Jiuxi Divine Spirit Liquid

While Yu Duan was moving, in the Virtual Universe, inside an ancient palace.

More than a dozen figures had gathered, sitting casually on the floor. Their auras were either as volatile as thunder or as dazzling as the stars... filling the great hall.

"This is quite something. It's been how many years since our teacher last took a disciple? And now he's finally changed his mind."

"Hahaha! Now our little junior sister will have a little junior brother, too."

"I heard our little junior brother is only in his twenties. He's probably still a kid, so watch yourselves. Don't scare him."

"Don't worry, Second Senior Brother."

The figures chatted among themselves. There were men and women, and each radiated a different law aura, but they all shared one thing: every last one was an Immortal God, and a powerful one at that.

Whoosh!

Suddenly, a streak of white light flashed, and King Qinghuan appeared in a white robe, with Yu Duan at his side.

"Teacher!"

"Greetings, Teacher!"

The dozen or so figures hurried to their feet and bowed to King Qinghuan.

King Qinghuan waved a hand. "Sit down. Let me introduce you. This is your little junior brother, Yu Duan."

"Hello, Junior Brother. I'm your Second Senior Brother, Kanstelo, titled King Hui Ming."

"..."

The thirteen senior brothers and sisters introduced themselves one after another, and Yu Duan greeted each of them in turn.

The oldest was his Second Senior Brother, King Hui Ming, followed by his Third Senior Brother, Marquis Chiyue... The youngest was his Seventeenth Senior Sister, Marquis Longxing.

Teacher King Qinghuan was very cautious about taking disciples. As a master of illusions, he cared more about willpower and character than talent.

That was why King Qinghuan had only seventeen personal disciples in total. Only thirteen were present, though; four had already fallen.

The path to power was arduous, and few managed to make it to the end. Even with exceptional willpower, character, and talent, and King Qinghuan's protection, four of his disciples had still perished.

But those who did make it all achieved a great deal.

Among Yu Duan's senior brothers and sisters, the weakest was Marquis Longxing, who had only barely reached Marquis Level.

Naturally, the strongest was his Second Senior Brother, King Hui Ming, the only one among them to have reached King Level.

The path to King Level was simply too difficult.

Anyone who could become King Qinghuan's disciple had considerable talent and promise; each was a potential King.

But a genius was a genius, and a powerhouse was a powerhouse. They were worlds apart.

Yu Duan's senior brothers and sisters were all warm toward him, even speaking softly to him.

With a new junior brother in the family, they naturally held a banquet. Delicacies rarely seen in the real world appeared one after another.

His Seventeenth Senior Sister, Marquis Longxing, even specially bought a bottle of "milk" and set it in front of Yu Duan, leaving him mortified.

In King Qinghuan's palace in the Beiming Sacred Land.

"Hahaha! Little Yu Duan, how did you like the 'Huanxing Spirit Milk' your senior sister bought you?" King Qinghuan's hearty laughter echoed through the great hall.

Yu Duan's mouth twitched. "Teacher, could you be a little more serious?"

King Qinghuan burst out laughing again. Only after a moment did he say, "All right, all right. I'm done teasing you. You're young and easily embarrassed."

As he spoke, a transparent crystal sphere suddenly appeared.

In an instant, brilliant light in nine colors filled the entire hall, as if King Qinghuan had pulled a miniature sun out of thin air.

Inside the crystal sphere was a radiant drop of divine liquid in nine colors, floating at its center like a small, winding, coiling snake.

"This is the Jiuxi Divine Spirit Liquid. It can enhance your talent for the Origin Law of Light."

King Qinghuan's voice rang out. "Your uncle prepared a treasure for you, so naturally I, your teacher, couldn't let that go unanswered."

At present, Yu Duan was only at Star Level. He was still far too weak.

Giving Yu Duan money directly wasn't appropriate. With money and resources at hand, his drive to compete for rankings and the like might fade, which wouldn't help his cultivation.

