Marquis Zhenlei

"Master, you have an email from Marquis Zhenlei." The crisp voice of the intelligent lightbrain, Alice, rang beside Lu Ming's ear.

"Open it!"

Lu Ming swiftly closed his eyes and connected his consciousness to the Virtual Universe network, having Alice open the email. It was a notification from Marquis Zhenlei's private account—

The email's contents were simple—

"Lu Ming, in a year and a half, you learned the first three forms of the Eight Forms of the Thunder Beast. I was right about you. You are qualified to become my Direct Disciple."

"After becoming a Direct Disciple, I should be qualified to learn some more precious secret techniques. And when Marquis Zhenlei teaches me in the future, he'll certainly put in more effort as well." Lu Ming was in an excellent mood after receiving the notification.

Before this, some Seed Elites, including him, had received guidance from Marquis Zhenlei and several other Immortal powerhouses. However, that level of instruction was, at most, equivalent to group lectures. After all, those Immortal powerhouses had only been willing to teach these youngsters because they were following the orders of the Jinlan Kingdom Lord and going through the motions.

Now that he was about to become Marquis Zhenlei's Direct Disciple, things would naturally be entirely different. If nothing else, he would at least receive one-on-one instruction tailored specifically for him, and he might even have the chance to learn the other party's true signature techniques.

Furthermore, Marquis Zhenlei was, after all, a Marquis-level Immortal backed by the Jinlan Kingdom Lord. His wealth was undoubtedly far greater than that of ordinary unaffiliated Immortal powerhouses. Any cultivation resources he casually bestowed upon Lu Ming as his disciple would probably exceed Lu Ming's entire current fortune.

All in all, becoming Marquis Zhenlei's disciple at this stage would bring nothing but benefits.

As for after he joined the Virtual Universe Company and rose to prominence, he might take an even more powerful master again. Marquis Zhenlei surely would not mind too much; he might even be pleased to see it happen.

Half a month later, the seven Stellar-level Seed Elites, including Lu Ming, along with some Universe-level and Domain Lord-level geniuses, once again arrived at the Immortal Hall located within the Jinlan Dojo headquarters to attend a lecture.

As its name implied, the Immortal Hall was a place where Immortal powerhouses served as lecturers. Among the Stellar-level geniuses of the Jinlan Dojo, only these seven Seed Elites had the opportunity to attend such classes. Most of the other attendees were Universe-level or even Domain Lord-level geniuses.

"Lu Ming, you've become more and more monstrous over the past two years!" Just as Lu Ming arrived outside the Immortal Hall, a green-browed young man with cyan hair greeted him.

"Sajia, haven't you improved quite a bit lately too?" Lu Ming smiled as he returned the greeting upon seeing the green-browed youth.

Sajia was a genius from the Lei'e Clan. He had likewise reached the threshold of the Lightning Origin Law and was known as Thunder Blade. If Lu Ming had not existed, Sajia would likely have been the most outstanding Stellar-level genius of this generation in the Jinlan Dojo.

Unlike the Black-eyed Clan, whose members only reached the Planetary level upon adulthood, members of the Lei'e Clan could naturally grow to the Stellar level once they came of age. This was determined by the level of their bloodline, something others could only envy.

However, a high bloodline level merely meant having a higher lower limit. Even races with low bloodline levels could sometimes produce unbelievable geniuses, such as Lu Ming.

"Heh, you..." Sajia swept a sharp gaze over Lu Ming, still regarding him as his greatest rival.

Yet after today, he would likely understand that he and Lu Ming were no longer on the same level.

From beginning to end, Sajia's sights had remained fixed within the Jinlan Dojo, while Lu Ming had long since stopped viewing his peers there as opponents. His opponents were only the greatest geniuses from other universe kingdoms!

After Lu Ming and Sajia entered the Immortal Hall, the other geniuses arrived in twos and threes, gradually filing into the main hall.

"Marquis Zhenlei is lecturing today. I heard he'll be explaining the first four forms of the Eight Forms of the Thunder Beast."

"Yes. Although I've already mastered the fourth form, every time I listen to Lord Marquis Zhenlei explain the fundamentals, I gain something new." A Domain Lord-level genius praised him.

"Same here."

"An Immortal powerhouse is, after all, someone who has comprehended an entire law." Marquis Zhenlei was precisely such an Immortal powerhouse, one who had comprehended the entire Lightning Origin Law. Naturally, when he explained secret techniques related to the Lightning Origin Law, his insights were penetrating and incisive, immersing many listeners.

Inside the Immortal Hall.

Hundreds of geniuses attending the lecture had already gathered in the plaza below, which stretched for dozens of kilometers in both length and width.

