State of Mind and Arrangements

During the few days spent waiting for the ring at the Universe First Bank, Luo Zhiyuan frequently met with the Luo Family in the Virtual Universe. He informed them that he would be leaving Biyan Planet in a few days, and that Bulieni was currently researching data and planning a cultivation route for him.

Luo Zhiyuan spent these days immersed in the Killing Space of the Killing Field, constantly consulting Bulieni on how to configure different opponents to most efficiently practice the third level of the Lightning Shuttle combat technique. Finally, after two consecutive days of grueling training, he completed the third attack form of the Lightning Shuttle.

The third level is called Chain Shuttle. It requires a spiritual force amplitude of 18 to execute and is a combination of the first and second levels. It triggers 99 blades from the main body of the Lightning Shuttle, forming 9 Light Shuttles and 18 guard blades. Then, guided by the dark patterns of the laws, they combine to form an elongated, three-meter-long shuttle.

Luo Zhiyuan spent an entire day practicing just this step. Compared to the single Light Shuttle of the first level, condensing nine Light Shuttles with spiritual force was significantly more difficult. Furthermore, the challenge increased sharply when he had to merge those nine shuttles into one long shuttle, not to mention the distraction of controlling the 18 guard blades. He was often seen grimacing in concentration, which gave Bulieni plenty of opportunities to tease him.

As for the second step, to increase overall piercing power, he had to make the 18 guard blades rotate continuously in a conical shape at the front of the long shuttle. Upon striking an enemy, he had to scatter the guard blades to create a chain-like branching attack, further increasing lethality and allowing the guard blades to have split-directional offensive capabilities.

Over these two days, Luo Zhiyuan's control over his spiritual force became much more refined. His consciousness strength, which had already reached the Star level, improved once again.

Bulieni was surprised at first, but upon recalling his innate secret technique, he understood why his consciousness strength exceeded his current realm. At this point, Bulieni told Luo Zhiyuan that his consciousness strength should now be at the Star level, ninth stage.

Luo Zhiyuan could feel the improvement in his consciousness. He remembered that the Earth lineage had unique advantages regarding the cultivation of the state of mind. However, in the original story, there were only three general states of mind mentioned, with no specific details on cultivation or insights. Therefore, after contacting his family again, he asked Hong for advice on cultivating the state of mind.

Hong was currently the person with the highest state of mind cultivation among humans on Earth. He was quite surprised that Luo Zhiyuan would come to him for advice on this, as this concept only circulated among humans on Earth. He had searched for similar information in the Virtual Universe but found no such terminology, so he hadn't paid much attention to it.

However, seeing Luo Zhiyuan's willingness to cultivate his mind, he was quite pleased. After all, this was a tradition of the Huaxia people, and the reason he had been able to comprehend a domain early on while still at the Planet level was precisely because of his mental cultivation.

Thus, Hong poured out everything he understood about the problems and methods of mental cultivation to Luo Zhiyuan, then left him to his own insights. Of course, Luo Zhiyuan discarded the labels of "first realm" and "second realm" that Hong used, as he knew these were simply three different methods, none inherently superior to the others.

Following the plot of Swallowed Star and comparing it to what Hong told him, Luo Zhiyuan realized he was likely in the second state of mind cultivation: the so-called "harmony of yin and yang, the unity of heaven and man."

This was because Luo Zhiyuan's innate secret technique, the Soul Fusion technique, was a method for fusing souls.

To maintain his original self and prevent the souls and memories of other beings from interfering with him, he had to keep his state of mind as sharp as a blade, cutting away all obstacles to clarify his heart and see his true nature. This was the first state of mind.

However, after using the Soul Fusion technique many times, his soul and will had absorbed many different memories and emotions, causing his state of mind to change. He could be as sharp as a blade when necessary, and as gentle as water when appropriate. With the combination of yin and yang, the unity of heaven and man, he reached the state of an innocent heart—the second state of mind.

As for the third state of mind, Hong had no concept of it yet, so he didn't explain it to Luo Zhiyuan. Luo Zhiyuan didn't mind; he already knew what the third state was. But since there was no hierarchy, he wouldn't force it.

Luo Zhiyuan was satisfied just knowing Hong's experience and insights regarding the second state. This gave him a clear direction for his own mental growth, and he felt his mind had become clearer than ever before.

Over the next few days, Luo Zhiyuan focused his attention on researching the Godly Evasion movement technique. Bulieni set up one virtual warrior after another for him, forcing him into battle after battle to gain insights and practice. Finally, the day before the ring arrived, he broke through to the fourth level.

The fourth level of Godly Evasion allowed him to instantly manifest 100 figures, which could be spread out within a radius of 10 kilometers. Each of these 100 figures could adopt different attack stances—some engaging in close-quarters combat, others performing long-range assassinations, or grouping for defense. His true body could linger or shuttle between these figures at will, leaving enemies completely unable to discern his true location.

