Chapter 434: Return to the Sacred Temple
Li Yang was full of anticipation.
Most cultivators slowed down the further they progressed, but his pace hadn't flagged in the slightest. With his Time Divine Tree clone now among its kind, his rate of progress was bound to increase yet again!
'My main body needs to cultivate too!'
With that thought, Li Yang sat down cross-legged.
While his various clones continuously comprehended the laws, his main body was cultivating various combat techniques. Li Yang was currently focused on studying the second form of the Profound Annihilation Spear Skill!
The Profound Annihilation Spear Skill was a legacy of the Profound Destruction Dominator. After mastering its first form, Li Yang, while only at the Longevity Realm, had easily slain a World Realm expert, allowing him to pass the twelfth step of the God's Path in the Human Race's Eternal Saint Hall.
More than a decade had passed since then. Although Li Yang's comprehension of the laws had progressed at an astonishing rate, he was still unable to master the second form.
According to the information left behind by the Profound Destruction Dominator, mastering the second form of the Profound Annihilation Spear Skill would allow one to slay even Deities with ease—a testament to its difficulty.
Li Yang's current strength might have barely approached that of a Deity, but killing one without the aid of Divine or Sacred Artifacts was utterly impossible.
Putting those thoughts aside, Li Yang began to focus on his comprehension.
...
The Eternal Saint Hall, one of the two great superpowers of the Human Race, was the size of an entire Star Continent.
Together with the Hunyuan Martial Dao Saint Realm, it was home to over ninety-nine percent of the Human Race's experts!
WHOOSH!
A shuttle shot out from a Space Teleportation Array, and a figure emerged from it.
'I'm back.'
Li Yang looked at the familiar scenery around him and sighed with emotion.
Before him lay a vast, primordial landscape. In the distance, a rolling mountain range stretched out, dotted with ancient palaces that seemed to carry the weight of eons.
Looking up, he saw that the very fabric of the void was imprinted with countless arcane runes.
These were deconstructed laws, which aided the geniuses here in their own comprehension.
Besides these countless arcane runes, a peculiar river also flowed slowly through the void.
The river was densely packed with shimmering starlight, and occasionally, a meteor would streak across its surface.
'The Majestic Star River.'
Li Yang raised his head, his gaze fixed on the river that hung in the void like a galaxy.
This was the Supreme Saint Artifact of the Human Race—the Majestic Star River! It was the most powerful weapon of the entire Human Race, a treasure that protected the race itself. Its sheer size could rival the Milky Way, with a diameter of one hundred thousand light-years!
Li Yang still remembered the profound shock he felt decades ago when he first saw the Majestic Star River and learned what it was.
Even an Emperor would be instantly annihilated by a single wave from the Majestic Star River.
Even now, though his strength was immeasurably greater than it had been decades ago, he still felt utterly insignificant before the colossal river.
'Could the mysterious little sword in my mind be a Supreme Saint Artifact?' Li Yang couldn't help but wonder.
Based on his deductions, the mysterious little sword was far stronger than the Sacred Artifact, the Profound Annihilation Spear, but he couldn't determine its exact rank.
'First, I'll head back to the Lianyun Mountain Range.' Tearing his gaze away, Li Yang headed off in a specific direction.
He would certainly need a place to stay in the Human Race's Eternal Saint Hall. The palace in the Lianyun Mountain Range he had been granted back when he was in the Longevity Realm still belonged to him, so he could stay there now that he was back.
As he walked through the Lianyun Mountain Range, he occasionally encountered other geniuses.
"Is that... Li Yang?"
"Li Yang's back at the Saint Hall?"
"That's normal. The Saint Hall trains its geniuses this way. Longevity Realm cultivators stay within the Saint Hall, but those at the Star Lord Realm must go outside. Star Lord Realm geniuses return to the Saint Hall from time to time, entering the Inheritance Palace to consolidate their comprehension of the laws."
"Right. Mixed Void has come back twice before. This is Li Yang's first time back."
"I heard the Saint Hall granted Li Yang two great opportunities: one to visit the Star Moon Race's land of inheritance, and the other to go to the Thunder Spirit Race. He supposedly obtained the best opportunities from both races. His gains must have been immense."
"Well, he's the one who passed the twelfth step of the God's Path. If you could do that at the Longevity Realm, you'd get the same great opportunities when you reach the Star Lord Realm!"
"It's not just the Star Moon Race and the Thunder Spirit Race. Li Yang will probably be granted even more opportunities in the future."
"I wonder how strong Li Yang is now."
In the Lianyun Mountain Range, the geniuses who saw Li Yang couldn't help but start discussing him.
At present, the most powerful geniuses of the Human Race were undoubtedly Mixed Void and Li Yang. One was ranked among the top one hundred geniuses in the history of the Human Race, while the other's rate of progress was so incredible it was still accelerating—he was about to catch up to Mixed Void.
These two great geniuses naturally attracted a lot of attention, and many other prodigies saw them as rivals to surpass.
As these geniuses watched Li Yang, he glanced back at them.
'Hm? Some unfamiliar young faces? Are they new geniuses?'
At a glance, Li Yang spotted two very young geniuses who were, at the very least, younger than him.
After all, Li Yang had been the youngest in his own batch of geniuses. Anyone younger than him must have been a new recruit for the Saint Hall.
The God's Path was one method of selecting geniuses, but the Human Race's Eternal Saint Hall actually had various other recruitment channels.
'First, I'll go see my master.' After a casual glance, Li Yang paid them no more mind.
He had come to the Lianyun Mountain Range mainly because it housed Teleportation Arrays that led directly to the domains of powerful Deities. These were prepared for the many geniuses, allowing them to attend lectures given by those Deities at any time.
Using a Space Teleportation Array, Li Yang soon arrived at Blade Slaughter's estate.
"Junior Brother Li Yang."
"Junior Brother is here."
In Blade Slaughter's estate were some of Sect Master Blade Slaughter's other disciples. They smiled upon seeing Li Yang.
The disciples of Sect Master Blade Slaughter present were nearly all at the World Realm; Li Yang was the only one at the Star Lord Realm.
"Senior Brothers..."
Li Yang returned their smiles, greeting each of them in turn.
"Li Yang."
Just as Li Yang arrived, Sect Master Blade Slaughter appeared. He examined his disciple carefully, then nodded with a smile. "Not bad. After more than a decade out in the world, you seem more composed. It looks like you've experienced quite a lot."
The Li Yang of the past had been somewhat green. Cultivating within the safety of the Human Race's Eternal Saint Hall, he never had to worry about danger, so the tempering he received was only average.
But in the past decade, Li Yang had gone through one trial after another, and his entire demeanor had indeed changed.
"Come with me," Sect Master Blade Slaughter said.
"Yes, Master." Li Yang nodded respectfully.
Following Sect Master Blade Slaughter, Li Yang entered a palace.
"What are your plans, now that you're back?" Sect Master Blade Slaughter asked, smiling at his disciple.
Li Yang replied respectfully, "Master, I plan to enter the Inheritance Palace. Once I have consolidated the insights I've gained over the past decade, I will leave."
Ostensibly, he had returned to the Saint Hall to publicly hand over the Gold-devouring Insects to Sect Master Blade Slaughter. In truth, Li Yang's real purpose was to consolidate his comprehension of the laws.