Swallowing the Stars: 100x Return for Teaching Apprentices

Chapter 172 Different Choices
Qi Yuan has the convenience of the return system, so he naturally wants as many outstanding disciples as possible; otherwise, he wouldn't have started paying attention to them during the preliminary stage of the Genius Battle.

Even right after the Genius Battle ended, he sent an email through the internal network of the virtual universe system to several promising talents he was optimistic about in this year's Genius Battle, giving them some "tips" on how to make good use of their initial points.

Compared to those ancient, immortal kings who have lived for hundreds of millions of years, he is still considered a 'young man' and naturally doesn't have much of the airs of a powerful figure.

After all, it was just a few casual words of advice. Even if they didn't end up becoming his disciples, if it could inspire these youngsters, it would be a good thing.

This year's Genius Battle may be considered to be of average level, but that's only because of the comparison with the previous year.

The previous Genius Battle, hosted by Virtual Universe Company, produced three freaks: Luo Feng, Rong Jun, and Bo Lan. Even compared to all previous Genius Battles, it was definitely an outstanding one.

Even if Long Yun were slightly weaker, he would still have a chance to take first place in a competition of average talent.

With the previous Genius Battle being such a shining example, this year's Genius Battle seems somewhat ordinary in comparison.

However, from the entire 1008 universe nations of the human race in the primordial universe, and countless trillions of star-level humans across endless territories, only the top 1000 people were selected. How could these people be truly ordinary?

He had secretly observed this group of people on the day they arrived in Chaos City. Among these thousand people, there were many with a basic return rate of 50 times or more, almost making up the vast majority.

Several of them are top performers, with basic return rates reaching 58 or 59 times, which is comparable to his most talented disciple, Longji.

Moreover, the so-called genius cannot be judged solely on basic aptitude; temperament, willpower, special talents, and expertise are also extremely important aspects.

Some people may have less natural talent, but they have a strong will and a tenacious character. Although they may progress more slowly in the early stages, they will definitely continue to move forward on the path of cultivation and becoming stronger with unwavering determination.

As they undergo repeated trials and tribulations, continuously acquire resources and opportunities, and make up for their shortcomings, they will truly soar to great heights.

As a core member of the Virtual Universe Company, as long as you pass the various assessments arranged by the company, you will naturally not lack resources and opportunities.

For example, if two people with similar aptitudes both eventually become immortals, but one is just an ordinary immortal military lord, while the other is a rare talent such as a master of potion or a master of forging, can their status and value be the same?

Among this group of geniuses, five received Qi Yuan's attention and guidance; however, of these five, only three chose the Cosmic Chaos Stele.

The three are 'Igor' from the Primordial Secret Realm that King Jueshen just mentioned, 'Luming' who is ranked very high in the Heaven and Earth Secret Realm, and 'Vittorio' who, although he barely entered the Heaven and Earth Secret Realm, is ranked relatively low.

As for the other two, they are 'Sarom,' the only member of the Primordial Secret Realm in this year's Genius Battle, and 'Bai Wuming,' another member of the Primordial Secret Realm.

The two chose the 'Giant Axe Chaos Stele' and the 'Cosmic Chaos Stele', which focuses on cultivating 'time and light', respectively.

The reasons why each of the five people could attract Qi Yuan's attention were not entirely the same.

Among them, Salom excels in his understanding of the laws and is the undisputed number one among the members of this year's Genius Battle. His combat talent is also extremely outstanding.

Bai Wuming and Lu Ming were chosen because their base return multiplier reached 59 times, and they also had quite good talent in the law of time.

As for Igor and Vittorio, it was because Qi Yuan observed that they should have good achievements in the field of formations (secret patterns).

When the Genius Battle had just ended, Qi Yuan sent an email to each of the five people through the internal channels of the virtual universe.

In the email, he gave a few simple tips based on the characteristics of each person and their points, and recommended several basic secret techniques that they could focus on studying in the early stages.

However, putting aside the two who didn't choose the Cosmic Chaos Monument, even the three who did choose it seem to have different reactions to the prompts from this 'stranger'.
On the rooftop of a two-story building in Chaos City, a black-haired youth named 'Lu Ming' with two forked dragon horns stared at the endless, externally manifested threads of operating rules in the cracked sky, silently comparing them in his mind with a secret technique he was studying.

