The Protagonists' Chat Group: Beyond the Boundaries — Chapter 414

Chapter 414: Chat Group vs. The Heavens Orphanage

After Li Changshou humbled himself and made his earnest plea, everyone in the group immediately agreed to his request for support.

Subsequently, the group began to study the parameters of this highly unusual team mission.

This mission was very special; Li Changshou had not received it from a conventional dungeon space. Instead, he received it directly from the Multiverse Channel.

The mission location was clearly not an ordinary Major Thousand Worlds.

【Li Changshou: “I’ve already investigated the specific information. The mission location this time is mainly in the ‘Taichu Fighting Arena · Myriad Tribulation Star Abyss.’”】

【Li Changshou: “‘Taichu’ refers to the Origin before the Universe was divided and the Dao had not yet taken shape—symbolizing that this place was born before the underlying Law of ‘battle’ in the Universe, and is the Origin of the very concept of conflict.”】

【Li Changshou: “‘Fighting Arena’ — ‘Arena’ refers to ancient ruins and places of Law remnants; ‘Fighting’ refers to battle. Combined, it means ‘the place where ancient Battle Intent settles,’ the ultimate destination for all battle memories and wills.”】

【Li Changshou: “‘Myriad Tribulation’ refers to having undergone countless tribulations, symbolizing that this place spans the River of Time and exists eternally. ‘Star Abyss’ — ‘Star’ is the foundation of space, and ‘Abyss’ is the extreme that devours all things.”】

【Li Changshou: “This place floats at the bottom of an endless sea of stars, using stars as its arena… To put it simply, this is a place similar to a Multiverse Dueling Ground!”】

【Li Changshou: “Ahem, previously, my Realm in my own world had already reached its peak, so I went to other worlds to seek Opportunity… Coincidentally, in the Multiverse Channel, I met a guy who called himself the Multiverse Director!”】

【Li Changshou: “The Multiverse Director, as the name suggests, is an existence in the Myriad Worlds who writes scripts and helps Major Thousand Worlds undergo Tribulation and ascend in dimension… He happened to have a ‘Gou Dao’ (Way of Caution) script, and he invited me to be the protagonist, so I made a cameo… That’s how I got to know him!”】

【Li Changshou: “The initiator of this mission I accepted is him. He had a bit of a conflict with the people from The Heavens Orphanage, and then they strategically arranged a group fight…”】

【Li Changshou: “The location for the fight is this ‘Taichu Fighting Arena · Myriad Tribulation Star Abyss.’ Everyone, don’t worry, there won’t be any real life danger. If there were real life danger, I wouldn’t have accepted this mission, even for the reward of a Concept-level ability…”】

Li Changshou narrated the entire unbelievable story. His explanation of the cause and effect stunned everyone into silence.

After all that explanation, it wasn’t some grand cosmic mission. It was just an organized group fight?

No. If they were participating in a group fight, were the rewards truly that amazing? Concept-level ability?

Everyone felt a sense of existential breakdown. They had been in contact with the Multiverse for more than a day or two, but they hadn’t expected the Multiverse to be so utterly outrageous.

Even organizing tactical group fights was a regular occurrence?

【Xiao Yan: “You mean, during this time of supposed caution, you secretly went to other worlds to be a protagonist in a script?”】

【Li Changshou: “Ahem, mainly that script was indeed good. Although it was acting, the Divine Ability and Opportunity were truly given to me as compensation…”】

【Li Changshou: “After finishing the script, my strength at least quadrupled. I don’t even know what Realm I am in now—somewhere between a Mouse Immortal Emperor and a Tiger Immortal Emperor on Shi Jian’s scale…”】

The Gou Dao script focused on extreme caution and escape. The protagonist possessed a full set of escape and life-saving skills and Divine Abilities. Li Changshou was profoundly envious of these ultimate defensive arts. He couldn’t resist and joined the Multiverse Director’s crew.

