After all, when Nine Swords King had refused to accept Feng Hui—the rare genius of the "Universe" faction—as his disciple, Thunder Blade King and Thousand Spirits King, both Sect Masters of the "Universe" faction in the Virtual Universe Company, had been deeply disappointed.
Feng Hui had gone to Nine Swords King to seek his tutelage after his very first lecture, but Nine Swords King had refused. That left the youngster in an awkward position, making it difficult for him to ask another "Universe" faction Sect Master to take him on.
After all, doing so would violate the unspoken rules of seeking a master in Chaos City and show a lack of respect for the other Sect Masters.
Wasn't that a waste of a rare genius of the "Universe" faction?
If not for that, Nine Swords King would never have agreed to guide Feng Hui during his time in Chaos City.
Back then, Feng Hui had asked him to become his master with utmost sincerity, but Nine Swords King had calmly and publicly rejected him.
Now that Feng Hui had proved himself so exceptional, Nine Swords King was going to take the initiative and ask him to become his disciple... What would that look like?
Nine Swords King simply couldn't bring himself to lose face like that.
"Forget it, forget it. I'll just pretend Feng Hui never asked me to take him on as a disciple."
Nine Swords King consoled himself. "Even among the peerless geniuses who appear once every ten million eras, aside from those who die prematurely, only about a third go on to become Universe Venerables."
"Feng Hui... I missed my chance, so be it. I'll just accept that I misjudged him. I'll be more careful the next time a genius asks me to be their master."
After leaving Nine Swords King's residence, Feng Hui returned to his Cultivation Residence.
Next, he didn't hurry to watch the laws governing the Universe Origin revealed in the sky above Chaos City. Instead, he entered the Virtual Universe training grounds to digest and absorb Nine Swords King's guidance.
In the Virtual Universe, he could set up optimal conditions for practice. Since it was a 100% simulation, the results for accumulating experience and gaining insights were exactly the same as in real life.
He could even simulate opponents to test his progress and keep improving through battle.
Otherwise, with the Killing Field in the Virtual Universe charging such high fees for public access, why would countless powerful outsiders still willingly pay to enter?
Virtual Universe, a spacious training ground.
"So that's how it is! This is how the Second Diagram works..." Feng Hui swung his War Blade, practicing the forms with excitement shining in his eyes.
When Nine Swords King had guided Feng Hui earlier, he had used sword techniques to demonstrate the Second Diagram of the Cosmic Chaos Stele. He had deliberately slowed his movements and used his will to guide Feng Hui's perception, helping him gain an initial understanding of the diagram's mysteries to the greatest extent possible.
Nine Swords King had long since mastered the Second Diagram, and his Cosmic Heavenly Bridge level had reached the Twentieth Layer. His guidance came from a far higher vantage point, and Feng Hui would need to carefully reflect on it and study it further.
At that moment, Feng Hui was in the Virtual Universe, replaying Nine Swords King's sword moves in his mind again and again. Each move contained endless variations and mysteries. He tried to combine the guidance with his own insights, especially by studying it alongside the Principles of Space-Time and the Cosmic Scripture, practicing over and over.
To reach the pinnacle, even with powerful legacies and outstanding talent, hard work was indispensable.
Inside the Taichu Secret Realm, outside the Blood Luo World, floated an immense palace.
It was none other than Sky Erosion Palace, which had held the entire Blood Luo World in awe for countless ages.
The reason for that awe was none other than a great being who lived in seclusion and cultivated within Sky Erosion Palace.
At the highest level of the palace stood a figure who seemed to cast countless phantoms. He held an extremely high position in the Virtual Universe Company and was revered by countless powerful beings. He was one of the three top Universe Overlords of the human race... Sky Erosion Palace Lord.
But at that moment, the great being standing atop Sky Erosion Palace was laughing aloud. His laughter echoed throughout the entire palace, leaving some World Lords and Immortals on the first and second levels bewildered. They couldn't understand why Sky Erosion Palace Lord was so happy.
"Good lad! You're improving so quickly. You're getting more and more interesting!"
A huge projection appeared before Sky Erosion Palace Lord, showing Feng Hui simulating an opponent in the Virtual Universe and battling it as he trained.
Talk about pulling up the surveillance footage!
Feng Hui, fighting an opponent in the Virtual Universe, had no idea that a great being far away in the Virtual Universe Company's Taichu Secret Realm was watching him.
After spending countless eras in seclusion to break through his bottleneck, Sky Erosion Palace Lord had finally taken an interest in Feng Hui. His earlier words, "Let's watch and see," hadn't meant that he would simply leave the matter alone and wait for new reports.
Ever since Feng Hui had crossed the Fourth Layer of the Heavenly Bridge in his eighteenth year in Chaos City, he had focused on cultivation. He occasionally visited Nine Swords King's residence to ask for advice, but he hadn't attempted the bridge again.
However, Sky Erosion Palace Lord was a true high-ranking member of the Virtual Universe Company, with authority second only to that of the company's few Universe Masters.
If he wanted to see how Feng Hui was progressing, he could easily pull up footage of Feng Hui's battles and training in the Virtual Universe.
With Sky Erosion Palace Lord's discerning eye, he could judge Feng Hui's progress at a glance.
Compared with a few years ago, Feng Hui had made tremendous strides.
This was the more difficult Second Diagram of the Cosmic Chaos Stele, whose profound principles of the Time Law and Law of Space were extremely difficult to comprehend.
Feng Hui had no Venerable-level being guiding him. He hadn't even succeeded in becoming Nine Swords King's disciple, and could only occasionally seek his advice.
Yet under those circumstances, he had still made such astonishing progress.
This rate of improvement was beyond even the talent of a genius who appeared once every ten thousand eras.
"Quite remarkable. It seems the Cosmic Chaos Stele suits him extremely well." Sky Erosion Palace Lord nodded slightly.
Many geniuses were unremarkable at first, but continued to improve and break through until they eventually became super-powerful beings.
Sometimes, they might have chosen the wrong path at first, which held back their progress. But once they found the path that suited them, they could advance by leaps and bounds.
Feng Hui must have been exceptionally compatible with the path of cultivating both time and space taught by the Cosmic Chaos Stele. That was why he had soared above his peers during his thirty years in Chaos City, leaving the other geniuses of his cohort far behind.
Sky Erosion Palace Lord had seen many cases like this over the long ages he had lived.
"Looks like everyone misjudged him during the Genius War. Feng Hui is the most outstanding genius selected in this year's Genius War."
Although Sky Erosion Palace Lord wasn't a practitioner of the Cosmic Chaos Stele, he had even left behind another stele in Chaos City, the Sky Erosion Chaos Stele, which described his own path.
But the Great Way had many commonalities. Sky Erosion Palace Lord had long since mastered the Law of Space, and was only a hair's breadth away from mastering the Time Law.
His attainments in the Way of Time and Space ranked among the top thirty in the entire human race. Once he made that final breakthrough in the Time Law, he would naturally become a Universe Master!
He was more than qualified to take Feng Hui as his disciple and guide him.
"Since fate has brought us together, I'll give the lad a chance. There's no need to formally take him on as a disciple just yet."
With a thought, he sent an email to Ice Universe Venerable.
Feng Hui was one of the newcomers recruited in the Genius War overseen by Ice Universe Venerable. Since Sky Erosion Palace Lord felt a connection and wanted to take Feng Hui on as a disciple, it was only right to inform Ice Universe Venerable, Feng Hui's direct Venerable.
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