Chapter One

"Hurrah!"

"Dear viewers!"

"Every friend in front of the live broadcast screen—wriggling your antennae, hands, and wings—of course, if you don’t have wings, just shake your hips!"

"In any case, good evening to you all!"

Amidst the rousing music, the green-skinned host donned a perfectly tailored three-piece suit. His tail stinger quivered uncontrollably in excitement, his segmented lower limbs rustled against the air, and the antennae sprouting from his hair stretched and contracted beneath the glare of the spotlight. The green blood coursing through his veins lent his face a radiant, exuberant glow as he greeted every viewer before their screens with infectious enthusiasm.

"Welcome to the universe's most popular cultivation variety show—‘Supra-Sovereign King’s Cosmic Brawl!’ I am your beloved host, Makka Makka!"

Dazzling light effects erupted within the lavish live broadcast simulation sphere, scattering multicolored shards of light pollution—scarlet, orange, blue, green, cyan, and red—through the air. Behind Makka Makka, three floating screens displayed highlight reels of last season’s champion, runner-up, and third-place finisher.

The program’s signal raced through the Cosmic Light Web, transmitting at trillions of times per second to every galaxy in the Prime Universe.

On the Cosmic Web, trillions upon trillions of viewers were already waiting for the new season of ‘Supra-Sovereign King’s Cosmic Brawl’ to begin!

[It’s starting, it’s starting!]

[Ah, that familiar Makka Makka!]

[My tail stinger is already twisting with anticipation!]

[Hurry up! Let’s see what promising candidates from the subordinate dimensions we’ll get this season!]

[Hurrah, hurrah!!]

Inside the live broadcast simulation sphere, Makka Makka spread his two pairs of humanoid arms wide, gazing at the flying comments in the air and proclaiming with heartfelt emotion, "We meet again, my dear viewers!"

"After a long wait of three hundred sixty-five cosmic cycles, nothing can stop the arrival of ‘Supra-Sovereign King’s Cosmic Brawl: Season Two’!"

"The all-new upgraded season will deliver an even more exhilarating live experience!"

"Perhaps some friends don’t know yet—with the start of this season, one hundred Supra-Intelligent King Systems developed by Black Cosmos Corporation have already been successfully deployed across the dimensional streams!"

"They will harness their supreme computational power to analyze data from subordinate universes about to be entered, and, based on the results, bind themselves to the candidates they deem most promising!"

"Oh-ho! So, my dear viewers, even without your knowledge, a new king’s brawl has already begun!"

As host, Makka Makka hooked the microphone with one of his segmented hands, elegantly adjusting his collar with an upper pair of limbs, while his second upper pair struck a variety of flamboyant, self-admiring poses.

Every gesture radiated Makka Makka’s exuberant mood.

On the scrolling comment overlay, the audience could barely contain themselves—

[Oh, look at his writhing tail stinger, the way it curls… I bet there’s even more exciting news he hasn’t revealed yet!]

[Hurrah!]

[Come on, Green-Skin Makka, announce it already! By the way, have you ever considered dying your hair red? Trust me, it would suit you even more!]

In the chaotic ocean of comments, inside the simulation sphere, Makka Makka, his face aglow, twisted his tail stinger in excitement and finally couldn’t help but announce, "This time, Black Cosmos Corporation has, for the first time ever, provided us with ten original systems from within the company! These ten original systems are our Number 1 through Number 10 Supra-Intelligent Systems!"

"And here’s a little secret: among these ten original systems is even a ‘Supreme God’ grade system!"

"That’s right! Our Number 001 is the strongest king system in the history of cosmic variety shows!"

"Right now, Number 001, along with the other nine original systems and ninety Supra-Intelligent Systems, have successfully arrived in the subordinate universes via the cosmic dimensional stream!"

"Excited? Thrilled? Where’s your scream? Let me hear your cheers!!!"

In an instant, countless viewers who had activated virtual immersive broadcasts erupted with piercing cries within the simulation sphere!

[Oh my stars!]

[Original systems!]

[Isn’t this one of Black Cosmos Corporation’s most closely guarded secrets?!]

[Supreme God-grade system?! Oh! Prime Universe’s ultimate computing power! The power to destroy a subordinate universe with ease, and it’s appearing on a variety show?!]

[Has the company gone mad or have I? Oh, I’m definitely following this season of ‘Supra-Sovereign King’s Cosmic Brawl’!]

[Subscribed!]

[Subscribed +1]

[+1 +1 +1]

Season Two of this smash-hit variety show had just begun, and it had already become a phenomenon. Every virtual broadcasting platform across the Prime Universe was surging with traffic, hot searches exploded, and all media under Black Cosmos Corporation threw their weight behind the show, rocketing it to the number one spot on the Prime Universe trending chart—followed by a massive ‘BOOM’ icon.

