Kedi and Yu Duan's Outburst!

Whoosh!

A hurricane roared as 3,000 pitch-black, hideous monsters surged out in an instant.

These were creatures resembling mantises, their bodies covered in a layer of streamlined black scales patterned with intricate green markings. Their hind legs were thick and sturdy, while their two pairs of forelimbs were shaped like razor-sharp crescent blades.

Compared to the Green Mantis of the fourth Trial Tower and the Blood Mantis of the fifth, these Black Mantis were the true kings of the mantis-type Zerg—the Tuoluo Race!

Every single Tuoluo Mantis warrior possessed the combat capability of a top 1,000 genius in the universal genius competition, and their coordination was exceptionally seamless, greatly enhancing their overall combat power.

"Hum..."

The Black Mantis vibrated their wings, splitting into thirty squads that spread out in all directions, leaving behind trails of afterimages.

A dark golden domain expanded from each Black Mantis, and the power of the gold origin law gathered into their scythe-like forelimbs.

"Boom!"

The black and white giant sword swung, emitting a series of booms that caused the light in the sky to shift, flickering between brightness and shadow.

The power of the third level of the Light and Time Sword could easily slay any single Black Mantis, but this was not a one-on-one duel.

"Hum—"

In the distance, thousands of Black Mantis charged up, terrifying golden spheres of light condensing within their hideous mouthparts.

In an instant, streaks of golden breath tore through the sky. Augmented by the sharp power of the gold law, even Yu Duan was forced to dodge.

As Yu Duan dodged, Black Mantis warriors tasked with melee combat swarmed in to intercept him.

Offense, support, cannon fodder, long-range suppression... the thirty squads of one hundred insects each handled different combat roles, giving Yu Duan a massive headache.

"Legion tactics are truly troublesome..."

The black and white giant sword instantly annihilated several Black Mantis warriors attempting to block Yu Duan.

The next moment, Yu Duan's speed surged, and an endless Domain of No Light expanded in all directions, swallowing all light and shadow within it.

Yu Duan did not expect the Darkness Domain to have a significant impact on the Black Mantis; he only needed it to cover himself so he wouldn't be constantly locked onto by long-range fire.

Outside the Trial Tower, the many geniuses watching the battle suddenly lost sight of the situation within the dark domain.

They could only vaguely see faint glimmers of light flickering inside, accompanied by the deep Domain of No Light that submerged one Black Mantis warrior after another wherever Yu Duan passed.

"Ahhhhh—"

Countless piercing shrieks erupted time and again from the Zerg Mother Queen within the dark golden nest.

For the vast majority of people, this was a lethal illusion attack, yet Yu Duan ignored it entirely, remaining completely immune and unaffected.

"Why do I feel like Yu Duan's soul defense is more than a grade stronger than Yalunsi's?"

"It has to be. As a spirit reader, Yalunsi has a consciousness amplitude exceeding 40 times and must have mastered soul defense secret techniques, yet even he couldn't ignore it like that."

"..."

In the central plaza, millions of geniuses discussed the matter fervently.

However, only the immortals knew just how powerful the Zerg Mother Queen of the sixth Trial Tower truly was.

There are differences between Mother Queens, just as there are between ordinary people and geniuses.

The sonic illusion unleashed by the Zerg Mother Queen of the sixth Trial Tower could be considered the pinnacle among Mother Queens of the same level.

The soul defense of an ordinary peak Universe Level spirit reader would not be much stronger than that of a Star Level prodigy like Yalunsi, making it impossible to ignore the illusion attack.

"Yu Duan's potential is definitely no lower than Kedi's!"

"If he is relying purely on his willpower to resist and ignore the illusion, then the strength of Yu Duan's willpower must be at least at the Domain Master level, or even higher!"

"That possibility is unlikely. It is more probable that Qinghuan King taught him some powerful soul defense secret technique."

The immortals communicated via secret transmissions, all assuming that Qinghuan King, a master of the soul, had passed down some incredible secret technique.

After all, for a Star Level individual to possess willpower comparable to a Domain Master or even a World Master—crossing three major realms—was extremely rare.

While Yu Duan was fully focused on clearing the tower, Kedi, who had started a few minutes later than him, finally reached the final floor of the sixth Trial Tower.

"Ah—!"

Greeting Kedi was likewise a sudden sonic illusion.

Unlike Yu Duan's absolute immunity, Kedi, caught unprepared, fell directly into the illusion, and the fire and space domain surrounding his body dissipated instantly.

Swish, swish, swish!

Three thousand Black Mantis surged out from the mother nest. This time, they did not charge immediately but instead released their breath attacks at once.

There was no charging up; it was an instantaneous release. The combined attack of 3,000 peak Star Level Black Mantis was enough to annihilate Kedi, who was protected only by a second-tier combat suit.

"Boom!"

A violent explosion swept outward, and Kedi's figure seemed to be swallowed by the terrifying energy storm, completely annihilated.

"This seventh floor has actually become so much stronger; I almost wiped out."

A voice, sounding somewhat shaken, suddenly emerged from another direction.

A youth with red horns on his forehead, looking truly imposing, hovered in mid-air. For the first time, a look of seriousness appeared in his eyes.

In the next instant, time, space, and fire—three distinct origin laws—rippled outward, spreading just like the nine-fold domain, transforming into a truly scorching, time-space death zone that erupted instantly!

Kedi's speed surged several times over, and over a thousand Spatial Phantom images flooded the void.

"Then, let the slaughter begin..."

His voice, carrying a slightly chuunibyou tone, echoed through the massive screens and into the ears of over a million geniuses.

