When Yu Duan appeared, Chi Li smiled and asked, "I heard from An Yao that you've made great progress these past few days?"
Yu Duan waved a hand. "It's only been a few days. How could I have made any obvious progress? I still can't use Light Splitting Stab."
An Yao rolled his eyes. "You call that slow progress? It took me decades to master Light Splitting Stab. You really think you can learn it in a month?"
To be fair, An Yao's progress was already quite fast. In the entire Universe Country, he would count as a genius among geniuses.
An Yao was only a little over four hundred years old, still very young for a Star Level Fighter.
It had taken him decades to master the first level of Light and Time Sword. After that, he would need to cultivate hard for several thousand years, and even then, he might only have some hope of mastering the second level.
As for the third level, he could pretty much forget about mastering it while still at Star Level.
If he could master the third level of Light and Time Sword at Star Level, then even against Bolan, he could hold his own.
"Not exactly, but you still need a goal. The sooner I master Light Splitting Stab, the better."
Yu Duan hurriedly waved a hand. He spoke humbly, but still seemed full of confidence.
The source of that confidence was, of course, the Book of Causality.
It had been thirty-three days since he had borrowed an understanding of the Law of Light that had just crossed the threshold. But Yu Duan had stubbornly pushed the repayment progress bar to one year and six days.
Even if he had no more opportunities later, at his current pace, he could pay off this "loan" in about eight years.
While Yu Duan was chatting with his friends, the entire assembly area suddenly erupted into a commotion.
"Senior Brother Yalunsi!"
"Senior Brother Yalunsi is here!"
In an instant, the gazes of countless Star Level students converged on the figure who had suddenly appeared in the middle of the plaza.
He wore dark gold battle armor and stood about four meters tall. He belonged to the Werewolf Race, with a dark gold staff strapped across his back. Wearing a fairly friendly smile, he greeted a number of familiar faces.
"So that's Senior Brother Yalunsi?"
Yu Duan sent Chi Li a telepathic message.
Chi Li nodded almost imperceptibly. "Yes. He's unquestionably the top Star Level student in the Sacred Land, far above Senior Brother Pengnuolai in second place. They say he can use the third level of the Yan Shen Armament!"
This time, Yu Duan was the one who froze for a moment.
The third level of the Yan Shen Armament? Heaven Sword Style!
You've got to be kidding!
Mastering the third level of the Yan Shen Armament at Star Level wasn't something that could be achieved through years of practice alone!
"Then why didn't Senior Brother Yalunsi make the top thousand in the last Genius Tournament?" Yu Duan asked telepathically.
Chi Li's purple eyes flicked toward Yu Duan, and she smiled. "During the last Genius Tournament, Senior Brother Yalunsi had just turned a hundred. He'd perfected the first level of the Yan Shen Armament and ranked 1,756th in the entire universe."
At that, Yu Duan finally understood why the Sacred Land had allowed this senior brother to compete in a second Genius Tournament.
Normally, after someone had competed in the Genius Tournament once, the Sacred Land wouldn't let them keep lingering at Star Level instead of advancing. It would be a waste of resources.
But in Yalunsi's case, he really had been born at the wrong time.
Someone like Luo Feng, who had entered Taichu Secret Realm at just a few dozen years old, was an exceptionally rare case.
If Yalunsi competed again after turning five hundred, he would be about as strong as Luo Feng had been during the final round of the Genius Tournament. He would be guaranteed a place in the top ten across the universe, and might even have a shot at first place.
"Is Senior Brother Pengnuolai, the one in second place, in the same situation?"
In response to Yu Duan's telepathic question, Chi Li gave a barely perceptible shake of her head. "Senior Brother Pengnuolai isn't much more talented than I am. He's just the only son of a super Immortal."
"You should know that Immortal Gods can hardly have children. It takes some special opportunity."
Oh—so he was one of those with connections.
Immortal Gods usually left behind children before breaking through.
Of course, there were also cases of Immortal Gods having children after breaking through. It was rare, but it happened.
The Prince of Manka Star, one of the Three Heroes of Taichu alongside Luo Feng, was one such example.
Rumble!
Suddenly, an immense pressure swept through the vast palace.
In an instant, every Star Level student, including Yu Duan, felt an overwhelming majesty and crushing pressure. It was as if they had become tiny boats tossed about on a stormy sea, liable to capsize at any moment.
Then a towering figure appeared. It was an Immortal from the Dragon-Man Race, with a single horn on his forehead and dark gold scales covering his cheeks.