It was a universe-level trending explosion!

Meanwhile, as Makka Makka had said, the hundred Supra-Intelligent Systems were deployed into random subordinate universes the very instant the new season began.

Of course, “random subordinate universes” left room for maneuver. Depending on their computational power, in the 0.01 microseconds before deployment, these systems could analyze the dataflow from various subordinate universes at lightning speed.

They could then actively lock onto a target universe for dimensional transfer, based on their own calculations.

Unbelievable as it sounded, the Supra-Intelligent Systems could do it—and the original systems at the top tier, even more so.

As for the ‘Supreme God’-grade original system, Number 001? As soon as all systems’ data webs swept across the subordinate universes, 001 had already locked onto its target.

***

At the same moment, inside Black Cosmos Corporation headquarters, a conversation was underway—

"Number 001, is it?"

"It currently suffers from data corruption. Are you sure letting it freely deploy to a subordinate universe for this kind of game will do it any good?"

"Of course. That’s the result Hilberg calculated."

Hilberg—formally known as Saint Hilberg the Omniscient Mind—was the greatest asset enabling Black Cosmos Corporation to dominate the Prime Universe.

"Since it’s Hilberg’s calculation, then… let’s wait patiently."

***

The euphoria sweeping through the spiritual bodies of the main universe’s audience left them oblivious to what secrets might lie behind this seemingly ordinary super-variety show.

Everyone was eagerly anticipating which king candidates the Supra-Intelligent Systems would bind with after entering the subordinate universes.

[Oh! Here it comes—the first live broadcast channel is lighting up!]

Just as Makka Makka announced that this season’s ‘Supra-Sovereign King’s Cosmic Brawl’ would feature the participation of a ‘Supreme God’-grade system, and as this revelation sent the entire universe's platforms into a frenzy, the hundred Supra-Intelligent Systems that had entered the subordinate universes via the dimensional stream were already establishing reverse live broadcast channels to the main universe.

As the first system’s live channel lit up, the second and third followed in quick succession…

Under the gaze of all, ninety-nine Supra-Intelligent System broadcast rooms were swiftly activated—except for Number 001.

[Huh, where’s 001?]

[Isn’t that the Supreme God-grade system? Why hasn’t its broadcast started yet?]

Inside the virtual simulation sphere, a cacophony of discussion broke out among the spiritual audience in the main arena.

Bathed in the spotlight, Makka Makka clapped with his two pairs of humanoid arms, then elegantly tidied his tie with the second pair, while the first pair gently smoothed his perfectly coiffed hair.

Finally, Makka Makka cleared his throat with poise: "Ah-ha, friends, a little patience, please? The most esteemed ‘Supreme God’ system is worth the longest wait—perhaps it’s preparing a marvelous little surprise for us?"

"But in any case, it is our most prized King System 001! Until it unveils the mystery of its broadcast room, let’s first see what surprises the other ninety-nine systems have in store for us!"

The virtual broadcast sphere, with its powerful capabilities, could instantly shift the audience’s spiritual bodies into any live broadcast room’s perspective—

"Our first stop: the live space of System 100, Number 100!"

With Makka Makka’s introduction, the scene within the broadcast sphere shifted to the subordinate universe containing System 100.

It was clear that the candidate shown was the one bound to System 100—a humanoid creature, thickly furred, resembling a primitive, unawakened man-beast.

At the same time, his muscular limbs were powerfully developed.

Inside the broadcast, viewers were already passing judgment—

[Ah, it’s a humanoid, carbon-based species, humanoid index probably over eighty percent.]

[Shrill cry! No way! That’s a long-haired type—the humanoid index can’t possibly be over eighty percent! I bet his thick fur hides other features! An eighty percent index is already a high-grade humanoid!]

[Why not believe it? This is a Black Cosmos Corporation show; in some subordinate universes under their control, there are lifeforms with a humanoid index over ninety-five percent!]

[I get it, I get it—some groups always refuse to acknowledge the high humanoid index of the long-haired types.]

[Even so, I’m not optimistic about him—last season’s show had a similar long-haired type, and he didn’t even survive to the knockout rounds!]

In the virtual studio, a wildly diverse array of spiritual bodies exchanged lively commentary on the various king candidates.

In this age of rampant individual consciousness across the vast cosmos, these audiences, with their boundless free time, were becoming harder and harder to please.

Hidden within the crowd, Makka Makka discreetly wiped the sweat from his brow with his primary right hand.

Thank the Corporation!

They’ve delivered ten original systems!

Oh, and of course, the greatest of them all—the Supreme God-grade King System 001!

Without such sensational bait, these variety show viewers would have deserted without mercy!

Just then, the Original System Number 010 made its move!