Swallowing the Stars: 100x Return for Teaching Apprentices

Chapter 173 Successful Apprenticeship
In Chaos City, while those cosmic-level geniuses were immersed in their intense and frantic cultivation, two pieces of news spread among this group of young geniuses.

First, Salom from the Primal Secret Realm was accepted as a disciple by 'Hundred Dragon King,' a Grandmaster of the Chaos Monument lineage. Then, Lu Ming from the Heaven and Earth Secret Realm also successfully became a disciple of 'King of Miracles,' a Grandmaster of the Chaos Monument lineage, during his first class!
The two pieces of news immediately caused a huge uproar in the circle of these young geniuses!
'King of a Hundred Dragons'! 'King of Miraculous Encounters'!
Any of these geniuses with even a little bit of insight would understand the value of these two titles!
That's a super strong person who can be crowned king even among immortals, the strongest among the strong!
Moreover, according to the information they learned through various channels, those who are able to establish a sect and teach disciples in Chaos City are definitely the most powerful among all the King-level Immortals!
“Sarom and Luming, these two were already ahead of us, and now they both have a Grandmaster-level being among the Immortals as their teacher, so their progress will definitely be even faster!”

"I need to hurry and pass the third level as soon as possible before I can become an apprentice!"

These geniuses all felt the pressure, because it was not easy to become a disciple of an immortal master.

First of all!

Passing through the third level is a prerequisite, and among the 1000 people selected in each Genius Battle, only a handful can break into the top three levels in Chaos City over 30 years!
In past genius battles, fewer than five people have ever made it past the top three levels. Even in a particular year when there are a large number of geniuses, no more than ten have made it past the top three!
Even those who have passed through the first three levels rarely take on disciples.

These ancient monsters have mostly existed for hundreds of millions of years.

It will be a very long time before he truly accepts an apprentice.

Moreover, it's one thing for Sarom to have performed exceptionally well; after all, he was the only member of the Primal Realm among their group, and his strength was recognized by everyone during the final arena battle.

What everyone, especially the geniuses of the Primordial Secret Realm, found hard to accept was that Lu Ming was clearly a member of the Heaven and Earth Secret Realm, and he was obviously inferior to them in the Genius Battle.

However, before half of their time in Chaos City had passed, their opponent had already far surpassed them, and the momentum of their rise was getting faster and faster. Now, they were even vaguely on par with Sarom of the Primal Secret Realm. How could this not make them feel frustrated!

Yuxiang Mountain, Taichu District, Dongyang Yuhai's residence.

All the members of the Primordial Secret Realm in this year's Genius Battle are gathered here with him.

In the years since the end of the Genius Battle, these newly joined geniuses of the Virtual Universe Company have naturally formed their own circles.

Those people in the Heaven and Earth Secret Realm are the ones who are secretly banding together, encouraging each other to surpass their Primordial Secret Realm.

Those from the Primordial Secret Realm naturally had a slightly closer relationship and would occasionally exchange information.

"You've all heard, right? Lu Ming from that region actually succeeded in becoming a disciple of a Grandmaster of the King-level realm, and that powerful King of Extraordinary Fate at that!"

The adorable boy, Dongyang Yuhai, with his chubby cheeks and long, pointed ears, exclaimed.

As a well-known "social butterfly" among the members of this year's Genius Battle, he has a good relationship with many of the members. It was he who organized all the members of the Genius Battle to gather together.

"I've heard. First it was Salom, then it was Deer's Cry. Now those two have left us all behind."

The imposing young man in white, Bai Wuming, spoke solemnly, "Especially after they successfully become disciples, they will have the guidance of grandmasters among the immortals, and their progress will be even faster. It will only become more difficult for us to catch up!"

"By the way, Igor, didn't Lu Ming lose to you in the arena finals? And you both chose the Cosmic Chaos Monument, so why is his progress so fast?"

The burly young man 'Manlon', dressed in blood-red armor, asked a question out of curiosity.

Upon hearing this, everyone immediately turned to look at the golden-armored, blond-haired youth, 'Igor'.

Yes, Lu Ming lost to Igor in the arena final, but afterwards both of them chose the extremely difficult Cosmic Chaos Monument.

Even in terms of initial resource rewards, Lu Ming, as a member of the Tian region, was slightly inferior to Igor and the others from the Tai Chu region. So why did the other side surpass him later?

"Humph!"

