Chapter 271: Ultimate Secret Art

In the Virtual Universe, atop Thunder Island's peak.

Here, chaotic energy currents abound, and amidst these endless flows stand only a few towering palaces.

These towering palaces are all residences of the Virtual Universe Corporation's Cosmic Lords, one of which belongs to Lord Bingfeng Zhi.

In a training ground within Lord Bingfeng Zhi's palace, a middle-aged man continuously trains—he is Lu Qingshan, Lord Bingfeng Zhi's youngest disciple.

At this moment, the training ground has been simulated into a vast starry sky, where Lu Qingshan, clad in purple-gold battle armor, stands opposite a terrifying beast over a kilometer long, its entire body wreathed in endless flames, resembling a lion.

This terrifying beast is the two-thousandth opponent created by Lord Bingfeng Zhi for Lu Qingshan to develop his fourth Ultimate Secret Art. Its name is Chiyan Xiongshi.

When Lu Qingshan first began creating his Secret Art, his opponents were mostly ordinary lifeforms of the universe, as special lifeforms are exceedingly rare and each possesses terrifying power.

If he had faced such powerful opponents from the start, defeating them would have been far too difficult.

Yet as his Secret Art's level grew higher, the opponents he encountered reverted again to ordinary universe lifeforms—such as this two-thousandth opponent, Chiyan Xiongshi.

Although special lifeforms possess immense power, most rely solely on innate Secret Arts and naturally high life-gene levels!

Beyond these innate advantages, special lifeforms are exceedingly scarce, making it naturally impossible for them to match the comprehension of countless ordinary lifeforms' elite.

Just as mentioned in the original text, the Fangjing King and Zhuchong King could suppress—or even kill—ordinary Cosmic Venerables in reality, yet in the Realm of Glory, fighting through their understanding of the Beast God Dao, they could only be considered mid-to-lower tier among peers of the Beast God Dao.

The innate power of special lifeforms' Secret Arts is indeed formidable and highly effective for refining self-created Secret Arts, yet as the level of self-created Secret Arts rises, their refining effect naturally diminishes.

After all, opponents simulated in the Virtual Universe cannot generate Secret Arts out of thin air—they are almost entirely based on recorded battles of past powerful beings.

The Chiyan Xiongshi Lu Qingshan faces is the leader of a branch of the powerful Chiyan Xiongshi clan: "Chiyan Zhi Zhu."

Of course, the opponent Lu Qingshan faces is merely the Cosmic Venerable-stage Chiyan Zhi Zhu.

Even so, this Chiyan Zhi Zhu is not easily defeated.

Simply to overcome this single trial, Lu Qingshan has been stuck for over five million years!

"Roar!!"

The Chiyan Xiongshi, bathed in endless flames, slammed its four hooves against the void and roared furiously toward Lu Qingshan.

"Era Slash!"

Purple threads rapidly spread across Lu Qingshan's purple-gold longsword, then converged in the void into a colossal sword phantom radiating terrifying pressure.

This sword technique is Lu Qingshan's fourth sword art, created from the complete Time Origin Law.

When he first killed the Meng Yao Zu Hei Lang Zifeng Zunzhe in the Qingkun Secret Realm, this fourth sword art had barely reached its peak level; now, he has already defeated the 1999th opponent using this technique, leaving only one final step to elevate it to the Ultimate level.

Unfortunately, this final step has trapped him for over five million years.

"Roar!!"

Seeing Lu Qingshan unleash his ultimate technique, the Chiyan Xiongshi shrouded in flames across the starry sky flickered instantly, crossing infinite space to rush toward Lu Qingshan, its massive claw striking like lightning toward his throat.

"Cut!"

Lu Qingshan's mind activated—the colossal sword phantom before him instantly slashed horizontally toward the charging Chiyan Xiongshi, carrying boundless power.

Boom!

The sword phantom and the Chiyan Xiongshi's claw collided violently in the void, and a terrifying shockwave erupted in all directions.

Because this is the final opponent before entering the Ultimate level, its power has undergone a qualitative leap compared to the previous one.

