From the Metropolis to the Strongest in the Cosmos

Time continued to pass, and every Law Realm expert on the steps of the Path of Deities was making progress!

From time to time, a genius who had crossed the thousandth step would appear, witnessed by the members of numerous factions.

Based on past examples, as long as one crossed the thousandth step and didn’t die prematurely, they could easily become a Star Lord in the future. Many would even reach the World Realm.

In other words, the geniuses who passed the thousandth step within these five years would become the Star Lords and World Masters of the future!

In the blink of an eye, three years passed.

”The 999th step!”

Three of the five years had gone by, and Li Yang had finally arrived at the 999th step.

It still held twenty Law imprints: ten for the Space Law and ten for the Thunder Law.

After more than a day, Li Yang comprehended all of them and took a step forward.

The thousandth step!

The moment he set foot on this step, Li Yang’s name instantly appeared before the countless factions!

...

In the Golden Moon Empire, a middle-aged man monitoring the rankings exclaimed with an excited expression, ”Your Majesty, another genius from our Golden Moon Empire has passed the thousandth step of the Path of Deities!”

His excitement was contagious, and the others grew animated as well.

”Li Yang... That’s an unfamiliar name!”

”He must be one of those who have progressed by leaps and bounds on the Path of Deities these past few years!”

Because of the Yangyuan Empire’s talent selection a few years ago, everyone had a rough estimate of the number of geniuses across the entire Yangyuan Star Continent.

Those who passed the first thousand steps of the Path of Deities were basically the same top-ranking geniuses from that selection.

Based on those rankings, the Golden Moon Empire was certain that fifty of its geniuses would pass the thousandth step. There were about a dozen more whose chances were uncertain; they could make it if they improved enough.

They knew all of those names.

But Li Yang was a completely unfamiliar name.

But unfamiliarity was good. Surprises were born from the unexpected!

While the others were excitedly chattering, the First Prince of the Golden Moon Empire, Lunba Wu, stared at Li Yang’s name. His eyes lit up, and a strange glint appeared in their depths.

He was very familiar with the name Li Yang.

With a smile, Lunba Wu said, ”Your Majesty, Li Yang was previously unknown, but now he’s suddenly burst onto the scene by passing the thousandth step. His talent must be extraordinary.”

”Haha, Li Yang is quite impressive.”

At this moment, the Emperor of the Golden Moon Empire was also beaming with smiles.

He couldn’t be happier to see more unknown geniuses emerge from the Golden Moon Empire. It made him look good.

”After the competition ends... hmm, this Li Yang is from the Milky Way Galaxy. Ta Yi, you will personally go to the Milky Way Galaxy and reward Li Yang.”

...

While the Golden Moon Empire was celebrating, the Milky Way Galaxy was in an uproar.

According to the Golden Moon Empire’s estimates, fifty-some people would pass the first thousand steps. On average, that was only one person for every twenty galaxies.

The Milky Way Galaxy was at the very bottom among these galaxies, so in three years, not a single person had managed to pass the thousandth step.

They had already given up all hope.

”Haha! I told you the Milky Way Galaxy wasn’t the worst in the Golden Moon Empire! Right now, only thirty people in the entire empire have passed the thousandth step of the Path of Deities, and Li Yang is ranked thirty-first!”

”Li Yang... I remember that name now! In the first round of the Yangyuan Empire’s talent selection a year ago, he was number one from our galaxy!”

”I remember too! But how was he eliminated from the Yangyuan Empire’s selection a few years ago? His rank was past one hundred millionth place, wasn’t it?”

”Li Yang must have had bad luck! He must have run into a top-tier genius in the selection space for the second round a few years back and gotten eliminated. His true talent must be incredible!”

Seeing Li Yang’s name appear, countless places throughout the Milky Way Galaxy erupted in excitement.

Within the Golden Moon Empire, the Milky Way Galaxy had always been overlooked. It was extremely weak, with fewer than ten World Realm experts in total.

Other galaxies had at least several dozen World Realm experts, and some even had over a hundred.

This made the people of the Milky Way Galaxy feel incredibly stifled. When interacting with people from other galaxies, they didn’t even dare to mention the name of their home galaxy.