But there was something Yu Duan genuinely needed: a treasure that could improve his talent for the laws.

King Qinghuan had started observing Yu Duan more than two years earlier, after Yu Duan had mastered the Ninefold Domain. He knew that Yu Duan's bloodline was of a very low level and that he essentially had no talent for the laws.

With such poor talent, Yu Duan had still crossed the threshold of a Source Law in just a few short years. That was proof enough that his comprehension met King Qinghuan's standards for an apprentice.

"Thank you, Teacher!"

Without the slightest hesitation, Yu Duan sincerely knelt and bowed.

Treasures that improved one's talent for the Source Laws were incredibly precious, even if they only enhanced one's talent for a lower-level law.

"You're only at Star Level. Trying to learn too many secret techniques will only leave you with a superficial grasp of them. As far as attacks go, the Light and Time Sword is already enough. So I've prepared a movement technique suited to you. You'll be able to view it once you log into the Virtual Universe."

King Qinghuan's voice sounded again. The many secret techniques he had created himself weren't suitable for Yu Duan to practice at this stage, either.

"I have only one expectation of you: within twenty thousand years, you'll pass the Universe Peak Powerhouse Battle and enter either the Primal Secret Realm of the Virtual Universe Company or the Giant Axe Secret Realm of the Giant Axe Martial Arena!"

The next Universe Peak Genius Battle would take place in around fifteen years, but King Qinghuan didn't expect Yu Duan to achieve a good result. He only needed to gain some experience.

There was no helping it. Yu Duan was too young and had been cultivating for too short a time. He had no chance in this Genius Tournament.

As for staying at Star Level for five thousand years to wait for the next Genius Tournament? (Note: This figure comes from Chapter 27 of Part Seven of the original work.)

King Qinghuan would never allow one of his disciples to waste that much time at Star Level.

King Qinghuan had once advised Yalunsi, too, but that child had wanted to compete for a ranking and show off. He also didn't want to remain in the Sacred Land for another ten thousand years preparing for the Strongest Battle.

That show-off attitude had made King Qinghuan's opinion of Yalunsi plummet.

With that kind of character, even with decent talent, it was anyone's guess whether he would survive long enough to break through to Immortality.

"Yes, Teacher. I promise I won't disappoint you."

Yu Duan made his promise with a solemn expression.

King Qinghuan nodded in satisfaction. "Go on. Cultivate well."

A moment later, inside Yu Duan's palace, an "eye" radiating endless silvery-white light floated in midair.

Bathed in the dense light and the fluctuations of the Time Origin Law, Yu Duan began to "consume" the treasure that would enhance his talent for the laws.

As the Jiuxi Divine Spirit Liquid seeped into Yu Duan's brow, an invisible warmth instantly spread from his forehead, flowing through his limbs and bones and into every cell.

At that moment, all of Yu Duan's cells began to change. His genetic material underwent some unknown transformation, and his proteins began expressing a new, mysterious trait.

Faintly, wisps of white, secret patterns like glimmers of light appeared on the membranes of his cells. Flowing like dawn, they resonated with the fluctuations of the Origin Law of Light in Heaven and Earth.

A moment later, Yu Duan slowly opened his eyes.

The world had changed dramatically in his perception.

"The fluctuations of the Origin Law of Light... They're so much clearer than before!"

With a thought, Yu Duan's consciousness entered his Internal World. His gaze fell on the Book of Causality, where a line of archaic characters had changed.

"Repayment of the advance cost in progress: perceiving the fluctuations of the Origin Law of Light for 12 years and 47 days. Current progress: 1 year and 6 days..."

The improvement in his talent for the Source Laws had directly changed the upper limit of the "progress bar"!

Previously, Yu Duan had taken just thirty-three days to grind his way to a year and six months.

Now, the progress bar's upper limit had shrunk considerably. And with the environment created by the eye of that Special Lifeform—a "sacred ground for comprehending the Origin Law of Light"...

The time needed to fill the progress bar might be even shorter than Yu Duan had imagined.