Hu Yanbo had not disabled incoming messages from the virtual universe. Instead, his gaze swept over the list of senders again and again, his brow slightly furrowed.
Nothing.
Not a single email from a Universe Venerable.
Looks like becoming a Venerable's disciple to repay my advance quickly isn't going to work.
Hu Yanbo was just about to close the interface when an email marked [Kandri] popped up.
He opened it. The contents were simple and direct:
"Hu Yanbo, I hear you have officially reached King Rank. Congratulations."
"As I said before, once you reached King Rank, I would invite you for a drink. Come find me when you have some free time.-Kandri"
Reading the email, Hu Yanbo could not quite keep his composure. He did not know whether to laugh or cry.
I thought this guardian wanted to take me as a disciple. Turns out he just wanted to invite me for a drink!
I thought it was an offhand joke back then. He actually remembered, and even sent such a formal invitation?
This somewhat "unexpected" invitation was like a flash of inspiration, instantly dispersing some of the haze in Hu Yanbo's mind.
What standing did Lord Kandri have?
He was a Universe Venerable!
What he had shown Hu Yanbo was pure appreciation and goodwill offered on relatively equal terms.
Though Venerables and King-level Immortals still stood on different levels.
To a Venerable, a newly ascended King-level Immortal was more like "a promising, capable colleague" or "a young talent worth keeping an eye on."
They might appreciate him, congratulate him on his achievements, and even offer a few pointers when he encountered a bottleneck.
But a traditional master-disciple relationship?
That usually meant a Venerable nurturing someone from their early, weaker days, pouring tremendous effort into shaping their path.
By the time someone became a King-level Immortal, their path was already firmly established. There was little a Venerable could do for them.
That relationship was closer to one between a senior and a junior.
Thus, the lack of invitations from Venerables to become their disciple was not a sign of contempt.
It was precisely an acknowledgment of Hu Yanbo's King Rank status-he was no longer an apprentice who needed to be guided by the hand, but a powerful figure qualified to receive guidance on more equal terms.
Once he understood this, the faint doubts and expectations in Hu Yanbo's heart vanished completely, replaced by clarity.
He now found himself in a rather delicate, even somewhat awkward position:
Universe Venerables thought well of him, but they would not-and could hardly-take him into a traditional master-disciple relationship and devote all their efforts to nurturing him.
Yet his talent might not meet the standards of even greater beings such as Universe Overlords or Universe Masters.
The disciples they sought were often peerless prodigies who appeared only once in ten million eras.
Though he had progressed at a pace that let him "reach King Rank in a thousand years," his potential and foundations were probably still far from catching the eye of such great beings.
After all, no one knew whether this was merely a single breakthrough born of long accumulation. If he truly was a prodigy, he should have shown greater achievements within those six thousand eras.
Neither here nor there. That fits well enough. Hu Yanbo laughed inwardly at himself, but he was not discouraged.
"Thank you for your kindness, Senior. I need a little time to consolidate my progress, but I will come trouble you soon." He replied to Kandri with a calm heart.
Since this path was temporarily closed, he would rely on himself!
He gathered his thoughts and prepared to shut down the virtual universe's message reception completely, cutting off all outside distractions so he could focus on planning his fifteen-thousand-year secluded cultivation.
If no one will help me reach the clouds, I'll take out a loan and climb to the summit myself! Hu Yanbo consoled himself.
Just as he was about to disable incoming messages from the virtual universe with a thought-
Buzz!
A new email abruptly appeared at the very top of his inbox.
The sender's name was a designation he had never seen before, yet it carried a domineering air that seemed capable of tearing apart the stars and burning all things to ash-[Yuan Huang].
What is this...?
What made Hu Yanbo's heart tighten even more was the internal authorization code automatically appended to that designation by the Virtual Universe System. It was an extraordinarily short sequence-[YB-004]!
That sequence meant the sender ranked fourth within the Universe Mercenary Alliance in both standing and authority!
