YUAN’S ASCENSION

“High Eldritch Wan Bao has reached his limit, only 1500 steps?”

“1500 steps is already astounding.”

“Temporarily ranked first.”

“There are eleven thousand steps in total, but even High Eldritch Wan Bao, who is in first place, has only reached the 1500th step?”

All the geniuses were secretly shocked. It was too difficult! They only had a thousand years to comprehend here. One could say that completing all eleven thousand steps was practically impossible.

Time flowed on.

The geniuses who sprinted at first mostly stopped between the 1200th to 1600th step. The number who surpassed High Eldritch Wan Bao could be counted on one’s fingers.

“Hou Xiao, you’ve reached your limit too.” High Eldritch Wan Bao transmitted to High Eldritch Hou Xiao.

“Yes, my climbing speed was slower than yours, but my comprehension of the Primordial Doctrine was slightly faster, allowing me to take a dozen more steps.” High Eldritch Hou Xiao transmitted back.

High Eldritch Hou Xiao, a Supreme Genius of the Eldritch Court, also comprehended the Great Dao of Creation.

“Look, Gamang, Mu Long, they’ve all practically stopped, all falling behind us. It seems the current limit is around 1500 to 1600 steps.” High Eldritch Wan Bao transmitted: “It all depends how far we can progress over the next thousand years while fully dedicated to comprehension.”

It wasn’t just High Eldritch Wan Bao. As more than ninety percent of geniuses reached their current limits of understanding and stopped climbing, the vast majority of geniuses believed that 1600 steps was the current limit. Comprehending the Three Thousand Foundation Diagrams of the Primordial Doctrine became increasingly difficult as one progressed.

“Not necessarily!” High Eldritch Hou Xiao shook his head slightly and said: “This is just our limit. Look at Wu Yuan, Zhu Shan, Inconstance and the others. Their comprehension speed is slow, but is it truly slow? They likely have greater insights, noticing things we don’t.”

“Oh?” High Eldritch Wan Bao was puzzled.

All participants were competitors, so even those from the same faction generally didn’t transmit messages about secrets they had discovered.

Furthermore, in order to notice the guiding profundities of these incomplete Primordial Foundation Diagrams, one had to have sufficient insight to begin with. Those with enough insight were naturally able to discover them. If one lacked the insight, knowing about these profundities was useless anyway.

“Just wait.” High Eldritch Hou Xiao smiled: “I believe a large group will surpass us soon.”

High Eldritch Wan Bao was skeptical.

Time flowed on.

Wu Yuan, Inconstance, Zhu Shan, Lie Jin, Ming Jian and nearly a hundred other geniuses who had been ascending the steps at a slower rate continued to progress, gradually catching up.

Seven hundred steps… eight hundred steps…nine hundred steps.

At that moment, something completely unexpected occurred. Zhu Shan, universally acknowledged as the most powerful monstrous prodigy of the Megaverse Crossroads, who had been slowly completing the Foundation Diagrams, now stopped at around nine hundred steps! He ceased advancing.

“What?”

“Zhu Shan has reached his limit?”

“Only nine hundred steps?” A wave of commotion spread as almost all geniuses looked at him in shock, finding it hard to believe.

Nine hundred steps? Wu Yuan was equally stunned, unable to understand it.

Logically, given Zhu Shan’s comprehension of the Great Dao of Five Elements, ascending a thousand steps should have been easy with just some understanding. However, the fact remained that Zhu Shan had stopped at around nine hundred steps.

Could it be that Zhu Shan never intended to comprehend the Primordial Doctrine? A thought flashed through Wu Yuan’s mind, leaving him increasingly confused.

Even if he didn’t plan to pursue the path of matter, the Primordial Doctrine could still serve as reference, right? It was completely incomprehensible.

…

While other Supreme Geniuses felt puzzled by Zhu Shan’s situation, they were also greatly delighted. Zhu Shan’s strength was already terrifying; if he also excelled in the Primordial Doctrine, one could say the other Supreme Geniuses would stand no chance at all. This was their opportunity!

…

Time continued to flow. Led by Wu Yuan and Inconstance, the slower-paced group of nearly one hundred geniuses steadily advanced step by step.

1100 steps…1300 steps…1600 steps!

