Chapter 141: Clearing Three Levels in Succession

"Give it your best shot!" Keeper Bafen smiled. "This is a grand path toward the pinnacle. A vast number of humans in the universe follow these 52 schools of thought. Moreover, once you pass the 18th level, you will be granted permanent residency in Chaos City directly, without any additional conditions!"

"Oh?"

Luo Yuan’s eyes brightened. He was genuinely interested in the Heavenly Bridge now. After all, the virtual opponents here didn't drop attributes, so they were merely tools for testing his strength.

However, obtaining permanent residency in Chaos City would be quite nice. To Luo Yuan, Chaos City was a treasure trove; everyone here was talented, spoke eloquently, and he could safely scavenge all sorts of supreme attributes. He absolutely loved this place.

After Keeper Bafen finished speaking, Luo Yuan waited for his turn. When it finally came, he flew toward the Heavenly Bridge corresponding to the "Heart Mark Chaos Monument." Some geniuses had already attempted this bridge before him, but they had all failed, unable to even clear the first level.

Luo Yuan arrived at the entrance of the Heavenly Bridge. There was a stone tablet here inscribed with the characters "Heart Mark." The bridge stretched out toward the horizon, wreathed in misty white fog, with the roaring sea below.

Just as he was about to step onto the bridge, his intelligence system notified him of an email. Luo Yuan opened it and discovered that clearing the bridge not only granted opportunities for enlightenment but also provided points as rewards, which increased geometrically. Furthermore, as a newcomer to Chaos City, the Virtual Universe Company had a special incentive rule: any Heavenly Bridge cleared within the first 30 years in Chaos City would receive a tenfold points reward.

"Interesting. Isn't this just a level-clearing game? Your Grandpa Luo is here!"

Luo Yuan shouted and shot forward like a stream of light.

...

At the end of the first level of the Heart Mark Heavenly Bridge.

"Choose your opponent. You may select a martial artist, a spirit reader controller, or a spirit reader illusionist. Choose any one opponent. Defeat your opponent to pass the first level of the Heavenly Bridge." A voice emanated from a massive cloud of mist ahead of Luo Yuan.

"I choose the controller!" Luo Yuan said.

Whoosh!

A mass of black liquid flew out from the mist, condensing in mid-air into a mysterious figure wearing a black mask. The figure stood on a Dark Cloud Shuttle and carried the dark-gold long staff known as the "Yan Shen Weapon" on its back. Cold, hollow eyes stared at Luo Yuan from beneath the black mask, and the figure spoke: "Let the battle begin!"

Luo Yuan didn't waste words. He immediately unleashed the fourth level of the Yan Shen Weapon—"Great Skill Without Craft." Countless small golden swords detached from the Yan Shen Weapon on his back and rapidly assembled into a giant golden totem pillar in front of him.

"What? The fourth level of the Yan Shen Weapon? How is that possible?" the mysterious figure exclaimed, as his own mastery was only at the second level.

"Die!" The mysterious figure let out a low growl, having no choice but to push forward. He dove in, stepping on his Dark Cloud Shuttle, while three solid golden swords rapidly formed behind him. Beneath the mask, his eyes were filled with the madness of impending death.

"Heh, you’ve got guts!"

Luo Yuan sneered. He gripped one end of the golden totem pillar with his right hand and swung it fiercely at the mysterious figure. In a single clash, the figure's three golden swords were shattered, and his body was pulverized into meat paste by the pillar.

"Congratulations on passing the first level of the Heavenly Bridge. Do you wish to continue?" the voice from the mist asked.

"Continue!" Luo Yuan said nonchalantly.

For the following second and third levels, Luo Yuan continued to choose the controller. The gatekeepers for these levels both mastered the third level of the Yan Shen Weapon's "Sky Sword" technique, though the third level's gatekeeper was stronger. Nevertheless, they were both killed in one blow by Luo Yuan’s fourth-level Yan Shen Weapon.

Luo Yuan took less than a minute to clear the first three levels of the Heavenly Bridge, then headed directly toward the fourth level.

Just as Luo Yuan cleared the first three levels, the bridge keeper, Bafen, was stunned. Luo Yuan was the fastest newcomer in history to achieve this feat. Excitement surged through him, and he immediately transmitted the news. In an instant, countless top geniuses and major figures across humanity’s 1008 universe countries received the message. It was like a stone dropped into a calm lake, causing a massive stir throughout the human territories.

The immortal King-level masters of Chaos City gathered at the Heavenly Bridge plaza to watch Luo Yuan’s progress through Keeper Bafen’s screen.

"What? This little guy has actually mastered the fourth level of the Yan Shen Weapon? No, no, it’s far more than that. Sigh, what a pity he isn't from my Nine Universes school!" a burly ape-man sighed.

"True Yan King, you already have so many excellent disciples, don't go coveting the talent of our Heart Mark school!" a burly, bald man laughed.

"Heh, how could such a talented controller choose the Heart Mark school, which is full of martial artists? It's like a pearl covered in dust. I truly don't know what he was thinking. But if he is willing to come to my dojo, I will certainly teach him everything I know!" True Yan King said with deep regret.

"Look, this Luo Yuan is entering the fourth level of the Heavenly Bridge, and he chose a martial artist as his opponent!" an immortal King-level master exclaimed.

The various immortal masters who had founded their own schools all turned their eyes to the giant screen.

...

Fourth level of the Heart Mark Heavenly Bridge.

Luo Yuan looked calmly at the burly, masked martial artist coalescing before him.

"Kid, to reach the fourth level is quite impressive, but this is where it ends!" the burly martial artist said coldly.

"Heh, why do all these gatekeepers talk so much? Have you been stuck here so long that you’re desperate for attention?" Luo Yuan sneered, drawing his Zhan Kong blade and charging toward the burly martial artist.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

Luo Yuan and the burly martial artist collided like two streaks of light. Each exchange involved tens of thousands of strikes; the speed was so extreme that even World-level masters might not be able to track it. However, the immortal King-level masters in the plaza could clearly capture every movement.

"My goodness, this little guy named Luo Yuan is also this strong in martial arts blade techniques!"

"This blade technique—every move contains at least a thousand variations of our Heart Mark school's peerless blade arts! A peerless genius? No, this is an absolute monster! He’s only been to contemplate the Heart Mark Chaos Monument once, right?" the bald, burly man exclaimed.

"Blade Desolation King, your Heart Mark school is about to rise!" Black Mist King said to the bald man with a hint of envy.

"Hahaha!" Blade Desolation King rubbed his shiny bald head and laughed proudly, while the immortal masters from the other 51 schools offered their congratulations.

...

"Is that all the strength you have? Boring. I'm done playing with you. Heaven-Opening!"

Luo Yuan swung his blade horizontally, and a ten-thousand-meter-long golden blade aura slashed through the void, heading toward the masked martial artist.

Seeing this, the masked martial artist’s eyes narrowed. He unleashed his strongest strike, channeling all his spirit and energy into the blade edge, and swung it vertically. A ten-thousand-meter-long white blade aura surged toward Luo Yuan, but it was far less solid than Luo Yuan’s.

"Boom!"

The two massive blade auras collided horizontally and vertically, producing a deafening roar that cracked the void like a spiderweb. Countless blade auras carrying different blade intents swept through the space, clashing against one another. However, the masked martial artist’s aura was clearly at a disadvantage and shattered into pieces.

Luo Yuan stood steady, letting the residual blade aura strike his body without leaving a single mark. But the masked martial artist on the other side coughed up several mouthfuls of blood and fell to one knee. His mask split down the middle, revealing a pale, terrified face.