Swallowing the Stars: 100x Return for Teaching Apprentices

Chapter 100 The banquet is over
Upon seeing the ancestor's reply, Mireya did not hesitate for a moment. She immediately knelt down and, following the traditional apprenticeship rituals passed down through the universe, respectfully kowtowed to Qi Yuan.

"Disciple Mireya Stuart sincerely wishes to become Lord Qi Yuan's disciple. I humbly request that you accept me as your disciple and generously teach me!"

"You agree now?"

Looking at the four-winged girl kneeling on the ground, Qi Yuan's eyes lit up, and a joyful smile immediately appeared on his face.

In order to win over this genius girl from the Stuart family, he had secretly prepared a lot of words and attractive conditions in his mind.

Before any of this could even be revealed, Mireya had already readily accepted the apprenticeship, a process that was surprisingly smooth!
"Hahaha, good, good disciple, from now on you will be my fourth personal disciple, get up!"

Qi Yuan laughed out loud, but a wisp of his consciousness was already quickly checking Mireya's attribute panel.

Name: Mireia Stuart

[Race: Antland Winged Race]

[Realm: Stellar Level Sixth Order]

[Attribute: Wind]

[School of Practice: Spiritual Mindfulness Master]

[Base return rate: 53x]

The descriptions in the attribute panel were still simple, but they still made Qi Yuan feel slightly excited.

With a base return rate of 53 times, she became the disciple with the highest return rate among Qi Yuan's disciples, and by a significant margin of at least ten or twenty times, so she naturally received his special attention!

"Haha, you wait here for a moment."

Seeing Mireya stand up, Qi Yuan smiled and nodded, but then turned his gaze to Xue Lan Changfeng beside him.

"Xue Lan Chang Feng".

Qi Yuan was about to speak.

"Lord Qi Yuan!"

Xue Lan Changfeng, standing to the side, knelt down first and kowtowed deeply to Qi Yuan.

"Xue Lan Changfeng sincerely requests to become your disciple, Lord Qi Yuan. Please grant Changfeng the opportunity to learn from you!"

Upon hearing this, Qi Yuan raised an eyebrow slightly.

"I haven't even said anything yet, how come you've already learned to answer before me?"

It's no wonder he was surprised, since he didn't know the specifics of Xue Lan Changfeng's experiences within the family.

Logically speaking, Xue Lan Changfeng's base return rate is 29 times, which is comparable to most universe-level beings, and he would definitely be considered an outstanding person in the outside world.

Unfortunately, he was born into the powerful world-lord family, the 'Snowstorm Family'.
Compared to the most elite members of the Xue Lan family, whose number is in the billions, Xue Lan Changfeng's talent does indeed seem rather ordinary.

More importantly, due to certain special reasons, Xue Lan Changfeng received excessive care from the patriarch of the Xue Lan family.

Imagine this: you are a member of the same family, but you are clearly inferior to others in terms of talent and performance. However, you receive far more resources and attention than other family members. How can this not arouse jealousy and exclusion?

Even if they don't ostracize him, they will definitely subconsciously distance themselves from him.

Xue Lan Changfeng grew up in such an environment of exclusion and alienation, and the bitterness and depression in his heart were naturally beyond the comprehension of ordinary people.

Especially after his parents died unexpectedly while carrying out a family mission, he had no more attachments and even thought about leaving the family and wandering around.

However, whenever he faced his great-grandfather, who had shown him great care, he found it difficult to say the words of abandoning his family and going on a life of wandering.

Right now, if one can successfully become Qi Yuan's disciple, it would be a cause for celebration for everyone.

Firstly, he could leave his family and no longer have to endure the scorn of those jealous people;
Secondly, if he could cultivate under the guidance of this Master Qi Yuan, his great-grandfather would feel very at ease and wouldn't have too many worries about his safety.

And most importantly, he was also extremely interested in the inheritance that Qi Yuan had just mentioned!
Limited by his own aptitude, his progress in cultivation was far inferior to that of the elite clansmen.

However, when he passed the test of the Strange Fate Tower, he felt a rare sense of confidence and passion!
Those intricate engravings that seemed dizzying to others held an unimaginable attraction for him, inspiring him to develop a desire to keep studying them.

