Chapter 416: Apprenticeship Gift Pack

"Teaching on behalf of someone?" Zhao Xing caught the key phrase in Gu Luohe's words and was momentarily stunned.

Gu Luohe was already a demigod, based on Zhao Xing's own experience.

A demigod is an Emperor Lord on the path to breaking through to the Divine Realm.

However, Reincarnation Emperor Lords are still strengthening their True Spirits and haven't found a path to breakthrough, so they can only continue cultivating with the goal of strengthening the True Spirit.

Demigods, on the other hand, have found their own path. Although they don't know if this path will lead to success, compared to Emperor Lords, a demigod's Grand Dao is moving forward, while Emperor Lords are still circling.

"Although my performance in the final assessment was good, there are many geniuses more outstanding than me. The possibility of Gu Luohe taking me as a disciple is small. For him to say this now, it seems Qing Yuzi is exerting influence."

Since Meng Wu can retain memories, Demigod Gu Luohe naturally also qualifies to be informed.

Guiding him was probably part of Qing Yuzi's deal with the Empire.

"I am willing," Zhao Xing quickly responded.

Originally, he hadn't even considered Gu Luohe as an option, but since Old Qing had given a nod, Gu Luohe was naturally the better choice!

The only drawback was that Gu Luohe was merely acting as an instructor, guiding him but not intending to truly accept him as a disciple. This meant that Gu Luohe's involvement with him wouldn't be very deep.

In other words, he was accepting the karmic connection from Old Qing, not directly from Gu Luohe.

"Follow me," Gu Luohe said, his expression calm and his voice devoid of emotional fluctuation. Just as Zhao Xing suspected, he viewed teaching as merely a job, with no personal feelings involved.

The disciple-acceptance ceremony didn't last long. The geniuses in Seaweed City quickly found their respective teachers, preparing to begin a new phase.

However, after the ceremony concluded, a piece of news caused a sensation among the geniuses.

"Damn, a demigod actually took a disciple at this Primal Assembly!"

"Gu Luohe, the one known as the strongest demigod, Gu Luohe! He actually took a disciple!"

"Divine Realm cultivators rarely get involved in worldly affairs. They might not even appear in conflicts on the scale of ancient kingdom wars, usually only showing up for racial wars. Demigods are the strongest we can expect to encounter in our lives."

"Demigod powerhouses are also very rare. The Primal World hasn't seen a demigod take a disciple in 250,000 years, let alone the strongest demigod, Gu Luohe Sinong, taking a disciple. The grandest occasion previously was merely 72 Emperor Lords taking disciples."

"Who did Gu Luohe take? Was it Tuo Sen?"

"No, I heard it was a Sinong named Zhao Xing from the North River Galaxy."

"Oh? Not Tuo Sen, one of the Six Saints, but someone else?"

"What Six Saints? That's just a nickname from the outside world. The Primal World doesn't have such a saying."

"I wonder what the inside story is. What a lucky fellow!"

"So envious."

The news of Gu Luohe taking a disciple spread, making Zhao Xing famous.

Previously, he was only known among Sinong geniuses, but now, all the geniuses attending the Primal Assembly had heard of him!

This was because Gu Luohe had only accepted Zhao Xing as a disciple.

However, it was Gu Luohe's freedom whom he wished to accept. The Primal World opens every 3,000 years, and numerous geniuses pour in regularly. Naturally, only under special circumstances would a demigod come forth to take a disciple.

Otherwise, it would be the Reincarnation Emperor Lords, who have more time and energy, making an appearance.

North River Galaxy, Lord's Mansion.

"What? Zhao Xing became Gu Luohe's disciple?"

North River Lord Yang Lin was stunned when he heard the news reported by Qiao Song.

"Are you joking?"

Zhao Xing only reached the second round of the finals, placing him merely among the top 80. But Gu Luohe was the strongest demigod.

Even for North River Lord, an elite Reincarnator, Gu Luohe was a figure he had to look up to.

And he actually took Zhao Xing as a disciple?

"My Lord, it's absolutely true. The Primal Assembly has completely concluded, and promotional materials have already been sent to all major galactic administrative regions of the Empire."

North River Lord immediately checked, and then fully confirmed that Zhao Xing had indeed been accepted as a disciple by Gu Luohe.

"Hahahahaha, it's really true!"

Yang Lin couldn't help but burst into laughter.

When he saw the third round, he only thought Zhao Xing had a great chance of entering the Primal World.

It would take a long time for Zhao Xing to grow up and repay his hometown and the favors he had accumulated.

After all, Zhao Xing was currently only at the Great Divine Ability realm. For him to truly make an impact, he would need to reach the Life-Death Dao Domain realm to leverage this connection.

But now that Zhao Xing had become Gu Luohe's disciple, it was different.

