A Choice

Hong and Thor were both in the Battle Axe Secret Realm.

Hong had broken through the Illusion Sea and caused a sensation, so Giant Axe had directly taken him on as a nominal disciple.

Thor, on the other hand, had been recommended by Hong. At the arrangement of Lord of Virtual Gold, the person actually in charge of the Giant Axe Martial Arena, Thor had become a disciple of one of his Venerable Level subordinates.

In terms of mental cultivation, the two of them were absolute super-geniuses. They deserved to be sent straight to the God Origin Secret Realm.

But their talent for comprehending the laws was a little too weak. The higher-ups were probably afraid that promoting them too hastily would backfire, so they kept the matter quiet and let them cultivate slowly in the Battle Axe Secret Realm. Nearly ten thousand years had passed since then.

Mental cultivation was powerful, sure, but it was only one thing.

Otherwise, Hong, an unparalleled genius in mental cultivation, wouldn't have seemed so lofty and godlike back on Earth.

Yet after spending only a short time in the universe, he met a woman who was pretty good.

And he fell apart.

To back him up, Luo Feng had even rushed to break through to Domain Lord and take up a post in Ganwu Universe Country.

The original owner had known Hong and Thor, too. When he took part in the Genius Battle, Earth Humans had paid attention to him. Later, when he made the final list of a thousand, Hong and Thor's families told them about it.

So not long after the original owner arrived at Raging Waves Island, Hong and Thor had come to see him. They'd offered a few words of advice to their young fellow countryman.

When they reached the reception room, Li Dui waved the maid out. He greeted the two men on the sofa. "Senior Hong, Senior Thor."

Hong smiled and nodded.

Thor chuckled. "Li Dui, kid. We're not interrupting your cultivation, are we?"

"Not at all. I was taking a break. If I keep cultivating day in and day out, I'm going to lose my mind."

Li Dui chatted as he walked over to the bar.

He tapped at the screen a few times. Several exquisitely shaped bottles of fine wine appeared in the empty liquor cabinet, along with a few plates of snacks on the counter.

That was the great thing about the Virtual Universe: as long as you had money, you could instantly conjure up food, drinks, and entertainment from across the universe. The taste, flavor, and experience were all just as good as the real thing.

Watching Li Dui set out the wine and snacks on the coffee table, Thor asked, "So, kid, how much have you gained from spending over a year cultivating in Chaos City?"

"I've improved a lot. But it's not like I suddenly became amazing or anything. Otherwise, I wouldn't have ended up in the 'Tofu' Secret Realm."

Hong and Thor immediately got the Chinese pun. They both burst out laughing. They were quite fond of this young fellow from their homeworld.

The last time they'd met, they'd thought he was a little reserved. Maybe he'd gotten more comfortable with them this time, because he seemed pretty cheerful and lively.

"Don't rush. Take your time. You should also keep working on your mental cultivation. Don't worry about it taking time. A stronger mind will help your cultivation in turn." Hong picked up the glass Li Dui had poured for him.

Hong meant well. This was Earth Humans' greatest advantage, and he was afraid his young countryman would get fixated on increasing his strength and lose it.

"Thank you for the advice, Senior Hong. I'll remember it." Li Dui nodded obediently.

Then he raised his glass to the two of them. "Please, sirs."

This virtual wine cost a trillion Universe Coins and was famous for its exquisite taste.

Thor lifted his glass, smelled the wine, then drained it in one go.

He savored it for a long while before letting out a breath. "Whew! That's good wine. You're pretty generous, kid."

Hong also narrowed his eyes, savoring the wine.

"Come on, it's not often you two come visit. I have to treat you properly. If you came by all the time, I couldn't afford to buy this." Li Dui grinned as he poured more wine from the bottle.

"Hahaha, what a kid. We were worried you wouldn't fit in here in the 'Tofu' Secret Realm. Turns out we were worrying for nothing." Thor pointed at Li Dui and laughed.

Hong smiled, too. "The Battle Axe Secret Realm is crowded, and there's a lot going on. Some people have been here for many years. On the surface, everything seems fine, but behind the scenes, there's no shortage of shady business. Be careful what you say and do, and don't get caught up in pointless disputes. The two of us have limited strength and can't do much to help you. Of course, for the next thirty years, you'll still be in Chaos City. Don't think about anything else; focus on improving yourself."

Although Hong and Thor held quite high positions in practice, on the surface, they were just two insignificant members of the Battle Axe Secret Realm. They didn't plan to tell Li Dui about those special matters so soon.

Li Dui nodded vigorously. He kept raising his glass and urging them to drink. The reception room was full of laughter and good cheer.

Chaos City.

Residence.

Li Dui rolled his neck, and it cracked. A Star Rank warrior wouldn't feel uncomfortable just from sitting for a few days, of course, but he still got up and stretched.

Another three months had passed. A few months meant little to someone with a Star Rank lifespan of over ten thousand years.

Yet in that short time, Li Dui had undergone a complete transformation.

About a month ago, in the Virtual Universe training grounds, Li Dui had finally managed to fight the virtual version of the original owner to a draw.

That meant he'd finally integrated most of the original owner's combat skills. He'd truly gained the combat strength of a member of the Battle Axe Secret Realm.

