Taking a Master

The deaths of three Limit-Level King-Ranks quickly spread throughout the 11th Outer Battlefield.

All four camps were shocked. Limit-Level King-Ranks rarely died on the Outer Battlefield; even under extreme circumstances, only one would occasionally perish.

Yet this time, three Limit-Level King-Ranks had been wiped out at once.

"It was Zhou Yu of the Human Race."

"He is a genius who appears only once in tens of millions of epochs among the Human Race. Unfortunately, he rose too quickly. He broke through to Immortal just after showing his brilliance, leaving no chance to eliminate him. Who would have thought that Zhou Yu would reach the Invincible King-Rank level so quickly?"

"..."

After learning who the culprit was, the other three camps could only shake their heads.

Generally, when assassinating geniuses, unless the target was an extraordinarily monstrous existence, there was little value in doing so once they became Immortal.

After all, killing such a genius in a way that prevented resurrection required no small price and carried considerable risk.

And judging by Zhou Yu's current performance, he clearly had not yet reached the point where the other camps would spare no expense to eliminate him.

As for the Human Race, once the news spread, most were filled with admiration.

Defeating three Limit-Level King-Ranks alone was not difficult, but killing all three simultaneously made it highly likely that Zhou Yu had already reached the Invincible King-Rank level!

At the King-Sealing stage, reaching the Invincible King-Rank level was extremely difficult. Even among geniuses of Zhou Yu's caliber, many could not reach that level.

At the same time, after watching Zhou Yu's battle footage from the Outer Battlefield, the upper echelons of the Human Race unanimously concluded that he possessed enormous potential. If he became a Venerable in the future, he would have hope of reaching the Universe Overlord level.

This was already an exceedingly high evaluation, and was essentially the upper limit of what a genius on the ten-million-epoch level could achieve.

Becoming a Universe Master was not something talent alone could accomplish. Many other factors were needed as well.

Previously, the opportunity Venerable Mofeng had secured for Zhou Yu was that, as long as he improved enough that obtaining a Heavy Treasure gave him hope of becoming an Invincible King-Rank, he could be awarded a Heavy Treasure.

Now, Zhou Yu had reached the Invincible King-Rank level through his own efforts alone. This was clearly an overachievement, and receiving a Heavy Treasure was only natural.

After this battle, Zhou Yu had truly become famous throughout the Outer Battlefield.

While the Human Race was focused on all this, Zhou Yu also received two emails. One came from the Virtual Universe Company headquarters, stating that in light of Zhou Yu's outstanding performance, the Virtual Universe Company would gift him a Heavy Treasure, which he would need to collect at the company headquarters.

The second email came from the Chaos City Lord.

In the email, the Chaos City Lord mentioned that he had watched footage of Zhou Yu's battle on the Outer Battlefield and asked him to visit the City Lord Mansion in Chaos City.

Although the Chaos City Lord had not said so directly, Zhou Yu knew that he was clearly considering taking him as a disciple. Otherwise, why would he ask Zhou Yu to make the trip for no reason?

"The Chaos City Lord would make an ideal teacher." Zhou Yu no longer hesitated. He left the Outer Battlefield once again and headed straight for Chaos City.

Chaos City was located within the Initial Universe.

The Initial Universe was a miniature universe still undergoing evolution. Chaotic airflow filled it, and laws manifested openly, making it especially suitable for comprehending laws.

Chaos City, built within the Initial Universe, could be considered a sacred land of the Human Race.

It was extremely difficult for ordinary Human Race lifeforms to visit Chaos City, but Zhou Yu, as a King-Sealing expert of the Virtual Universe Company, had no such restrictions. He had long since obtained permanent residency rights in Chaos City.

After arriving in Chaos City this time, Zhou Yu did not rush to see the Chaos City Lord. Instead, he first brought gifts to visit the Fire Dragon King.

The Fire Dragon King was naturally delighted to see Zhou Yu. When he learned that Zhou Yu had been summoned by the Chaos City Lord, he was even more overjoyed.

"Haha, hurry up and go! You must seize an opportunity like this." The Fire Dragon King repeatedly urged Zhou Yu on.