It probably wouldn't be long before Zhao Xing could bring returns to the North River Galaxy!

A long-term investment had become a short-term one, and North River Lord was naturally pleased.

"In the future, the North River Galaxy will undoubtedly experience a period of rapid development, and I will benefit from it as well."

North River Lord was extremely happy, so he waved his hand and declared, "Someone! Go prepare a celebratory banquet!"

"Invite all the important officials from Fengdu World Star and the Great Zhou Dynasty."

"Zhao Xing's territory, Azure Star, is currently under construction. Add more funds to make the territory's construction to a higher standard and more complete."

"And also..."

That day, North River Lord issued many orders, more than half of which revolved around Zhao Xing.

The core principle was simple: even though Zhao Xing couldn't return, should he ever inquire, he must feel the care from his homeland!

North River Galaxy, Wuye Constellation, Fengdu World Star.

At this time, throughout the Great Zhou, official news had also been received, informing them that Zhao Xing had successfully passed the Primal World assessment and become a disciple of a demigod.

"I originally thought King Taihe Liu Tianning was impressive enough, having become Lord Qianhua's disciple, but I never expected Grand Sinong to be even more formidable, actually attracting a demigod to accept him as a disciple!"

"Hahaha, that's why they say Zhao Xing is the Grand Sinong!"

"Just how powerful is a demigod? Even North River Lord personally arranged a banquet, and even officials like us are invited?"

"Brother Ye, you don't understand. The Reincarnation Realm is divided into Ordinary, Veteran, Elite, and Emperor Lord. Above Emperor Lord is Demigod. North River Lord is only an Elite Reincarnator, not even an Emperor Lord."

"There are at least eight thousand, if not ten thousand, Imperial Lords like him. Whereas Gu Luohe is known as the strongest demigod; there's no comparison."

"I see," Ye Yukong nodded, seeming to half-understand. "Gu Luohe uses an Origin Divine Weapon to till the land, while North River Lord can only use a wooden hoe."

Everyone: "..."

The entire Great Zhou could be said to be celebrating nationwide, in a fervent and lively atmosphere.

Zhao Xing's clone left behind in his home country had automatically disintegrated during the final assessment of the Primal Assembly.

He didn't know that North River Lord had held a thirty-year star-year banquet for him.

After being taken away by Gu Luohe from Seaweed City, Zhao Xing entered Gu Luohe's inner world.

The world spun and changed around him.

Zhao Xing felt a soft sensation beneath his feet. Upon closer inspection, what supported him was an enormous leaf.

"Hmm? Is this a Tough Vine? And of Emperor-grade quality?" Zhao Xing couldn't help but be startled.

It wasn't because the vine before him was rare. On the contrary, Tough Vines were the cheapest vine-type soldiers.

Their growth limit was merely the Ascension Realm. In the grading of plant quality, they were nothing more than ordinary weeds.

Yet now, it was of Emperor-grade quality, in its peak state.

The key point was that in the data displayed on the panel, the words "derivative species" were not present after "Tough Vine."

This meant that it was an original species, not having undergone mutation or grafting.

"Without changing its life essence, it actually broke through its growth limit?"

Zhao Xing could also make Illusory Star Mushrooms very strong, breaking their original growth limit.

However, after modification, it would be a different species and could no longer be called an Illusory Star Mushroom.

It should be called Vajra Mushroom, Green Poison Empress, Void Mushroom, and so on.

He looked around. He had landed on an asteroid, which was only about one-tenth the size of a low-grade world star.

The entire planet was covered by a lush green grassland. On the grassland, only this single giant vine stood.

Zhao Xing stepped back and observed. This Tough Vine was only about 100,000 meters tall.

If Emperor-grade quality implied a peak state, it would correspond to the Human Race's Reincarnation Realm.

However, the Tough Vine was only 100,000 meters tall. All of this seemed to break Zhao Xing's preconceived notions about plant life.

Even in his previous life, he had never witnessed such a situation. This was also his first time in Gu Luohe's inner world.

"What do you think?"

"Amazing, perfect!" Zhao Xing exclaimed sincerely. In the eyes of an Egoist Sinong, such a Tough Vine was simply a perfect treasure! No amount of money, wealth, or beauty could compare to it.

It was also incredibly perfect in itself. The structure of every leaf looked so natural.

As if a Tough Vine was meant to grow this large!

The crucial point was that this asteroid in Gu Luohe's inner world had a spiritual energy index of only 5.

In such an environment, it actually sustained an Emperor-grade vine. It was simply incredible.

With a "whoosh," Gu Luohe condensed a phantom image within his inner world and walked with Zhao Xing across the asteroid.

"After you enter the Primal World, you will receive cultivation resources allocated by the Primal World. Someone will then deliver them to you in Seaweed City."

