Chapter 461: The 40th Step

Outside the Divine Road Staircase, numerous Deities and Emperors were deep in discussion.

"The battle on the thirty-ninth step has begun."

"No matter how heaven-defying Li Yang is, this trial definitely won’t be easy."

"That’s right. The giant ape in this trial has extremely strong regenerative abilities."

The powerful experts murmured amongst themselves.

But under their watchful eyes, Li Yang finished off the giant ape on the thirty-ninth step cleanly and decisively.

"A dozen seconds! It only took Li Yang a dozen seconds to kill that giant ape, whose strength was close to the Divine Realm!"

"To kill the giant ape that quickly, Li Yang must have... strength that surpasses the Divine Realm!"

"Heavens! How has Li Yang been cultivating for the past decade or so?"

Watching the giant ape get killed, the crowd of experts was once again left in shock!

"His rate of progress is even faster than Mixed Void’s, surpassing him by a huge margin!"

"This is insane! Li Yang is absolutely insane! Even the fastest-improving genius couldn’t possibly be this fast, right?"

...

In the eyes of the many Deities and Emperors, they had thought Li Yang would struggle to advance past the thirty-ninth step. The beast in that trial space possessed regenerative abilities exclusive to some Divine Realm experts, making it incredibly difficult to kill.

Yet, Li Yang had still dealt with it cleanly and decisively.

"Passing the thirty-ninth step of the Divine Road Staircase so quickly... Li Yang might actually have a chance of passing the fortieth!"

"Li Yang has been cultivated at the Star Lord Realm for less than twenty years! In the entire history of our Human Race, only eight geniuses have passed the fortieth step in under twenty years!"

"And Li Yang is still less than a hundred years old, right?"

"I know for a fact that Li Yang isn’t even eighty yet."

"Even if he started cultivating the moment he was born, that’s still only eighty years of training!"

"Eighty years to gain the power to kill Deities?"

Almost everyone present found it surreal.

It was well known that any genius who could kill Deities in under a century was one of the most incredible prodigies of the Human Race. They would typically distinguish themselves as early as the Law Realm and maintain a lead so vast that no other genius could ever catch up.

And yet, Li Yang hadn’t even been the most outstanding candidate in the Eternal Saint Hall’s past genius selections; he had only ranked tenth.

Even when he passed the twelfth step of the Divine Road Staircase, he was still overshadowed by Mixed Void, his Talent widely considered to be second best.

Up until now, Li Yang had never been considered the most outstanding in everyone’s hearts. But the Talent he was displaying now was the kind rarely seen in the endless history of the Human Race.

Other geniuses slowed down the further they progressed, yet Li Yang was actually getting faster!

It was nothing short of a miracle!

...

The shock of the many Deities and Emperors had no effect on Li Yang.

With a flicker of his body, he appeared directly within the space of the fortieth step.

This step corresponded to a Deity who had truly mastered a single system of Law!

To pass this trial was to prove one had the strength to kill a Deity!

"Hm?"

Upon entering, Li Yang’s gaze narrowed. There was no beast in the space before him; instead, a human had appeared.

’Just like the space on the twelfth step.’

Previously, in the space of the twelfth step of the Divine Road Staircase, Li Yang had also encountered a human, and they had the exact same face.

Before him stood a middle-aged man wielding a long spear, the aura fluctuating from his body had fully reached the Divine Realm!

"Li Yang, we meet again."

The middle-aged man looked at Li Yang with a faint smile, clearly remembering him.

"We met in the space of the twelfth step just over a decade ago. Now, only a little more than ten years have passed, and you’ve already reached the fortieth step. Your rate of progress is absolutely among the fastest in the entire history of our Human Race."

The middle-aged man praised Li Yang in admiration.

After speaking, he added, "I very much hope you can pass this step. However, in this trial, I will not hold back in the slightest. If you want to pass, then show me your true strength!"

Hearing the middle-aged man’s words, Li Yang replied in a deep voice, "That’s for the best. I also hope you will use your full strength!"

"Oh? Quite confident, are you?"

The middle-aged man glanced at Li Yang. "Then let me see this strength of yours!"

BOOM!

The Divine Realm aura on the middle-aged man’s body erupted completely!

Laws flowed around his body. This time, there was only one Law—the complete Space Law!

"Space Freeze!"

The middle-aged man took a step forward and brandished his long spear. The surrounding void seemed to instantly solidify.

Space Freeze, one of the four main profundities of Space Law. Against weaker opponents, this move was completely indefensible; they wouldn’t even be able to move.

’The profundity of Space Freeze, is it?’

Li Yang thought to himself, his expression calm.

This profundity was indeed powerful, but with his current strength, the Space Freeze couldn’t restrain him at all.

RRRIP!

Li Yang swung his long spear, unleashing an extremely terrifying attack.

CRACK!

The sound of shattering seemed to echo from the frozen void as the Space Freeze was broken. The spear’s light shot out, stabbing directly toward the middle-aged man.

"Oh? Broken so easily? Li Yang, your strength is indeed formidable," the middle-aged man said, slightly astonished.

"But this alone is not enough."

SWISH!

His figure vanished instantly. The speed was so incredible that his disappearance was imperceptible.

The spear pierced straight through his body, passing through empty air. Only then did the figure slowly dissipate. It was clearly an afterimage, a phantom left behind by his immense speed.

One of the four main profundities of Space Law—the profundity of Teleportation!

After becoming a Deity, the profundity of Teleportation was immensely powerful. Whether in battle or escape, this profundity was of enormous use.

’An afterimage created by teleportation?’

Li Yang’s gaze narrowed, his face filled with caution.

"Li Yang, I admit your attack is stronger than mine," the middle-aged man said calmly. "But faced with the profundity of Teleportation, you have no way of hurting me."

In terms of raw speed, Li Yang was faster, but raw speed and teleportation were two different things.

Li Yang could quickly catch up to him, but the man could use teleportation to instantly open the distance between them again.

Hearing the middle-aged man’s words, Li Yang replied in a low voice, "That’s not necessarily true."

He gripped the long spear in his hand. At that moment, the Four-Element Laws of space, time, Fire Element, and lightning began to fluctuate violently upon it!

A spectral spear immediately appeared above Li Yang! A terrifyingly powerful fluctuation began to condense upon the phantom!

The surrounding void seemed to be greatly affected by this horrifying fluctuation.

"The Destruction Spear Skill." Seeing the attack Li Yang was unleashing, the middle-aged man’s eyes showed a grave expression for the first time.

He knew this was Li Yang’s strongest attack. The last time they fought, he had been defeated by this very move.