353: challenge

Although Lin Tianwei had long detected Luo Ji's intention to pledge allegiance, he never expected him to be so decisive, directly offering his origin.

The origin is the foundation of a Cosmic Beast, representing its soul and everything.

Through the origin, one can not only perceive the thoughts of a Cosmic Beast but also control its life and death.

It can even alter a Cosmic Beast's consciousness and modify its intentions.

In a sense, offering one's origin is a more terrifying Slave contract than a control chip.

If a control chip still had the possibility of backfiring, then once one's origin was controlled, there would be no possibility of ever rising again.

Of course.

Compared to a control chip, offering one's origin is not entirely without merit.

Although it is also a Slave contract, a Cosmic Beast that offers its origin still retains the potential for growth and the possibility of development.

Even so, no Cosmic Beast would ever do such a foolish thing as completely entrusting its life and fortune to another Cosmic Beast.

However, Luo Ji not only did it but did so without Lin Tianwei even asking, which clearly showed his resolve.

Facing the readily available origin, Lin Tianwei simply waved his hand, and it returned to Luo Ji's body.

Seeing this, Luo Ji's expression changed drastically, visibly becoming disappointed.

He never expected that even after offering his origin, he still couldn't gain Lin Tianwei's favor.

He muttered, "It seems I was still a bit too greedy."

"It is already a great honor for me to receive help from Lord Zeta this time; how could I be so greedy as to want more?"

Although somewhat disappointed, Luo Ji felt that Lin Tianwei's refusal was reasonable.

For a Cosmic Beast as powerful as Lin Tianwei, the Cosmic Beasts wishing to follow him were as numerous as the carp in a river.

Given that, how could he possibly take a liking to an ordinary individual like himself?

However, before Luo Ji could dwell on his disappointment for long, he heard Lin Tianwei's voice, saying:

"I do not like to bind and restrict other creatures with so-called contracts. If you are truly pledging allegiance to me, you do not need to offer me your origin."

"If I suffer betrayal, it only means I lack the ability to win you over wholeheartedly."

"Moreover, what I need is not a weak enforcer, but an agent who can handle resource acquisition matters for me."

"The Lotus Slave Market is not foolish; they would not allow a Cosmic Beast who has offered its origin to hold a high position."

"Offering me your origin means you lose your greatest value to me."

Lin Tianwei indeed had the idea of cultivating an agent to help him with tasks.

Participating in such a tedious auction once was a novel experience, but doing it multiple times, Lin Tianwei felt, was a complete waste of his time.

Since Luo Ji had the idea of pledging allegiance to him, Lin Tianwei was willing to give him a chance.

Thinking of this, Lin Tianwei said, "As you are now, you are completely useless to me."

"What you did seemed very good, but any slightly intelligent Cosmic Beast could have done the same."

"However, I am still willing to give you a chance and let you accept a challenge."

"As long as you can become a person in charge of the Carles Star Realm, I can barely acknowledge your strength and admit that you are qualified to follow me."

Becoming a person in charge of the Carles Star Realm?

For Luo Ji, who essentially had no foundation, this was an impossible task.

Even if he barely achieved first place on the performance leaderboard in this assessment by relying on Lin Tianwei's strength, that did not mean he could 100% become a person in charge of the Extremely Cold Universe.

A shallow foundation was Luo Ji's biggest weakness; he simply did not have the qualifications to compete with Filiche and other beasts.

Seemingly holding an advantage, Luo Ji's situation was actually precarious.

An innocent man is guilty only for possessing a treasure.

Having no background whatsoever, he actually became the top performer on the leaderboard, and what awaited Luo Ji might not necessarily be a good thing.

At least Filiche was already plotting to eliminate Luo Ji.

It was only because eliminating Lin Tianwei had a higher priority that he was temporarily spared.

Even if Luo Ji was lucky enough to become a person in charge of the Extremely Cold Universe, he was still very far from becoming a person in charge of the Carles Star Realm.

Although it was only a difference of one level, crossing it would be incredibly difficult.

Lin Tianwei's request was undoubtedly a huge challenge for Luo Ji.