At this point, many peerless geniuses who had initially climbed at the same pace as Wu Yuan and Inconstance finally began to slow down, gradually reaching their limits.

By now, almost all geniuses had a clear view of the situation. About seventy-plus geniuses had surpassed 1600 steps, among whom only around ten were Supreme Geniuses.

Clearly, many ordinary geniuses had comprehended the Primordial Doctrine to a higher level than the Supreme Geniuses during the Divine Domain stage.

At the 1700th step, over thirty geniuses stopped their advance, clearly having reached their limits.

At the 1800th step, another twenty-plus geniuses stopped.

Even though Wu Yuan, Inconstance and the others had already gained insights into the corresponding Foundation Diagrams early on, their speed of analysis and completion of the diagrams slowed the higher they went.

After a full two days, only six broke through the two thousand-step mark – Wu Yuan, Inconstance, Ming Jian, Lie Jin, Li Guang, and You Feng. These six became the center of focus of practically all participants.

“They actually broke through to the 2000th step.”

“Doesn’t this mean they’ve comprehended over two thousand Foundation Diagrams of the Primordial Doctrine?”

“Too terrifying, I’ve only comprehended 1300, and I thought my comprehension speed was fast enough.”

“There will always be a taller sky.” These participating geniuses all sighed inwardly.

One could say that those who entered the Heavenly Domain stage were all ranked among the top hundred peerless geniuses among the thousands of macrocosms in their respective universes.

However, comparison was the thief of joy. When it came to the top-tier geniuses of the megaverse, most geniuses paled in comparison.

“Wu Yuan, Inconstance, and Li Guang have long been recognized as top-ten powerhouses with exceptional talent. It’s only natural that they’ve comprehended the Primordial Doctrine to such a degree.”

“Ming Jian’s talent is also exceptional.”

“But what are Lie Jin and You Feng relying on?”

“They’re Supreme Geniuses too, but You Feng isn’t particularly outstanding, and Lie Jin only broke through during the Divine Domain stage.”

“Lie Jin is also from the Eldritch Court,” the participating geniuses discussed among themselves.

Most of their mental energy was focused on cultivation and comprehension; their exchanges required only a thread of consciousness.

In truth, Lie Jin and You Feng were quite powerful, both being Supreme Geniuses. Yet compared to Wu Yuan, Inconstance, and the others, they seemed notably inferior.

As everyone watched, Wu Yuan, Inconstance, and the other four continued to advance, reaching the 2100th step. Then, the 2200th step.

Finally, Inconstance reached his limit of understanding, stopping at around 2200 steps. Li Guang and Ming Jian halted soon after at around 2300 steps.

Soon after, You Feng stopped at around 2400 steps, leaving only Wu Yuan and Lie Jin. These two continued their relentless ascent.

“They still haven’t reached their limits?”

“Heavens above!”

“We thought we were impressive for deciphering 1400 to 1500 Foundation Diagrams, but compared to Wu Yuan and Lie Jin?”

“What are their limits?”

“Even if I had another thousand years to comprehend here, I couldn’t catch up to those two.”

“Catch up to them? Even with another thousand years of cultivation, we’d struggle to cross two thousand steps.” Almost all participants sighed. The gap between themselves and these monstrous prodigies felt painfully clear.

Wu Yuan! Truly formidable. Inconstance wasn’t particularly surprised by Wu Yuan’s progress, having long known his comprehension of the Primordial Doctrine would be terrifying. He had witnessed this firsthand in the life-or-death treasure ground years ago.

As for Ming Jian? Inconstance wasn’t too surprised about him either.

But that Lie Jin? Inconstance’s brow furrowed slightly. To have comprehended the Primordial Doctrine to such a degree, how did I not know of this before?

He committed Lie Jin’s name to memory. Regardless of Lie Jin’s overall strength, his comprehension of the Primordial Doctrine alone was frightening enough.

Time continued to flow.

“2500 steps.”

“2600 now!”

“Those two are still climbing, they still haven’t reached their limits.”

“2700 steps.”

At this point, almost everyone fell silent, staring in disbelief at the two figures far ahead.

