A moment later.
“Hmm?” Bafen, the warden, wore a look of shock on his face. “He passed? He actually passed? How could he have made it through the third level already? He’s only been in Chaos City for such a short time!”
Although it was true that progress was easier at the beginning, with increasing difficulty as one advanced, Bolan was just too monstrous.
Among the throng of other geniuses, Ronjun barely passed the first level, while all others failed. Yet Bolan had already conquered the third level!
…
Within the Chaos City, cultivators of the Inner Universe were primarily divided into 52 schools, with the most numerous followers belonging to the “Axe” school. Many with even a little background knowledge knew that the “Axe Chaos Pillar” had been created by the founder of the Axe Combat Arena. Moreover, among the 52 Chaos Pillars corresponding to the Path to Heaven bridges, the Axe Path to Heaven bridge had the highest number of levels!
The “Axe” school had the most followers.
The “Cosmos” school had the fewest.
Cosmos—what is Cosmos?
The four directions and the heavens above and below are “Yu”—space. The past and present, all of time, is “Zhou”—time.
This school was known as the Cosmos school precisely because it cultivated both the fundamental laws of space and time, making it incredibly difficult. These two fundamental laws were the hardest to comprehend; to grasp even one was extremely difficult, let alone two. Yet, once one truly mastered both, their power would be terrifying indeed.
“He passed the third level?”
“If he passes the third level, doesn’t that mean he can now attend the lectures given by the masters?”
“They say he’s the top genius of the recent Genius Competition. But he’s only been in Chaos City for less than a year and has already reached the third level. It’s unbelievable. Usually, among the thousand participants of each Genius Competition, after thirty years of cultivation in Chaos City, only a handful manage to pass the third level. This Bolan… has surpassed everyone else by far.”
The third level of the Path to Heaven was a threshold!
Passing the third level meant one had finally entered the realm of comprehending the Chaos Pillars. At this point, one gained the qualification to attend lectures given by the great masters, such as Zhenyan King or Heiwu King—supreme beings who founded their own sects and taught disciples.
Passing the eighteenth level granted one permanent residency in Chaos City, allowing one to establish a sect and teach future generations.
…
Inside the training grounds of the Primitive Zone in the Yu Xiang Mountains of the Virtual Universe.
A muscular iron-clad warrior named Longyun, wearing a horned battle helmet and wielding a terrifyingly massive axe, stared at the screen on his bracer in shock: “The third level? Bolan actually passed the third level of the Path to Heaven?”
“Why is he progressing so fast?”
“Why?” Longyun involuntarily tightened his grip on the axe handle, the bones in his hand cracking audibly. His face contorted with rage. “But why can’t I even pass the first level? Why is the gap between Bolan and me so vast?”
Longyun was a genius who had entered the Primitive Secret Realm alongside Bolan in this year’s Genius Competition.
Not long after arriving in Chaos City, Bolan and Ronjun had both begun to shine. At that time, Longyun had already felt a great deal of pressure—he was the member of the Primitive Secret Realm! He was the second-place finisher in the Genius Competition! Yet now, Ronjun in the Tai Chu Zone had passed the first level, but he had not. So Longyun had been striving hard.
Just a few days ago, he had tried once again.
But still failed!
Who would have thought… now Bolan had already passed the third level.
“Is the gap between us really that big?” Longyun crouched down in pain, gripping the ground.
…
“What? Bolan has passed the third level?”
This news quickly reached Rongjun, Luo Feng, Jiang Mo, Wuka, and others almost simultaneously. Because they had long been in Chaos City and often met on the wild plains outside the city, they naturally got to know each other. Once one of them received the news, they immediately sent emails to notify the others.
“Bolan has already passed the third level. I refuse to believe I can’t even pass the first!” Wuka clenched his fist and then connected his consciousness to the Virtual Universe network.
“The third level?” Galesi the Phantom Demon also connected his consciousness to the cosmic network.
“The gap can’t be that big.” Jiang Mo and Qianshui, the brother and sister, also decided to attempt the Path to Heaven.
“I originally planned to wait until I could merge four swords into one and be fully prepared before attempting the Path to Heaven. But I didn’t expect Bolan to progress so quickly. I’ll try it now then.” Luo Feng, spurred on by Bolan’s achievements, gritted his teeth and also headed to the Path to Heaven.
…
All these geniuses were cultivating in Chaos City, naturally competing secretly with each other.
When they first arrived, Bolan had already passed the second level, which everyone endured, since Bolan had always been strong.
But now, eight months later, Bolan had passed the third level. Eight months ago, Bolan had not yet been able to pass the third level, meaning his progress in these eight months had been significant.
Needless to say!
Each level of the Path to Heaven was harder than the last. Bolan’s progress had deeply stirred the pride of the other geniuses. In no time, over a hundred of the 913 surviving geniuses who had received the news chose to attempt the Path to Heaven.
…
In the Virtual Universe, on the Path to Heaven plane.
On that beautiful island shrouded in mist, the warden Bafen still wore his black starry robe. One after another, young people appeared on the island.
“So many people.” When Luo Feng appeared on the island, he immediately spotted Prince Monka of the Man Ka Star System, along with over a dozen others from the Celestial and Doomsday Zones.
“The Nine Heavens Path to Heaven, Luo Feng.” Warden Bafen smiled. “Go ahead. The Nine Heavens Path to Heaven is unoccupied right now.”