Igor was slightly displeased when asked about this topic, but after a moment of silence, he still offered an explanation.
“The cultivation of the Cosmic Chaos Stele is extremely difficult, so it is divided into three cultivation directions. I chose the most difficult and powerful path of cultivating both time and space, while Lu Ming seems to have chosen the path of focusing on time and supplementing it with space. Perhaps he made faster progress in the early stages because of this.”

"is that so."

Although the geniuses were somewhat skeptical, they all wisely refrained from continuing on this potentially unpleasant topic.

However, Igor seemed to remember something and asked Dongyang Yuhai with some curiosity:
"Dongyang Yuhai, you just said that the King of Destiny is very famous?"

"Yes, Your Highness Dongyang Yuhai, do you know any inside information? Please tell us so we can broaden our horizons." Manlong and the other geniuses also showed extremely expectant expressions.

This Dongyang Yuhai is a highly favored core member of the royal family of the 'Giant God Universe Kingdom', and his information channels are far more powerful than those of them.

"Haha, I only heard about it from some elders when they were chatting."

The adorable-looking Dongyang Yuhai smiled smugly before beginning his explanation.

"You should all know to some extent that even the strongest Kings are divided into different levels. Even the weakest King has reached the level of the 18th level of the Bridge to Heaven in terms of understanding the laws, while some of the stronger ones can pass through the 20th level of the Bridge to Heaven and are only one step away from the 21st level, which is comparable to the realm of a Universe King!"

"Could it be that the King of Extraordinary Fate is a powerful figure who has passed the 20th level of the Bridge to Heaven?"

Upon hearing this, Bai Wuming, Manlong, and other geniuses all showed expressions of extreme shock.

They had all experienced the difficulty of the Bridge to Heaven. At most, they had only passed the second level. A strong person who had passed the 20th level of the Bridge to Heaven was definitely a super existence that they all looked up to!
“Not only.” Dongyang Yuhai shook his head.

"That's not all?" The geniuses were dumbfounded.

"Your Highness Dongyang, stop holding back and say what you have to say!" the burly young man 'Manlong' urged.

"Haha, what I'm about to say should be widely circulated among those who have been crowned kings and immortals, it's just that we don't have access to it."

Despite the urging gazes of the crowd, Dongyang Yuhai spoke slowly and deliberately.
"Everyone, this extraordinary King has not only passed the 20th level of the Bridge to Heaven, but it is also said that when he was on the battlefield outside the realm, he killed dozens of powerful alien kings who were comparable to the 20th level of the Bridge to Heaven in less than two months!"

As Dongyang Yuhai spoke, a look of extreme reverence appeared on his face.

"As you all know, after breaking through to the Immortal realm, the body transforms into an Immortal Divine Body. Even if it is torn apart, it will recover again. It is extremely difficult to kill an opponent of the same realm. However, the record of Qiyuan King is truly like slaughtering dogs when killing King-level Immortals. Among all King-level Immortals, Lord Qiyuan King is absolutely the most invincible super existence!"

“It’s a pity I’m not from the lineage of the Cosmic Chaos Monument. Oh, right, Igor!” He suddenly looked at Igor in the corner, “If you get the chance to become an apprentice through the third level of the Sky Bridge in the future, you can also try to become an apprentice of the Qiyuan King. I heard that the Qiyuan King is quite fond of guiding the younger generation.”

I had a senior brother at the 'Giant God's Dojo,' who entered Chaos City to cultivate even earlier than us. According to him, many of the new cultivators who joined the lineage of the Cosmic Chaos Monument had received guidance from Lord Qiyuan Wang!

"Yes, Lord Qiyuan is very willing to guide the younger generation!"

Bai Wuming, whose temperament was somewhat cold and stern, also nodded in agreement.

He received an email signed 'Qi Yuan' shortly after the Genius Battle ended. In the email, the sender gave him many suggestions on how to make good use of his points and how Chaos City should develop over the next 30 years.

Thanks to these suggestions, he was able to become the first person among the people in the Primordial Secret Realm to pass through the second level of the Bridge to Heaven, and he also had a clear plan for his cultivation direction for a long time to come. These plans will make his initial stage of cultivation go more smoothly.

Therefore, he naturally felt a deep sense of gratitude towards this strange and fortunate King whom he had never met before.

However, since this matter involved the King of Miracles, he did not express his specific thoughts, but simply echoed the sentiment and then fell silent.