Only six peerless geniuses had crossed the 2000th step. You Feng, ranked third, only reached 2400 steps. Yet Wu Yuan and Lie Jin, moving steadily and methodically, were already approaching 2800 steps.

They had left the other geniuses far behind in the dust. Clearly, Wu Yuan and Lie Jin’s understanding of the Primordial Doctrine was on an entirely different level from the thousands of other geniuses.

…

“Wu Yuan is part of our Eldritch Court!”

“Lie Jin is also from our Eldritch Court!”

“The two strongest are both from our Eldritch Court!” The hundreds of Eldritch Court geniuses who had advanced from the Divine Domain stage were overwhelmed with joy.

Some geniuses from other Saintdoms felt jealousy or even hatred toward Wu Yuan and Lie Jin. In particular, the numerous Immortal Court geniuses were nearly going mad with envy, their hostility almost tangible. But among the Eldritch Court geniuses, most felt excitement and even worship.

“This is insane!”

“Our Eldritch Court might claim all the Saintcrests in this Megaverse Crossroads.”

“As expected of Wu Yuan!”

“What a shame that Zhu Shan stopped at just over nine hundred steps,” many Eldritch Court geniuses sighed quietly.

Earlier, when Zhu Shan had stopped, the hearts of these Eldrith Court geniuses had plummeted, sensing trouble. But in the end, Wu Yuan and Lie Jin had given them an enormous surprise.

“Wu Yuan has always been brilliant, proclaimed as the participant with the greatest talent, so his attainments in the Primordial Doctrine is understandable.”

“But Lie Jin? How is this possible? How can a High Immortal who took hundreds of thousands of years to become a Supreme Genius surpass so many others?” Many geniuses, including those from the Immortal Court, couldn’t comprehend it.

It wasn’t that Lie Jin wasn’t strong, but rather that his performance and power seemed vastly disproportionate to his current achievements!

High on the Primordial Steps stairway, Wu Yuan and Lie Jin continued their advance, climbing ever higher.

“Could it be that they’ve both fully comprehended the Three Thousand Foundation Diagrams?” Some genius proposed this bold conjecture.

“That’s impossible!”

“The Three Thousand Foundation Diagrams form a complete whole.”

“The full comprehension of the Three Thousand Foundation Diagrams is a major bottleneck.” Most geniuses couldn’t imagine it.

If Wu Yuan and Lie Jin had already fully comprehended the Three Thousand Foundation Diagrams, they had essentially secured first and second place on the Primordial Steps. It was simply impossible for those behind them to compete!

Finally, shortly after crossing the 2900th step, Lie Jin stopped.

“Wu Yuan.” Lie Jin, with a devilishly handsome appearance and wearing golden robes, turned to Wu Yuan: “I’ve reached my limit. The rest is up to you.”

“Very well.” Wu Yuan nodded as he transmitted his response.

He couldn’t help but take a few more glances at High Immortal Lie Jin. Among the countless Eldritch Court geniuses, Lie Jin had always maintained an extremely low profile. Before the Megaverse Crossroads, his profile only indicated that he had mastered a Sovereign-level technique.

During the Divine Domain stage, Lie Jin had broken through unexpectedly, comprehending the Law of Metal and joining the ranks of Supreme Geniuses. But even after breaking through, he remained low-key.

One can’t judge by appearances. In terms of fame, he doesn’t even compare to Xuan Rong or Mu Long, yet his achievements in the Primordial Doctrine are astounding. Wu Yuan mused.

There were countless prodigies in the vast heaven and earth. One had to believe in themselves to stand at the peak, yet maintain a reverent heart and avoid arrogance. The two weren’t contradictory.

“High Immortal Lie Jin has stopped.”

“He’s stopped.”

“He’s reached his limit. It’s just over 2900 steps, not quite fully comprehending the Three Thousand Foundation Diagrams.” Many geniuses quickly noticed this.

High Immortal Lie Jin had stopped. Only Wu Yuan remained, still climbing, still advancing. At this moment, almost every participant’s gaze fell on Wu Yuan. They wanted to see what his limit was.

2950 steps…2980 steps!

Three thousand steps, almost there. Wu Yuan’s peaceful gaze fell on a certain step in the distance ahead.

The 3000th step was now in sight. Cross it, and a whole new realm would await.

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