For that Gou Dao protagonist role, Li Changshou simply played himself: the ultimate cautious schemer. He easily finished all the scripts, successfully helping a Major World undergo Tribulation and stabilize.

Before acting, judging by the combat Realm of Perfect World, he was at most a weak Immortal Emperor. After acting and getting paid, he directly advanced to a strong Immortal Emperor. Isn’t this better than him blindly going into dangerous dungeons everywhere?

【Lin Dong: “Six hundred sixty-six—the ultimate form of chaos and genius…”】

【Li Qiye: “The Way of the Actor… truly a unique path to Dao…”】

…

After hearing Li Changshou talk about his recent, bizarre experiences, everyone in the group was dumbfounded. Go act? Be a protagonist? Help a Major World undergo Tribulation and ascend in dimension? Could it get any more outrageous?

【Li Changshou: “Haha, outrageous, right? There’s something even more outrageous. You’ll never guess who I acted with—an absolute veteran actor… You all know this person; he was even on the Chat Group’s candidate list before!”】

【Li Changshou: “A hint: he played the role of my Master. He’s a professional at playing Masters… Speaking of which, the specific casting choice has something to do with the name Shi Jian!”】

Shi Jian was stunned when he saw Li Changshou’s message. Related to my name? My Shi Jian… Lightning King?

Shi Jian suddenly recalled some things from his long-lost memory of Earth, and his expression became profoundly strange.

【Shi Jian: “It wouldn’t be Uncle Jiu, would it?”】

【Li Changshou: “I knew you’d guess it, Brother. It’s Uncle Jiu (Lam Ching-ying), the Multiverse Director’s exclusive ‘Myriad Worlds Sage Master,’ who has been the Master of countless Multiverse protagonists across existence…”】

【Shi Jian: “…”】 Shi Jian felt a lump in his throat, and he momentarily lost all his strength.

He had known for a long time that this Myriad Worlds was utterly chaotic and strange. But he hadn’t expected it to be this crazy. Myriad Worlds Sage Master Lam Ching-ying? Is this real? It just sounded like utter, glorious nonsense.

But thinking about it carefully, it really was spot on. How many Multiverse protagonists have apprenticed with Uncle Jiu in the various timelines? Countless. Calling Uncle Jiu the Myriad Worlds Sage Master really wasn’t wrong at all.

【Luo Feng: “…If acting can make you stronger at this supreme level, then what were my hundreds of millions of years in secluded Cultivation for? What was the point of my slow, deliberate path?”】

Luo Feng truly felt utterly drained and helpless. It was like a traditional Cultivator going into deadly seclusion, and upon finally coming out, their Dao Companion divorces them and takes half their Cultivation, leaving them with nothing but a profound sense of powerlessness and self-doubt.

…

【Xu Que: “Good, good, good, you didn’t even call me—the original protagonist of chaos—to be a protagonist in your little script?”】

【Shi Jian: “You’re hoarding the roles, Changshou…”】

【Li Changshou: “I’m innocent! That Multiverse Director’s strength is outrageously strong. During the entire acting period, I couldn’t even use the Chat Group or contact you!”】

【Li Changshou: “This is the first person I’ve met who can completely block the Chat Group’s power. After I finished acting, I took a commission from him, and then I immediately came here to tell you everything!”】

Everyone was surprised to hear that. Able to block the Chat Group’s power? This was terrifying. Is this so-called Multiverse Director’s strength on the same level as the Multiverse Chat Group itself?

【Li Changshou: “According to my guess, this guy can acquire concept-level abilities by filming. Otherwise, how could it be such a coincidence that right after finishing the Gou Dao script, he immediately came up with a concept-level ability that makes you stronger after death…?”】

【Li Changshou: “But no matter what, this guy is definitely outrageously strong, able to bring out concept-level abilities for trade and missions…”】

Li Changshou added some of his own calculated guesses.

