The Genius Tournament Was Approaching

In the Beiming Sea, inside Yu Duan's palace.

As soon as his consciousness left the Virtual Universe, a glimmer shone from the Optical Computer on his right hand, and Tianran's figure appeared.

"Master, the prize money from the ranking tournament has been deposited. You placed second this time, breaking into the top ten for the first time. Your prize is 10 Hunyuan Units!"

Tianran was both excited and thrilled.

That was a full 10 Hunyuan Units—the kind of fortune an ordinary World Master could have. And total assets and cash were two different things; most World Masters didn't even have that much cash in their accounts.

"Don't get so worked up over a little money. You're so eager to see cash—who did you learn that from?"

Yu Duan couldn't suppress his smile, but still "scolded" Tianran.

Tianran was completely stunned, staring at Yu Duan in disbelief.

Who else could she have learned it from? How could her master say something like that?

"Use 1 Hunyuan Unit to buy the resources needed to evolve Liujing to the peak of Universe Level. As for the rest... there's nowhere to spend it for now, so let's save it."

Yu Duan thought about it and realized he really didn't have anything to spend money on.

He didn't need to buy secret techniques. The Light and Time Sword Technique and Flowing Light of Years movement technique would serve him well until World Lord Level.

The same went for weapons and equipment. Aside from the Light and Time Sword and the Tier 5 Force Battle Suit, Yu Duan also had a Tier 5 Force Battle Boots—something most World Masters didn't possess.

As for external factors that could improve his strength, besides secret techniques and treasures, there was only a higher Life Gene Level.

That was far beyond Yu Duan's reach. He couldn't even begin to pursue it at his current level.

"Let's leave it at that for now. Money is just an external thing; there's no need to attach too much importance to it."

The World Ring on Yu Duan's right hand flashed, and the Light and Time Sword appeared once more.

Although Yu Duan planned to spend these four years practicing his movement technique and improving his combat experience, that didn't mean he would stop grinding for progress.

He still set aside half a day every day to practice the Light and Time Sword Technique.

Before long, the morning had passed.

"Gurgle, gurgle!"

Liujing, resembling a silver slime, rolled over. A fond, affectionate smile appeared on its body.

Then a "hand" emerged from its gleaming silver body, offering him a test tube filled with golden liquid.

"Don't worry. I've already ordered the resources for you. They'll arrive today."

Yu Duan took the test tube and drank the potion in one gulp. Feeling his stamina and Origin Force rapidly recover, he let out a long breath.

Hearing Yu Duan's words, Liujing bounced twice with a "boing," clearly thrilled.

"In the afternoon, I'll work on my movement technique."

Since he wasn't grinding for progress, there was no need to stay in the real world.

Yu Duan logged into the Virtual Universe to practice his movement technique there.

If he ran into any questions along the way, he could ask his teacher, King Qinghuan, directly.

Although Ku Mixiu was a World Master, he hadn't practiced the Flowing Light of Years movement technique. King Qinghuan would be the better person to ask for guidance.

Yu Duan's comprehension was actually pretty good.

Or rather, anyone who had reached the Unity of Heaven and Man level of mind would have decent comprehension.

King Qinghuan was very pleased with Yu Duan's comprehension, especially when answering his questions. Yu Duan often drew further conclusions from a single explanation.

"Teacher, actually, I've had a question for a long time. Why can the mysteries of the Time Origin Law affect inertia?"

Yu Duan finally asked what he had wanted to know.

King Qinghuan paused at the question, then realized, "I almost forgot—you come from an uncivilized planet, so you may not understand the inertia of objects correctly."

"To understand this, you first need to know what inertial mass and gravitational mass are. The essence of gravity is the curvature of time and space. Let me explain..."

Yu Duan had thought King Qinghuan would tell him about the profound mysteries of the Time Origin Law.

He hadn't expected King Qinghuan to give him a half-day physics lesson.

"If you're interested, you can study physics."

"The essence of physics is the interaction of the ten fundamental laws. It's the outward manifestation of the universe's operating rules. It can help you understand the mysteries of the laws."

"To truly understand what causes inertia, you'll need to master a profound essence of the Law of Time."

King Qinghuan habitually patted Yu Duan on the shoulder. "Your Law Comprehension isn't deep enough to touch the essence of the laws yet. Once you reach Universe Level, you can try to comprehend it."

The afternoon passed just like that.

By nightfall, the star at the heart of Beiming Sacred Land had revolved to the opposite side, and a vast, star-filled night sky enveloped the entire Sacred Land.

Although he wasn't grinding for progress, Yu Duan still kept to his old habit: he avoided sleep whenever possible, and would only rest once he truly couldn't go on.

So every night, Yu Duan spent his time in the Killing Field, honing his real combat experience.

Even now, Yu Duan's combat experience was still limited. He rarely fought in the first place, only occasionally sparring with friends.

As for the ranking tournaments, he had simply crushed every opponent along the way. They hadn't done much to improve his experience.

Time continued to fly by, and Yu Duan's daily training routine never changed.

In the morning, he ground for progress and practiced swordsmanship in the real world. In the afternoon, he practiced his movement technique in the Virtual Universe and asked his teacher to clarify his doubts. At night, he trained in actual combat until dawn.

In the Killing Field, even the most extraordinary Star Level experts could be created at will, so he never had to worry about lacking opponents.

Under this grueling training regimen, Yu Duan improved every day.

His combat experience grew richer, and he became increasingly adept at using his movement technique.

His mastery of the laws also improved, but compared with the direct advancement granted by the Book of Causality, this slow progress was hardly noticeable.

Day turned to night, and time flew by.

One month, two months... half a year, a year.

About a year and a half after he had reached the third level of the Light and Time Sword Technique, Yu Duan's movement technique also reached its limit.

At first, when he used his movement technique, he could only barely reduce the effects of inertia on himself.

Now, he could completely block inertia's effects within a short time. As he moved, he could change direction at will, like light reflecting off a mirror, greatly increasing both his speed and agility.

However, this was still only the "beginner" stage of the first level of the movement technique.

According to his teacher, King Qinghuan, this was a bottleneck.

Once Yu Duan perfected the third level of the Light and Time Sword Technique, he would be able to break through the bottleneck and reach the "minor mastery" stage of the first level of his movement technique.

As for mastering the first level to the "great mastery" stage, that was as difficult as a space-law cultivator manifesting tens of thousands of illusions.

A little over four years passed in the blink of an eye.

Counting from the year Yu Duan first joined the Sacred Land, this was now his twentieth year.

About half a year earlier, news had begun to spread among the Star Level students at the Sacred Land.

A new Virtual Universe Peak Genius Tournament was about to begin!