Easily Clearing the Eighteenth Layer (Please Follow Along)

The third level of the Heavenly Bridge marked a major leap in difficulty.

With his King-level Law Comprehension, Wu Yun had practically slaughtered the mere fifteenth-layer guardian. That was all well and good in the Heavenly Bridge, but in the outside world, even an Initial King would need to burn Immortal Divine Power to truly annihilate a Marquis-Level Immortal.

However, this was the Heavenly Bridge. No one had an Undying Body here, so a King-level expert needed only one move to kill a Marquis-Level Immortal.

Bafen watched the scene in disbelief as Wu Yun calmly headed for the next stage. He quickly sent an email to the important figures at the Giant Axe Arena.

Among them were Venerable Shihuo and a host of other Universe Venerables and Universe Overlords.

King Pujin had been cultivating and comprehending the Laws. When he saw the message, he entered the Virtual Universe. A moment later, his face was filled with disbelief.

"Wu Yun cleared the fifteenth layer of the Heavenly Bridge? And he did it in one hit?"

King Pujin wasn't impressed by someone clearing the fifteenth layer under normal circumstances. Most World Lords in the Giant Axe Secret Realm were at that level, and it would be easy for them to become Marquis-Level Immortals after breaking through.

Becoming a King-level Immortal, however, was extraordinarily difficult.

There were only a hundred thousand King-level Immortals among the humans in the Hong Alliance, even with Universe Masters continually resurrecting them. That showed just how great the gap was.

Many spent a million years accumulating strength as World Lords. After breaking through, they immediately became Marquis-Level Immortals, and even after hundreds of billions of years, they remained Marquis-Level Immortals.

But Wu Yun had cleared the fifteenth layer with absolute dominance. What did that mean? The sixteenth and seventeenth layers would pose no difficulty for him. The only real question was whether he could clear the eighteenth.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Countless figures appeared in the Heavenly Bridge Plane. Besides the King-level Immortals of the Giant Axe Arena, members of other factions—including the Virtual Universe Company—had arrived.

They weren't all from the Universe Chaos Stele faction, either. Some Kings had come to gather information for their own Venerables.

If Wu Yun could really clear the eighteenth layer of the Heavenly Bridge, Universe Venerables would surely want him as a disciple. Even Universe Overlords would be tempted.

Only the lofty Universe Masters would be more casual about it.

"Do you think he can clear the eighteenth layer?"

"I think he should be able to. It seems he's already reached King-level Law Comprehension. What a monster." King Jiujian chuckled. "No wonder he didn't take any of us as his teacher."

"Indeed. Without a teacher's guidance, relying only on the Chaos Stele and his own comprehension of secret techniques, he's reached the eighteenth layer of the Heavenly Bridge. Some truly important figure will probably take him as a disciple."

The Kings' eyes were filled with envy at the mention of a truly important figure.

That was someone beyond the likes of Venerable Shihuo and Ganwu Kingdom Lord, both High Venerables. The least such a figure could be was a Universe Overlord—or even a legendary Universe Master.

There were only a handful of King-level Immortals who had become disciples of Universe Masters.

Wu Yun had already reached the sixteenth layer. As expected, it posed no challenge, and he defeated his opponent with ease.

On the seventeenth layer, Wu Yun needed two strikes. The first involved space, and the second involved time. Together, they crushed his opponent.

"Without a doubt, he's at King level." King Jiujian said solemnly, "It looks like the Giant Axe Arena is about to produce another peerless genius. I wonder who will take him as a disciple."

Wu Yun could already reach the eighteenth layer of the Heavenly Bridge. If he received guidance from a great master, he'd have a good chance of reaching the twentieth.

Once he became an Immortal, the Human Race would grant him Heavy Treasures and inheritances. Then they would have another Invincible King—and might even find a way to help Wu Yun possess a Special Lifeform's body.

King Pujin stood there without a word. He was only an Initial King, and Wu Yun could reach that level of power whenever he wished.

Not so long ago, King Pujin had been able to look down on Wu Yun, lofty as he set the rules for his assessment. Now, was Wu Yun's status already higher than his?

A World Lord who cleared the eighteenth layer of the Heavenly Bridge would normally have a status equivalent to an Initial King.

But Wu Yun was different. With his terrifying talent, a Universe Overlord—or even a Universe Master—would surely want him as a disciple.

Wu Yun appeared on the eighteenth layer of the Heavenly Bridge Plane. He stood amid a vast, boundless sea of stars, facing the guardian, whose gaze was filled with disdain.

"It's quite an achievement for a World Lord to make it this far," the guardian said with a smile. "I hope you can clear this stage and prove your strength."

Whoosh!

Wu Yun stepped forward, his figure seeming to merge with the Void. Then he swung his staff. It tore through the sky and appeared before his opponent in an instant.

"Body Merged with Void, Inanimate Object Teleportation." King Chongshan smiled. "I'm curious how he's doing with the Time Law."

The universe encompassed all space, while time encompassed past and present. The Universe Chaos Stele touched upon the mysteries of both time and space, so its guardians cultivated both as well.

The staff came crashing down in a move of extraordinary subtlety, unleashing countless streams of light brighter than the sea of stars. Time seemed to flow backward, and the scene flickered.

Boom!

The guardian exchanged a blow with Wu Yun and was sent flying. In the Heavenly Bridge Plane, only amplification techniques and Law enhancements could be put to use.

The eighteenth-layer guardian's understanding of space was comparable to a King's, but his understanding of time hadn't reached that level. So, mastering either Law to the King level was enough to clear the stage.

"Time Distortion?!" King Jiujian's voice changed. "In just a thousand years, he comprehended both the Teleportation branch and the Time Distortion branch?!"

The scene of time seemingly flowing backward had been a branch technique of Time Distortion.