And just now, after listening to what Lord Qi Yuan said, as long as he followed him to cultivate, he would have the opportunity to learn the relevant inheritance, which naturally made him extremely excited!
And this might be an opportunity for him to change his life!
Seeing that Qi Yuan didn't speak for a moment, Xue Lan Changfeng thought he was going to refuse, so she quickly added:
"Lord Qi Yuan, Xue Lan Changfeng knows that his talent is limited. He would be willing to become your disciple in name only, as long as he can cultivate by your side. He hopes that Lord Qi Yuan can grant his request!"

"Hehe, you."

Qi Yuan, regaining his senses, couldn't help but laugh out loud. "You little rascal, at least let me finish what I have to say."

"Although you only passed the sixth level of the test, your talent in this area is undeniable. Therefore, I will give you the same opportunity."

He straightened his expression and solemnly began to speak:

"Xue Lan Changfeng, I'm asking you now: are you willing to become my fifth personal disciple? Of course, the same conditions apply: after becoming my disciple, you will not be able to join the core ranks of other major forces for a short period of time. Please consider this carefully before answering me."

"No need to think about it, I'm willing to become your disciple."

Xue Lan Changfeng spoke with great decisiveness and respect, bowing to Qi Yuan and saying, "Disciple Xue Lan Changfeng greets Master!"

"Hahaha, good, very good!"

Qi Yuan burst into hearty laughter.

The process of accepting apprentices, which he had imagined would be somewhat bumpy, went unexpectedly smoothly, even giving him a vague sense of unreality.

Especially after seeing Xue Lan Changfeng's attribute panel, his joy became even stronger!
Because Xue Lan Changfeng's physical attributes are—

thunder!
The three subordinate attributes of the law of time are wind, lightning, and light.
Currently, we have Yuanmu (Light Attribute), Mireya (Wind Attribute), and Xuelan Changfeng (Lightning Attribute).
The three disciples' attributes perfectly matched the three lower-level laws corresponding to the Law of Time, and they all possessed considerable talent in formations. If Qi Yuan's conjecture was correct, he might soon be able to complete the long-desired "Time Array" with the help of these two newly recruited disciples!
"Haha, Changfeng!"

Qi Yuan looked at Xue Lan Changfeng and asked with a smile, "Have you ever used any items to enhance your bloodline or aptitude before?"

"Teacher Hui"

Upon hearing this, Xue Lan Changfeng replied somewhat awkwardly, "My elders once bought me a bloodline evolution agent, a drop of Karius Ancient Tree sap, and some other auxiliary items with slightly weaker effects."

He couldn't help but feel embarrassed. Despite using so many precious items, his aptitude was still far inferior to that of his peers, which made him feel ashamed.

"Oh? They've already used the Bloodline Evolution Agent and the Kalius Ancient Tree Sap?"

Qi Yuan was slightly surprised.

Needless to say, the Bloodline Evolution Agent is a precious medicine that Luo Feng and his companions took in the original novel. It can greatly improve one's bloodline after use. It is extremely rare in the outside world, and each dose is extremely expensive.

The sap of the ancient tree of Chalius has similar effects, but it is more effective in strengthening and transforming the soul.

However, in terms of effectiveness and rarity, the Karius Ancient Tree Sap is even more potent than the Bloodline Evolution Agent.

Qi Yuan only then realized that Xue Lan Changfeng had used these two treasures to increase his aptitude by 29 times.

No wonder I vaguely heard people mention during casual conversations that his aptitude was notoriously poor within the Xue Lan family.
He didn't seem to dislike this disciple.

However, since Xue Lan Changfeng has already used these two treasures, he will probably have to put in extra effort to help him improve his aptitude further.

Xue Lan Changfeng looked at Qi Yuan in silence, but the embarrassment on her face became increasingly difficult to hide. She thought that she would be looked down upon by this teacher.

Fortunately, Qi Yuan immediately followed up with a smile:
"Hehe, I've heard a little about you..."

