At the same time, the other Cosmic Level geniuses in Chaos City all wore different expressions. Some were full of fighting spirit, some were calm, and some had given up and let themselves go. There was no need to say more about them.
At that moment, Gulanxiu looked at the two messages in the Virtual Universe and smiled faintly.
One of the messages was a notification that his points had been credited. Since he had consecutively passed the second and third levels of the Sky Bridge, he had earned two more chances to study the Chaos Tablet, as well as 6,000 points.
Normally, passing the first level of the Sky Bridge earned a reward of 100 points, the second level 200 points, the third 400 points, and so on.
But because this was Gulanxiu's first time cultivating in Chaos City, he had triggered the tenfold bonus for newcomers, which was why he had received these rewards.
Gulanxiu now had 6,720 points in his account. He should have had 749 left after buying his spaceship, but he had frequently used his Laser Cannon to hunt Chaos Beasts, wasting quite a bit of energy. During that time, he had spent 29 points just buying fuel.
After passing the Sky Bridge, Gulanxiu finally had a little more money to spare. Still, he didn't spend it recklessly. With his limited knowledge, it would be difficult for him to spend his points wisely and maximize his strength.
In the original story, Luo Feng had followed Babata's advice and spent all his points on his Demon-Slaying Race clone, leaving him with none to use afterward.
With that cautionary tale in mind, Gulanxiu naturally wouldn't let himself end up in the same situation. As for how to spend his points, he would ask his teacher, Barbarian Hammer King, for advice.
At the thought, Gulanxiu smiled faintly and looked at the second email.
The second email was from Barbarian Hammer King. It contained an address: the location of Barbarian Hammer King's residence in Chaos City.
Gulanxiu rose at once and headed for Barbarian Hammer King's residence. It took him less than half an hour to arrive. He knelt on the ground and said respectfully, "Your disciple Gulanxiu pays his respects, Teacher! I beg you to take me as your disciple!"
Although Barbarian Hammer King had already agreed to take him on, and was unlikely to go back on his word, there was no harm in being a little more respectful and earnest.
"Haha! Gulanxiu, you're quick! Come on in!" Barbarian Hammer King's hearty voice rang out from within the courtyard. As soon as he finished speaking, the gates swung open. Barbarian Hammer King stood inside, waiting for Gulanxiu.
Gulanxiu hurried up to Barbarian Hammer King and called softly, "Teacher!"
Barbarian Hammer King smiled and said, "Haha! There's no need to be so formal with me. I don't have any of those pointless rules here. Just do as you please!"
Gulanxiu nodded.
Barbarian Hammer King continued, "Your teacher has always been a solitary man, free and easy. I've never married or taken a disciple. Even after earning the right to live in Chaos City permanently, I never gave lectures like the other masters. Since fate has brought you into my tutelage, I'll take responsibility for you. I'll do my utmost to teach you! But aside from my guidance, if you want anything from me, you'll have to meet my requirements first. Understand?"
Gulanxiu nodded. "I understand, Teacher!"
Barbarian Hammer King went on, "For these twenty years in Chaos City, you'll live here with me! I'll make a cultivation plan specifically for you. My first requirement is that before you leave Chaos City, you must perform no worse than Xiusite, the second-place finisher in this year's Virtual Universe Company's strongman competition! I don't expect you to surpass him, but whatever level of the Sky Bridge he reaches before leaving Chaos City, you must reach as well."
Gulanxiu promptly replied, "Don't worry, Teacher! I'll give it my all and won't let you down!"
Seeing how firmly and readily Gulanxiu answered, Barbarian Hammer King finally relaxed a little. After all, this was his first time taking a disciple. As the founding disciple of his lineage, Gulanxiu's poor performance would reflect badly on him.
Fortunately, Gulanxiu seemed to have a decent willpower, at least. He had a steadfast heart set on becoming strong. With his cultivation talent and Barbarian Hammer King's guidance, as long as he survived, becoming a Marquis Immortal shouldn't be a problem. He even had a slim chance of becoming a King. A disciple with that kind of potential would do his lineage proud.
At the thought, Barbarian Hammer King said to Gulanxiu, "Gulanxiu, you're facing a choice that will affect your future cultivation. You should think it over."
Gulanxiu hurriedly replied, "Teacher, please tell me!"
Barbarian Hammer King said, "You and I both cultivate using the Giant Axe Chaos Tablet. Do you know that there are two ways to cultivate it?"
Gulanxiu stared at Barbarian Hammer King, looking completely baffled.
Seeing his expression, Barbarian Hammer King knew he didn't understand, so he explained, "The Giant Axe Chaos Tablet combines the Five Elements Law with the Space Law. The Space Law has three paths: Teleportation, Space Seal, and Space Slaughter! The path you're cultivating now is Space Slaughter."
Gulanxiu nodded, but couldn't help interrupting with a question. "Wait, Teacher. Are you saying the Giant Axe Chaos Tablet combines the Five Elements Law with the Space Law? Why have I only seen the Earth Origin Law?"
Though Gulanxiu had interrupted him, Barbarian Hammer King wasn't annoyed. He smiled and said, "That's because the Giant Axe Chaos Tablet is profound and vast. Each person can only see the part most suited to their cultivation! Do you know why our Great Axe lineage has the most cultivators?"
Gulanxiu replied, "Isn't it because the Giant Axe Chaos Tablet is the most profound, and its corresponding Sky Bridge has the most levels?"
Barbarian Hammer King shook his head. "That's part of the reason, but not the main one. The number of corresponding Sky Bridge levels isn't that important. In fact, at my level, Chaos Tablets don't help us much anymore. Their help is even more negligible once you reach the Universe Country Lord level. Otherwise, the Cosmic Chaos Stele's corresponding Sky Bridge has thirty levels too, yet the Universe Lineage has the fewest cultivators!"
Gulanxiu thought about it. In the original story, even Bolan's talent hadn't been enough to make cultivating the Cosmic Chaos Stele seem feasible; a group of Kings had considered it presumptuous. That showed just how difficult it was to cultivate the Cosmic Chaos Stele, which explained why it had the fewest cultivators.
So the reason the Giant Axe Chaos Tablet had the most cultivators must be its broad applicability.
With that in mind, Gulanxiu asked uncertainly, "Its broad applicability?"
Barbarian Hammer King nodded. "Exactly! Its broad applicability! The Giant Axe Chaos Tablet is suited to nearly every Cultivator who studies the Space Law. We Kings suspect that the Giant Axe Chaos Tablet doesn't depict the path the Giant Axe Founder took while growing stronger. Rather, it's the path the Giant Axe Founder saw when he looked back after reaching the peak."
After a pause, Barbarian Hammer King continued, "After discussing it among ourselves, we masters discovered that the Giant Axe Chaos Tablet has fifteen paths in total. Each combines one of the Five Elements Laws with the Space Law. Each person can see only the path best suited to them when studying the Chaos Tablet, so the results of cultivation vary from person to person."
Before you continue