Chapter 273: The Half-God Teacher's Choice

"The youngest record?" Li Yuan thought to himself. He had never paid much attention to this particular record before.

Inside the vast Seven Star Battlefield.

"The performance of the 'Newcomer Battle' in this year's Seven Star War has been outstanding," the resonant voice continued. "Especially Bateman and Li Yuan. Both achieved the feat of ascending the mountain in a single battle, a first in the history of the Newcomer Battles. Li Yuan has even broken the record... I hope all members of the Martial God Hall will learn from them."

"Very well, this year's Seven Star War is officially over!"

"I hope everyone will cultivate diligently in the coming year and live up to expectations."

Rumble—

The gate not far from the spectator stands opened slowly. Many Martial God Hall members who had been watching the battle began to walk out of the Seven Star Battlefield, discussing the events with great excitement.

However, the subject of their discussion was almost exclusively Li Yuan; Bateman was barely mentioned.

After all, while Bateman's "ascending the mountain in one battle" was dazzling, considering his age of 26, there were many in the history of Seven Star civilization who could compare to him.

To say nothing of the distant past, even Rudnev had been younger when he became a member of Mount Qixing.

Furthermore, peerless geniuses like Yu Jinghe and Tavares, while amazed, did not believe they were inferior to Bateman.

Li Yuan was truly different; he was the genuine historical number one of the entire civilization.

19 years old!!

And everyone could see that Li Yuan had won the seventh match with overwhelming superiority. His strength was far above Bateman's; how could the two be compared?

Whoosh!

Li Yuan waved his hand, storing the Black Star Spear into his storage treasure, and prepared to return to the spectator stands.

"Li Yuan, don't go back just yet. Stay outside the Seven Star Battlefield for a moment." A gentle voice suddenly echoed in Li Yuan's mind.

Li Yuan couldn't help but look toward the podium; it was the voice of Mountain Master Duanmu.

Duanmu Hong, dressed in white, nodded slightly to signal him.

Li Yuan was thoughtful: "It must be about becoming a member of Mount Qixing."

Immediately, Li Yuan leaped, flying hundreds of meters to clear the spectator wall, which was dozens of meters high, and returned to the stands.

Tantai Feng, Alicia, and the others were all waiting there.

"Li Yuan, that spear strike just now was too cool!" Tantai Feng's eyes shone. "Winning seven matches in a row—at first, we were worried you wouldn't be able to win six. I never expected you to be hiding so much... and in the end, you even unleashed a Star Technique to blast a Heaven-Flying Martial Artist away."

Tantai Feng's expression was quite exaggerated, causing everyone to laugh.

"Li Yuan, I'm afraid you'll soon be able to truly rival Heaven-Flying Martial Artists." The golden-haired Boles shook his head and smiled bitterly. "It was reckless of me."

Suddenly, he looked at Alicia beside him: "Alicia, I'm sorry for bothering you before. I shouldn't have sent you so many messages."

"It's fine, I blocked the messages a long time ago," Alicia said indifferently.

At this, the others nearby couldn't hold it in anymore and burst into laughter. Li Yuan also shook his head and chuckled.

But Boles didn't mind; he had always been someone who could let go of things easily.

He knew that since Li Yuan had ascended Mount Qixing at such a young age, he had a great chance of becoming a Half-God in the future. Competing with him for Alicia? There was no hope at all.

Besides.

Boles wasn't obsessed with Alicia; he just felt she was a good match for him... In the half-month since entering the Martial God Star Realm, he had already set his sights on quite a few other female Martial God Hall members.

He didn't have to fixate on Alicia.

………… "Li Yuan, congratulations."

"Li Yuan, welcome to our ranks." Several voices followed one after another. A group of people was walking down from the high spectator stands, approaching Li Yuan directly, all of them wearing smiles.

"Brother Yu, Tavares, An Yongya." Li Yuan smiled and greeted them.

He only knew these three.

But the others who could stand alongside them were surely also top-tier geniuses of Mount Qixing.

"Li Yuan, let me introduce you. This is..." Yu Jinghe began introducing his companions.

These top-tier geniuses greeted Li Yuan one after another with smiles, all of them quite courteous.

Li Yuan responded in kind, noting down each person's appearance and name.

This scene made Jin Huguo, Yin Man, Nevsky, and the others sigh inwardly.

Back on Blue Star, they were all the pride of heaven, receiving much attention.

