Upon arriving at the end of the palace, a figure finally appeared. Li Yang looked over.
As he looked, the figure suddenly vanished before his eyes. He felt a vortex form in its place.
Li Yang felt his entire consciousness being pulled into the vortex, as if he were coming into contact with one new Cosmos after another.
It was as if the vortex before him represented a new Cosmos, a whole other world.
His soul submitted involuntarily, unable to muster even a shred of resistance.
An eternity seemed to pass, yet it also felt like a mere instant. When Li Yang came back to his senses, his gaze was still fixed ahead.
The figure was there again, as if it had never disappeared in the first place.
'That feeling just now…'
Li Yang was shaken. 'The Eternal Ancestor was just standing there, unmoving. I only glanced at him, yet it felt like I was facing an entire Cosmos.'
'Is this the Eternal Ancestor? One of the two Creator Ancestors of the Human Race?' Li Yang couldn't help but wonder as he looked ahead.
Not far away stood a burly, ten-meter-tall man. He was dressed in a suit of simple, black, ancient-looking armor. His facial features were somewhat similar to an Earthling's, but he also had several red, arcane markings.
At first glance, this burly man seemed unremarkable, but if you focused your senses, you could feel that he was like an entire world unto himself.
He remembered the sensation from moments ago.
Back in the Solar System, when he had seen the Black Inference Dominator, he had felt utterly insignificant, like an ant facing God himself.
But the man before him surpassed even a Dominator. He was beyond God, holding complete dominion over this world.
As Li Yang was lost in thought, Emperor Zilin, who stood beside him, spoke respectfully. "Greetings, Teacher."
Emperor Zilin's words confirmed the man's identity, and Li Yang hurriedly added, "Greetings, Eternal Ancestor."
"Li Yang?"
The Eternal Ancestor looked at Li Yang and spoke.
His voice sounded very ordinary and gentle.
At first glance, the Eternal Ancestor seemed like an ordinary person. Had they met elsewhere, no one would have even guessed he was a Cultivator.
"You've comprehended the laws of four elements—space, time, the Fire Element, and lightning. To have reached this stage in less than a century… you are quite impressive."
The Eternal Ancestor looked at Li Yang and asked gently, "Are you willing to take me as your master?"
Upon hearing this, Li Yang immediately declared, "This disciple, Li Yang, pays his respects to his Teacher!"
He knelt before the Eternal Ancestor and performed a respectful kowtow.
"Mm."
The Eternal Ancestor nodded. "You are currently cultivating the Destruction Spear Skill and have just grasped the second form. I've watched the video of your battle on the Path of Deities. You've only barely grasped the attack of the second form. I have prepared a special space you can enter. It will help you fully master the second form of the Destruction Spear Skill."
'A combat space?'
Li Yang's heart jumped when he heard the Eternal Ancestor's words.
'To be honest, I've really only just begun to grasp the second form of the Destruction Spear Skill. My mastery is far from perfect!'
This was a technique left behind by the Profound Destruction Dominator! Executing the second form of the Destruction Spear Skill was supposed to be able to kill Deities with ease!
However, in that pocket dimension with the stairs, Li Yang had actually relied on the arena's spatial advantage, which prevented the middle-aged man—a power-suppressed Emperor Zilin—from dodging. Even then, it had still taken him a full ten minutes to claim victory.
'If we had been in the outside world, that move might not have even been enough to kill a Deity.'
Mastery of a move could be divided into stages: initial grasp, proficiency, expertise, perfect mastery, and so on. With enough mastery, one could even perform beyond the move's normal capabilities.
Li Yang was currently lacking, having only reached the stage of an initial grasp.
Had he reached the level of expertise, he probably could have defeated the power-suppressed Emperor Zilin on the fortieth step in a mere ten seconds or so.
Hearing the Eternal Ancestor's arrangements, Li Yang naturally did not dare to object. He said respectfully, "Yes, Teacher."
"Zilin, take Li Yang there," the Eternal Ancestor said, turning to Emperor Zilin, who was standing respectfully nearby.
Emperor Zilin also said respectfully, "Yes, Teacher."
After the order was given, Li Yang didn't leave right away. Gritting his teeth, he spoke up, "Teacher, this disciple has a matter to report…"
"What is it?"
It was somewhat audacious for a disciple to make a request of his master right after being accepted. Nevertheless, the Eternal Ancestor's voice remained gentle as he looked at Li Yang and inquired.
Li Yang said respectfully, "Teacher, this disciple previously had a conflict with Luoyu, a Deity from the Zun Lie Emperor family of the Hunyuan Martial Saint Realm. Luoyu declared war on me and captured my family just half an hour ago."
Li Yang explained quickly. He was about to be sent to a combat space and didn't know when he would see the Eternal Ancestor again, so he had to bring it up now.
Hearing Li Yang's words, the Eternal Ancestor closed his eyes slightly.
Seeing the Eternal Ancestor like this, Li Yang didn't dare to speak.
After ten-odd seconds, the Eternal Ancestor opened his eyes. "What you said is true. Very well, I shall issue an order. Li Yang, you need not worry. Just focus on your cultivation."
"Thank you, Teacher!"
Hearing the Eternal Ancestor's words, Li Yang was overjoyed.
'What kind of status did the Eternal Ancestor have? He's one of the most powerful experts of the Human Race! With a word from him, there's no way Luoyu could capture my family.'
"A small matter."
The Eternal Ancestor said calmly, "What you need to do now is cultivate in peace. You don't have to worry about other matters. Your focus should be on getting stronger, breaking through to the level of Deities, then Emperors, and so on."
The Eternal Ancestor instructed, "When your mastery of the Destruction Spear Skill's second form reaches the level of proficiency, where you can easily kill an ordinary Deity, you are to return."
"Yes, Teacher." Li Yang respectfully withdrew.
He and Emperor Zilin both left the palace.
'I wonder what order Teacher issued,' Li Yang couldn't help but think.
The Eternal Ancestor hadn't elaborated, and Li Yang hadn't dared to ask for more details.
But he would probably find out soon enough.
"Haha, Junior Brother Li Yang, I've rarely seen Teacher praise a disciple, but he praised you as soon as you arrived."
Emperor Zilin laughed. "Don't worry about your family. Now that Teacher has spoken, no expert would dare to disobey his word."
At this, Emperor Zilin sneered. "That Zun Lie is always off adventuring somewhere. He probably never expected such scum to emerge from his own family. Attacking an opponent's family members? Can you even call someone like that an expert?"
Emperor Zilin's eyes showed a trace of disdain; he clearly looked down on such people.
"I understand, Sixth Senior Brother," Li Yang said with a nod.
"So, Junior Brother Li Yang, you don't need to worry. Just focus on your cultivation."
Emperor Zilin said with a smile, "I'll take you to the combat space Teacher mentioned."
"Yes." Li Yang nodded.