But now, a genius from the Milky Way Galaxy was ranked thirty-first among the thousand-plus galaxies of the Golden Moon Empire!

Countless factions were watching the rankings, and the name of their Milky Way Galaxy had suddenly appeared before all of them. The very thought was thrilling.

...

As the Milky Way Galaxy boiled with excitement, the entire Earth erupted.

Li Yang and Shen Xuan—these two names were broadcast across Earth daily. Every person on the planet was following their rankings in the Human Race’s Eternal Saint Hall selection.

”Haha, Li Yang passed the thousandth step of the Path of Deities!”

”Li Yang is number one in the Milky Way Galaxy and thirty-first among the thousand-plus galaxies of the Golden Moon Empire!”

”I looked at the info carefully. Anyone who passes the thousandth step of the Path of Deities is guaranteed to become a Star Lord at the very least!”

”I knew Li Yang’s rank would get higher the further he went!”

”Li Yang, I love you!”

The entire Earth was cheering.

At Li Yang’s home, Li Guohai, Zhao Rou, and the others were also ecstatic.

Zhou Yao held a little boy’s hand. The boy pointed in amazement at Li Yang on the television and said, ”Mommy, it’s Daddy.”

Zhou Yao kissed her son. ”Xiaodong, your daddy is amazing.”

The little boy nodded. ”Yeah, Daddy’s the best.”

A clear look of adoration was in his eyes.

He saw his father on TV every day. His mommy said that his daddy was a hero and would be back soon.

...

It wasn’t just the Milky Way Galaxy. At this moment, other galaxies in the Golden Moon Empire, and even many factions outside the empire, had all taken notice of Li Yang’s name.

”Who is this Li Yang?”

”From the Milky Way Galaxy? Where’s the Milky Way Galaxy?”

”Investigate him. Which faction does this Li Yang belong to?”

To reach the 1000th step of the Path of Deities in just three years meant Li Yang’s potential was far from exhausted.

And yet, no one had known his name before.

It was highly likely that Li Yang had come from a poor cultivation environment. Despite his immense talent, he lacked good resources, which was why his strength had been so low.

But with the numerous Cultivation Techniques available on the Path of Deities, his talent was rapidly unearthed, allowing him to improve so quickly!

The Path of Deities overlooked no peerless genius. Even if one’s strength was extremely weak, as long as they had the talent, five years was more than enough time to catch up!

A previously unknown genius who suddenly burst forth like this was the most terrifying of all! Even more terrifying than the well-known ones!

Li Yang had no idea that his arrival on the thousandth step had caused such a massive commotion. Stepping onto it, he checked the rankings.

”Li Yang (Golden Moon Empire, Milky Way Galaxy)

Sky-Ascending Ladder Level: 1000

Rank: 4,612,341

Li Yang thought to himself, ’I’ve broken into the top five million?’

His rank was 4.6 million, which meant that over four million people had already passed the thousandth step of the Path of Deities.

This was normal. On the Yangyuan Star Continent, with its billions of galaxies and countless geniuses, there was no shortage of experts at the Early Longevity Realm.

After a glance at his rank, Li Yang didn’t dwell on it.

’There are still two years left. This will be my greatest opportunity!’ A formidable light glinted in Li Yang’s eyes.

Tianluo of the Yuanlan Clan was still bent on destroying Earth. Even by joining the Yangyuan Empire, Li Yang was actually still powerless against Tianluo.

But if he could join the Human Race’s Eternal Saint Hall...

The Human Race’s Eternal Saint Hall—that was Li Yang’s true goal!

’Onward!’

His gaze instantly calmed. After the 1001st step, Li Yang continued to the next.

Over the next two years, Li Yang’s pace remained astonishing!

The 1005th step... the 1050th step... the 1100th step... the 1200th step...

By this point, Li Yang’s rank had already surpassed Lentz, making him number one in the Golden Moon Empire!

But Li Yang didn’t stop.

The 1300th step... the 1400th step...

Li Yang advanced at a steady pace. As he climbed higher and his rank continued to rise, more and more people began to watch him, and his achievements caused a tremendous shockwave!

(Thanks to Ban Sheng Liang Liang Liang Dao Shang for the 1500-coin tip, and thanks to 08a for the 100-coin tip. Thank you.)