【Li Changshou: “That’s how I got this mission… Next is information about our opponents!”】

【Li Changshou: “The Heavens Orphanage, you should have seen this bizarre force mentioned in the Multiverse Channel before… As the name suggests, it’s a Multiverse force formed by Multiverse protagonists of the orphan-type…”】

【Li Changshou: “This is considered a very powerful force in the Multiverse, after all, orphan protagonists, those who know the truth, know the sheer potential they hold… According to their philosophy, many people in our group meet their recruitment requirements, and of course, I do too—being an orphan of destiny…”】

【Li Changshou: “The number of strong individuals among them is definitely not small, but this group fight is being staged as a friendly spar, so there won’t truly be any life danger… We should be safe.”】

The Heavens Orphanage?

Everyone in the group felt a bit strange after seeing the opponent’s information. This force… it was hard to comment on its unique recruitment criteria.

Shi Jian had noticed this strange force when the Multiverse Channel first opened. Yet he hadn’t expected that he would now be able to directly interact with this force.

“Speaking of which… it seems I also meet the recruitment requirements of this force?” Shi Jian’s internal thoughts echoed with dry amusement. His lineage was also very pure—a proper orphan from the start.

On the other hand, Shi Hao’s lineage wasn’t pure. Although he lived an orphan’s life when he was young, he did have parents.

However, if Shi Jian remembered correctly, the Orphanage’s recruitment standards specifically stated: Having parents but living as if one didn’t… also counts as an orphan.

Fang Han was also deep in thought. When he was in the Multiverse Channel, he had already been in contact with the Orphanage. This force had even invited him, given his poor start. He didn’t join, but his background was certainly impressive.

Li Qiye’s mouth twitched. Orphanage. So lifelike… This Myriad Worlds was truly more amazing than he had imagined, but also more abstract and bizarre. How could there be such outrageously named forces?

The other people in the group were also on the verge of collapsing from the absurdity.

The early protagonists were fine; their births might have been a bit unusual, but they did have parents. But the later protagonists were more standard orphans, without any real attachments. Indeed, most of the people in the Chat Group met the Orphanage’s admission standards for one reason or another.

【Shi Jian: “Did orphans eat your family’s rice, Changshou?! Why are you fighting them?”】

【Shi Hao: “Brother, you still have me, and Liu Shen…”】

【Meng Qi: “…My mind instantly flashed with many amazing, world-breaking orphans from various novels…”】

【Li Qiye: “This Myriad Worlds is truly marvelous and utterly ridiculous in its complexity…”】

【Li Changshou: “Ahem, regarding the Orphanage’s information, that’s all I know. I don’t know anything more specific… I don’t know who we’ll be up against specifically, but they probably won’t send out overly overpowered strong individuals, as it is a spar.”】

【Li Changshou: “Finally, there’s information about this ‘Taichu Fighting Arena · Myriad Tribulation Star Abyss.’ I just told you about this place; it’s basically a dueling ground. However, this place isn’t that simple. The Multiverse Projection function in the Chat Group reflects this very place…”】

【Li Changshou: “‘Taichu Fighting Arena · Myriad Tribulation Star Abyss’ — an eternal battlefield born from the Origin of battle, where the Battle Intent of myriad tribulations settles, spanning the Multiverse Star Sea. It is the ultimate trial ground universally recognized by strong individuals across all worlds.”】

【Li Changshou: “According to the information revealed by the Multiverse Director, many Golden Fingers in the Myriad Worlds that are similar to this projection nature use the underlying authority of the ‘Taichu Fighting Arena · Myriad Tribulation Star Abyss’… This place has almost all information on everyone in the Myriad Worlds. Anyway, it’s incredibly, unbelievably powerful…”】

【Li Changshou: “This place is divided into nine arenas. The First Arena: Foundation of Mortal Battle, also known as the Human Dao Arena. Mortals, Martial Artists, and Jianghu heroes of lower levels clash here, with rules closely resembling the physical world. Many Golden Fingers for deduction and simulated combat use the authority here…”】

