No wonder Guardian Bafen was so excited.
Thirty years in Primal Chaos City, converted to Original Universe time, that was a full hundred years of cultivation. Throughout that entire period, Han Jue had only attempted the Tongtian Bridge once, immediately upon his arrival. After that single session where he'd cleared six consecutive levels, he hadn't returned even once to the testing grounds.
The Immortal Kings who'd taken interest in Han Jue, and even some of the Universe Venerables, frequently inquired about his progress through Guardian Bafen, making the old guardian increasingly nervous about this unprecedented silence.
Now, after all this time, he had finally returned. How could Bafen not be excited?
"Guardian Bafen," Han Jue greeted with a warm smile as he materialized on the observation platform.
It wasn't that Han Jue hadn't wanted to attempt the Tongtian Bridge during these thirty years. Rather, there had been no need. Beyond proving one's strength to observers, the primary benefits of clearing bridge levels were earning points and gaining additional opportunities to comprehend the Chaos Monuments.
He'd previously cleared six levels in rapid succession, earning six chances to study the Ice Peak Chaos Monument, more than sufficient for his needs during this initial training period. As for points, he wasn't lacking, and with the complete Ice Peak Prologue gifted by the Lord of Ice Peak himself, he had no need to purchase additional secret techniques from the company treasury.
"Which level are you aiming for this time?" Guardian Bafen asked with barely contained enthusiasm, his eyes gleaming with anticipation.
Thirty years had passed in Primal Chaos City. The guardian firmly believed Han Jue's strength had undoubtedly risen by several magnitudes. The seventh level would certainly pose no challenge, the real question was how far beyond that he could reach.
The eighth level? Perhaps even the ninth?
"It depends on how things go," Han Jue replied after a moment's contemplation, his tone measured and thoughtful.
It was genuinely difficult to predict. Although he'd already comprehended the third diagram of the Ice Peak Chaos Monument two years ago, having exhausted all six of his observation opportunities to do so, and despite receiving personal guidance from the Lord of Ice Peak that had allowed him to grasp its underlying principles, comprehending laws and actual combat application were fundamentally different skills.
Theory and practice diverged significantly at these higher levels.
"The Ice Peak Tongtian Bridge is unoccupied right now. Go quickly! I look forward to your performance," Guardian Bafen said with an encouraging smile, gesturing toward the crystalline bridge extending into the distance.
"Yes, Guardian," Han Jue nodded respectfully before striding confidently toward the bridge's entrance.
The moment Han Jue's figure vanished into the dimensional space, Guardian Bafen's hands moved with practiced efficiency, sending out thousands of notification emails. His expression carried both professional satisfaction and genuine excitement.
Others might remain ignorant of certain details, but Guardian Bafen knew the truth, Han Jue had been accepted as the personal disciple of one of humanity's great beings! He didn't know precisely which Universe Master had claimed this extraordinary talent, but logic suggested it had to be a being ranking even higher than Venerable Nine Swords himself.
And Venerable Nine Swords was already a high-level Universe Venerable, standing among the absolute elite of humanity!
The implications were staggering.
"Please choose your opponent: warrior, controller, or illusionist," the mechanical voice intoned as Han Jue materialized within the seventh level of the Tongtian Bridge.
"Warrior," Han Jue replied without hesitation.
The white-armored guardian that materialized before him possessed the same capabilities as Han Jue himself, complete mastery of the Cloud Sea Hunting Dragon blade's second secret pattern level, and law comprehension matching the third diagram of the Ice Peak Chaos Monument.
In theory, they should be evenly matched.
In practice?
The battle was over before it truly began.
An undeniable instant kill!
Han Jue's blade moved with such precision and overwhelming force that the white-armored guardian dissolved into particles before he could mount any meaningful defense. The gap between theoretical equality and practical application became immediately, brutally apparent.
Han Jue didn't pause to celebrate. He immediately pressed forward, charging toward the eighth level with steady determination.
The eighth level guardian fell just as quickly, followed by the ninth. Each opponent represented a substantial increase in power over the previous level, yet none could withstand more than a few exchanges against Han Jue's refined technique and profound law comprehension.
His progress was nothing short of devastating.
In the Ice and Snow Temple within the Virtual Universe, Venerable Lianyi and Venerable Lingji watched Han Jue's systematic destruction of the Tongtian Bridge's upper levels with rapt attention.
"Senior Sister, how far do you think Junior Brother will advance this time?" Venerable Lingji asked excitedly, his massive crystalline form practically vibrating with anticipation.
"Just watch and see," Venerable Lianyi replied with confident calm, though her eyes gleamed with obvious satisfaction.