The three major categories of Space Law were Teleportation, Space Strangulation, and Spatial Sealing.

The three major categories of the Time Law were Time Pause, Time Acceleration/Deceleration, and Time Distortion.

Each major category could be divided into many smaller branches. Comprehending a single branch was enough to earn recognition from the Law, but mastering an entire category was generally something only Peak Kings could do.

A few High Kings had reached that level as well. Initial Kings, however, could only use the techniques of a single branch.

"Time Cutting." King Pujin spoke slowly, one word at a time. "He's Body Merged with Void, can use Inanimate Object Teleportation, and can even perform Time Cutting. That's three branches comprehended in total. He's undoubtedly reached the eighteenth layer of the Heavenly Bridge."

With a single strike, all Laws followed. After the guardian hurriedly blocked several attacks, he was annihilated into nothingness.

Wu Yun left the Heavenly Bridge without hesitation, not continuing further.

On the island in the plane, the Kings looked at one another. King Jiujian considered himself a peerless genius, but even he couldn't help feeling inferior to someone like Wu Yun.

At least, he hadn't been anywhere near this extraordinary when he was a World Lord. King Jiujian had become an Immortal after mastering an entire category, but by then, he'd already cultivated for over a million years.

"Alas, our judgment was poor." King Pujin was feeling the most conflicted. When he heard Wu Yun could clear the fifteenth layer of the Heavenly Bridge, his first reaction had been to disparage him.

But after Wu Yun cleared the eighteenth layer, King Pujin had come to terms with it. He understood that Wu Yun was no longer the weak World Lord he'd assessed. He was someone King Pujin would look up to in the future.

A genius of his caliber—one seen only once in a million eras—could soon rival a High King while still a World Lord, and even surpass King Pujin.

"Let's go." King Chongshan shrugged. "The higher-ups sent an email. We must keep Wu Yun's business absolutely confidential and not reveal it to anyone around us."

The Human Race didn't just keep the secrets of its geniuses from hostile Alien Races. It kept them from the Alien Races in the Hong Alliance, too.

News that Wu Yun had cleared the eighteenth layer of the Heavenly Bridge instantly spread throughout the higher-ups of the Giant Axe Arena.

Aside from the higher-ups of the Giant Axe Arena, the Virtual Universe Company, the Universe Mercenary Alliance, and the two banks had heard about it as well.

"Can someone really reach this level in a thousand years?" Venerable Shihuo replayed the recording of Wu Yun on the eighteenth layer over and over.

As a genius seen only once in a million eras, Venerable Shihuo had once enjoyed a glorious rise. As a World Lord, he'd been comparable to a King-level Immortal and had killed Marquis-Level Immortals.

A Universe Master had even taken him as a disciple, and he'd quickly broken through to become a Universe Venerable.

But Venerable Shihuo didn't believe he could have made such an astonishing leap in a mere thousand years.

Venerable Shihuo was very tempted. He quickly sent Wu Yun an email, saying he wanted to take him as a disciple and would spare no effort in cultivating him.

He wasn't sure he could win the competition, though. Only after sending the email did he realize that Wu Yun had disabled Virtual Universe message reception.

Wu Yun had learned that trick from Luo Feng. He didn't want to reject anyone outright, especially not Venerable Shihuo, who had helped him.

The points included with entry to the Giant Axe Secret Realm were nothing important. What mattered was that Wu Yun's privileges were high enough to let him access a great deal of information and enjoy abundant resources.

"I'll turn Virtual Universe message reception back on tomorrow. Hopefully, some powerful figure will make me an offer worth considering." Wu Yun was in no hurry.

After twenty-four hours, Wu Yun figured the news must have spread throughout the higher-ups of the Giant Axe Arena. He opened the Virtual Universe, and a flood of emails poured in.

One was a congratulatory message from King Pujin. The fact that Wu Yun had cleared the eighteenth layer of the Heavenly Bridge was still a secret; even Marquis Nanque didn't have the clearance to know.

The rest were mostly offers to take him as a disciple. Those ancient Universe Country Lords, High Universe Venerables, and even Universe Overlords were all tempted by Wu Yun.

The first email was from Venerable Undying.

This Universe Overlord had a volatile temperament, but his ability to survive was truly astonishing. In the Primal Universe, he dared to claim he could survive even against a Universe Master.

But Wu Yun thought an ordinary Universe Overlord was a little weak. After all, he wanted a teacher who could provide him with more resources.

The Human Race would grant treasures to promising juniors.

If Wu Yun's teacher were a Universe Master, the treasures he granted would certainly be much better. What could a Universe Overlord offer? Even as a teacher, he'd only have a few Supreme Treasures. Could his disciple really expect to get one?

The second email made Wu Yun somewhat interested, because it came from Venerable Ancestral Tree, a legendary Top Universe Overlord.

A Top Universe Overlord could easily kill a Universe Overlord. Their status was almost equal to that of an ordinary Universe Master, and even if they died, they could be resurrected indefinitely.

Having a Top Universe Overlord as a teacher wouldn't be bad.

But as he kept scrolling, Wu Yun saw an email from an Immortal God stating that Lanzang City Lord wanted to take him as a personal disciple.

PS: Actually, there are quite a few bugs in the standards for Space Law recognition and in the combat strength associated with comprehending a major category. The most classic example is Babata saying that Huyan Bo had gained recognition from the Space Law, even though Huyan Bo only had barely Marquis-level combat strength.

Later, when King Bloodthirsty confronted King Pujin and the others, it was made clear that those six Kings were all Initial Kings. Then there's the later description of King Pujin releasing his divine power to envelop someone and teleport them. Mastering a whole category was supposed to require at least High King strength. So here, I've written it however seemed most reasonable to me.