Inside Ling Yu's manor on Wind Thunder Island in the Ganwu Mystic Region.
In the spacious training grounds, World Lord Bai Mei was guiding Ling Yu's cultivation.
"Your Highness Ling Yu, your movement technique is becoming more and more impressive. With movement like this in the Genius Battle, it would be a tremendous help even when clearing the Trial Tower stages, allowing Your Highness to secure a higher ranking!"
As a World Lord who had lived for millions of years, he had witnessed countless Genius Battles and had even trained many geniuses who ranked among the universe's top hundred thousand for the Ganwu Universe Country. Naturally, he knew the Genius Battle's stages like the back of his hand.
He continued.
"However, Your Highness's offensive capabilities are still somewhat lacking. The arenas in the final tournament constantly shrink. If you cannot finish a battle quickly, your movement technique will become less and less useful."
"So, Your Highness, your movement technique is already good enough. Next, you should focus on improving your offensive strength. That way, before the arena shrinks, you can rely on your powerful movement technique to find an opening and strike like thunder, swiftly finishing off your opponent!"
Bai Mei smiled, seemingly already envisioning Ling Yu slaughtering her way across the arena.
Of all the students he had taught over his many years as a mentor, Ling Yu was the most gifted...
To reach this level before even turning a hundred was simply a talent rarely seen in ten thousand years!
"There are also soul defense secret techniques. The Genius Battle takes place in the Virtual Universe, where soul defense treasures are forbidden. I suggest Your Highness put some effort into that over the next dozen or so years as well."
World Lord Bai Mei had extensive experience; otherwise, Marquis Silvermoon would not have specifically summoned him... His judgment was excellent. These were all issues Ling Yu urgently needed to address.
"Teacher Bai Mei..." Ling Yu put away the Wind Thunder Sword, her nine phantom bodies slowly merging into one. She said, "I will do my best to improve my other abilities, but I will not give up on my movement technique either."
"Your Highness, once your movement technique reaches this level, improving it even a little becomes harder than scaling the heavens. Even if that instructor Lu Qingshan possesses heaven-defying abilities, I fear he cannot find a better way! There are limits to human effort. Your Highness has devoted almost all your time this past year to movement techniques. Going forward, you ought to adjust your priorities!"
Bai Mei had nothing against Lu Qingshan, even though the movement technique Lu Qingshan taught took up most of Ling Yu's time.
It had truly provided Ling Yu with tremendous help, after all. Even Bai Mei greatly admired Lu Qingshan...
What he cared about was improving Ling Yu's overall strength, and continuing to bitterly train her movement technique now would mean twice the effort for half the results.
"Teacher Bai Mei, I understand everything you've said. It's just that I still want to give it a try. Please give me a little more time."
There was a measure of determination in Ling Yu's ethereal voice.
Helpless, Bai Mei could only nod. "I respect Your Highness's decision. Instructor Lu will be teaching you for the next half month. I still hope Your Highness will spend more time studying the Wind Thunder Sword while cultivating your movement technique..."
"Teacher Bai Mei, I understand. I will keep your advice in mind."
Despite saying that, Ling Yu was already looking forward to it. The year was up, and she wondered whether she could meet Teacher Lu's requirements.
The Third Layer of Thunderlight Flash!
That was a secret technique involving the time origin law... I wonder whether I'll have a chance to master it.
Geniuses all had their pride. Just like Bolan back then, who had abandoned the relatively simple Nine Universes Chaos Stele and insisted on choosing the most difficult Universe Chaos Stele, hoping to cultivate both time and space, even at the cost of offending many important figures who had placed great hopes in him.
Ling Yu was no different. If she could not master the time law, then no matter how gracefully she practiced her movement technique or how fiercely she executed the second layer of the Thunderlight Sword, she would ultimately miss out on a place in the Genius Battle's top ten.
Only by gaining an initial grasp of the time origin law could he contend for a place among the universe's top ten and enter the Virtual Universe Company's core secret realms at the Absolute Beginning level or above through the Genius Battle.
