From the Metropolis to the Strongest in the Cosmos

BOOM!

Just as the many Deities were discussing amongst themselves, a crushing pressure suddenly descended. Countless currents of air gathered, forming a colossal face that appeared in the sky, looking down on them.

Upon seeing the enormous face, all the Deities spoke with the utmost reverence.

”Yangyuan Emperor.”

They were anxious. ’Did the Yangyuan Emperor overhear what we just said?’

Although what they had said was true, it was still a disgrace that not a single genius from the Yangyuan Empire had made it into the top three thousand.

The Yangyuan Emperor appeared, gazing down at the crowd below as his booming voice echoed, ”Are the rankings out yet?”

”Yangyuan Emperor, we have already finalized the rankings.”

One of the Deities said with extreme reverence, ”All the information is stored within this ball of light.”

The ball of light flew out, and lines of information quickly appeared on its surface.

The Yangyuan Emperor watched, his gaze sweeping over Li Yang’s name for a moment.

Li Yang (Golden Moon Empire, Milky Way Galaxy, Earth), third in the Yangyuan Star Continent. Path of Deities: 1501st step. True combat power approaching the Peak of Longevity Realm.

A summary of Li Yang’s situation had actually been noted down.

The Yangyuan Emperor gave it a brief glance.

Out of ten thousand geniuses, 9,999 of them were people he had already recruited. Li Yang was the only exception.

However, he had no particular thoughts on the matter and didn’t pay Li Yang much mind.

Just as the Deities had been discussing, far too many peerless geniuses had appeared across the Three Thousand Star Continent in this generation.

Forget Li Yang; even Jin Xu, who was stronger than him, had almost no chance of being selected unless his power had a breakthrough.

A great existence like him would only pay attention to geniuses who could be recruited into the Human Race’s Eternal Saint Hall.

’I hope Jin Xu doesn’t disappoint me,’ the Yangyuan Emperor thought to himself. There was always competition. Even the vast Yangyuan Star Continent was compared against the other Star Continents of the Human Race.

If a genius from their Yangyuan Star Continent was recruited by the Human Race’s Eternal Saint Hall, it would naturally prove that the Yangyuan Star Continent was stronger than the others.

No one wanted to be last.

RUMBLE!

The colossal face of air currents vanished, and the surroundings returned to calm.

Seeing the Yangyuan Emperor depart, the Deities let out a slight sigh of relief.

They were powerful Deities, but before the Yangyuan Emperor, they were like ants that he could crush with a wave of his hand.

Within the vast Human Race, Deities were only considered the rank-and-file. Only by surpassing the Divine Realm could one become part of the Human Race’s upper echelon!

”Let’s announce the rankings!”

”As for Li Yang, send someone at the Peak of World Realm to pick him up.”

The Deities discussed among themselves, and as they did, the rankings for the second round of the competition were officially released.

...

Li Yang, third in the overall ranking for the Yangyuan Star Continent’s second round!

Although this news had been anticipated, seeing it officially announced by the Yangyuan Empire still sent massive shockwaves!

Within the Golden Moon Empire, countless star systems erupted in cheers.

The Milky Way Galaxy, in particular, was in an uproar, with celebrations everywhere.

At that moment, in the other imperial territories of the Virtual World, people from the Golden Moon Empire’s Milky Way Galaxy were constantly showing off.

For example:

”Huh? Are you from the so-and-so system? Ah, you’re not? Oh, well, do you know what star system I’m from?”

”Haha, I’m from the Milky Way Galaxy. You don’t know the Milky Way Galaxy? Right now, the Human Race’s Eternal Saint Hall is selecting geniuses, and Li Yang, the genius who ranked third overall in our Yangyuan Star Continent, is from our Milky Way Galaxy.”

And another example:

”Have you eaten?”

”What? How did you know I’m from the Milky Way Galaxy?”

Previously, the Milky Way Galaxy only had nine World Realm experts. With that level of power, it was definitely at the very bottom of the hundreds of millions of star systems in the Yangyuan Star Continent.

