Faced with a King Rank powerhouse's disrespect, Giant Axe Founder not only wasn't annoyed, but laughed as he came down and gave his longtime friend a hearty hug. "You old thing, it's been ages since you came to visit. Did you die so many times that your debts piled up, and you were too embarrassed to face me, your creditor?"
That was right. Every time Zhulong King fell, a Universe Master was willing to revive him immediately. One reason was that the bill went under Giant Axe's name—there was no worry about being stiffed, and the price was a bargain.
Zhulong King sighed helplessly. "I was just afraid of causing you trouble. The difference in our strength is too great..."
Giant Axe waved a hand, cutting him off. "Enough of that! There were only two of us left from the Seven Heroes of Yan Feng back then. Even Original Ancestor himself..."
At the mention of that name, Zhulong King fell silent too.
Back then, Original Ancestor had united the entire Human Alliance and launched a counterattack against the Monster Race and Starry Sky Behemoths under the Monster Beast Progenitor. He had beaten those two races so badly that they later split off, breaking away from the Monster Beast Progenitor's rule.
If Original Ancestor hadn't later been suppressed by the Primal Universe, humanity would now be the overlord of the entire Primal Universe, and perhaps even the Universe Ocean.
Zhulong King reached out and pushed Ling Xuan forward. "A great talent has emerged from our tribe, but I don't have the ability to train him, so I thought I'd leave him in your hands. This boy has exceptional talent and stood above all the other competitors in the Genius Tournament. I think only you can teach him well."
"So this is Ling Xuan? He looks spirited. I've already watched the Genius Tournament footage." Giant Axe Founder glanced at Ling Xuan, then turned back to Zhulong King with a doubtful look. "This kid is how many generations your descendant, exactly? Are you asking him to become my disciple so you can secretly add a generation to your own lineage and get one over on me?"
Zhulong King nearly burst out laughing. "We'll each go by our own rules, our own rules."
"You rascal, you really dare to try something like that?" Giant Axe feigned anger and thumped Zhulong King.
"Hahaha, all right, all right. We'll each go by our own rules." Zhulong King laughed it off.
Only then did Giant Axe Founder put aside his joking manner and look at Ling Xuan solemnly.
"Tell me, are you willing to become my disciple?"
"Your disciple Ling Xuan pays his respects, Teacher." Ling Xuan immediately performed the formal bow of apprenticeship, following the ancient tradition of the Manlong Planet people.
"Not bad. You old thing have done a fine job preserving our traditions..." Giant Axe Founder raised a hand, and a surge of divine power lifted Ling Xuan to his feet. "Good. Starting today, you're the thirteenth personal disciple under my name. You have twelve senior fellow disciples ahead of you. Nine are still alive, all Universe Venerables or Immortal Experts. You'll have to work hard and catch up with them as soon as possible."
"Yes, Teacher. I won't let you down," Ling Xuan promised.
"Good. You're not only a rare talent in the Human Race, but also a descendant of the Yan Feng Tribe. My expectations for you are very high, so don't disappoint me." Giant Axe Founder continued to encourage him. "Since we're meeting in the Virtual Universe, I don't have anything to give you right now. Once you reach Chaos City, come find me at the City Lord Mansion. I have an avatar there."
"Thank you, Teacher." Ling Xuan was overjoyed. If Giant Axe Founder gave him something, it would surely be at least a Supreme Treasure, right?
When he went to the Universe Ocean, unless Peak Supreme Treasures were hard to find, he probably came back with several other Supreme Treasures every trip.
"I'll grant you permission to teleport to me in the Virtual Universe whenever you like. If you have any questions about your cultivation, you can come to me at any time. For now, you may leave. It's been ages since I had a drink with this old thing."
"Yes."
Ling Xuan bowed and took his leave.
"Have you received the message?" In Zhulong's palace, the Immortal Experts were still waiting. Suddenly, one of them spoke up.
"I got it. I had no idea Mr. Zhulong had such powerful connections. He's actually friends with Giant Axe Founder."
"Let's go. The Venerables won't be able to blame us for being incompetent now."
"No one can say otherwise."
Only then did everyone begin to leave.
That day, a ship from the headquarters of the Giant Axe Martial Arena arrived at the Manlong Planet and picked Ling Xuan up to take him to the arena's headquarters.
