Genius and Madman

The search for Chen Tian had dragged on longer and longer, with no end in sight.

Yakelis and Helles simply began enjoying themselves while they searched.

After all, they could not return to the Second Universe themselves. Remaining in the Seventh Universe was not a bad choice either.

On the contrary, it had helped them grow considerably.

This was something they had never gained when they were Demon Gods—a transformation that could only be encountered by chance, never sought.

They had roamed the Seventh Universe for nearly twenty thousand years.

They had searched many regions, yet had not even covered a third of the entire universe. That showed just how vast its expanse was.

Moreover, there were places they did not dare set foot in at all, whether Secret Realms, abandoned battlefields, or the cultivation grounds of certain great experts.

This greatly increased the difficulty of the search.

Fortunately, they were not searching like headless flies.

After accumulating information over many years, they had obtained some useful clues.

For instance, where Chen Tian had disappeared, which universe he was in, and so on.

After piecing together countless clues, they ultimately reached one conclusion—they could not find him. They had searched for so long and gathered clues for so long, only to reach such a conclusion.

An ordinary person would have gone mad on the spot.

Only they could persist through it, enduring the hardship without complaint.

If they had not possessed the identity of Demon Gods, such perseverance would probably have been remembered throughout the ages. The Seventh Universe was simply too vast.

When they were in the Second Universe, they had possessed many miraculous tools and weapons that allowed them to do countless things.

But here in the Seventh Universe, they had absolutely nothing.

Yakelis did not even dare take out the Profound Meaning Divine Spear. Last time, Master had been backing her, so she had acted without restraint.

Now, only she and Helles remained. If they used weapons that defied all reason again, they would soon be erased by the rules of this universe!

After all, unconventional weapons from other universes could very well damage the rules established by the universe itself.

This was something all Eight Universes had jointly chosen to prevent.

Because once such a thing happened, the entire universe would descend into immense chaos.

War might even erupt between universes! When that time came, there would no longer be a single patch of pure land in the world. In that age of unspeakable misery, what floated through the universe would no longer be rubble and trash, but shattered corpses and warships torn into pieces.

Many years ago, there had been a madman.

He had a dream: to unite all universes and rule them himself! This madman was extraordinarily powerful, with talent beyond compare. Even among heaven's favored sons, he ranked among the very best.

Yet this very man had done something that shook the Eight Universes and every Spirit Lord.

That matter had been too terrifying, inflicting irreparable damage upon all eight universes! That madman was called Lie Tian. His ambition could be seen from his very name.

From the moment he stepped onto the path of cultivation until his death, he had always worn the halo of a genius.

As the saying went, madmen stood on the left and geniuses on the right; one thought led to heaven, one thought led to hell. Madmen and geniuses were separated by no more than a single thought.

Lie Tian was genius incarnate. His deeds perfectly explained what a genius was.

Even after he had done such things, many records still could not discard the knowledge he had left behind.

Lie Tian's life had been smooth and unobstructed. From childhood onward, his strength had always crushed those his age tenfold.

As he gradually grew, his talent revealed itself even more fully. He began to abandon struggles among his peers and turned instead toward the stronger previous generation.

He began challenging those above his realm, challenging those older than himself, growing stronger with every battle.

And he had never once been defeated!

When he was ten years old, he first attempted to challenge someone a full realm above him.

At the time, it caused a tremendous sensation. Countless top academies sent people to watch, and every sort of faction was present.

The battle was held in a spacious Beast Fighting Arena.

The surroundings were packed with people, and their shouts blanketed the entire Beast Fighting Arena. Their purpose in coming was simple.

They wanted to see how Lie Tian, a genius of merely ten years old, would defeat someone a whole realm above him.

The one who accepted the challenge was a young man who looked down on him greatly. He too was a genius, but he despised geniuses like Lie Tian, who had been piled up by flowers and gossip.

He decided to teach this Lie Tian, who did not know the height of the heavens or the depth of the earth, a lesson!

As the bell rang, the battle was on the verge of erupting! The young man was incredibly fast, charging directly at Lie Tian. Everyone held their breath as they watched. The battle before them was far more blood-pumping than they had imagined!

Facing the young man's attack, Lie Tian merely evaded. Though the young man was powerful, he was nothing in Lie Tian's eyes.

Seizing an opening, Lie Tian grabbed the young man's head with his backhand, then ended the battle amid a cloud of thick smoke.

After that battle, Lie Tian's name completely rose to the summit!

All the academies began offering the highest stakes they could afford, trying to draw Lie Tian's attention.

Every Lineage and faction sprang into action, seeking to recruit the ten-year-old Lie Tian.

In the end, he chose the academy he liked best and began furthering his studies there.

Time passed quickly.

Lie Tian welcomed the Ranking Battle and the Universe Competition, an age of magnificent upheaval! His blood boiled as he wished to witness geniuses from other universes who were like himself!

By then, Lie Tian had already reached the level of Venerable God, his strength surpassing those of his age by ten thousand times.

In the Ranking Battle, he seized first place in one stroke, sending his planet and star system into the number one position.

He shone even more brilliantly in the Universe Competition.

His radiance completely suppressed the halos of all the other geniuses.

In that Universe Competition, he was the undisputed first place! From the beginning of the battles to their end, he claimed first place with a perfect record. Such strength filled others with despair—he was like a mountain that could not be crossed! Though Lie Tian was not as exaggerated as those peerless geniuses who could ascend to heaven in a single step, his strength had won everyone's recognition.

He was granted a title unprecedented throughout all ages.

The Number One Beneath Ascending to Heaven in One Step! It was a title that symbolized strength. From then on, Lie Tian officially stepped into an unimaginable era.

Whether it was cultivation systems, all manner of knowledge, or the creation of weapons,

he left an indelible mark upon that era.

During a later experiment, he nearly lost his life in an explosion, but ultimately survived.

After that incident, it was as though he had opened Pandora's box, becoming impossible to contain! Countless forbidden weapons emerged one after another, and innumerable devastating formations appeared in endless succession.

In the end, he began delving into the mysteries of the human body, attempting to uncover the secret of immortality! This ultimately provoked the fury of the universe, which sent down a tribulation of lightning. But by then, his strength had long surpassed that of a God King, reaching an unprecedented peak.

In the end, he secretly developed eight devices and placed them within the eight universes.

Then he began the experiment. The eight devices activated at once, and strange, formidable power instantly crushed several living planets, leaving not a single life upon them alive.

As the power intensified, it eventually even affected the universes! Countless God Kings set out to locate the devices, hoping to destroy them.

But when they found the devices, they could not even approach them. Touching even the faintest trace of that power meant instant death!

In the end, time began spiraling out of control across the eight universes, and countless cracks appeared within them.

The universes also seemed to begin collapsing inward, as countless planets started drawing together!

At the final moment, the Spirit Lords forcibly intervened and stopped the catastrophe from unfolding.

In the end, Lie Tian fought the Spirit Lords, but was ultimately slain by them.