Being acknowledged by the Origin Law usually meant having the comprehension of someone who had reached the eighth level of the Heavenly Bridge.
Fully comprehending a lower law meant reaching the tenth level.
For a Peak World Lord to draw with an Ordinary Immortal, they needed to reach the fourteenth level of comprehension at the Heavenly Bridge.
Of course, nothing was absolute. Special inheritances, higher life gene levels, or treasures that boosted a World Lord's basic strength could all make this possible, even with a lower level of law comprehension.
Wu Yun had only been acknowledged by the Origin Law a little over a hundred years ago, yet his progress was astonishingly fast. Yu Hong had never heard of anyone so monstrously talented.
There had been World Lords capable of matching Immortals on the Blood Luo Continent.
But when it came to progressing from being acknowledged by the Origin Law to matching an Immortal, Wu Yun was in a class of his own.
With such a peerless cultivation speed on the entire Blood Luo Continent, Yu Hong didn't dare neglect him in the slightest. He immediately prepared to take Wu Yun to the top of the Immortal Temple.
That was also where the Universe Venerables resided year-round.
But in the very next moment, time seemed to freeze. A blurred figure appeared, hands clasped behind his back as he scrutinized Wu Yun.
The figure was terrifyingly powerful. Standing there, he seemed as profound and boundless as the laws themselves, affecting the thoughts of everyone present.
To Wu Yun and the others, perhaps only one hundred-millionth of a second had passed. Yet the blurred figure had already taken him and Yu Hong to the top floor of the temple.
The top floor was an independent world created by the great powers, with a diameter of a hundred billion kilometers. Only King-Level Immortals and Universe Venerables had the standing to live there.
The world was rich in energy and dotted with towering palaces.
At its center stood the Elder Hall. The building was as vast as a star, its sheer size awe-inspiring. The previous moment, Wu Yun's thoughts had still been on his conversation with Yu Hong; now he was already here.
The Time Venerable. It has to be the Time Venerable. Wu Yun was aghast. With power like that, killing him would take no more than a thought.
He had slowed the flow of time, then carried Wu Yun and Yu Hong across an unknown distance in an instant.
"A World Lord who can match an Immortal. Very impressive." The blurred figure had now become clear. He looked like an ordinary middle-aged man from Earth.
But the aura he gave off was terrifying. Even the power that naturally radiated from him was enough to make Immortal Gods tremble.
"Elder Yan," Yu Hong said respectfully. "He was acknowledged by the Origin Law only 162 years ago, yet he already has the strength to match an Immortal. His talent is extraordinary."
"Yes, I know." Elder Yan nodded approvingly. "A World Lord who can match an Immortal God has good talent, even among the Outer-World Races. With proper cultivation, he might even rival Yu Hong."
Only six people in the history of the Blood Luo Continent had ever been World Lords capable of matching Marquis-Level Immortals.
Of those six, three had become Universe Venerables, while the other three had reached Peak King strength.
Wu Yun had that potential, so the Immortal Temple would spare no effort to cultivate him.
"Elder Yan, what happens to me now?" Wu Yun asked curiously.
He wasn't particularly interested in the way the Blood Luo Continent cultivated its people. Even the cultivation given to its most outstanding prodigies might not compare to what a World Lord in the Primordial Secret Realm received.
Being free to browse secret techniques didn't mean much.
The Blood Luo Continent had only fifteen Venerables in total. It wasn't a race with much of a foundation.
A race like the Golden Horn Race, which had once produced a Universe Overlord, would be a different matter.
"You can come here whenever you like. King-Level Immortals will answer any questions you have, and we elders will occasionally offer guidance. Your resource allowance will be a thousand times greater than that of ordinary World Lords." Elder Yan smiled. "As for your standing, you'll be on equal footing with Yu Hong."
That's nothing special, Wu Yun thought. Once he joined the Giant Axe Arena and trained for a while, he might not only receive guidance from King-Level Immortals—he could even have a chance to become the disciple of a Universe Overlord or Universe Master.
The thousandfold resource allowance compared to ordinary World Lord geniuses was pretty good, though.
"Yes." Wu Yun feigned excitement. "Elder Yan, may I freely browse the race's secret techniques?"
"Of course."
Elder Yan nodded. "Everything here is open to you for study. The stronger you become, the better our chances of resisting the rule of the Outer-World Races. Perhaps you'll even reach the strength of that Alien who guards the region beyond our borders."
How naïve.
Elder Yan had never left the Blood Luo Continent. Perhaps he thought Lord of Tian Shi was one of humanity's strongest beings.
How could that be possible? Wu Yun thought. A Universe Master might conceivably emerge from a place as small as the Blood Luo Continent, but a Top Universe Overlord? That was pure fantasy.
A Universe Master could attain that level by mastering time and space, or by comprehending the Path of the Beast God. A Top Universe Overlord, on the other hand, also needed a great deal of external aid.
That wasn't a realm one could reach through comprehending the Dao alone.
"I'll do my best," Wu Yun said calmly. This clone had been born on the Blood Luo Continent and had a family of his own. There were too many people he cared about.
But Wu Yun also understood that the best possible outcome for the Blood Luo Continent was to become a branch of humanity.
Even if it had a Universe Master, so what? Plenty of the subordinate races in the Hong Alliance had Universe Masters.
Elsewhere, Wu Yun's true self had also arrived at Marquis Nanque's mansion.
"Marquis Nanque," Wu Yun said respectfully, bowing. This kind of evaluation should ordinarily have been discussed at headquarters, but Marquis Nanque had summoned him to his home instead.
The meaning was obvious.
Discussing it at headquarters would have been strictly business.
Meeting privately beforehand showed that Marquis Nanque wanted to get to know Wu Yun. The other man had quickly risen from an obscure First Stage Realm Lord to where he was now.
In his last battle, Wu Yun had killed a World Lord acknowledged by the Origin Law in just a few moves.
That wouldn't be particularly fast for a core World Lord from one of the five great powers. But for a Savage World Lord like Wu Yun, it was absolutely astonishing.
Savage World Lords had to painstakingly absorb energy.
Core World Lords, on the other hand, could simply soak in Nutrient Solution without wasting time they could spend comprehending the Dao.
That was why Marquis Nanque wanted to befriend him. He believed Wu Yun was certain to become an Army Lord Immortal one day, and might even have a chance to become a Marquis-Level Immortal if properly cultivated.
"This evaluation slot is hard to come by. It was already full, but I forced my way in and got you a place," Marquis Nanque said with a smile.
Wu Yun knew how to respond. "I'll remember this."
Even without Marquis Nanque's help, Wu Yun would have revealed his potential bit by bit and eventually attracted attention. But the other man had saved him a great deal of time and had gone out of his way to befriend him.
Wu Yun cared a lot about whether people treated him with respect.
"Good. Tomorrow, Ka Wei will take you to headquarters by Divine Kingdom Teleportation." Marquis Nanque smiled with satisfaction. "Wu Yun, once you leave, our Ganwu Universe Nation will be losing a big star."
He was mostly teasing. Although the bets placed on each of Wu Yun's matches, together with the GG Merchant's investments, added up to more than ten thousand Hunyuan units, what did that amount of profit mean to Marquis Nanque?
What Marquis Nanque cared about more was the process of discovering talent, especially in a Universe Nation governed by the Virtual Universe Company. It could improve the way the higher-ups viewed him.
The higher their opinion of him, the more secure his position would be.
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