Time flowed like water, rushing by.
Before anyone knew it, twenty years had passed in the Eastern Emperor Holy Land Universe.
More than six years had passed in the Primordial Universe as well.
Time flowed at the same rate in the Eastern Emperor Holy Land Universe and the Prime Universe, but both differed from the Primordial Universe by a ratio of 1:3.28.
The difference in the passage of time where his two bodies were located gave Feng Hui an even deeper understanding of the Time Origin Law.
Over the past twenty years in the Eastern Emperor Holy Land Universe, Feng Hui's Dongdi Clan clone had continued to grow and improve under the tutelage of Teacher Wala and Teacher Thunder Eye.
Teacher Wala excelled in the Law of Space, while Teacher Thunder Eye excelled in the Time Law. With their strength, teaching Feng Hui was more than within their capabilities.
In Chaos City in the Primordial Universe, Feng Hui's human clone had often gone outside the city to hunt Chaos Beasts during his first few years there. At first, the Chaos True Spirits had continually transformed his soul, while steadily improving the clarity of his Law Comprehension.
But it was just like taking medicine: the more you took, the more resistant you became, and the less effective it was.
As his soul's transformation continued, the Chaos True Spirits became less and less effective. Before long, their effect was almost impossible to notice.
From then on, Feng Hui's human clone sat cross-legged on the terrace of his residence, devoting himself to cultivation as he studied the visible workings of the Universe Origin Laws in the sky.
Of course, thanks to the fortune bestowed by the Jade Pendant in his sea of consciousness, his human clone's talent for the Time Law had increased tremendously, far surpassing that of his Dongdi Clan clone.
Meanwhile, his Dongdi Clan clone's talent for the Law of Space far surpassed that of his human clone.
So his human clone in the Prime Universe focused on cultivating the Time Law, while his Dongdi Clan clone in the Eastern Emperor Holy Land Universe focused on cultivating the Law of Space.
Back then, Luo Feng had embarked on the path of Law Essence under True Evolution King's guidance. At first, all he had relied on was Lian Luo's secret technique, Drifting Blood.
Drifting Blood, which corresponded to the first three diagrams of the Chaos Tablet, cost only 800 points. The first three volumes of Principles of Space-Time, which corresponded to those same diagrams, cost 100,000 points. Their effectiveness naturally differed by a vast margin.
But Feng Hui had already obtained Principles of Space-Time and the even better Cosmic Scripture.
With such exceptional advantages, wouldn't it be a waste not to take the path of Law Essence?
Thus, the human clone studied the "Universe" chapter of the Cosmic Scripture and the "Time" chapter of Principles of Space-Time, while the Dongdi Clan clone studied the "Space" chapter of the Cosmic Scripture and the "Space" chapter of Principles of Space-Time.
With both efforts proceeding in tandem, his mastery of the laws of time and space advanced at astonishing speed, and his progress along the path of Law Essence was steady.
Nothing had changed in Chaos City during those six years in the Primordial Universe.
For an ancient city that had existed for an almost immeasurable span of time, a mere six years passed in the blink of an eye.
Many cultivators in the city hadn't moved a fraction in all those years.
Eight months after arriving in Chaos City, Guge of the Primordial Secret Realm successfully passed the first level of the Heavenly Bridge.
From the end of the first year through the second, several people from the Taichu Secret Realm began passing the first level.
By the end of their second year in Chaos City and into their third, many of the geniuses from the Heaven and Earth Secret Realm and the Doomsday Secret Realm began passing the first level of the Heavenly Bridge in droves.
Of the thousand geniuses in this group, nearly a hundred had died hunting Chaos Beasts—a fatality rate of almost ten percent.
But that was already a relatively low death toll among the geniuses who had come to Chaos City over the years. Normally, it wouldn't have been surprising for ten or twenty percent to die.
Chaos City was a sacred training ground for the Human Race of the universe.
Sending young geniuses to risk their lives fighting Chaos Beasts was clearly also meant to temper the new generation.
