Chapter 257: Contesting Disciples: The Qingkun Secret Realm

Inside the hall.

After seeing Lu Qingshan in person, all the geniuses bowed deeply in profound respect.

Lu Qingshan scanned the group, pausing briefly on Clement, then directly ordered: "Depart, for the Prime Universe."

No sooner had Lu Qingshan spoken than everyone heard a "Boom—".

Instantly, the palace-class heavy treasure, "Thunderflash Void-Strider," vanished from its original location.

At this moment, the atmosphere inside the palace hall was frozen.

Previously, in the virtual universe, the pressure Lu Qingshan unconsciously emitted had already been enough to intimidate everyone; how much more so now, in the real world?

Even though Lu Qingshan did not actively release his pressure, the aura naturally radiating from him left all the geniuses present startled, and they could not help but feel an instinctive urge to submit.

"Stop!"

As the Thunderflash Void-Strider advanced, a thunderous roar echoed from outside, reverberating in every person's mind within the ship.

"It's me!"

Lu Qingshan's calm voice carried boundless authority: "Open the cosmic passage!"

When he was still a Sovereign Immortal, traveling to the Prime Universe required him to board a cosmic vessel controlled by Lord Heifeng's Transportation Department;

but after breaking through to the Venerable Realm, his privileges within the human race increased dramatically—he now possessed the authority to open a cosmic passage independently and enter both the Prime Universe and the Axe Universe.

Yet since the human race's treasury and the Chaos Steles were located in the Prime Universe, he had only visited the Axe Universe once.

It must be said that the Axe Universe, under the control of the strongest Axe, maintained a time flow rate roughly ten times that of the Original Universe, granting it certain advantages.

And no sooner had Lu Qingshan spoken…

"Boom!"

A tremendous roar erupted outside, and the Thunderflash Void-Strider resumed its advance.

Normally, after entering a cosmic passage with differing time flow rates, geniuses like Clement—stellar-level talents—would feel considerable discomfort;

but the Thunderflash Void-Strider, being a palace-class heavy treasure, naturally blocked such effects.

Thus, under Lu Qingshan's leadership, a thousand geniuses traveled unimpeded to the skies above the Chaos City in the Prime Universe.

Of course, along the way, Lu Qingshan had instructed Huo Gesi to explain to these stellar-level youngsters, who had never entered the Prime Universe before, some of its conditions.

Upon arriving above Chaos City, Lu Qingshan quickly waved his hand and sent everyone out of the ship.

Receiving guides from Chaos City were already present to lead these geniuses; naturally, there was no need for Lu Qingshan, a Cosmic Venerable, to concern himself further.

Notably, the black-robed receiving emissary guiding these geniuses this time was Luo Bote, who, back when he was a Domain Lord, had entered the Prime Universe to train alongside Lu Qingshan and eventually broke through to the Immortal Realm.

At that time, Luo Bote and his brother Luo Luo Boxun, as clan members of Lord Youhou, had been assigned by Lord Heifeng to serve as receiving emissaries in the Prime Universe—a position Lu Qingshan had once envied greatly.

Yet after tens of millions of years passed, Luo Luo Boxun and Luo Bote still served as receiving emissaries in Chaos City, while Lu Qingshan had already entered the Cosmic Venerable Realm!

"You are under my guidance. I hope you are all still alive thirty years from now."

After uttering these words, Lu Qingshan quickly flew toward his residence in Chaos City with Huo Gesi.

He would need to lead these geniuses out of the Prime Universe thirty years from now, so there was no need to rush away.

Moreover, this time he wanted to observe which Chaos Stele Clement would choose, and whether he should take the boy as his disciple.

……

On the other side.

After Lu Qingshan and Huo Gesi departed, Clement and the other geniuses quickly familiarized themselves with Chaos City under the guidance of emissary Luo Bote, then proceeded to select their suitable Chaos Steles.

This was a privilege granted to every powerful being entering Chaos City; even Lu Qingshan's own entry slot, acquired through auction, had granted him one chance to contemplate a Chaos Stele.

When selecting a Chaos Stele, Clement, the top genius of this year's tournament, did not overreach—he directly chose the highly suitable "Cosmic Ultimate Chaos Stele"!