Although the Chaos City Lord had not specified when Zhou Yu had to come, since Zhou Yu was already in Chaos City, it was only proper for him to go immediately. Otherwise, it would be far too disrespectful to the Chaos City Lord.

"Teacher, I'll go first, then." Zhou Yu smiled.

Zhou Yu was clearly not visiting the City Lord Mansion in Chaos City for the first time. After all, the treasures of Chaos City—the fifty-two Chaos Steles—were all located here.

However, the area containing the Chaos Steles was merely the outer section of the City Lord Mansion. This time, Zhou Yu headed straight toward its depths.

Led by a guard within the City Lord Mansion, Zhou Yu quickly stepped into a vortex.

Time and space shifted!

When Zhou Yu appeared again, he had arrived in a vast world resembling a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood.

"What an exquisite time-space technique. As expected, the Chaos City Lord is a Universe Master who follows the Path of Time and Space." Zhou Yu understood inwardly.

Comprehending the Time Law and Space Law did not mean one had followed the Path of Time and Space. Only by using laws to evolve time and space could one be said to follow that path.

The "Array of Time and Space" Zhou Yu had envisioned would likewise evolve through the Time Law and Space Law, but it definitely would not be the Path of Time and Space. Zhou Yu now called this route the "Path of Matrix."

"I can still study the true Path of Time and Space in the future."

The thought flashed through Zhou Yu's mind. After all, in his other world, he had been quite proficient in time and space. His progress would surely not be slow if he studied it.

As he pondered this, Zhou Yu continued forward. Before long, he noticed that a figure had suddenly appeared ahead of him.

The figure was not particularly tall, and his face could even be called vicious and terrifying, but his eyes were as vast as an endless starry sky.

This was naturally the Chaos City Lord. As he looked at Zhou Yu, he also exerted considerable pressure on him.

"Greetings, City Lord." Zhou Yu bowed.

"Zhou Yu's spiritual will is extraordinary."

The Chaos City Lord looked at Zhou Yu, somewhat surprised. Previously, based solely on Zhou Yu's experiences, there had been nothing particularly remarkable about him.

Now that he had met Zhou Yu in person, he somewhat understood why Zhou Yu had initially been inconspicuous before progressing faster and faster later on.

Of course, the Chaos City Lord had clearly misunderstood. Zhou Yu's rapid progress was due to his talent, Potential Boost.

"Zhou Yu, are you willing to become my disciple?" The Chaos City Lord did not say much else and directly asked the question.

"Greetings, Teacher."

Zhou Yu naturally performed the disciple-taking ceremony without hesitation. He had already been mentally prepared before coming, so now that the opportunity had appeared, he certainly would not let it slip away.

As the Chaos City Lord looked at Zhou Yu, many thoughts arose in his heart. Among the disciples he had accepted, Zhou Yu was already considered very strong at the time of becoming his disciple.

An Invincible King-Rank was already close to becoming a Venerable!

Zhou Yu had also already forged his own path, leaving limited room for guidance.

"Zhou Yu, what is the name of the pinnacle secret technique you created?" the Chaos City Lord asked.

"A pinnacle secret technique?" Zhou Yu was puzzled. He had not expected the Chaos City Lord to ask about his pinnacle secret technique immediately after accepting him as a disciple.

"Teacher, I call it the 'Array of Time and Space.'" Zhou Yu replied.

"Array of Time and Space?" The Chaos City Lord nodded, then asked, "Do you know why I accepted you as my disciple?"

"Because of my pinnacle secret technique?"

Zhou Yu made a guess inwardly. Otherwise, why had the Chaos City Lord suddenly asked about his secret technique?

"Your pinnacle secret technique is very unusual. After seeing it, I immediately recalled a stone stele I obtained long ago. The secret technique recorded upon that stone stele bears some resemblance to yours." As the Chaos City Lord spoke, he waved a hand.

Whoosh!

A damaged stone stele roughly a hundred meters tall appeared before them. Zhou Yu focused on it and saw three different diagrams carved upon it.