When Lu Qingshan first faced this Chiyan Xiongshi, he had been killed by it several times.

But as his Secret Art's level continuously rose, he could now withstand its furious attacks—and even suppress it.

And this time…

Whoosh!

The sword phantom, upon colliding with the Chiyan Xiongshi's claw, instantly shifted its attack direction—like a venomous parasite—it surged along the claw to the beast's abdomen, then unleashed its terrifying power.

Puch!

The fifty-meter-long sword phantom instantly sliced open the Chiyan Xiongshi's abdomen, then plunged entirely into its body, ravaging its interior with boundless force.

Afterwards, the entire body of the Chiyan Xiongshi exploded from within by the devastating assault, and its life force vanished completely.

"Hahaha! After over five million years, I've finally slain this Chiyan Xiongshi!"

Seeing the Chiyan Xiongshi's life force extinguished, Lu Qingshan's face broke into a smile, and he secretly wondered: "When will I be able to kill the true Chiyan Zhi Zhu?"

The Chiyan Xiongshi clan led by Chiyan Zhi Zhu is a steadfast ally of the Insect Clan, and over countless eons, they have indeed caused trouble for the Human Clan.

It has been over ten million eons since Lu Qingshan and his Fourteenth Senior Brother, Feiyu Zifeng Zunzhe, ventured into the Qingkun Secret Realm.

During these ten million eons, Lu Qingshan's strongest second body has continuously roamed Cosmic Secret Realms alongside other Human Clan Cosmic Venerables.

Roaming Cosmic Secret Realms is naturally perilous, but the Human Clan's Cosmic Venerables are exceedingly cautious.

Most lack the ability to form bodies like Lu Qingshan, so they invest heavily in survival capabilities.

Moreover, the Original Star has only recently closed, and many High Cosmic Venerables and Cosmic Sovereigns within the Human Clan are still processing their gains from its opening; most of their treasures remain unused, so they lend them to allies within the same faction.

Thus, the Cosmic Venerables roaming with Lu Qingshan each possess their own trump cards: supreme domain treasures, peerless armor, or top-tier palace treasures.

Even more astonishingly, Hao Yue Zifeng Zunzhe, the sixth disciple of Huang Jian Zhi Zhu, leader of the Cosmic Mercenary Alliance, once roamed with Lu Qingshan for a time. They encountered a Cosmic Sovereign from the Nine Domains Alliance; another companion had already planned to call for help from other Human Clan Cosmic Sovereigns, but Hao Yue Zifeng Zunzhe simply pulled out a palace-class peerless treasure he had borrowed from Huang Jian Zhi Zhu!

Remember, even the most basic palace-class peerless treasure costs over fifteen treasure points in the Human Clan treasury—many Cosmic Sovereigns lack that much wealth combined, let alone possess such a treasure.

That experience also made Lu Qingshan better understand Huang Jian Zhi Zhu's protective nature toward his disciples.

Had they not exhausted vast amounts of divine power during a treasure dispute, they might have roamed together far longer.

Of course, while roaming Cosmic Secret Realms with other Cosmic Venerables, Lu Qingshan's main body and Infinite Sea Body have also been diligently cultivating.

In this cultivation, Lu Qingshan's primary focus has naturally been on the Shi Shi Jian Ben Yuan Law, for only by comprehending the complete Shi Shi Jian Ben Yuan Law can he smoothly enter the Cosmic Lord realm.

Yet after over ten million eons of cultivation, Lu Qingshan finally understood just how agonizingly slow cultivation at the Cosmic Venerable level truly is.

Despite the extreme difficulty of earning points in the chat group, and despite each activation of the Enlightenment Boost requiring massive points, Lu Qingshan still activated it twice.

Even so, his progress in the Shi Shi Jian Ben Yuan Law remains exceedingly slow.

Not to mention comprehending all three branches of the Shi Shi Jian Ben Yuan Law to reach High Cosmic Venerable level—he is still far from mastering even one branch.

Fortunately, the slow progress in Law comprehension has not affected Lu Qingshan's achievements in combat Secret Arts.

