Personal Disciple

Besides, many Venerables didn't think they were any worse at teaching disciples than White Phoenix Palace Master. After all, of her disciples who were still alive, only one was an Intermediate Venerable. The rest were all Immortals.

Just then, the AI butler of the gray building sent a message: someone was outside. It was White Phoenix Palace Master!

Ye Muxuan left the Virtual Universe and went downstairs, where he saw White Phoenix Palace Master standing at the entrance.

This was White Phoenix Palace Master's human form, the one she had possessed before her original body was taken over. She belonged to the Qingxu Star race, an exceptionally rare people among the Human Race, and was immensely talented. This was also the form she usually used in the Virtual Universe. He had met her when she accepted him as a nominal disciple, so Ye Muxuan recognized her right away.

"Your disciple greets you, Teacher!" Ye Muxuan stepped forward and bowed. He was deeply grateful to her. She had advised him to choose a Secret Technique, and later had Heavenly Feather King spend three thousand years guiding his Law Comprehension. Those two things alone were more than enough for him to remember her kindness.

"Mm." White Phoenix Palace Master, dressed in pure white feathered robes, nodded. Her gaze swept over the surroundings, carrying an inscrutable hint of meaning, before she stepped into the gray building.

With the owner's permission, the gray building's AI butler naturally let her in.

Across Chaos City, those mighty beings with vast auras withdrew their gazes. Clearly, with White Phoenix Palace Master herself making an appearance, there was no point in inviting rejection. It seemed that before long, another peerless powerhouse would join her ranks.

In the gray building's hall, White Phoenix Palace Master looked at the black-clad man before her and said, "I didn't expect you to reach the Eighteenth Layer after only a little over three thousand years of cultivation in Chaos City. Your talent is even greater than I imagined. I thought it would take you at least tens of thousands of years to reach this level, which was why I only accepted you as a nominal disciple. Now, I'm willing to take you as my personal disciple. Are you willing?"

"I am!" Ye Muxuan fell to his knees and kowtowed three times, then bowed deeply. "Your disciple pays his respects, Teacher!"

Inside the Chaos Ruins, a pair of eyes as vast as lakes calmly and gently withdrew their gaze.

Beside them stood a mild-mannered man in white robes, smiling warmly.

Throughout Chaos City, the Venerables and Kingdom Lords who had sensed the scene through their own Laws of Time or Space Laws finally gave up.

Given White Phoenix Palace Master's standing and strength, there might still have been a chance if he were only a nominal disciple. But now that she had accepted him as her personal disciple, these Venerables had no chance of getting involved. After all, they were Venerables themselves, beings who could hold sway over vast Universe Kingdoms throughout the universe. Even if they were weaker than White Phoenix Palace Master, they still had their pride. Only if one of them advanced further would they have the right to do so.

"From today onward, you are my nineteenth personal disciple!" White Phoenix Palace Master looked at the young man before her. Compared with the countless eras she had spent cultivating, Ye Muxuan, with barely over a hundred thousand years of life behind him, was just a child. "My nominal disciples don't count. Over the countless years, I've had nineteen personal disciples, including you. Sixteen are still alive. You now have fifteen senior fellow disciples. One is a Venerable, and the rest are Immortals. With your talent, you'll soon catch up to them."

"Thank you for your praise, Teacher!" Ye Muxuan had heard his senior fellow disciple Heavenly Feather King mention this in passing. Among their teacher's many disciples, he ranked seventeenth. White Phoenix Palace Master's eldest disciple had begun cultivating under her the earliest and had reached Invincible King Rank countless eras ago. Now he was stuck at the final step, traveling the universe in search of an opportunity to break through to Venerable. Several of his senior brothers and sisters were at Peak King Level, while his seventh senior brother had surpassed them all. Thirty thousand eras ago, he had been the first to break through the bottleneck and become a Venerable. The powerhouses of countless races across the universe called him Venerable Jingfeng.

"You've cultivated for only a little over a hundred thousand years, yet your Law Comprehension has already reached the Heavenly Bridge's Eighteenth Layer. You're even a little stronger than your senior brother Heavenly Feather King. Your talent is enough to make you a genius who appears only once in ten million eras." White Phoenix Palace Master looked at Ye Muxuan and continued, "Ordinarily, a genius of your caliber would receive a welcome gift upon becoming someone's disciple. Since you've joined my tutelage, I should give you one as well."

Geniuses who appeared only once in ten million eras generally became disciples of Universe Venerables. Some even drew the attention of Universe Masters whose temperaments suited them, who would personally take them on as disciples! After all, if geniuses of this caliber survived, most would eventually reach Peak King Level, and there was even a one-in-three chance they would become Venerables. Venerables were already high-ranking members of a race, qualified to attend its Supreme Council and serving as the backbone of the Human Race. Across the countless eras since the birth of the universe, the Human Race had only a few thousand Venerables.

"Thank you for the gift, Teacher!" Ye Muxuan looked up, eager to see what his teacher would bestow upon him.

"According to the rules for Core Members of the Five Great Powers, World Lord Level members must undergo life-or-death trials. They generally choose either the Outer Battlefield or a Universe Secret Region. Although you came here from the Outer Battlefield, you still have to follow this rule before becoming an Immortal. Unless you leave the Initial Universe and break through to Immortality immediately, you'll need to undergo life-or-death trials." White Phoenix Palace Master looked at Ye Muxuan. "These trials place greater emphasis on survival. As your teacher, I'll give you a gift to improve your chances of staying alive."

With a sweep of her hand, a pair of ancient, dark-cyan battle boots appeared before Ye Muxuan. White Phoenix Palace Master said calmly, "These boots are a Top-tier Heavy Treasure. They're not particularly useful to me, but they'd drive Immortals wild. Even ordinary Venerables would covet them. I obtained them from a Primal Star not long ago, and they haven't appeared in the universe yet. No powerful beings should recognize them, so there's little chance your possession of them will be exposed. Make good use of them. Don't let them go to waste."

"Thank you, Teacher!" Ye Muxuan accepted the ancient, dark-cyan battle boots with both hands, his eyes shining.

This was a Top-tier Heavy Treasure—the second Heavy Treasure Ye Muxuan owned, and one valuable enough to tempt even Universe Venerables, let alone drive Immortals wild!

"You're leaving the Initial Universe tomorrow. For your life-or-death trial, will you choose the Outer Battlefield or a Universe Secret Region?" White Phoenix Palace Master looked at Ye Muxuan and suddenly asked.

"I plan to return to my hometown first, then go to the Outer Battlefield!" At her words, Ye Muxuan put the boots into his World Ring and answered respectfully. "After all, I'm more familiar with the Outer Battlefield."