However, facing such a tremendous challenge, Luo Ji did not hesitate at all and immediately agreed, saying:

"I accept this challenge."

"Lord Zeta is right."

"If I cannot even complete such a simple challenge, I am not qualified to follow you."

Lin Tianwei looked at Luo Ji with a hint of appreciation; such a difficult challenge not only didn't deter Luo Ji but instead ignited his fighting spirit.

Such a Cosmic Beast was the Talent he needed.

Of course.

Lin Tianwei couldn't completely act as a hands-off manager, leaving the foundationless Luo Ji to fight alone.

Otherwise, he would have no hope of completing this challenge at all.

Thinking of this, Lin Tianwei directly took out two items from the Tiger Tooth Space.

The first item was a brand-new terminal, an unactivated new terminal.

After using Zeta's alias for a long time, it was now time for Lin Tianwei to shed this disguise.

After all, Lin Tianwei planned to visit the Law Arena, and with Zeta's identity, he wouldn't even have the qualifications to enter.

After simply leaving his soul imprint, this terminal became Lin Tianwei's private property; no other Cosmic Beast could use it except him.

After simply sending a friend request to Luo Ji, Lin Tianwei took out a storage box and said to Luo Ji:

"This is my challenge after all, and you are already helping me to some extent, so I can offer you two instances of help."

"Although this auction item is not of high value, it is practical and can be considered my first instance of help to you."

"As for the second instance of help?"

"If you encounter truly insurmountable difficulties, you can ask me for help once."

"Under permissible conditions, I will provide you with assistance once."

Luo Ji never expected that even though it was his own trial, Lin Tianwei was still willing to offer him two instances of help.

This act was truly overly benevolent, and his body even began to tremble with excitement.

This esteemed individual before him might possess immense power, might possess countless riches.

But the real reason he was willing to go all-in and pledge allegiance was not these things, but this unique attitude towards other Cosmic Beasts.

It was this unique attitude that made Luo Ji feel that even if he offered his origin, he would never regret it.

Moved in his heart, Luo Ji directly accepted the storage box gifted by Lin Tianwei.

As a subordinate, he did not need to question Lin Tianwei's decisions; he only needed to accept them.

He believed that Lin Tianwei definitely did not need a subordinate who questioned him at every turn.

Thinking of this, Luo Ji took out his terminal and accepted Lin Tianwei's friend request.

He then discovered that in the name field, there was only a simple character: "Lin."

Luo Ji instantly realized, understanding that this might be Lin Tianwei's true name.

Although these universal terminals all have the ability to bind users,

some Cosmic Beasts with special Talents can still bypass the terminal's verification and perfectly disguise themselves as other Cosmic Beasts.

So Luo Ji was not at all surprised that Lin Tianwei's true identity was not Zeta; he had even been mentally prepared.

Luo Ji had naturally investigated Zeta, this powerful alias that suddenly appeared before him.

He found that the original individual was just a low-strength Cosmic Beast, a Ze Clan member with no Talent, completely different from the power and invincibility displayed by Lin Tianwei.

It was precisely this discovery that made Luo Ji realize that the Cosmic Beast standing before him, seemingly harmless, was merely Lin Tianwei's disguise.

Beneath the weak exterior, it was highly likely that a super old monster was hidden.

A super old monster who might possess countless powerful Talents and had lived for tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of years.

Although making contact with such a super old monster carried immense risks, Luo Ji, already at a dead end, had no choice.

He could only take a gamble, betting that this super old monster could bring him enough performance to help him overcome his current difficulties.

He never expected that he not only bet correctly but even hit the jackpot.

One million five hundred sixty thousand units of origin!

Such a terrifying performance had never appeared in the entire history of the Extremely Cold Universe, spanning over hundreds of millions of years.

Compared to the second place's mere eighty to ninety thousand units of origin, it was an inhuman crushing victory, giving no chance for resistance whatsoever.

For this situation, Lin Tianwei could only express his apologies.

Initially, he only intended to do a bit of shopping, but he never expected the treasures he brought back from the Chaos Universe to suddenly explode in value, selling for super exorbitant prices.

