"This is the wonder of the Time Origin Law..."
Yu Duan narrowed his eyes, savoring an indescribably wonderful sensation.
Every improvement in Law Comprehension brought this kind of exhilarating feeling. It was hard to put into words.
Normally, with Yu Duan's talent for the Laws, his chances of grasping the Law of Time at the Star Level were zero.
That was no exaggeration. He simply couldn't detect the fluctuations of the Law of Time, so there was nothing to comprehend in the first place.
Reaching the peak of the ninth level of the Light Domain had greatly improved Yu Duan's affinity with and perception of the Law of Light, but it had nothing to do with the Law of Time.
It wasn't until his martial uncle, the Beiming Kingdom Lord, bestowed the Silver Pupil treasure upon him that Yu Duan could perceive the Time Origin Law within the area suffused with the treasure's aura. Only then did he have even the slightest chance of comprehending it.
Even now that he had crossed the threshold of the Time Origin Law, without the Silver Pupil's aid, Yu Duan could only just barely sense its fluctuations.
And even then, they were faint and intermittent—extremely vague and indistinct—making them almost impossible to comprehend.
For example, it was like being severely nearsighted and trying to look at a phone from five meters away.
You could tell there was a phone over there (sense the fluctuations of the Law), but you couldn't make out a single thing on its screen (the image was too blurry to comprehend).
"Time to grind!"
The ranking battle was tomorrow morning. How could he waste such a precious evening?
He went straight to work. Even if he was in terrible shape tomorrow, he'd still crush anyone who hadn't crossed the threshold of an Upper Law.
In every Genius Tournament, there were rarely more than twenty geniuses of this caliber who had crossed the threshold of an Upper Law.
That meant just one for every several dozen Genius Tournaments in each Universe Country.
The following morning, in the great hall.
Ku Mixiu stared at Yu Duan's bloodshot eyes in astonishment. Yu Duan was practicing the second form of the Light and Time Sword Technique: Shadow Bearing Cut.
The instant its dazzling sword light flared, it vanished without a trace. The sword, its entire length like pure colored glaze, dimmed, as if it posed no threat at all.
But Ku Mixiu was a Peak World Master. He could naturally sense the invisible sword aura stretching more than forty kilometers from the blade.
Unlike the brilliance and dazzling burst of Light Splitting Stab,
Shadow Bearing Cut was silent, eerie, and hard to predict.
Those at the same level would find it difficult to detect. Only those who had crossed the threshold of an Upper Law, or those naturally favored by one, could faintly sense the minute fluctuations in spacetime where the blade passed.
And in the heat of battle, with the influence of Domains, these subtle anomalies in spacetime became even harder to notice.
"Your Highness... have you crossed the threshold of the Time Origin Law?"
Ku Mixiu was certain of the answer, but he couldn't help asking.
Even after crossing the threshold of the Law of Time, most people still needed to practice the Light and Time Sword Technique diligently for a while before they could successfully execute its second form.
This completely overturned Ku Mixiu's understanding.
"Mm. I suddenly had an epiphany last night and gained quite a few insights. I didn't expect to cross the threshold of the Time Origin Law so smoothly."
Yu Duan's tone was calm, and he didn't elaborate. He'd given "epiphany" as his explanation. Whether Ku Mixiu believed him was up to him.
It was simply difficult to explain.
After becoming the disciple of King Qinghuan and receiving the Silver Pupil, Yu Duan had finally been able to try to comprehend the mysteries of the Time Origin Law.
From start to finish, it had taken him less than twenty days to cross the threshold of the Law of Time.
That wasn't just fast; it was astounding.
Apart from an epiphany, there was basically no other way to explain it.
After all, Luo Feng had a Mosha Clan clone at the Universe Level, with the natural talent of a favorite of the Law of Space. Even he had trained hard for a long time before crossing the threshold of a Law.
"Your Highness, I need to report that you've crossed the threshold of the Law of Time to my great master. Please forgive me."
Ku Mixiu's master was King Qinghuan's servant. His master had ordered Ku Mixiu to address King Qinghuan as "great master."