A faint smile appeared on Luo Feng’s face.
“Good luck, Luo Feng!” Wuka shouted, clenching his fist.
“You too.” Luo Feng grinned.
“I have an announcement for you all,” Warden Bafen called out. “The genius ‘Galesi’ from your cohort has just passed the first level.”
Luo Feng, who had just started flying toward the Path to Heaven, froze.
Everyone around him was stunned as well.
“Galesi?”
“Galesi the Phantom Demon?”
Back during the Genius Competition, Galesi had received high praise. Many even believed he could reach second place. But in the end, Galesi had been defeated by the madman Luo Feng and failed to make the top ten, thus being relegated to the Celestial Zone. Though he was in the Celestial Zone, true strength was still true strength!
Now, he had directly passed the first level.
“Galesi actually made it through?” A group of young people were deeply unwilling to accept this.
“Galesi?” Luo Feng let out a low growl and transformed into a streak of light, flying directly into the distant Nine Heavens Path to Heaven.
…
In Chaos City, vast and boundless, on the rooftop of a training residence.
Longyun stood on the rooftop like a wild bull, gazing silently at the distant sky, murmuring, “Galesi passed the first level. He’s only a member of the Celestial Zone, while I am from the Primitive Zone! Yet he passed the first level and I did not…” His heart was in turmoil like never before.
This left Longyun unable to focus on his training.
Pain! Anger! Resentment! A whirlwind of emotions tore at his heart.
“Stay calm.”
“I must stay calm.”
Longyun’s eyes gradually became more restrained. He muttered, “I shouldn’t let the identity of a Primitive Secret Realm member become a shackle on me! I should forget my status and strive to cultivate step by step, just as I did in the past…” Longyun had always been a very low-key and steady person. But after his rapid rise in status to become an exalted member of the Primitive Secret Realm, even the leader of the guard unit was an immortal being, and the immortals addressed him as “Prince,” which had changed his mindset.
“Whatever the case, only three people have passed the first level so far. I haven’t fallen too far behind yet!”
“Bolan, Rongjun, Galesi!” Longyun’s eyes burned with fighting spirit.
“Hmm?” Longyun furrowed his brow.
He immediately connected his consciousness to the Virtual Universe network to check the latest email.
“Luofeng has just successfully passed the first level!” The email body contained only one line. This email was sent by Lansiluo.
“Luofeng?” Longyun’s eyes widened. Memories of that mad black-haired youth surged into his mind. He clearly remembered the battle during the selection of the top five. He and that madman had fought… actually, the madman hadn’t been defeated by him, but by the shrinking battlefield.
“I must pass the first level! I must!” Longyun’s mind was filled with only one thought—strive harder!
…
“Both Galesi and Luofeng have passed the first level?” Inside a villa in the Celestial Zone of Yu Xiang Mountains, Gusi Luo, holding a wine glass, suddenly crushed it in his hand. Crimson fruit wine flowed between his fingers, spilling onto the floor.
Gusi Luo, a genius considered nearly perfect.
Ranked second overall in the Genius Competition trial space, he had fought fiercely with Rongjun for a place among the top ten. His match had been the longest of the ten duels. In the end, he lost to Rongjun and reluctantly entered the Celestial Zone. Even so, his strength was widely recognized.
Gusi Luo and Galesi were considered tragically overlooked super-genii—both had lost to superior opponents and ended up in the Celestial Zone.
“Galesi, Luofeng… both have passed. Why have I failed?” Gusi Luo gripped the glass shards tightly, until they turned to powder and trickled down between his fingers.
…
All the geniuses were proud individuals. A single Genius Competition couldn’t make everyone accept their positions. Even those who had lost before didn’t necessarily mean they would remain inferior forever.
The thirty years in Chaos City were the true foundation-building years.
In these thirty years, they would all strive, all aiming to surpass the other geniuses.
…
Inside a three-story building of Villa 1136 in the Tai Chu Zone of the Virtual Universe.
In the study.
“The first level—I actually passed it directly this time.” Luo Feng quickly opened his notebook, his mood extremely cheerful. The battle on the first level of the Path to Heaven hadn’t turned out as bad as he had imagined. His opponent, who also rode the Dark Cloud Shuttle and wielded a Divine Soul Weapon, hadn’t managed to use the Heaven-Sundering Sword Style.
The fight had been between three exquisitely controlled golden swords and himself.
To be honest,
Although Luo Feng could also merge three swords into one, he still couldn’t match the opponent’s level of mastery and flexibility! Fortunately, with the aid of the “Sword Domain,” his power had increased dramatically, allowing him to kill the opponent outright.
As for the “second level of the Path to Heaven,” he had tried it as well, but was killed in a single move.
“The treasure vault.” Luo Feng clicked open the treasure vault folder and selected the “Mystical Techniques” category.
“This is too tedious.” Luo Feng was too impatient to search slowly, so he directly typed in the name “Blood-Drifting.”
Ding!
The notebook screen displayed the introduction to the “Blood-Drifting” secret technique.
The Blood-Drifting Technique could be exchanged for 800 points (70% discount for the Primitive Secret Realm, 80% for the Tai Chu Secret Realm, 90% for the Celestial and Doomsday Secret Realms).
“Great.” A smile appeared on Luo Feng’s face. “I’ll buy it!”
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