As Chen Ao took a step forward, the space and time around him seemed to twist and shift.
When Chen Ao opened his eyes, he discovered that he had left the City Lord's residence and entered a vast, desolate world.
Much as Chen Ao had expected, corpses of alien races lay scattered across the land. They clearly belonged to beings far beyond the ordinary. Even the traces of their auras remaining after death left him feeling suffocated.
"Teacher!" Venerable Guiyi called respectfully.
Chen Ao looked toward the voice and saw a three-meter-tall man wearing the ancient-looking Dark Red War Armor and battle boots, with a scaled tail extending from beneath his armored skirt.
Without a doubt, all of the Chaos City Lord's clones were special lifeforms.
This was why Luo Feng's possession of another body could only be considered an ordinary stroke of fortune: far too many humans had successfully done the same.
Some had even attained genetic levels several thousand times the norm.
"Chen Ao?" The Chaos City Lord looked down at Chen Ao and spoke softly.
Hearing the Chaos City Lord speak, Chen Ao took a deep breath. "Greetings, Chaos City Lord!"
The Chaos City Lord suddenly smiled faintly. "Chen Ao, you seem to have expected that you would meet me?"
"I had my suspicions!" Chen Ao answered honestly. There was no point playing mind games; he could never win.
"You were unwilling to display your talent before others, yet you deliberately used fusion laws to clear Tongtian Mountain. Was it all just to meet me?"
"I hope the Chaos City Lord will accept me as his disciple!"
At Chen Ao's words, Venerable Guiyi's expression shifted. A little fellow at the Universe Level actually dared to make demands of his teacher?
Chen Ao really had no sense of propriety.
The Chaos City Lord, however, showed no displeasure. "Your talent ranks among the very best of all the disciples I have accepted!"
Chen Ao's aptitude was indeed outstanding. At the Universe Level, he had nearly mastered the first chapter of the Path of the Beast God after only fifty years of cultivation.
After all, Chen Ao had only obtained the secret technique fifty years ago. He could not have cultivated it for any longer than that.
Such talent was truly terrifying.
After all, the deadline he had given Luo Feng to master it was three thousand years.
Fifty years!
Three thousand years!
Moreover, Luo Feng had actually been a World Lord at the time, and a World Lord comprehended laws a hundred times faster than someone at the Universe Level.
The gap was immense.
Chen Ao listened quietly. He had the confidence to back this up. What he had demonstrated was indeed extraordinary enough to move the Chaos City Lord.
And his greatest source of confidence was that he was human.
It sounded obvious, but it was the foundation on which he stood.
No matter how many secrets Chen Ao had or how unpleasant his personality was, as long as he was human and had the potential to become a human powerhouse, the Chaos City Lord could accept him.
The Chaos City Lord's concern was humanity's overall strength.
"In principle, your talent is more than sufficient to become my direct disciple. However..." The Chaos City Lord changed tack. "You should learn to respect the powerful!"
Even the Chaos City Lord had to admit that, up to this point, Chen Ao had held the initiative all along.
Even though Chen Ao was nothing in his eyes, Chen Ao had indeed been the one taking the initiative.
Because Chen Ao had drawn him in.
"I acknowledge my mistake!"
Chen Ao grumbled inwardly, If I didn't deliberately show off, how was I supposed to get you to back me?
As long as I can secure your backing, I'll even put up with you whipping me every day.
"So I will raise my requirements for accepting you tenfold. Since you were confident you could convince me to take you as my disciple, you should be able to meet that requirement, shouldn't you?"
Hearing the Chaos City Lord's words, Venerable Guiyi was stunned. He had followed the Chaos City Lord for so long and was his second disciple.
During that time, he had met nearly every disciple the Chaos City Lord had accepted.
Ten times what was demanded of those geniuses?
He could scarcely imagine it!
Chen Ao took a deep breath. Ten times the requirement?
Master the first chapter within three hundred years?
That would be a piece of cake!
Even a hundredfold increase would be fine!
"I acknowledge my mistake. Please state your requirements, City Lord!"
"Very well. Since you have nearly mastered the first chapter, the Scale Armor Chapter, in fifty years, I will give you another fifty years. If you fully master the first chapter within that time, I will accept you as my direct disciple!"
Hearing the Chaos City Lord's words, Chen Ao knew the matter was settled.
Fifty years. As long as he was willing to reveal a tiny fraction of his hidden cards, that would not be much of a problem.
Listening from the side, Venerable Guiyi was inwardly dumbfounded. Wasn't this more than a tenfold increase?
The difference was twentyfold!
Giving someone at the Universe Level a mere hundred years in total to master the Scale Armor Chapter was far too demanding.
Mastering the third chapter meant becoming an Invincible King, while mastering the first, the Scale Armor Chapter, was enough to reach the Peak Marquis standard, or even barely qualify for King Rank.
Having someone at the Universe Level achieve King Level law comprehension was incredibly difficult.
Yet what astonished Venerable Guiyi even more was that Chen Ao actually seemed to breathe a sigh of relief.
He seemed completely confident that he could meet the Chaos City Lord's requirement.
The Chaos City Lord also faltered slightly when he saw Chen Ao's expression!
Did this little fellow think mastering ninety percent was the same as mastering it completely?
Sometimes, that final step alone could hold a genius back for hundreds of millions of years!
He was still too young!
Still, it would be good to temper the little fellow's disposition.
Constantly scheming around powerful beings was no good. Once he learned how cruel the world could be and took a few hard knocks, perhaps he would learn to behave!
As for accepting him as a disciple, there would be other opportunities later.
"Although I have set you this requirement, I will not deliberately make things difficult for you. I will give you twenty more opportunities to study the Chaos Stele. I imagine that is what you need most!"
Venerable Guiyi nodded. Those opportunities were truly precious. Anyone would need them; even he hoped to obtain some.
Normally, only nominal disciples received such opportunities.
The Chaos City Lord had not yet accepted Chen Ao as a nominal disciple, yet he was giving him the same treatment. He clearly thought highly of Chen Ao.
Having served the Chaos City Lord for so many years, Venerable Guiyi was naturally no fool. He quickly understood Chen Ao's standing in the Chaos City Lord's eyes.
I should get acquainted with him later and show him a little goodwill!
Hearing what the Chaos City Lord had offered him, Chen Ao gave an awkward smile. "My lord, might I exchange these twenty opportunities for something spendable?"
Huh?
The Chaos City Lord froze. Exchange them?
What did that mean?
"My lord, I actually seldom contemplate Chaos City, so could I exchange these twenty opportunities for two billion points?"
Venerable Guiyi was utterly dumbstruck. Was something wrong with Chen Ao's head?
If those twenty opportunities were exchanged for points, each one would be worth at least a hundred billion.
The Chaos City Lord felt an urge to laugh. This fellow really was audacious beyond belief. How many years had it been? Apart from a handful of Universe Masters, even newly risen Universe Masters would not bargain with him.
Yet Chen Ao actually dared to ask him for something else.
Still, a mere two billion points meant nothing to him.
"Very well. As you wish, I will exchange them for two billion points!"
Chen Ao bowed in thanks. "My lord, I hope to devote myself entirely to comprehending the laws over the next fifty years. Could you let me stay here in the Inner Mansion for those fifty years?"
Before you continue