Choice

Inside the Killing Space...

Lu Yan'an sat on the ground, with "bodies" sprawled all around him. Domain elements were scattered throughout the surrounding space. It was easy to tell that a fierce battle had just taken place!

Perhaps he was a little tired. Lu Yan'an gasped for breath, his forehead dotted with beads of sweat.

"You've made obvious progress, kid! In less than a year, you've already come this far. At least you haven't wasted that talent of yours!" Lord Shen's voice came from the Light Brain watch on Lu Yan'an's wrist, sounding very pleased.

In truth, Lord Shen had never thought much of Lu Yan'an's initial talent or personality. After all, as an Immortal Expert who had roamed the universe, he had seen countless geniuses in his travels. Take Feng Yunruo, the first to pass the Inheritance Trial, for instance. His natural talent was far superior to Lu Yan'an's. Having seen better, Lord Shen couldn't help feeling disappointed when faced with someone who was merely passable.

And back on Yuan Planet, Lord Shen had already seen that Lu Yan'an had the mindset of a petty, calculating nobody. He was too self-centered, full of schemes he kept to himself, and simply wasn't suited to joining an organization and developing within it. Lord Shen had originally intended to train him just enough to protect himself, then dismiss him with some excuse.

Mediocre talent, serious flaws in his character, and little hope of achieving anything great in the future. That was Lord Shen's first impression of Lu Yan'an, and his first conclusion about him. But a year ago, when Lu Yan'an first entered the Killing Space and formally stepped into the first stage of cultivating his mind—Clear Heart Seeing Nature—Lord Shen's opinion of him began to change.

Now, even someone as strict as Lord Shen had to admit that Lu Yan'an was doing well. He was no longer so self-centered. He genuinely listened to others' opinions and, most importantly, had begun laying a solid foundation, one step at a time!

"You've done very well this year. If you keep up this pace, it won't be long before you truly reach the Entry Level in the secret technique 'Time Realm'..." Lord Shen kept chattering beside him. Lu Yan'an simply listened, his thoughts slowly drifting back to a year ago...

A year earlier.

Lu Yan'an had just broken through to the Clear Heart Seeing Nature state. With a serious expression, he asked, "Lord Shen, if I want to truly catch up with my senior brother, what secret technique should I choose?"

Lord Shen had never seen Lu Yan'an like this. For the first time, he was asking about the gap between himself and Feng Yunruo without trying to avoid the issue. For the first time, he was facing that gap head-on!

"Since you've asked, I'll tell you how far your senior brother had progressed before entering the universe. You can think it over for yourself."

Lord Shen paused as if gathering his thoughts. After a while, he slowly began:

"During the Named Disciple Inheritance Assessment, Feng Yunruo took only three years to comprehend his own domain, which had a fire attribute. Tsk. It's hard to imagine that someone as gentle as him would have the fire-type special ability 'Blazing Fire God.'" Perhaps worried Lu Yan'an wouldn't know what Blazing Fire God was, Lord Shen took the time to explain it.

"Blazing Fire God is the finest of all fire-type special abilities, ranking first in both offense and explosive power. Anyone who awakens this ability upon breaking through is basically unrivaled among those of the same level until they reach the World Lord level. Even after its power is worn down by domains and laws, its attack strength remains terrifying!"

"Thanks to Blazing Fire God, Feng Yunruo encountered almost no obstacles when unifying all of Yuan Planet. And the most incredible thing was that, just as he was about to enter the universe after putting everything in order, he comprehended a trace of the Fire Origin Law!"

Lord Shen's voice trembled slightly! Feng Yunruo's talent had clearly exceeded even his expectations. Since breaking through to immortality, he had never heard of anyone besides Feng Yunruo comprehending a law at the Planetary Level! Even a domain, one step below a law, was almost unheard of at the Planetary Level. And the most outrageous part was that the people of Yuan Planet were born with only a ninth-tier bloodline! It was impossible to imagine how brilliant Feng Yunruo's future would be once he encountered the universe and raised his bloodline level!