After entering the Martial God Hall, everyone here was a genius; even someone as talented as Tantai Feng seemed unremarkable... Perhaps they would become powerful in the future, but Li Yuan was already dazzling.

They were all geniuses, but being a genius in a city, a province, or even a nation or planet was one thing—what happened when the top geniuses of the entire civilization gathered?

…… This scene made many Martial God Hall members in the distance feel quite emotional: "They are all super-geniuses ranked in the top thirty of Mount Qixing, all of whom have grasped True Intent, and they have always been so proud. To think they are being so polite to Li Yuan."

"It's different. Even if most Mount Qixing members grasp True Intent, it's hard for their strength to catch up to them. Although Li Yuan's current strength is slightly weaker than theirs, how old is Li Yuan? Catching up to and surpassing them in the future is almost a certainty."

"Look at Bateman. Even though he ascended the mountain in one battle, Yu Jinghe and the others won't take the initiative to greet him."

Many veteran Martial God Hall members knew very well that even among Mount Qixing members, there were different circles.

Those who hadn't grasped True Intent and those who had truly condensed True Intent were worlds apart.

Only by condensing True Intent could one be qualified to enter the top-tier circle of Mount Qixing.

And now, the top geniuses of this circle had already extended an invitation to Li Yuan in advance.

"Li Yuan?" Bateman, standing further away, watched this scene and frowned slightly.

……A few minutes later, outside the Seven Stars Battlefield.

"Good."

"Li Yuan, it's a deal. The day after tomorrow, once you've finished the procedures for joining Mount Qixing, come to my palace residence," Yu Jinghe said to Li Yuan with a smile. "I will host a banquet and invite everyone to celebrate your joining Mount Qixing."

"Then many thanks, Brother Yu." Li Yuan nodded with a smile and agreed.

Perhaps he could become a Half-God or even a deity in the future!

But a good man needs help; at least at the current stage, making more such friends was beneficial.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Yu Jinghe, Tavares, An Yongya, and the others, more than ten in total, stopped lingering and turned into streaks of light, flying away into the sky.

They had come to watch the battle because Yu Jinghe had invited them specifically to see Li Yuan.

Li Yuan's astonishing performance had not disappointed them; one could even say it had left them in awe.

"Flying!"

"Flying through the sky and burrowing into the earth—it's truly exhilarating. It's a pity we have to become Heaven-Flying Martial Artists to fly." This scene made many Martial God Hall members who hadn't yet boarded their aircraft look on with envy.

Flying through the sky and burrowing into the earth was the hallmark of a top-tier genius Source Martial Artist.

……

Turning his head, Li Yuan sent Tantai Feng, Alicia, and the others off to their aircraft and arranged to meet for a gathering tomorrow.

At this moment.

Outside the massive metal building, it had become quiet. The hundreds of Martial God Hall members who had come to watch had already left... The battle was over, and they had to continue their own cultivation.

Li Yuan's performance, in particular, had stimulated quite a few people.

"Li Yuan." A slightly stiff voice sounded, and Bateman, dressed in blue robes, walked up.

"Bateman, congratulations." Li Yuan showed a faint smile; it was clear Bateman had also been asked to stay behind via voice transmission.

"Don't congratulate me." Bateman squeezed a smile onto his face. "I only managed to defeat that Heaven-Flying Martial Artist with great difficulty. I'm far behind you, and besides, I'm already 26."

"I watched your battle. Your saber technique should be close to condensing True Intent," Li Yuan said with a smile. "Being able to condense True Intent before 30 is already extremely excellent. Who knows, you might condense Heaven-Earth True Intent before I do."

In terms of skill level alone, the two were now about the same.

"I should need another year or two of deep cultivation, and that will be enough." A smile appeared on Bateman's face as well.

Bateman was still very confident in his saber technique.

The two chatted.

Gradually, Li Yuan discovered that while Bateman seemed cold and aloof, he didn't seem very good with words and appeared somewhat introverted.

However, this being their first meeting, Li Yuan didn't dare to conclude whether the other party was putting on an act.

You can know a person's face, but not their heart.

To truly see into a person's heart, it wasn't through words, but by working together time and time again.

A few minutes later.

Whoosh! A streak of white light flew out from the Seven Star Battlefield and landed directly in front of the two.

"Mountain Master."

"Mountain Master." Li Yuan and Bateman bowed respectfully at the same time; the person who had arrived was none other than Duanmu Hong.

