Becoming a Disciple

Virtual Universe.

In a vast starry sky, a towering black mountain floated above the Star River. Its height defied measure. Wisps of red and white mist drifted around it, and planets could be faintly seen orbiting in the distance.

At the mountain's summit stood a crimson palace thousands of kilometers across, radiating dazzling light.

Inside the great hall.

There were no servants in sight. Only a figure sat high upon the throne, clad in Red Battle Armor and bearing a striking resemblance to an Earth Human.

His features were much like an Earth Human's, though his pupils were dark red and a red crystal hung from each earlobe. He looked like a handsome young man, yet an air of boundless authority shone through.

As he sat there, a scorching aura seemed to flow throughout the hall.

Suddenly—

The handsome young man opened his eyes. Light flashed in them, and his hearty voice carried a smile. "You got here pretty quickly!"

With a thought, a figure in Dark Red Battle Armor appeared in the hall.

The newcomer was Li Ze. The figure seated on the throne was King Yuchi.

Boom!

The instant Li Ze appeared and saw King Yuchi, he felt as though he were looking at a supergiant star tens of thousands of kilometers in diameter, formed entirely from the Fire Origin Law and the Law of Space Origin.

Crimson fireballs, each dozens of kilometers across, orbited the star in a profound pattern. Every fireball represented one of the Fire Origin Law's fundamental mysteries. There were exactly thirty-six of them!

Hiss, hiss, hiss...

The crimson flames seemed to burn cracks into the surrounding space, warping it.

The fireballs' immense power seemed more than space could bear, yet the supergiant star held them in orderly motion.

What is this? The origin of fire? How can a King-level Immortal do this? Li Ze stared at the sight, stunned. As it continued, he felt the temperature around him climbing.

"Li Ze, this is my understanding of the Origin Laws. I'm showing it to you in the Virtual Universe now. How much you grasp depends on your insight," King Yuchi's voice rang through the space. As he finished speaking, Li Ze appeared atop one of the crimson fireballs...

Heaven and earth vanished.

Li Ze's consciousness sank helplessly into the fireball.

"So profound."

As Li Ze studied the fireball beneath him, it seemed more unfathomable the deeper he looked.

It displayed one of the fundamental mysteries of fire's origin in the universe to perfection.

The once-obscure Fire Origin Law now lay completely bare before him. It was like turning advanced physics into elementary physics—far simpler than trying to comprehend it through the Sword Techniques in Setting Sun.

Li Ze became utterly absorbed. Insights surfaced one after another in his mind, and his understanding of the Fire Origin Law advanced rapidly.

He had no idea how much time passed...

Boom!

The manifestation of the laws around him abruptly vanished. Li Ze reappeared in the great hall, sitting cross-legged with his eyes tightly shut.

King Yuchi watched him from the throne with a smile, making no move to disturb him.

One hour, two hours.

One day, two days.

Li Ze sat motionless in the hall.

His mind raced through the fundamental mysteries of the Fire Origin Law that King Yuchi had displayed, comparing them against the sword moves in Setting Sun. Points he had never understood began to fall into place.

As he worked through one question after another, fresh insights emerged. A faint smile appeared on his face.

Before he knew it, Li Ze had fully grasped twenty-three of fire's fundamental mysteries.

Just as he began contemplating the twenty-fourth—

"Wake up!" A voice like a great bell rang through his mind.

"That's it?" Li Ze's eyes flew open. Deep regret showed on his face.

"Disappointed?" a hearty voice sounded beside him.

"Mm." Li Ze answered reflexively, then snapped fully awake.

He looked toward the throne and saw King Yuchi smiling at him.

"Greetings, King Yuchi!" Li Ze immediately rose and bowed.

"Do you regret my interrupting your contemplation?"

"Too much can be as bad as too little. I paid a price to manifest my understanding of the Origin Laws in the Virtual Universe, but do you think everything you retained in such a short time is accurate?" King Yuchi made no mention of Li Ze's bow.

Li Ze hesitated. As he recalled what he had seen, he discovered that King Yuchi's display of the laws' fundamental mysteries had already become blurred and incomplete.

King Yuchi could tell from his expression that he had found the problem.

"Enough." King Yuchi waved a hand. "You can ask me about the origin of fire whenever you like. For now, let's discuss why you're here."

"Your performance in the Sacred Mountain Battle pleased me. I'd like to take you as my disciple. What do you say?"

King Yuchi stated the purpose of their meeting plainly, without the slightest attempt to disguise it.

I'd never heard of King Yuchi before, but from the Origin Laws he just showed me, I can tell his path of cultivation suits me extremely well.

With that thought, Li Ze did not hesitate. Following the customs of the Human Race, he knelt respectfully and said in a clear voice, "Teacher, please accept me as your disciple!"