Seeing Luo Zhiyuan master this movement technique in such a short time, Bulieni once again marveled at his impressive cultivation talent.

Because Godly Evasion was a movement technique that aligned with the Law of Light, it was fundamentally different from the phantom bodies created using the Law of Space.

When scanning phantom bodies created by the Law of Space with spiritual force, one would feel as if they were all real, unable to tell which was fake. However, the figures evolved from Godly Evasion felt like illusory phantoms, making it impossible to tell where the real body was.

When Luo Zhiyuan cultivated Godly Evasion to the fourth level, he vaguely felt that this shouldn't be the limit of the technique. If he could integrate his insights into the Law of Time, it should produce even more variations.

However, because his comprehension of the Law of Time was too shallow, he couldn't effectively integrate it, leaving him with a feeling of having power he couldn't quite unleash.

On the final day, Luo Zhiyuan stopped thinking about the variations of the Godly Evasion technique and focused his energy on continuing to practice the Lightning Shuttle.

Bulieni told him that although he could now fully execute the Lightning Shuttle combat technique, he was still only at the foundational level. In Bulieni's eyes, there were many areas for improvement, and as the only spiritual weapon Luo Zhiyuan currently possessed, he should strengthen his mastery of it.

Luo Zhiyuan gladly accepted Bulieni's suggestion. However, during a break between battles with the virtual warriors set up by Bulieni, he exited the Virtual Universe and asked Bulieni a question in his mind.

"Bulieni, I told you I wanted to enter the core of the human race, but I haven't explained the specifics to you yet. If nothing goes wrong, we should be leaving Biyan Planet tomorrow when we receive the ring. So, I want to tell you my general plan so you can see how to arrange our future itinerary."

Bulieni said solemnly, "I was going to ask you even if you didn't bring it up. I've looked up quite a bit of information in the Virtual Universe these past few days and have a rough plan for your training. Tell me your plan first, and we can discuss it together."

"It's like this: the human race has a traditional talent development program. Every 5,000 years, a large-scale competition is held, involving all 1,008 high-level civilized universe kingdoms. Anyone who achieves excellent results in the competition will be brought into the core of the Virtual Universe Company or the Giant Axe Coliseum for special training, which is equivalent to receiving the protection of the core forces of the human race."

Bulieni fell silent for a moment, then said with a sigh, "Having a force as a backer is good. Back then, the old geezer and the other natural beast gods were basically loners. If they had had a force to rely on, perhaps they wouldn't have all fallen. Go on."

Luo Zhiyuan knew that Bulieni still cared deeply about the Light Beast God; after all, they shared many years of history. But Bulieni was also very proud, so he didn't need much comfort and continued.

"In three years, the Virtual Universe Company will hold this large-scale competition, called the Universe Human Peak Genius Competition. It is open to all Star-level humans. Anyone who makes it into the top 1,000 in the overall rankings will enter the Virtual Universe Company and become a core disciple. Of course, the higher the ranking, the better the treatment."

"My plan is to achieve the best possible result in this competition and enter the Virtual Universe Company."

"However, my father will also be participating at that time and will achieve great results. But if I participate now, I am confident my results won't be bad either."

"This would create a situation where two geniuses from an unknown planet appear in the same era, which would attract the attention of those with ulterior motives and disrupt the original historical trajectory."

"So, I am considering what we can do to act as a cover, so that Earth and the two of us don't attract too much attention?"

Bulieni's voice became much more serious, "So that's why you suddenly exited the Virtual Universe. I see. Since it involves the future historical trajectory and also involves Luo Feng, being careful is the right thing to do."

"How about this: since you are already away from Luo Feng, let's just go even further away. We'll change to a different universe kingdom, and then change your nationality and birth planet entirely. That should avoid part of the problem you mentioned."

"It just so happens that the auction you asked me to find a couple of days ago is a medium-sized auction held in the Xuanyi Universe Kingdom, which is right next to the Ganwu Universe Kingdom. We'll go there, and you can participate in that genius competition under a new identity."

Luo Zhiyuan nodded. That was indeed a solution. A universe kingdom that wasn't mentioned in the original story, and one that was very far away from Earth—that way, it wouldn't affect Luo Feng at all, right?

"By the way, Bulieni, you said you had a training plan. What is it like? Tell me about it."

"Hmm, my plan is to see if there is anything you can use after you get the old geezer's ring. If there is something you can use immediately, we will strengthen you first. If not, we will proceed with some practical operations."

"I'll let you get a small taste of the mystery and vastness of this universe. I'll have you venture into some less dangerous cosmic secret realms and experience some life-and-death crises. Through a stroke of luck, you might obtain treasures that will be helpful to you."

Hearing Bulieni's plan, Luo Zhiyuan's heart couldn't help but race. Ever since he realized he had arrived in this world of Swallowed Star, he had fantasized more than once about exploring different places and witnessing more wonders not described in the book. Now, in the near future, he would finally embark on his own journey!