In an instant, the entire central plaza erupted into a frenzy, with every one of the million geniuses wearing an expression of utter disbelief.

"Time and space! He has reached the entry level for two major high-tier origin laws!"

"Over a thousand phantom images!!! Didn't Kedi only cross the threshold of the space law in the second year of the genius competition?"

"Is he even human?"

For the time law, whose proficiency is difficult to gauge visually, Kedi's instantaneous display of hundreds of phantom images made it clear to everyone just how high his attainment in the space law truly was!

Forget these Star Level youngsters; even the Immortal spirits watching had looks of astonishment and shock etched onto their faces.

Meanwhile, Yucheng Venerable and Qinghuan King, watching from a different level, saw Kedi's new movement technique at close range.

This was a powerful movement technique from a cosmic school of thought; the combat power boost from cultivating both time and space laws simultaneously was far from a simple case of one plus one equaling two.

"Teacher Qinghuan King, it seems there is no suspense left regarding who will take first place in this genius competition."

Yucheng Venerable's expression was tinged with emotion; Kedi's talent was far more astonishing than his own had been back in the day.

Yucheng Venerable knew well what kind of fortuitous encounters he had experienced to be hailed as a super genius who appeared once every million epochs, eventually moving his teacher, the great Tian Shi Palace Master.

And this Kedi... his encounters were likely even more staggering.

Qinghuan King merely sighed and whispered, "Born in the wrong era. Had you been in any other age, you would have been the most outstanding."

Not long after, in the seventh floor of the sixth Trial Tower.

Yu Duan, his left arm missing, stood atop the dilapidated dark-gold broodmother, his right foot pressing down on the soft, delicate flesh of the Zerg broodmother.

The translucent and pure Light and Time Sword had pierced directly through the broodmother's forehead, pinning her to the ground.

"The seventh Trial Tower, let me see what you are capable of!" The third eye in the center of Yu Duan's brow glowed brilliantly, the black iris faintly reflecting a myriad of dazzling lusters.

Swish!

After a brief recovery and rest, a white light enveloped Yu Duan, teleporting him directly to the seventh Trial Tower.

Almost simultaneously, Kedi, who had been one step behind Yu Duan in clearing levels until now, was also teleported to the seventh Trial Tower.

The seventh Trial Tower, first floor!

It was the same familiar, vast, and desolate Gobi desert, yet for some reason—or perhaps it was just psychological—it gave people an indescribable sense of oppression!

"Boom!"

Countless black giant beasts seemed to charge out from the abyss, each one rushing forward with an aura capable of destroying the heavens and extinguishing the earth.

With a nine-fold domain and entry-level mastery of two laws... every single giant beast possessed terrifying strength, crashing down like a black tidal wave as if to overturn the very heavens and earth!

At this moment, over a million top-tier human geniuses in the central plaza, as well as thousands of Immortal team leaders, were focused on this battle.

Even the super Immortals of the major peak powers were watching the live stream; they possessed the authorization to view it.

"Kedi is so strong, his movement technique is too fast!"

"Incredible, he is actually slaughtering opponents that possess strength comparable to the top one hundred in the overall genius competition rankings!"

"Look at Yu Duan, Yu Duan is failing!"

"He's trapped in a siege with no room to dodge; Yu Duan is going to lose!"

Inside the seventh Trial Tower, Yu Duan seemed to be in a desperate situation!

Countless black giant beasts roared as they charged at him from all directions; killing a few dozen beasts had no impact on the total of over ten thousand.

"I have what I have today because I relied on my own hard work and sweat..."

Yu Duan wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and opened the third eye on his brow. At that moment, his figure became hazy, as if dissolving, as if ascending, and countless rays of light scattered outward.

Swish!

In an instant, Yu Duan's figure vanished from the encirclement of the countless giant beasts, appearing as if he had materialized out of thin air in the outside world.

With speed pushed to the limit and agility pushed to the extreme, to the stunned eyes of the million geniuses, Yu Duan seemed to teleport, flashing directly out of the layers of encirclement formed by the ten thousand giant beasts.

"What kind of movement technique is that? How did he suddenly break out of the encirclement?"

"Impossible, how can he be that fast!"

The speed Yu Duan erupted with was not only incomprehensible to the million geniuses, but it also shocked the various Immortal team leaders.

The reactions of Yucheng Venerable and Qinghuan King, who had been watching this battle the whole time, were relatively normal.

Yucheng Venerable smiled and said, "He has a decent grasp of the first essence of the time law, though it is a pity he hasn't truly mastered it. Still, clearing the first floor shouldn't be a problem."

Qinghuan King nodded without speaking; he had a fairly clear judgment of his own disciple's strength.

The difficulty of the first floor of the seventh Trial Tower was greater than the first level of the Heavenly Bridge, but less than the second level; for Yu Duan, it was not a problem.

If one could thoroughly master the first essence of the Law of Time, they would be able to clear the third level of the Heavenly Bridge, but Yu Duan was still quite far from that.

"Clang!"

A crisp sword hum echoed out as Yu Duan's figure seemed to transform into a dreamlike arc of white light, weaving through the countless black behemoths and completing the slaughter with ease.

The third level of the Light and Time Sword normally manifests as a massive black and white greatsword, over tens of meters in length.

However, in Yu Duan's hands, all that power was completely restrained within the blade itself; instead of forming a giant black and white sword, a dense black and white halo simply appeared around the edge of the weapon.

The momentum appeared to have shrunk many times over, but with every strike, the sharpness reached its absolute peak, leaving one black behemoth after another collapsing into pools of blood.