Over the past thirty years, she had communicated with Han Jue more frequently than any of their other martial siblings. Venerable Lingji had various responsibilities that demanded his attention across the cosmos, but Venerable Lianyi, as a Universe Overlord, enjoyed a relatively leisurely existence compared to most beings at her level.
Therefore, even though Han Jue hadn't specifically requested constant supervision, she would occasionally offer guidance and check on his progress in understanding the fundamental laws. Through these interactions, she'd gained intimate knowledge of his development.
She knew that Han Jue had already begun comprehending the fourth diagram of the Ice Peak Chaos Monument, a feat that should have taken decades longer for someone at his cultivation stage.
This rate of progress was truly terrifying, even by the standards of million-epoch geniuses.
Venerable Lingji's attention remained fixed on the viewing screen as Han Jue's figure blazed through the seventh and eighth levels of the Tongtian Bridge with clinical efficiency, already approaching the ninth level threshold.
Judging from his current performance, even opponents at the ninth level wouldn't be able to stop his advance. The gap between Han Jue and his peers had only widened during these thirty years of intensive cultivation.
"Could he possibly clear the tenth level?" Venerable Lingji wondered aloud, unable to contain his speculation.
His mind raced through the implications. "It's only been thirty years. Wasn't that comparable to Kedi's legendary performance back in his era? At this rate, even the Universe-level Primal Tongtian Mountain itself wouldn't be able to stop Junior Brother. That's absolutely terrifying."
Kedi, one of the legendary talents who'd eventually reached Universe Master status, had set records that stood for countless epochs. For Han Jue to match or exceed that benchmark was almost unthinkable.
"After all, he's our teacher's disciple," Venerable Lianyi said with quiet pride. "If he couldn't even clear the Tongtian Mountain, it would only tarnish our teacher's reputation. The Lord of Ice Peak's personal disciples must meet certain minimum standards."
She paused deliberately, then added with a teasing smile, "Lingji, you didn't manage to pass the Universe-level Primal Tongtian Mountain back in your day, did you? It seems you weren't as talented as Junior Brother."
For a moment, Venerable Lingji was rendered speechless, his crystalline face actually managing to convey embarrassment despite its icy composition.
"I... I hadn't become Master's disciple yet back then," Venerable Lingji protested weakly, his voice carrying defensive undertones. "I only became his personal disciple after I successfully cleared the World Master-level Primal Tongtian Mountain. The circumstances were completely different!"
"Haha!" Venerable Lianyi's laughter rang through the crystalline chamber, clear and melodious.
After enjoying her martial brother's discomfort for a moment, she relented slightly, her tone becoming more encouraging. "Don't worry too much about comparisons. Everyone's circumstances and opportunities differ. Junior Brother has his own fortuitous encounters and advantages. Didn't you also possess that special bloodline creature with 600 times genetic level? You have a far greater chance of becoming a Universe Overlord than Lan Song or Xingyu."
"Yes, Senior Sister! You're absolutely right," Venerable Lingji nodded vigorously, grateful for the encouragement.
Venerable Lan Song and Venerable Xingyu were the other two surviving disciples of the Lord of Ice Peak, making them Venerable Lingji's senior martial brothers in the lineage hierarchy.
Venerable Lan Song had reached the status of high-level Universe Venerable, while Venerable Xingyu remained at mid-level Universe Venerable, the same tier as Venerable Lingji himself. Both senior brothers had been stuck at their respective levels for countless epochs, unable to break through to the next realm despite their prolonged efforts.
Judging purely by potential and future prospects, Venerable Lingji indeed possessed a greater likelihood of eventually becoming a Universe Overlord, surpassing his seniors through the advantages granted by his special bloodline creature.
"Junior Brother has cleared the ninth level," Venerable Lianyi suddenly announced, her attention snapping back to the viewing screen.
"What?" Venerable Lingji startled, quickly refocusing on the projection.
Sure enough, Han Jue's figure was already advancing toward the tenth level's entrance, having dispatched the ninth level guardian with the same ruthless efficiency he'd shown throughout his ascent.
The tenth level of the Tongtian Bridge materialized around Han Jue, its dimensional space subtly different from the previous levels.
The environment felt denser somehow, the very air charged with greater intensity. This was where true mastery began to be tested, where the gap between talented geniuses and genuine prodigies became undeniable.
The white-armored guardian who appeared possessed law comprehension that had begun touching upon the fourth diagram of the Ice Peak Chaos Monument. Generally speaking, cultivators who reached this level already possessed understanding of the fundamental laws comparable to ordinary Immortals, a threshold that separated the merely exceptional from the truly transcendent.
"Begin," the white-armored figure said calmly, his voice carrying none of the mechanical quality of the lower-level guardians.
