"The man? I know him," Thunder God said. "He's a general of the Three-Axe Mountain. Among the World Lords of the Black Dragon Mountain Starfield, he's one of the more famous ones."
He looked at Luo Feng with a grin.
"Maybe he's here to see you!"
After his stunning performance in the arena melee, Luo Feng had become famous in a single battle. He was now undoubtedly one of the hottest young geniuses in the Black Dragon Mountain Empire.
As for Jiang Li, many people already knew that his teacher was a Universe Venerable.
Anyone who wanted to take such a genius as a disciple first had to ask themselves whether they were even qualified.
"Hahaha! Your Highness Jiang Li!"
Moments later, a hearty voice echoed from outside.
It belonged to General Jiang Tianchen, dressed in a crimson battle robe.
Standing beside him was a kind-looking old man. Although he kept his aura completely restrained, there was an indescribable feeling of age weighing heavily upon him, as though countless years had left their mark.
"General, thank you for everything regarding the World Within a World."
Jiang Li cupped his hands in greeting.
The others also bowed slightly.
"Greetings, General."
"Haha, Your Highness is being too polite."
Jiang Tianchen laughed boldly.
"Thanks to you, I made a fortune off Hagreve as well! Hahaha!"
Just thinking about it made him want to laugh.
Hagreve had spent ninety percent of his fortune...
...only to end up with absolutely nothing.
"Your Highness, allow me to introduce one of the three founders of Three-Axe Mountain... Lord Luo."
Jiang Tianchen smiled as he turned toward the old man.
"This visit is because Lord Luo wishes to meet Hong."
"Me?"
Hong froze, staring at Lord Luo in surprise.
"Yes."
Lord Luo nodded gently.
"Your Highness Jiang Li, could you lend us a room? I'd like to speak with Hong privately."
"Of course."
Jiang Li wasn't surprised by Luo's arrival.
After Hong and Luo entered the reception room...
Jiang Tianchen spoke quietly.
"Although Lord Luo is only at the peak of the World Lord level, he belongs to the absolute strongest among all World Lords."
"Does Lord Luo want to accept Hong as his personal disciple?"
Jiang Li asked as he poured Jiang Tianchen a cup of tea.
"Nothing can be hidden from Your Highness."
Jiang Tianchen sighed in admiration.
"In terms of the Laws of Light and Time, Lord Luo is unquestionably among the top three World Lords in the entire Qianwu Universe Country."
"Even when facing an Undying, Lord Luo can still escape safely!"
"He's that strong?"
Thunder God and Luo Feng both looked astonished.
On the surface, Undying and World Lord were separated by only one realm.
In reality, however, they were completely different life forms.
It was like comparing a War God with someone who had surpassed the War God realm—they were overwhelmingly superior in every aspect.
On the entire Earth, among thousands of War Gods, only Jiang Li had ever managed to confront someone beyond the War God realm while still remaining a War God himself.
That alone showed just how terrifying Lord Luo truly was.
"Of course..."
Jiang Tianchen added,
"I only said he can escape."
An hour later, after seeing Luo and Jiang Tianchen off...
Brother Hong, how did it go?"
Thunder God immediately asked.
"Did Lord Luo want to take you as his disciple?"
"He did."
Hong smiled and nodded.
"But I declined."
"You idiot!"
Before anyone else could react, Babata—who had been lying lazily on Jiang Li's shoulder—jumped up and shouted.
"That's Luo! The famous Time World Lord Luo!"
"I can guarantee that in the entire Qianwu Universe Country, even among the Undyings, there are very few who can match his attainments in the Laws of Light and Time!"
Everyone was already accustomed to intelligent lifeforms.
After all, Old Wu constantly popped out to ramble about one thing or another.
"Time World Lord?"
Old Wu glanced disdainfully at Babata's tiny devil form.
"Sounds impressive."
"You little brat really know how to exaggerate."
"A mere World Lord dares to use a Law as his title?"
"What do you know?"
Babata snorted angrily.
"And stop calling me a brat, you old freak! The great Babata is no child!"
