Challenging the Sky Bridge Again

In the Sky Bridge dimension, the steadfast Bafen and Barbarian Hammer King stood side by side. Bafen chuckled and said, "Barbarian Hammer King, for your disciple to challenge the levels, you actually came to watch in person. It seems you have great confidence in him!"

Barbarian Hammer King smiled and replied, "Bafen, just watch and you'll see!"

Bafen grinned and said, "I've been here for so many years, I've seen all kinds of geniuses. Does your disciple have something special about him?"

Barbarian Hammer King smiled without speaking, then after a moment said, "Look! They're starting!"

On the fourth level of the Giant Axe Sky Bridge, the black-robed gatekeeper transformed into dozens of phantoms, each wielding a giant axe, furiously attacking Gulanxiu.

Gulanxiu stood his ground, casually swinging his giant axe as if strolling through a courtyard. Though his movements seemed slow, the black-robed figure appeared constrained—every time he approached Gulanxiu, his speed slowed, and he was sent flying by a single axe strike.

Bafen's eyes lit up at the sight. He smiled and said, "Not bad! Not bad! He's actually walking the same path as you. With his talent, reaching this point is no small feat. It seems this fourth level won't stop him!"

Barbarian Hammer King said smugly, "Of course! Look who his master is. My disciple naturally won't take the ordinary routes!"

Bafen shot Barbarian Hammer King a glare and said, "Give you an inch and you take a mile. It's indeed not easy for him to walk this path, but his talent is ordinary to begin with. Even if he's on this path, who knows how far he can go? Don't forget, you were far more dazzling back then. In thirty years in Chaos City, you'd already cleared the sixth level of the Sky Bridge, and even then it took you eons to break through to the peak of the King level. For your disciple to reach the King level on this path would already be impressive!"

Barbarian Hammer King nodded and said, "You're right! But the master leads you through the door; cultivation is a personal matter. He chose this path himself, no matter how hard it is, he has to walk it. I've already helped him through the toughest part. What comes next is mostly up to him. His talent is indeed lacking right now, but talent isn't set in stone. Maybe one day his talent will change!"

Bafen shook his head and said, "Changing talent is incredibly difficult. Such opportunities are extremely rare even in the universe. You're quite optimistic! Enough about him, let's talk about you. After breaking through to the peak of the King level, you rank high among the clan's reserve venerables. But I see you haven't been cultivating much these years. Don't let teaching a disciple waste your own progress!"

Barbarian Hammer King shook his head and said, "What I lack now is enlightenment. I'm stuck on the final step for both Space Slaughter and Teleportation. Pure hard training is meaningless now. And for us, twenty years pass in the blink of an eye, but for my disciple, these are the most critical twenty years for building his foundation. So I'll focus more on him during this time. Once he leaves Chaos City, I'll return to my own cultivation."

Bafen shook his head and said, "As long as you know what you're doing. Look! That little guy's done playing. The battle's about to end!"

Barbarian Hammer King quickly looked toward the projection in the sky. He saw Gulanxiu send the gatekeeper flying once more, muttering, "Back and forth, just this one move. Boring, I'm done playing with you!"

As his words fell, he lunged forward, leaving over a dozen afterimages behind him. His giant axe lay horizontally as he swung it toward the gatekeeper.

At the same time, he shouted, "First Axe!"

The gatekeeper had just been knocked back and was still unsteady. Caught off guard by Gulanxiu's sudden burst, he could only hastily raise his axe to try and block the attack.

But this axe from Gulanxiu combined three major directions. The power of spatial imprisonment instantly descended upon the gatekeeper, slowing his movements by half a beat. That half beat made it impossible for him to defend, and he could only watch helplessly as he was cleaved in two.

After killing this gatekeeper, Gulanxiu quickly ran toward the fifth level. Moments later, he reached the end of the fifth level.

"Please choose your opponent!" The familiar, cold voice echoed in Gulanxiu's ears.

Gulanxiu said without hesitation, "I choose the Illusionist!"

Now, with only a few months left before leaving Chaos City, Gulanxiu had only recently grasped the unity of three axes. He knew clearly that with his current strength, clearing the fifth level would be very difficult.

He had to take a risk and try the Illusionist! After all, the Giant Axe Chaos Tablet was best suited for warriors. With the same law comprehension, warriors who cultivated the Giant Axe Chaos Tablet had relatively stronger combat power.

If challenging the Sky Bridge was just to test his strength, Gulanxiu wouldn't care. If he couldn't clear it this time, he'd just try again next time.

But this time was different. Barring any surprises, this would likely be his last time challenging the Sky Bridge in Chaos City.

Once he left Chaos City, he would never have the tenfold point reward again. So even if he had to take shortcuts, Gulanxiu wanted to clear the fifth level if possible.

As Gulanxiu's words fell, the familiar black-robed figure appeared before him again.

The black-robed figure said coldly, "Young man, if you think you can take a shortcut through this fifth level, you've miscalculated. Even an Illusionist at the fifth level's comprehension is not something you can handle right now!"

Gulanxiu sneered, "Anyone can talk big! Bring it on!"

A silver light flashed in the black-robed figure's eyes, and then he transformed into nearly a hundred phantoms charging at Gulanxiu.

"Boom!" An explosion rang out in Gulanxiu's mind. He felt as if his soul had been cleaved by an axe, his head splitting with pain.

By then, the black-robed figure had already closed in. Gulanxiu gritted his teeth, enduring the agony in his soul as he swung his giant axe to barely defend himself.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!!!" Gulanxiu repeatedly withstood the dual assault on his soul and body, like a lone boat adrift in the waves, feeling as if it could sink at any moment.

A flicker of surprise passed through the black-robed figure's eyes. In his view, every attack had reached the limit of what Gulanxiu could endure. Each time, he felt the next blow would surely break through Gulanxiu's defenses.

Yet Gulanxiu held on every single time. Though he looked in terrible shape, he was still alive, wasn't he?

Despite his surprise, the black-robed figure showed no mercy. As the gatekeeper of the Sky Bridge, he was merely a program in the Virtual Universe. Though countless years had given him a trace of emotion, his core program was to either kill the challenger or be killed by them.

His soul attacks continued unabated toward Gulanxiu, and his giant axe relentlessly swung down at him without hesitation.