Gaze from Afar

You see, because Nine Swords King had refused to accept Feng Hui—a rare genius of the "Cosmos" school—as his disciple back then, Thunder Blade King and Thousand Spirits King, both fellow sect leaders of the "Cosmos" school within the Virtual Universe Company, had found it quite regrettable.

When the young man came to pay his respects and seek apprenticeship on his first visit to your lectures, and you turned him away, it made it awkward for the little fellow to approach any other sect leader of the "Cosmos" school afterward.

After all, this violated the unspoken rules of apprenticeship in Chaos City and also showed a lack of respect toward the other sect leaders.

Wasn't this a waste of a rare genius of the "Cosmos" school?

If not for this reason, Nine Swords King would never have agreed to guide Feng Hui during his time in Chaos City.

And back then, when Feng Hui had sincerely sought to become his disciple, Nine Swords King had calmly and publicly refused.

Now, seeing how outstanding the young man had become, to go and proactively take him as a disciple... what kind of behavior was that?

Nine Swords King simply couldn't bear to lose that much face.

"Forget it, forget it. Let's just pretend Feng Hui never came to seek apprenticeship from me," Nine Swords King consoled himself. "Even among the peerless geniuses of history who appear once in ten million eras—excluding those who died young—barely a third have stepped into the ranks of Universe Venerables."

"This Feng Hui... missed is missed. Let's just say I misjudged him. Next time I encounter a genius seeking apprenticeship, I'll be more careful."

After leaving Nine Swords King's estate, Feng Hui returned to his own cultivation residence.

Next, he didn't rush to observe the fundamental operation laws of the universe revealed in the sky above Chaos City. Instead, he entered the virtual universe training ground to digest and absorb Nine Swords King's guidance.

In the virtual universe, optimal practice conditions could be set, and because it was 100% simulated, the effects in terms of experience accumulation and insight were exactly the same as training in reality.

He could even simulate opponents to verify his progress, constantly improving through combat.

If it weren't for this, why would countless external experts willingly pay the high fees to enter the killing fields open to the public in the virtual universe?

In the virtual universe, on a spacious training ground.

"So that's it, so the second diagram is like this..." Feng Hui swung his war blade in practice, his eyes shining with excitement.

Earlier, when Nine Swords King was guiding Feng Hui, he had used his sword techniques to interpret the second diagram of the Cosmic Chaos Stele before him, deliberately slowing down his movements and using his will to guide Feng Hui's perception, allowing Feng Hui to gain the maximum initial insight into the mysteries of the second diagram.

Given that Nine Swords King had long fully comprehended the second diagram and reached the twentieth layer of the Cosmic Heavenly Bridge, his guidance was from a high vantage point, requiring Feng Hui to carefully digest and study it afterward.

At this moment, in the virtual universe, Feng Hui's mind continuously replayed Nine Swords King's sword strikes, which were filled with endless changes and mysteries. He tried to integrate these pointers with his own insights, especially by studying them in conjunction with the Principles of Space-Time and the Cosmic Scripture, practicing over and over again.

To reach the pinnacle, even with powerful inheritance and outstanding talent, hard work was absolutely indispensable.

Outside the Blood Luo World, within the Taichu Secret Realm, a towering palace floated in suspension.

It was the Sky Erosion Palace, which had intimidated the entire Blood Luo World for endless ages.

This deterrent force came not from anything else, but from a great existence who lived in seclusion within the Sky Erosion Palace.

At the highest level of the Sky Erosion Palace, a figure whose very presence seemed to shimmer with countless phantoms stood there. This was the Sky Erosion Palace Lord, one of humanity's three top Universe Overlords, holding an extremely high status within the Virtual Universe Company and commanding the respect of countless experts.

But at this moment, this great existence standing at the highest level of the Sky Erosion Palace was laughing heartily, the sound echoing throughout the entire palace, startling some Realm Lords and Immortals on the first and second floors, who couldn't understand why the Sky Erosion Palace Lord was so delighted.

"Good lad, improving so fast. This is getting more and more interesting!"

Before the Sky Erosion Palace Lord was a massive projection, displaying scenes of Feng Hui simulating opponents and engaging in combat training in the virtual universe.

Truly—surveillance on!

Feng Hui, who was fighting an opponent in the virtual universe, had no idea that far away in the Taichu Secret Realm of the Virtual Universe Company, a great existence was watching him.

The Sky Erosion Palace Lord, who had been cultivating in seclusion for eons to break through bottlenecks, had grown restless and taken an interest in the little fellow Feng Hui. His earlier "let's see" wasn't simply a matter of setting things aside and waiting for new reports.

Although Feng Hui had been diligently cultivating ever since he passed the Fourth Layer of Heavenly Bridge in his eighteenth year in Chaos City, occasionally seeking guidance at Nine Swords King's estate, and hadn't challenged the Heavenly Bridge again, as a true high-level figure of the Virtual Universe Company, the Sky Erosion Palace Lord's authority was second only to the few Universe Masters of the company.

If he wanted to check on Feng Hui's cultivation progress, it was effortless to pull up Feng Hui's combat training footage from the virtual universe.

With the Sky Erosion Palace Lord's insight, just one look was enough to judge Feng Hui's current progress.

Compared to a few years ago, Feng Hui had clearly made tremendous strides.

And this was the even more difficult second diagram of the Cosmic Chaos Stele, where comprehending the essential mysteries of the Time Law and the Law of Space was extremely challenging.

Feng Hui had no Venerable-level guidance, hadn't even successfully become Nine Swords King's disciple, and could only occasionally seek advice from Nine Swords King.

Under such circumstances, he had still managed such astonishing progress.

This rate of improvement was no longer something a genius appearing once in ten thousand eras could possess.

"Quite rare. It seems the Cosmic Chaos Stele suits him exceptionally well," the Sky Erosion Palace Lord nodded slightly.

Many geniuses started out unremarkable, only to continuously improve and break through later, eventually becoming super experts.

Sometimes, the path chosen initially might be wrong, leading to slow progress. But once they found the right path suited to them, their progress would skyrocket.

Feng Hui was likely extremely compatible with the path of simultaneous cultivation of space and time guided by the Cosmic Chaos Stele, which was why he had soared in thirty years in Chaos City, far surpassing his peers from the same Genius War.

Cases like this were not uncommon in the Sky Erosion Palace Lord's long years of experience.

"It seems everyone misjudged him during the Genius War. This Feng Hui is the most outstanding genius selected by this generation's Genius War."

Although the Sky Erosion Palace Lord was not a practitioner of the Cosmic Chaos Stele, and had even left behind another stele in Chaos City—the Sky Erosion Chaos Stele—that expounded his own path.

But all great paths are connected. The Sky Erosion Palace Lord had long comprehended the Law of Space, and the Time Law was only a hair's breadth away from mastery.

His attainments in the way of time and space ranked among the top thirty of all humanity. Once he finally broke through in the Time Law, he would naturally become a Universe Master!

Taking Feng Hui as a disciple and guiding him would be more than sufficient.

"Since fate has brought us together, I'll give this little fellow a chance. As for formally accepting him as a disciple, there's no rush."

With a thought, he sent a message to the Ice Universe Venerable.

Feng Hui was a newcomer recruited by the Ice Universe Venerable in this edition of the Genius War. Since the Sky Erosion Palace Lord felt a karmic connection and wished to take him as a disciple, it was only proper to inform Feng Hui's direct superior, the Ice Universe Venerable.