"Puff, I'm preparing to break through to Universe Level. Use my current permissions to check whether there are any advanced cultivation techniques for comprehending the Law of Space." Ling Xuan sat in the training room of the Giant Axe Martial Arena's F-class ship.
The ship was being operated by an Immortal Expert sent by the Giant Axe Martial Arena, so Ling Xuan didn't need to worry about anything.
"Master, you've received an email from your teacher, Giant Axe Founder," Puff suddenly reminded him.
"Oh? My teacher's contacting me already?" Ling Xuan was curious. They'd only just set off, so he wondered what his teacher had planned.
He opened the email. It simply told him to go to his teacher's palace at once.
Ling Xuan immediately set aside what he was doing and entered the Temple of Giant Axe in the Virtual Universe.
"Teacher, you sent for me?" Ling Xuan bowed respectfully.
"Mhm." Giant Axe Founder nodded. "You'll be going to Chaos City to cultivate. There's a treasure there that's vital to the foundations of the Human Race."
Ling Xuan guessed that Giant Axe meant the Chaos Steles from the original story, so he listened quietly.
"The Human Race has grown so powerful, with generation after generation of strong experts, and this treasure deserves much of the credit."
As he spoke, Giant Axe pointed, and forty-nine virtual images appeared before Ling Xuan.
"These are rubbings of the forty-nine Chaos Steles. Each one represents a path leading to the peak of the universe. Every cultivator who goes to Chaos City chooses one of them to study."
"You just took first place in the Genius Tournament and have a hundred thousand points. You can use them to buy secret techniques for cultivation. You can decide now which path you want to take. During the years it'll take to reach Chaos City, you can already begin comprehending it. Try to surpass Cao Benqi in Law Comprehension as soon as possible. I don't know how far you'll be able to cultivate using the inheritance you received, but to become a true powerhouse, you'll ultimately need to make the Origin Law your foundation."
"Yes, Teacher. I'll remember your instruction," Ling Xuan replied humbly.
"All right. Take a look at these Chaos Stele rubbings. In Chaos City, you'll only have thirty minutes to study one. Here, you can take your time and examine them carefully. Make sure you choose the one that suits you best."
At his words, Ling Xuan began examining the forty-nine rubbings one by one.
To make sure he studied every image carefully, Ling Xuan spent a full day looking through them.
In the end, he lingered longest in front of two images.
One was the Tianyan Chaos Stele, engraved with nine flames and centered on comprehending and cultivating the Law of Fire.
The other was the Nine Universe Chaos Stele, depicting nine scattered raindrops.
My Void Sutra follows the Void Great Dao, which has limitless potential in this universe. But its explanations of the Law of Space aren't as detailed or complete as those of the Universe Masters in this world, so the further I go, the harder it'll be to cultivate. If I choose the Nine Universe Chaos Stele and follow the path of analyzing the essence of the Law of Space, it might help me cultivate the Void Sutra. The Law of Fire might suit me at first, but to reach greater heights, I'll have to cultivate the Space-Time Origin Law eventually. I might as well take the direct route.
After weighing his options, Ling Xuan had his answer.
"Teacher, I've decided. I'll choose the Nine Universe Chaos Stele," Ling Xuan said.
"Mhm. Good. You're not reaching beyond your grasp, and you can stay grounded while recognizing your own strengths." Giant Axe Founder nodded with satisfaction.
He had watched Ling Xuan's battles too, and Ling Xuan clearly had a good talent for the Law of Space.
It was good that he hadn't reached too far by choosing the Universe Chaos Stele or chosen the Giant Axe Chaos Stele just to please him.
"Good. As it happens, the creator of the Nine Universe Chaos Stele also wrote a matching set of secret techniques called Space-Time Essays. There are nine volumes, each corresponding to one of the images on the Nine Universe Chaos Stele. You have a hundred thousand points, so you can buy the first three volumes. Space-Time Essays contain 10,829 different secret techniques. You don't need to buy any other cultivation techniques for now; these will be enough for a long time."
"Thank you, Teacher." Ling Xuan bowed deeply.
He'd made a tremendous gain on this trip.
The Chaos Steles were treasures of the Human Race, and one could only choose a stele to study after reaching Chaos City.
Compared with the other geniuses of his generation who were about to head to Chaos City, Ling Xuan had effectively gotten a three-year head start.
The old saying really was true: in this world, connections and backing mattered.
He had only just taken the strongest expert in the Human Race as his teacher, and he was already enjoying extraordinary privileges.
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