However, a wisp of his consciousness was connected to the virtual universe, constantly experimenting in the virtual killing field space.

Swish swish swish~~~~
Within the killing field, afterimages, phantoms, and illusions intertwined, forming incredibly beautiful trajectories. Within these beautiful trajectories, there seemed to be some indescribable and wondrous artistic conception.

"wrong."

"That's how it should be done."

"Yes, that's good."

While observing the flow of the fundamental laws of the universe within the spatial rift, they also conducted experiments in the virtual world to verify the results.

The young man with dragon horns and black hair couldn't help but reveal an expression of immense satisfaction and ecstasy.

"This 'Flowing Light' secret technique is perfect for me. It interprets the mysteries of the combination of time and space through various movement techniques. By observing the secret patterns of the law's operation, my progress is extremely fast. If this continues, I will definitely be able to pass the first level of the Bridge to Heaven within a year!"

"Before, there was a big gap between me and those guys in the Primordial District, but now, neither of us has passed the first level of the Sky Bridge. It's all about who gets through first, and whoever gets through first will take the lead!"

"From what I understand, the competition among core members of Virtual Universe Company is extremely fierce. Taking the lead at one step can lead to staying ahead at every step, and thus gaining access to more favorable resources!"

The young man with dragon horns and black hair was invigorated.

"Thanks to that senior's guidance, if there is an opportunity..."

In a villa in the Tian region of Yuxiang Mountain in the virtual universe.

Vittorio, a handsome young man with green hair, was engrossed in reading a huge book that was nearly half a meter long and wide, while one of his fingers kept sliding in the air as he read.

"My progress in the laws of space is far ahead. I need to improve my laws of time as soon as possible. I don't need to reach the same level as my laws of space, just enough so that I don't become a hindrance. Then I can easily pass through the first level of the Bridge to Heaven. This is the 'Ten Thousand Calamities of Light'."

“Each beam of light illuminates the trajectory of time’s flow. Wonderful, wonderful, truly wonderful! And it perfectly complements my weaknesses!”

"The person who could give me such guidance must be a big shot within Virtual Universe Company. It was just a casual remark to such a big shot, but it has benefited me greatly. I must find an opportunity to repay them in the future."

“If you’re going to go, go the strongest path!” On the rooftop of another building in Chaos City, the blond-haired, golden-armored youth 'Igor' focused intently on the mysterious runes that had split the sky.

As he observed, he gradually gained some insights.

"At this rate, we should be able to pass through the first level of the Cosmic Bridge soon, and then we will have another opportunity to comprehend the Chaos Stele."

"Teacher Swell said that the Cosmic Chaos Monument was built by one of the greatest super beings in the human race. Observing the Chaos Monument will definitely accelerate my comprehension. Once I can quickly pass through the third level, I can even go to the mansions of various grandmasters to attend classes or even become their disciples!"

The blond youth pondered for a moment, then continued to immerse himself in comprehending the secret runes governing the operation of the rules.

As for the email I received by chance, which suggested that I focus on a certain aspect of the laws of time or space, I had long forgotten about it after reading it.

"My talent in the laws of time and space is quite equal, and my progress is extremely balanced. If I continue like this, the path of cultivating both time and space will be absolutely perfect for me! On the path of cultivation, one must remain steadfast in one's own mind and not be influenced by others!"

"Our teacher said that there is a super strong person in the Chaos City's Universe Chaos Stele lineage. Although he is immortal, he has strength almost comparable to a Universe Venerable. Moreover, he also follows the path of cultivating both space and time. If we could become his disciples..."

Different young people each have their own choices.

They also lack the extraordinary talent of the previous generation's Berlan, so naturally no higher-ups would make an exception to give them special attention or reminders.

Those who are paying attention to them will naturally benefit greatly if they seize this opportunity, while those who miss it are destined to miss it forever.
Inside Chaos City, the geniuses were initially very active, often hunting Chaos Beasts outside the city to obtain powerful souls from the Chaos True Spirit.

Later, after discovering that the effects of the Chaos True Spirit were getting weaker and weaker, everyone stopped wasting time killing Chaos Beasts, only occasionally going out to use them to test their insights.

Most of the time, he would sit on the rooftop, observing the ubiquitous rules and secret patterns while cultivating.

