Thunder Mountain, Virtual Universe.
In a side hall of the city lord's mansion, several Universe Venerable from the Virtual Universe Company sat around an Elder Gu round table.
What are your thoughts on the matter of Marquis Po Yu?
A burly man with a dark complexion and a sharp blade-like feature between his brows spoke first.
" Prison Venerable, the evidence submitted by the Giant Axe Arena is complete. Marquis Po Yu did indeed assassinate a genius from the Giant Axe Arena, and that is undeniable. Logically speaking, Immortal God's staff member who assassinates a genius of their race should be sentenced to death."
A deep, resonant voice rang out; it belonged to a Universe Venerable being shrouded in mist.
"That's the normal way to handle it, but Marquis Po Yu and Venerable Zhen Yan have a close relationship. If it's not handled properly, it will affect the unity within our Virtual Universe Company."
Venerable Youyue shook his head in opposition.
Then the other Universe Venerable spoke up one after another.
"I believe Venerable Youyue is right."
"I also agree with Venerable Youyue. Although Venerable Zhen Yan has just broken through to become Universe Venerable, his strength is already no weaker than that of High Venerable. We must respect his opinion."
"I believe this matter is egregious and definitely needs to be dealt with, but the punishment should not be too harsh! We must uphold the dignity of our Human Race while also maintaining unity within our Virtual Universe Company."
The several Universe Venerable discussed the punishment plan one after another, but they could not reach a conclusion.
The punishments they set were either considered too lenient or too harsh.
Right now.
Venerable Youyue stood up and spoke.
"I have a suggestion from Myriad Laws Venerable here; why don't you all take a look first?"
" The Myriad Laws Venerable's advice? I must study it carefully."
"I didn't expect even Myriad Laws Venerable to take notice of this matter."
The expression on the face of the Universe Venerable had previously proposed the death penalty changed slightly, and his expectations also subtly shifted.
Venerable Youyue forwarded this email to others.
Soon, everyone had browsed through it.
After a moment, Venerable Youyue asked.
What do you all think of this suggestion?
"I think it's feasible— Myriad Laws Venerable has solved a huge problem for us!"
The Prison Venerable spoke first.
"I think it's good too. It's reasonable, well-founded, and convincing." The Universe Venerable, shrouded in Black Mist, nodded in agreement.
I second that.
Soon after, the penalty notice for Virtual Universe Company was released.
" Venerable Zhen Yan, as Universe Venerable, killed two King-level Immortal God who were on a mission in the Giant Axe Arena. He has been given a severe warning and must bear the full cost of their resurrection, as well as compensation equal to the value of the resurrection cost, totaling 4 True Treasure Points."
" Heavenly Feather King's protection of his subordinates is understandable; therefore, he is given a warning."
"As a manager of Demon Mountain, Marquis Po Yu colluded with the natives of the Primordial Secret Realm to assassinate a Universe Level genius from the Giant Axe Arena, leading to his death in the Ice Mountain. His crime is unforgivable. However, considering the severe psychological trauma he suffered due to the near destruction of his family by the Demon Candle King and the loss of his sister, resulting in occasional mental instability, his punishment is mitigated. Marquis Po Yu is relieved of his position as a Demon Mountain manager, permanently barred from becoming a manager in the Virtual Universe Company, and ordered to compensate the victims a total of one hundred million Hunyuan Unit."
The punishment was arguably a case of "raising the torch high, but lowering it lightly."
The punishment seems severe, but everyone knows that Venerable Zhen Yan is a disciple of Myriad Laws Venerable, and even possesses Palace Supreme Treasure.
What's the big deal about the penalty for clicking on a True Treasure Points?
It doesn't hurt or itch at all.
As for that Marquis Po Yu, he was originally sentenced to death, but due to a psychological trauma that caused him to become mentally unstable, he was spared punishment and was only dismissed from his post and fined 100 million Hunyuan Unit.
Although 100 million Hunyuan Unit are worth far more than the life of a Marquis, Marquis Po Yu has Venerable Zhen Yan as his backer, so 100 million Hunyuan Unit are nothing to him.
Moreover, the punishment announcement clearly stated the reasons why Marquis Po Yu had lost his mind.
After learning about her tragic experiences, many people felt pity for her.
