Mountain of Laws.
The moment Jiang Luo stepped onto the first level, a Law Secret Pattern radiating a hazy golden light enveloped him.
He suddenly felt as though he were facing the vast and mighty Origin of Laws.
Without realizing it, Jiang Luo split off half his consciousness and continually drew closer to that vast presence.
He could feel his consciousness being inexplicably drawn to two boundless oceans.
Without needing to think, he immediately understood that they must be the Origin of the Law of Fire and the Origin of the Law of Space.
But the two boundless oceans also seemed to be separated from him by a tremendous distance, impossible to truly reach.
When he came to his senses, he found that the Law Secret Pattern surrounding him had vanished.
His feet stood firm on the first step of the Mountain of Laws.
"Does this mean my Law Comprehension is enough to reach the first level?" Jiang Luo wondered. "What a profound test."
At the same time, this confirmed his guess from another angle.
The Mountain of Laws' ranking system really was much like the Heaven-Reaching Bridge's.
He was confident he could clear the first level of the Heaven-Reaching Bridge, so he could also climb to the first level of the Mountain of Laws.
"I've got the 100,000 Hunyuan Unit reward!" Jiang Luo immediately received a notification that he had reached the first level of the Mountain of Laws.
A Star Level cultivator who reached the Mountain of Laws would receive 100,000 Hunyuan Units in Universe Coins. Each additional level doubled the reward.
At present, he was the only Star Level genius in the Ancient Wheel Hall to have reached the Mountain of Laws.
Among the Universe Level members, only Ji Chen and Kunmo could stand on the first level of the Mountain of Laws.
Earlier, he had cleared the Trial Space up to the fifth floor of the sixth Trial Tower and earned over four billion points, equivalent to more than 40,000 Hunyuan Units.
That brought the total to 140,000 Hunyuan Units.
"Right, I should try the Mountain of Souls too..."
Of the two Innate Secret Techniques he had gained by absorbing the Flame Star Behemoth's bloodline, Space Shatter had reached the first level, allowing him to use Space Imprisonment.
Soul Flame had reached the second level, giving him a Mental Power Amplitude of 200.
As a Star Level genius, he could earn an additional 20,000 Hunyuan Units by challenging the Mountain of Souls.
Just as Jiang Luo was about to head to the Mountain of Souls, he suddenly received a message from Marquis Mo Yan.
"The Kingdom Lord wants to summon me?!"
In the Virtual Universe, at the center of Gulun Continent, stood a towering mountain range.
Marquis Mo Yan brought Jiang Luo to a palace that seemed to have been built from ancient, rugged stone.
Jiang Luo followed Marquis Mo Yan into the main hall and saw a black-robed youth whose body was covered in silver patterns, with long hair cascading down his back.
One of the long-haired youth's eyes was as innocent and lively as a baby's, while the other was calm and weathered like an old man's.
The two impressions coexisted in the same pair of eyes, blending together while remaining distinct and inseparable.
Standing beside the youth was a tall figure whose every inch of skin was covered in scales, with a helmet and mask covering his head.
"Greetings, Teacher. Greetings, Senior Brother Shaluo." Marquis Mo Yan bowed respectfully.
Jiang Luo followed his lead. "Greetings, Your Majesty, Kingdom Lord. Greetings, Lord King Shaluo."
Marquis Mo Yan had just told him who they were.
Although Gulun Kingdom Lord looked like a youth, his voice sounded very old. "Not bad. A Star Level genius who can reach the fifth floor of the sixth Trial Tower has not appeared in the Gulun Universe Kingdom for millions of years.
"Even among all the Star Level geniuses of the 1008 Universe Kingdoms in this generation, no one can match your comprehension of the Law of Fire and the Law of Space."
Then, Gulun Kingdom Lord suddenly spoke directly into Jiang Luo's mind, his words utterly shocking:
"Do you have a clone that has taken over a Flame Star Behemoth?"
Jiang Luo froze. He had been prepared for the possibility that others would discover he had obtained Flint Star Sector Lord's treasure.
After all, the identity he had faked using the privileges of an Ancient Wheel Hall disciple might fool other people, but it could never fool Gulun Kingdom Lord.
