Special Life

Bulieni saw Luo Zhiyuan solemnly perform the formal disciple-welcoming rite. In a rather cheerful tone, he said, "Luo, you really did take Old Mystic as your teacher. He's got it easy as your teacher—he's tossed the task of instructing you straight to me. That's going to take up a lot of my time, so you'd better be clever and not take forever to learn everything like an idiot!"

Luo Zhiyuan replied very seriously, "Don't worry, Bulieni. I won't embarrass my teacher. I'll study very hard. Besides, haven't you praised my talent for cultivation before? It should be fairly easy for you to teach me."

"Mm, good. Let's see what nice things Old Mystic left for you. Bring me that Auxiliary Optical Computer. I'll absorb its contents first."

Luo Zhiyuan used his Spiritual Force to draw the Auxiliary Optical Computer over. A ripple came from the World Ring on his hand, and the computer vanished.

After a moment, Bulieni said to Luo Zhiyuan, "Luo, Old Mystic really went to a lot of trouble this time. Come on, let's head to the center of this world up ahead. He left some Evolution Fluid there for you. Once you break through to Star Level, Universe Level, Domain Lord Level, or World Lord Level, you can absorb the Evolution Fluid to raise your body directly to the peak of that level.

"That's because only a breakthrough between major realms causes a leap in your Life Gene Level. Advancing from the first to the ninth rank within a level is just a matter of accumulating energy.

"Your teacher has saved you the time you'd have spent accumulating energy. As for the leap in your Life Gene Level that comes with a breakthrough, you'll have to work for that yourself. This way, you'll have more time to comprehend the laws, learn Combat Secret Techniques, and improve your fighting ability."

Riding the Lightning Shuttle, Luo Zhiyuan flew at full speed for a while before reaching the center of the World Ring. Before him lay a lake about five hundred kilometers in diameter, filled with a liquid that gave off a milky-white glow. A number of metal boxes, large and small, were scattered beside the lake, each marked with a different code.

"See this lake?" Bulieni said. "It's filled with Evolution Fluid. When you need to accumulate energy, just soak in it.

"To keep the fluid's energy from dissipating, Old Mystic placed a seal around it. That won't affect your ability to use it. The boxes contain the other things he prepared.

"They may not be all that precious to Old Mystic, but he was on his own. Finding so many different things—and making sure he had everything—must have taken plenty of effort."

Luo Zhiyuan studied the lake curiously. So that was Evolution Fluid—the kind that could directly raise one's cultivation? The Evolution Fluid the Virtual Universe Company provided its Core Members to evolve their bodies probably wasn't the same substance as the lake before him.

And the Manka Star Race, with the highest bloodline among the Human Race, could reach Domain Lord Level as soon as its members came of age. After a leap in their genes, they also soaked in a "Pool of Life" to improve their cultivation. It seemed there were many kinds of Evolution Fluid, though all of them were precious.

"Come take a look. This box contains a juvenile Star-Eating Grass, reputed to be the toughest offensive plant lifeform. Of course, that reputation only applies to plant lifeforms available for mass sale. It's much more precious than the Cloud-Touching Vine you prepared. Its attack is Entangling Kill: it traps an opponent in its leaves and strangles them. It can easily defeat a human of the same level.

"This one is much rarer. It's a special plant lifeform Old Mystic found in a newly discovered Universe Secret Realm. This plant lifeform calls itself the Xingshuo Race. When Old Mystic found them, they numbered only eighty-one, and even their strongest member was only at Immortal Level, not yet having broken through to Universe Venerable level.

"I don't know whether the race has grown stronger or gone extinct since then. I couldn't find any information about them in your Human Race's Virtual Universe. Maybe we don't have the access permissions to see classified information.

"This is a Planetary Level Xingshuo juvenile. Old Mystic abducted it and sealed it with Soul Secret Techniques and time techniques, allowing it to survive until now.

"The Xingshuo's Life Gene Level is about a thousand times that of an ordinary human. It also has a very special Innate Secret Technique—Teleportation. Even as a Planetary Level juvenile, an Xingshuo can teleport up to ten thousand kilometers. The higher its cultivation, the farther it can teleport. It's practically an illegitimate child of the Law of Space!"

"Teleportation?!" Luo Zhiyuan cried out in astonishment. He'd never imagined such a miraculous plant lifeform existed. Ordinary lifeforms in the universe could only master Teleportation after reaching World Lord Level and achieving a very deep understanding of the Law of Space.

Of course, at that point they could teleport about one light-year at a time. But before someone had attained such a deep understanding of the Law of Space, Luo Zhiyuan had never heard of any lifeform being able to teleport. It hadn't even been mentioned in the original story.

"Oh? You know about Teleportation, too? You know quite a lot. So you understand just how incredible this special lifeform is.

"You can use it as one of your clones. Plant lifeforms are enormous, and its Life Gene Level is high. Once you reach Immortal Level, this clone's divine body will contain a great deal of divine power. Its innate ability is incredible, and it'll make comprehending the Law of Space much easier. It'll definitely be one of your trump cards for killing enemies and saving yourself before you reach Immortal Level!

