From the Metropolis to the Strongest in the Cosmos

A cold glint flashed in Li Yang’s eyes at the thought of the Celestial Net.

’Want to kill me? Want to move against Earth? Celestial Net, you’ve lost your chance!’

Li Yang was only twenty years old and at the Law Realm, yet he possessed the strength of a Mid-Longevity Realm expert. A genius like that could easily be recruited by the Yangyuan Empire.

Once Li Yang joined the Yangyuan Empire, Earth would be under the protection of the powerful nation. Then, the Celestial Net wouldn’t dare to make a move against Earth again.

What’s more, Li Yang could find factions completely unafraid of the Yuanlan Clan to meticulously survey every planet in the Solar System and find that unknown treasure!

It was safe to say Li Yang could finally relax.

SWISH!

With a single thought, Li Yang withdrew from the Virtual Combat Space.

...

When he came to, Li Yang found himself back in his villa in Coastal City.

”Li Yang.”

Seeing Li Yang stand up, Zhou Yao knew he had left the Virtual World and happily walked over to him.

”Zhou Yao.”

Looking at Zhou Yao, Li Yang felt a pang of guilt. For over a year, he had spent most of his time training, turning into a complete cultivation fanatic and barely spending any time with her.

But Zhou Yao was completely supportive, always quietly by his side.

While he fought in the Virtual World, Zhou Yao would spend her time researching medicinal solutions.

’I’ve completely mastered the second form of the Hexagram Spear. I can take it easy for a bit now. I can spend more time with Zhou Yao and my family,’ Li Yang thought.

As he spoke with Zhou Yao, Li Yang also informed Soul Ink in his mind that he had mastered the second form of the Hexagram Spear.

”Oh? You mastered it?”

Soul Ink was taken aback for a moment, then nodded and said calmly, ”Hm, not bad.”

Judging by his eyes, he was clearly surprised.

’This kid’s progress is insane. He mastered the second form of the Hexagram Spear in just one year. That speed must put him at the very top, even among the geniuses who practice this technique.’

Soul Ink grumbled to himself, ’But I can’t let myself praise him.’

Still, Soul Ink was overjoyed by Li Yang’s rapid progress.

He asked, ”Li Yang, you’ve made so much progress. What are your plans now?”

Li Yang said, ”I’m planning to find a way to join the Yangyuan Empire!”

’Even if it’s not through the official genius selection, as long as I find one of the Yangyuan Empire’s martial training grounds in the Virtual World and display my strength, I’m sure they’ll recruit me.’

Geniuses were welcome in any faction across the Cosmos.

”Yes, the Yangyuan Empire is certainly a good choice.”

Soul Ink nodded.

As they spoke, Li Yang also took the time to enjoy a walk through the city with Zhou Yao.

They hadn’t been walking for long when Li Yang’s phone suddenly rang. He glanced at the screen—it was Shen Xuan.

”Li Yang, you need to log into the Virtual World and see this.”

Shen Xuan’s urgent voice came through the moment the call connected.

”The Virtual World?”

Puzzled, Li Yang logged in immediately.

The moment he logged in, a message automatically appeared before his eyes!

”The Human Race Eternal Saint Hall genius selection has begun. The Stairway on the Path of Deities will open in ten days. Anyone in the entire Human Race at the Law Realm may register to enter the Stairway on the Path of Deities...”

The message was displayed plainly.

Just a minute after it appeared in the Virtual World, the same message arrived on Li Yang’s wristband in the real world.

”The Human Race Eternal Saint Hall is holding a genius selection?” A look of astonishment appeared in Li Yang’s eyes as he read the message.

Of course he knew of the Human Race Eternal Saint Hall. The Human Race Saint Hall branch in the Milky Way was a subordinate of the Eternal Saint Hall!

Across the vast territory of the Human Race, spanning countless galaxies, every single galaxy had a branch of the Eternal Saint Hall! It was a true juggernaut of a faction, one before which even Deities had to bow their proud heads.

Previously, Li Yang had asked Soul Ink which faction was stronger: the Human Race Eternal Saint Hall or the Yangyuan Empire.

And Soul Ink’s answer had been that the Eternal Saint Hall was the stronger of the two!

One could only imagine what a terrifyingly powerful faction it was!

And the message said: the entire Human Race, anyone at the Law Realm!

What did that even mean?

For the previous Yangyuan Empire genius selection, the first trial was to defeat a virtual opponent on normal mode. That trial alone had eliminated the vast majority of Law Realm cultivators.

Since they couldn’t defeat it, they couldn’t pass the first trial. As a result, the number of applicants was very small—only a little over 100 million!

If there had been no restrictions, the number of applicants could have easily been a hundred times greater—a total of ten billion!

In the Yangyuan Star Continent, ruled by the Yangyuan Empire, there were at least a hundred thousand factions similar to the Golden Moon Empire! Just from the Yangyuan Star Continent alone, despite the restrictions, the total number of applicants had been in the tens of trillions!

Without those restrictions, the number of participants from the Yangyuan Star Continent for that genius selection could have reached one quadrillion!

And from what Li Yang understood, the Yangyuan Star Continent was just a small fraction of the Human Race’s vast territory!

This time, with no restrictions, just how many Law Realm cultivators would sign up to participate?

It would surely be an unimaginably astronomical number!

”Oh? The Human Race Eternal Saint Hall is selecting geniuses? Li Yang, you should register. It’ll be a good chance to see where your strength ranks in the Cosmos,” Soul Ink said, clearly intrigued.

Hearing this, Li Yang asked, ”Soul Ink, do you think I’m strong enough to be selected by the Human Race Eternal Saint Hall?”

At that, Soul Ink rolled his eyes. ”What are you even thinking?”

”Li Yang, the Cosmos is far larger than you can imagine, and its geniuses are beyond counting. You’re at the Law Realm yet possess the strength of a Mid-Longevity Realm expert, capable of instantly killing those at the Early Longevity Realm. That certainly makes you a peerless genius who could easily join the Yangyuan Empire.”

”But the Cosmos is vast, and every kind of genius imaginable exists. There are those at the Law Realm who can instantly kill Mid-Longevity Realm experts, those who can kill Late-Longevity Realm experts, and even some who can kill those at the Peak of Longevity Realm!”

”Compared to people like that, where do you think your strength ranks?”

”What?”

Li Yang was stunned by Soul Ink’s words. ’Someone at the Peak of Law Realm killing someone at the Peak of Longevity Realm?’

It was a known fact that the higher the realm, the greater the disparity in power between levels!

The power gap between each of the four minor stages of the Longevity Realm was tenfold! That meant someone at the Peak of Longevity Realm was a hundred times stronger than someone at the Mid-Longevity Realm!

’Do geniuses like that really exist?’

Li Yang had only just mastered the second form of the Hexagram Spear he was practicing.

Only by completely mastering the third form could he become invincible within the Longevity Realm and be capable of killing someone at its peak!

Even with the help of his two avatars, the Thunder Star Beast and the Sky-Fierce Flood Dragon, it had still taken Li Yang a full year to master the second form of the Hexagram Spear!

The third form of the Hexagram Spear was at least dozens of times more difficult than the second! For Li Yang to comprehend it, he would need decades.