Chapter 1 Dark Sky

The sky was dark and the wind howled.

All seventeen members of the Giant Ape Clan respectfully saluted, "King."

"The Myriad Races Arena competition is only a year away." The one-armed Giant Ape King was the smallest in stature, but his invisible aura was the most vast and unfathomable. "The Myriad Races Arena is located at the center of the world. Even traveling by aircraft, it takes a month. Let's set off early."

"Yes," all the giant apes responded respectfully.

Soon, a massive aircraft arrived, and the one-armed Giant Ape King and the seventeen giant apes entered it.

Inside the hall of the large aircraft.

The one-armed Giant Ape King watched the outside scenery rapidly shrink. The aircraft quickly broke through the clouds and began flying at super high speed.

"With experts from all sides heading there, I'll be able to see some old friends." The one-armed Giant Ape King thought. He was already a Half-Step Third Realm expert and knew many Half-Step Third Realm experts and Abyss Lords in the surrounding territories.

Therefore, the one-armed Giant Ape King recognized some of the top experts who had been teleported over.

"King," suddenly a golden-haired giant ape said, "Do ordinary members of the Giant Ape Clan like us have any hope of getting out there?"

"These years, we've been hunting down those weaker races, but those weaker races are getting stronger over time. Some of our Giant Ape Clan's high-dimensional lifeforms have been killed," said Jiu Luo Jin, a skinny giant ape beside him. "With our strength, do we still have hope of winning first place in the Myriad Races Arena?"

The golden-haired giant ape and the skinny giant ape were the two strongest members of the Giant Ape Clan after the king.

"Your hopes are very slim."

The one-armed Giant Ape King looked at his subordinates. "I won't hide it from you. The first few Myriad Races Arena competitions are opportunities for powerful races, and even I have to fight desperately for them. Your chances of success are zero! In the mid- and late stages, the advantages of weaker races will become greater and greater, and you will still have no chance."

The giant apes fell silent.

They tried everything to attack and kill, hoping to increase their chances a little. But they were all highly intelligent, and the more they fought against those weaker races, the more they realized their own mediocrity.

"Your only chance... is lifespan," said the one-armed Giant Ape King.

"Lifespan?" The giant apes' eyes lit up.

"A powerful race also has an advantage: they generally have very long lifespans. The Five-Colored Dragon Clan commonly lives for 100,000 years, the Mountain Demon Clan commonly lives for 10,000 years, and our Giant Ape Clan commonly lives for 1,000 years," said the one-armed Giant Ape King. "That thousand-year lifespan is the base lifespan. As your strength increases, you can greatly slow down aging and live for tens of thousands of years."

"And those weaker races, like the Ant Clan, have a base lifespan of 30 years. Even if they slow down their aging by hundreds of times, it's remarkable if they exceed a lifespan of 10,000 years. The Human Race has a base lifespan of 200 years, and it's remarkable if they slow down their aging by a hundred times."

"Our bodies are too large, so it's harder to slow down aging, but we can still manage to slow it down by thirty to fifty times."

"Like the Five-Colored Dragon Clan, as long as they slow down the rate of aging by a few times, they will have a lifespan of hundreds of thousands of years."

The one-armed Giant Ape King looked at them. "After living for tens of thousands of years, those weaker race experts will be gone, and your competitors will be fewer. Naturally, your chances will be greater."

"Of course, a large group of powerful races will be competing with you at that time," said the one-armed Giant Ape King.

The giant apes nodded.

Yes.

Living long enough would allow them to participate in the Myriad Races Arena tens of thousands of years later.

The one-armed Giant Ape King continued to look outside, thinking to himself, "I can feel that I am approaching the limit of my race. I've only improved one level in the last hundred years, and in the future, the improvement will be even slower."

"Powerful races reach their upper limit more easily. I must seize the opportunities in the first few competitions to win first place. The longer I delay, the more experts will reach their upper limit, and the competition will become more and more intense."

...