Hu Yanbo was deeply shaken and dared not delay in the slightest.
He immediately split off a thread of consciousness to connect to the virtual universe's internal database and rapidly searched for the name "Yuan Huang."
Previously, though he had been an Immortal, much of what he knew about the Human Race's true elite had come from hearsay.
Now that he had officially reached King Rank and become a Core Member of the alliance, he could easily look up many things.
At the same time, another thread of his consciousness solemnly opened the email.
Its contents were extremely brief, forceful, and direct, without a trace of courtesy or small talk:
"Hu Yanbo:"
"I have reviewed your combat records."
"Though you recently joined the Universe Mercenary Alliance, your journey to King Rank could still be called a solitary one."
"I walked that same path!"
"Are you willing to enter my tutelage as my direct disciple?"
-"Yuan Huang"
It felt less like a question than a declaration and the granting of an opportunity.
Meanwhile, the results found by his other thread of consciousness made Hu Yanbo draw in a sharp breath!
Yuan Huang, also known as the Abyssal Emperor!
One of the Universe Mercenary Alliance's ancient giants, a Universe Overlord of unfathomable strength!
The records showed that, in his early years, this being had been a legendary lone wanderer who roamed Human Territory. As a King-level Immortal, he had already been renowned for his formidable combat strength and fierce, fearless methods, with the astonishing feat of escaping from an Alien Race Venerable to his name.
Later, a Universe Master of the Universe Mercenary Alliance had personally invited him to join.
From there, he had fought his way onward, growing stronger through battle, breaking through to become a Venerable, then advancing relentlessly until he became a Universe Overlord.
There were even rumors that he was widely acknowledged within the alliance as the great being most likely to attempt a breakthrough to Universe Master someday!
At this point, the negligible trace of regret Hu Yanbo had felt over receiving no invitations from Universe Venerables vanished instantly, replaced by an indescribable exhilaration!
A Universe Overlord!
His standing was a hundred times higher than that of an ordinary Universe Venerable!
If a weak race gained a Universe Overlord, that alone was enough to elevate it to an ordinary race, able to survive in the vast Primal Universe without depending on a pinnacle race.
That was what a Universe Overlord meant.
Code 004... he repeated inwardly, understanding in an instant. The Virtual Universe Company and the Giant Axe Arena have three Top Universe Overlords whose might awes countless races-the Tian Shi Palace Master, Ancestor Tree Venerable, and Star Prison Demon Lord!
Then the Universe Mercenary Alliance should have its own extraordinarily powerful overlord too, though perhaps various constraints...
Kept him from reaching that level.
But he's probably second only to beings at that level.
What is there left to hesitate over?!
"I am willing! Your disciple, Hu Yanbo, pays his respects to you, Master!" Suppressing his overwhelming excitement, Hu Yanbo immediately sent his response through the Virtual Universe System.
This had far exceeded his initial expectations. It was a truly unexpected delight!
Countless thoughts flashed through Hu Yanbo's mind.
He knew very well that the talent he had displayed so far was indeed astonishing.
But the Human Race was vast beyond measure, and its history had produced far too many prodigies.
Those who caught the eye of Universe Masters and became their direct disciples were mostly peerless geniuses who appeared only once in ten million eras, often astounding everyone before they even became Immortals.
They could grow into Invincible Kings in mere tens of thousands, or even hundreds of thousands, of years!
By comparison, though his progress in recent years had been terrifyingly fast, his potential and foundations still needed time to prove themselves.
Peerless geniuses could not understand why anyone would remain stuck at Marquis or Initial King.
Most of them were already High Kings, or even Peak Kings, as soon as they broke through.
Yet even with geniuses like those, Universe Masters still needed to observe them for a long time before finally deciding to take them as disciples.
The fact that Yuan Huang had taken him directly as a personal disciple probably meant... that he had seen more of his own former self in Hu Yanbo: a lone wanderer struggling and fighting in the universe, rising one step at a time!
This was a special favor born of shared experiences!
Before you continue