From the Metropolis to the Strongest in the Cosmos

"ROAR!"

The injured, giant four-limbed beast roared in fury and charged at Li Yang again, determined to tear the human who had wounded it to shreds.

'I haven't grasped the Dark Law, so there's no need to waste time.' Li Yang brandished his long spear and clashed with the giant four-limbed beast once more.

His strength surpassed this Spatial Giant Beast. Even through a battle of attrition, he could slowly wear the four-limbed beast down to its death.

The battle raged on for seven minutes.

"ROAR!"

The four-limbed beast let out a final, unwilling roar. Then, all traces of its aura faded, and it vanished from the space.

"Li Yang, congratulations on passing the eighth step of the Path of Deities. Do you wish to proceed to the ninth step?"

The mechanical voice rang out after his successful kill.

'I did it.' A smile spread across Li Yang's face.

It had taken Lan Yu five years to pass the eighth step.

Previously, Li Yang had estimated it would take him four years, but now, only one year had passed, and he had already succeeded.

"Proceed!" Li Yang said without hesitation.

He entered the ninth combat space.

Inside this space was a three-headed Flame Demon Dragon. Its entire body was wreathed in flames, setting the whole dimension ablaze.

This was the step where Lan Yu was currently stuck.

'I can't be too far behind Lan Yu now, can I?'

Li Yang thought to himself as he watched the three-headed Flame Demon Dragon.

He was in high spirits. His current strength was no less than Lan Yu's from a year ago, and he was still improving rapidly.

He estimated that it wouldn't be long before he truly surpassed Lan Yu.

'Time to fight! I'll see how strong this three-headed Flame Demon Dragon is, and once I'm confident, I'll come back to pass this step for good!' A glint appeared in Li Yang's eyes.

Surpassing Lan Yu was his current goal.

And now, the finish line for that goal was almost in sight.

No genius liked being overshadowed, and Li Yang was no exception!

BOOM!

His figure erupted with power as he engaged the three-headed Flame Demon Dragon in battle.

SWOOSH!

One of the Flame Demon Dragon's claws slammed into Li Yang's chest, and his aura instantly diminished by more than half.

'So strong. Its power is at least five times greater than the beast on the eighth step.'

'A single attack grievously wounded me,' Li Yang noted internally.

But he wasn't surprised.

Another attack landed, and Li Yang's life force completely vanished.

In the space of the ninth step, he was killed almost instantly.

...

Outside the steps of the Path of Deities, numerous geniuses were waiting.

SWOOSH! SWOOSH! SWOOSH!

At this moment, besides Mute, Dilunxi, Long Zhan, and the other geniuses from Li Yang's cohort, there were also some older geniuses present. Leading them was a youth who resembled a werewolf.

"Haha, Ba Xu, you're here."

Mute laughed heartily upon seeing the werewolf-like youth.

"Hmph! Mute, do you really think Li Yang can pass the eighth step of the Path of Deities?" Ba Xu shot Mute a look and snorted coldly.

If it were a few years from now, he wouldn't be so sure. But only one year had passed. Li Yang passing the eighth step?

He absolutely refused to believe it.

No matter how much of a genius he was, it was impossible to improve that fast.

"Haha, Ba Xu, just you wait. My brother Li Yang isn't someone who can be understood by common standards. Just get ready to hand over that Celestial Blue Stone," Mute laughed loudly.

Despite his words, Mute was clearly a little nervous inside.

'Li Yang, my brother, you have to pass. Let me rub it in Ba Xu's face.'

He was filled with anticipation.

The other geniuses were all watching as well.

"Two minutes have passed, and Li Yang still hasn't come out."

"Three minutes... Four minutes..."

"Li Yang is still on the step."

At first, no one believed Li Yang could succeed. They thought he was probably just here to test his strength, since many of them often came here for that exact purpose.

But as time went on and Li Yang remained in the combat space, looks of shock began to appear on the faces of the onlookers.

At this rate, it seemed like Li Yang might actually pass the eighth step.

If he did, Li Yang would create a miracle! A miracle that surpassed Lan Yu, the peerless genius who appears only once every few billion years!

After a full eight minutes, Li Yang's ranking on the leaderboard that everyone was watching suddenly changed.

1st: Mixed Void - Record: 11th step of the Path of Deities

2nd: Lan Yu - Record: 8th step of the Path of Deities

3rd: Li Yang - Record: 8th step of the Path of Deities

4th: Dilunxi - Record: 4th step of the Path of Deities

...

The leaderboard appeared before them, and seeing the updated information, everyone gasped in shock.

"He passed! Li Yang really passed the eighth step!"

"Lan Yu is also only on the eighth step! Li Yang is now tied with Lan Yu!"

"This is insane! Absolutely insane! The higher you go, the harder the steps are to pass, yet Li Yang is clearing them faster and faster."

"Li Yang's rate of improvement has definitely surpassed Lan Yu's!"

The crowd was stunned, finding it hard to believe what they were seeing.

They could still remember the peerless Talent Lan Yu had displayed during the genius selection tournament!

Faced with such Talent, they hadn't even dared to think of catching up, let alone considering Lan Yu a rival.

But now, in just eleven short years, Li Yang was about to catch up to Lan Yu!

This was nothing short of a miracle!

And just as everyone was reeling in shock...

SWOOSH!

Li Yang's figure reappeared, having been eliminated.

"Whoa, Li Yang, you're amazing!" Mute ran over, his face alight with excitement.

A deep-seated shock was still evident in his eyes.

In his opinion, Li Yang shouldn't have been able to pass the eighth step at all. He hadn't been confident, but Li Yang had actually succeeded!

After speaking, Mute turned to Ba Xu, whose expression had soured, and laughed loudly. "Haha, Ba Xu, don't forget to send over that Celestial Blue Stone."

Ba Xu's face was clearly dark.

'How is this possible? Li Yang actually succeeded? After such a short time?'

One had to remember that Lan Yu, hailed as a peerless genius who appeared once every few billion years, had taken five years to get from the seventh step to the eighth.

And now, Li Yang had done it in just one year.

'Lan Yu's Talent is a once-in-a-few-billion-years phenomenon. So what level is Li Yang's Talent at?'

He couldn't believe it.

Moreover, Lan Yu had only passed the eighth step in five years because he'd stumbled upon a huge opportunity. Without that lucky break, it would have taken him at least eight years, perhaps even ten.

That was why he had been so certain that Li Yang couldn't possibly pass the eighth step so quickly.

However, the reality before him had completely shattered his expectations.

Although he was shocked, upon hearing Mute's words, Ba Xu just snorted coldly and said, "Hmph, Mute, I, Ba Xu, never go back on my word."

His figure vanished on the spot. He had clearly logged out of the Virtual World.

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