The "Cosmic Ultimate Chaos Stele" primarily cultivates the Principle of Time, and powerful beings who cultivate Lightning, Light, or Wind Principles may all contemplate it.

After selecting their suitable Chaos Steles, the geniuses began their contemplation under the guidance of the receiving emissaries.

And after completing their first contemplation of a Chaos Stele, none of them failed to desire a second.

Thus, under the guidance of the Chaos Stele guardian Elder Kandeli, the geniuses soon entered the Heavenly Bridge realm within the virtual universe and began attempting the Heavenly Bridge trials.

But sadly, apart from Clement, all other geniuses performed extremely ordinary on the Heavenly Bridge realm—none managed to pass the first level.

Only Clement, astonishingly, passed the third level of the Cosmic Ultimate Heavenly Bridge in one go, and had already grasped a trace of the essence of the Principle of Time.

Remember, this Clement had only just entered Chaos City.

Though this performance paled far beside that of the Heaven-Eclipse Palace Master tens of millions of years ago, it was still exceedingly rare.

Precisely because of this, several Cosmic Venerables had already taken notice of Clement.

Yet the host of this year's Peak Genius Tournament was Lu Qingshan; logically, these geniuses would serve under him in the future.

If this were any other mid-tier Venerable, the Cosmic Venerables within the human race would not have paid much attention.

But Lu Qingshan was different!

First, Lu Qingshan was a disciple of Master Bingfeng Zhi, giving him connections within the Virtual Universe Corporation lineage;

second, Lu Qingshan possessed the ability to manifest avatars—a rarity even among Cosmic Venerables.

Thus, though Lu Qingshan was merely a newly elevated mid-tier Venerable, the Cosmic Venerables seeking to take Clement as their disciple all showed him great respect.

Upon learning Lu Qingshan intended to take a disciple, these Cosmic Venerables quickly abandoned their plans to claim Clement.

Yet Clement himself was quite astute: no sooner had he left the Heavenly Bridge realm than he shut off his virtual universe network reception.

He did this to carefully select the most suitable master from among the many powerful beings vying to take him as a disciple.

But to his surprise, when he reactivated his virtual universe network reception, he received many congratulatory emails—but only a dozen or so disciple-offer emails, and all were from Sovereign Immortals.

Clement felt deeply proud, and naturally did not wish to become the disciple of an ordinary Sovereign Immortal.

Just as Clement was bewildered and disappointed, Lu Qingshan appeared directly on the rooftop of his training residence.

Sensing the anomaly, Clement opened his eyes and looked ahead, soon seeing Lu Qingshan before him.

"I pay homage to the Venerable!"

Although Clement had some suspicions in his heart, he still quickly rose, respectfully bowed, and greeted him.

"Clement!"

Lu Qingshan smiled and said, "You managed to break through the third layer of the Zhenji Heaven-Connecting Bridge immediately after arriving in Chaos City, and you have even grasped a sliver of the essence of the Time Origin Law. Your talent is indeed excellent!"

"Although my contemplation of the Chaos Stele differs from yours, I have now mastered the complete Time Origin Law, so guiding you should be no problem. I wonder if you are willing to take me as your master?"

In this vast universe, masters choose disciples, and disciples likewise choose masters.

Although Lu Qingshan knew that Clement would almost certainly not refuse his offer of discipleship, he still had to ask.

Sure enough, after hearing that Lu Qingshan intended to take him as a disciple, Clement thought for only a moment before lowering his head to bow and become a disciple.

After all, Lu Qingshan was the only Universe Venerable willing to take him as a disciple; although he was extremely confident in himself, he did not wish to miss such a rare opportunity.

But just at this moment...

An invisible divine power suddenly gently held Clement back, stopping his action of lowering his head to bow as a disciple.

"Hahaha!"

Then a ethereal voice rang out, echoing in the ears of Lu Qingshan and Clement, while the other cultivators around them noticed nothing at all.

"Wan Jie, such a genius should be subject to fair competition by everyone!"

As soon as the words fell, a slender figure quickly appeared before Lu Qingshan and Clement.

