Swallowing the Stars: Ten Thousand Times Return for Taking on Disciples

Chapter 2 The Golden Finger is Returning It to Apprentices
The "third son" that Lu Qingshan mentioned is called Lu San.

He is one of the descendants of the Maple Leaf Star Clan whom Lu Qingshan rescued over the past few thousand years.

Years ago, Lu San's ancestors were sold to a pirate stronghold, and their bloodline was also tightly controlled by the organization. Lu San did not directly participate in interstellar plunder; his job was to help the pirates cultivate new forces.

After bringing him back to Maple Leaf Star, Lu Qingshan examined him and then entrusted him with the task of cultivating geniuses for the Maple Leaf Empire.

This guy has some skill and hasn't disappointed his ancestor Lu Qingshan. Over the past few thousand years, he has built a mature training system for the Maple Leaf Empire.

He single-handedly created the Young Eagle Star, a talent cultivation base.

Even the ancestor Lu Qingshan was persuaded to take time out of his busy schedule every hundred years to guide the genius youth from the fledgling Eagle Star.

The heavy metal hatch of the underground cave hummed as it slowly slid open.

Lu San stepped in first, followed closely by five young men and women.

As soon as they stepped into this space, an invisible pressure, seemingly originating from the very source of life, crashed down like a massive ocean, causing their breath to catch in their throats.

"Ancestor!"

Without the slightest hesitation, Lu San knelt down on the ground with a thud.

The five boys behind him were even more shaken, and they didn't even have the courage to look up at the figure sitting high on the stone seat. They hurriedly followed Lu San and prostrated themselves on the ground.

"Everyone, get up."

Only when a gentle voice rang out, and everyone felt as if they had been granted a pardon, did they dare to stand up tremblingly.

A bold and talented young man secretly glanced up and was even more astonished. It was unimaginable that the terrifying energy that almost crushed his soul originated from the kind-faced, deep-eyed youth on the stone seat.

“Lu San.” Lu Qingshan’s gaze fell on the gray-robed man, his voice carrying a barely perceptible sigh.

“Thousands of years have passed, and you are still stuck at the ninth level of the Stellar Realm. It is important to cultivate new blood for the Empire, but you cannot slack off in your own cultivation. If you cannot break through to the Cosmic Realm, your lifespan... may only have these last thousand years left.”

For tens of thousands of years, Lu Qingshan has been working to improve his physical condition. As a result of his long illness, he has become a skilled doctor and his perception of lifespan is now extremely accurate.

Without external interference, Lu San's lifespan will be within this thousand years.

Lu San raised his head, his face showing no panic, only the calm that comes with years of experience: "If it weren't for the Ancestor's rescue back then, I'm afraid I would have perished along with the space pirates long ago. To have lived for these few thousand years is already a stroke of luck. As for the cosmic level... I've long since given up on that idea. Rather than wasting the Empire's precious resources to gamble on that slim hope, I'd rather devote all my energy to Eagle Star. Watching generation after generation of seedlings grow is enough for me."

Lu Qingshan sensed the dejected ambition in his words and said no more. He was currently struggling to make ends meet, penniless and in debt, and even if Lu San wanted to help, he had no resources to offer.

His gaze shifted to the five somewhat uneasy young geniuses.

There were three men and two women, four of whom were of ordinary human blood, but one boy stood out from the crowd.

The boy had a pair of short, dark purple horns on his head, each crackling with faint arcs of electricity. He was a descendant of the Horned Thunder Clan, an extremely rare race within the Maple Leaf Star territory, and possessed a bloodline of the seventh rank in the universe.

Their attention was focused on Lu San earlier, and they hadn't paid close attention. Now, Lu Qingshan's powerful mental energy instantly enveloped the five of them, conducting the most subtle examination.

Suddenly, a thought struck him, and he let out a soft "Eh."

In his mental perception, the other four showed no abnormalities. Only above the head of the Horned Thunder Clan youth, Lei Ming, several lines of strange characters, shimmering with a faint light, appeared without warning, seemingly formed from the very laws of the universe:
Name: Lei Ming

【Age: 28】

[Rank: Planetary Tier 9]

[Rating: Third-rate genius (can take on apprentices). Base return ratio: 100 times.]

Goldfinger?
As a ninth-tier powerhouse who had lived for 90,000 years and was only one step away from becoming a domain lord, Lu Qingshan did not believe that this was an illusion.

Unless it's some immortal being who's a master of illusion playing tricks on him.

But that idea is even more absurd.

So... there's only one answer! This belated opportunity is actually real.

But... this cheat code came a little too late!

Lu Qingshan's lips twitched involuntarily, and a complex emotion welled up in his heart.

Fortunately, he did not refuse to meet with Lu San and the others this time because of his failed breakthrough; otherwise, he might not have discovered this cheat code even until Lu San died.

That would be too tragic.

Is this system inanimate? It doesn't give any prompts at all.

The atmosphere at the scene was somewhat heavy.

Lu Qingshan's gaze swept over the geniuses repeatedly, almost as if it were a physical object, lingering on Lei Ming the longest.

Lei Ming felt as if all his secrets had been stripped away, exposed to an invisible searchlight. His heart pounded, and his palms were drenched in cold sweat. Lu San also keenly sensed the abnormality, and his heart skipped a beat.

