Fire Refinement Secret Manual, an Ordinary Ultimate Art!

He had always thought his homeworld was incomparably vast.

Yet his teacher ruled over more than a hundred worlds like his own!

He used entire planetary worlds as territories!

This completely exceeded the limits of his imagination!

The gaze Tian Shi directed at Wang Yu now held not only his original reverence, but also an indescribable burning longing.

Ruling over more than a hundred planetary worlds—what kind of mighty power was that?

"Above the Universe-level, there are still stronger beings. But those are still far too distant for you, so there is no need to speak of them for now," Wang Yu said with a smile.

"Now that you have a basic understanding, let me tell you about my arrangements for you."

"From now on, you will cultivate the truly profound inheritances and powerful secret techniques of the universe."

"Yes!" Tian Shi's spirits rose at once.

"Whenever a warrior breaks through to the Planetary-level, they awaken a special ability. According to the test results, the special ability you awakened is 'Refined Fire,'" Wang Yu continued.

"Refined Fire?" Tian Shi was somewhat puzzled.

"A special ability reflects the attribute inclination of one's life essence. Since you awakened a fire-attribute ability, the secret technique you cultivate must be fire-attributed."

As Wang Yu spoke, he flipped his hand and took out a metal secret manual with a dark-red cover from his spatial ring.

Its surface was covered in intricate flame patterns and faintly emitted a warm aura.

Under Wang Yu's telekinetic control, the secret manual landed steadily in Tian Shi's hands.

"This Fire Refinement Secret Manual is the strongest fire-attribute secret technique in my possession that can be cultivated at the Planetary-level."

"Fire Refinement Secret Manual?" Tian Shi held the manual with a shocked expression. Feeling the warmth from its cover, even his breathing quickened slightly.

A profound secret technique from a cosmic civilization!

His teacher had actually handed such a precious secret technique directly to him!

"I'll give you three days to comprehend it. Come see me again after three days and demonstrate what you have understood. Let me see how far you can comprehend it on your own. Consider it a simple test."

"Yes, Teacher!" Tian Shi nodded forcefully, his expression solemn.

Three days of independent comprehension!

Such a profound inheritance was surely extremely obscure and difficult to understand, but he had to gain some insight from it. He absolutely could not disappoint his teacher!

"Go." Wang Yu waved his hand.

"Comprehend it well. Remember, a master can only lead you through the door; cultivation depends on the individual. How far you can go will ultimately depend on yourself!"

Watching his disciple take his leave.

"Refined Fire? A fire-attribute special ability?"

"When Tian Shi Palace Master instructed Luo Feng in the Space Law, he seemed to use nine black flame planets to derive the mysteries of the Space Law. So Tian Shi Palace Master should have followed the Fire-Space Law path..."

"This seems to match up with my disciple as well."

"I'll test him with an ordinary ultimate art and see whether his comprehension truly defies the heavens."

The Fire Refinement Secret Manual he had just bestowed upon Tian Shi was an ordinary ultimate art he had purchased from the System Shop.

In the universe, any technique worthy of being called an ultimate art had to be created by at least a peak World Lord or an ordinary Immortal, but such techniques could only be considered "low-grade ultimate arts."

Those created by genius World Lords or Marquis Immortals could be called "ordinary ultimate arts."

The Fire Refinement Secret Manual was precisely an ordinary ultimate art created by a Marquis Immortal!

In truth, anything called an ultimate art, even a mere low-grade ultimate art, was extraordinarily valuable. He could not afford one at all, let alone an ordinary ultimate art.

Fortunately, the Fire Refinement Secret Manual was divided into seven levels. The first level could be cultivated at the Planetary-level, and the shop allowed it to be purchased in parts.

Buying just the first level was not expensive. It only cost 100 million Universe Coins.

According to the technique's description, the first level corresponded to the Planetary-level. Once cultivated to perfection, Force Amplitude could reach twenty times, and one could comprehend Artistic Conception.

After his guidance, Tian Shi had already comprehended Artistic Conception, though it was still somewhat crude. As for Force Amplitude, both comprehending Artistic Conception and breaking through to the Planetary-level could drive it upward. He had originally possessed tenfold Force Amplitude, so he was likely at around fifteenfold now.

From what Wang Yu later learned in detail, Tian Shi had only cultivated for two and a half years. Yet because he had to spend much of his time working for the tribe, he had little time to focus fully on cultivation. The tribe he belonged to was not powerful either, and there were no so-called heavenly beings—Planetary-level experts—to guide him.

This had a significant impact. It meant he could have progressed much faster, rather than taking two and a half years merely to achieve tenfold Force Amplitude.

Having him comprehend this secret technique on his own would be perfect for assessing the true level of his comprehension.

Over the following period, Venina occasionally reported work progress to Wang Yu.

First, the ten thousand Star-level slaves had arrived. Their chip controls had all been removed as well, and they had been converted into free citizens.

The reason they had only arrived now was mainly because lower-tier cosmic nations had little demand for Star-level slaves. Too few people could afford them, and those with sufficient strength preferred to train their own clansmen, which cost far less than buying slaves.

Those who bought Star-level slaves usually arranged them as bodyguards for younger clan members or needed powerful cannon fodder.