"This Luo was a peerless genius who rose to prominence tens of millions of years ago."
"He was an Axe Fighter at the Domain Lord level."
"Even my master thought incredibly highly of him!"
"And what kind of vision did your master have?"
Old Wu looked at Babata with obvious contempt.
Babata immediately puffed out his chest proudly.
Showing off his little devil fangs, he laughed triumphantly.
"My master was an Undying who was just a step away from becoming a Marquis!"
"That explains why Jiang Li doesn't think much of you."
Old Wu: "..."
Watching the two intelligent lifeforms bicker endlessly, Jiang Li and the others could only shake their heads helplessly.
"Lord Luo's lifespan is almost over."
Hong sighed softly.
"If I become his disciple, I'd have to wander the universe with him for twenty thousand years..."
"Twenty thousand years..."
Human civilization had only existed for about five thousand years.
Although Hong was the oldest among them, he still wasn't even a hundred years old.
To him, twenty thousand years was simply an unimaginable length of time.
"You don't need to worry so much."
Jiang Li looked at Hong and smiled.
"As long as you make it into the top one thousand of the universe, every problem will solve itself."
"Babata, stop arguing."
"Send the Miscellaneous Essays on Time to the Curator and my father-in-law."
"Got it!"
Babata answered happily.
Before sending the manual, he deliberately glanced at Old Wu and snorted proudly.
"Do you even know what level this secret manual is?"
"It came from a King-tier Undying..."
Old Wu: "..."
Hong and Thunder God exchanged speechless looks.
"This..."
"It isn't anything particularly precious."
Jiang Li smiled.
"Compared to the Zhuxian technique the Curator gave me, it isn't worth mentioning."
"Jiang Li..."
Hong nodded heavily.
"I'll remember this kindness."
Right now, becoming stronger was what mattered most.
There was no room for sentimentality if he wanted to rank among the top one thousand of the Qianwu Universe Country.
As time passed...
The second stage of the arena finals officially began.
The format was simple.
One-on-one elimination.
Win, and you advanced.
Lose, and you were sent to the loser's bracket.
"Ten thousand competitors are paired into five thousand matches."
"The five thousand winners are paired again, leaving two thousand five hundred."
"This continues until the fourth round."
"The 625 contestants who win all four matches will directly qualify for the Final Summit Battle."
"The remaining 275 qualification spots will be decided through the loser's bracket round-robin."
Looking over the rules distributed by the Virtual Universe Company, Luo Feng, Hong, and Thunder God all felt the pressure.
After all, matchmaking was completely random.
No one knew what kind of opponent they might face.
Soon...
The matchups were announced.
Luo Feng and Hong had terrible luck.
Luo Feng's bracket included Rong Jun.
Hong's included Blood Sword.
"My luck is unbelievably good!"
Thunder God checked his own bracket.
Every opponent he faced had ranked relatively low in their respective World District preliminaries.
"Didn't Brother Jiang say it before?"
Luo Feng smiled while watching recordings of Rong Jun's previous battles.
His fighting spirit steadily intensified.
"Luck is also part of strength."
"Let's do our best."
Hong encouraged them both.
"We'll meet Jiang Li again in the Final Summit Battle."
Henglan Star System.
Myriad Divine Mountain.
Jiang Li stood atop the highest peak, quietly observing the endless rotation and transformations of the stars across the heavens.
"The second stage will last nearly three years."
"I might have enough time to fuse another Origin Law."
He pondered silently.
"But first..."
"I should check whether Zhang Sanfeng and Yan Chixia have reached the Immortal Realm."
Meanwhile...
Luo Feng's battles had already begun.
Amid the thunderous cheers of over a hundred million citizens of the Black Dragon Mountain Empire...
He defeated opponent after opponent.
Victory after victory.
Until he reached the fourth and final match.
Hong was no less impressive.
Three consecutive victories brought him to the final round as well.
His last opponent...
...was his old rival—
Blood Sword.
Thunder God, however, was much less fortunate.
He was eliminated in the second round and could only advance to compete in the loser's bracket round-robin.
-------------------
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