Choosing a Path

As his consciousness returned to reality, Qin Zhao remained seated cross-legged in the core area of King Lanchen's cultivation plane. The aura of the Law of Earth and the Law of Space permeating the surroundings made him feel incredibly comfortable and at peace. The slaughter and clamor of the preliminary rounds felt like a distant past, and his mind quickly settled.

"Teacher." Qin Zhao opened his eyes to see King Lanchen standing not far away, watching him calmly.

"How do you feel?" King Lanchen walked over slowly, his tone peaceful.

"I have gained quite a lot." Qin Zhao answered truthfully, "My application of the Black Stone Prison in actual combat has become more proficient, and I have gained some new insights into the life-force branch of the Law of Earth Origin. As for the Law of Space, my 'Hundred Line Flow' movement technique has improved, but there is still a long way to go before reaching the bottleneck of the 'Ten Thousand Line Flow' level."

King Lanchen nodded slightly, quite satisfied that Qin Zhao could clearly recognize his own state.

"The preliminary rounds have come to an end for you. The three years of the Arena Battle and the Samsara Battle will be a precious period of consolidation and improvement for you. Your goal should not be limited to passing the final tournament; you must compete against the top monsters of the entire universe in the finals, and even... strive for that highest glory."

Qin Zhao's gaze sharpened, and he nodded heavily: "This disciple understands."

"Good." King Lanchen stopped and looked at Qin Zhao with deep eyes, "Since you have such ambition, some choices regarding your future need to be considered in advance. Especially regarding your Law of Space... do you know that there is more than one path leading to the depths of the origin laws?"

Qin Zhao's heart stirred, knowing his teacher was about to discuss the core, and he said respectfully: "Please enlighten me, Teacher."

"Comprehension of laws is as vast as the sea." King Lanchen said slowly, "The common path is to observe the appearance and understand the application. It is like copying a painting; you learn its form, imitate its spirit, and progress step by step. This method does not advance slowly in the early stages, and with your talent, you could charge forward through the Star Level, Universe Level, and even the Domain Lord level. But the further you go, especially when you intend to fully comprehend the entire Law of Space Origin, you will find the road ahead filled with fog, with one bottleneck after another. Countless brilliant geniuses have spent their entire lives trapped at the Immortal level, unable to advance an inch, precisely because they were limited by this."

Qin Zhao listened quietly to his teacher's explanation. He knew that what his teacher said was true, and he even knew more than his teacher did. In the Swallowed Star World, there were many Immortals, but those who reached the level of Venerable were rare as phoenix feathers, which showed just how difficult that path was.

"And the other path..." King Lanchen's tone became solemn, "is even more difficult and more thorough. It is not satisfied with copying the painting, but seeks to dissect every stroke and every line that makes up the painting, understanding its most essential mysteries. This is—the Path of Analyzing Law Essence!"

"Analyzing Law Essence?" A flash of light appeared in Qin Zhao's eyes. He naturally knew of this path; it was a broad road leading to the peak, but also a rugged, thorny path.

"Correct." King Lanchen affirmed, "This path requires you to thoroughly analyze and master the most basic units and the core operating laws of the essence. In the beginning, your progress will be agonizingly slow; you might spend the time it takes others to comprehend ten parts of a law, yet you might not even break through one part of its essence. But once you have fully dissected the basic essence of a certain law, the subsequent comprehension will be a smooth path, and success will come naturally. Not only will your foundation be unimaginably solid, but the difficulty of breaking through bottlenecks will also be greatly reduced. Those who walk this path, provided they do not fall midway, can expect to become a King in the future, and even have the hope of glimpsing the realm of a Venerable!"

King Lanchen looked at Qin Zhao, his tone deep: "Two paths: the former is easy to start but difficult later; the latter is extremely difficult to start but relatively smooth later. How you choose concerns the upper limit of your future achievements."

Qin Zhao did not hesitate at all and said in a deep voice: "This disciple is willing to walk the Path of Analyzing Law Essence!"

He had the assistance of the system and a will that surpassed ordinary people, so he naturally had to choose the path with the greatest potential. Moreover, his behavior of using a low-level perspective to comprehend high-level laws would continuously improve his comprehension in a subtle way. Once his realm broke through, this improved comprehension would instantly erupt! In other words, in the later stages, it would become easier and easier for Qin Zhao to comprehend the Law of Space Origin!

A hint of approval flashed in King Lanchen's eyes, but he remained serious: "Do not make decisions lightly. The path of analyzing essence is unimaginably difficult and is not for those without great perseverance, great wisdom, and great opportunity. Many who call themselves geniuses choose this path, only to waste their years and achieve nothing. I need you to prove with actual performance that you are qualified to walk this path."

"I have already gifted you a blade technique called 'Nine Dust' in the Virtual Universe, and I believe you will receive it soon. It is not a powerful secret technique to directly increase combat power, but a foundational manual that guides you on how to analyze the 'essence' of the Law of Space."

"Nine Dust?"

Qin Zhao was a bit surprised; he had truly never heard of this secret technique called "Nine Dust."

"Yes! Nine Dust!" King Lanchen introduced, "The creator of Nine Dust, King Nine Dust, was a peerless genius who entered the core of the Virtual Universe Company as the first in the genius battle. After tens of thousands of years of hard cultivation, he created this Nine Dust, which can be called the top among foundational secret techniques. As soon as he became an Immortal, he was titled 'Marquis Nine Dust'! Unfortunately, heaven is jealous of talent; this King Nine Dust fell completely in a certain cosmic secret realm shortly after being titled a King."

"However, even though King Nine Dust has fallen, it does not affect the status of this 'Nine Dust' blade technique as the number one among foundational secret techniques! You must know that this secret technique can rank first even in the secret technique library of a major force like the Virtual Universe Company, which is enough to show its exquisiteness!"

"Nine Dust? According to the original work, the best foundational secret technique for analyzing the essence of the Law of Space should be Drifting Blood, right? If there is no Drifting Blood, it means Lian Luo has not risen yet!" Qin Zhao thought to himself, "The current timeline should still be in the era before Lian Luo!"

On the other side, King Lanchen continued to introduce "Nine Dust" to Qin Zhao: "Nine Dust contains a total of 108 sets of blade techniques. These 108 sets of blade techniques are not for you to fight enemies, but correspond to the 108 most basic essential mysteries of the Law of Space Origin! Each set of blade techniques is guiding you to understand and master one kind of space essence!"

"I will give you three years, until before the start of the final tournament of the Peak Genius Battle. Your task is to comprehend the first set of blade techniques of this Nine Dust!"

"If you can, within three years, rely on your own comprehension—not necessarily fully mastering it, but simply showing a clear understanding and a certain degree of control over the first kind of space essence—it will prove that you have the potential and perseverance to walk the path of analyzing essence. I will then support you in continuing and find you more profound secret techniques for analyzing space essence."

"If you cannot..." King Lanchen's tone was flat but carried an unquestionable meaning, "it will prove that this path is too difficult for you. At that time, you will need to change paths and walk the traditional path of law comprehension to avoid wasting your talent and time."

King Lanchen was also quite optimistic about his disciple's talent in the Law of Space Origin, so he did not want Qin Zhao to waste too much time.

In fact, three years in the original universe was enough to see many things, and King Lanchen's requirement for Qin Zhao was only to show a clear understanding and a certain degree of control over the first kind of space essence; he did not force him to fully comprehend the first set of Nine Dust within three years.

"Three years to gain a preliminary understanding of the first set of Nine Dust and show a clear understanding and a certain degree of control over the first kind of space essence!" King Lanchen looked at Qin Zhao, "Can you do it?"