There was another palace in the void...
It had to be said: the Zerg Mother Empresses were so few in number that they had far too many resources to allocate among themselves.
By comparing the two, Cai Yi could tell that this palace was probably a Mother Empress's nest. And judging by its aura alone, it was no weaker than the Mother Emperor Palace from before. It was clearly another Top-Tier Heavy Treasure!
"Little Cai Yi, be respectful in a moment. She's our mothers' teacher, Lord Yunmi."
Isabella reminded Cai Yi, then flew into the palace with her.
A Divine Power Clone sat on the throne, just as before.
The Zerg were a race with plenty of beauties. Cai Yi felt like her eyes were growing tired from all the pretty faces...
Cai Yi looked at the beauty seated above them. Before she could think much about it, she felt Isabella, who was holding her, bow slightly.
"Isabella pays her respects to Teacher."
"Evangeline pays her respects to Teacher."
Cai Yi paused, then greeted her too:
"Cai Yi pays her respects to Lord Yunmi."
Well, she said the words, but she couldn't actually bow. After all, Isabella was holding her in her arms.
"Is she your child?"
Lord Yunmi looked at Cai Yi with her alluring, tender gaze. Something seemed a little off, but she didn't pay it any mind.
"Yes, Teacher. Her name is Cai Yi."
"Mm, a lovely name."
Lord Yunmi praised her with a smile, then asked directly:
"What brings you here?"
"It's like this..."
Isabella told Lord Yunmi about Cai Yi's recent accomplishments, then had Cai Yi demonstrate her Sevenfold Domain and her insights at the threshold of the Law of Wind.
Looking at Cai Yi's Sevenfold Domain of Wind, Lord Yunmi paused, then smiled and nodded.
"Very good. She was born only recently, yet at Planetary Level Nine she's comprehended a Sevenfold Domain of Wind and even crossed the threshold of the Law. That already qualifies her as a genius."
The important point wasn't that she'd comprehended a Domain of Wind at the Planetary Level, nor that she'd crossed the threshold of the Law. It was that she'd been born only recently!
That was right. Cai Yi had only arrived in the Empress Universe a short while ago. Even if they counted the time she'd spent absorbing Nutrient Solution, it had only been a week.
Comprehending a Sevenfold Domain in a week was already astounding, let alone reaching the threshold of the Law!
Lord Yunmi had only to think, and Cai Yi felt a mark appear on her soul. She didn't know what it did, but she was certain it wouldn't harm her.
"This is my Soul Seal. With it, you'll be one of the geniuses our Zerg Race will prioritize nurturing. You already have Evangeline's inherited memories, and with the resources of the race directed toward you, I look forward to seeing what you achieve."
"Cai Yi, hurry up and thank Lord Yunmi."
Isabella set Cai Yi down and urged her to offer her thanks.
"Cai Yi thanks Lord Yunmi."
"No need. If you achieve enough, that will be the best thanks you could give me."
Lord Yunmi smiled and waved her hand, signaling that they could leave.
Isabella led Evangeline and Cai Yi in thanking her once more, then flew out of the palace.
"With Teacher's mark, you're now the genius with the highest priority for resource allocation in our Zerg Race, Little Cai Yi."
Evangeline smiled.
In the Zerg Race, resource allocation also had different priority levels. Cai Yi was ranked first, equivalent to the geniuses in the Human Race's Primal Secret Realm—though she'd receive even more resources!
After all, there were far more geniuses in the Primal Secret Realm than there were Zerg Mother Empresses with the highest priority.
Oh, and besides, the Primal Secret Realm was only a training institution run by the Virtual Universe Company. The other four great powers had their own training institutions, and the resources they invested came to just one-fifth of what the Zerg Mother Empresses with the highest priority received.
Of course, that didn't include the gains from gaining experience...
After returning to the Mother Emperor Palace, Cai Yi began preparing to break through!
With her abundant resources, Cai Yi was progressing much faster than Hen Ren. In just a week, she'd reached Planetary Level Nine.
Hen Ren was only at Planetary Level Eight for now. That was despite spending quite some time creating the Devouring Heaven Demon Art; otherwise, she would probably have been even slower...
The farther one advanced, the slower one's energy accumulation became...
As Cai Yi prepared to break through, Hen Ren began studying her Nine Secrets: Jie.
As for Xu Ai, she turned her attention to the Trial.
She opened the Trial function. Xu Ai's vision blurred for a moment, and then she felt as if she were in an immense space.
"My consciousness entered? It must have split off a portion of itself. It doesn't affect my control outside."
This was her first time doing this. Before, when she entered the virtual space, she could only keep an eye on things with Hen Ren's help. She hadn't been able to leave a portion of her consciousness outside.
Unlike the Clone function, Xu Ai's memories contained no information about this function, so she could only explore it herself.
"Trial, Trial Tower? It should be a combat platform, right? In that case..."
Xu Ai had only to think, and ten thousand Reckless Bulls appeared before her. Reckless Bulls were mid-tier among monsters, and there had never been a King-level Monster among them. But under Xu Ai's control, every one of these Reckless Bull Monsters had the strength of a King-level Monster!
Great!
With a thought, a combat suit covered Xu Ai, and a Longquan Treasure Sword appeared in her hand.
Three minutes later...
"Having a Domain really makes a difference. Fighting them was a breeze..."
To be precise, Xu Ai covered the area with her Fire Domain, and the monsters became as slow as if they were stuck in a mire. They could only let her cut them down...
"But if that's all the Trial function does, it's not very impressive..."
Xu Ai let her imagination run further. If it could simulate a group of monsters, it should be able to simulate people too, right?
A virtual universe Killing Field?
As she thought this, an unparalleled beauty wearing a Ghost Face Mask appeared before Xu Ai.
Mm, it was Hen Ren! Or rather, virtual Hen Ren!
Planetary Level Eight, Nine-Fold Domain, and she'd comprehended one of the fundamental aspects of the Law of Water. She was incredibly powerful!
The moment Xu Ai released virtual Hen Ren, five slender fingers pressed against her chest. Without a sound, Xu Ai was finished...
"Too strong!"
She hadn't been able to fight back at all. But that was only natural. Xu Ai was only at Planetary Level One, with a Onefold Fire Domain. She was inferior to Hen Ren in every way, so of course she couldn't win!
"Lower Hen Ren's strength to match mine: Planetary Level One. Remove her insights at the threshold of the Law of Water Origin, and reduce her Water Domain to one layer. All right, let's continue!"
Xu Ai released Hen Ren. This time, it wasn't an instant kill but a one-sided beatdown!
Two or three minutes later, Xu Ai was beaten apart again...
"Come on, that's too much! She can actually get stronger the longer we fight!?"
The first minute had been fine. Xu Ai had only been at a slight disadvantage. But then Hen Ren had somehow fallen behind, only to break through to a Twofold Domain! After that, the one-sided beating began. It was terrifying!
Still, the simulation was incredibly realistic...
After all, she was Hen Ren. Why was she called that? Because she was ruthless—ruthless to her enemies, and even more ruthless to herself!
During the fight, Hen Ren had somehow been cut by Xu Ai's sword and fallen behind.
Xu Ai hadn't understood at first, but after the fight ended, she thought about it from Hen Ren's perspective and understood...
Because this wasn't a sparring match. It was a fight to the death. Virtual Hen Ren had deliberately let her guard down and put herself in danger! Then, with her back to the wall, she'd broken through in the middle of battle...
She'd used the terror of being caught between life and death to force out her potential. That was too much!
Anyway, Hen Ren would never do something like that. Put herself in mortal danger? No way!
Before you continue