He smiled and said, "However, I must tell you that on the path of cultivation, innate talent is only one aspect; temperament, will, and perseverance are equally important!"

"Innate talent can be improved, but a firm will and perseverance cannot be cultivated in a day. Therefore, you must not underestimate yourself or waver in your pursuit of strength!"

Listening to Qi Yuan's words, Xue Lan Changfeng's expression kept changing, but in the end it gradually became extremely firm.

"Thank you, teacher. I will remember your teachings!"

Xue Lan Changfeng bowed respectfully to Qi Yuan.

"Ah."

Qi Yuan nodded, then flipped his hand and took out two drops of Dragon Essence, which he then used his Origin Force to lift and hand to the two newly accepted disciples.

"This item is the essence of dragon essence, a rare treasure of heaven and earth that can greatly improve one's bloodline. You two..."

His gaze swept over Xue Lan Changfeng, but finally settled on Mireya standing to the side—

This disciple possesses exceptional innate talent, but it remains to be seen whether the Dragon Essence will still have any effect on him.
However, it's just a drop of Dragon Essence anyway, so it's fine to waste it. There's no harm in giving it a try; as long as it improves even a little, it's a gain.
Thinking it over, he continued, "Although you two have both used similar supplements, they should still have some effect after taking them. Take them back and find an opportunity to use them yourselves."

"Thank you teacher!"

Both Mireya and Xue Lan Changfeng bowed respectfully in gratitude.

"Haha, let's go out and take a look. Some guests have already started leaving, so the banquet is probably almost over."

The banquet, bustling with activity, has been going on for nearly five days.

During this time, the only immortal god, Xing Zhan, had already made an excuse to leave.

However, this also made the people present more relaxed and at ease, and they could freely talk about some private topics that were inconvenient to mention.

Especially on this occasion, with several key figures from the Blue Bay Star Region branch of the Virtual Universe Company present, some world lord families naturally want to take this opportunity to cultivate relationships and try to finalize some beneficial agreements.

For example, there's the huge commercial and economic "cake" under the power of the Ministry of Commerce Director Wiggins, and then there are the elite training quotas under the control of Qi Yuan, the Ministry of Military Affairs Director.
However, what frustrated the realm lords was that not only was the old fox Wiggins difficult to deal with, but even Qi Yuan, the newly appointed Director of the Martial Arts Department, was extremely tight-lipped.

During the gathering, many realm lords took the opportunity, either indirectly or more directly, to express their desires and indicate their willingness to pay the due price for them.

However, Director Qi Yuan only gave a businesslike response, saying that everyone should arrange for their outstanding clansmen to participate in the Virtual Universe Company's assessment in accordance with regulations.

This explanation, of course, is not satisfactory to everyone.

After all, not to mention the number of slots available, the difference between slots at different levels is huge.

The various divisions of the Virtual Universe Company classify the elites they recruit into different levels based on their performance, such as Special Grade, Grade 1, Grade 2, and Grade 3.

The level of training invested in each level of genius varies greatly, sometimes by more than ten times!
By striving to secure greater resource investment, the achievements we can make in the future will naturally be greater.

The reason these people were so eager to get Qi Yuan's attention was naturally because they wanted to get more preferential treatment from him.

For example, if an elite member of a family falls between the criteria for a Level 2 elite and a Level 3 elite based on various assessments, then a single sentence from Qi Yuan can directly determine the treatment level of this elite member.

For example, the Virtual Universe Company only has 10 elite slots, while each family has 20 elite talents of similar level. There is a great deal of room for maneuver in choosing who to select or not to select.

However, no matter how much goodwill they showed, they could not get a definite answer from Qi Yuan, which made the realm lords anxious but helpless.

After all, they have the behemoth Virtual Universe Company standing behind them, so even if they're unhappy, they wouldn't dare to actually do anything to them.

"Looks like I'll have to go visit 'Tiger Xing' again. Sigh, I'm going to get ripped off again."

With this in mind, the realm lords did not linger any longer and bid farewell to Qi Yuan one after another.

After the last batch of colleagues from the Blue Bay branch left, a grand banquet that had been in preparation and held for more than a month finally came to a close.
(End of this chapter)