In the first ten million years after crossing into the Venerable Realm of the Universe, Lu Qingshan successfully created the fourth technique at the peak level, namely 'Time Slash';

In the sixty millionth year after crossing into the Venerable Realm of the Universe, he successfully elevated the movement technique 'Startling Goose' to the peak level based on the complete Time Origin Law;

In the ninety millionth year, Lu Qingshan successfully elevated the first sword technique 'Heavenly Thunder Break' to the Ultimate level; this was also the first Ultimate-level secret technique he had created;

In the thirteen thousandth epoch, Lu Qingshan, again based on the complete Time Origin Law, elevated the soul-attack secret technique 'Soul-Slaying Sword' to the peak level;

In the eighteen thousandth epoch, he elevated the second sword technique 'Mysterious Xuan Xuan Lei Tian Ren' to the Ultimate level;

In the thirty-two thousandth epoch, he elevated the third sword technique 'Sword Universe Return to Ruin' to the Ultimate level;

To this day, in the hundred and six thousandth epoch since breaking through to become a Universe Venerable, he has even elevated the fourth sword technique 'Time Slash', created based on the complete Time Origin Law, to the Ultimate level!

These numerous secret techniques self-created by Lu Qingshan naturally all belong to the complete set of 'Origin of Ten Thousand Worlds'.

In fact, even compared to the 'Beast God Seven Kills' (Yan Shen Seven Changes) explicitly recorded in the original work, if only considering the first four layers, the 'Origin of Ten Thousand Worlds' created by Lu Qingshan has clearly surpassed the 'Beast God Seven Kills'.

Among them, the soul-attack secret technique 'Soul-Slaying Sword' corresponds to the soul-defense secret technique 'Beast God Roar' within the 'Beast God Seven Kills';

The movement technique 'Startling Goose' corresponds to 'Beast God Sprint';

As for the sword technique 'Nine Swords Intercepting Heaven', it corresponds to 'Beast God Divine Weapon'; only four forms have been created so far, namely 'Heavenly Thunder Break', 'Mysterious Xuan Xuan Lei Tian Ren', 'Sword Universe Return to Ruin', and the currently strongest 'Time Slash';

Of course, the 'Beast God Seven Kills' also contains a body-amplification secret technique called 'Beast God Change', but Lu Qingshan's body amplification and soul amplification had long been raised to over eighty times through the inheritance of the Spirit Wind Divine General back then, as well as the inheritances of the Four Divine Generals; furthermore, the Human Race's treasure vault also contains numerous amplification secret techniques, so he naturally had no need to create his own.

"Just in the creation of secret techniques, I am now almost comparable to Senior Brother Yao Guang!"

Lu Qingshan felt the power and mystery of Time Slash and couldn't help but think silently in his heart.

Back then, his teacher, Master Bingfeng Zhi, had told him that Venerable Yao Guang had cultivated for endless ages, yet now had only elevated the fourth attack secret technique to the Ultimate level.

Of course, Venerable Yao Guang's comprehension of laws had long supported him in creating a sixth attack secret technique at the peak level.

Judging solely by power, the fourth Ultimate secret technique is roughly equivalent to a fifth peak secret technique that has defeated twelve hundred opponents.

However, for a Universe Venerable, elevating the fourth attack secret technique to the Ultimate level is far more difficult than elevating the fifth or sixth combat secret techniques to the level of defeating twelve hundred opponents.

And just at this moment...

Accompanied by a slight tremor in the surrounding space, a figure emitting a terrifying aura instantly appeared before Lu Qingshan; it was his teacher, Master Bingfeng Zhi.

Seeing Master Bingfeng Zhi appear, Lu Qingshan immediately bowed respectfully and greeted: "Teacher!"

"Excellent!"

Seeing that Lu Qingshan had elevated the fourth sword technique to the Ultimate level, Master Bingfeng Zhi rarely showed a trace of a smile on his face: "Qingshan, I didn't expect you to be able to elevate your own secret techniques to the Ultimate level in such a short time!"

"It seems you indeed possess very strong talent in creating secret techniques!"

"Relying on this Ultimate secret technique, your strength should be sufficient to cross into the High Universe Venerable level!"

