Chapter 309: Yangyuan Emperor's Choice

The crowd was stunned. Li Yang had already appeared in the space of the tenth stair.

Inside was a beast that looked tiny and incredibly slender, almost like a small snake.

'What law has this beast comprehended?' Li Yang wondered.

He couldn't feel any fluctuations coming from the snake-like beast.

"Li Yang, Longevity Realm. Do you wish to fight?" a mechanical voice rang out.

"Fight," Li Yang said in a low voice.

BOOM!

He instantly pushed the profound skills of his Hexagram Spear to their absolute limit. Li Yang watched it warily, prepared to dodge an attack at any moment.

'Even if I'm not strong enough, I have to experience for myself just how difficult this tenth stair is.'

HUMMM…

But the small snake didn't move an inch. Instead, Li Yang felt an extreme, bone-chilling aura wash over him.

At his current level of strength, he shouldn't have been affected by the cold. Yet, this frigid aura made his entire body tremble uncontrollably, and crystals of ice actually began to form on his skin.

It wasn't just him. Ice crystals began to appear in the surrounding void as well.

'Is this… the freezing profound skill of the Water Element Law?'

Li Yang's expression shifted as he realized what was happening.

The freezing profound skill of the Water Element Law was somewhat similar in effect to Time Stop, one of the Time Law Profound Skills.

The thought had barely formed in his mind before Li Yang found he couldn't move at all. His entire body had been turned into a block of ice.

CRACK!

The block of ice shattered, and Li Yang died instantly.

'I failed.'

Li Yang was ejected from the space of the tenth stair.

'It was too strong. I was completely insta-killed.' Li Yang shook his head in resignation.

The beast on the ninth stair was several times stronger than the one on the eighth, and the beast on this tenth stair was many times stronger than the one on the eighth!

'The further I go, the harder it is to improve my strength.'

It had taken him five years to pass the ninth stair this time.

To pass the next one, the tenth stair, would probably take more than twenty years.

"Damn, Li Yang, you're incredible!" As Li Yang was thinking about the freezing profound skill the snake-like beast had used, a voice suddenly cut in.

The other geniuses were all staring at him in shock. Mute ran over, his face alight with excitement.

'The gap between Li Yang and me has grown even wider.'

'How is he improving so fast? He's even surpassed Lan Yu.'

'What's more, there's only a two-stair difference between Li Yang and Mixed Void now.'

Dilunxi, Long Zhan, and the others all stared at Li Yang, unable to hide the shock in their eyes.

Previously, the gap between Lan Yu and Mixed Void had always been three stairs. Now, Li Yang was the first person to close that gap with Mixed Void to just two.

"Hey, Li Yang, let me tell you," Mute whispered. "The moment Lan Yu saw your new rank, he logged right out of the stair space. The blow must have hit him pretty hard."

"Oh?"

Hearing this, Li Yang smiled and joked, "And you didn't feel the blow?"

"I'm not about to compare myself to you freaks," Mute chuckled.

He had a great attitude about it. If he couldn't keep up, he wouldn't try to. All that mattered was that he continued to make his own progress.

'Whether you become a Deity in 10,000 years or 100,000 years, if you just relax, what's the difference? Either way, you end up with an eternal lifespan.'

Li Yang just smiled and said nothing more. What happened with Lan Yu had no bearing on him whatsoever.

'Now that I've passed the ninth stair, I can finally get my hands on those two treasures: Yongli Emperor's Fire Ant Insect queen's egg and Bone Xu Emperor's Teleportation Stone.' Li Yang, however, was already thinking about the treasures he was about to obtain.

WHOOSH!

With a single thought, Li Yang logged out of the Virtual World.

As Li Yang departed, news of his feat spread like wildfire. Even the powerful experts who weren't present soon heard about it.

"I can't believe I actually lost the bet."

"Passing the ninth stair of the Path to the Divine in just five years… This kind of Talent isn't a once-in-a-few-billion-years genius. He's definitely a once-in-tens-of-billions-of-years prodigy!"

"Other geniuses slow down as they advance, but Li Yang is only getting faster."

"Haha, Yangyuan, I'm coming to have another laugh at your expense."

Many of the Human Race's Emperor Level experts were discussing the matter, marveling at Li Yang's Talent. Meanwhile, the tragic Yangyuan Emperor was once again being publicly shamed by his rivals, becoming a laughingstock.

...

「In the Yangyuan Empire」

Inside a vast palace, the Yangyuan Emperor sat silently in meditation.

A video projection materialized before him, showing Li Yang's battle in the space of the ninth stair.

'The fifth form of the Hexagram Spear… Li Yang has actually mastered it!' the Yangyuan Emperor thought.

To go from the third form of the Hexagram Spear directly to the fifth in just over a decade… he knew exactly what that signified.

And now, Li Yang had officially surpassed Lan Yu to become the peerless genius second only to Mixed Void, holding the number two rank.

WHOOSH!

Suddenly, a figure wreathed in flames materialized within the palace.

"Emperor."

The illusory figure said with the utmost respect.

"What is it?" the Yangyuan Emperor asked.

The Divine Fire Spirit reported respectfully, "Emperor, we have concluded the investigation into the incident at the Third Prison. In a highly concealed area, there was a legacy of opportunity. Whoever receives it is guaranteed to break through to the Divine Realm. Their power will even be equivalent to that of a Dual Pantheon Deity. However, their strength will be capped at that level, with no possibility of further breakthroughs. And this opportunity was obtained by Celestial Net."

He quickly summarized the situation.

The prisons of their Yangyuan Empire were, of course, not mere collections of cells.

The Third Prison was a vast world in itself. However, its environment was incredibly harsh. Most who were sent there would perish from its many dangers. It was estimated that no more than ten percent survived.

"Celestial Net obtained the opportunity?" The Yangyuan Emperor's brow furrowed slightly.

Celestial Net was the very reason the Yangyuan Empire had failed to recruit Li Yang. In a fit of rage, the Emperor had thrown Celestial Net into the Third Prison.

Now, with Li Yang's meteoric rise, his fury over Celestial Net's past actions had only intensified.

'But now Celestial Net has received this legacy and is destined to become a Dual Pantheon Deity?'

As an Emperor Level expert, he commanded numerous Deities, but most were of ordinary strength. Dual Pantheon Deities were exceedingly rare, and he only had five Tri-System Deities like the Fire Spirit.

"Emperor, as for Celestial Net… what are your orders?" the Fire Spirit asked cautiously.

The Yangyuan Emperor had previously stated that if Celestial Net became a Deity while in the Third Prison, he would be released.

The Yangyuan Emperor's gaze was as deep and cold as still water. "A mere Dual Pantheon Deity," he said icily. "Keep him imprisoned! When Li Yang has grown strong enough, hand Celestial Net over to him directly."

'It's a no-brainer. The Talent Li Yang is displaying now has even surpassed Lan Yu's. He's a peerless genius the likes of which the Human Race sees only once in tens of billions of years. A genius like that has a high probability of becoming a powerful Deity.'

'Li Yang even has a greater than twenty percent chance of becoming an Emperor!'

'If Li Yang really does become one… his power would be no less than my own!'

Therefore, when choosing between Li Yang and Celestial Net, he would of course abandon Celestial Net without a moment's hesitation.

A Dual Pantheon Deity with limited potential for growth was not something he cared much about.

Hearing the Yangyuan Emperor's words, the Divine Fire Spirit replied respectfully, "Yes, Emperor."