The First to Reach the Top

His eyes, which had been half-closed the whole time, opened slightly at that moment.

"Finally... something challenging!"

He muttered to himself, his hands still in his pockets, but a nearly transparent Ancient Furnace -like phantom silently appeared around him, enveloping his entire being.

The Great Furnace was simple and mysterious, as if it had existed since time immemorial. What was engraved on it was not patterns, but countless microcosms of the universe in the process of birth and death.

The duel began, under the breathless gaze of the crowd.

The projection of the White Emperor moved.

He took a step forward and thrust his sword out.

However, this seemingly ordinary sword strike perfectly sealed off all space above, below, and in all directions, embodying a return to the essence of swordsmanship.

There's no way to avoid it, no way to stop it.

It was as if the outcome was already predetermined once the sword was thrust out.

Faced with this seemingly perfect sword strike, Chen Fan neither dodged nor evaded, not even raising his eyelids.

He allowed the sword to strike with perfect precision the transparent, illusory image of Great Furnace in front of him.

Laugh!!

The supreme sword principles contained within the Emperor Sword were forcibly absorbed by an even more domineering force the moment they came into contact with the illusory Great Furnace!

This is the ultimate clash of two Invincible Dao!

The White Emperor's Dao is to exhaust all methods and reach the ultimate state, to master the laws of heaven and earth in the most perfect way, like the most precise instrument.

Chen Fan's path is to forge Ten Thousand Dao and devour everything!

No matter what laws you follow, once they enter my Furnace, they will all be transformed into the most Origin Source energy and become my nourishment!

In a brief exchange, the outcome was immediately clear!

A slight ripple appeared in the emotionless eyes of the White Emperor's projection.

With a flick of his wrist, his swordplay continued unabated, unleashing ten thousand sword strikes in the blink of an eye.

Each sword strike contained a different Sword Intent. The sword light intertwined into a net, transforming into a domain of sword Dao, intending to obliterate Chen Fan along with that strange Great Furnace.

However, at that moment, Chen Fan took a step forward.

He completely ignored the sword domain that was powerful enough to kill any Golden Body Realm cultivator, and strolled through it leisurely.

All the sword lights that came within three feet of him vanished without a trace the instant they touched the illusory Great Furnace.

One step, two steps, three steps.

Chen Fan walked up to the projection of the White Emperor.

He finally slowly pulled a hand out of his pocket and extended one finger.

Amidst the horrified gazes of the entire universe, it gently touched the center of the White Emperor's projection's brow.

In an instant, the myriad swords ceased, and the Dao Domain collapsed.

All of White Emperor's projection's movements came to an abrupt halt at this moment.

His eyes, which held the very essence of the universe's birth and death, gazed deeply at Chen Fan, a faint hint of approval in them.

The next second.

"Boom!!"

This legendary Human Race projection, along with the Chaos Long Sword in his hand, exploded, transforming into a dazzling rain of nine-colored light that scattered and vanished into nothingness.

[Congratulations to candidate Chen Fan for successfully completing the Prodigies Trial Tower, becoming the first person to reach the top in this year's college entrance examination.]

The cold, impersonal system announcement once again echoed throughout the Star Domain.

As the White Emperor's projection dissipated into a shower of light, the entire [Star Domain] virtual world, along with the billions of Star Systems watching the live stream, fell into absolute silence for tens of seconds.

It was as if an invisible hand had pressed the pause button on the entire universe.

Then, the deathly silence was ignited.

Like billions of supernovae exploding simultaneously in every corner of the Star Network, it transformed into an unprecedented, frenzied wave that was enough to engulf everything!

"He reached the summit... He really reached the summit!"

"One finger! A single finger shattered the White Emperor's projection within the same realm! Is this a monster? No! This is a god!"

"Our Human Race shall prosper!"

The light gate swirled, and Chen Fan slowly walked out from it.

He yawned habitually, his amber eyes still showing that lazy look, ignoring the system's congratulatory notifications that were flooding his ears.

In his view, this long-running game has finally come to an end.

It's just... not quite enough.

At the same time, the main screen of the live stream switched rapidly, starting to display the final results of other Prodigies.

In the scene, Xiao Wuming's eyes were empty, and the Origin Source fire burning around his body had been extinguished. Driven by his mechanical combat instincts, his figure finally stopped in front of the light gate on the ninety-fourth floor. With a flash of light, he was teleported out of the tower.

This former Prodigies one Heavenly Dragon Star System now resembles a puppet whose soul has been ripped out.

Following closely behind, Lei Pojun, the madman of the Qilin Constellation, covered in blood, let out a defiant roar on the ninety-second floor before being blasted away by the gatekeeper's halberd.

Luo Shenyue of Andromeda also stopped on the same floor. Looking at the dazzling name at the top of the tower, her usually cool face was filled with indescribable shock.

[The Trial of Prodigies has ended.]

Amidst the chilling system announcement, the virtual Heavenly Dao Stele that spanned heaven and earth reappeared.

The total scores for everyone were rapidly tallied and eventually compiled into a golden list.

[First Place: Chen Fan (Milky Way Galaxy - Blue Star)]

His name, like an eternal blazing sun, hangs high atop the list, radiating a light that eclipses the myriad Stars below.

The list scrolled down rapidly.

[Second Place: Xiao Wuming (Heavenly Dragon Star System - Heavenly Dragon Star)]

[Third Place: Luo Shenyue (Andromeda Star System - Goddess Star)]

[Fourth Place: Lei Pojun (Qilin Constellation Star System - Kirin Star)]

[Rank 780: Shen Xuan (Milky Way Galaxy - Blue Star)]

[Rank 850: Su Qingyue (Milky Way Galaxy -Blue-Star)]

[Rank 890: Tuo Bashan (Milky Way Galaxy - Blue Star)]

The list of the top 1,000 Prodigies has finally been finalized. Shen Xuan and his two companions, with their solid strength, firmly secured their places in the top 100, becoming one of the few outstanding individuals who were able to keep up with the pace in this legendary "runner-up" journey.

Just when everyone thought that the rules for the third round of assessments would be announced next.

A sudden change has occurred!

The pure white space of the entire [Star Domain] was suddenly rippled, as if a stone had been thrown into a calm lake.

A figure, without any warning, slowly materialized in front of the Heavenly Dao Stele.

He was wearing a faded Federation uniform with no rank insignia on his shoulders, and his face was extremely ordinary—the kind of face that would be easily lost in a crowd.

However, the moment he appeared, the entire virtual world, including the flowing light and the clamorous sounds, everything froze instantly.

The commentator, who was passionately explaining the situation in countless live broadcast rooms, suddenly stopped speaking.

The minds of the hundreds of millions of people who were celebrating on the Star Network seemed to be frozen.

At this moment, time and space seemed to pay the highest tribute to this ordinary man.

"Martial... Martial God!"

Someone mustered all their strength to squeeze out those two words from their throat.

The newcomer was none other than the Heaven-Slaying Martial God, one of the nine Guardian Gods of the Human Race, who had been guarding the bloodiest front lines for many years!