He just hadn't expected him to be so blunt, or to know so much about Flint Star Sector Lord's treasure.
Of course, Gulun Kingdom Lord's guess was still a little off.
He did have clones—seventeen of them, in fact.
But he hadn't taken over a Flame Star Behemoth. He had directly absorbed its bloodline.
Gulun Kingdom Lord chuckled in his mind. "The Alien Race's Immortal God who fought Flint Star Sector Lord for that Flame Star Behemoth egg on the Outer-Region Battlefield certainly wouldn't keep it secret for him. After Flint Star Sector Lord fell, the news spread."
Jiang Luo understood. No wonder so many forces were so interested in Flint Star Sector Lord's treasure.
A Flame Star Behemoth egg was highly appealing even to Immortal Gods.
"Flint Star Sector Lord had some extraordinary encounters, but his luck was poor..." Gulun Kingdom Lord sighed.
He wouldn't normally pay attention to an ordinary World Lord.
But World Lords who earned the title of Sector Lord Level Great Axe Warrior were exceedingly rare throughout the entire Universe Kingdom.
He had even summoned Flint Star Sector Lord personally once.
Though they had exchanged a great deal of information, Gulun Kingdom Lord's telepathic conversation with Jiang Luo had taken less than a second.
"Are you willing to become my named disciple?" The long-haired youth looked at Jiang Luo, a hint of a smile in his eyes.
What?
Marquis Mo Yan and King Shaluo, standing beside Gulun Kingdom Lord, were stunned.
They hadn't heard Gulun Kingdom Lord's telepathic conversation with Jiang Luo, so they were completely unprepared.
Gulun Kingdom Lord hadn't taken a disciple in a long time!
No matter how outstanding or brilliant Jiang Luo's performance was, it shouldn't have been enough to move the great Kingdom Lord to take him in, should it?
Five thousand years ago, Bolan's performance in the Genius Battle had shaken the 1008 Universe Kingdoms, yet he still hadn't been taken in by any Universe Venerable.
Besides, Jiang Luo was inferior to Bolan in both talent and Law Comprehension.
And Gulun Kingdom Lord was no ordinary Universe Venerable.
Jiang Luo didn't hesitate at all. He immediately bowed. "I'm willing!"
Though Gulun Kingdom Lord's decision had pleasantly surprised him, he wasn't particularly confused.
In Gulun Kingdom Lord's eyes, he had both clones and a Flame Star Behemoth he had taken over.
That was an above-average stroke of fortune among the countless races of the Primal Universe.
Since Gulun Kingdom Lord knew about it, it wasn't surprising that he was moved to take him as a disciple.
As for being a named disciple rather than a personal disciple—
After all, an extraordinary encounter was one thing; Gulun Kingdom Lord would surely need to observe how much potential Jiang Luo could show.
There were plenty of Flame Star Behemoths that never became Immortal Gods.
If Gulun Kingdom Lord hadn't been convinced that Jiang Luo had the Clone Talent, he probably wouldn't even have bothered to take him as a named disciple.
"Shaluo," Gulun Kingdom Lord said calmly. "You'll be responsible for teaching Jiang Luo from now on."
King Shaluo, tall and clad in scales, replied respectfully, "Yes, Teacher."
After leaving the stone palace, King Shaluo said in a deep, rumbling voice, "I don't know why Teacher took you as a named disciple.
"But given his temperament, as long as you perform even better in the future, he'll promote you to a personal disciple.
"I heard from Mo Yan that you're already studying the Nine Heavens Atlas?
"Heh, the Nine Heavens Atlas is a secret manual on the Law of Space that Teacher created. You only obtained the first volume.
"But the first volume is enough to keep you busy. If you ever have questions about the Nine Heavens Atlas or the Law of Space, you can come ask me anytime.
"I'll grant you permission to teleport to my palace. Don't worry about disturbing me.
"My soul consciousness is beyond what little fellows like you can imagine. I can always split off a wisp of consciousness in the Virtual Universe.
"But I'll only answer questions about the Law of Space. For questions about the Law of Fire, you can ask Junior Brother Mo Yan. You can call him Senior Brother from now on; he's also one of Teacher's disciples..."
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