Primal, Absolute Beginning, Heaven and Earth, Apocalypse... Her strength was only sufficient for the Apocalypse Mystic Region, and even the Heaven and Earth Secret Realm was a distant prospect. If someone told her she had a sliver of a chance to enter Absolute Beginning, or even the Primal Secret Region, how could she possibly give up such an opportunity?
The next day, Ling Yu arrived early at the training grounds to wait.
After Lu Qingshan arrived, she demonstrated the results of cultivating the second layer of Thunderlight Flash to perfection.
Nine phantom bodies darted and weaved through the training grounds, the transitions between each flowing like clouds and running water.
Compared with Lu Qingshan's other two genius disciples, Ling Yu was so much stronger that she hardly seemed human.
Even Lu Qingshan envied her comprehension.
"Are you sure you want to take that step?"
Lu Qingshan asked once more.
Without hesitation, Ling Yu answered decisively, "Teacher, I said it a year ago. If I'm going to do this, I'll be the strongest!"
"Haha, good! You have ambition. As your teacher, I certainly won't disappoint you. There will be no lesson today. I'll send you the contents of Thunderlight Flash's Third Layer. Study it carefully yourself. I will only answer your questions after half a month!"
A thread of Lu Qingshan's consciousness entered the Virtual Universe, and he sent the Third Layer secret technique of Thunderlight Flash, which he had compiled beforehand, to Ling Yu's inbox.
"Teacher, I'll take a look first."
After receiving the email, Ling Yu could hardly wait to read it. After saying a word to Lu Qingshan, she sat beneath a tree shimmering with lightning and began studying it.
So the Third Layer of Thunderlight Flash actually uses the lightning origin law as leverage to apply the time law.
I can't understand these time secret patterns at all. Teacher just said he would only clear up my questions after half a month. He probably wants me to try understanding it on my own first...
Terrifying. It's merely a movement technique manual, but because it involves the time origin law, it's harder to understand than any manual I've read before.
Ling Yu sat motionless beneath the tree for an entire day, devoting herself wholeheartedly to studying the Third Layer of Thunderlight Flash.
At first, she gained nothing, only feeling that this manual was complex and vast. But as she continued reading, she detected a faint path probing upward from the lightning origin law... With this discovery, she devoted even more care to comprehending the manual.
By now, Lu Qingshan had already disappeared from the courtyard. While Ling Yu was absorbed in comprehending the secret technique, he had returned to the manor where he lived.
[You bestowed the Third Layer manual of Thunderlight Flash upon your disciple Ling Yu and received a thousandfold return. You received the Fourth Layer manual of Thunderlight Flash!]
The Fourth Layer of Thunderlight Flash?
A measure of surprise appeared on Lu Qingshan's face.
He seemed to have found a proper way to use the system's rebates.
Previously, he had obtained cultivation experience for the Third Layer of Thunderlight Flash. By working backward from it, he had created a cultivation secret technique for the Third Layer. This secret technique essentially counted as his own creation, and by bestowing his self-created technique upon Ling Yu, he had received a higher-level secret technique as a rebate.
This essentially formed a set of nesting dolls.
However, if I directly give Ling Yu this Fourth Layer manual I just received from the system, there won't be a rebate. But if I fully master the Fourth Layer and rewrite its contents according to my own methods and understanding, it seems that could count as a secret technique I created myself!
Lu Qingshan had figured out some of the system's rules. For example, bestowing things received directly from the system upon his disciples would not earn rebates. But if he circumvented that risk, such as by selling the Life Fruit the system bestowed and exchanging it for Lanke Fruit to give his disciples, he could trigger a rebate.
By the same logic, secret techniques bestowed by the system could not be passed directly to his disciples, but as long as he mastered them and then created similar techniques anew, he could circumvent this restriction!
"I should first take a look at exactly what direction the Fourth Layer of Thunderlight Flash takes, and how much of the time origin law it involves!"
Lu Qingshan tried releasing the memories he had just sealed away, little by little...
(End of chapter)