[You granted your disciples Lei Ming and Paris ten thousand Sangsong fruits, triggering a hundredfold return. You obtained the Dragon Soul Jade...]
As soon as Lei Ming and Paris departed, Lu Qingshan checked the System's return.
The Dragon Soul Jade... he had never heard of such a thing.
The universe was boundless, and natural treasures numbered in the trillions. There were countless things Lu Qingshan did not know, but finding out was simple enough.
"Nesethes, look up what the Dragon Soul Jade is."
A moment later, Nesethes's deep voice sounded. "Master, the Dragon Soul Jade is a treasure that promotes soul transformation. It originates from the Dragon Blood Secret Realm in distant territories. Within the borders of the Qianwu Universe Kingdom, it once appeared at an auction held by the Gold Sword Empire, an intermediate universe country, selling at the time for 1.2 Hunyuan units."
"Oh? 1.2 Hunyuan units?"
Hearing that price, Lu Qingshan smiled with delight.
It was not that he cared about a handful of Cosmic Currency, but a price of 1.2 Hunyuan meant this treasure was definitely effective for Domain Masters.
Treasures used at the Cosmic Level could never command such a steep price; a single Hunyuan unit was enough to buy a large group of Cosmic Level Ninth Stage slaves!
"How is this Dragon Soul Jade used?" Lu Qingshan asked next.
"Judging from the search results, the Dragon Soul Jade is meant to be worn on one's person. So long as it is carried, the immense dragon soul contained within will actively nourish the soul and facilitate its transformation!"
Hearing Nesethes's answer, Lu Qingshan slipped the Dragon Soul Jade into an inner pocket of his cyan robe.
After waiting for a short while, he began to carefully perceive the changes in his soul.
Having reached this realm, Lu Qingshan could easily detect the subtlest shifts in both his physical body and his soul.
"There really is a change!"
He had only been wearing it for a brief time, yet Lu Qingshan already felt his soul's evolution rate accelerate tremendously.
If completely transforming his soul would previously have taken tens of thousands of years, it would now take a mere ten...
"Ten years—not bad at all. I can still make it to break through to World Master before the Genius Battle. Hopefully, the soul power contained within this Dragon Soul Jade can hold out until my soul completes its full transformation!"
"Then for these ten years, I won't step foot outside the Qianwu Secret Realm!"
Lu Qingshan still felt a faint sense of crisis in his heart. However, so long as he stayed inside the Qianwu Secret Realm, no one would be able to touch him, no matter who they were!
***
Three days later.
Lu Qingshan arrived at Ling Yu's manor.
Following World Master White Eyebrows's departure, the task of instructing Ling Yu fell solely on Lu Qingshan.
After stepping across the threshold of the Time Origin Law, Ling Yu had advanced rapidly. By now, she was already able to manifest twelve illusion bodies.
Comparing her against recorded footage, Lu Qingshan judged that she was already somewhat stronger than the Nine Line Stream of the Myriad Line Stream technique...
The Myriad Line Stream was undeniably a movement technique based on the Space Origin Law.
However, after reaching the third level, Lu Qingshan's Thunderlight Flash had effectively taken a step beyond the Lightning Origin Law toward the Time Law. The illusions it produced could already be considered half Time Illusion Bodies.
Yet compared to movement techniques that directly started from space or time, Thunderlight Flash had stricter requirements to learn; it was only suitable for cultivators who had already comprehended the Lightning Origin Law.
For example, if someone had stepped through the door of the Light Law and the Time Law, they could directly cultivate movement techniques of the Time Law, but they would be unable to cultivate Thunderlight Flash!
This was a drawback, but it was also an advantage.
For geniuses cultivating both the Lightning Law and the Time Law, directly entering movement techniques of the Time Law was extraordinarily difficult, but approaching it through the foundation of the Lightning Law reduced the difficulty by a large margin. Moreover, once one reached the third level, it was scarcely different from pure Time Illusion Bodies.
If the difficulty of cultivating Myriad Line Stream was a ten, the third level of Thunderlight Flash was roughly a five, cutting the difficulty at least in half. For a genius who was not truly top-tier yet grasped both the Lightning and Time Origin Laws, Thunderlight Flash was even vastly superior to pure space-time movement techniques.
After all, the strongest was not necessarily the best; what suited oneself was best!
"In the Universe Genius Battle, few at the Star Level will be able to match you in movement. Your Time Law has made progress, but your offensive ability is still somewhat lacking. Next, you can try applying the Time Law to the Wind Thunder Sword."
Lu Qingshan raised a hand, and a cyan longsword flew out from the armory into his grip.
"Wind Thunder Thrust!"
The sky full of sword shadows converged into a single streak of piercing light, thrusting fiercely toward the void and setting it vibrating with a resounding boom.
"I executed this move using origin force at the Star Level Ninth Stage, yet its power increased more than a hundredfold compared to the original Wind Thunder Thrust. This is the charm of the Time Law..."
"The Time Law is the upper law above wind and lightning. Using time as the general and wind and lightning as the soldiers... one can bring out the absolute peak of the Wind Thunder Thrust!"
Standing to the side, Ling Yu watched this flawless strike, her heart surging with excitement. If her teacher were at the Star Level participating in the Genius Battle today, every genius in the entire universe would surely pale beside him.
"Teacher, Ling Yu cannot compare to you, but I will do my utmost not to disappoint you..."
Holding the Wind Thunder Sword, she likewise performed the Wind Thunder Thrust, attempting to fuse the Time Origin Law into it. However, the result was poor; the origin force within her churned turbulently, and the strike's power was actually inferior to before.
"Don't rush. I will demonstrate this move for you a hundred times, a thousand times. As long as you set your mind to it, you will definitely master it."
Lu Qingshan performed the Wind Thunder Thrust again, deliberately slowing his pace this time.
Ling Yu followed along, practicing repeatedly.
"Again!"
"Don't be discouraged. Since you have stepped through the door of the Time Law, it proves you are entirely capable of mastering this move. Continue..."
For three days and three nights, neither Lu Qingshan nor Ling Yu rested.
Only in the end did Ling Yu manage to barely execute the technique. Although its power was roughly the same as before infusing the Time Law, she remained thrilled.
Because once she found that thread of harmony, she could continuously improve under her teacher's guidance... and her future potential was immense.
Even if she could not perform it as flawlessly as her teacher, grasping a mere tenth of the move's essence would still yield a tenfold increase compared to before.
Even if she forced herself to use the third level of the Wind Thunder Sword, its power might not be this great!
"You've rested for an hour. Your origin force should have recovered. Continue..."
"I have already had the housekeeper deliver enough nutrient solution to restore your origin force. Starting today, you must maintain at least twenty hours of practice every day until you can execute this move to perfection..."
Lu Qingshan cast aside his usual gentle demeanor, adopting the persona of a strict master... remaining entirely unswayed even before Ling Yu's pitiful gaze.
Once Ling Yu began to find her footing, Lu Qingshan no longer demonstrated the move in person. Instead, after each of her attempts, he merely pointed out where her flaws lay, leaving her to feel her way through fixing them.
Meanwhile, he pulled a recliner from his World Ring and lay leisurely beneath a large tree crackling with lightning.
Then he took out the single horn bought at the auction and idly turned it over in his hands.
Just like that, a month slipped by.
With day after day of relentless practice, Ling Yu's progress was visible to the naked eye. After once again exhausting the origin force in her body, Ling Yu collapsed limply onto the ground, unwilling to move even a finger.
She turned her head, looking toward the single horn in Lu Qingshan's hand, a flicker of bewilderment passing through her eyes.
Chapter 58