From the Metropolis to the Strongest in the Cosmos

”What? A Supreme Saint Artifact?” Li Yang exclaimed in shock at Soul Ink’s words.

What was a Supreme Saint Artifact?

It was the highest-grade, most powerful type of weapon in the entire Cosmos. The mighty Human Race possessed two Creator Ancestors, yet they had only a single Supreme Saint Artifact: the Majestic Star River!

The Majestic Star River spanned a hundred thousand light-years, and a single ripple from its surface could instantly kill an Emperor!

For any race, such an item would be their ultimate defining treasure!

If one were to appear, it would likely incite a mad scramble among every race in the Cosmos!

’Soul Ink knows the whereabouts of a Supreme Saint Artifact?’

Heart pounding with shock, Li Yang quickly asked, ”Soul Ink, where is that Supreme Saint Artifact?”

From the way Soul Ink spoke, the Supreme Saint Artifact must be masterless, not yet claimed by any expert.

Seeing Li Yang’s anxious questioning, Soul Ink said coolly, ”Didn’t I already tell you? I’ll tell you more when you possess the strength of a Dominator. With your current power, you couldn’t even get close to that weapon.”

’Even with all my trump cards back then, my soul was annihilated when I tried to force an ownership bond with that Supreme Saint Artifact.’

At these words, Li Yang felt a wave of helplessness.

’But a Supreme Saint Artifact is unbelievably powerful; bonding with it must be incredibly difficult. Even if I knew where it was, I wouldn’t be able to obtain it right now.’

In the past, it had taken him decades just to bond with the Sacred Artifact, the Profound Annihilation Spear, and he only succeeded after mastering the first form of the Destruction Spear Skill.

And that was only because of the trial left by the Profound Destruction Dominator, which merely required him to learn the spear skill.

In truth, without that trial, if it were a simple matter of forcing a bond, he most likely would have failed.

’Soul Ink must have failed to bond with that Supreme Saint Artifact,’ Li Yang thought to himself.

’With a weapon of that caliber, he would have been unkillable, right?’

’Soul Ink was likely a Dominator in his past life. If he had successfully bonded with it, there’s no way he would have died.’

’Even Soul Ink, with the power of a Dominator, failed to bond with it. I’ve only just reached the power of the Deities; I shouldn’t even be thinking about it.’

As for possessing the strength of a Dominator, Li Yang wasn’t even sure if he could ever truly reach that level.

So, despite his immense longing, he could only push the thought to the back of his mind for now.

As he was lost in thought, Li Yang suddenly looked ahead.

’Huh, I’m here?’

The Lianyun Mountain Range lay before him. Li Yang had returned this time to prepare for his breakthrough.

Currently, many geniuses in the Lianyun Mountain Range were constantly attempting the steps of the Path of Deities, especially those from the same cohort as Li Yang and Mixed Void.

After Li Yang passed the fortieth step of the Path of Deities, Mixed Void also had a breakthrough three months later. The gap between the two of them and the other geniuses had grown immense.

Nearly all the geniuses felt spurred on by this. In just a few short decades, how had the gap between them all grown so large!

”Look, it’s Li Yang.”

”After Li Yang passed the fortieth step of the Path of Deities and became the Eternal Ancestor’s disciple, he vanished without a trace. Now he’s back.”

Seeing Li Yang, the surrounding geniuses began to murmur amongst themselves.

Li Yang paid no mind to their chatter and continued forward.

As he walked on, Li Yang’s gaze suddenly fixed on a spot.

A young man was walking toward him. His build was similar to that of an Earthling, and he had red, esoteric markings on his face. His features were plain, the kind that would blend into any crowd.

The young man was walking in this direction, and upon seeing Li Yang, he too stopped in his tracks.

The two of them regarded each other from a distance.

The sight of this young man caused an even greater stir among the onlookers.

”It’s Mixed Void!”

”Li Yang’s progress has been enormous, but Mixed Void is no slouch either. He now has the power to kill Deities!”

”They’re too monstrously talented. Our Human Race might only see one such prodigious genius in countless eons, yet this time, we have both Li Yang and Mixed Void!”

The crowd murmured, their feelings a complicated mix as they looked at the two young men.

Geniuses are, by nature, proud and unyielding. This was especially true for them; the prodigies who entered the Human Race’s Eternal Saint Hall were one in ten thousand. During the original talent selection across the Three Thousand Star Continent of the Human Race, on average, only a single person was chosen from each Star Continent.

And a single Star Continent contains hundreds of millions of star systems! This just shows the incredible caliber of the chosen geniuses!

Yet, compared to Li Yang and Mixed Void, they were utterly outclassed.

They were still plodding along in the Star Lord Realm, while Li Yang and Mixed Void could already slay Deities!

Just a few decades ago, the difference in their strength hadn’t been so vast. Now, the gap between them was like an insurmountable chasm.

’Li Yang,’ Mixed Void thought, his gaze fixed on him from a distance.

Li Yang, in turn, looked back at Mixed Void. ’Has Mixed Void broken through to the World Realm?’ he wondered.

He could clearly feel a change in the fluctuations of Mixed Void’s aura.

The two peerless geniuses of the current generation of the Human Race met, but no words were exchanged. After a single glance, they went their separate ways.

The encounter with Mixed Void was just a brief interlude. Soon, Li Yang arrived at his own residence.

’Time to begin the breakthrough!’

Li Yang took a deep breath, a determined glint in his eyes.

Although he had hesitated before, Li Yang was actually eager to break through to the World Realm sooner rather than later.

He hadn’t felt it as much back in the Longevity Realm, but during his time in the Star Lord Realm, he had faced one thing after another: assassination attempts by the Alien Race, imprisonment and suppression by Luoyu...

Faced with these situations, he could only seek help, powerless to find a solution on his own. Such is the plight of the weak.

For instance, if he hadn’t become the disciple of the Eternal Ancestor this time, he would still be utterly helpless against Luoyu’s oppression.

In this Cosmos, strength was everything. He had limitless potential, but his current power was still insignificant.

Now, all Li Yang wanted to do was grow stronger and stronger, until he became one of the top powerhouses in the Cosmos!

As he thought this...

BOOM!

A scorching fluctuation of Law erupted from Li Yang, enveloping his entire body.

It was the Fire Element Law!

Li Yang had already mastered the Fire Element Law’s Melting Essence Profound Skill back in the Star Moon Race’s legacy grounds; he had merely been suppressing the final step.

For other geniuses, completely mastering a Profound Skill was no easy task. But the Fire Nether Divine Beast was a natural-born Deity; upon reaching the final stage, mastering the Profound Skill was effortless.

The Law began to fluctuate before him—it was the Fire Element Law’s Melting Essence Profound Skill.

He had but a final sliver of this Profound Skill left to grasp, a sliver he had intentionally left untouched until now.

It was like a difficult math problem where all the steps were already written down, leaving only the final answer. As the one solving it, Li Yang already knew that answer by heart.

He silently focused on his comprehension. Just one minute later...

BUZZ...

...he fully mastered the Melting Essence Profound Skill!

’Melting Essence Profound Skill, mastered. Now, time to break through to the World Realm!’

Li Yang focused his mind. The moment he mastered the Melting Essence Profound Skill, he began the assault on his bottleneck.

CRACK!

With just a slight push, a distinct cracking sound seemed to echo from within Li Yang’s body.

In the next instant, the bottleneck between the peak of the Star Lord Realm and the World Realm was shattered completely.