Flowers raised in a greenhouse ultimately had limited prospects. Although the thirty years in Chaos City were relatively safe, giving the young some sense of danger was a good thing; it helped the next generation grow.
As for the geniuses who died hunting Chaos Beasts, well, they were dead.
Once they left Chaos City, their chances of dying would only grow, until most of them eventually perished.
Those who survived were the true geniuses the Virtual Universe Company wanted—the ones who could become powerful.
Among the remaining nine hundred or so geniuses, Feng Hui aside, the last to pass the first level of the Heavenly Bridge did so at the end of their fourth year in Chaos City.
Then, at the end of their sixth year in Chaos City, the Ape Man Guge passed the second level of the Heavenly Bridge.
On this day.
"Rumble..."
An exquisite, disc-shaped spacecraft that looked like a work of art flew in from afar and came to a slow stop above Chaos City.
Whoosh!
An Elf-like Handsome Youth flew out of the spacecraft and hovered above Chaos City.
His eyes were like a deep night sky, glittering with crystalline starlight, as if he could see through everything in the world. His long, sword-like brows slanted into his temples, adding a touch of valor to his appearance. His straight nose and well-defined lips outlined a resolute face.
He spread his hands slightly. An invisible force seemed to surge at his fingertips. The wind answered his call, rushing toward him, then danced softly around his fingers at his command. His powerful aura needed no deliberate release to make the sky shift.
He was Wind King, Ice Universe Venerable's trusted subordinate.
A super-powerful Peak King Immortal God who held an exceedingly high position even within the Virtual Universe Company.
At Ice Universe Venerable's command, Wind King had come to observe this batch of young geniuses in person.
He was to pay particular attention to Guge and Feng Hui.
With Wind King's strength, he could watch them discreetly from afar without any of the young geniuses noticing.
"Guge... mm, no wonder he's the top genius of this batch. His foundation is solid, and he's very steady. By the end of his thirty years in Chaos City, he should reach at least the third level, perhaps even the fourth. If he keeps up his strengths, his future will be limitless." ...
Wind King discreetly observed the newcomers one by one, making his assessments so he could report back to Ice Universe Venerable.
"So this is Feng Hui?" Wind King walked down an alley in Chaos City and looked toward a nearby cultivation residence. On its terrace, a short-haired young man in black sat motionless with his eyes closed.
Wind King rubbed his chin and frowned. "What's going on with Feng Hui...? He seemed to do quite well when he first arrived in Chaos City. He even received the Venerable's help."
"By rights, he should have passed the first level long ago."
"But six years have gone by. Everyone else has passed the first level of the Heavenly Bridge, and Guge has even passed the second. Yet Feng Hui has been sitting on that terrace, cultivating in seclusion, without trying the Heavenly Bridge even once."
"Could his comprehension have taken a wrong turn?" Wind King wondered.
In the universe, when powerful beings studied the Universe Origin Laws, they sometimes took the wrong path. Often, they didn't even realize they had gone astray, only understanding it many years later.
Taking the wrong path in comprehension was extremely common among powerful beings of every race across the vast universe.
The problem wasn't taking a wrong turn.
The problem was taking one without realizing it.
If you knew you had gone astray and promptly adjusted course, it wasn't a big deal.
But if you didn't realize you were on the wrong path, the time wasted and effort squandered would be impossible to measure.
"These thirty years in Chaos City are the most crucial time for you young geniuses to lay your foundations."
"If you waste them, it'll be very difficult to make up for it later."
"Good luck, kid."
Wind King sighed a few times, then turned and left.
The Venerable had only helped Feng Hui on a whim.
But if Feng Hui had the Venerable's Principles of Space-Time to help him and still went astray while studying the Cosmic Chaos Stele, then it meant he wasn't a true genius, wasn't suited to the Cosmic Chaos Stele, and didn't deserve the Venerable's favor.
Wind King had seen plenty of young men like him—once talented, but later lost in the crowd.
Wind King thought no more of it.
Though he was somewhat interested in Feng Hui, it was only because of the Venerable's orders. The Venerable hadn't asked him to do anything more, and Feng Hui wasn't worth going out of his way for.
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