This opponent exuded genuine presence, consciousness and awareness that elevated him far beyond simple combat programming.
Han Jue didn't underestimate this foe. The white-armored guardian radiated a sense of oppressive power he'd never experienced before, not even when he'd first passed the sixth level and faced the seventh level opponent.
This was different. This was dangerous.
"Bang!"
In the span of a single breath, Han Jue and the white-armored guardian clashed dozens of times, their blades meeting in a furious exchange of lethal strikes. Each blow carried enough force to shatter mountains, each parry demonstrated technique refined through countless battles.
Metal rang against metal as they tested each other's defenses, probing for weaknesses while simultaneously guarding their own vulnerabilities.
Sword Shattering Form!
Both combatants simultaneously activated the second secret pattern of their Cloud Sea Hunting Dragon blades. The weapons responded instantly, their forms fragmenting and recombining into enhanced configurations that dramatically amplified their wielders' combat power.
They engaged in close-quarters combat, their enhanced blades creating cascading waves of energy with each exchange.
At the Universe level, the ability to unleash a weapon's second secret pattern qualified as cosmic-level invincibility, a capability that enabled transcending one's cultivation tier to battle far stronger opponents. Even ordinary Domain Lords found themselves powerless against Universe-level warriors who'd mastered this technique. After all, controlling the second level of secret patterns was equivalent to commanding sixth-tier Divine Weapons. A Domain Lord who achieved this mastery could traverse the universe without significant threats.
The first exchange, pure weapon technique, ended in a complete draw, neither combatant gaining any advantage.
The next exchange would test something deeper.
A clash of law comprehension!
Having grasped the third diagram completely, Han Jue had fully mastered the seventy-two fundamental essences of the Origin Law of Water. Combined with his understanding of the first seventy-two essences of the Origin Law of Space, his law comprehension had nearly caught up to that of the former Ice Wasteland Realm Lord, a being who'd terrified Immortals despite never formally achieving that rank.
The fourth diagram of the Ice Peak Chaos Monument represented the beginning of exploring the complete Origin Law of Water. Full comprehension of this diagram could theoretically enable breakthrough to the Immortal realm itself, though countless additional requirements still needed to be met.
Of course, such considerations remained distant prospects for Han Jue at his current level.
Han Jue concentrated, channeling his full power. A series of overwhelming silver streams of light emerged from the cracks forming across his blade's surface. The complex secret patterns inscribed on the weapon flickered with faint blue luminescence. The two colors of light, silver and azure, intertwined like complementary forces, acting as metaphysical glue binding the shattered sword fragments together into something far greater than their individual components.
"Sword Shattered, Divide the Sea!"
Thousands of spatial avatars materialized behind Han Jue, each one transforming into a sword shadow that merged into the blade gripped in his hands. The technique represented perfect synthesis of movement, law, and weapon mastery.
The battle environment for the tenth level of the Tongtian Bridge was set within the core of a massive planet. The confined space created additional tactical challenges, nowhere to retreat, limited room to maneuver, forcing both combatants into direct confrontation.
The fusion of thousands of sword shadows gathered every ounce of Han Jue's accumulated power into a single devastating strike!
This attack embodied the culmination of Han Jue's thirty years of relentless cultivation. Although his comprehension of the fourth diagram of the Ice Peak Chaos Monument remained at the entry level, barely scratching its profound surface, it was sufficient.
More than sufficient.
The white-armored guardian had no method to block the incoming strike. He attempted to evade, twisting his body and activating movement techniques, but the confined space worked against him, limiting his options. The narrow battlefield that should have favored experienced warriors instead became his cage.
He was forced to receive the sword strike head-on.
The blade descended like celestial judgment, carrying the combined weight of water and space laws refined through countless hours of meditation and practical application. The silver-azure light seemed to cut through reality itself, leaving a trail of distorted space in its wake.
The white-armored guardian's defenses shattered like glass under a hammer blow. His form exploded into countless motes of light that dispersed throughout the dimensional space, signaling complete defeat.
Tenth level, passed!
Silence descended within the Tongtian Bridge plane as thousands of observers processed what they'd just witnessed.
Then the notifications began flooding through the Virtual Universe network, spreading news of the unprecedented achievement across humanity's territories.
Han Jue stood alone in the now-empty tenth level, his chest heaving slightly from the exertion of channeling so much power into a single strike. He allowed himself a small, satisfied smile.
Thirty years of cultivation. Thirty years of refining his understanding of the fundamental laws. Thirty years of gradually pushing beyond the limits others accepted as insurmountable.
This was merely the beginning of his journey, but it was a promising start.
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