Yuan's Ascension

Above a lush mountain range, two figures emanating magnificent auras faced each other from afar.

"Gamang, what a coincidence, meeting you again." Wu Yuan's ether body towered ten thousand zhangs tall, wielding nine sabers, with massive black wings sprouting from his back.

"Wu Yuan?" The massive Supreme Genius Gamang, waving his nine arms in an unpredictable pattern, looked at him warily.

Several thousand years ago, Wu Yuan's ether body had needed to team up with Zhuo Haiyue's ether body just to fight Gamang to a standstill, but times had changed since then. Wu Yuan's reputation and prestige had now surpassed Gamang's.

"Wu Yuan, you're powerful, but I'm not to be trifled with either. I don't wish to fight you," Gamang's voice rumbled deep and low.

His words seemed forceful but actually carried a hint of submission.

"You don't wish to fight me? It's rare to encounter a Supreme Genius, and whether we fight isn't for you to decide." Wu Yuan laughed heartily, "Gamang, let's battle - if you can't kill me, this ether body of yours will have to die."

Boom! Wu Yuan, unleashing full power, transformed into a brilliant streak of light as he attacked.

"Damn it!" Gamang's pupils contracted: "I really don’t want to provoke you, but you think I fear you? Since you’re courting death, I'll grant your wish!"

"Hmph! We’re both fellow Supreme Geniuses. Killing Mi Tian isn't that impressive. I don't believe you're that strong." Gamang steeled himself, fear vanishing as he roared and charged at Wu Yuan.

Rumble~ As two Supreme Geniuses, both body refiners, their battle was naturally incredibly fierce and brutal.

The battle aftershocks drew the attention of many geniuses in the surrounding area, who were utterly captivated and shocked by the battle.

Their shock wasn't due to a battle between Supreme Geniuses erupting - there had been too many similar events in recent years, and public battles between Supreme Geniuses numbered in the hundreds by now.

What shocked these observers was the battle's progression - the fight between Wu Yuan and Gamang was completely lopsided. After just dozens of exchanges, Wu Yuan had gained the absolute upper hand.

"Gamang is completely no match for Wu Yuan?"

"Gamang is totally suppressed!"

"As expected of Wu Yuan who could slay Mi Tian, truly formidable." These participants watched in shock.

Aaaaah! Ah! He just broke through recently, how can he be this strong? Gamang inwardly howled in fury. He knew Wu Yuan would certainly be powerful, given that he could kill Mi Tian, but he hadn't expected this level of strength.

Unbeknownst to him, in the hundreds of years since emerging from the life-or-death treasure ground, though Wu Yuan's body refiner self hadn't completely mastered the final part of ‘Creation Saint Prohibition’, he had made significant progress. Moreover, his comprehension of the Will of Life and Death had further deepened. His power had never stopped increasing steadily.

Flee! Gamang made the decision to escape.

“You think you can escape?” This time Wu Yuan didn't let his opponent go, his wings vibrating as he pursued.

"Kill! Kill this piece of trash!" Little Black shouted excitedly as they swiftly gave chase.

Another great battle ensued, forcing Gamang to flee again as Wu Yuan continued the chase. Finally, after fighting across ten million li, it ended with Gamang's death. Wu Yuan won this battle. In a sense, it was also a battle to avenge himself, further cementing Wu Yuan's position as the undisputed number one participant in Divine Domain World 7.

"Even Gamang has fallen?"

"His ether body was killed by Wu Yuan!"

"Wu Yuan is too strong." News of Gamang's ether body's death spread rapidly. It truly dispelled all previous doubts, proving Wu Yuan indeed possessed the strength to compete for a Saintcrest.

Soon after, with no more challengers in Divine Domain World 7, Wu Yuan chose to venture into other Divine Domain Worlds.

Though geniuses in other Divine Domain Worlds knew of Wu Yuan's reputation, they had never personally encountered him or sensed his soul aura. Therefore, when Wu Yuan's ether body arrived in different Divine Domain Worlds, round after round of battles quickly ignited.

Time flowed like water.

In the 2600th year since the Megaverse Crossroads’ opening, Wu Yuan's ether body encountered the Supreme Genius Pu Yangzong from an ordinary Saintdom, and defeated him.

In the 2730th year, Wu Yuan's ether body defeated Supreme Genius Yu Xiang, the number one genius of the Desolation Divine Court and former number one genius of the Ling Jiang Universe. He could barely withstand Wu Yuan’s attacks.

In the 2900th year, Wu Yuan encountered an opportunity to enter the Primordial Doctrine Temple. This cultivation session lasted several hundred years…

In the 3700th year, Wu Yuan once again encountered the Eldritch Court's Supreme Genius Xuan Rong, who was also from the Eldritch Court's Ling Jiang lineage. They engaged in an all-out sparring match... ultimately ending in Xuan Rong's crushing defeat.

In the 4100th year, Wu Yuan once again encountered the Immortal Court's Supreme Genius Mu Long.

Previously, during the contest for providence in the Greenridge Macrocosm, Wu Yuan had barely managed to defeat him. Meeting again now, being mortal enemies, neither spoke much before engaging in an all-out clash.

"Die!" Mu Long, now a Supreme Genius, was filled with battle lust.

"Struggle all you want, you will still die in the end." Wu Yuan's overbearing voice echoed: "Mu Long, I told you; once defeated by me, you will never have a chance to surpass me."

After a bloody battle, Mu Long's ether body perished, while Wu Yuan's vital ether was depleted by over thirty percent.

And so, Wu Yuan's mana body and ether body continued their journey, occasionally obtaining opportunities or treasures like low-grade Dao Instruments, mid-grade Dao Instruments and such.