Yu Duan smiled. "Of course. Even if you didn't tell him, I would have informed my teacher."
Just as he finished speaking, Yu Duan suddenly spotted a figure in white robes. Who else could it be but King Qinghuan?
Yu Duan and his teacher, King Qinghuan, lived on the same island. To such a mighty being, the distance between them was practically nonexistent.
"Child, you... have entered the Time Origin Law?" King Qinghuan sounded almost incredulous.
Even someone with King Qinghuan's composure and resolve rarely reacted like this. But Yu Duan had genuinely stunned him.
The Silver Pupil's intense fluctuations of the Law of Time concealed Yu Duan's weak fluctuations when he executed Shadow Bearing Cut. Even King Qinghuan hadn't noticed them in the palace.
Or rather, even if he had noticed, he hadn't thought much of it. It hadn't occurred to him that Yu Duan had mastered the Law of Time.
Yu Duan hurriedly bowed. "Teacher, this disciple was lucky enough to have an epiphany and grasp a tiny bit of the basics of the Time Origin Law."
"Whew!"
King Qinghuan let out a long breath and patted Yu Duan's shoulder. "Good, good, good!"
"The Genius Tournament is less than fourteen years away. If you can place in the top three, I'll give you a peak F-class spaceship!"
An F9-class spaceship cost several million Hunyuan Units at a minimum, and could run to tens of millions.
If you added G-class metal to build the core control room, its value would be beyond measure.
As for the G-class spaceships above that, even the cheapest were generally beyond the means of a King Level Immortal. You'd need to be at least a Universe Venerable to afford one.
"If you can take first place in the Genius Tournament, I'll ask your martial uncle to personally arrange a great opportunity for you, one that will benefit you for the rest of your life!"
First place in the Genius Tournament!
Even without considering the other Universe Countries, the Beiming Sacred Land alone had a five-thousand-year-old mountain towering over the rest: Yalunsi.
His mastery of the third form of the Yan Shen Armament already surpassed the average level of past Genius Tournament champions. Unless something unexpected happened, Yalunsi would take first place this time.
As for the great opportunity that would require an ancient Lord of the Kingdom to personally step in to obtain, Yu Duan couldn't imagine what it might be. There were simply too many possibilities.
"Don't worry, Teacher. I won't let you down."
At his current level, Yu Duan was around the top fifteen, with a chance of breaking into the top ten.
But there was still plenty of time. Yu Duan wasn't in a hurry.
Over the next several days, the ranking battle went ahead as scheduled, but it no longer took up Yu Duan's attention.
He killed his opponents in a single move every time. He didn't use the power of the Law of Time or Shadow Bearing Cut; Light Splitting Stab alone let him crush his way through the competition.
On the sixth match of the twenty-fourth day of the ranking battle, Yu Duan suffered his only crushing defeat after crossing the threshold of an Upper Law.
His opponent was naturally Yalunsi, who could wield the third form of the Yan Shen Armament. Yu Duan was completely outmatched.
Still, he got Yalunsi's contact information afterward, and the two became acquainted.
In the blink of an eye, it was the thirty-second day of the ranking battle, and the competition was drawing to a close.
High above the magnificent city of palaces in the Virtual Universe,
Yu Duan, dressed in white-and-gold battle armor, watched as a burly man suddenly appeared before him. A massive, entirely black War Blade rested across the man's back.
"Hahaha! What luck, running into junior brother Yu Duan. Yalunsi said you crossed the threshold of an Upper Law?"
The burly young man laughed heartily. A massive black War Blade appeared in his hand, and his aura changed in an instant, as if he had become a young god of war.
This burly young man was Pengnuolai, the second-ranked among the Sacred Land's many Star Level students. He was a genius who had crossed the thresholds of both the Law of Earth and the Law of Space.
"I've been fortunate enough to make some progress. Please guide me, senior brother Pengnuolai!"
Yu Duan's voice suddenly turned ethereal. One image after another reflected and spread in every direction across the city, while his voice echoed from all sides.
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