By the time Ling Xuan reached the seventh level, he was eliminated in the blink of an eye.
The difficulty of the Heavenly Bridge increased by a qualitative leap every three levels. Without using the Zhetian Method, Ling Xuan was quickly killed.
After leaving the Nine Universes Heavenly Bridge, Ling Xuan walked over to Feng Lishuang and the other two. "Your turn."
The three women nodded. As the strongest of them in terms of raw ability, Feng Lishuang entered the Heavenly Bridge first.
Bafen, a Universe Venerable, sent out an email to all the super-existences who were watching Ling Xuan, attaching a video of him on the sixth level.
"What's with this guy's state? Do we humans have Innate Secret Techniques too?" A Universe Venerable watched the video of Ling Xuan in this completely abnormal state with curiosity.
The Virtual Universe only recorded Innate Secret Techniques that one already possessed. If you possessed the body of a Special Lifeform and entered the Virtual Universe in that lifeform's identity, the Virtual Universe would manifest the corresponding Innate Secret Technique for you, allowing you to use it there.
But if you entered as a human, the Virtual Universe couldn't recognize that you possessed an Innate Secret Technique, so you couldn't use it.
Ling Xuan's current state looked as if he were using an Innate Secret Technique. Though the technique seemed a little weak, it could have some unexpected effects against an evenly matched opponent.
But an ancient Universe Venerable merely smiled and shook his head. "That's the indomitable will of ancient humans who fought heaven and earth. It's only bringing out some of the body's potential."
"Huang Shen, what do you mean by that?" a Wolfman Venerable asked. Huang Shen Venerable was the ruler of the Huangman Universe Kingdom. He was incredibly ancient, and his kingdom was among the earliest human Universe Countries.
The backbone of the kingdom consisted of members of the Huang Shen Clan and the Manka Star People, both among the peak bloodlines of the Human Race.
They knew more of the hidden history, too.
Huang Shen Venerable smiled as he explained, "You all know Ling Xuan is a descendant of Zhulong King, right?"
"Zhulong King is even older than I am. He was active long before humanity began establishing Universe Countries. Back then, he and Lord Giant Axe Founder both came from the ancient Yan Feng tribe, known as the Seven Heroes of Yan Feng.
"Original Ancestor had only just begun to rise at the time. He hadn't yet become a Universe Master.
"Zhulong King was also a spirited and exceptionally talented figure, hailed as one of the strongest candidates to become a Universe Venerable.
"Unfortunately, during a clash with an Alien Race, he fell while covering the retreat of Chaos City Lord and the others, who hadn't yet come into their own. Even after Original Ancestor later became a Universe Master and used Reverse Time and Space to revive him, Zhulong King had lost his opportunities and treasures. He faded into obscurity and remained stuck at King Rank, taking countless eras to reach the limit of that rank.
"As human powerhouses of that era, they were surrounded by powerful enemies. From the moment they were born, every human had to face endless warfare. As soon as they could hold a weapon, they had to be ready to fight the enemy at any moment.
"Everyone in that era was fiercely combative and willing to fight to the death. Once they clashed with an enemy, their ferocity would be fully roused. The harsher the battle, the more exhilarated they became.
"That's how humanity gradually gained a foothold amid the chaos of the myriad races in the early universe. There's an ancient saying: 'Courage is the finest song in humanity's epic.'
"As descendants of Zhulong King, the Zhulong Clan, like my Huang Shen Clan and the Manka Star People, have a long history and have preserved ancient traditions. Some members of their clans can become more valiant as they fight, just like their ancestors, and even unlock their potential to surpass their usual limits."
"I never would've guessed that the Zhulong Clan, which looks so ordinary and has only the sixth-tier human bloodline, had such a history."
"Hahaha, that's because Zhulong never restricted their reproduction. To improve a bloodline, powerful members of dozens of consecutive generations have to reach a certain level before having children. Those who fail to reach that level have their right to reproduce taken away. Only by pooling the efforts of dozens of generations can the bloodline be stabilized." Huang Shen Venerable offered this explanation.
It wasn't only these super-powerful beings who received news of Ling Xuan passing the sixth level of the Heavenly Bridge. Generally, all the geniuses of the same generation received such emails to encourage them to compete and improve their cultivation progress.
"Hahaha!"