Could there be something wrong with this thunder?
If it was truly his oversight that brought the problematic person here… The thought sent a chill down his spine, soaking his grey robe lining with cold sweat.

Just as Lu San was feeling uneasy and about to ask cautiously, Lu Qingshan spoke first, his tone carrying a rare hint of praise: "Lu San, you... did a good job."

"Ancestor!" A huge weight was lifted from Lu San's heart, followed by immense joy. "Could it be... that among these geniuses, there is a rough gem that you have taken a liking to?"

"Unleash your strongest moves." Lu Qingshan didn't answer Lu San directly; his gaze swept across the five young geniuses like lightning.

The group looked at the cavern, which was riddled with cracks, and hesitated.

"Don't worry, even though this place is dilapidated, you can't cause it the slightest damage even if you use all your strength."

Hear this.

Several geniuses began to unleash their unique skills.

Lu Qingshan multitasked and quickly reviewed everyone's special moves.

"stop."

The sound wasn't loud, but it clearly drowned out all the energy explosions. Upon hearing it, the five immediately stopped their attacks. One of the youths stopped too hastily, suffering a backlash from his own energy; his face turned pale, and he was filled with regret.

"Your move..." Lu Qingshan raised his hand, pointing it at the pale-faced youth from afar. An energy attack identical to the one the youth had just used condensed out of thin air. However, in Lu Qingshan's hands, this attack underwent a dramatic transformation; beneath its violent and fierce exterior, layers of energy overlapped and stretched endlessly.

"Memorize this move. If you can execute even one-tenth of it, your mastery of the essence will reach its peak."

"Thank you for your guidance, Ancestor!" The young man's voice trembled with excitement. This was a unique move he had created himself, and when it was performed by the Ancestor, it was as if he had been reborn, with its power and artistic conception more than a hundred times stronger.

This simple demonstration was like opening a new door for him, far more valuable than ten years of arduous study!
As expected, there was no special feedback when the guidance was given to these ordinary geniuses who were not marked by the system.

In the past, when he met with the geniuses of Young Eagle Star, he would mostly offer a few words of encouragement and rarely personally demonstrate his magic. After all, compared to the true prodigies of the universe, the so-called geniuses of Maple Leaf Star, chosen only once every hundred years, were far too ordinary. If nothing unexpected happened, the vast majority of them would never break through the shackles of the ninth rank of the Stellar level in their entire lives, and the probability of them stepping into the Cosmic level was one in ten thousand.

The universe is vast and boundless, with a strict hierarchy of civilizations. A cosmic-level powerhouse might just be cannon fodder on the brutal extraterrestrial battlefield, but in the territory of this rudimentary cosmic nation to which Maple Leaf Star belongs, they are already top-tier beings capable of suppressing a region. In a vast star system with hundreds of thousands of inhabited planets, the birth of one or two cosmic-level beings is considered a sign of great fortune.

Lu Qingshan, who has lived for 90,000 years and is nearing the end of his life yet remains stuck at the ninth level of the universe, might be considered an absolute waste compared to true cosmic geniuses. However, in the Maple Leaf Empire, which of the trillions of beings dares not call him Ancestor?

Next, Lu Qingshan used several other genius techniques, saving them at least ten years of arduous training.

This earned the admiration of many geniuses.

With just a glance, the ancestor was able to effortlessly master all their unique skills. This accumulation of knowledge and strength far exceeded their imagination.

Especially Lei Ming, who was the strongest among the five, had already reached a bottleneck and could not advance any further. But when Lu Qingshan casually condensed a rudimentary lightning domain and showed him the profound mystery of its endless cycle of destruction and creation, Lei Ming felt as if a thunderbolt exploded in his mind. The solid barrier that had trapped him for so long was actually cleaved open by this lightning.

The limit of artistic conception is the realm, the realm...

A bright path leading to a higher realm suddenly unfolded before his eyes.

"May I have your name?"

The calm voice rang in Lei Ming's ears, yet it sounded like heavenly music.

"Reporting to...Reporting to the Ancestor, your disciple Lei Ming comes from Jiao Lei Star!" Lei Ming bowed hurriedly, his voice trembling with excitement.

The other four geniuses' eyes immediately focused on him, filled with undisguised envy.

"Your talent is decent." Lu Qingshan smiled gently. "Would you be willing... to become my disciple?"

"Huh?" Lei Ming was completely stunned, his mind went blank.

"Lei Ming, the Ancestor is asking you a question!"

Lu San quickly reminded him.

The ancestor hasn't taken on any apprentices in years, what is this guy still hesitating for?

Lei Ming seemed to awaken from a dream, and knelt down with a thud, his forehead hitting the cold ground heavily: "Ancestor, I am willing."

"Get up," Lu Qingshan's smile deepened, and he felt a greater liking for this talented yet somewhat naive and simple-minded young man. "Still calling me ancestor?"

“Teacher…” Lei Ming raised his head, his voice loud and firm.

The moment the master-disciple relationship was established...

hum!
A profound and unfathomable fluctuation of law silently swept across Lu Qingshan's soul essence. Countless subtle insights into the realm of lightning emerged out of nowhere, like a hundred rivers flowing into the sea, directly imprinting themselves into the depths of his consciousness.

[Your disciple Lei Ming has made some progress in the rudimentary form of the Lightning Domain, triggering a 100x return bonus. Your understanding of the Lightning Domain has also been enhanced.]

(End of this chapter)