As time went by, these geniuses continued to improve their skills and often went to try to cross the Heavenly Bridge.

Halfway through their first year in Chaos City, geniuses like Igor, Bai Wuming, and Dongyang Yuhai from the Primordial Secret Realm began to pass through the first level of the Bridge to Heaven. At the end of the first year, Lu Ming from the Heaven and Earth Secret Realm also passed through the first level.

In the second and third years, many geniuses from the Heavenly Region and the Doomsday Region began to cross the first level of the Sky Bridge in large numbers.

By the end of the fourth year, all the surviving 1000 geniuses had passed the first level.

In that same year, the winner of this year's Genius Battle, Sarom, a member of the Primal Secret Realm, once again unleashed his full potential, successfully passing through the second level of the Giant Axe Sky Bridge, once again demonstrating his overwhelming dominance.

And it was after this that the gap between the geniuses began to widen.

Time passed, one year, two years, three years, four years, five years...

In the seventh year since arriving in Chaos City, Lu Ming of the Heaven and Earth Secret Realm became the first person after Salom to pass the second level of the Bridge to Heaven. This naturally spurred many members of the Primordial Secret Realm to catch up.

In their eighth year in Chaos City, Dongyang Yuhai and Bai Wuming from the Primordial Secret Realm crossed the second level of the Heavenly Bridge.

In the ninth year since arriving in Chaos City, two other members of the Primordial Secret Realm and one member of the Heaven and Earth Secret Realm also successfully passed through the second level of the Bridge to Heaven.

However, Igor, the member of the Primordial Secret Realm whom Qi Yuan initially valued highly, only managed to pass through the second level of the Cosmic Sky Bridge in the fourteenth year.

By the end of the year, 'Sarom' of the Primal Secret Realm and 'Deer's Cry' of the Heavenly Secret Realm had passed through the third level of the Bridge to Heaven one after the other, gaining the qualification to go to the Grandmaster's Mansion to attend classes and become an apprentice.

The two of them were far ahead of everyone else, and on this day, they inspired a large number of people to try to break through, but no one was able to do so.

This group of geniuses will spend a total of 30 years in Chaos City, and now that the halfway point is approaching, they have already shown a clear divergence.

There were players like Salom whose performance was expected, players like Luming who emerged as surprises, and players like Igor whose performance was deeply disappointing.
"The others performed alright, but it's a real shame about Igor."

Inside the Qiyuan Mansion, Qi Yuan, who had been observing everyone's performance, sighed slightly.

Qi Yuan initially noticed Igor because he saw that the insights and style he vaguely displayed in battle seemed to have some compatibility with formations, and he thought he could guide him in that direction.

Therefore, in a previous email, he also suggested that he abandon the path of cultivating both time and space, and instead focus on one aspect while supplementing it with the cultivation of array formations.

After all, although Igor is a decent genius, he has almost no hope of achieving anything in the path of cultivating both time and space.

As for his so-called relatively balanced talent in spacetime...
To put it bluntly, someone like Juekun Wang, who excels in both aspects, is what we call balanced.

Someone like Berlan, who is exceptionally talented in one area but rather ordinary in another, and who insisted on choosing this path from the beginning, is at most considered obsessive.

As for Igor, who is rather average in both aspects, that's not balance, but mediocrity.
With his talent, it would be good enough if he could achieve something by focusing on one path. Cultivating both time and space techniques would naturally lead to his being buried in obscurity.

"If we had focused on one aspect, we might have had a chance to get through the third level by now, but now..."

Qi Yuan sighed slightly, but removed him from his following list.

He wasn't afraid of disciples with poor aptitude, since there were many ways to improve aptitude.

However, someone who lacks a clear understanding of themselves and is so confident that they refuse to listen to advice will ultimately achieve very limited success, even if they have good aptitude, and it is naturally not worth wasting their energy on them.

"Fortunately, the other two little guys are quite obedient to advice, hehe, especially this Lu Ming, whose progress is even faster than I expected. Only half of the time in Chaos City has passed, and he has already basically caught up with Sarom from the Primal Secret Realm."

A faint smile appeared in Qi Yuan's eyes.
"Once you pass the third level of the Heavenly Bridge, you'll be qualified to become an apprentice. I wonder what this little guy will choose?"

(End of this chapter)