While Yu Duan was undergoing his assessment, inside a majestic palace,
a number of imposing figures watched the footage of his battle. They sat casually, the fluctuations of law around them affecting the space and time nearby, even forming worlds of their own.
"This Yu Duan is pretty good. That sword strike has a hint of the first stage of the Light and Time Sword Technique. It's impressive that he can pull it off!"
"Shenhou, what you don't know is that the most astonishing thing about Yu Duan isn't his mastery of the laws, but his age."
"He's not even twenty-three yet, and he crossed the threshold of the laws... just a month ago."
At those words, looks of amazement appeared in the eyes of these mighty Immortals.
In terms of mastery of the laws, Yu Duan really wasn't among the best in Beiming Sacred Land.
As the Universe Country's foremost institution for cultivating geniuses, Beiming Sacred Land had taken in more than half of all the geniuses in the entire Universe Country.
There were certainly others whose mastery of the laws surpassed Yu Duan's.
But Yu Duan was simply too young... A genius who had crossed the threshold of the laws at twenty-three had, in just a few years after entering the Sacred Land, advanced all the way from the Triple Domain to crossing that threshold without encountering a single bottleneck.
His age was a disadvantage, and it put him at a serious handicap when competing against geniuses of the same level.
But in a sense, it was also an advantage.
The tall figure known as Shenhou sighed. "No wonder God King Qinghuan specifically mentioned Yu Duan when he reported to the great Lord of the Kingdom, as was customary."
For the past few years, rumors among the Sacred Land's students had widely circulated that Yu Duan had caught the great Lord of the Kingdom's favor.
Some outrageous rumors even claimed that the great Lord of the Kingdom intended to take the little Star Level fellow as a disciple.
But the powerful Immortals present knew that was pure fabrication.
The great Lord of the Kingdom cultivated the legendary Fusion Law, so there was no way he would take in a genius who comprehended the laws of time.
But there was a reason the rumors had spread. The little Star Level fellow really had caught the eye of the person in charge of Beiming Sacred Land, the Universe Country's second strongest, God King Qinghuan.
He was the strongest under the great Lord of the Kingdom, and among King Level Immortals, he stood at the very pinnacle—the most powerful of the supreme beings.
"I do know a bit about this little fellow. He's very close to a descendant of mine..."
A bald powerhouse with bronze-colored skin spoke. Dark Source power rippled around him, faintly echoing the passage of time.
"This little fellow isn't just exceptionally talented; he also has the finest character. He's never arrogant or overbearing, and he works extraordinarily hard at cultivating. As far as I know, that's why God King Qinghuan values him."
This bronze-skinned powerhouse was a supreme being of the Anluo race, one of the fifty-five kings appointed by the great Lord of the Kingdom, and a Peak Marquis.
Assessment Hall.
"Whoosh!"
A flash of blue light flickered, and Yu Duan's figure was teleported out of the assessment space.
The assessment hall was packed. Aside from a very small number of geniuses like Yu Duan who had cleared the test quickly, everyone else had been eliminated in the first round.
There were over a hundred million ordinary Star Level students, many of whom had only mastered the first domain. In a mid-tier Universe Country branch of the Virtual Universe Company, they would only count as third-tier elites.
"Told you Yu Duan wouldn't take more than five minutes to clear the test."
An Yao glanced at the friends around him. He knew Yu Duan's strength best. Even among the more than three hundred law geniuses, Yu Duan ranked around the middle.
Give Yu Duan another two years, and he'd have a real shot at breaking into the top hundred.
"Little Duan, your big sis is over here!"
Chi Li swayed her fluffy tail and called out to Yu Duan in a sweet voice. The alluring lilt in her voice drew the heated gazes of quite a few people nearby.
This little temptress had no shortage of admirers among the Sacred Land's students. Plenty of them wanted to take her to bed.
"Coming, coming."
Yu Duan replied with a smile, then hurried over.
An Yao jabbed Yu Duan with his fist and asked with a grin, "So, what did you think? How hard was it?"
Yu Duan thought for a moment, then shook his head. "The virtual opponent was terrible at using the laws. Or rather, I couldn't see any technique at all. It could barely manage to wield the power of the Source Law."
"Exactly. The point of this test is to screen for geniuses who've crossed the threshold of the laws. As long as you can wield the power of the Source Law, you can't be eliminated."
Just then, a young man with green hair came over. "Yu Duan, next up is the points tournament. Are you confident you can break into the top three hundred?"
The green-haired young man was named Teluode, and he was a friend of Yu Duan's. He got along well with Chi Li, An Yao, and the others, and was among the top fifty geniuses in the Sacred Land.
"Hard to say. The senior students are all strong. I'll know whether I can make it after I've fought them." Yu Duan answered with a smile.
The first stage of the assessment would last at most one hundred minutes.
There were ten rounds in the first stage, and each round gave them only ten minutes. If they didn't defeat their opponent before time ran out, that was the end of the test.
Yu Duan chatted with the others for just over an hour before the first stage of the assessment ended.
"Whoosh!"
A frigid wind suddenly swept through the hall, filling it with biting cold.
Then a burly Immortal appeared, clad in blue scales and sporting a shark-like face.
The instant he appeared, the temperature in the entire hall plunged, and a thin layer of frost even formed on the floor.
"The first stage of the assessment is now over. Those who passed will advance to the second stage, the points tournament..."
"The points tournament will begin tomorrow."
The rules of the points tournament were simple: everyone would fight one-on-one against every other competitor, and the points would determine the winner.
That meant Yu Duan would have to fight all 342 opponents. At ten matches a day, the points tournament would last thirty-five days.
At the cultivation ground of a villa by the Beiming Sea,
Yu Duan opened his eyes, his consciousness returning from the Virtual Universe Network.
"The points tournament lasts thirty-five days. Even with ten matches a day, they'll take just a few hours at most. I can treat it as a break."
The points tournament was important, but he couldn't let it interfere with his grinding progress.
Besides, if he couldn't break into the top hundred, the reward would be no different from the one for coming in 999th.
"Tianran, get the resources I need to recover and rest ready."
At Yu Duan's words, the little fairy Tianran projected herself into view. "Master, you're almost out of money."
The World Master Yan Lun had transferred quite a bit of money to Yu Duan, but half of it had gone toward buying planets and supporting the growth of his race.
The remaining 1.5 million Universe Coins would normally have been an enormous sum for a Star Level cultivator, more than he could ever spend.
But the various recovery potions and resources Yu Duan had consumed while cultivating over the past few days were all luxury items designed for rapid recovery. He had less than 100,000 Universe Coins left in his account.
"Heh, looks like the little fellow's in a bind over money."
A hearty voice rang out, and a white-robed figure suddenly appeared in front of Yu Duan.
Yu Duan couldn't sense any aura from the figure before him.
"Yu Duan greets you, my lord!"
Yu Duan hurriedly bowed. He didn't know who the white-robed figure was, but calling him "my lord" couldn't be wrong.
The white-robed figure smiled. "My name is King Qinghuan, and I'm currently in charge of Beiming Sacred Land. You've probably heard of me."
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