Master Bingfeng Zhi said with great expectation: "I look forward to you creating a fifth, or even a sixth Ultimate secret technique! By that time, our Human Race will likely produce an extraordinary powerful existence!"

What Master Bingfeng Zhi said was indeed not wrong.

If Lu Qingshan could truly create a sixth Ultimate secret technique, the so-called Universe Dominator Ultimate secret technique, and combined it with some precious treasures for protection, although his strength would not compare to top-tier Universe Dominators, he would certainly be considered very formidable among Universe Dominators.

And how many Universe Lords and top-tier Universe Dominators does the Human Race have nowadays?

Adding Lu Qingshan's ability to create clones, his comprehensive strength would likely rank within the top fifty of the entire Human Race.

Of course, the premise for all this is that Lu Qingshan's comprehension of laws can continue to improve; at the very least, he must fully comprehend the three major branches of the Shi Shi Jian Ben Yuan Law.

However, in Master Bingfeng Zhi's view, judging by Lu Qingshan's talent in creating a fourth Ultimate secret technique in such a short time, the probability of Lu Qingshan fully comprehending the three major branches of the Shi Shi Jian Ben Yuan Law in the future is quite high.

"This disciple will surely strive!" Lu Qingshan nodded and said quickly.

"Hmm!"

Master Bingfeng Zhi nodded slightly, then continued: "Now that Qingshan, your sword techniques have been elevated to the extreme they can reach, if your comprehension of laws does not break through, it is basically impossible to create stronger attack secret techniques!"

"What do you plan to do next? Continue to improve your movement techniques and soul-attack secret techniques, or focus on comprehending the Shi Shi Jian Ben Yuan Law?"

"Teacher, this disciple has actually been seriously comprehending the Shi Shi Jian Ben Yuan Law all along! Merely researching self-created secret techniques simply cannot affect anything!"

Lu Qingshan said quickly: "Therefore, this disciple wishes to continue researching self-created secret techniques, striving to elevate both movement techniques and soul-attack secret techniques to the Ultimate level. Please, Teacher, continue to guide me!"

"Good!"

After hearing Lu Qingshan's words, Master Bingfeng Zhi nodded quickly and said: "Since Qingshan has such ambition, this teacher will naturally continue to guide you!"

"However, you must understand that at the Universe Venerable level, basically every strong person's will is extremely powerful, and many will carry soul-type heavy treasures, or even soul-type supreme treasures!"

"If your soul-attack secret technique does not have an overwhelming advantage, the most you can do is slightly affect the enemy's actions; it is very difficult to directly kill the enemy!"

"This disciple understands!" Lu Qingshan nodded and said quickly.

After hearing Lu Qingshan's reply, Master Bingfeng Zhi merely waved his hand and disappeared.

A new opponent also appeared before Lu Qingshan, one specifically set up by Master Bingfeng Zhi based on the flaws in his movement technique.

But just as Lu Qingshan intended to continue fighting this new opponent, he suddenly received a message.

"Hmm?"

Lu Qingshan's heart stirred, and he quickly opened the received message.

The message was from his sixth disciple, Huo Gesi, who had reached the peak of the Marquis realm under Lu Qingshan's occasional provision of Can Tian Zao Hua dew.

At this time, Huo Gesi's comprehension of laws could only be considered peak Marquis, but with Lu Qingshan's help, his life gene level had been raised to ten times that of ordinary life in the universe through the fusion of Blood Luo Crystals and Beast God Blood; he had also accepted two Divine General inheritances, raising his body amplification to 36 times and his soul amplification to 32 times; after fully unleashing his strength, he was sufficient to compare with an ordinary High Marquis.

Although such strength was not particularly strong, it was presentable; at this time, he was considered Lu Qingshan's most capable assistant under his command, responsible for handling numerous affairs under Lu Qingshan.

As for matters within the family, Lu Qingshan had always entrusted them very confidently to his third son, Lu Hongwen.

"Has it really reached the time for me to preside over the Peak Genius Battle again?" After reading the message, Lu Qingshan's heart couldn't help but stir slightly.

(End of this chapter)