At the same time, several insights into the Law of Time also surfaced in his mind.
However, since the wine was drunk inside the Virtual Universe, those sensations were all illusions.
Right now, he felt as if he were reliving his own cycle of reincarnation, returning to the happiest days of his childhood.
Scenes of joyful memories flowed past one after another.
It was as though he had traveled through time itself.
Just like that, he experienced it nine times in total before it finally ended.
That was where the "Nine Revolutions" came from.
"Good wine!"
At this moment, the Tidal Blade King was already slightly drunk.
Even an invincible king-level expert would get drunk on this Nine-Revolution Mixed-Origin Wine.
In fact, even some Universe Venerables would succumb to its effects.
Compared to Godly Drunk, its potency was on an entirely different level.
After sighing in admiration, the Tidal Blade King quickly poured himself another cup while Grandor was still savoring the aftertaste, then downed it in one gulp.
Grandor was still immersed in the lingering sensation of the wine.
A while later, he finally came to his senses.
When he noticed that the liquid in the bottle had decreased, he directly picked up the bottle and drank down the rest of it.
"Hmph, did you think I wouldn't notice you stealing a drink?"
"I paid for it, so of course I'll drink a little more."
With that, Grandor once again sank into the blissful experience of the Nine-Revolution Mixed-Origin Wine.
The Wine Vault King, watching from the side, couldn't help but slap his thigh in distress.
"Such waste! Such terrible waste!"
"This wine should be savored slowly!"
"One must taste the flow of time within it!"
"Ah—"
Just then, the Tidal Blade King finally recovered from the wine's effects.
The very first thing he did was reach for the bottle.
But suddenly, he realized, the bottle was empty.
"The wine?"
"Where's my wine?"
"Ah—! That old tree spirit, that damned Grandor, actually finished it all in one go!"
The Tidal Blade King held the empty bottle, trying to pour out even a single drop of Nine-Revolution Mixed-Origin Wine.
Unfortunately, no matter how hard he shook it, almost to the point of shattering it, not a single drop came out.
Grandor had already used his spiritual force to draw out the last trace of the wine.
Even though their bodies inside Hongmeng City were merely at the apprentice level, spiritual force still existed.
The Tidal Blade King immediately grabbed the long blade on his back and split the bottle open, hoping to at least smell the lingering fragrance.
Before long, Grandor finally sobered up a little.
Opening his eyes, he saw the Tidal Blade King secretly licking the inside of the bottle.
He was momentarily stunned.
After all, he had just drunk a massive amount of strong wine and was somewhat dizzy himself.
"Tidal Blade, there's no need for that, no need!"
Caught red-handed, the Tidal Blade King quickly put the bottle down, pretending nothing had happened.
"What are you talking about? You must be drunk, you're seeing things."
Grandor wanted to say more.
"But—"
The Tidal Blade King hastily cut him off.
"Alright, alright, you're the one who's drunk. Come on, I'll take you to rest."
Saying that, the Tidal Blade King quickly lifted Grandor and carried him back to his residence.
He had to prevent his lifelong reputation from being ruined, he absolutely didn't want rumors spreading around the tavern tomorrow about the "Tidal Blade King licking a wine bottle."
Meanwhile, the Wine Vault King quietly turned off the virtual recording.
"Heh heh, next time, I'll definitely make him buy a few more bottles."
…
After sending Grandor to a room, the Tidal Blade King also went to rest.
A few days later, Grandor finally sobered up completely.
After waking, he looked around at the familiar surroundings and walked out of the room.
Downstairs, he immediately saw a massive pile of wine bottles.
"You still haven't had enough? You actually bought that much more?"
The Tidal Blade King gritted his teeth.
"Mind your own business!"
"I just like drinking, what of it?"
Grandor shook his head, came to sit beside the Tidal Blade King, and opened another bottle to drink with him.
These were just ordinary wines, not strong enough to cause intoxication.
"I came this time because I have something to discuss."
The Tidal Blade King glanced at him, muttered a single word, and kept drinking.
"Speak."
Hearing that, Grandor went straight to the point.
"I recently took in a new disciple."
"At first, I valued him for his talent as an apothecary."
"Even though he's only a ninth-rank Stellar Level, he can already create C9-grade bloodline elixirs."
At that, the Tidal Blade King's eyes flickered in surprise.
He and Grandor had known each other for many years, having fought side by side through life and death countless times.
Thus, he understood quite well how difficult such alchemy feats were.
"Congratulations on taking in such a talented disciple."
But Grandor showed a troubled expression.
"Sigh, my disciple's gift in alchemy is indeed remarkable."
"The problem is…"
The Tidal Blade King put down his drink, intrigued.
"The problem is, his talent in understanding the laws is even greater!"
"Pfft!"
The Tidal Blade King stared at Grandor with an exasperated look.
Grandor immediately projected a recording, showing the scene where he had tested Luo Fan's comprehension of the laws.
"Sigh, tell me, how can someone with such monstrous alchemy talent also be so gifted in law comprehension?"
"My disciple isn't even fifty years old yet!"
"Now I can only have him focus his efforts on understanding the laws."
"His apothecary training will have to wait for now."
"After all, with the Cosmic Genius Battle about to begin, focusing on law comprehension gives him a high chance to enter the Original Secret Realm."
Though Grandor spoke with frustration, pride gleamed in his eyes.
The Tidal Blade King's expression was full of envy and resentment.
He, too, had accepted several disciples over the years.
But the strongest one had only reached the Immortal level.
Back when they were at the Stellar Level, merely entering the End-Era Secret Realm was considered impressive.
He had always longed for a true successor to carry on his legacy, yet had never found the right candidate.
And now, seeing Luo Fan…
"This time I actually came to buy a copy of your Tidal Blade Battle Technique."
Grandor finally stated his true purpose.
The Tidal Blade Battle Technique was the Tidal Blade King's signature combat art.
It contained the secret techniques he had developed since the World Master level.
In his early years, the Tidal Blade King had used the Tidal God Blade.
That weapon was originally created by his own teacher.
The Tidal Blade King had displayed such mastery over the Tidal God Blade that his teacher had taken him as a personal disciple.
The weapon the Tidal Blade King now used was the prototype of the Tidal God Blade, a pseudo-treasure.
As for the Tidal Blade Battle Technique, it included secret skills related to the Tidal God Blade.
Its power far surpassed the blade's original accompanying techniques.
However, since it was the Tidal Blade King's personal legacy, it was never made available for sale in the Virtual Universe.
At this moment, the Tidal Blade King stared at the recording of Luo Fan, nearly drooling.
"Grandor, why don't you give me that disciple of yours?"
"He's far more suited to be my disciple!"
"You're not even suited to teach him combat techniques."
"He was clearly born to be my disciple!"
Right now, the Tidal Blade King was practically desperate for Luo Fan.
At first, upon hearing that Grandor had accepted a genius disciple, he had only been mildly envious.
Even if Luo Fan's comprehension of the laws was extraordinary, it didn't bother him much.
But after watching Luo Fan's battle footage... the Tidal Blade King couldn't contain his desire any longer.
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