In a region of starry space far from the Qianwu Continent, an F-class spaceship was darting swiftly through the Dark Universe at more than ten times the speed of light.
When Ling Yu's consciousness returned, she saw that her teacher had already finished cultivating.
Her teacher was the Silver Moon Marquis—one of the three Undying experts guarding the Qianwu Secret Realm, one of the three hundred marquises under the Qianwu Country Master of the Qianwu Universe Kingdom, a woman with the strength of a High-Level Undying Army Lord.
Her face seemed half-veiled by a layer of purple mist as thin as a cicada's wing, so that her peerless beauty could not be made out; her jet-black pupils, like the collapse of a black hole, could not conceal her astonishing presence.
"Ling Yu, do you know why your training journey was cut short this time, and you were brought back to the Qianwu Secret Realm?"
The Silver Moon Marquis's lips parted, her voice ethereal and melodious as a wind chime.
"Teacher, your disciple does not know."
Ling Yu stood respectfully at one side.
"I myself only received word not long ago. The Genius Battle, held once every five thousand years, will begin in twenty years. For you it is an extremely important opportunity, so I had to bring you back to the Secret Realm to guide you closely and carefully."
"The Genius Battle."
A gleam flashed through Ling Yu's eyes; she had clearly already heard of it.
"Mm. It is the once-in-five-thousand-years revelry of the entire universe, and the best chance a Star Level genius has to enter a top power."
The Silver Moon Marquis spoke slowly, unhurried and calm. "This time it falls to the Virtual Universe Company to host the Genius Battle. With your strength, plus another twenty years of my training, you would have an excellent chance of fighting for a place among the top one thousand in the entire universe."
"Make the top one thousand, and you can join the Virtual Universe Company's core secret realm, become one of that company's geniuses, and receive even better cultivation than the Qianwu Secret Realm offers."
"This is your opportunity... and if you enter the universe's top one thousand, it benefits me and the Qianwu Universe Kingdom alike. For the past several dozen epochs, our kingdom's results have been very poor, and the great Qianwu Country Master is deeply displeased..."
"Among the 1008 universe kingdoms of humanity's domain, ours ranks middling in territory—not bad at all. The great Country Master prizes the cultivation of geniuses even more than the other universe kingdoms do; Qianwu Dojos have opened in almost every corner of the kingdom. Yet after all these years, the Country Master's investment has never brought a satisfying return... Ling Yu..."
She paused.
"You are the most gifted student I have ever seen. If not for your youth, you might well fight your way into the universe's top hundred—and if you could master the Time Origin Law, you might even reach the top ten in the whole universe... What a pity... If only the Genius Battle were a few hundred years later, the great Country Master would surely be gratified."
"This time, my requirement of you is the universe's top one thousand. Before the Genius Battle I will pour everything into your training. Whatever you need, you may ask it of me."
"Teacher." Ling Yu bowed respectfully. "If you had not saved Ling Yu and my little sister back then, Ling Yu would never have come this far. In the Genius Battle, Ling Yu will naturally give her all to win a good result for the Qianwu Universe Kingdom and not fail your expectations. Ling Yu has no other requests... Ling Yu... only wishes to invite a teacher..."
"Oh? Which mentor in the Secret Realm has caught your eye? Rest assured—once we return to the Realm, whichever mentor you need, I will arrange it for you..."
The Silver Moon Marquis would certainly not refuse her disciple so small a request. As an Undying Deity, one of the three Undying of the Qianwu Secret Realm, her authority was very high; she could summon any Special-Class Instructor within the Secret Realm at will.
Ling Yu knew her teacher had misunderstood. She was silent a moment, then said, "The one I wish to invite is not a Special-Class Instructor of the Secret Realm, but a First-Class Instructor at Qianwu Dojo Headquarters..."
"A First-Class Instructor? You're not joking, are you?" The Silver Moon Marquis's brow creased slightly, a trace of displeasure in her tone.
Her own disciple was actually asking for a First-Class Instructor to guide her? Wasn't that a joke?
A First-Class Instructor?
Such a person was merely a Domain Master—someone who had at most grasped a few shallow Lower Laws, and whose law comprehension might well be lower than her disciple's already was. What qualification did such a person have to instruct her disciple?
"Teacher..." Ling Yu hurried to explain. "The First-Class Instructor I wish to invite is named Lu Qingshan. Like your disciple, he comprehends the Lightning Origin Law. His comprehension runs deep, and he has a truly distinctive way of teaching students... The problem with my little sister Ling Xi's domain was all but completely resolved under his guidance."
"Even if he does have some real skill, so what? He is still only a First-Class Instructor..." The Silver Moon Marquis's expression eased a little, and she soon pulled up Lu Qingshan's file.
"Oh?"
Having read the file, she gave a soft sound of surprise.
"This Lu Qingshan does indeed have some talent for teaching disciples, and his Lightning Law comprehension is passable. But a First-Class Instructor is still a First-Class Instructor—fine for guiding the Dojo's elite students, but not necessarily you. Since you have chosen him, I will let him serve as your instructor for a time. Still, I will also appoint a Special-Grade Mentor for you..."
"Yes, Teacher."
Ling Yu dared not raise any objection.
......
Qianwu Dojo Headquarters, the First-Class Instructor Manor.
Lu Qingshan was leisurely savoring fine food while comprehending the power of the Lightning Origin Law within heaven and earth.
By now, the Lightning Source Crystal's transformation of his body was essentially complete...
His affinity for the Lightning Origin Law had risen nearly twentyfold compared with before.
That meant one year of his current comprehension was worth at least twenty years of his former progress—perhaps more.
Because poor affinity forms a bottleneck in comprehending laws, Lu Qingshan could now clearly feel his progress racing forward with hardly any obstruction. The only thing he lacked was time.
Given a million years, he might well comprehend the Lightning Origin Law in its entirety, break through to Undying, and gain eternal life no longer bound by the Primal Universe.
"My law comprehension is already at 9%. One percent more and I will win the acknowledgment of the Lightning Origin Law... it's just that my own strength is still a bit short."
Last time, the power that had surged when he rose from Domain Master Second Stage to Domain Master Sixth Stage had, through this stretch of frantic training, been essentially mastered... Now Lu Qingshan began plotting to raise his level again.
After all, there was truly nothing worth lingering over at the Domain Master stage. If he was going to stall his rank at all, he should stall it at the World Master level.
Right now, comprehending the Lightning Origin Law in full would take him a million years, whereas breaking through to World Master might take only a few tens of thousands of years.
Accumulating origin force through the Domain Master stage was, for him, something of a waste of time.
Unfortunately, Lei Ming had already raised himself to Star Level Ninth Stage, so there was no longer any need to gift him nutrient solution.
And for now, neither of his two disciples had any need to break through to Cosmic Level.
Apart from taking on a third disciple, his only recourse was to try his luck at the shops in Qianwu City.
The resources for breaking through one's level at the Domain Master stage were precious, but many were not forbidden from sale and could still be bought with Cosmic Currency.
The Qianwu Dojo Points exchange list did include several, but the Points they required were far too many; the little he earned from lecturing was a drop in the bucket. He would have to look for another way beyond the Dojo...
Chapter 33