In the quiet room, Yu Duan stood naked, carefully holding the slender syringe in his hand. Inside, colorful liquid flowed ceaselessly, giving off a dazzling glow like a seven-colored sunset.
"So this is a treasure worth tens of billions of Universe Coins..."
The S-Class Bloodline Evolution Agent was even more expensive than some low-grade fifth-tier Force Weapons. Universe Level warriors could certainly not afford it; Domain Lords might have a chance.
As for the legendary Domain Lord Level agent, only World Masters of an even higher level could hope to afford it. Generally, only powerful World Masters recognized by the laws were willing to buy one.
Yu Duan gave it a brief look, then injected it into his skin without hesitation.
As the brilliant colored liquid surged into his body, indescribable pain spread through him, as if billions of steel needles were piercing every cell.
Pain far worse than being cut by a thousand blades swept through him. The muscles all over his body spasmed violently beyond his control. It was a biological instinct, beyond the control of his conscious mind.
"Damn... this really packs a punch!"
Yu Duan clenched his teeth, making them grind audibly. His gums couldn't take the strain and began to bleed, blood trickling from the corners of his mouth.
The entire transformation would take about an hour.
Fortunately, Yu Duan had prepared himself for it.
As far as pain went, what he was experiencing now was nothing compared to what Luo Feng would suffer in the future when he took control of the Star Tower.
If he couldn't prepare himself to endure immense pain, he might as well forget about becoming a true powerhouse.
Inside Yu Duan's body, every cell had become a miniature battlefield. The Bloodline Evolution Agent's effects "invaded" the cell membranes, ruthlessly attacking the mitochondria, telomeres, and more, driving unknown changes in Yu Duan's genetic traits.
In the blink of an eye, an hour passed.
In the quiet room, Yu Duan lay sprawled on the floor, limbs spread wide, breathing heavily.
At that moment, the muscles all over his body had completely given out. All he wanted was to sleep.
"Master, master, the process of bloodline evolution consumes a great deal of life energy. So once the evolution is complete, it's best to soak in the Pool of Life immediately."
Tianran, the intelligent assistant, projected her figure from the Optical Computer and looked at Yu Duan with concern.
"Mm, I know."
Yu Duan struggled to his feet. Seeing this, Tianran quickly opened the stone-gray Nutrient Pod beside him.
"Whoosh!"
As the Nutrient Pod opened, it revealed pale blue liquid filling about a fifth of its capacity. At the same time, a chill of thirty to forty degrees below zero spread through the room.
Yu Duan simply toppled into the pod. With a splash, the strange pale blue substance engulfed him.
At once, he felt a vast surge of vitality rising from the Nutrient Solution. It seeped through his skin, turning into pure, abundant life force that replenished the energy he had just expended on bloodline evolution and propelled his life level to begin its transformation.
"Close the pod!"
Yu Duan's will passed through the Virtual Universe Network, closing the Nutrient Pod's hatch.
The entire soaking process would take about ten days.
During those ten days, Yu Duan could also attend lectures in the Virtual Universe.
The lecture halls of Beiming Sacred Land held many classes every day. They were all open lectures, and anyone who wanted to attend had to make a reservation. Seats were limited.
Of course, most open lectures didn't fill up. The exception was classes taught by powerful Immortal Gods.
Although the Beiming Kingdom Lord had two thousand Immortals under his command, they couldn't spend every day doing nothing but teaching a bunch of youngsters.
Especially the five hundred nobles enfeoffed by the Lord of the Kingdom: they only gave open lectures when they were bored, partly to see if any promising talents turned up.
Days passed, and before long, Yu Duan had been in Beiming Sacred Land for more than a week.
Virtual Universe, Beiming Sea, Yu Duan's manor.
In the Cultivation Ground, the dazzling Light Domain surged in all directions. Yu Duan's figure flickered in and out of sight as he practiced the Floating Light Glancing Shadow movement technique.
"Master, master, the open lecture you reserved is about to begin. The topic is: The relationship and mysteries of the Origin Law of Light and the Light Domain."
Tianran hurried over to Yu Duan. Her palm-sized figure was topped by an enormous virtual screen displaying a reminder that the open lecture he had reserved was about to start.
"Good. Send me straight to the Primary Lecture Hall on Shenxi Star."
As soon as Yu Duan finished speaking, his figure vanished from the spot, transporting directly to the entrance of the Primary Lecture Hall on Shenxi Star, hundreds of light-years from the Planetary Level floating island.
Primary Lecture Hall, Room 4.
It was a circular, auditorium-style building with a radius of one hundred kilometers. Rows of student seats surrounded the central podium, with more than ten thousand seats in all.
As soon as Yu Duan entered the lecture hall, he spotted two familiar faces.
"Yu Duan, over here!" A bewitching young woman with fox ears and purple eyes waved at him.
Beside her stood a lean young man in scale armor. "Haha, I told you Yu Duan would come to the open lecture too."
The bewitching young woman was Chi Li, from the Chimei Race, whose Universe Level bloodline ranked among the top fifty in the Human Race. Her race was naturally gifted with powerful illusion techniques.
The lean young man beside her was An Yao, a genius of the Anluo Race. It was also a powerful race, with more than ninety percent of its strong warriors comprehending the Light Origin.
Both were outstanding among the Star Level students. Chi Li ranked twenty-ninth, while An Yao ranked in the top ten. Both were geniuses who had crossed the threshold of the Source Law.
Yu Duan had only met them a few days earlier. Among the Star Level geniuses who had crossed the threshold of law, they were among the rare few who didn't look down their noses at everyone.
They had become even friendlier toward Yu Duan after learning that he had mastered the Triple Domain before turning eighteen.
"Chi Li, An Yao, you two sure got here early."
Yu Duan took the seat beside them and started chatting.
Chi Li smiled. "It's a lecture by an Immortal God, after all. And it's about the mysteries of the Light Origin. I had to come listen."
"I doubt the explanation will be too deep. It'll probably focus more on how to comprehend the laws, which should be useful for Yu Duan."
An Yao sighed. "It's a pity you joined the Sacred Land so late, Yu Duan. If you'd joined a hundred years earlier, you might have had a shot at that tournament."
"That tournament... the Peak Genius Tournament?"
At the mention of it, the first thing that came to Yu Duan's mind was the Peak Genius Tournament.
Chi Li's fluffy purple tail swayed in front of her as she stroked it gently and smiled. "Looks like the elders in your family have told you about it too. There are less than twenty years until the next Genius Tournament."
"Twenty years, huh... I still have a chance. At the very least, I can go and see it for myself."
If he really had twenty years, Yu Duan was confident he could make it into the Peak Genius Tournament.
As for how highly he could place, that would depend on the price he had to pay for preempting his Law Comprehension later on.
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