Not only that, many of the auction items at this Lotus Auction were very interesting, making Lin Tianwei unable to resist bringing them all home.

Things were just that coincidental.

Lin Tianwei happened to have treasures, happened to have origin, and happened to encounter auction items he liked, so he casually created this record that would be impossible to break even in another few hundred million years.

Having acquired enough auction items, and with Luo Ji's matters also properly arranged, Lin Tianwei naturally had no need to stay here any longer.

Rejecting Luo Ji's request to see him off, Lin Tianwei took out his armor and prepared to return to the universe.

The treasures quietly lying in the Tiger Tooth Space still required him to spend some time to digest them, to transform them into his own strength.

It must be said, the extraordinary-grade Strength Enhancement Talent scroll was indeed a hot commodity.

Even as Lin Tianwei departed from Lotus Planet, the auction had not yet ended.

It even showed a trend of intensifying, with the bidding price soaring from the reserve price to fifty-eight thousand units of origin, making it an absolutely high-priced item in the entire Lotus Auction.

However, no matter how high the final transaction price of this Talent scroll was, the Cosmic Beast that acquired this performance could not shake Luo Ji's dominant position on the performance leaderboard.

The outcome of this war of performance had already been determined long before it was officially declared over.

As the auction had not yet ended, Lin Tianwei's departure was also rather quiet.

However, it could not escape the prying eyes of those with intentions.

The moment Lin Tianwei drove his armor away from Lotus Planet, a pair of malicious eyes had already fixed on him.

Looking at the familiar spaceship before him, Udo's eyes gleamed with interest, and he shouted, "He ran, that coward ran."

"I must say, escaping while everyone is scrambling for the last auction item is a very wise choice."

"At this time, everyone's attention is on that Talent scroll; who would notice this rat's escape?"

"It's just a pity, no matter how cunning you are, you can't escape my fiery golden eyes; I still found you in the end."

"As dashing as you were when you rejected me, that's how pathetic you are now in your escape."

"Foolish fellow, you will pay an unbearable price for your arrogance."

"The pest eradication operation officially begins. Now entering the first phase: the pest expulsion plan."

"Drive this plump pest into our encirclement."

In Udo's perception, no Cosmic Beast could resist the temptation of an extraordinary-grade Strength Enhancement Talent scroll.

If financially feasible, even if one didn't use it themselves, auctioning it off as a resource for trade was a very worthwhile deal.

After all, once one's realm reached a certain level, yuan crystals were no longer hard currency.

Instead, certain treasures held absolute dominance in the trading market.

Only the Legendary origin, due to its sheer versatility and pure energy, could barely be considered a decent token.

Therefore, Lin Tianwei's early departure from the Lotus Auction, in Udo's view, was a shameful escape, absolutely not because he was uninterested in this extraordinary-grade Talent scroll.

Udo's smug expression perfectly encapsulated the saying, "How can a sparrow know the ambition of a swan?"

How could a Cosmic Beast as weak as him comprehend Lin Tianwei's greatness?

However, Udo was completely unaware that he had misspoken, and Filiche caught the key point, asking suspiciously:

"Rejected? What did he reject you for?"

"Didn't you tell me you had no interaction with him whatsoever?"

At this moment, Udo realized his slip of the tongue and explained, "Naturally, it was the initial transaction. This unknown Cosmic Beast approached me to buy an arm."

"I kindly agreed to sell him my valuable arm, but I never expected him to be so ungrateful, rejecting the super discount I offered him."

"Such an ungrateful Cosmic Beast should turn into cosmic dust; every minute and second he lives is a waste of resources."

Super discount?

Filiche almost burst out laughing, thinking to himself that Udo was truly despicable to the extreme.

Given Lin Tianwei's generosity in constantly making bids at the auction, how could he possibly refuse a truly super discount?

Udo must have thought the other party was easy to manipulate and offered a reverse super discount, which led to the direct refusal.

Thinking of this, Filiche said with an ambiguous meaning, "Then he truly is somewhat ungrateful, and it's fitting that we utterly destroy him."

"Don't worry, before long, this ungrateful Cosmic Beast will no longer exist in the universe." (End of Chapter)