"Luo Feng, Babata is only an intelligent life-form, after all. What does she know about martial artists? You're asking too much of her..."
Before Zhou Ze could finish, Babata went completely berserk:
"Zhou Ze! You're absolutely awful!"
"Let me make this clear again! I am Demon Babata! The great Babata! An intelligent life-form who didn't follow some powerful Immortal God, but instead followed Lord of Yunmo Planet, a fearsome being who roamed the universe for hundreds of millions of years!"
"How dare you say I don't understand martial artists? I'm so mad... Hmph..."
Zhou Ze had worked Babata up until the starry fruit on her chest was heaving, a sight that stole one's breath away.
"So, in the end, you're just an intelligent life-form, right? What do you know about martial artists, domains, or laws? You're just copying what you've seen without understanding the essence!"
Zhou Ze spoke with an indifferent expression, but the more nonchalant he seemed, the angrier Babata became.
Watching this, Luo Feng felt strangely satisfied. That arrogant Babata always met a miserable end when she went up against his teacher.
"I don't understand? I don't understand? Then you do?" Babata puffed out her cheeks and snapped.
"Of course. It's just basic knowledge, nothing impressive." Zhou Ze brushed off his clothes and said calmly:
"Actually, once you comprehend a domain, you'll understand..."
Looking at Luo Feng, Zhou Ze continued, "I've always had you read ancient texts. They've explained the essence, energy, and spirit plenty of times, haven't they?"
Luo Feng nodded, looking thoughtful.
As the master and disciple carried on talking among themselves, treating the great little demon Babata as if she weren't there, she got so angry that she vanished from the virtual space.
"Teacher, Babata seems really upset with you. Is that okay?" Luo Feng gave an awkward smile.
"It's fine. She's just a child who's lived for over six thousand eras. Don't mind her." Zhou Ze said calmly:
"Teacher, does a domain have something to do with physical fitness, too? Hmm, the body represents essence, our Origin Energy represents energy, and the mind—Psychic Power—represents spirit?"
Luo Feng recalled what he had read in the ancient texts.
"But that doesn't have much to do with Force Emission or attack methods, does it? At most, it's a way of using the body's strength?" Luo Feng asked, puzzled.
"Good. You're making progress! You don't blindly accept everything I say and take it at face value." Zhou Ze gave Luo Feng an approving look.
Luo Feng scratched the back of his head and grinned. "That's because you're such a good teacher!"
"Hmm. A domain, in essence, is a special power born when consciousness fuses with essence, energy, and spirit, condensing them into a single point. The mind—that is, the will—then guides this power to resonate with the universe's space!"
Zhou Ze explained at length:
"So the stronger your essence, energy, and spirit—in other words, your physical fitness, Genetic Energy, and consciousness—the stronger your domain!"
"As for Force Emission, it's essentially about activating the dormant cells in your body. The basic punch strength unleashed by us martial artists doesn't activate any of our body's potential."
"The higher your Force Emission, the more of those dormant cells you activate. If you could activate them all, you could theoretically reach a hundred times your basic punch strength!"
Luo Feng's eyes widened. "Good heavens, that's terrifying!"
Luo Feng was stunned. His punch strength was currently less than ten times his base level. How terrifying would it be if he could reach a hundredfold Force Emission?
Babata, who had been secretly watching, had her eyes wide with disbelief, too!
Zhou Ze was way too amazing! A hundredfold basic Force Emission was a prerequisite for becoming an Immortal God, yet this little Earth native had actually figured it out!
Impossible. Absolutely impossible!
He must have learned it from some inheritance in the universe. There was no such inheritance on Earth—except for the one belonging to her great master, Babata!
"Teacher, what about attack methods? Surely mastering more powerful Force Emission isn't as simple as practicing more, is it?" Luo Feng guessed.
"Of course not! Even a hundredfold Force Emission is only the foundation. The key is how to combine and use the Hidden Force in your body!"