This figure was over two meters tall, wearing a dark blue long robe carved with countless secret patterns, and on his back was carried a long sword of strange design.

"Tian Feng!"

Seeing this person appear, Lu Qingshan also quickly smiled and greeted him.

Zifeng Zunzhe Tian Feng was also a Universe Venerable of the Virtual Universe Company lineage, possessing the strength of a High-Level Universe Venerable.

Although he had not bowed to any Universe Master of the Human Race, Tian Feng still held considerable fame in the vast universe.

This was because the Lie Shen Bing, one of the Nine Divine Weapons of the Rulers, was created by Zifeng Zunzhe Tian Feng.

As the Lie Shen Bing spread widely throughout the universe, the fame of its creator, Zifeng Zunzhe Tian Feng, naturally grew even greater.

In fact, many powerful beings in the universe have created various kinds of mental force weapons and primal force weapons, but it is not the case that the stronger the creator's strength, the more useful the weapon they create.

Just like the Nine Divine Weapons of the Rulers, if used by someone of ordinary talent, their power would not even compare to a general fifth-rank mental force weapon.

The appearance of Zifeng Zunzhe Tian Feng was naturally also to take Clement as a disciple, but Lu Qingshan felt no dissatisfaction in his heart.

First, the relationship between Zifeng Zunzhe Tian Feng and him was quite good; they had gathered together several times before.

Second, the reason he wanted to take this Clement as a disciple was merely something done casually.

For Lu Qingshan, with the All-Heavens Chat Group and the Dao-Comprehension Enhancement function within the chat group, his strength would definitely continue to improve constantly.

Even a disciple who had hope of becoming a Universe Venerable, or even a Universe Master, was not placed in his eyes.

"Haha, Wan Jie, your speed is truly fast enough!"

Zifeng Zunzhe Tian Feng quickly said with a smile, "I happened to come to Chaos City this time to exchange a treasure, and I accidentally heard that a genius figure has appeared in this year's Genius Tournament!"

"I originally intended to contact you first, but I just happened to notice you were already here, so I rushed over directly!"

"Tian Feng, your arrival is truly timely enough!"

Lu Qingshan smiled and said, "If you had arrived two steps later, this little fellow would have already bowed to become my disciple!"

"Wan Jie, this time it is my fault!"

Zifeng Zunzhe Tian Feng quickly said with a smile, "But you also know, I previously contemplated the Zhenji Chaos Stele, and the Lie Shen Bing used by this little fellow was also created by me!"

"Moreover, I have just browsed the video of this little fellow breaking through the levels; his combat style is very suitable for being my disciple, so I shamelessly came looking for him!"

"Rest assured, even if this little fellow becomes my disciple, as long as he does not break through to the Venerable Realm, even if he possesses the strength of an Invincible Hei Fengwang, I will let him serve under your command. How about that?"

"That is not necessary!"

Lu Qingshan said with a smile, "However, the matter of taking a disciple is not something for you and me to decide; why not let this little fellow choose for himself?"

For Lu Qingshan, letting this Clement go to Zifeng Zunzhe Tian Feng was merely a small matter.

However, since he had already come here to take a disciple, he naturally could not simply give up directly.

It was also just right to use this opportunity to hand the choice over to Clement, to see how the other party would decide!

"So be it!"

Zifeng Zunzhe Tian Feng nodded slightly, then quickly looked at Clement beside him and said, "Little fellow, you must have heard what Wan Jie and I just said!"

"The Lie Shen Bing you are currently using was created by me, and I also contemplated the Zhenji Chaos Stele; guiding your cultivation in the future should be even more effortless. I wonder who you wish to take as your master?"

Hearing these words from Zifeng Zunzhe Tian Feng, hesitation quickly appeared on Clement's face.

He himself had some background; the ancestor of his family was an Immortal Deity of the Black Fire Universe Kingdom, and since he used the Lie Shen Bing, he naturally knew something about its creator, Zifeng Zunzhe Tian Feng.

In his eyes, whether in terms of cultivation time or strength, Zifeng Zunzhe Tian Feng was far superior to Wan Jie Zunzhe before him, so naturally he wanted to take Zifeng Zunzhe Tian Feng as his master.