"Both of you performed very well," Duanmu Hong said with a smile. "Having ascended the mountain in one battle, the Logistics Department will organize your palaces on Mount Qixing immediately. In at most half a day, you will receive the authorization notice... and then you can move in directly."

"Yes." Li Yuan and Bateman both nodded involuntarily.

Having been in the Martial God Star Realm for half a month, they knew very well that except for Mount Qixing members... other Martial God Hall members were not allowed to ascend the mountain unless there were special circumstances.

Some unauthorized aircraft, once they approached, could be destroyed directly by some of the terrifying weapons hidden within Mount Qixing.

"Compared to Elite members and Ordinary members, being a Mount Qixing member actually grants four extra benefits," Mountain Master Duanmu said, looking at the two. "First is the annual increase in Seven Star Points."

"Second is the increase in authorization. You are qualified to read and learn for free from the vast majority of Star Techniques and secret manuals of the entire civilization."

"Third is the qualification to accept Heaven-Flying level missions," Mountain Master Duanmu said.

Heaven-Flying level missions? Li Yuan and Bateman were both thoughtful.

"Whether it's for cultivating powerful Star Techniques or exchanging for those formidable weapons and treasures, a large number of Seven Star Points are required," Mountain Master Duanmu explained. "But the free allocation of Seven Star Points is limited... The Alliance has massive interests in various Tier-Two and Tier-Three Star Realms and often needs powerful Source Martial Artists to participate in battles."

"Heaven-Flying level missions have extremely high rewards and also high risk factors... Only Mount Qixing members can accept them," Mountain Master Duanmu said.

The two understood immediately.

If one wasn't a Mount Qixing member, it proved their strength wasn't enough... and thus, they wouldn't be able to accept some of the Alliance missions with extremely high rewards.

"The final benefit is guidance from a Half-God," Mountain Master Duanmu said. "The Alliance will dispatch a Half-God or some extremely powerful Heaven-Flying Star Lord... to guide your cultivation for two years."

Li Yuan and Bateman's eyes both lit up.

So, Mount Qixing members had this kind of privilege as well.

"This is not taking you as disciples, just pure guidance. Do you have any thoughts or requests?" Mountain Master Duanmu said. "If you have no objections, the Alliance will dispatch a Half-God based on your weapons and True Intent law direction."

The two fell into thought, and Mountain Master Duanmu was in no rush to urge them.

After a long while.

"Mountain Master, I have no objections," Bateman said, shaking his head. "As long as a Water-type Half-God comes to guide me, that will suffice."

"What about you, Li Yuan?" Mountain Master Duanmu looked at Li Yuan. "Should the Alliance randomly arrange an Earth-type Half-God as well?"

"No."

Li Yuan hesitated slightly and said, "I hope the Alliance can arrange a Wind-type Half-God to guide my cultivation."

"A Wind-type Half-God?" Mountain Master Duanmu frowned.

To have a Half-God personally guide you—what a rare opportunity! Why not focus on one path?

To actually want a Wind-type Half-God to guide him?

Even Bateman looked at Li Yuan in surprise; he had just seen Li Yuan's battle scene... The other party was clearly of the Earth lineage.

"Do you know..." Mountain Master Duanmu was about to reprimand him, but suddenly remembered what Fang Hai had said before leaving, and stopped himself abruptly.

"Are you sure?" Mountain Master Duanmu changed the subject.

He looked at Li Yuan: "Although your talent is high, you haven't even truly condensed True Intent yet... To be distracted and contemplate the Wind lineage at this time? And you haven't even truly entered the threshold of the Wind lineage, have you?"

"I haven't entered the threshold yet."

"But this junior wants to try," Li Yuan said earnestly. He could certainly understand what Mountain Master Duanmu meant.

The Great Dao of Laws is incomparably difficult.

It is so difficult for Heaven-Flying Martial Artists to condense True Intent, let alone truly step into the threshold of Laws... Focusing on one path might not even guarantee becoming a Half-God.

Once distracted, the hope of becoming a Half-God would be even more remote.

It was just that Li Yuan had his own considerations. He had resonated with a deity's consciousness and knew very well how terrifying the mysteries of different laws could be once combined; their power would be unimaginably great... And he had also been trying to practice the spear these days, attempting to trigger the fluctuations of the Wind.

The Heaven-Earth fluctuations of the Wind! Although Li Yuan contemplated it very slowly, it filled him with joy.

Li Yuan loved this path.