"The Myriad Races Arena will be held in a year. I have to see my future competitors with my own eyes." An Ant Clan member, only twenty centimeters tall, with a cold gaze, sat in a small aircraft.

"I, Haverten, have only reached level 43 after cultivating for more than three hundred years. In terms of physical toughness, I estimate that I'm stronger than a level 60 Mountain Demon Clan or Giant God Clan member. But my body is too small, and the power I can exert is less than one-millionth of that of a level 60 Mountain Demon Clan member," the Ant Clan expert pondered. "My body is getting tougher and tougher, and the density is getting higher and higher, making it more and more difficult to improve."

"Even reaching level 60 is much more difficult for me than for the Mountain Demon Clan or the Giant God Clan."

"In fact, in the early stages, I don't even have the qualifications to participate."

The Ant Clan expert thought to himself.

"However, I can now perfectly conceal my aura and disguise myself as a noble in the Ant Clan," the Ant Clan expert thought. After a long period of reproduction, the Ant Clan has three major categories.

The highest in status are the Ant Clan's royal family, all of whom are female. They are very large, up to three to five meters tall, and they reproduce countless members of the Ant Clan.

The Ant Clan's nobles are larger, up to twenty to thirty centimeters tall, and their intelligence is comparable to that of normal humans. The operation of the Ant Clan's society is mainly maintained by the nobles.

Ordinary Ant Clan members are only a few centimeters tall, work hard without complaint, and have lower intelligence.

The Abyss Lord 'Haverten' was in an ordinary Ant Clan body when he first arrived. After cultivating to level 43, his body was only 20 centimeters tall.

...

The underground Demon Rat Empire.

"In one year, it will be the once-in-a-millennium Myriad Races Arena competition." A demon rat wearing a gray robe sat on a small sofa, watching the prosperous scene of the world center on the light screen. "I was born into the Demon Rat Clan. I completely gave up on the first five competitions! Once I go... I'm likely to be attacked and killed by a powerful race." "I'll focus on cultivating for five thousand years, then I'll try to win first place in the Myriad Races competition," the demon rat thought.

"Did the creator of the Myriad Races World do it on purpose? Throwing a Half-Step Third Realm expert like me into the Demon Rat Clan." The demon rat expert was also quite aggrieved. In terms of small size, the Demon Rat Clan could rank in the top five among the myriad races. Of course, it was still much better than the Ant Clan. The Ant Clan was the smallest in size, ranking first among the myriad races.

***
***
***

In a barren hilly area.

Xu Jingming had already returned to his true appearance in this world. His body was even taller and stronger than before, and the toughness of his body had reached an incredible level.

"Huff."

Xu Jingming took a deep breath, his low breath causing the earth to tremble.

"Ha!"

Suddenly exhaling, the breath exhaled from Xu Jingming's mouth broke through the resistance of the air, traveled through several miles, and struck a small mountain more than a hundred meters high. The small mountain instantly turned into powder, finer than the sand on the beach.

"The seventh realm of the Eight Directions Chart, 'My Dao Realm'."

"Transcending life, practicing my Dao. The Dao is not understood, but walked." Xu Jingming frowned slightly.

"I use the mysteries of the mind to tap into the infinite potential of the body. After more than three hundred years, progress is getting slower and slower."

Xu Jingming looked towards the southeast.

That was the center of the Myriad Races World, and also the location of the Myriad Races Arena.

"Buzz."

The watch suddenly rang.

Xu Jingming tapped it lightly.

"Master Ming." Yu Yangwei's enthusiastic voice came, "Shadow and I are preparing to go to 'World Center City'. Do you want to go with us?"

"You guys go ahead. I'll arrive before the competition starts," Xu Jingming said.

"Then when we get to World Center City, we must get together. We've wanted to meet Master Ming for a long time, but we've never had the chance," Yu Yangwei said.

"I also want to see Master Ming," another enthusiastic voice said.

"Ming, we'll see you in World Center City," Shadow said.

