Divine General Kongguang's inheritance was located within a semi-open secret realm in the heart of human territory. This secret realm was jointly controlled by the five major powers, and other human experts were also permitted to enter and venture within it.
After leaving the Outer Battlefield, Zhou Yu first exchanged for several soul-enhancing treasures from the Virtual Universe Company's treasury, then took a spacecraft to the secret realm.
However, Zhou Yu did not head directly to the inheritance site. Instead, he went to a floating city built within the safe zone.
This city mainly provided a place for adventurers exploring the secret realm to rest and stay, while also hosting numerous transactions.
The city was actually still quite far from Divine General Kongguang's inheritance site, but for Zhou Yu, it was merely a matter of a few Teleportations.
He had arrived ten years early. After checking the map, he decided to live there for ten years and wait for the inheritance to begin.
"I'll treat it as a break." Zhou Yu rented an estate spanning roughly a hundred li in the busiest part of the city and settled in.
Experts fighting in the Outer Battlefield would also periodically return to their military camp bases to rest and resupply. After all, they had to remain vigilant at all times outside, and prolonged tension placed pressure on the mind.
Even with Zhou Yu's strength, he had not dared to be too careless while on the Dark Continent. A passing expert's Detector might have been stronger than his, allowing them to launch a sudden ambush.
Of course, Zhou Yu had always been diligent. Even while resting, he only occasionally went out for a stroll or a drink. Most of his time was still spent comprehending the Laws.
"My progress in the Space Law really has been fast." Zhou Yu rested while comprehending the Space Law, yet his progress remained astonishingly rapid.
The fact that his simulated self had ultimately mastered Teleportation did not mean those tens of thousands of years had been spent comprehending only Teleportation. In order to create a peak secret technique of his own, he had also studied the other two major directions and accumulated considerable foundations in both.
Now, as Zhou Yu's talents continuously stacked, comprehending the Space Law became as natural as a fish taking to water.
Not long ago, he had just mastered Space Blockade. As for the final move, Space Strangulation, he should not need much longer to fully comprehend it.
Of course, the most difficult part of comprehending the Space Law was still the final step.
If comprehending the three major directions of Teleportation, Space Blockade, and Space Strangulation had a difficulty of one, then combining the three directions into a complete Space Law had a difficulty of at least ten, perhaps even higher.
"But with my talent, mastering the complete Space Law is already highly likely. And with the talent Heaven Rewards Diligence, comprehending the complete Space Law is merely a matter of time." Zhou Yu was extremely confident.
This was the terrifying aspect of the talent Heaven Rewards Diligence.
No matter how great the bottleneck, one could hope to overcome it by grinding away over time. Not to mention that, given Zhou Yu's own talent, his chances of comprehending the complete Space Law had already been very high.
In the blink of an eye, Zhou Yu had spent six years in the city. On this day, he went to a tavern in the city that specifically received Immortal experts for a drink.
"Haha, Zhou Yu, over here."
A tall, thin figure with brown skin waved at Zhou Yu.
"King Qingmu, what a coincidence. We ran into each other again?" Zhou Yu greeted him and walked over.
King Qingmu was also an expert who had come to receive Divine General Kongguang's inheritance. Having arrived early, he was temporarily staying in this city as well.
"This isn't a coincidence. I never left! I've been in this tavern for three years already. I plan to keep drinking until the inheritance begins." King Qingmu laughed heartily.
"I admire that." Zhou Yu sighed.
"You are... Feather Array King?" After sitting down, Zhou Yu looked toward the slender woman beside him, who had a pair of wings growing from her back.
Feather Array King was a King-Sealing expert from the Giant Axe Martial Arena. She was famous for her proficiency in soul illusions.
"Feather Array King also came to receive Divine General Kongguang's inheritance," King Qingmu explained. At that moment, a faint smile appeared on Feather Array King's lips.
"Prison World King Zhou Yu, one of humanity's greatest geniuses in tens of millions of eras. I've long admired your name!" Feather Array King said with a light laugh.
Hearing this, a trace of surprise appeared on Zhou Yu's face.
"Prison World King? Your title?" King Qingmu looked at Zhou Yu in confusion. He had never heard of it.
"I spent some time on the Dark Continent in the 11th Outer Battlefield. I don't know when this title started spreading." Zhou Yu shook his head.
"I don't like that title."
"I see. Feather Array King has also just returned from the Dark Continent," King Qingmu said with a smile.
"I heard that Zhou Yu, your technique is extremely unusual. As long as Peak-Level King-Ranks have not mastered Teleportation, once trapped inside it, they find it difficult to escape. Could your ultimate move be a peak secret technique?" Feather Array King asked curiously.
"I was fortunate enough to create it." Zhou Yu smiled. At this point, even those who had mastered Teleportation clearly could not escape his Array of Time and Space.
"It really is a peak secret technique?" Feather Array King sighed. "Your talent truly makes people envious. You created a peak secret technique so quickly."
"My talent is still far inferior to those who have created ultimate secret techniques," Zhou Yu said.