The moment this Immortal God appeared, a vast pressure, as heavy as a mountain, settled over everyone.
"The ranking battle is about to begin. The first stage is the highest-level assessment for Star Level students of the Beiming Sacred Land..." The Dragon-Man Immortal's voice rang out, solemn and cold.
The Beiming Sacred Land had over a hundred million Star Level students. If they had to fight one-on-one, the battles would go on forever.
So the first stage of the assessment was similar to the one Yu Duan had taken when he first joined the Sacred Land: students would enter their own Battle Space and fight virtual opponents.
There were ten rounds in the virtual opponent assessment. Both the opponents and the students themselves would be at the peak of Star Level Ninth Rank.
The opponent in the first round had a First Layer Domain. Each successive round was stronger.
In the tenth round, the virtual opponent would have just crossed the threshold of a Source Law and would possess rich combat experience.
Only the prodigies who had crossed the threshold of a Source Law could pass the first stage. Everyone else would be scored according to how many rounds they cleared and how they performed.
The second stage would consist of one-on-one matches, using a points system. Each student would fight ten matches a day, with one point awarded for each win. Final rankings would be based on total points.
"...The assessment begins now!"
After announcing the rules in an orderly fashion, the Dragon-Man Immortal swept a hand through the air.
In an instant, over a hundred million young people were transported to their own spaces.
Battle Space. Above the ruins of an iron city.
Yu Duan's figure suddenly appeared, and a cold mechanical voice rang out.
"Highest-level combat assessment for Star Level students begins. First round: First Layer Domain!"
As the mechanical voice fell silent, countless pale blue lights gathered and formed the familiar figure of a crystal-headed man holding a golden spear.
Whoosh!
A dazzling sword light flashed out. A wave of the Origin Law of Light swept across the sky for over a hundred kilometers, leaving behind a white streak.
Yu Duan's figure seemed to vanish from where he stood, then appeared directly behind the crystal-headed man.
Of course, Yu Duan couldn't actually teleport. He was simply moving so fast that, to an opponent at the same level with a First Layer Domain, it was no different from teleporting.
Behind Yu Duan, the crystal-headed man, who had just been about to attack, froze in place. A gaping hole had suddenly appeared in his chest, and the next moment, he vanished.
Buzz!
The air trembled. Crystalline light gathered again, forming a new bald figure. A Second Layer Darkness Domain spread from him.
But to Yu Duan, the second layer of domain was no different from the first.
Whoosh!
Brilliant light and shadow rippled outward. Refraction cast false images, and several Yu Duans seemed to appear all at once.
The next moment, the blazing white Light and Time Sword pierced through the figure's back once more.
Another instant kill!
About two minutes later, after Yu Duan decapitated the crystal-headed man with a Ninth Layer Light Domain, the cold announcement rang out again.
"Highest-level combat assessment for Star Level students, tenth round: initial comprehension of a law!"
This time, the opponent who appeared was not a crystal-headed man, but a figure completely cloaked in black robes, holding a pair of crescent-shaped blades.
"Be careful!"
The black-robed figure spoke. The next moment, he transformed into a streak of shadowy light. A wave of the Origin Law of Light traced a perfect arc through the air.
Boom!
As the Darkness Domain spread, the two crescent blades seemed to become real crescents hanging in the vast night sky. They moved with incredible speed and instantly cut through Yu Duan's chest and abdomen.
But at that very moment, Yu Duan's severed figure suddenly turned illusory, dissolving into a phantom of light.
Whoosh!
The dazzling Starlight Domain instantly spread across a range of several hundred meters.
Stars intertwined. Hundreds of Yu Duan's figures bathed in their radiance, each image occupying a unique point and resonating with the workings of the Law of Light.
Clang!
A brilliant sword cry rang out, as if tens of thousands of sword lights had blossomed at once. A rich wave of the Origin Law of Light radiated from each figure, leaving the black-robed man unable to tell which were real.
Sword and starlight reflected off each other; light and shadow flickered in and out, dazzling and impossible to decipher.
The scene held a peculiar quality, strikingly similar to the spectacle Yu Duan had once witnessed in a dream: the moment a Special Lifeform was born and the stars fell.
Swish!
The starlight faded. The sword fell.
Yu Duan stood in midair, returning the Light and Time Sword to his back.
"Highest-level combat assessment for Star Level students: passed!"
Before you continue