The boundless Beiming Sea was dotted with countless islands of all sizes.
Apart from the sacred island at the very center, whose diameter reached a staggering one billion kilometers, there were only four other enormous islands, each over one hundred million kilometers across.
These four islands lay in the four directions around the central Sacred Land. They were home to the Star Level, Universe Level, Domain Lord Level, and World Lord Level Elite Training Camps, respectively.
Ordinary students could only stay in their own Training Camps.
Only core students could choose one of the many small islands as their private territory and ask a World Lord Level powerhouse to build them a home and surroundings to their liking.
At that moment, in Villa No. 124201795 on the Star Level island—Yu Duan's new residence.
"I have to soak in Nutrient Solution again..."
In the villa's underground meditation room, Yu Duan lay down in the Nutrient Pod once more, completely naked. As he felt his cells begin absorbing the strange substances in the Nutrient Solution, he logged into the Virtual Universe.
Virtual Universe, Beiming Sacred Land's Sea of Stars space. Yu Duan appeared directly in the living room of his residence.
"Open the Secret Technique Pavilion!"
At Yu Duan's words, Tianran, the little sprite, hurriedly saluted. "Yes, master! ∠(°ゝ°)!"
The next moment, a pale blue screen appeared.
The Secret Techniques collected by Beiming Sacred Land couldn't compare with those of the Five Peak Powers, but they were more than enough for a Star Level youngster.
The Secret Techniques were sorted by major category of law. Within each category, they were further divided according to the level of comprehension required, with options ranging from Domain to introductory Law comprehension, Law recognition, and complete Law comprehension.
The dazzling array of Secret Techniques made Yu Duan's eyes swim.
Of course, he could only look. Almost all of them cost money.
The Sacred Land's training rules were simple: give out money, measured in Universe Coins. You wanted resources, treasures, Secret Techniques, or anything else? Buy them yourself.
Star Level students competed in a ranking battle once every ten years, and were paid according to their results.
The rewards started at rank one thousand. Breaking into the top thousand for the first time earned a student one hundred billion Universe Coins.
Breaking into the top hundred for the first time earned one Hunyuan Unit.
And so on: breaking into the top ten earned ten Hunyuan Units, while taking first place earned a whopping one hundred Hunyuan Units.
That was a generous amount. After all, even the lowest prize for placing in the top thousand across the entire universe in the Genius Tournament was only ten Hunyuan Units.
The prizes showed just how much Beiming Sacred Land valued and cultivated young geniuses.
Of course, it only cared about the top thousand. They were the main force in the Genius Tournament and a way for a Universe Country to show off its "achievements."
I'm broke. I can't afford any of this.
"The next ranking battle is a little over six years away. With my current strength, I have no chance of making the top thousand."
Hopefully, once I reach the peak of Star Level, my progress-grinding efficiency will surprise me.
In fact, Yu Duan didn't have to be broke. All he had to do was take a master.
With Yu Duan's talent, even a Marquis Immortal wouldn't turn him away. A King Level powerhouse would take notice of him, too.
But if he waited a while longer, until his progress-grinding efficiency improved and he showed an even more astonishing level of talent... Even if he couldn't attract the attention of the Beiming Kingdom Lord, he could at least become the disciple of a supreme Immortal.
Although there weren't many true King Level powerhouses under the Beiming Universe Kingdom, that didn't mean the Beiming Kingdom Lord had no outstanding King Level disciples.
If I don't make a sound, so be it. But once I do, I'll astonish the world. If I don't take flight, so be it. But when I do, I'll soar to the heavens... I'm still young. I can take my time.
Yu Duan stopped browsing the various Secret Techniques and went straight to the Cultivation Ground to keep honing his combat skills.
The Nutrient Solution had boosted him far too quickly. Yu Duan's Force Application Technique had been passable at Planetary Level, but among the Star Level students at Beiming Sacred Land, where everyone had mastered a Force Application Technique of at least thirtyfold, it was far too weak.
Half a month passed in the blink of an eye.
The white Nutrient Pod had remained quiet in the basement of Yu Duan's villa.
"Beep!"
As the notification sounded, the Nutrient Pod's lid slowly opened. The handsome, muscular youth sat up in the crystal-clear Nutrient Solution, then stepped out.
Whoosh!
Hot light-based Origin Force surged across Yu Duan's skin, instantly evaporating every drop of water.
A black ring flew over from nearby. The moment it touched Yu Duan's finger, it transformed into a Tier 3 Force Battle Suit worth tens of thousands of Universe Coins.
"So this is... the power of the peak of Star Level!"
Feeling the immense strength surging through him, Yu Duan swung one arm. His physical strength alone exceeded five hundred million tons!
Whoosh!
Yu Duan used Floating Light Glancing Shadow. His figure flickered like a bubble of light and shadow as he raced to the training room on the villa's second floor.
"Tianran, activate the simulated training environment. Recreate the light of a natural star!"
"Yes, master! ≧▽≦!"
The little sprite hurriedly waved her hand. In an instant, the entire training room turned transparent, transforming into an endless expanse of deep space.
In the depths of space, a colossal star blazed, like a vast fireball that had burned for billions of years without ever going out!
This was the light setting Yu Duan had last configured when he was still at Planetary Level. Its efficiency had been only a little over fortyfold!
"Increase the light intensity until I tell you to stop," Yu Duan ordered calmly.
"Understood. Increasing the light intensity!" Tianran reached out with both hands and tapped the virtual screen.
Rumble!
The blazing star roared. Its color shifted in an instant, and moments later it had become a brilliant blue giant, enveloping Yu Duan in temperatures of tens of thousands of degrees Celsius.
Yet this still wasn't the limit for a peak ninth-stage Star Level powerhouse. Star Level experts could fight with ease deep within a star.
Powerhouses at the next level, Universe Level, even used terrifying extreme celestial bodies like white dwarfs and neutron stars as battlefields.
About five minutes later, Yu Duan felt his heat resistance nearing its limit. "That's enough. Keep the starlight at this intensity."
"Yes, master. The relevant data has been recorded!"
Yu Duan took a deep breath to steady his slightly excited emotions, then focused his mind and entered the space within his body.
Once only ten meters in diameter when he had been at the first stage of Planetary Level, his inner space had now expanded into a vast realm nine kilometers across.
Dreamlike, multicolored rays spread from the Book of Causality, filling the entire space with a hazy glow.
On the Book of Causality, a line of archaic, complicated characters flickered rapidly.
"Repaying the cost of the advance: bask in sunlight for 400,000 hours. Current progress: 200,715 hours and 17 minutes..."
Yu Duan wasn't concerned with his current progress. What mattered was the rate.
In the blink of an eye, the seventeen minutes had jumped to thirty-seven.
In just three seconds, the progress bar had advanced by an hour.
"Efficiency increased by about 1,200 times!"
Yu Duan clenched his fist, his Origin Force surging and boiling along with his emotions!
He'd expected the efficiency to increase three or four hundred times at most. That would have been enough to satisfy him!
But... it had increased by a full 1,200 times!
He still needed another 200,000 hours to repay the cost of this advance.
But with efficiency increased by 1,200 times, it would take only—about seven days!
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