Rivers were like 'Gu boxes', with civilizations inside fiercely battling, devouring, and evolving, ultimately determining the strongest!

[Unifying a Star River will inevitably unleash a torrent of blood and lead to the demise of countless civilizations. But! This is a last resort! The probability of an Innate King Body being born in a Star River is almost zero! This is the only ladder for the weak to ascend!]

[Without becoming Starry Sky Level, all are ants! Without eternal life, without sufficient power, one doesn't even qualify as a reserve force for the race!]

That grand voice, filled with deep helplessness and resolve, made its final declaration:

[Nascent Level 3 Civilization—Human Federation!]

[If your Star River has not yet been unified... then develop with all your might! Struggle! Fight!]

[When your civilization reaches Level 4 and gives birth to your own Starry Sky Level powerhouse...]

The image finally froze on a magnificent super virtual universe structure, seemingly formed by the convergence of countless Star Rivers, too glorious to describe with words.

['Human Collective virtual universe' will officially accept your civilization, making it a registered... minority group within the Human Collective!]

[Strive to survive, compatriots.]

[Information transmission complete.]

"Buzz..."

The grand scene and voice receded like a tide.

Chen Jun's consciousness returned to his body. He still stood at the center of the virtual universe Administration, as if everything just now had been a mere illusion?