His voice echoed through the great hall.

King Yuchi's smile broadened on the throne.

"Hahaha..." King Yuchi looked at Li Ze and laughed. "From this day on, you are my second disciple!"

King Yuchi had once been a core genius of the Giant Axe Fighting Arena, one of the Human Race's Five Great Giants.

In his Universe Peak Genius Battle, he had been the undisputed greatest genius.

He had advanced rapidly along his path of cultivation, reaching Peak Marquis as soon as he broke through to Immortal.

Countless years later, King Yuchi had reached King Peak and had even found a path toward a higher realm.

Yet over all those eras, he had taken only one disciple.

He had accepted that disciple in a Cosmic Secret Realm after breaking through to Immortal. The disciple's talent had not been strong enough, and he had languished at Sector Lord for Endless Years. Even with the many resources King Yuchi provided after reaching King-level, the disciple had failed to break through to Immortal.

That was why King Yuchi had preferred to take no more disciples rather than accept anyone with insufficient talent.

"Li Ze!"

"Teacher." Li Ze bowed slightly.

King Yuchi looked at him and said quietly, "I saw your performance in the Space-time Fortress. Your talent for the Fire Origin Law is remarkable—greater even than that of many geniuses in this year's Universe Peak Genius Battle."

"If you keep advancing, you will certainly break through to Immortal one day."

"However—"

"For someone who has reached my King-level realm, Immortal is only the true beginning of cultivation. Becoming an Ordinary Immortal would mean nothing to me. Comprehending the origins of space and time is the proper path!"

"You are only at Universe level, and you haven't joined any of the Human Race's major powers. You haven't experienced the importance of systematic instruction. So I'll arrange your path of cultivation from here on. Do you understand?"

"I understand, Teacher," Li Ze answered at once.

Before entering the Outer Domain Battlefield, Li Ze might have believed that his Inherited Knowledge and his familiarity with the Devouring World would let him rise through constant battle, even without joining one of the universe's great powers.

But after fighting and cultivating on the Outer Domain Battlefield, he had begun to see the gaps in his training. His progress in comprehending the laws had clearly slowed of late.

That was why he had been so excited before the Sacred Mountain Battle when he heard he might become the disciple of a King-level Immortal.

"After you complete the Sacred Mountain Baptism in a few days, I'll take you away from the Fourth Outer Domain Battlefield for a while. It will be a long while!"

King Yuchi paused.

"Your performance in the Sacred Mountain Battle has put you on the Demon Race's and Mechanical Race's Kill Lists for the Fourth Outer Domain Battlefield. If you stay here, there's a very good chance you'll die on the battlefield!"

"Tsk! Making the Kill List at Universe level... You must be the first among the Human Race's Universe-level fighters on the Fourth Outer Domain Battlefield!" King Yuchi shook his head with a smile.

Li Ze froze for a moment.

"I understand, Teacher."

King Yuchi nodded slightly. "Then you may go. Wait for me to come get you."

Li Ze bowed to King Yuchi once more, then left the Virtual Universe.

After Li Ze disappeared, King Yuchi disconnected from the Virtual Universe as well.

When Li Ze awoke again, he was still in the hall of Lairui'er's manor castle. The other members of the Tongfeng Team had already left.

He left Lairui'er's manor and flew toward his own.

He flew all the way back, entered his castle, and went into the Cultivation Room.

There, he took out the World Ring he had left in the room. His Golden Crow Physique was inside it, contemplating the laws.

With a thought, he brought the Golden Crow Physique into his Inner World.

As soon as it entered, the Golden Crow Physique flew toward the pool of Life Origin Liquid he had stored there.

He submerged himself in the scorching crimson liquid. Pure energy flowed through the Golden Crow Physique's skin like swallows returning to their nest, seeping into his muscles, bones, membranes, and organs...

From the inside out, the Golden Crow Physique began changing at an astonishing speed.

The level of Life Origin Liquid in the metal pool fell rapidly as he absorbed it.

Meanwhile, Li Ze's human body turned its attention to sorting through his gains from the Sacred Mountain Battle.

Apart from the wealth he had acquired and the spoils he had given Lairui'er, Li Ze still had many Demon Race corpses and the Spatial Ring Divine Pupil Venerable had given him.

Li Ze had not refined any of the Demon Race corpses he collected after the final battle, so his human body's Life Gene Level remained at only 210 times.

He planned to have the Golden Crow Physique absorb the remaining Demon Race corpses after it advanced to Universe Level 9. That would let him complete the first stage of the Golden Crow Body Refining Art as soon as possible, then break through to Domain Lord level after nurturing his first clone.