Meanwhile, after listening to Dongyang Yuhai's account, Igor, whose face was already somewhat pale in the corner, felt his heart sink even further, until it plummeted to the bottom.

"Killing a King is as easy as slaughtering a dog. He's practically invincible among the Immortals. This... such a super being is pointing me out, and I... I just ignored him?"

"Was my choice really wrong?"

Chaos City, Wonderland Mansion.

Under the envious gazes of the cultivators who came to listen to the lecture, 'Lu Ming', who had just successfully become an apprentice, quickly left behind his teacher and a group of senior brothers and sisters.

After they left, the cultivators who had not yet dispersed from the square immediately began to discuss among themselves.

"Another person has successfully become an apprentice!"

"This is the fifth time in over two thousand years that Lord Qiyuan has accepted a disciple. This frequency is quite high compared to other grandmasters!"

“It’s different. The previous ones all got the chance to become disciples by passing the Wonder Tower. This little guy who is at the cosmic level should be a member of this year’s Genius Battle. He is the first one to successfully become a disciple without participating in the Wonder Tower test.”

"It seems to be called Deer Cry."

"Yes, it's Lu Ming. Speaking of which, this little guy is quite impressive. He's just a member of the Heaven and Earth Secret Realm, but he's already passed through the third level of the Bridge to Heaven ahead of a group of members from the Primordial Secret Realm, and even successfully become an apprentice!"

"I see. Lord Qiyuan has truly remarkable insight, managing to discover such a hidden genius!"

"That little fellow is truly lucky to have successfully become an apprentice of Lord Qiyuan."

In the main hall of Qiyuan Mansion, where Qiyuan usually cultivates.

Lu Ming bowed slightly to Qi Yuan, who was seated, and then respectfully spoke:

"Teacher, upon learning that your disciple has successfully become your disciple, Salom of the Primal Realm, Bai Wuming of the Primordial Realm, and Vittorioto of the Heaven and Earth Realm would like to express our gratitude for the emails we sent to them immediately after the Genius Battle ended."

"Hehe, they've really put their heart into it."

Qi Yuan nodded with a faint smile, then looked at his newly accepted disciple.

"These past 30 years in Chaos City have been foundation-laying years for you. Now that you've become my personal disciple, I'll have to lend you a hand."

As he spoke, he gently waved his hand, and streams of light drifted down in front of Lu Ming, the black-haired youth with dragon horns.

They were strange rhomboid crystals, each about the size of a fist, some almost transparent, with a faint wisp of bluish-gray air flowing within them.

"This is a rare treasure of heaven and earth called 'Origin Crystal,' which is born in some special secret realms. It contains a unique aura that is extremely close to the origin of the universe. After absorbing this special aura, your speed of understanding the laws can soar to a level almost comparable to that of an ordinary world lord within a month."

Qi Yuan smiled and introduced, "However, your compatibility with the fundamental laws is not much worse than that of some ordinary realm lords. This fundamental crystal can probably only help you improve by three to five times. You can mainly use ten fundamental crystals when you are comprehending certain difficult points. It should be enough for your needs for the next period of time."

"A treasure that enhances the compatibility with the fundamental laws!"

Lu Ming's eyes widened in surprise. Although he came from a relatively ordinary background, his perspective was by no means narrow thanks to the convenience of the virtual universe.

A treasure that can enhance the compatibility with laws, and even directly elevate it to a level comparable to an ordinary realm lord, is of unimaginable value.

"Teacher, this gift is too precious," Lu Ming said somewhat awkwardly.

"Hehe, don't underestimate your teacher. This little thing is nothing to me."

Qi Yuan waved his hand and laughed, "Take it. As long as you cultivate diligently in the future, that will be the greatest repayment to me."

"Thank you, Master! I will certainly cultivate diligently and live up to your expectations!"

Upon hearing this, Lu Ming respectfully bowed to Qi Yuanxing in gratitude.

"Okay, go and cultivate first. If you have any questions, feel free to come and ask me anytime." Qi Yuan waved his hand.

"Yes, teacher, I will take my leave now." Lu Ming bowed and respectfully withdrew.

Watching his departing figure, Qi Yuan's lips curled into a rather expectant smile.

"With the Origin Crystal and the edifying abilities of the Taiqing Avatar, I wonder how far this little fellow will go during his time in Chaos City?"

(End of this chapter)