His family was nearly destroyed, and his closest sister also committed suicide. Such a blow would be hard for any normal person to bear, but Marquis Po Yu was merely taking revenge on the genius of the enemy family.
The feud between Venerable Zhen Yan and Demon Candle King was already known to many, but now it has been brought into the open.
The Demon Candle King's act of attacking his own family members disgusted many powerful individuals, as it was a complete violation of the rules.
The one who got slapped in the face was Shi Huo Venerable.
After all, everyone knows exactly what the Demon Candle King is— the Shi Huo Venerable, raising his son to have this kind of personality, naturally cannot escape the criticism of being a father who failed to educate his son properly.
Among the five major Human Race powers, the strongmen of the other three powers simply watched the fight between the two tigers as spectators, neither intervening nor commenting. After all, in such a case where both sides had their own version of events, it was impossible to judge who was right and who was wrong.
Virtual Universe Company, of course, fully supports Venerable Zhen Yan.
Although the Giant Axe Arena believed the punishment was too lenient, the matter involved a High Universe Venerable, and there were extenuating circumstances. The Virtual Universe Company had already issued a punishment notice, which was considered a concession, so they couldn't say anything more.
After all, Shi Huo Venerable can only represent himself, not the entire lineage of the Giant Axe Arena.
Logically, this matter should have been resolved at that point.
But a message from the Shi Huo Planet caused another huge uproar.
Shi Huo Venerable invited Venerable Zhen Yan to a life-or-death duel.
Three years later.
The location is in the border region of the Lanfeng Universe Country, in the syzy0231 Void.
Clearly, the words that Venerable Zhen Yan asked King Guan Xing to convey were relayed by King Guan Xing to Shi Huo Venerable.
Whether or not there was embellishment, no one knows.
However, Shi Huo Venerable did indeed extend the invitation as requested.
As the one who initiated the proposal, Venerable Zhen Yan naturally had no reason to refuse.
The Virtual Universe Company Headquarters in a luxurious manor on the mainland.
Lu Qingshan looked at the disciple standing in front of him, Venerable Zhen Yan ----
" The Shi Huo Venerable is quite cunning. In a life-or-death battle, he certainly wouldn't bring out the Palace Supreme Treasure unless it was a critical moment. It seems he wants to thoroughly humiliate you!"
Venerable Zhen Yan smiled slightly, "It's a pity that this Shi Huo Venerable doesn't know that these days, my teacher has bestowed upon me Domain Supreme Treasure and Soul Defense Supreme Treasure —I also sold the Earth Soul Pearl to obtain an armor Supreme Treasure and a spare Supreme Treasure weapon, a long staff. Now, my Supreme Treasure configuration far surpasses that of other Universe Overlord. No matter how powerful that Shi Huo Secret Technique is, he's just a High Universe Venerable. He's overthinking things if he wants to humiliate me."
"Hmm." Lu Qingshan nodded.
Even setting aside the Palace Supreme Treasure, and even including the Domain Supreme Treasure, Shi Huo Venerable might not be a match for Venerable Zhen Yan in his current state.
However, just to be on the safe side, he said...
"That Shi Huo Venerable issued the challenge so decisively, he probably has some confidence, or he may still be hiding some trump card. Zhen Yan —you're not actually that far from becoming Universe Overlord— "
"Disciple understands— the Supreme Treasure on my body far surpass those of ordinary Universe Overlord. My Gene Multiplier has also increased to sixty times over the years. With the assistance of the many treasures bestowed upon me by my teacher, my Body Amplitude Secret Technique now possesses a seventy-fold amplification—I am not far from becoming Universe Overlord. Disciple remembers that Venerable Pei Feng of the Ancestral God Religion was already an extremely powerful being among Universe Overlord, but he only had a 70-fold Gene Multiplier."
19
Venerable Zhen Yan nodded in reply.
Don't be fooled by the fact that he only recently broke through to the Universe Venerable; his progress over the years has been incredibly rapid.
The once high and unattainable Universe Overlord can now see a glimmer of hope.
"We can't compare to that Venerable Pei Feng. He's a Reserve Divine General, and his secret techniques are at the level of Universe Master —the amplitude must be 100."
Even if the Gene Multiplier is slightly weaker, it doesn't affect his strength.