At this point, someone might ask: if he could already fight to a draw, why say he'd only mostly integrated them?

Because a month ago, Li Dui had actually been quite a bit stronger than the original owner.

His advantage lay in Law Comprehension.

The original owner had reached the threshold of the Origin Law of Earth and grasped a trace of the Law of Space. After arriving in Chaos City, he'd studied the Chaos Stele for seven days before challenging the Heavenly Bridge.

He'd lasted just over a minute on the first level. After a year of study, he'd made considerable progress, but he was still nowhere near passing it.

Li Dui had been here for about half a year. For the first two months or so, he'd spent ninety percent of his effort adapting to his body. He'd devoted only a few percent to comprehending the laws.

As a beginner, the Ring's guidance made the laws very clear to him. But he knew so little about them that whenever he ran into a problem, he had to recall the original owner's experience. So in those first two months, he'd made little progress in Law Comprehension.

Over the next three months, he'd made real progress controlling his body. He also understood how important the laws were, so he'd spent much more time comprehending them.

As a result, his progress in the laws had begun to accelerate. By the time he could fight the virtual version of the original owner to a draw a month ago, his Law Comprehension had already surpassed the original owner's by quite a bit.

He could only fight to a draw because he was stronger. That was why he could only say he'd mostly integrated the original owner's abilities.

Over the past month, Li Dui had spent ninety percent of his time comprehending the laws, but his strength hadn't increased much.

That was because he'd discovered something new at the level of the Ring that he could sense.

He'd originally reached the threshold of the Origin Law of Earth and grasped a trace of the Law of Space. By rights, he should have kept pushing forward along that path.

But once he'd grown used to comprehending the laws, he'd sensed eight more on the Ring, in addition to Earth and Space.

He didn't need to ask what they were. Together, they made up the ten basic laws.

The space-affiliated laws were Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth.

The time-affiliated laws were Wind, Thunder, and Light.

All ten laws were clearly laid out before him. Was this telling him to cultivate in all of them at once?

At first, Li Dui hadn't thought much of it. He'd simply begun studying these new laws.

The Hula Hoop was incredibly powerful. It stayed silent and never actively gave him anything, but the clarity with which it revealed the laws was an enormous help.

He made smooth progress in the other laws, too. In just one month, he'd reached the threshold of all seven other Lower Laws. He'd even grasped a trace of the Origin Law of Time.

Only then did Li Dui slowly emerge from his daze. He began to consider whether he should really pursue all ten paths at once.

There were risks.

He might bite off more than he could chew and run out of time before becoming an Immortal. Take Hong's former teacher, the Time World Lord. Li Dui couldn't remember his name. He'd followed this same path. He probably wasn't dead yet, but Li Dui had no idea whether he'd successfully become an Immortal.

Another concern was that this approach would actually slow his growth.

Given his current situation, he'd grow much faster if he focused on Earth, Space, and the Origin Laws for now than if he cultivated in every law at once.

Once he reached World Lord Level, he'd have tens of millions of years to live. By then, his Earth and Space Laws would have reached a certain level. He could return to the path of cultivating all the laws and spend five or six million years exploring it.

If it worked, all the better.

Because if—just if, mind you—Li Dui ever became something transcendent and made it through the cycle of reincarnation to the Origin Continent, then to keep improving, he'd still have to take the path of fusing multiple laws.

Of course, surviving the cycle of reincarnation and everything that came after was far too distant to consider now. Li Dui also understood that his knowledge of cultivation was still nowhere near sufficient. Knowing the general direction from the original story could offer some guidance, but this was a real world. Putting things into practice was much more complicated, and every bit of progress depended on his own cultivation and ingenuity.

If he found he couldn't go any further, he could choose the path he was best at, focus on it, and become an Immortal first.

Even if the worst happened and he couldn't become an Immortal, then perhaps it just wasn't meant to be.

I was just an ordinary person who'd have been lucky to live to seventy or eighty. Now I could at least become a World Lord and live ten million years. What more could I want? Li Dui thought.

Having decided to focus only on the Law of Earth and the Law of Space for now, he was reminded of something: analyzing the essence of the laws.

That was the path King Zhen Yan had guided Luo Feng onto when he first arrived in Chaos City.

Li Dui wasn't afraid of how difficult it would be. In terms of talent for the laws, the original owner had been at the level of a core genius. Now, Li Dui thought he was among the very best.

After all, if he showed how fast he could comprehend the laws, people wouldn't know about the Ring. They'd only think his talent was astonishing.

To analyze the essence of the Law of Space, it would be a waste of time to blunder around on his own.

He should follow Luo Feng's example and buy that manual.

Li Dui thought for a long time before he remembered the manual's name and its creator.

Drifting Blood.

Lian Luo.

But that raised the question: where was he supposed to get the points to buy it?

The Battle Axe Secret Realm had given him 3,000 points. The original owner had spent 2,400 as soon as he received them. He'd used 900 points to buy a saber technique manual, and the remaining 1,500 on an Immortal Expert's insights into the Law of Space.

If Hong and Thor hadn't arrived in time to stop him, he would have spent every last point.

So Li Dui had only 600 points left. He couldn't afford Drifting Blood.

Should I try to pass the first level of the Heavenly Bridge? he wondered.