For Wang Yu to purchase ten thousand Star-level slaves, the slave merchants had needed to spend some effort gathering enough stock. Transporting them also took time. The entire process took more than ten days, and that was after he had paid extra.

[Purchased 10,000 Star-level citizens. Reward: 100 Origin Energy]

As expected, purchasing Star-level slaves was still a money-losing operation.

Still, it was not too bad. If the Universe-level was used as the dividing line, then the Star-level was the ceiling for ordinary people and the highest tier of citizens.

Even the weakest Star-level individuals had generally cultivated passable secret techniques, possessed passable comprehension, and had decent bloodlines—roughly at the seventh or eighth grade.

Humanity classified bloodlines into ten grades.

The ninth and tenth grades were low-grade lifeforms upon adulthood, like the most ordinary Blue Star humans. They still required some resources and cultivation before becoming first-rank Apprentice Grade.

Those of the seventh and eighth grades naturally reached the Apprentice Grade upon adulthood, making them somewhat better.

Humans on undeveloped indigenous planets were generally of the ninth or tenth grade.

Those born directly in cosmic nations had undergone generations of bloodline improvement by their ancestors and were mostly of the seventh or eighth grade.

Though they were still merely ordinary people in cosmic nations, they were quite good for his current territory. They could produce descendants with better bloodlines, and they themselves could barely be considered worth cultivating.

Unfortunately, after testing, whether among those selected from the territory's citizens or the slaves he had purchased, there were no more particularly astonishing geniuses.

Though he was somewhat disappointed, this was only natural.

If geniuses appeared so easily, then every Universe-level expert would not be able to become a lord and obtain territories containing dozens of life planets.

Discovering one Little Tian Shi already meant his luck was heaven-defying.

There was simply no possibility of finding more.

However, through Fat Manager's connections, one hundred high-quality Star-level individuals were currently being transported over.

Naturally, the slave merchant claimed they were premium goods with excellent talent and potential, saying they would not have been readily sold to anyone else if not for the sake of friendship. But whether that was truly the case would have to wait until they arrived.

Although Wang Yu also wanted to take on more personal disciples, he was still a lofty Universe-level expert and a lord. Naturally, he could not accept every piece of trash under his tutelage.

He did not dare hope for another Tian Shi, but they at least had to be passable. If he truly could not find even ordinary geniuses like that, there was nothing he could do.

He could only see whether any among these so-called premium slaves met his requirements.

As for the potions and Star-level instructors, arrangements were underway.

Although Planetary Evolution Potions were not anything remarkable, Wang Yu had asked for three billion at once. That quantity was still incredibly shocking.

If he conducted the transaction in the Blue Silver Empire or the White Dragon Sea Empire, it would be troublesome on one hand and attract too much attention on the other.

Thus, with Wang Yu's approval, Venina purchased them from the Cosmic Galaxy Bank.

A prestigious One-Star Account came with many convenient services, and purchasing resources was naturally no problem.

It was simply that through ordinary channels, large transactions could easily be negotiated at a discount. But for a behemoth like the Cosmic Galaxy Bank, the listed price was the price. Discounts and preferential treatment were only granted according to the rules and were nearly impossible to negotiate.

However, buying through the Cosmic Galaxy Bank meant there was no problem no matter how large the quantity was, and it was much more confidential. Until the goods were actually delivered, everything could basically remain secret. Ordinary people would not discover that he had spent so much money.

He was currently at the ninth level of his domain and could only be considered fairly good among Universe-level experts. Though he had the System as his backing, he did not wish to take risks lightly. It was better to be cautious and keep a low profile until he crossed the Law Threshold.

It was impossible to keep the outside world completely unaware.

Even if the potion purchase could be kept secret, once the potions arrived and three billion citizens broke through to the Planetary-level, such a huge development would inevitably attract outside attention.

But by then, he would have crossed the Law Threshold and become a notable powerhouse among Universe-level experts. As long as a Domain Lord Level expert did not personally intervene, ordinary Universe-level experts would be unable to do anything to him. Weaker ones would simply be coming to their deaths.

Purchasing the potions was simple. Recruiting one million Star-level instructors was progressing rather slowly.

There were quite a few Star-level experts, but those skilled at teaching were much rarer. He was also asking for one million at once. Even though he offered three times the market price, it was impossible to find that many in a short time.

Still, it merely required more time. With enough money, failing to recruit people was impossible.

They had only just begun, yet they had already recruited nearly thirty thousand Star-level instructors. That was more than enough to guide Apprentice Grade cultivation. It was just that when there were fewer instructors, each instructor had to teach more Apprentice Grade students.

After all these operations, money was truly being spent like water—especially the three billion Planetary Evolution Potions, which cost five million Universe Coins!

The moment this money was deducted from the account, it gave Fat Manager Bjorn a tremendous fright. He hurriedly contacted Wang Yu to ask about it.

Wang Yu told him that he had a need for it. In any case, they had agreed that he would go to War God Star in a year to collect Universe Coins. At that time, he would not merely deposit two million; he would deposit another ten million at once.

Seeing how generous Wang Yu was, and that he did not seem like someone unable to pay, Fat Manager Bjorn was still somewhat uneasy, but he chose to believe him.