Most importantly, in Li Yuan's view, he was cultivating the "True Explanation of Earth Star Veins" and had the "Myriad Phenomena Star Chart" as a guide and reference... Even if another Earth-type Half-God came to guide him, his cultivation efficiency probably wouldn't improve much.

However.

If a Wind-type Half-God could come to guide his cultivation of the Wind lineage, the significance would be completely different.

Although Mountain Master Duanmu wasn't pleased, seeing Li Yuan's firm stance, he stopped trying to persuade him: "Very well, I will report your request... But Wind-type Half-Gods are not numerous in the Alliance, and not everyone may be willing to come and guide you. You must be mentally prepared."

"After all, the Alliance cannot force a Half-God to come and guide someone."

"Half-Gods are also picky when guiding Mount Qixing members," Mountain Master Duanmu said.

"This junior understands." Li Yuan nodded.

Good teachers like smart students... Since he hadn't revealed his talent in the Wind lineage, those Wind-type Half-Gods might not be willing to waste time guiding him.

"Fine, you two go back first and wait for notification," Mountain Master Duanmu said.

……

Watching Li Yuan and Bateman leave in their respective aircraft.

"The Wind lineage?" Mountain Master Duanmu frowned. "This Li Yuan is simply being foolish. No matter how much of a monster he is, he shouldn't waste his talent like this."

"Better to let the higher-ups have the headache."

Mountain Master Duanmu began sending messages directly.

……

In that special spectator space of the virtual network, the many Half-Gods who had been watching were leaving one after another.

Li Yuan's performance had indeed left them in awe, but that was all.

As the peak existences of the civilization, Half-Gods were also extremely proud.

From Source Martial Artist, to Heaven-Flying, to Half-God... It was destined to take a long time for Li Yuan to grow to their level.

However, Fang Hai and Half-God Sanye had been waiting here, seemingly waiting for news.

Suddenly.

"There is news," Half-God Sanye said. A trace of confusion flashed in her eyes: "Li Yuan hopes to receive guidance from a Wind-type Half-God."

"A Wind-type Half-God?" Fang Hai was equally stunned.

"This little fellow is a bit willful," Half-God Sanye said, shaking her head. "Although some Heaven-Flying Martial Artists and Half-Gods will ponder a second path, most only choose to do so when they hit a bottleneck on their first path... He has already condensed the prototype of Star True Intent; how high is his talent in the Earth lineage? To actually want to be distracted and contemplate the Wind lineage?"

"As the principal, do you want to persuade him?" Half-God Sanye looked at Fang Hai.

Fang Hai frowned as well; he didn't understand Li Yuan's decision either.

It was just that.

Fang Hai was different from Half-God Sanye and Duanmu Hong... He knew very well how terrifying Li Yuan's Star Vein talent was.

With different information, one naturally views problems differently.

"No need," Fang Hai shook his head. "But regarding this matter, don't be in a hurry to invite those Wind-type Half-Gods... Those few Wind-type Half-Gods certainly won't be willing to guide him."

Fang Hai knew very well.

Half-Gods are proud.

They might acknowledge Li Yuan's talent in the Earth lineage, but that didn't mean they acknowledged Li Yuan's talent in the Wind lineage.

"You go and report to the Master first," Fang Hai said solemnly. "See what the Master's opinion is."

"Report such a trivial matter to the Alliance Leader?" Half-God Sanye was stunned.

"Since it involves Li Yuan, just report it," Fang Hai shook his head. "The Master will never blame you."

"Fine." Half-God Sanye frowned. She suddenly thought of the order Dongfang Ji had issued last time.

Combined with what Fang Hai had just said.

Half-God Sanye already realized... Li Yuan probably still harbored a great secret that she didn't know about.

"I'm leaving first." Half-God Sanye stood up, her figure vanishing with a boom.

The vast spectator hall.

Only Fang Hai remained sitting there alone.

"Teacher Sanye," Fang Hai sighed inwardly.

Back then, he had also ascended Mount Qixing and received guidance from a Half-God.

And that Half-God who guided him was Half-God Sanye.

"Just wait."

"Teacher Sanye," Fang Hai showed a faint smile. "You reject me now only because you feel there is a generational gap, and even more so a gap in strength... Once I become a Half-God, naturally no one will question it."

Half-Gods possess a thousand-year lifespan and eternal youth.

According to what Fang Hai knew, among many alien civilizations, Half-Gods not only have age gaps of less than a hundred years, but even those with gaps of two hundred or three hundred years... becoming partners was not uncommon.

