Shocked Tian Shi

"I'd thought this requirement would be difficult to handle, that I'd have to spend many years slowly nurturing the citizens and improving their qualities generation by generation before I could complete it..."

"But with Little Tian Shi, this round is in the bag!"

"That little requirement for Third-Class Elite is naturally a piece of cake for Little Tian Shi!"

"And if it's completed early at the Planetary-level, the system recognizes it as well. It even counts as overfulfillment, with extra rewards."

"Hong and Thunder God both comprehended Domains at the Planetary-level. If my first disciple is really the Tian Shi Palace Master, then he should be able to do it too, right?"

Comprehending a Domain at the Planetary-level was absolutely no easy matter.

Don't be fooled by the fact that Hong and Thunder God later failed to keep up with Luo Feng and lost their presence.

That was because Luo Feng was simply too monstrous.

Without receiving an inheritance of cosmic civilization or guidance from a powerful expert, they had managed to possess Domains at the Planetary-level. It was enough to leave even Babata, who followed Hu Yan Bo, a barely Marquis-level Immortal, dumbfounded!

Later, upon reaching the Black Dragon Mountain Empire, the three of them received recruitment offers from a branch of the Virtual Universe Company.

Luo Feng, at First-Order Stellar Level with a Mind Force Amplitude of over thirty times, and Thunder God, also at First-Order Stellar Level with a Domain, were both rated as Third-Class Elite.

Yet Hong, who was still Ninth-Order Planetary Level at the time, was rated as a First-Class Elite solely because he had reached the Third-Stage Domain.

Judging from their later achievements, after Luo Feng taught the Duan Dong River Inheritance to Humanity, Hong became a True God and Thunder God became a Universe Master. This showed that the two had tremendous potential to begin with. Even before receiving the Duan Dong River Inheritance, they could at least have become Universe Venerables.

If Little Tian Shi truly was the Tian Shi Palace Master, he might not be stronger than Hong, but he should be no weaker than Thunder God. He might even be slightly stronger.

But he was definitely above Bolan.

During Luo Feng's Genius Battle, Bolan had stood alone at the top, leaving everyone else far behind and taking first place in that Genius Battle without any suspense.

Yet that seemingly peerless talent...

Was actually only considered likely to become a King-level Immortal, with only a small possibility of becoming a Universe Venerable.

Logically speaking, the Tian Shi Palace Master should be far above Bolan. Of course, he might also be like Luo Feng, not the greatest among his peers during his early years and only catching up later through one fortunate opportunity after another.

"Since there are extra rewards, it's worth trying. I'll let Little Tian Shi temper himself a little longer at the Planetary-level before breaking through to the Star-level."

"Besides, with the system's help, I still have plenty of confidence."

Wang Yu turned his gaze toward the Lord Mall.

[Preaching Ground]

[Type: Lord Special Building]

[Effect: Preaching within this building increases effectiveness tenfold. (Maximum of one hundred listeners)]

[Price: 1 billion]

The Lord Mall did not just contain all kinds of treasures. It also had "Lord Special Buildings."

These were miraculous treasures that simply did not exist in reality, created through the system's power and possessing all sorts of heaven-defying effects!

Take this Preaching Ground, for example. Its effect was simple and straightforward: it directly increased the effectiveness of preaching tenfold!

"One billion for one building. That's pretty expensive, but I started with ten billion in funds and have only spent around ten million so far. It's practically the same as not having spent anything..."

"I'm going all in!"

A faint smile curled Wang Yu's lips.

There was nowhere in particular where he needed to spend money for now. Of the ten billion in startup funds, he would keep a little over nine hundred million and use all the rest to buy Preaching Grounds!

All in!

Having made his decision, Wang Yu flew out of the palace and casually found a large open space some distance away.

With a thought, he bought nine Preaching Grounds from the mall.

He set up eight here. Later, he would set up another inside the palace, specifically for his own preaching.

Eight exquisite white jade plazas appeared out of thin air in the open space!

Each plaza was a square one hundred meters long and wide. Their surfaces were smooth, their material warm and lustrous like white jade, while a square stone platform roughly two meters high stood in the center of each plaza.

They looked quite elegant, but that was all. There were no energy fluctuations or special auras of any kind.

That suited Wang Yu just fine. They looked like ordinary places for preaching, so no one would notice anything unusual and become covetous.

It was enough for him alone to know about the system's effects.

"With this lord's wise decisions, plus a tiny, insignificant bit of help from the system, nurturing the citizens will definitely go smoothly!" Wang Yu said with a satisfied smile.

Tian Shi, who had successfully broken through to the Planetary-level, came to pay Wang Yu a visit.

Having become Wang Yu's first disciple, Tian Shi had risen to the heavens in a single step. He was no longer wearing that beast-hide outfit, but a silver-white training uniform made from high-quality material.

Yet although his clothes had changed, the person within could not change so quickly.

Tian Shi walked nervously to the center of the great hall and immediately tried to kneel.

Seeing this, Wang Yu waved his hand. "No need."

"This..." Tian Shi was momentarily at a loss.

"You only need to kneel before your teacher on important occasions. There's no need to kneel at every turn in daily life. An ordinary bow will do," Wang Yu said casually.

