After signing this contract of immeasurable value, Hu Yanbo soon entered the Tongtian Bridge Plane and cleared the Sixteenth Layer in one go, earning sixteen opportunities to study the Chaos Stele.
From then on, his cultivation in Chaos City settled into a steady routine. Almost every thirty years, he would enter the bronze doors right on schedule to study the Nine Universes Chaos Stele.
By comparison, the core geniuses raised from childhood by the five great powers often exhausted their opportunities to study the Chaos Stele as they grew. Even saving one or two for a crucial breakthrough was a rare feat.
For someone like Hu Yanbo, who had only been admitted to the Core Layer after becoming an Immortal and demonstrating sufficient potential, suddenly gaining more than ten opportunities to study the Chaos Stele was enough to make King-level Immortals green with envy!
The sixtieth year, the ninetieth year... Time flew by through one session of profound contemplation after another.
Before long, Hu Yanbo had spent another full three hundred years in Chaos City.
As he once again emerged from behind the bronze doors engraved with the words "Nine Universes,"
the long-dormant Prepayment System interface in his mind suddenly lit up.
[Repayment condition: 3. Study a Chaos Stele ten times. Completed.] [Advances currently available: One]
Looking at the word "One" glowing once more, Hu Yanbo's thoughts raced.
His first instinct was to immediately take an advance on the Peak Marquis realm, obtaining greater power as quickly as possible.
Yet the moment that thought surfaced, he forcibly suppressed it.
Over these three hundred years, he had not only studied the Chaos Stele ten times in succession but also never stopped poring over Space-Time Essays.
He had also frequently exchanged insights and sparred with several King Rank Sect Masters of the Nine Universe Lineage. His understanding of space law was already far beyond what it had been when he first reached High-level Marquis.
Taking an advance on Peak Marquis now would give me power instantly, but it would also waste all these years of insights, he thought.
With my current progress and resources, steadily cultivating to Peak Marquis won't be difficult!
So...
A bolder, more tempting thought emerged. Since I can take an advance on Peak Marquis... could I go a step further and directly take an advance on a King-level Immortal's understanding of space law?
Filled with curiosity, he asked tentatively, "Take an advance on the space law understanding of Barely King Rank."
[Available advance: Barely King Rank] [Repayment conditions: 1. Become the disciple of a Universe Venerable. 2. Experience one life-or-death battle. 3. Cultivate in seclusion in Chaos City for ten thousand years.] [Take the advance?] [Yes/No]
Hu Yanbo's heart leaped. The conditions were harsh, but not entirely impossible!
Suppressing his excitement, he immediately pressed further. "Then... take an advance on Initial King!"
The text on the interface changed again:
[Available advance: Initial King] [Repayment conditions: 1. Become the disciple of a Universe Venerable. 2. Experience two genuine life-or-death battles. 3. Cultivate in seclusion in Chaos City for fifteen thousand years.] [Take the advance?] [Yes/No]
The conditions are a little different, but the gap isn't large! He quickly weighed them.
At most, I'll have to cultivate in seclusion here in Chaos City for fifteen thousand years. By then, Luo Feng's birth won't be far off.
Wouldn't it be even better to take him as my disciple personally with King Rank strength then?
At that thought, his eyes shone even brighter.
But reaching King Rank was not his only goal. If he truly intended to cultivate in seclusion in Chaos City for fifteen thousand years, he had to make arrangements in advance.
During that time, I must have Iron Sword Marquis and the others manage Earth properly and nurture its people. His thoughts raced.
In the Primal Universe today, apart from Sitting Mountain Guest, only I know Earth's true value!
As far as he knew, Earth's history had followed almost exactly the same course as Blue Star in his previous life before the Great Nirvana Period.
During this time, Earth is sure to produce a group of promising individuals with astonishing mental cultivation.
These talents will become the most precious foundation of the Yunmo Star Lineage in the future!
Hu Yanbo knew very well that his strength alone was nowhere near enough to establish a true superpower.
He needed a group of powerful disciples and subordinates.
And Earth was the perfect cradle for nurturing such experts.
The original story had long since proved that people with strong mental cultivation might not stand out for their rate of progress during the early stages of cultivation.
But once they crossed a certain threshold and reached the World Lord or even Immortal level, sufficient resources would allow them to unleash astonishing potential. They could catch up at an unprecedented pace, and even surpass the geniuses who had progressed swiftly in the early stages.
A powerful mental state meant stronger willpower, a firmer path, and a more fundamental mastery of power.
That was not something mere accumulation of energy could match.
Despite these thoughts, Hu Yanbo did not immediately make his decision.
An even stronger thought rose unbidden-since he could reach King Rank, could he go further, further, further still?
"Take an advance on... High King?"
However, the system interface instantly froze. The previous terms for [Initial King] abruptly vanished, replaced by a cold, categorical notification:
[High King requires mastery of one of the three great mysteries of space law. Advance unavailable.]
Hu Yanbo paused, then shook his head in self-mockery, a trace of understanding flashing through his eyes.
"Looks like I was too greedy," he murmured, quickly gathering his thoughts.
High King was a major dividing line among King-level Immortals.
Its defining feature was complete mastery of any one of the three great mysteries of space law!
Whether it was [Teleportation], used for traveling at extreme speed, crossing battlefields, or escaping to preserve one's life;
or [Space Lockdown], used to trap and pin down enemies and control the flow of battle;
or [Space Strangulation], which pushed offensive power to its utmost limit;
mastering any one of them was enough to transform a King-level Immortal's strength, vastly improving both their ability to survive and their deterrent power in the many dangerous regions of the vast universe!
Rather than reaching for what's beyond me, I should seize the power I can actually obtain right now!
His mind made up, Hu Yanbo addressed the Prepayment System within his mind.
Take an advance on the space law insights corresponding to Initial King!
The instant he issued the command, a torrent of space law insights, far beyond anything he had ever experienced and so immense it was almost terrifying, thundered into his mind!
Vast information and endless mysteries surged through his soul like a river of stars bursting its banks.
The violent impact even left Hu Yanbo briefly dizzy and wracked with sharp pain.
But he was, after all, a Marquis Immortal with an exceptionally resilient will.
He immediately steadied his mind and drove his powerful Void Divine Power at full force, frantically absorbing and sorting through the surging torrent of laws like a sponge.
During this almost painful process of absorption, everything he had accumulated over the past three hundred years-studying the Chaos Stele, poring over Space-Time Essays, and exchanging insights with King Rank experts-became a solid foundation that helped him swiftly comprehend and integrate this sudden influx of immense insights.
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