Virtual Universe, Heavenly Bridge Plane.
At the center of that beautiful island, a crowd had gathered.
"There are really a lot of people."
As soon as Feng Hui appeared, he saw dozens of young people already on the surrounding islands. More and more kept appearing one after another with a "whoosh," clearly eager to make one last attempt at the Heavenly Bridge before the more than nine hundred geniuses left Chaos City.
After all, newcomers who entered Chaos City for the first time could earn ten times the points for crossing the Heavenly Bridge during their thirty years there. They wouldn't get such a good opportunity the next time they entered Chaos City.
The geniuses had a deep appreciation for how important points were. A tenfold reward was no small amount to them.
Here, the points awarded for crossing the Third Layer were already comparable to the rewards for crossing the Sixth Layer later on.
What's more, Guge's breakthrough had spurred everyone on. They all wanted to give it another try before leaving Chaos City.
"Kong Ji, someone's on the Mother Ancestor Heavenly Bridge right now. You're next in line."
The black-robed Guardian Bafen smiled as he arranged the order for everyone's attempts. Some geniuses whose bridges had no one waiting could go in immediately.
"Feng Hui, no one's on the Cosmic Heavenly Bridge right now. Go give it a try."
"Sure!"
"Whoosh!"
Feng Hui turned into a streak of light and flew straight toward the distant Cosmic Heavenly Bridge.
The first three layers of the Cosmic Heavenly Bridge were shrouded in clouds and mist. The Fourth and Fifth Layers were beset by howling winds, and already stood at a tremendous height.
The Fifth Layer was so high above the sea below that only the dim, howling winds of the Fourth Layer were visible to the naked eye. The sea couldn't be seen at all.
Feng Hui stood on the bridge and looked at the tornado ahead.
The ever-spinning tornado spoke: "Choose one: warrior, Controller, or illusionist. Defeat your opponent to enter the Sixth Layer."
"Warrior!" Feng Hui answered without hesitation.
"Chit-chit!"
A lean man clad in a Silver Battle Suit and silver boots, his face hidden behind a silver mask, shot out of the tornado. Like Feng Hui, he wielded a war blade.
Before his opponent could even say a word, Feng Hui swiftly and decisively ended the fight, passing the Fifth Layer.
Although the Fifth Layer corresponded to the Second Diagram of the Cosmic Chaos Stele, one could already pass it by fully grasping the nine mysteries of the Time and Space Laws contained in the First Diagram. And Feng Hui had begun studying the Second Diagram long ago.
"Feng Hui passed the Fifth Layer?"
"How could it be that easy? I heard that the best newcomer from the previous Genius War only reached the Fourth Layer during his thirty years in Chaos City."
"The higher you go, the harder it gets. Breaking through the Fifth Layer is incredibly difficult. How did Feng Hui pass it so easily?"
"This is insane! Feng Hui's insane!"
All the geniuses, along with Guge—who had just passed the Fourth Layer of the Heavenly Bridge, failed at the Fifth, and returned to the Virtual Universe's Primordial Region—were stunned.
"I only just passed the Fourth Layer, and you've already passed the Fifth, Feng Hui?" Guge gripped the ancient-looking war blade in his hand, fire blazing in his eyes.
Unwilling to admit defeat, Guge had already made Feng Hui one of his most important rivals. He was determined to measure himself against him in the future.
By now, Feng Hui had reached the Sixth Layer of the Heavenly Bridge.
Amid the howling winds, he stood on the bridge and looked at the tornado before him. He closed his eyes briefly, bringing himself into peak condition.
"Warrior." Feng Hui didn't hesitate in the slightest.
A figure shot out of the tornado at once. Once again, it was a Silver-clad Man.
He said coldly, "You're a Cosmic Level youngster who's only been in Chaos City for thirty years, yet you think you can pass the Sixth Layer of the Heavenly Bridge? No one's managed it in nearly ten million years. I hope you can last a little longer against me."
