Although he complained about Liujing, Yu Duan didn't hesitate to place orders for all kinds of resources.
Spending all his money at once wasn't an option, but setting some aside to raise Liujing to Universe Level, First Order would be a breeze. It would only cost a few tens of billions of Universe Coins—pocket change.
He could get the rest of the resources gradually. Liujing wasn't needed for anything right now, so there was no need to raise it to the peak of Universe Level.
His own growth still took priority when it came to money and resources. Any surplus could go toward cultivating Intelligent Life, Auxiliary Lifeforms, and the like.
Putting the cart before the horse wasn't what Teacher King Qinghuan had intended.
The reason Teacher King Qinghuan had sent Liujing over was to make Yu Duan realize that he was still poor, and that he had to keep working hard and never slack off.
The day after the ranking battle ended, in Yu Duan's palace.
Under the cover of Silver Pupil's fluctuations, Yu Duan practiced the Light and Time Sword Technique furiously, unleashing the second form, Shadow Bearing Cut, with all his strength again and again.
"Your Highness, with your mastery of the two laws of light and time, you could achieve an entry-level mastery of the movement technique if you devoted some of your effort to it."
After hesitating for a moment, Ku Mixiu offered Yu Duan some advice.
The difficulty of reaching the first level of Flowing Light of Years, Time Flow Shadow, was roughly comparable to that of Nine Line Flow, perhaps slightly harder.
Since Yu Duan could perform Shadow Bearing Cut, in theory, he should be able to reach the entry level of Time Flow Shadow.
This was an exceptionally precious secret technique, and even its first level was divided into three stages: entry, minor mastery, and major mastery.
Once he reached the entry level of Time Flow Shadow, he would be able to overcome much of his own inertia. Even while moving at full speed, he could make an instant right-angle turn, achieving agility on par with a Spirit Reader of the same level.
At the second stage, minor mastery, he would be able to achieve a rudimentary form of "passing through walls," controlling his own atoms to pass directly through stationary obstacles.
As for the third stage, major mastery, it was almost like "phasing." Even in battle, he could maintain this state of passing through objects.
Once Yu Duan mastered this stage, he would basically be able to ignore pure physical attacks from peak Universe Level opponents, despite being only at Star Level—unless they were law experts.
As for Domain Lord Level powerhouses, the pressure of their domains alone would leave Yu Duan unable to move, let alone use a movement technique.
The gap between levels was almost impossible to bridge, and it only grew wider at higher levels.
"I feel like I make faster progress in my understanding of the laws when I practice swordsmanship."
Yu Duan was simply telling the truth, and it was a pretty airtight excuse.
As long as Teacher King Qinghuan didn't explicitly order him to practice his movement technique, Yu Duan would put all his energy into grinding out progress.
"All right... When you use Shadow Bearing Cut, there are still a few things you need to pay attention to."
Ku Mixiu understood his place and wouldn't say more than necessary.
Since Yu Duan was set on his decision, Ku Mixiu would simply focus on pointing out problems in his swordsmanship practice and answering any questions he had.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
The Light and Time Sword flowed through Yu Duan's palm. Its invisible blade sliced through the air, sending ripples across it.
This showed that Yu Duan hadn't yet practiced Shadow Bearing Cut well enough.
The closer it came to perfection, the quieter the ultimate Shadow Bearing Cut became—silent and deadly.
In less than half an hour, Yu Duan had exhausted his stamina and Origin Force.
"Tianran, time for a boost!"
"Yes, Master !"
A robot flew over, a pale golden vial of medicine balanced on its head.
Yu Duan downed the medicine. Feeling his stamina and Origin Force quickly recover, he resumed his training.
Nearly ten days passed in the blink of an eye.
Late at night, Yu Duan's eyes were bloodshot. He could feel that he had reached his limit.
Even though his stamina and Origin Force were still fairly abundant, a powerful wave of exhaustion swept over him.
