"How did it go?"
Teacher Wala teased the stern-faced middle-aged man with a smile.
"Famous Thunder Eye, did you finally misjudge someone today?"
"Hmph!" The stern-faced middle-aged man shot a glance at the grinning Teacher Wala.
"You got lucky. He was a genius who, just a year after birth, had comprehended both the Law of Wood and the Law of Space—and had already gained deep insights into them."
"A genius with such top-tier talent for Law Comprehension is a rare sight even in a small place like Jia 312 Academy. It takes a long time for one to appear, and you just happened to find him."
"Hahaha, seeing you, the usually stone-faced Thunder Eye, get outdone is a real treat."
Teacher Wala looked especially pleased. He couldn't keep the grin off his face.
The lean old man in pale blue robes looked thoughtful.
"Wala, a genius like Feng Hui, who has comprehended both the Law of Wood and the Law of Space, is perfectly suited to your path. Are you planning to formally take him as your disciple?"
"I do plan to teach him well, but I won't take him as my disciple."
Teacher Wala grew serious. "Headmaster, you know me. I'd rather be a warrior than a teacher. I prefer fighting on the battlefield."
"Before, I suffered severe damage to my divine body on the God-Demon Battlefield and had no choice but to leave and recuperate. That's how I ended up teaching at the academy."
"Now, after all these long years, my divine body has mostly recovered. In a little while, I'm planning to leave the academy and return to the God-Demon Battlefield."
"The God-Demon Battlefield is perilous. Even as a mid-level god—that is, a Marquis-level Immortal—you'd still be a soldier whose life was hanging in the balance. You made it back alive last time, but there's no guarantee you'll survive another trip."
The headmaster couldn't help trying to dissuade him.
"As a teacher here, you can avoid being conscripted to fight on the God-Demon Battlefield for a long time. Why volunteer to go?"
"Headmaster, don't try to talk me out of it. I've made up my mind."
"Staying here is certainly safe, and it lets me preserve my life for a long time. But my progress is slow. Who knows how long it'll take me to reach the high-level god stage—that is, King-level Immortal in the Prime Universe—let alone become a Universe Venerable?"
"The God-Demon Battlefield is dangerous, but it's the only place where I have even a sliver of a chance to become a Venerable!"
Teacher Wala answered resolutely.
At his words, the headmaster and the stern-faced middle-aged man fell silent.
Once, they had been young geniuses in their prime, unstoppable and fearless.
Otherwise, they never would have broken through to become Immortal Gods, becoming Marquis-level Immortals.
But now, they feared the dangers of the God-Demon Battlefield and had chosen to teach at a kindergarten academy to avoid being conscripted for a while.
In the Eastern Emperor Holy Land Universe, a World Lord who wanted to break through to immortality couldn't do so as simply as in the Prime Universe, where comprehending any one Lower Origin Law was enough to break through naturally.
That was because the Holy Land Universe had a limited origin, and its capacity to support powerful beings was limited too.
Take the Eastern Emperor Holy Land Universe. It had existed for an incredibly long time, with a complete system of inheritance and cultivation. Even if ten Universe Masters emerged every Reincarnation Era, after so many eras, there should have been well over ten thousand Universe Masters by now!
Yet in reality, there were only a few hundred Universe Masters... Why?
Because the Holy Land Universe couldn't bear any more!
It was like a plot of land that could only grow so many plants. If there were too many, the soil couldn't sustain them.
The number of "Universe Masters" a Miniature Universe could support was limited... Each Universe Master placed an enormous burden on their Miniature Universe. Once it reached a certain limit, no more could be added, or the universe itself would be harmed.
Of course, the origin of a Holy Land Universe was far stronger than that of an ordinary True God's Miniature Universe, but even it couldn't support powerful beings without limit.
So...
Some Universe Venerables had long since perfected their Law Comprehension and could enter the ranks of Universe Masters at any time. Yet they couldn't obtain even a trace of divine power from the Holy Land Universe's origin, so they simply couldn't advance and break through!
They were forced to remain among the ranks of Universe Venerables, and were known as Quasi-Universe Masters.
If another Universe Master from their race fell while adventuring in the Cosmic Sea, easing the burden on the Holy Land Universe and freeing up a few slots, some of the most outstanding among them would be selected to rapidly break through and become Universe Masters!
Likewise, many World Lords in the Eastern Emperor Holy Land Universe had already comprehended a Lower Origin Law, yet were stuck because they couldn't receive an infusion of divine power from the Holy Land Universe's origin.
Breaking through to immortality here wasn't like in the Prime Universe, where the vast, powerful, seemingly limitless sea of the Universe Origin Law infused them with divine power. Here, the infusion came from the feeble, limited origin of the Holy Land Universe.
Although Immortals placed far less strain on the Holy Land Universe than Universe Masters, there were so many of them. And besides—
Did the lofty leaders of the Holy Land Universe really need that many Immortals?
Only Universe Masters could leave and venture into the Cosmic Sea, explore the Three Great Forbidden Lands, seize treasures and materials, and contribute to the Holy Land Universe.
As for Immortal Gods, they couldn't even withstand the chaotic currents that filled the Cosmic Sea. They could only remain inside the Holy Land Universe. To those great beings, they were nothing but a burden, taking up the Holy Land Universe's limited capacity.
In their eyes, the sole purpose of Immortals was to produce Universe Venerables, who could then go on to produce Universe Masters.
Therefore, only Immortals with the potential to become Universe Venerables had any reason to exist.
World Lords with no chance at all of becoming Universe Venerables weren't qualified to break through to immortality, let alone claim the Holy Land Universe's precious capacity.
World Lords who had comprehended a Lower Origin Law but couldn't break through were called demigods. There were countless such beings in the Holy Land Universe.
For most of them, their fate was to die of old age once their lifespans ran out.
Only true geniuses—Venerable-level seeds with at least a sliver of a chance to become Venerables—were allowed to break through and become Immortal Gods, receiving an infusion of Origin Divine Power from the Holy Land Universe.
While still World Lords, these Peerless Geniuses often built an exceptionally deep foundation in the Law of Space or the Time Law, achieving extraordinary mastery of the higher laws.
Once they broke through, many became Marquis-level Immortals right away. At worst, they reached the peak of Ordinary Immortals, just shy of Marquis-level.
After enough time and refinement, every one of them became a powerhouse among Marquis-level Immortals.
That was why, among the entire Jia 312 Academy, only the three of them were Marquis-level Immortal Gods. The other teachers were merely World Lords; there wasn't even a single teacher who was an Ordinary Immortal God.
In fact, throughout the Eastern Emperor Holy Land Universe, aside from a few newly ascended Immortals, there were almost no Immortal Gods below the Marquis level.
And though becoming an Immortal meant having an endless lifespan, that didn't mean one could enjoy eternal life in the Holy Land Universe.
The same point still applied: the Holy Land Universe wasn't the Prime Universe. Its capacity was limited.
Having even a sliver of a chance to become a Universe Venerable was just that—a possibility. It didn't mean they were certain to have a chance to become one.
Many Immortals went one Reincarnation Era, then two... then several, without ever becoming Universe Venerables.
In the eyes of the leaders, these Immortal Gods, ancient beings who had made no progress over countless long ages, were just as worthless—wasting the Holy Land Universe's capacity with no reason to stay alive.
And so, at the will of the leaders, the bloody and brutal God-Demon Battlefield came into being.
Before you continue