Lu Qingshan shook his head.
"For a typical Universe Overlord, a hundredfold increase in gene density, a hundredfold increase in vibration, and two Supreme Treasure —one for offense and one for defense—are merely basic requirements. Your current Gene Multiplier and Body Amplitude are not weak even among High Venerable; it's just a matter of secret techniques—"
"I am ashamed."
Venerable Zhen Yan showed a hint of shame.
His teacher bestowed upon him the Snow Demon Flower King and the precious Seven-Colored Heart-Enlightenment Lotus, yet he still could not create an attack technique at the level of Universe Overlord.
"Don't feel ashamed. Compared to others, your progress is already remarkable— Creation Secret Technique is not something that can be done overnight. It requires not only countless hours of refinement but also that sudden burst of inspiration."
"Three years—it might be difficult for you to raise your arcane level, but it's not impossible to give it a try."
While they were talking.
With a flick of his wrist, Lu Qingshan produced several treasures.
Among them, Venerable Zhen Yan recognized only the Golden Light Beast God Blood and a Seven-Colored Heart-Enlightenment Lotus.
The Venerable Zhen Yan did not know where these treasures came from, but he was certain that each one was extremely precious.
Lu Qingshan pointed to several ice crystals that resembled ancient ice and said, "These crystals are powerful treasures that enhance the Body Amplitude, more than a thousand times stronger than the Ice Prison Clear Dew. The effects are immediate. Take these crystals and cultivate the Body of Time to quickly raise your Body Amplitude to a hundredfold perfection."
"More than a thousand times more powerful than the Ice Prison Clear Dew?"
Zhen Yan stared at the crystals emanating a chilling aura, a look of astonishment on his face. Over the years, he had been using the Ice Prison Clear Dew to assist his compass cultivation, and he felt the effects were already quite remarkable. How powerful would a thousandfold increase in effect be?
A hundredfold perfection—if a teacher says that, there must be some basis for it.
"Um."
Lu Qingshan nodded slightly and continued.
" The Beast God Blood goes without saying; this amount is enough to increase your Gene Multiplier by 100. This isn't a clan quota; it's something I obtained privately, so don't flaunt it. As for the Seven-Colored Heart-Enlightenment Lotus, you know its function—it can assist you in Creation Secret Technique. Of course, the most important thing is this Five-Colored Lotus. Use it at the most crucial moment in Creation Secret Technique, and perhaps there's even a sliver of hope to create a secret technique at the level of Universe Overlord."
Venerable Zhen Yan took a breath and looked at the five-colored lotus. He originally thought that the five-colored lotus was the most inconspicuous among these treasures, but he did not expect it to be the most precious treasure.
The five-colored lotus flower was a treasure that he had given to Ling Yu Snow Demon Flower, and it returned ten thousandfold in return.
According to the mechanism of the Golden Finger, its value is about ten times that of the Seven-Colored Heart-Enlightenment Lotus.
It is a special treasure used by Universe Overlord.
Over the years, he has also bestowed many treasures upon his other disciples, such as Ice Prison Clear Dew, Snow Demon Flower, and Blood Luo Crystal —accumulating a considerable amount of cashback, but he has not yet taken it out.
After all, apart from the Five-Colored Ice Lotus, these things were useless to him. Even the Five-Colored Ice Lotus had a very weak effect, which was why he hadn't used it. Now, what could help him was a treasure at the level of the Lord of the Universe.
"I will never forget your kindness, Master, but... there are only three years left until the life-or-death battle with Shi Huo Venerable. I don't have enough time..."
Three years is too short for Universe Venerable; even a banquet or a journey takes far longer.
In such a short time, even with the treasures bestowed by the teacher, it would be completely impossible to fully digest them and lay the foundation for becoming Universe Overlord.
Lu Qingshan smiled slightly, confident, and said, "Therefore, I will bestow upon you one more thing."
This time, he brought out a three-story pagoda.
This is also the treasure that Lu Qingshan truly intends to bestow upon his disciple Venerable Zhen Yan.
"This is the Time House. I have purchased it from the Race Treasury and now bestow it upon you. With your strength, the Time House can accelerate things a hundredfold, which is equivalent to three hundred years. That should be enough for you to digest all of this."