Xu Jingming smiled and said, "Okay, see you then."

After closing the communication, Xu Jingming pondered, "It's time to go home. The last time I went back was more than fifty years ago."

Although he had been wandering and cultivating outside these years, he still went home every few decades, after all, his parents' lifespans were relatively limited.

"Huff."

Soon a small aircraft flew over and landed in front of Xu Jingming.

"Going home." Xu Jingming entered the aircraft...

More than a month later.

This small aircraft directly arrived at Jianghan City, the capital of the Eastern Cloud Kingdom, one of the seven human kingdoms, and landed in the courtyard where his parents lived.

"Jingming, Jingming." Jing Yulong and Yuan Yu came out of the house, shouting with joy.

"Dad, Mom." Xu Jingming said with a smile, but seeing the baby held by his mother Yuan Yu, he was a little puzzled, "This is?"

"Oh, this is your younger sister," Jing Yulong said.

"How many is this?" Xu Jingming blinked.

"We have good health and live long, so of course we have to have more children. Your younger sister is probably the ninth," Jing Yulong said. Yuan Yu said from the side, "You, the eldest, disappear outside for decades at a time, so of course we have to have a few more to keep us company."

"Okay," Xu Jingming was speechless.

He didn't get married or have children, and his parents' advice was useless.

So his parents started having them themselves!

Because of the Body Refinement Method, his father now had level 18 strength, and his mother had level 15 strength. According to their current strength, they both had five or six hundred years of lifespan. Only three hundred years old, they were in their prime.

"How long will you stay this time?" Yuan Yu asked.

"Not just half a month, right?" Jing Yulong looked at his son.

This son made them proud, but in the last two hundred years, he had only returned a few times, and each time for less than a month.

"I'll stay for half a year this time before leaving," Xu Jingming said with a smile.

"Finally a little longer," Jing Yulong smiled. Yuan Yu asked from the side, "Where are you planning to go this time?"

"To World Center City." Xu Jingming didn't hide it. "Isn't the Myriad Races Arena opening soon?"

"Yes, the once-in-a-millennium competition. Your mom and I are planning to go too." Jing Yulong's eyes lit up with excitement. "Many humans never see a Myriad Races competition in their lifetime. But your mom and I cultivated the Body Refinement Method you created, which greatly extended our lifespan, so we have the opportunity to see the Myriad Races competition. Of course, we have to go to watch this greatest event of the myriad races up close."

The Myriad Races competition was of extraordinary significance.

During the competition, even wars had to be suspended. All the myriad races would watch this competition.

"Watching the Myriad Races Arena competition with our own eyes is the greatest luck of our lives," Yuan Yu said, holding the baby. "The only pity is that in the Myriad Races competition... we can't see the身影 of our Human Race."

"Only 300 people can pass the selection to enter the official arena," Jing Yulong said. "With so many powerful races, it's normal that the Human Race can't enter the arena."

Xu Jingming listened with a smile.

"Son, let's go together then," Yuan Yu said.

"Okay, let's go together." Xu Jingming nodded...

Time passed day by day, and the eyes of the entire Myriad Races World began to converge on the world center, all looking forward to the official opening of the Myriad Races competition.

A medium-sized aircraft was flying above the clouds.

Xu Jingming, Jing Yulong, Yuan Yu holding the baby, and a group of younger siblings were all in the aircraft hall.

"Boss, we will arrive at World Center City in five minutes," said assistant Ni Yun.

Xu Jingming nodded, his eyes already gazing far into the distance at the part of the building that broke through the clouds, which was the center of the entire world.

"The whole family is here to watch the competition." Xu Jingming shook his head slightly, because there were too many people coming, and he had brought quite a few assistants and bodyguards.

"I see it, World Center City."

"We're here."

A group of younger siblings were very excited. Watching a Myriad Races competition live was of extraordinary significance to every living being in the Myriad Races World.

Xu Jingming also smiled slightly. He could already sense one powerful aura after another. The current world center was full of experts!