"Yes! Disciple Tian Shi greets Teacher!" Tian Shi hurriedly called out.

At that moment, he was incomparably nervous.

Yesterday, the administrator had taught him a secret technique consisting of nine strange consecutive movements. Following the method and practicing them, he had easily broken through to the Planetary-level in one go.

That was the realm of the legendary celestial beings!

If something so simple could allow him to break through, just how lofty was his teacher's realm?

That breakthrough made Tian Shi revere Wang Yu even more!

"Mhm." Wang Yu nodded lightly as he looked at his newly accepted disciple.

"You were originally a native of a planet. Your knowledge and horizons are insufficient, and you don't even understand the proper etiquette for greetings. I'll arrange for someone to teach you these things later."

"However, in the universe, strength reigns supreme. Etiquette and such are minor matters. Only strength is truly important, so it will be enough for you to understand the basics. Do not waste time and neglect what matters most."

"Yes, Teacher!" Tian Shi answered respectfully.

"I have never accepted a disciple before. You are the first, so you are my first disciple," Wang Yu continued.

"As my disciple, every word and action of yours represents my honor. When acting outside, you must be cautious in both speech and conduct. You must not damage my reputation. You must also cultivate diligently and never slack off. Do you understand?"

"This disciple understands! This disciple will cultivate without cease and never disappoint Teacher's expectations!" Tian Shi hurriedly replied, his expression exceptionally serious.

"Mhm. It's good that you understand." Wang Yu nodded.

"You probably know little about cosmic civilization. Do you know... what the differences are between Apprentice Grade, Planetary-level, and Star-level? And what each of them represents?"

"This disciple does not know very clearly..." Tian Shi froze at the question. A hint of confusion appeared on his face as he scratched his head and spoke somewhat embarrassedly.

"This disciple has only heard that the 'celestial beings' from our tribal legends seem to be Planetary-level..."

"Celestial beings?" Wang Yu could not help but laugh and shake his head.

"The universe is vast, with countless life planets. On native planets like yours, the strongest are generally Planetary-level. Since you are isolated from the outside world, there are all sorts of messy titles—celestial beings, saints, gods and demons..."

"However, in true cosmic civilization, everything has a unified standard."

"Apprentice Grade, Planetary-level, Star-level, Universe-level... these are the universally recognized strength levels of the universe."

"The path of cultivation is, in essence, the process of advancing one's own life level through repeated leaps and evolution."

"The stage you were at before was Apprentice Grade. Now that you have successfully broken through, your life level has advanced and you have entered the Planetary-level."

"Planetary-level..." Tian Shi muttered, repeating the term.

He subconsciously clenched his fist, feeling the immense power within him, at least ten times greater than before his breakthrough.

So celestial beings... were Planetary-level...

"Teacher, then... are Planetary-level cultivators considered powerful experts in the universe?" Tian Shi could not help asking, his eyes filled with curiosity and anticipation.

"Planetary-level? Of course not." Wang Yu smiled and shook his head.

"In true cosmic civilization, the Planetary-level is only the most basic starting point."

"Only upon reaching the Planetary-level can one become a lawful citizen of a cosmic nation, gaining certain basic civic rights and protection. Apprentice Grade cultivators do not even qualify to become formal citizens."

"But even so, Planetary-level cultivators in cosmic nations are merely the most ordinary citizens. To put it bluntly, they are at the bottom, barely scraping together enough for food and clothing."

"Planetary-level... can only barely make a living!?" Tian Shi's eyes widened at once.

Wang Yu's words struck him far too hard!

Celestial beings were super experts who could fly through the skies and burrow through the earth, shattering mountains with a single punch!

Yet Planetary-level cultivators, equivalent to celestial beings, were merely at the bottom in cosmic nations and could only barely make a living!?

How was that possible!?

This was completely different from what he had imagined!

"Do you find it hard to believe?" Wang Yu laughed when he saw Tian Shi's shocked expression.

"There's no need to say more for now. Once you have seen more in the future, you'll naturally understand."

"The Planetary-level is the bottom tier. Above the Planetary-level is the Star-level. For example, the administrator Venina who brought you here is Star-level."

"Only at the Star-level does life become a little better. You have a certain degree of strength and can undertake high-risk activities such as secret realm expeditions, where you might obtain some opportunities."

"However, Star-level cultivators are still only ordinary in the universe. They can be found everywhere and are nothing remarkable."

"Above the Star-level is my realm, known as the Universe-level."

"Universe-level..." Tian Shi listened with complete absorption.

Universe-level... It sounded incredibly powerful!

Wang Yu remained composed as he continued, "Beginning at the Universe-level, one is qualified to truly be called a powerful expert in the vast universe. Any Universe-level cultivator who is willing to join can easily receive dozens of life planets as territory from a cosmic nation."

"I joined the cosmic nation known as the Blue Silver Empire, and only then was I granted territory by the Empire and became the lord of your planet."

"Of course, it is not just your planet. I now possess one hundred planets as territory, with a total population of more than thirty billion."

"Hiss! One hundred planets? More than thirty billion people?" Tian Shi sucked in a cold breath, utterly shocked!