"If I didn't have some confidence, I wouldn't be here." Feng Hui smiled faintly.
After receiving the Space-Time Inheritance from the Cosmic Emperor, he had undergone a complete transformation. He was no longer the same person.
Amid the howling winds on the Heavenly Bridge, the two figures crossed like lightning. Both wielded war blades, and every clash sent ripples through space and time, displaying their profound understanding and exquisite command of the Space-Time Laws.
The figure on the left wore black battle armor. With each swing of his blade, it seemed to cleave through space and warp the flow of time, creating complex patterns in space-time. His attacks became impossible to predict and guard against.
The figure on the right wore silver. His blade flashed with silver light, like a star fallen to the mortal world. His defense and counterattacks shone like the dawn, bright and full of life.
As they clashed, space and time twisted around them, as if the entire Heavenly Bridge had become a stage for them to display their mastery of the Time and Space Laws.
"This ends now."
Feng Hui's eyes turned cold as he unleashed his full strength.
A dazzling blade light suddenly tore through the still air, like a falling star. With unstoppable might and keen force, it slashed down. Space and time seemed to tremble before it. The strike knocked his opponent's weapon flying and swept straight through the man's head.
The Sixth Layer of the Heavenly Bridge: passed!
"Nothing special." Feng Hui smiled.
The Silver-clad Man on the Sixth Layer of the Heavenly Bridge displayed what should be considered a fully adequate understanding of the Second Diagram of the Cosmic Chaos Stele—a score of 100—and the power that came with it.
Under normal circumstances, challengers had to reach an adequate understanding of the Second Diagram and score 100 points before they could pass the Sixth Layer.
But Feng Hui had taken the path of analyzing the essence of the laws. He had already comprehended the fundamental mysteries of both the Time Law and the Space Law contained in the Second Diagram. On top of meeting the passing standard, he had also answered the bonus question.
In other words, his overall understanding of the Second Diagram wasn't merely worth 100 points. With the extra credit from the bonus question, his total was far above 100.
That was why he could pass the Sixth Layer of the Heavenly Bridge so easily.
Meanwhile, Wind King, who was chatting with a friend at Thunder Blade King's residence, suddenly reacted again.
He had come to receive someone on behalf of a Venerable and was also responsible for gathering information on the newcomers. Naturally, he had already instructed Guardian Bafen, the Heavenly Bridge's guardian, to notify him immediately if any of the newcomers made another breakthrough.
Earlier, Feng Hui's success at the Fifth Layer had been within his expectations, so he hadn't been too surprised.
But now Feng Hui had passed the Sixth Layer—and done so with such ease. Wind King could no longer sit still.
By rights, each successive layer of the Heavenly Bridge should take longer to pass!
Based on Feng Hui's earlier performance, Wind King had estimated that he would only pass the Sixth Layer decades after leaving Chaos City. That seemed like a reasonable expectation.
But unreasonable—that was what made a genius!
Feng Hui had been utterly unremarkable during the Genius War. When he first arrived in Chaos City, he couldn't even pass the First Layer of the Heavenly Bridge. Now, in just thirty years, he had passed the Sixth Layer with ease.
His rate of progress... was insane. Could he... even pass the Seventh Layer?
Wind King stopped chatting with Thunder Blade King and instantly entered the "Heavenly Bridge Plane" in the Virtual Universe.
Thunder Blade King followed him in.
Soon, a group of powerful Immortal Gods had gathered on the beautiful island in the Heavenly Bridge Plane.
Some of them were Sect Masters of the Cosmos Schools. After hearing that Feng Hui had easily passed the Sixth Layer, they had come to see how he would fare next. Nine Swords King was among them.
Others were simply there for the excitement.
Clearly, Feng Hui's astonishing performance on the Heavenly Bridge had piqued the interest of these Immortal Gods.
It had been a very, very long time since a genius with such incredible progress had appeared.
Before you continue