"How long have you even been an Immortal? Forget it, let's not talk about this. Come, drink."
King Qingmu filled Zhou Yu's cup and said, "This is the best wine here. Although a bottle costs only ten Hunyuan Units, it's not bad. Give it a try."
"Then I won't stand on ceremony." Zhou Yu picked up the wine cup and tasted it.
With their strength, wine worth ten Hunyuan Units could only be considered ordinary. There truly was no need to stand on ceremony.
As the three drank, there were also several other Immortals in the tavern.
They had come to venture through the secret realm and were resting here. These Immortals were all ordinary Immortals.
At this moment, they all kept a low profile and did not dare speak loudly.
Even if they did not recognize the three of them, the aura of King-Sealing Immortals was far stronger than that of ordinary Immortals. They were not foolish enough to fail to recognize it.
In a corner, several Immortals were also seated together.
"Another terrifying existence."
"What is going on with this secret realm? So many experts have suddenly arrived. Master, should we avoid this place for now?"
"Something is indeed off."
After pondering for a while, a handsome figure wearing a black robe and possessing two soft antennae on his forehead said,
"Once things here are over, we'll return to Falling Ink Star."
"Haha, we're finally going back?"
"Wah, we've been gone for so long. It's time to go back and take a look."
As they spoke, the group soon rose, paid their bill, and left the tavern.
Their departure did not attract any attention.
As for Zhou Yu?
After drinking with King Qingmu and the others for half a day, he soon got up and left as well.
He did not have King Qingmu's leisurely elegance of drinking nonstop until the inheritance began. With that time, he could make tremendous progress in comprehending the Space Law.
In the blink of an eye, several more years passed.
Zhou Yu received news that the inheritance was opening. He, King Qingmu, Feather Array King, and the others immediately Teleported over.
No unexpected events occurred. After verifying their identities at the inheritance site, they entered the inheritance grounds and began receiving Divine General Kongguang's inheritance.
Light!
Brilliant, multicolored light!
Zhou Yu stood before a staircase. All manner of colored light shone from the steps.
As the lights shone upon Zhou Yu, he felt a scorching sensation spread throughout his entire body.
This light directly illuminated the soul. Closing one's eyes was useless.
Before coming, Zhou Yu had naturally learned about Divine General Kongguang's inheritance. These lights were the method used to select inheritors.
Once a lifeform stepped onto the long bridge, its soul would gradually be tempered and transformed by the mysterious lights. Throughout this process, its spiritual force amplitude would naturally increase.
However, such tempering was not easily endured. First, it depended on whether one's soul was strong enough. Second, it depended on whether the soul was compatible with the inheritance.
That was right. For Divine General inheritances, while stronger strength generally allowed one to go farther, compatibility was equally important.
Some King-Sealing experts might not get very far after receiving the inheritance, while a weaker lifeform might instead travel a great distance.
The person who could ultimately receive Divine General Kongguang's complete inheritance would certainly be the one whose soul was most compatible with it.
"I wonder how far I can go."
Zhou Yu pondered inwardly as he lifted his foot and stepped onto the staircase.
Before receiving the inheritance, Zhou Yu's spiritual force amplitude had been 300. That was a base of 100, plus a threefold amplification provided by an additional amplitude secret technique.
Therefore, receiving the inheritance was fairly smooth at first. The first 300 steps placed little pressure on him.
But beyond the 300th step, Zhou Yu began to feel pressure. At first, however, the pressure was completely within his tolerance.
Step by step, Zhou Yu unknowingly advanced through 3,333 steps on the staircase bathed in endless light.
"The first stage is over."
Zhou Yu stepped into a great hall, and a faint smile appeared on his lips.
His spiritual force amplitude had now reached 3,333-fold, over ten times stronger than before!
Among the Immortals who came to receive Divine General Kongguang's inheritance, making it through the first stage was already quite impressive. Many King-Sealing experts could not even reach this point.
"Inheritor, congratulations on passing the first stage of Divine General Kongguang's inheritance and becoming a Preliminary Candidate!"
A voice suddenly rang out within the hall. Immediately afterward, two masses of mist appeared. Once the mist condensed, two treasures emerged.
One was a fruit, and the other was a top-grade spiritual force weapon.
Whoosh!
Zhou Yu waved his hand and collected the two treasures. The fruit was one that benefited the soul, making it exceptionally precious and rare. The spiritual force weapon was nothing special. Although such weapons were generally used by King-Sealing experts, it was far inferior to the Space Myriad Blade Disk Zhou Yu had purchased for fifty billion points.
"Continue."
Without hesitation, Zhou Yu stepped onto the staircase beyond the hall and began the second stage of the inheritance.
The light in the second stage was even more dazzling. Standing on the steps, Zhou Yu felt a burning sensation deep within his soul. With every step forward, that burning sensation intensified severalfold.
Zhou Yu charged ahead to the 4,531st step before he began to feel unable to endure any longer.
"I didn't expect to reach my limit so soon. It seems this inheritance isn't very compatible with me." Zhou Yu understood inwardly.