The Star Chart, the Starry Sky Chart, and the Giant Chart.

But to Zhou Yu, the Starry Sky Chart and Giant Chart appeared to be nothing more than ordinary images. The Star Chart, however, gave him a sense of familiarity at a single glance.

Yet it was only a feeling of familiarity. When he considered it carefully, he found himself completely lost in confusion.

"It is the Time Law."

Zhou Yu quickly understood. He had never studied the Time Law, while the mysteries contained within the Star Chart incorporated both the Space Law and Time Law. Naturally, he could not comprehend it.

"You noticed?" the Chaos City Lord said.

"The secret technique on this stone stele was left behind by at least a Universe Master. It is perfectly normal for it to contain both the Time Law and Space Law."

Hearing this, Zhou Yu understood. Although the Chaos City Lord had not said so explicitly, he guessed that the stone stele had most likely been found in the Universe Ocean. Things from the Universe Ocean were indeed highly likely to be connected to Universe Masters.

"The Human Race possesses fifty-two Chaos Steles, and every Chaos Stele records a different path. Yet your pinnacle secret technique does not belong to any of those paths. More importantly, your secret technique is quite similar to the one recorded on this stone stele," the Chaos City Lord said.

"This stone stele differs from the Chaos Steles in that it provides no guidance for comprehension. I hope you can use it as a reference and forge an entirely new path!"

This was the greatest reason he had chosen to accept Zhou Yu.

When Zhou Yu had previously passed Primal Sky Mountain, the Chaos City Lord had already known of his existence, but at that time, he had not considered taking him as a disciple.

This time, Zhou Yu had rapidly become an Invincible King-Rank, drawing the Chaos City Lord's attention once more. Only then did he discover the uniqueness of the pinnacle secret technique Zhou Yu had created, which was why he changed his mind.

In the Chaos City Lord's view, as long as Zhou Yu could reach the Universe Overlord level by following this path, it would count as a success.

As for becoming a Universe Master?

He had once had thirty-one personal disciples, yet not one had become a Universe Master to this day.

Those disciples had either followed the Path of the Beast God or comprehended both the Time Law and Space Law from their weaker days. In theory, all of them had hope of becoming Universe Masters.

But what about Zhou Yu? Even now, he was only proficient in the Space Law!

"Teacher, I will certainly do my utmost."

Zhou Yu spoke solemnly, but he was still very pleased inwardly. Before taking a master, he had considered either joining a Venerable whose path resembled his own or directly taking a Universe Master as his master.

Now, the Chaos City Lord had given him a secret technique similar to his own path. Was that not killing two birds with one stone?

"To comprehend this secret technique, you must first have a sufficient foundation in the Time Law. I know you have never comprehended the Time Law, so your foundation is extremely weak. Moreover, you have already become Immortal, making the Time Law even harder to comprehend," the Chaos City Lord said.

"Later, I will have someone deliver a piece of Time Thousand-Vein Crystal to you. Merge it into your divine body, and the clarity of your perception of the Time Law will improve somewhat!"

"Time Thousand-Vein Crystal?" Zhou Yu was somewhat puzzled. He had never heard of such a treasure.

But he also realized that this was likely an extremely precious treasure.

Anything that could improve the clarity of one's perception of the Time Law was absolutely something Space Venerables would covet.

"You have already forged your own path, so the guidance I can offer you is limited. I can only help you through such external items," the Chaos City Lord continued.

"I know that Mofeng and the others have already decided to gift you a Heavy Treasure in the company's name. Since that is the case, I shall give you a gift as well. It is a Heavy Treasure set. In terms of value, it far surpasses any single Heavy Treasure and can be considered a Supreme Treasure!"

"A Supreme Treasure?"

Zhou Yu was secretly shocked. He already possessed Invincible King-Rank strength. Logically speaking, it would be very difficult to kill him completely, and if he were merely killed ordinarily, it should not be difficult for the Chaos City Lord to resurrect him.

Yet the Chaos City Lord was still giving him a Supreme Treasure.

"Thank you, Teacher." Zhou Yu bowed in gratitude.