Back at the castle, Li Yilin looked at the strongest woman he had bought on this trip: a ninth-level Star Level Spirit Reader. He had named her Shuang Yue.
"From today on, Shuang Yue, you'll be in charge of everything in the castle for now. Take these nineteen people and get them settled. Make sure they don't disturb me."
At the slave market, he had bought thirty slaves in total: ten Spirit Readers and twenty Fighters.
Five of the Spirit Readers and five of the Fighters were Si Yao's attendants. The remaining twenty were to maintain the castle.
There were robots to handle the maintenance, really. The attendants were mainly there to make the castle feel a little more lively.
Shuang Yue lived up to her name. She was a cool and aloof woman, two meters tall, with beautiful features and long, slender limbs. Her fitted Black Battle Armor displayed her graceful figure to perfection.
"Yes, Master."
Shuang Yue nodded and led the nineteen attendants under her charge away.
Li Yilin turned to look at the silent Si Yao.
Pointing to another palace behind his own, he said, "That palace will be your residence from now on."
The castle he had bought was among the most luxurious on Qiu Dragon Planet. It stretched nearly ten kilometers in both length and width, and contained several palaces.
Si Yao lifted her gaze and glanced at the resplendent palace. She hadn't even been inside yet, but just from its gilded exterior, she could imagine how exquisite and luxurious it must be.
She lowered her eyes and replied respectfully, "Yes."
"Although these ten attendants will all be under your control, your cultivation should still come first. Don't let other matters interfere with it. You can choose one of them to be captain and manage the rest," he said.
Most people who comprehended the Lightning Law were affected by it to some degree. Their personalities and temperaments might reflect the explosive nature of fire, the quiet nourishment of water, the hidden vitality of wood, the steady solidity of earth, the strange unpredictability of light, or the sharp, biting edge of gold—
But Li Yilin seemed to be an exception. His gentleness, steadiness, patience, and attention to detail came mostly from his previous life. Anyone who didn't know him well would never guess that the law he had comprehended included the most violent of them all: the Thunder Law.
"Yes, Senior." Si Yao nodded. Like Li Yilin, she chose the strongest Spirit Reader as captain to manage the other nine.
Li Yilin fell silent for a moment, then said, "Call me teacher."
Si Yao looked up in shock. Li Yilin continued, "Until you earn my approval and become my true disciple, you can call me teacher. You're my student." It was like his relationship with Weide: he was only Weide's student. When he called Weide "teacher," it wasn't as a disciple, but as a respectful student addressing the person guiding him.
A flicker of disappointment crossed Si Yao's eyes, but it soon gave way to determination.
Sooner or later, she would become her teacher's true disciple.
At that thought, she looked up. Her blue eyes curved like moons as she met Li Yilin's smiling gaze and called out brightly, "Teacher."
Time passed unhurriedly. Another five years went by, and there were still ten years until his Clone would be born.
A blue planet.
Ruins, once symbols of a thriving civilization, lay scattered across the vibrant continents, everywhere—
Monsters roared and shrieked, their cries shaking the clouds and exposing the vicious birds of prey hidden within them.
"Caw—" A bird of prey let out a piercing cry, spread its wings—thirty or forty meters from tip to tip—and with a slight flap, flew dozens of miles away—
In a vast Base City, home to millions of people, a young man had finally passed the examination after more than ten years of effort. He had moved with his family into the spacious home they had long dreamed of.
Before long, he would face the next examination, earning his entry pass to the real world.
Qiu Dragon Planet.
Li Yilin's castle.
On an open-air training ground that stretched as far as the eye could see, Si Yao practiced swordsmanship with a silver longsword in hand. She moved at incredible speed, her Phantom Body appearing and vanishing as sharp gusts of sword wind swept through the space around her.
Beneath a large tree not far away stood a table and a chair.
Dressed in a comfortable silver robe, Li Yilin reclined in a rocking chair, gently swaying with its rhythm. With his hands tucked behind his head, he watched an Optical Computer screen suspended at just the right angle in the air. It was showing footage from some of the Giant Axe Arena's life-or-death battles.
Although he was watching the videos, he often looked away from the screen and over at the person practicing her swordsmanship nearby.
"Flash Moon is all about speed. Your strikes can't be soft and flowing."
Si Yao kept moving, trying to seize the flashes of inspiration that came to her as Li Yilin offered guidance from time to time. Her movements showed little outward change, but her strikes grew steadier and more powerful.
Li Yilin gave a faint nod and turned his attention back to the screen.
When she felt the gaze at her back finally move away, Si Yao secretly breathed a sigh of relief. But the moment she relaxed, she lost control of her breath as well. The tip of her sword jerked, sending an errant gust of sword wind skimming across the ground.
Li Yilin shook his head. "You still don't have enough control over your energy, and your movements aren't steady enough."
Si Yao pressed her lips together and kept swinging her sword.
"Your energy's speed and flow should be under your control at will." Li Yilin's voice continued to reach her, unhurried and gentle. He wasn't the least bit angry about his student's mistakes.
"When you can move your sword with your intent and strike with fierce, swift precision, your swordsmanship will have reached the minor mastery stage."
As soon as he finished speaking, he had vanished from the rocking chair.
Si Yao quickly lowered her sword and looked toward the chair. Though it was empty, it still swayed gently. She panted softly, frustration on her face.
I made another mistake!
Five years had passed, and she had grown another twenty or so centimeters. She was now nearly one and a half meters tall.
The wings on her back had become even more lustrous and beautiful, spanning three meters when spread. Her smooth, silken black hair fell down her back, loosely tied into a thick, fluffy braid decorated with sparkling ornaments.
She lightly tucked away a stray lock of hair and looked at the silver Flash Moon Sword in her hand. Thinking of something, she let the corners of her lips curl upward.
The Flash Moon Sword had been a gift from her teacher when she first began practicing swordsmanship. Along with it, he had given her the secret art, Flash Moon Sword Art.
The Flash Moon Sword Art included not only a Guidance Technique, but also the movement secret art Flash Moon Evasion and the Combat Secret Technique Flash Moon Swordsmanship.
The Flash Moon Sword Art was a cultivation secret art for the Wind Law, and she specialized in wind and time.
Five years had passed, and her swordsmanship was still at the beginner stage. The minor mastery stage still seemed far off, but at least she had comprehended the Wind Domain, even if she had only reached the first level.
She was only twenty. Comprehending a domain at her age already made her a genius, especially since she was only at the Planetary Level.
If word got out, who knew how many powerful people would want to take her as their disciple?
A genius who could comprehend a domain at the Planetary Level!
Even in the Virtual Universe, she hadn't seen anyone else who had comprehended a domain at the Planetary Level.
But her teacher—
Her teacher hadn't said anything, but she knew he wasn't very satisfied. At least she hadn't seen any disappointment in him; otherwise, she really would have been heartbroken.
"How much longer do I have to practice—" She couldn't help stamping her foot.
She didn't care whether she was a genius. Being a genius couldn't put food on the table. All she wanted was her teacher's approval.
In her heart, her teacher came second only to her mother. More than anything, she wanted his recognition and to become his disciple.
But no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't see any sign of approval from him.
Even though he often encouraged and praised her, telling her how hard-working and diligent she was—
What good did that do?
Her teacher had always been indulgent with her, and he was a gentle, easygoing person by nature. His praise was mostly meant to keep her from worrying too much about what he thought and falling into despair over not being acknowledged—not because she was truly any good.
She still remembered how, five years ago, when her teacher had brought her back to the castle, he had told her that she would have to earn his approval before she could become his disciple.
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