In the Cosmos, strength is what earns respect. With such little power, others naturally looked down on the Milky Way Galaxy, and its people couldn’t hold their heads high when they were away from home, not daring to casually mention where they came from.

But now, they couldn’t wait for others to find out.

People from the Milky Way Galaxy, wherever they were, were all incredibly excited, celebrating the appearance of this peerless genius!

...

”This is really crazy!” Li Yang couldn’t help but sigh while on Earth.

Now that he had suddenly revealed his strength, the entire Milky Way Galaxy had truly gone wild!

After he came out, he had briefly browsed the Virtual World with his family. The section of the Virtual World they were in was limited to the Milky Way Galaxy, and right now, that entire space was filled with celebrations.

And when people saw him, they went even crazier, acting like fans chasing a celebrity, all wanting Li Yang’s autograph.

It got to the point where Li Yang didn’t dare stay in the Virtual World any longer and logged out directly.

”Li Yang, our Milky Way Galaxy has developed for countless years. Since the beginning of recorded history, our most powerful genius never even made it into the top three of the Yangyuan Star Continent. Now you’ve done it, breaking the Milky Way Galaxy’s record for geniuses, so a reaction like this is only natural.”

Candy, the vice-chairman of the Milky Way Galaxy branch of the Human Race Saint Hall, said with a smile.

He was even more amazed now.

’A kid from Planet Zero actually grew to this level. It’s nothing short of a miracle.’

Previously, when people from Earth, as inhabitants of Planet Zero, went out and interacted with people from other planets, the experience wasn’t pleasant.

But now, people from other planets who knew they were from Earth were incredibly enthusiastic, going out of their way to befriend them.

This was the change that came with status!

To earn respect, you needed one of two things: strength or potential!

Li Yang’s current strength was still insufficient, but his potential had been fully proven!

”Haha, Li Yang, the Human Race has always had a strong sense of unity. The territory of the Human Race is immense, and the Milky Way Galaxy is like a single grain of sand in a vast ocean within it. When interacting with other star systems, all people from the Milky Way Galaxy act as a single, cohesive group.”

”With the incredible Talent you’ve displayed, it’s only natural for everyone in the Milky Way Galaxy to be excited.”

Inside the Soul Crystal, Soul Ink spoke leisurely.

He sighed internally. ’That kid Li Yang has really made it.’

’To progress this quickly in just five short years!’

However, the innate Talent of the Human Race itself isn’t considered that strong. For example, the Thunder Star Beast avatar and the Sky-Fierce Flood Dragon avatar—the life hierarchy of these creatures is higher than that of the Human Race. Even the highest level of human life cannot compare.

’It’s only normal that with these two great avatars, plus a comprehension that amazes even me, Li Yang was able to catch up to these top-tier geniuses in just a few years.’

’And that’s with Li Yang having cultivated for such a short time. If the Human Race’s Eternal Saint Hall had delayed its genius selection by a few more years, Li Yang’s strength would be even more terrifying!’

Li Yang nodded. Humans really did have a tendency to stick together.

On Earth, various countries fought amongst themselves, but in the context of the entire Cosmos, the people of Earth were very united.

The major powers of the Milky Way Galaxy fought amongst themselves, but compared to other star systems, the entire Milky Way Galaxy was, in turn, very united.

It was one of humanity’s defining traits.

”By the way, Li Yang, in ten days, the people sent by the Yangyuan Empire will arrive on Earth to pick you up.”

It takes ten days just to travel from the center of the Milky Way Galaxy to Earth.

The Yangyuan Empire is an incredible distance away from Earth’s location in the Milky Way, but their spacecraft are far superior to those here.

Their speed is simply incomparable to the spacecraft Candy possesses, which is why they can arrive in just ten days!

”Also, this is the information the Yangyuan Empire sent over about the geniuses from the other Star Continents. You can take a look.”

Candy handed him a ball of light.