Chapter 224: 10th Place

It wasn’t just the top-tier geniuses watching; the 9,999 geniuses from the Yangyuan Star Continent were also glued to the scene.

"Look at Li Yang’s power!"

"Whoa, Li Yang is so strong!"

These geniuses had felt quite embarrassed before. Li Yang had been stalling for so long that they felt looked down upon by the geniuses from other Star Continents.

But who would have thought that Li Yang would suddenly erupt with such immense power!

Now, looks of incredible excitement appeared on their faces.

Against the other Star Continents, their own Yangyuan Star Continent was a unified whole.

"Haha, the Yangyuan Star Continent isn’t at the bottom after all!"

"With strength like that, Li Yang could even rank among the very top!"

"Let’s see the geniuses from the other Star Continents laugh at us now! Our Star Continent is way stronger than theirs."

Almost all the geniuses from the Yangyuan Star Continent were overjoyed.

Just then, a genius next to Celestial Net noticed his constantly shifting expression and asked in confusion, "Celestial Net, Li Yang just showed his true power, and the Yangyuan Star Continent is no longer at the bottom. Aren’t you happy?"

A moment ago, people from the other Star Continents had clearly been looking down on their Yangyuan Star Continent. But with Li Yang’s sudden explosion of power, the surrounding chatter had obviously changed, and the way people looked at them was completely different.

They were all feeling ecstatic, but Celestial Net’s expression seemed grim. ’What is going on?’

Hearing the person next to him, Celestial Net’s expression flickered. He forced a smile and said, "No, I’m just shocked."

He said that, but a tempest was raging in his heart.

As he watched Li Yang’s power erupt, effortlessly slaying one virtual person at the Peak of Longevity Realm after another, he felt an icy chill seep directly into his heart and spread throughout his body.

’How is this possible? He’s just someone from Planet Zero. How could his Talent be this powerful?’

He had already been utterly shocked when Li Yang proved stronger than Jin Xu. But in less than a few seconds, Li Yang’s power had surged again, multiplying several times over!

’Top twenty among all the geniuses of the Human Race, invincible in the Longevity Realm—what does that even mean? This is a genius that the Human Race’s Eternal Saint Hall would prioritize cultivating!’

’A genius like that wasn’t recruited by the Yangyuan Empire... and the reason he wasn’t recruited was because I sabotaged it. If the Yangyuan Emperor finds out about this...’

Celestial Net felt a chill run down his spine.

’Seeing Li Yang’s strength, will the Yangyuan Emperor launch a special investigation?’

Celestial Net was in a full-blown panic, his mind racing.

’If I were the Yangyuan Emperor, I would have specially recruited one hundred thousand geniuses in advance for this Eternal Saint Hall selection.’

’And then it turns out that none of the geniuses I recruited made it, while one I didn’t recruit displayed peerless Talent!’

’Wouldn’t the Yangyuan Emperor want to get to the bottom of how such a genius was missed?’

It was very likely.

As he was panicking, a series of excited shouts that grated on his nerves rang out again.

"Look! Li Yang’s rank is skyrocketing!"

"He broke into the top twenty!"

Everyone looked. Li Yang’s previous rank had been somewhere beyond tens of thousands. Then, after his sudden burst of power, he had jumped to the three-thousandth spot!

After another explosion of strength, instantly killing one hundred opponents at the Peak of Longevity Realm, his rank shot up to fourteenth place in an instant!

...

In the tenth combat space, Li Yang’s figure appeared.

Again, there were one hundred virtual people. The strength of these individuals was somewhere between the Longevity Realm and the Star Lord Realm. However, when they combined their power, their overall strength was equivalent to a Star Lord Realm expert!

’I’ll probably stop at this stage. But I’ve already achieved my main goal, so whatever rank I get after this doesn’t matter.’

A smile touched the corner of Li Yang’s mouth.

His greatest hope had been to fully master the third form of the Hexagram Spear and the third form of the Illusion Body Skill. Now, he had achieved all his expectations!

’Time to fight! Let’s see how many of these virtual people I can kill and how big the gap is between my power and a Star Lord’s.’

A hint of fighting spirit gleamed in Li Yang’s eyes as his figure blurred into motion.

SWISH! SWISH! SWISH!

He unleashed his full power, and one hundred phantoms appeared simultaneously.

There was still a massive chasm between the Peak of Longevity Realm and the Early Stage of the Star Lord Realm.

Even the weakest Star Lord could easily insta-kill someone at the Peak of Longevity Realm. The gap between them was still immense!

As for Li Yang, he could also insta-kill those at the Peak of Longevity Realm, but his overall strength was somewhere between the Peak of Longevity Realm and the Early Stage of the Star Lord Realm.

The one hundred virtual people before him had the combined strength of a Star Lord, but individually, each was actually a little weaker than him.

WHOOSH! WHOOSH! WHOOSH!

Li Yang’s figure moved explosively, fully unleashing the Illusion Body Skill!

These virtual people were only slightly weaker than him; if two of them attacked in unison, their combined attack power would directly surpass his. Yet, Li Yang continuously dodged, and for a moment, none of the powerful virtual people’s attacks could land on him.

"Li Yang’s Body Technique is so powerful!"

"Space Law! Li Yang has mastered the third form of the Illusion Body Skill. Space Law is naturally well-suited for evasive body techniques. Can he kill any of the virtual people inside?"

The crowd of geniuses watched intently.

Of the dozen or so geniuses who had reached the tenth stage, three—Yun Rou, Huo Lie, and another—had failed to kill a single virtual person and were ranked eleventh, twelfth, and thirteenth.

Among the top ten, Mixed Void and Lan Yu had cleared the stage, killing all one hundred virtual people!

The other eight, including Mute and Dilunxi, had killed some of the virtual people.

"Li Yang is focusing on a single virtual person."

"He’s injured too. He’s trading blows."

...

In the tenth combat space, Li Yang pushed his power to the absolute limit, dodging frantically while relentlessly attacking a single virtual person.

The virtual people were not much weaker than him. If he didn’t focus on a single one, he wouldn’t be able to kill any of them.

But facing the combined assault of the others, he was continuously being wounded.

"Die!"

Li Yang was in a frenzy, attacking ceaselessly. The auras of both him and that one virtual person steadily weakened!

The Hexagram Spear shot forward, pulsing with the powerful fluctuations of Space Law and Thunder Law. Finally, the aura of that virtual person vanished completely.

’I did it!’ A jolt of joy went through Li Yang’s heart.

At the same time, however, the aura around his own body dissipated like a receding tide.

Li Yang was killed.

He had killed one virtual person, and the other ninety-nine had killed him. The match was over!

Li Yang’s rank, which had hovered at fourteenth place, wavered for a moment before jumping up four positions, pushing down the three famously peerless geniuses: Yun Rou, Huo Lie, and their companion!

Li Yang, final rank: tenth place!

...

After being eliminated from the combat space, Li Yang appeared in the vast central area. Countless geniuses were now staring at him.

"Li Yang was eliminated."

"Tenth place! Unbelievable! The number one from Yangyuan Star Continent, Jin Xu, is currently ranked past 5,000th, yet Li Yang, who was third from the Yangyuan Star Continent, shot up to tenth in the overall rankings."

"Freak! That Li Yang is a total freak!"

"I knew all of the other geniuses in the top twenty. Li Yang is the only one I’d never even heard of before."

"He’s too strong."

At this moment, the gazes of the many geniuses upon Li Yang held a trace of awe.