"I will not give you additional resources, but if you have any doubts in your cultivation, you can enter my inner world to cultivate at any time, and you may also ask me questions, but only regarding cultivation."

Zhao Xing understood. Gu Luohe was very clearly stating that between them, there was only a "work" relationship regarding cultivation, and no "personal relationship."

Seeking answers for cultivation doubts was fine, but he should not be approached for personal matters.

For example, if Zhao Xing got into a dispute with someone, Gu Luohe would not act as his backer.

If Zhao Xing encountered danger in his future travels, Gu Luohe would also not be swayed to help.

Seeing that Zhao Xing understood, Gu Luohe stopped speaking and got straight to the point.

"In my inner world, I have prepared a total of twelve cultivation grounds for you. All of them are based on the Grand Dao of Life."

"The first cultivation ground is for comprehending this Tough Vine."

"Hold this, and you can freely enter and exit. You can also ask me if you have any questions."

Gu Luohe tossed over a jade talisman. The words "Gu Luohe" were inscribed on it.

"Teacher, I have a question," Zhao Xing said, taking the jade talisman and immediately seizing the opportunity to ask.

"Given my current situation, how should I arrange my cultivation after receiving the initial resources from the Primal World?"

Gu Luohe looked at Zhao Xing, then said, "You follow the soldier-swarming style. There are three directions that absolutely cannot be overlooked."

"First is the Origin Space. Your Origin Space is neither large enough nor strong enough."

"Among the resources provided by the Primal World, there are Five-Element Origin Stones and Yin-Yang Origin Stones. You will also receive a certain amount of initial points. You can consider using them to purchase these two treasures."

"Second is the Dao Field. You currently have a Grand Yin Ninth-Stage Dao Field. It will be very difficult to advance further and transform it into a Grand Yang Dao Field."

"Ordinary methods of comprehension will no longer work, because it is already extremely difficult to expand a Dao Field at the Great Divine Ability realm. I suggest you exchange for an opportunity to comprehend in the Primal Ocean."

"Third is the spiritual will. Regardless of the Sinong's style, and no matter what spells they wish to cast on plant soldiers, if they don't possess a sufficiently powerful spiritual will, they won't even be able to subdue the soldiers, let alone anything further."

"Therefore, spiritual will is especially crucial, particularly for the soldier-swarming style."

"The Primal World offers many ways to enhance spiritual will and soul strength. You can look them up yourself."

"Thank you, Teacher. I won't disturb you further for now," Zhao Xing said, wisely choosing to excuse himself.

He had not yet received the initial resources provided by the Primal World, nor had he acquired new cultivation techniques or secret arts, so continuing to ask questions would be pointless.

It was better to first absorb the initial resources granted by the Primal World.

Reappearing in Seaweed City, Zhao Xing found that a month had already passed in the outside world.

"The flow of time in Gu Luohe's inner world is different from the outside. He has probably already delved into the Grand Dao of Time."

"Unfortunately, this 'teacher' cannot be fully relied upon."

Thinking of this, Zhao Xing couldn't help but miss Marquis Tian, Liu Tianning, Li Boqian, True Monarch Tianyang, Xu Xing, and Meng Kun from the Xuanhuang Realm era.

In the cosmic version, Zhao Xing currently had two teachers: Qing Yuzi and Gu Luohe.

The former had never taught him a single day, but instead took him into life-and-death battles.

The latter was completely hands-off.

Unlike the teachers from the Xuanhuang Realm era, who, regardless of public or private matters, would truly step up whenever it concerned Zhao Xing!

However, Zhao Xing, putting himself in Gu Luohe's shoes, could understand him.

Gu Luohe simply had no need to take a disciple. He was solely focused on breaking through to the Divine Realm, and acting as an instructor was merely a transaction with Qing Yuzi.

"However, Gu Luohe prepared twelve comprehension grounds for me, all of which involve the Grand Dao of Life. That's already a very good 'disciple-acceptance gift package.'"

Regardless of the style, the foundation for an Egoist Sinong is the comprehension of the Grand Dao of Life. Gu Luohe was a demigod; even if he prepared these casually, they were unique cultivation resources.

"Just because he's aloof now doesn't mean he'll always be aloof. With all of Gu Luohe's divine skills, does he think he can get away from me once I've encountered him?" Zhao Xing's current system panel couldn't detect what Gu Luohe was capable of, but he had witnessed it in his previous life. As long as he dug slowly, this old man's treasure would eventually be unearthed.

When he eventually learned Gu Luohe's ultimate techniques, even if Gu Luohe didn't want to acknowledge it, he would still be his successor!

"First, I'll go get the initial points from the Primal World." Zhao Xing flew towards the treasury in Seaweed City's East District, which was where the geniuses collected their initial resources.