"It'll even be a huge help if, before becoming a Universe Master, you choose to comprehend the Space-Time Law instead of following your teacher's Fusion Law path!"

Luo Zhiyuan's eyes practically glowed as he stared at the box containing the Xingshuo, almost drooling. He shivered with excitement, then said to Bulieni, "This is great! It's much better than the Mosha Clan clone I'd originally planned to get."

Teleportation—how incredible! He just didn't know whether he'd succeed in creating a clone, given the Xingshuo's high Life Gene Level. He'd have to give it a try in a bit. "Keep going. Tell me about the other treasures!"

"Heh. Look at your eyes light up! There are more than a dozen other special lifeforms here, as well as some treasures that can improve your body's Gene Level.

"Here, this is a Shadow Race juvenile. This race is a little more numerous than the Xingshuo, with a few hundred members, so its Life Gene Level isn't as high—only a hundred times that of an ordinary human. But as an energy lifeform, it's immune to all Soul Secret Technique attacks.

"Old Mystic said the Shadow Race are beloved by the Law of Light. Their Innate Secret Technique is quite peculiar. As far as he knew, they could hide their bodies in shadows cast by light, concealing their form and aura. They could also control another person's shadow to affect their body and prevent it from moving. It might be a technique that fused the laws of light, space, and time.

"He specifically said he'd foreseen that one of your future clones would be a member of the Shadow Race. But this race had been wiped out tens of thousands of eras before you were born. He knew the only way this could happen was if he found one for you, so he went to a lot of trouble to search.

"You have to remember, the Virtual Universe your Human Race has now didn't exist back then. It wasn't nearly so convenient, and he didn't have many friends. He had to look for one himself.

"Finally, Old Mystic found this special lifeform in an extremely remote Universe Secret Realm. But that realm was in Crystal Race territory, and the Shadow Race was a vassal race of the Crystal Race.

"The Crystal Race is one of the pinnacle races, just like your Human Race. They're very united and protective of their vassal races. Your teacher had to fight the Crystal Race before he could snatch a Planetary Level Shadow Race juvenile for you.

"So Old Mystic warned you: when you venture into the universe in the future, don't reveal your Shadow Race clone in front of the Crystal Race unless you're strong enough. Otherwise, they might guess that you're his successor and hunt you down.

"The reason is simple—hehe! Your teacher killed one of the Crystal Race's Universe Masters back then. That's one grudge that's going to last!"

Luo Zhiyuan drew in a sharp breath, unable to believe his ears. His teacher had killed a Universe Master for his sake! What kind of status did a Universe Master hold? They were pillars of their race!

They were usually held in the highest regard, either directing the development of their entire race or suppressing other powerful races through their presence. For many powerful races, a Universe Master was their greatest source of strength. The only beings above Universe Masters were Universe Supremes!

Luo Zhiyuan remembered that, according to the original story, before Luo Feng entered the Universe Ocean, there were only a dozen or so Universe Supremes in the entire Primal Universe, and only about a thousand Universe Masters! That was across the whole Primal Universe! Before Luo Feng, the Human Race had only eighteen Universe Masters!

It was easy to imagine how deep the Crystal Race's hatred would be after losing a Universe Master.

Bulieni sounded rather gleeful. "Well, were you scared? You haven't even done anything yet, and you've already made a bitter enemy of one of the universe's most powerful races. Go on, give an acceptance speech!"

Bulieni's teasing brought Luo Zhiyuan back to his senses. He said with a rueful smile, "Bulieni, you're really good at keeping up with new things. You even know modern slang?"

"Of course! I'm an old fossil who's been out of touch with the times for ages. I have to keep up with new things if I'm going to teach you properly. Otherwise, what if we can't understand each other because of a generation gap?" Bulieni sounded very pleased with himself.

Luo Zhiyuan didn't keep teasing him. After a moment's thought, he said, "My teacher fought the Crystal Race for my sake, so of course I'll take on this grudge. It doesn't bother me.

"When I'm weak, I just won't show off in front of the Crystal Race. Besides, they should be very far from the Human Race, so I probably won't run into them. Even if I do, I'll deal with them when the time comes. The strong grow through battle. I won't be afraid!"

Bulieni said approvingly, "Good. You're already beginning to develop the convictions of a strong person.

"The strong keep improving through constant battle, and they all have the determination to face any challenge.

"Think of the Crystal Race as a whetstone for the future. Once you've grown strong enough, you'll be able to face this challenge head-on."

Luo Zhiyuan nodded, his heart filled with soaring ambition. "I've been given such an amazing body and won my teacher's favor. He prepared so many treasures to help me grow without a hitch. If I still cower in fear, I'll have wasted this life's good fortune!

"Bulieni, get ready to make a name for yourself across the universe with me!"

P.S. A brother's comment reminded me that I should give everyone a heads-up: if you haven't invested yet, you might want to do so. In a few days, one of the investment rewards may be gone :P Good night, everyone~