Within the Prime Universe.
Virtual Universe, Thunder Island.
Thunder Island was where the Virtual Universe Company's Immortals gathered—the true gathering place of the upper echelons.
Vast beyond measure, Thunder Island was wreathed in clouds and mist. Lightning snakes slithered around its edges, and thunder rumbled without end.
If Rain Phase Mountain was larger than an ordinary planet, then Thunder Island was more than a million times larger than Rain Phase Mountain.
"How did this batch of 1,000 geniuses do on the Heavenly Bridge?"
The Black-Armored Silver-Horned Man sat high on his throne, looking down as his voice boomed through the enormous Temple.
"Venerable."
Below him stood a handsome young man who looked like an elf. He wore a light robe embroidered with intricate patterns, every line seeming to tell the language of the wind. His golden hair fell loosely around his shoulders, glowing faintly like flames dancing in the breeze.
He reported respectfully, "All 1,000 geniuses in this batch failed to cross the Heavenly Bridge."
"Alas." The Black-Armored Silver-Horned Man shook his head slightly. "Just as I expected. This batch really has no standout geniuses."
For Universe Venerables of their lofty standing, overseeing the Genius War was better than nothing, rather like scratching a lottery ticket.
With bad luck, they might scratch off a "Better luck next time," and every genius in the batch they oversaw would fail. It was even possible that not a single Immortal would emerge.
With good luck, they might win a decent prize, and after some years, they could have another King-level Immortal under their command.
With extraordinary luck, they might hit the jackpot and even bring forth a new Universe Venerable!
Of course, the odds of that were minuscule. There was no need to pin any particular hopes on it.
Still, even if overseeing the Genius War was better than nothing, a truly poor batch that failed across the board would reflect badly on the Venerable in charge.
The Venerables possessed boundless power and lofty status. Even if they fell, the upper echelons could Reverse Time and Space to bring them back to life. They cared little about trivial matters, but they did care about saving face.
Ice Universe Venerable was an immensely powerful Universe Venerable. He didn't mind whether he gained a few more Immortal subordinates, but he didn't want his Venerable friends teasing him at gatherings because every genius in the batch he'd overseen had failed.
So he still hoped that a few decent talents would emerge.
Seeing the Venerable's disappointment, the elf-like young man hurried to add:
"However, two of them did perform quite well: Guge of the Primordial Secret Realm, and Feng Hui of the Doomsday Secret Realm. Neither should be far from passing the first level of the Heavenly Bridge. Feng Hui of the Doomsday Secret Realm has made especially great strides since the Genius War."
"Oh? Someone from the Doomsday Secret Realm?"
The lazy Black-Armored Silver-Horned Man, who had been reclining casually on his throne, seemed interested. He brought up footage of Feng Hui attempting the Heavenly Bridge.
After watching it in silence, he gave a slight nod. "Not bad. A pleasant little surprise."
"He simply hasn't put his comprehension of the Time Law to proper use. It seems he lacks secret techniques. Otherwise, he might already have passed the first level of the Heavenly Bridge."
The Black-Armored Silver-Horned Man frowned again. "The Doomsday Secret Realm—and he chose the most difficult one, the Cosmic Chaos Stele. The few initial points granted to a Doomsday Secret Realm Member won't get him anywhere."
"Very well. Since that's the case, I'll give you a hand." Ice Universe Venerable seemed to tap something casually and sent an email.
"Little fellow, don't disappoint me."
"Keep an eye on those two for a while. All right, you may leave."
"Yes." The elf-like young man withdrew respectfully.
Feng Hui was hiding behind a boulder on the wilderness outside Chaos City, waiting for a chance to hunt a Chaos Beast and obtain Chaos True Spirit.
Suddenly, his Optical Computer alerted him that he had received an email—one sent through the Virtual Universe Company's internal system.
Startled, he quickly sent a sliver of his consciousness into the Virtual Universe.
Virtual Universe, Doomsday Region, Feng Hui's suite.
In the study, Feng Hui looked at the email open before him.
"Feng Hui,
I watched your attempt at the Heavenly Bridge. Not bad.
However, you lack Time secret techniques, so you can't make good use of your Law Comprehension.
I also know that you received too few initial points in the Doomsday Secret Realm.
So I'm sending you a copy of Principles of Space-Time. It's a set of secret techniques written by the creator of the Cosmic Chaos Stele.
Of course, this is only the first volume, corresponding to the first diagram of the Cosmic Chaos Stele.
You'll have to spend points to purchase the later volumes of Principles of Space-Time yourself.
Little fellow, work hard!
—Ice Universe"
Feng Hui was stunned. The email was from Ice Universe Venerable, who had overseen this Genius War.
He was a little puzzled. In principle, geniuses weren't usually of much interest to Universe Venerables unless they reached Ke Di's level.
What good was cultivating a genius? Unless they produced a Universe Venerable, it wouldn't benefit them much personally.
In the original story, even Bolan, a Peerless Genius who appeared only once every ten million years, hadn't received guidance from a Universe Venerable.
In the end, it was only after Luo Feng's surpassing him gave Bolan a jolt that he changed direction. Following the training plan laid out by a Marquis Immortal teacher assigned to the Primordial Secret Realm, he chose a path that emphasized space and supplemented it with time.
That was certainly because Bolan had been too stubborn, but it also showed how Universe Venerables regarded geniuses.
Yet Feng Hui's displayed talent was nowhere near Bolan's, and Ice Universe Venerable had still offered him guidance and help. It was truly beyond Feng Hui's expectations.
Still, receiving the first volume of Principles of Space-Time was an unexpected boon.
Although Feng Hui had already obtained the Cosmic Scripture from the Eastern Emperor Holy Land Universe, it was a set of secret techniques intended to accompany the Space-Time Inheritance in Dongdi Tower. It wasn't particularly well suited to the Cosmic Chaos Stele.
Though all paths led to the same destination, and the great principles were interconnected, Feng Hui was only a little fellow at the Cosmic Level. For him, there was still a difference.
These Principles of Space-Time had been written by the creator of the Cosmic Chaos Stele, so they were certainly more directly suited to studying it.
At the very least, this was a Venerable's goodwill. With the 100 initial points granted to a Doomsday Secret Realm Member, Feng Hui definitely couldn't have afforded it otherwise.
From what Feng Hui had seen in the Virtual Universe Company's Treasure Vault, Principles of Space-Time was absurdly expensive.
The first volume cost 1,000 points, the first two volumes 10,000, and the first three 100,000...
There were no discounts, either, though Feng Hui wasn't eligible for one as a Doomsday Secret Realm Member anyway...
As the best companion text for members of the Human Race studying the Cosmic Chaos Stele, it contained a wealth of secret techniques. Studying them could yield an effect equivalent to directly comprehending one-tenth of the Cosmic Chaos Stele.
One-tenth was nothing to scoff at. Chances to study the Cosmic Chaos Stele were exceedingly precious and hard to come by. But these secret techniques could be studied at any time.
With enough time and effort, that one-tenth effect could produce astonishing results.
So even though the price was steep, many human geniuses had to buy it, no matter how many points it cost, for the sake of its incredible benefits.
With it, they could study the Cosmic Chaos Stele much faster.
Points were merely external possessions, a hollow abstraction. They couldn't even feed you.
But the Law Comprehension gained by studying Principles of Space-Time, purchased with those points, was truly your own. It was what you could rely on to become strong.
Before you continue