The Difference

Lin Yuan left the Virtual Universe and returned to the reception room. The uniformed woman was gone, but a man in red robes had taken her place.

"He's a World Lord."

Lin Yuan was startled and stepped forward to bow.

"Greetings, sir."

The red-robed man no longer looked angry. Instead, he wore a smile.

"Are you Marquis Yuankun's junior disciple, Lin Yuan?"

Lin Yuan nodded respectfully.

"I'm Fenyu, an ordinary instructor at the Holy Land. Your teacher, Marquis Yuankun, informed the Holy Land in advance that his junior disciple would be joining us as a student."

"Normally, you wouldn't have needed to take any assessment. That staff member was simply careless..."

Fenyu was still a little uneasy. He should have been the one to receive Lin Yuan in the first place. Marquis Yuankun was no ordinary figure—he ranked among the very best of the Marquises in the entire Nine Flames Universe Kingdom. As an ordinary World Lord, Fenyu didn't want to offend someone like that over a minor mistake.

"It's all right, sir. I was curious to see what the Holy Land's trial would be like, too."

Lin Yuan remained respectful.

"Then let me tell you about the students here at our Holy Land."

Fenyu relaxed. After a brief pause, he continued:

"Our Nine Flame Sacred Land has over a million official students: one million Star Levels, a hundred thousand Universe Levels, a thousand Domain Lords, and a hundred World Lords."

"Of course, the resources the Holy Land can provide are limited, so they naturally go to those most capable of making use of them. Star Levels hold a Ranking Tournament every ten years, and the top thousand can enter the Core Layer. Universe Levels hold one every hundred years, and the top two hundred can enter the Core Layer. The Domain Lord Level has ten spots in the Core Layer, while only two World Lords can receive core-level training."

"The resources available to Core Layer students are worlds apart from those given to ordinary students. For example, Core Layer students can regularly attend public lectures by Immortal instructors. The top-ranked students can even receive personal guidance from them. And some of the most exceptional geniuses in the Core Layer have a chance to be taken on as disciples by an Immortal."

"Lin Yuan, since Marquis Yuankun took a liking to you and accepted you as his disciple, there's no need to question your talent. You can enter the Universe Level Core Layer directly."

Lin Yuan understood. He had plenty of areas he needed to improve, so entering the Core Layer right away would spare him some trouble.

Lin Yuan asked Fenyu:

"Sir Fenyu, my weapon of choice is the axe, and I practice axe techniques. Does the Holy Land have any instructors who specialize in them?"

Fenyu smiled.

"Of course. Two of our World Lord instructors specialize in the axe. Among the Immortal instructors, Military Lord Moke wields a giant axe. As it happens, Lord Moke will be giving a public lecture for Universe Levels on the Law of Fire Origin in seven days. The lecture won't be of much use to you, but you can ask him about axe techniques afterward."

"The Holy Land has many Cultivation Towers, including some dedicated to axe-type weapons. Once you enter the Holy Land proper, you'll discover the benefits of all the different towers for yourself."

Lin Yuan lowered his head and bowed.

"Thank you for telling me all this, sir Fenyu."

"Of course. This is part of my job. The Holy Land offers all kinds of courses, and you can learn more about them later."

Fenyu thought for a moment.

"By the way, Lin Yuan, I just watched your C-Rank Assessment battle. You still have a way to go before you can pass, but your Law Comprehension is quite good. With training here at the Holy Land and guidance from your teacher, Marquis Yuankun, I'm sure you'll pass the C-Rank Assessment sooner or later."

"You'll be taking part in the Peak Warrior Tournament in two hundred years, won't you? If you pass the C-Rank Assessment before then, you'll receive a tremendous benefit."

"Before the Peak Warrior Tournament begins, the kingdom lord will personally visit the Holy Land. Students who pass the C-Rank Assessment will have the chance to receive his guidance on a single move."

Lin Yuan's eyes lit up. Passing the C-Rank Assessment would earn him guidance from the Nine Flame Kingdom Lord, a high-level Universe Venerable.

"Right now, only one Universe Level student in the entire Nine Flame Sacred Land has passed the C-Rank Assessment. That student is Brian, currently the top-ranked Universe Level student in the Holy Land."

"The Holy Land's instructors all believe Brian has what it takes to place in the top ten across the entire universe in the Peak Warrior Tournament."

"Besides him, the students ranked second and third among the Universe Levels also have a chance of passing the C-Rank Assessment."

Lin Yuan now had a rough idea of the abilities of the Holy Land's top students.

Most of these Universe Level students had been training at the Holy Land since they were Star Levels. Some of them were discovered as talented youngsters in the Nine Flames Universe Kingdom, while others had proven their strength in the Genius Battle and been admitted to the Holy Land.

In short, they had been receiving far more cultivation resources than Lin Yuan, who had spent his life as a slave. Even under such harsh conditions, Lin Yuan had reached Universe Level 8 and achieved eight or nine hundred victories in the Great Axe Life-Death Battle. With his talent, he wouldn't have been much weaker than these students if he'd received systematic training from the beginning—even without awakening his Golden Finger.

"Lin Yuan, what rank is your bloodline?"

Fenyu asked.

"My bloodline? I think it's sixth rank."

"Sixth rank?"

Lin Yuan hadn't considered the matter before. The highest-ranking bloodline treatment was the Domain Lord Level Bloodline Evolution Agent, a resource strictly controlled by the Virtual Universe Company and generally reserved for the core geniuses of the Five Great Giants. So Lin Yuan had planned to work hard to enter the Great Axe Arena's Core Layer and go straight for the Domain Lord Level Bloodline Evolution Agent.

World Lord Fenyu was a little surprised. Talented people admitted to the Nine Flame Sacred Land usually had fairly good bloodlines, and Lin Yuan's sixth-rank bloodline was considered quite poor. Fenyu continued:

"Then this works out perfectly. Every member of the Holy Land's Core Layer gets a free S-Rank Bloodline Evolution Agent. You can claim yours shortly."

"Go explore the Holy Land for now. You can come back here afterward to collect your Bloodline Evolution Agent. Give me your Virtual Universe account number. I'll be responsible for answering any questions you have during your first few days here."

"Thank you, sir Fenyu."

Lin Yuan was a little puzzled. Fenyu, a World Lord, was being remarkably deferential.

It seemed there really was a huge difference in status between an ordinary World Lord and a Peak World Lord recognized by an Origin Law. An ordinary World Lord had been assigned to receive the disciple of a Marquis Immortal.

That was indeed how things worked. Ordinary World Lords had almost no chance of becoming Immortals, so the Holy Land paid them little attention. World Lords recognized by an Origin Law, however, had some chance of breaking through to become Immortals.

If a Peak World Lord recognized by an Origin Law could obtain the chance to cultivate in Chaos City, then he would have a fifty percent chance of becoming an Immortal. But that opportunity cost a fortune. Even an Ordinary Immortal couldn't afford it, let alone a World Lord.

Lin Yuan left the reception room and entered the Holy Land.