Just as Ling Xuan was watching his first wife tackle the Heavenly Bridge, a burst of inappropriate laughter suddenly rang in his ears.
Ling Xuan knew who the bastard was without even turning around.
"Ling Xuan, you're not all that impressive after all." Cao Benqi felt his earlier frustration lift, the corners of his mouth rising higher than a Dragon King's. "You only made it through six levels before you hit your limit. So this is the genius tournament's first-place winner?"
"Hahaha!" Cao Benqi laughed heartily.
"Cao Dog." Ling Xuan's inventive insult cut Cao Benqi's laughter short.
"Gah—" Cao Benqi's smiling face instantly darkened. "What did you call me? You're nothing but a sixth-level Heavenly Bridge loser. What makes you think you can talk to me like that?"
"Sure, sure. I wonder which loser I slapped until he self-destructed." Ling Xuan mercilessly brought up the most humiliating moment of Cao Benqi's life.
"What did you say?" Cao Benqi flew into a rage. His bright smile vanished, replaced by a gloomy expression.
"If you can't accept it, we can go one-on-one in the Virtual Universe." Ling Xuan taunted him. He hadn't gone all out on the Heavenly Bridge because he wanted to cultivate properly and gauge his progress, but that didn't mean he was weak right now.
"Please. Every minute and second of these thirty years in Chaos City is precious. Why would I waste time doing something so pointless? A mere sixth-level Heavenly Bridge loser isn't even worthy of a fight with me." Cao Benqi left after tossing out those words.
He was arrogant, but he wasn't stupid. Over the past three years, he'd challenged Ling Xuan countless times in the Virtual Universe's Killing Space, on the Duel Arena. Each time, he'd ended up "losing by a single move."
And that had been against Ling Xuan as a Star Level fighter three years ago, while Cao Benqi had already advanced to Universe Level.
There was no way he'd fall for Ling Xuan's bait and fight him again in the Virtual Universe now that Ling Xuan had also advanced to Universe Level and his strength had skyrocketed. He'd only consider a real fight.
But before coming to Chaos City, his teacher, Yan Shen Kingdom Lord, had repeatedly warned him not to cause trouble there. Even a Universe Overlord like him couldn't withstand the wrath of Chaos City Lord.
"Just wait. Once we leave Chaos City and take on secret-realm missions, I'll make you regret it. I'll destroy you with my own hands." After leaving the Virtual Universe, Cao Benqi stared up at the sky and muttered to himself.
"So what did he come over for?" Ling Xuan watched Cao Benqi leave, then turned to his two wives.
"Probably just wanted to make sure people noticed him," Leng Yanqiu said scornfully. In her eyes, Yanshen had a terrible temperament and was good for nothing but his talent. Someone like him might charge forward fearlessly when things went well, but the moment he faced a setback, he'd collapse completely.
Losing to Ling Xuan in the Genius Tournament had dealt him a severe blow. Otherwise, he wouldn't have kept his eyes on Ling Xuan like this.
Ling Xuan was different. His battle videos showed that he became more valiant as he fought, and the more pressure he faced, the more powerfully he exploded.
Most importantly, Ling Xuan never used his status or talent to put others down. Even the lower-ranked geniuses received equal treatment from him, unlike Cao Benqi, who looked down on everyone else.
Just then, Feng Lishuang came down from the Heavenly Bridge. Leng Yanqiu went next, followed by Ren Yaoli.
As expected, all three had just made it through the first level and had lasted for different lengths of time on the second. Feng Lishuang, the most resilient of the three as a fighter, had held out the longest.
Ren Yaoli's battle as an illusionist had been the most perilous. She'd been forced out almost as soon as the fight began.
"Let's head back and cultivate for a while. We can digest what we learned from comprehending the Chaos Stele, then go hunt Chaos Beasts."
The four of them made their figures translucent and left the Virtual Universe. They sat side by side on the terrace of their residence. All around them was quiet, with only a gentle breeze stirring.
Above Chaos City, the laws of the Initial Universe slowly flowed in projection, echoing and reinforcing the insights from the Chaos Stele in their minds. From time to time, Ling Xuan helped the women with minor questions about their cultivation.
For major questions, though, they could only return to their clans and ask their own experts for guidance.
One last thing: all three women used their ten thousand points to buy the first two volumes of Space-Time Essays.
Before you continue