The Origin Law was something beyond the ordinary; generally, one only began to encounter it at the World Lord Level. Yet Feng Yunruo had already comprehended a trace of an Origin Law at the Planetary Level. Even City Lord Luo, in the original story, only sensed a law at the Star Level after possessing a Golden Horned Beast. As for everyone else, even a genius like Hong, who had comprehended a domain at the Planetary Level through his own efforts, without relying on an inheritance, was still far from the path of laws at the Star Level! This showed just how strong Feng Yunruo's talent was. It was on Kedi's level!

But Lu Yan'an wasn't crushed by Feng Yunruo's talent. After listening to Lord Shen, he fell silent for a moment. Then he raised his head, a blazing light shining in his eyes—the courage to challenge the strong.

"So how do I catch up?"

Lord Shen was a little surprised by Lu Yan'an's question. Where had this kid found the courage? Still, he didn't beat around the bush and answered directly:

"You have the Dark Radiance Body, an innate favorite of the Origin Law of Light. So I recommend the basic secret technique 'Sui Guang.' How far you can cultivate it depends on your level of mastery of the Origin Law of Light. And if you can master it completely, the path to immortality will be right before you! Only..."

Lord Shen seemed hesitant, as though he wasn't sure whether to say what came next.

"Only what?" Lu Yan'an could hear his concerns and asked openly.

Hearing Lu Yan'an press him, Lord Shen set aside the only misgiving he had.

"Without a doubt, 'Sui Guang' is the secret technique best suited to you. But if you want to catch up with Feng Yunruo by relying on it, you still have a long way to go!" He stated the truth bluntly.

"Then what should I do?" Lu Yan'an scratched his head in frustration. Clearly, he found the truth troubling too.

"If you want to catch up with him, you have only one way—comprehend a Higher Origin Law!" Lord Shen gave his opinion, then advised him, "If you really choose this path, I recommend comprehending the higher law of light: the Law of Time! The Origin Laws of Wind, Light, and Thunder are lower laws under the Law of Time. Comprehending these three laws will help you understand the Law of Time!"

"I also have a secret technique that explains the essence of combining the Origin Law of Light with the Time Origin Law. But it's far more powerful—and far more difficult—than the basic secret technique 'Sui Guang'! So now you need to make a choice: do you take the path best suited to you, or the strongest path?" As soon as he finished speaking, Lord Shen spread his hands, making it clear that he wouldn't interfere.

Which path should he take? Lu Yan'an hardly needed to think. Now that he had come to such a vast and turbulent world, how could he be content with mediocrity? Besides, while achieving immortality through the Law of Light might not be too difficult for him, if he failed to comprehend a higher law before becoming immortal, he would never reach the realm of a Universe Venerable in his lifetime.

Choosing to comprehend only the Law of Light might give him great combat strength in the short term, but it would come at the cost of his future potential! Anyone who hadn't comprehended a higher law before becoming immortal had basically no future. Just look at the Immortal Experts in the Outer Region Battlefield, falling one after another!

Having thought it through, Lu Yan'an no longer hesitated. He said to Lord Shen with firm resolve, "Actually, there wasn't much of a choice, was there? If you wanted me to choose the first path, you wouldn't have explained the second one in such detail!" Lord Shen said nothing, not taking the bait.

Then Lu Yan'an smiled and continued, "I haven't reached the summit of the universe or seen the view from the top. How could I choose to lie flat from the starting line? There's a saying back on Yuan Planet: 'The choices you make matter more than how hard you work.' But I'm the one making the choice, and I'm the one who has to work hard, too. So now I've made my choice!"

He paused, then spoke again. "I choose to work hard! I know this path will be incredibly difficult, but if I don't even try, I'll regret it for the rest of my life! Failure isn't frightening. What's truly frightening is not even having the courage to face failure!"

At that moment, Lu Yan'an's whole body was glowing!