"Strange. Wasn't Lord Gustav originally scheduled to teach this class? How did it become Marquis Zhenlei's turn so soon?" A white-haired Winged Human Race girl seated not far from Lu Ming could not help but voice her surprise.

As a Domain Lord-level Seed Elite, she held far greater authority within the Jinlan Dojo than ordinary geniuses. She could even view the Immortal Hall's schedule in advance, and knew that Marquis Zhenlei was not originally supposed to personally lecture today.

However, she did not think much of the sudden change. She merely assumed that Lord Gustav had something come up, or that Marquis Zhenlei had suddenly felt like giving a lecture.

After some more time passed, more than a thousand attendees had gathered within the spacious hall.

Boom~~~~

An invisible pressure instantly blanketed the entire plaza. The thousand-plus cultivators gathered there all fell silent in respect for Marquis Zhenlei. A burly man clad in gold-and-blue battle armor walked into the plaza. His silver-white hair and beard framed a rugged, resolute face.

Behind him followed eight cultivators of varying strength.

"Those following behind Marquis Zhenlei are all his Direct Disciples. It would be wonderful if we could successfully take him as our master too."

"That depends on talent. If your talent isn't enough, why would Marquis Zhenlei accept you?"

Although these attendees could barely be considered Marquis Zhenlei's students, the difference between them and true disciples was clearly immeasurable.

In the distance, Marquis Zhenlei sat cross-legged, with his eight disciples seated on either side of him.

"Before today's formal lecture begins, I will first announce something—" As soon as Marquis Zhenlei spoke, all thousand-plus people silently listened with rapt attention.

"Previously, I set a test within the Jinlan Dojo and promised that anyone who passed it would be accepted as my disciple." Hearing Marquis Zhenlei's next words, the crowd below erupted into an uproar.

Did Marquis Zhenlei mean that someone had recently passed the abnormal test he had set?

How was that possible? Who was it?

All thousand-plus people below stirred inwardly. The green-browed youth Sajia looked around curiously, while Lu Ming remained utterly calm.

"Lu Ming, congratulations on passing my test. Come forward." At Marquis Zhenlei's call, Lu Ming immediately rose from his seat and stepped out from the crowd.

"It's him!" The other geniuses instantly recognized Lu Ming.

There were only a handful of geniuses qualified to attend lectures at the Stellar level, and Lu Ming was one of them.

"How can that be?!" The green-browed youth Sajia's face turned pale. Once Lu Ming entered Marquis Zhenlei's tutelage, it would become even harder for him to catch up. The gap between them would likely only grow wider and wider!

"At the Stellar level, he passed Marquis Zhenlei's test. Could he have already mastered the first three forms of the Eight Forms of the Thunder Beast?"

"This guy really is a monster! In theory, reaching the threshold of the Lightning Origin Law gives one a chance to master the third form. But in reality, how could it be so easy?" One elite genius after another stared in disbelief at the black-haired, black-eyed youth amid the crowd.

If they remembered correctly, this Lu Ming should only be around twenty years old. At twenty, he had reached the threshold of an Origin Law and mastered the first three forms of the Eight Forms of the Thunder Beast. That was simply too monstrous!

Amid the envious and jealous gazes of the thousand-plus geniuses below, Lu Ming walked before Marquis Zhenlei, respectfully knelt, and said, "Disciple Lu Ming greets Master."

Under the watchful eyes of the other thousand-plus geniuses, the rugged-faced Marquis Zhenlei wore a faint smile. "Very good. From today onward, you are my, Marquis Zhenlei's, disciple!"

An uproar broke out below once more.

"You may sit beside your senior brother Yuan Mo." At Marquis Zhenlei's gesture, Lu Ming sat beside a Universe-level Ape Clan youth whose face was covered in golden fur.

From that point onward, Marquis Zhenlei's active disciples within the Jinlan Dojo numbered nine once more.

"Now, today's lesson officially begins. I will carefully explain the first four forms of the Eight Forms of the Thunder Beast. The first two forms are the foundation. Only beginning with the third form does a true qualitative transformation occur." Marquis Zhenlei extended a finger and pointed into the air. A strange beast resembling a warhorse with a purple horn appeared in midair. "The Eight Forms of the Thunder Beast is a combat secret technique that imitates eight types of lightning-attributed demon beasts and fierce beasts..."

"In theory, to master the third form, one must at least reach the threshold of the Lightning Origin Law. However, that is merely a prerequisite..." Although the Eight Forms of the Thunder Beast was a cultivation secret technique that could help one begin comprehending the Lightning Origin Law, it was also an exceptionally powerful combat secret technique.

To master this secret technique, having adequate foundational comprehension of the laws was one aspect. Whether one could grasp the characteristics of those eight thunder beasts was also of utmost importance.