"It's like solving math problems. Learning the basic concepts and theorems is only the first step. Knowing how to apply them well—that's the real skill, and that's what gets you a high score!"
"If Force Emission is the basic concepts and theorems, then attack methods are how you apply them. Of course, I think most attack methods cover both the basics and their application!"
Zhou Ze's explanation was easy to understand. Luo Feng grasped it at once, looking excited.
"Luo Feng, you want to learn how to comprehend a domain, but your state of mind is still too shallow. Hong, Thunder God, and I—all of us have lived through decades of life-and-death struggles since the Great Nirvana before we managed to comprehend one."
"You're still young. Don't reach for what's beyond you. And a domain forced upon you, without an understanding of its essence, won't take you far..."
Zhou Ze pondered. Often, guiding someone else also meant reviewing and reflecting on his own understanding. It was a chance to revisit the theories and experience he had accumulated.
Reviewing the old could teach you the new!
"Just like Babata. She only copied her master's teaching materials and followed them by rote. Of course, that's still impressive. Even as an intelligent life-form, she ultimately couldn't escape the limits of intelligence..." Zhou Ze teased.
Babata had been listening intently, but at the end, she suddenly realized what he'd said.
"Damn you, Zhou Ze! I'm telling you, you're finished! You have no future!"
"How dare you look down on the great Babata..."
Babata appeared and launched herself at Zhou Ze.
Under Babata's close attention, Zhou Ze was in both pain and bliss.
Luo Feng had still been deep in thought when he saw this. Something didn't seem right. No matter how he looked at it, it just wasn't clicking.
He remembered his mother once mentioning, quite casually, that many people in her generation had been extremely interested in anime and games when they were young. A lot of them only liked handsome men and beautiful women from the world of animation, and weren't interested in reality.
Especially his father. His mother had even let slip that he'd had some strange tastes when he was young. He liked those bratty anime girls, and even...
Could his teacher be one of those people???
But that didn't seem right, either. For a while, he'd been very interested in his teacher's past, and had secretly looked into it.
Well, he'd discovered that his teacher had gone through a period of debauchery and had a rather messy private life.
Anyway, he couldn't understand why anyone would be interested in a fictional character.
"Babata, I was wrong. You've followed your master across the universe for over six thousand eras. What haven't you seen? You must know all this. You just didn't explain it because we're still too weak for it to matter..."
Zhou Ze pleaded for mercy.
After letting off steam, Babata tossed her hair and huffed:
"Good. At least you know your place!"
Babata glared at Luo Feng. "Luo Feng, now you understand how important a martial artist's cultivation is, right?"
"The time and energy you're worried about don't matter at all. You've got plenty of time to study and learn!"
"Planetary-level beings live for about a thousand years, Stellar-level beings for one era, Cosmic-level beings for ten eras, Domain Lords for a hundred, Realm Lords for a thousand, and Immortal Gods can live forever!"
"And Luo Feng, you should take what Zhou Ze says with a grain of salt from now on. Things like cellular potential aren't even a concept in the universe."
"His explanation of domains is decent, but understanding their essence—is that something someone at your level can even touch?"
"That's something you can only begin to grasp at the Realm Lord level, or even as an Immortal God. You're still far from it, so don't reach for what's beyond you!"
"Hmm." Luo Feng nodded, secretly wondering, Then why can Teacher grasp the essence and understand it?
And Teacher even told me to begin by understanding the essence. Doesn't that prove I can understand it, too?
"Also, Luo Feng, I've followed my master across the universe for hundreds of millions of years. Zhou Ze isn't even a fraction of my age."
"What haven't I seen? What don't I know? You have to listen to me. If you do, you'll have a very good chance of becoming an Immortal God someday!"
Babata was clearly unhappy that Luo Feng had kept shouting at her ever since he took Zhou Ze as his teacher.
"Heh..." Zhou Ze laughed at the worst possible moment.
That laugh was the last straw.
Babata immediately flew into a rage.
Before you continue