……

Starfire Martial Hall Supreme Headquarters, inside a conference room.

A white-robed woman wearing a black mask walked out of the highest-level virtual pod.

Through the mask, one could only see her pair of eyes, which were incomparably cold.

Just like ice.

"Hmm?" Half-God Sanye suddenly lowered her head to look at her smart ring, a trace of shock flashing in her eyes. There was only one message on it: "I will resolve it."

"The Alliance Leader actually responded to me so quickly, and agreed?" Half-God Sanye's heart was filled with turbulent waves.

Just now, she had reported to Dongfang Ji at the first opportunity, feeling quite apprehensive.

According to Half-God Sanye's understanding.

Dongfang Ji would almost never agree to such a thing... But she never expected!

"Li Yuan, his weight in the Alliance Leader's heart is actually this heavy?" Half-God Sanye was secretly amazed. "What exactly is special about him?"

Is it just that his skill talent is high?

It doesn't seem like it!

Having high skill talent now doesn't mean one will definitely become a Half-God or reach a higher level in the future... The path of cultivation is very bumpy, and how many peerless geniuses have been trapped by bottlenecks?

"But the Alliance Leader actually supports Li Yuan's decision?" Half-God Sanye thought to herself.

She knew the Alliance Leader's terror very well; he was absolutely beyond all Half-Gods.

Even the second strongest person of the Seven Star civilization, "Half-God Lante," had a huge gap from the Alliance Leader, and the gap was only getting wider.

Half-God Sanye could not forget.

Decades ago, the scene of that large group of Half-Gods from the Myriad Demon civilization trying to kill their way into Flying Star... After that battle, the Myriad Demon civilization became completely quiet and never launched a large-scale war again.

It wasn't that the Myriad Demon civilization had given up.

It was that they were terrified; no matter how many Half-Gods were born, it seemed they weren't enough for Dongfang Ji to slaughter.

The name of the Invincible Half-God was forged from this.

"It seems."

"I must be more cautious when treating Li Yuan from now on," Half-God Sanye sighed inwardly.

……

On the afternoon of the day the Seven Star War ended, Li Yuan had already received notification to move into Mount Qixing.

A direct relocation.

The villa residence on Mount Qixing was actually no different in essence from the villa residence on the ground, only much larger... At the same time, the robots responsible for sparring were more advanced, and the various free resources provided were much richer.

The second day.

Li Yuan hosted a banquet for Tantai Feng, Alicia, and a group of other good friends to celebrate his ascension to Mount Qixing... There were special places for banquets within the Martial God Star Realm, and all kinds of dishes were extremely good, absolutely top-tier.

It was just that the price was extremely high; spending ten million Blue Star coins for a meal was normal, but for Martial God Hall members, it didn't count for much.

The third day, Li Yuan went to attend the banquet held by Yu Jinghe, which was on a larger scale.

It also allowed Li Yuan to get to know more top-tier geniuses of Mount Qixing and truly integrate into this circle.

……

Time passed, and after the two banquets, Li Yuan truly began his cultivation on Mount Qixing.

In reality, it was no different from his deep cultivation on the ground.

No matter how good the external environment was, the entire cultivation process was the same... one needed to work hard step by step.

The progress of skills, even more so, required one to constantly ponder them oneself.

However.

Mountain Master Duanmu still hadn't notified him about the "Half-God teacher," and Li Yuan wasn't in a hurry.

If there was no Wind-type Half-God to guide him in the Wind lineage... having just an Earth-type Half-God come wouldn't make much difference.

……

July 25th.

Flying Star, Prajna Sea.

This was an extremely mysterious sea area on Flying Star, vast and boundless, but it had level-12 gales all year round, and the natural environment was extremely harsh, so almost no one would set foot here.

Deep in the sea area, gales howled. There was an island here only a few kilometers in diameter, with jagged rocks and almost no vegetation.

On the peak of the island, at its highest point.

A figure dressed in simple hemp clothes sat cross-legged on a giant rock, facing the gales and the waves, eyes closed. His face was like it had been carved by a knife and axe, as if he were a special sculpture, completely merged with heaven and earth.

Suddenly.

"Teacher Lie Feng." A low voice seemed to come from the void, containing a powerful will.

"Hmm?" The middle-aged man in hemp clothes opened his eyes slowly, first in confusion: "Dongfang?"

"You, have you already condensed the Will of Laws?" A trace of shock flashed in the middle-aged man's eyes.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 274 =====