Sometimes he would enter places of opportunity to cultivate the Primordial Doctrine, often spending hundreds of years at a time.

However, for Wu Yuan's two true selves, the greatest pleasure remained combat, experiencing bloody battle after bloody battle. This was especially so for Wu Yuan's ether body, which swept through numerous powerful enemies, defeating one Supreme Genius after another.

Countless ordinary geniuses were slaughtered by him.

Time flew past. In the blink of an eye, over eight thousand years had passed since the Megaverse Crossroads opened, drawing increasingly closer to the end of the Divine Domain stage.

During these eight thousand years, the battles in the Megaverse Crossroads never ceased, with countless brilliant moments among the millions of geniuses gathered.

Through repeated deadly combat, those geniuses hiding their power would be forced to reveal it, at least partially. One could say the situation had largely stabilized, with almost all top-tier geniuses having displayed their strength.

And in this iteration of the Megaverse Crossroads, whether due to providence or the Primordial Doctrine, an extraordinary number of peerless geniuses were identified.

Just the number of Supreme Geniuses alone reached a shocking eighty-eight, not counting the few who had completely perished. It could already rival the most prosperous Megaverse Crossroads in history.

As for geniuses who mastered Sovereign-level techniques? There were even more, over a thousand. These could all be called monstrous prodigies, all with the potential to become Sovereigns.

However, the nearly hundred Supreme Geniuses and thousand-plus top-tier geniuses in this generation had varying strengths, and some chose to maintain a low profile. Others had built great reputations and displayed immense strength.

Zhu Shan, Inconstance, Li Guang and others, were all dazzlingly brilliant! And Wu Yuan was no less impressive, widely acknowledged as one of the most outstanding among the Supreme Geniuses.

"Wu Yuan has defeated and killed nearly twenty Supreme Geniuses."

"He has an undefeated record!"

"Zhu Shan is definitely stronger than him, but the others? Even Inconstance probably wouldn't dare claim he could kill him."

"Nonsense!"

"When Inconstance fought against Bai Shui, he was nearly hunted to death. Yet when Bai Shui encountered Wu Yuan, their battle shook the heavens and earth. Wu Yuan was only slightly inferior, successfully managing to retreat."

"That battle was over two thousand years ago. Now? Wu Yuan is likely second only to Zhu Shan in power." The highest echelons of various Saintdoms and hundreds of thousands of participating prodigies were all watching Wu Yuan.

The Divine Domain stage was nearing its end. This meant the birth of the Saintcrest Prodigies was drawing ever closer.

The strongest contenders naturally had the loudest support, and Wu Yuan, being one of the youngest among them, held a definite advantage.

…

In the Greenridge Macrocosm.

"How formidable."

"Haha, Wu Yuan is truly dazzling, to have risen so swiftly!" Sovereign Kua Chi laughed heartily, his heart brimming with excitement and joy.

Indeed, the growth rate of Wu Yuan's body refiner self had exceeded all imagination. He now stood at the pinnacle of the Megaverse Crossroads. The Saintcrest was no longer beyond reach.

"His body refiner self is indeed brilliant," remarked Sovereign Bei You from beside him, though somewhat puzzled. "But why hasn't his qi refiner self broken through to the Dao Field stage after all this time?"

"The Spacetime Dao is inherently difficult to comprehend. Wu Yuan probably lacks a sufficient accumulation of insights in this aspect, so it's normal that his progress is slower," Sovereign Kua Chi explained.

Sovereign Bei You nodded slightly, seeming unwilling to say more.

...

In the vast voidrealm carved out by the supreme beings of the Immortal Court universe.

"We cannot win."

"Li Guang once said he and Bai Shui were evenly matched, but Bai Shui is more skilled at binding abilities. If even Bai Shui couldn't kill Wu Yuan, Li Guang likely won't achieve much either."

"Wu Yuan is a major threat."

"He's reached this level in less than thirty thousand years?"

"Even in our Immortal Court's history, few such prodigies have ever emerged." The Immortal Court Overlords discussed, though feeling rather helpless.

They knew Wu Yuan was a major threat, having watched his growth all along, yet their repeated attempts had all failed.

"Back then, they said Ming Jian of the Taiyuan Divine Court was on par with Wu Yuan, but now the gap is vast."

"That Ming Jian is still stuck at a bottleneck, isn't he?"

"Yes, he's unlikely to break through." The Immortal Court Overlords chatted casually.

Though Ming Jian was also famous, his strength still fell far short in their eyes. His chances of claiming a Saintcrest were very low.

"Keep focusing on Wu Yuan, report immediately if anything happens." The Immortal Court's attention remained fixed on Wu Yuan's body refiner self.

...

In Divine Domain World 36, deep in a cave within an unremarkable canyon.

On this day, massive Spacetime fluctuations descended and spread without a sound. The pressure waves were incredibly intense, yet deliberately contained.

Inside the cave.

After eight thousand years of accumulation, I've finally taken this step. Wu Yuan's qi refiner self revealed a slight smile. Spacetime Dao Field.

Tempering himself through battle after bloody battle with other prodigies, combined with a full eight thousand years of accumulation, Wu Yuan's qi refiner self had finally broken through his bottleneck.

There was no sudden epiphany - rather, he had reached the limit of accumulation, leading to a natural breakthrough.

With first-stage Spacetime Dao Field comprehension, combined with nine lifebound flying swords, perhaps even Bai Shui won’t be able to hold out for long against me. A glint appeared in Wu Yuan's qi refiner self's eyes.

My qi refiner self also has a chance at claiming a Saintcrest.