However, since this year's Genius Tournament was hosted by Lu Qingshan, he naturally had some concerns about these matters.

How could Lu Qingshan, standing beside him, fail to see Clement's thoughts, so he quickly said with a smile, "Little fellow, you need not have any concerns! No matter who you take as your master today, you will not be affected in any way in the future!"

"That's right!"

Zifeng Zunzhe Tian Feng beside him also said with a smile, "Wan Jie and I have a very good relationship; you need not have any concerns, you only need to make your own choice!"

Hearing these words, Clement turned slightly, quickly bowed slightly to Lu Qingshan, and then respectfully said, "This junior thanks the Venerable for his kindness, but this junior uses the Lie Shen Bing, so this junior wishes to take Zifeng Zunzhe Tian Feng as his master!"

"So be it; for you to become a disciple under Tian Feng is also a good thing!"

After hearing Clement's words, Lu Qingshan nodded slightly, then quickly turned his head to look at Zifeng Zunzhe Tian Feng beside him: "Tian Feng, congratulations on receiving a good disciple!"

As soon as the words fell, Lu Qingshan's figure quickly vanished from the spot.

And at this time, Clement beside him also quickly prostrated himself before Zifeng Zunzhe Tian Feng, then respectfully cried out, "I beg the Master to accept this disciple!"

"Good!"

Looking at Clement kneeling before him, Zifeng Zunzhe Tian Feng quickly said, "Clement, from today on, you shall be my sixteenth direct disciple!"

"This disciple pays respects to the Master!" Clement bowed respectfully once more.

"Mm!"

Zifeng Zunzhe nodded slightly, then continued, "Clement, although you have become my disciple, you must still be respectful whenever you encounter the Myriad Worlds in the future!"

"This disciple understands!" Clement replied respectfully without delay.

"Very well, follow me." Zifeng Zunzhe nodded slightly, then turned and departed.

Seeing this, Clement hurriedly followed after him.

On the other side, Lu Qingshan, having returned to his residence, quickly began to ponder his plans for the time ahead.

Although he would still be presiding over nearly three thousand editions of the Peak Genius Tournament, the Virtual Universe Company lineage only holds such a tournament once every ten thousand years, so his time would naturally not be entirely wasted on this.

Moreover, during the Peak Genius Tournament, he need not expend much effort, and since he possesses the ability of clones, handling these matters is naturally very easy for him.

"Next, I shall let the second clone venture into the Cosmic Secret Realm for a while!"

Lu Qingshan thought silently to himself: "With the second clone's strength, even if he encounters a High-level Cosmic Zifeng Zunzhe, he still has a chance to withdraw unscathed!"

"Furthermore, venturing into the Cosmic Secret Realm can temper oneself, while also allowing one to accumulate some wealth!"

"Although the speed at which a Mid-level Cosmic Zifeng Zunzhe accumulates wealth is not particularly fast, as time passes and gains accumulate, it will still amount to a very considerable fortune!"

"However, my second clone does not hold an advantage in divine body; should he encounter a same-level existence with a massive divine body, he would certainly suffer in battle!"

Upon thinking of this, Lu Qingshan immediately caused a portion of the divine body from the Endless Divine Sea within his Divine Kingdom to split off.

This is a technique any Immortal God would employ; in the original work, the Demon Hand King, who killed Hu Yanbo, deceived Luo Feng, who was seeking revenge for Hu Yanbo, by this very method, only to ultimately perish at the hands of Hu Yanbo, who had been resurrected by Luo Feng's reversal of time and space.

Of course, this method of splitting the divine body is not without its drawbacks.

Once the divine body splits, both resulting clones will suffer a decline in strength.

However, Lu Qingshan's Endless Divine Sea clone has always remained within his own Divine Kingdom and would encounter no danger whatsoever;

and the split clone exists solely to provide divine power to the second clone, not to participate in combat, so even if its strength is somewhat weaker, it poses no problem!

After resolving this matter, Lu Qingshan quickly began selecting a Cosmic Secret Realm suitable for his own exploration.

Ultimately, he chose the 'Qing Kong Secret Realm', located within the Human Domain, as his first target.

(End of this chapter)