【Li Changshou: “The Second Arena: Realm of Spiritual Battle, Origin Qi Battle Dome. This place focuses more on energy-level clashes, with Spiritual Qi and Law automatically adapting.”】

【Li Changshou: “The Third Arena: Court of Divine Battle, Pantheon Corridor, reversing reality and manipulating Gods…”】

【Li Changshou: “Then there’s the Fourth Arena: Court of Concepts, Dao Contest Virtual Realm, Battle of Ideas; the Fifth Arena: Abyss of Reality and Illusion, Nightmare Arena; the Sixth Arena: Ring of Karma, Destiny Arena, where battle results can rewrite Karma… The Seventh Arena: Spine of Dimensions, Transcendent Battlefield… Anyway, according to the Multiverse Director, this place is incredibly powerful, and fighting here will be of great benefit to us!”】

【Li Changshou: “That’s all the information I know about this mission… Actually, I don’t really care about winning or losing, and it doesn’t matter if I don’t get the concept-level ability to become stronger after death. This time, let’s just consider it an eye-opener…”】

【Xu Que: “You said it! Then we’ll just treat it as a vacation!”】

Li Changshou’s face instantly darkened. What he had just said was, of course, a calculated lie to reduce pressure. He actually cared a lot about winning that Concept-level ability.

If he truly didn’t care about the reward, how could he have called the Director ‘Godfather’ more than a dozen times to secure the spot? He just wanted to say something polite and detached.

But Xu Que took it too seriously…

【Li Changshou: “Ahem, we still have to try to win. I really don’t want to lose the reward, or my reputation…”】

【Xu Que: “I knew you were implying that. You still want to pretend you don’t care at all, you hypocritical old fox…”】 Xu Que pursued him relentlessly, satisfied he had exposed his caution.

“Brother, this Multiverse is truly interesting,” Shi Hao looked at Shi Jian, his expression showing a hint of excitement.

Now, with their ultimate vision and power, the Strange Highland was no longer a major, insurmountable problem for them. Instead, this Multiverse of systems, concepts, and directors was the real, ultimate challenge.

Orphanage. Multiverse Director. Concept-level ability. All of this was new and profound. To be precise, it was something operating on a higher level of reality.

This was a completely new, unpredictable adventure. Shi Hao was immensely excited.

Shi Jian was also slightly excited; the Multiverse was his true main battlefield. With the existence of the Library of the Heavens, which could replicate everything—including the Dao Fruits and concept skills of others—that was the true, ultimate path to invincibility.

“Yes, it’s truly spectacular… Dao Fruits, concept-level abilities. I just don’t know if the Realm above Sacrificial Dao counts as a Dao Fruit, or if it possesses concept-level abilities?” Shi Jian replied, contemplating his next evolutionary step.

His own path was very clear: Replicating everything was his Dao. Replicating everything was his concept-level ability.

On the other hand, he was a bit worried about Shi Hao, who followed a more conventional path of growth. Touching upon things of this level, he wondered how Shi Hao would develop in the future.

“Dao Fruits can also be Cultivated,” Shi Hao declared, his eyes burning with ambition.

“In the future, I will definitely be able to Cultivate my own unique Dao Fruit, Cultivate my own concept-level ability.”

“In this era, I am invincible. In the future, I will become the ultimate Variable!” Shi Hao laughed, ready for the next challenge.

[Author’s Note on Future Content]

(Regarding this book, I have many ideas, especially about the Multiverse content: System Master, System Vendor, Orphanage, Multiverse Director, Myriad Worlds Exchange… Since I’m writing a Multiverse novel, I want to combine all books into a grand melting pot and forge a comprehensive worldview. In the future, whether writing fanfiction or original works, it would all be within this framework. Unfortunately, imagination is beautiful, but reality is cruel. The ideas are there, but my writing ability doesn’t support it. So, I had to completely cut the Multiverse arc. Once the Strange Highland is finished, this book will conclude!)