"I've hit my limit. Thanks for all your hard work, Mr. Ku Mixiu. I'm going to get some rest tonight and continue tomorrow."
Yu Duan's voice was slightly hoarse. Ten days of nonstop training had pushed him to the breaking point.
After all, the stamina of a Star Level powerhouse far exceeded what ordinary people could imagine.
The Trial Tower stage of the Genius Tournament alone made that clear. The trials lasted dozens or even hundreds of days, sometimes longer. There might be opportunities to rest briefly, but sleeping was out of the question.
Yet even Yu Duan's abundant stamina had been completely drained in ten days. His thoughts and reactions had slowed.
Grinding for progress required giving it everything he had. There could be no holding back. People weren't machines—and even machines got tired.
"All right. Get some good rest, Your Highness."
It was the first time Ku Mixiu had seen anyone train so obsessively.
But Ku Mixiu could only see part of the picture.
After Ku Mixiu left, Yu Duan went to the bedroom. A basic Nutrient Pod had already been prepared there. The Nutrient Solution inside was ordinary, meant only to ease fatigue and nourish his cells.
It was nothing like the Nutrient Solution that could make someone evolve.
"Whoosh!"
The Nutrient Pod opened. Once Yu Duan had climbed inside, he instructed his intelligent assistant, "Tianran, wake me in seven hours."
"Yes, Master!"
After hearing Tianran's reply, Yu Duan stirred the gene Origin Energy in his body, making it pulse and vibrate at a particular frequency.
In an instant, pain several times more intense than what he had felt after taking the Bloodline Evolution Agent spread throughout his body.
The will-tempering secret technique, Lianxin Dian!
Ever since obtaining this secret technique for training his will, Yu Duan had practiced it diligently without interruption.
According to the Book of Causality, Yu Duan's willpower had already reached the average level of a Universe Level powerhouse.
"Hah... hah..."
The intense pain made Yu Duan's body convulse, and uncontrollable gasps escaped his mouth. His expression twisted with agony as every muscle in his body tensed.
While this Lianxin Dian secret technique caused pain when activated, it didn't harm the body. If anything, it offered some benefits.
A secret technique that caused pain by damaging the body wasn't a will-tempering technique. It was just plain self-harm.
"Thump! Thump! Thump..."
The sound of Yu Duan's heartbeat grew exceptionally clear to him, like a great drum pounding beside his ear.
With every heartbeat, the pain he endured intensified dramatically.
One minute, two minutes... ten minutes. After about fourteen minutes of using the secret technique, Yu Duan—already exhausted and with his will stretched to its limit—rolled his eyes back and passed out, sinking into deep sleep.
"Master..."
The little elf Tianran appeared, accompanied by a bouncing, mercury-like creature. It was Liujing.
"Glug, glug..." Bubbles rose from Liujing's body, conveying its confusion.
Tianran explained with some concern, "Master is training his will by tormenting himself until he passes out."
"Glug?"
"The will-tempering secret technique doesn't cause physical harm, but... I can't help feeling like this is a form of torture."
Tianran gave Liujing a brief explanation of the will-tempering secret technique.
"Of all the geniuses I've ever seen, Master is the hardest-working and most determined. No one else even comes close."
Tianran was a high-level intelligence. Although she wasn't a true Intelligent Life, her emotions and intelligence were no different from those of a living being, and she had her own social circle.
Among Tianran's friends were the intelligent assistants of Chi Li and An Yao, as well as those of Yalunsi and Pengnuolai, whom she had recently met.
Through conversations with the other intelligent assistants, Tianran had learned about the training and lessons those geniuses followed.
Compared to her master, they were practically on vacation.
"Glug, glug!"
Liujing gurgled twice, its resolve plain to see. Then it hugged a piece of extremely valuable metal and began chomping on it!
My master's training. I can't fall behind either. I have to work hard and evolve—I'M GONNA EAT, EAT, EAT!
Before you continue