He had the talent Cultivation Genius, which had enhanced his talent in every aspect once. Yet even under such circumstances, he had only reached the 4,531st step?
"I should use some treasures." Zhou Yu pondered, then took out the treasure he had received for becoming a Preliminary Candidate.
It was a golden-and-silver fruit, one side scorching hot and the other icy cold.
After Zhou Yu consumed the fruit, two distinct forces immediately surged into his soul, allowing him to experience the sensation of being tempered by both ice and fire.
Yet amid this tempering of ice and fire, Zhou Yu felt that his soul had undergone some sort of transformation. Standing on the 4,531st step no longer felt as unbearable as before.
"It really works."
Zhou Yu smiled and took out another icy blue fruit, swallowing it in one bite.
This was a Blue Ice Soul Fruit, a soul treasure he had exchanged from the Virtual Universe Company's treasury for several billion points. Its effects were far superior to the reward for becoming a Preliminary Candidate.
Sure enough, the moment the Blue Ice Soul Fruit entered his stomach, Zhou Yu felt his soul tremble sharply, as though it had been wrapped in a layer of ice. The scorching sensation brought by the inheritance light vanished entirely.
"Spending money really does make a difference."
Zhou Yu sighed inwardly. He had invested all his gains from the Outer Battlefield into this Blue Ice Soul Fruit. Looking at it now, it had truly been worth it.
In fact, many experts would purchase suitable treasures before receiving an inheritance, doing their utmost to advance farther. After all, opportunities to receive inheritances were difficult to come by.
"Keep moving forward."
Zhou Yu did not hesitate and continued onward.
As time passed, Zhou Yu unknowingly reached the 6,121st step. At this moment, he once again felt an intense burning sensation in his soul, as though taking even one more step would injure him.
"At the very least, I should reach the 6,666th step and obtain the second-stage reward, right?" Zhou Yu did not withdraw. Instead, he persevered there.
Normally, once someone reached their limit and had no suitable treasure to assist them, there was little point in continuing to persist.
The remaining several hundred steps were absolutely an insurmountable chasm.
But Zhou Yu was different.
He endured the pain and repeatedly tried to climb higher with great care. Although he quickly retreated each time, he continued trying again and again.
Finally, Zhou Yu successfully stepped onto that step.
"Haha, it worked after all."
Zhou Yu nodded to himself.
This was Heaven Rewards Diligence. By improving little by little each time, no bottleneck or obstacle was a problem.
"Still, I need to be careful. I can't exceed my limits all at once. Before Heaven Rewards Diligence can take effect, I might collapse first." Zhou Yu thought to himself as he cautiously moved toward the next step.
Zhou Yu took a full thirty-five years to traverse those mere several hundred steps.
When he passed the 6,666th step and entered the second hall, he finally breathed a sigh of relief.
"I finally made it up."
Zhou Yu sighed inwardly.
"The 16,579th inheritor, congratulations on completing the second stage of the inheritance and becoming a Senior Inheritor!"
The previous voice rang out again, though this time it was noticeably more emotional and carried a trace of amusement.
"These treasures belong to you!"
As the voice sounded again, mist condensed within the hall once more.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Two treasures emerged from it.
One was a grayish-brown triangular fruit that emitted a peculiar fragrance.
The other was a circular weapon formed from interlocking rings. The surface of every ring was engraved with Space Law secret patterns. Together, the complete weapon contained the three major directions of the Space Law: blockade, killing, and Teleportation.
"Heart-Burning Fruit. Its value is even higher than the Blue Ice Soul Fruit. And the spiritual force weapon Thousand Origin Ring is on the same level as my Space Myriad Blade Disk."
Zhou Yu nodded inwardly. To be honest, the two treasures were quite valuable, worth at least several hundred billion Hunyuan Units.
Yet he was still somewhat disappointed. He did not lack weapons of this level. Only genuine heavy treasures or supreme treasures could move him.
"Seems I'll only have hope of obtaining a heavy treasure by passing the third-stage test." After thinking it over, Zhou Yu directly consumed the Heart-Burning Fruit and entered the third stage.
After spending twenty-eight years, Zhou Yu reached the 7,000th step.
After some thought, he did not persist any longer and directly withdrew from the inheritance.
Although Zhou Yu had every chance of passing the third-stage test through Heaven Rewards Diligence, it would take far too long.
After entering the third-stage test, Zhou Yu's progress was still relatively fast at first while the effects of the Heart-Burning Fruit remained active. But afterward, every additional step required enormous amounts of time, and the farther he went, the greater the bottlenecks became, requiring even more time.
Zhou Yu immediately judged that if he wanted to complete the entire inheritance, he might need to grind through it bit by bit for at least a billion years.
Setting aside whether the inheritance could remain open for that long, Zhou Yu himself could not possibly waste so much time on this inheritance.
With that time, he could comprehend the Laws, and his achievements would already be extraordinarily high.
Therefore, once he judged that passing in the short term would be difficult, he decisively left.
In the end, Zhou Yu's spiritual force amplitude stopped at 7,000-fold!
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