From the Metropolis to the Strongest in the Cosmos

Chapter 221: Chapter 221: A Sliver of Opportunity

No miracle occurred. With a rank beyond five thousand, there was simply no chance of being selected by the Human Race’s Eternal Saint Hall.

This time, not a single genius from their Yangyuan Star Continent would be able to enter the Human Race’s Eternal Saint Hall.

VMMM...

Without a word, the Yangyuan Emperor’s consciousness withdrew directly from the Virtual World.

"The Yangyuan Emperor’s consciousness has withdrawn."

"Haha, that Yangyuan. He already made himself a laughingstock once—recruiting so many geniuses only to let Sword Mark slip through his fingers. In the end, Sword Mark just kept rising, and the power he recently unleashed has even eclipsed Yangyuan’s."

"Ling Lake, that’s enough."

"What’s the big deal? Is Yangyuan really going to come after me for this? He lost face over the Sword Mark incident, and now he’s losing face again because of this Li Yang. Haha."

...

Many powerful beings were watching. Meanwhile, in the plaza, numerous geniuses also had their eyes fixed on the final vortex.

After the second-to-last participant was eliminated, this one vortex stubbornly remained, with no sign of movement from the person inside.

"There’s still this last combat space left."

"Who’s inside that space? Why isn’t their battle over yet?"

"It’s been over an hour."

Many of the geniuses were disgruntled. They were just stuck here, waiting.

As if sensing their thoughts, the final vortex began to expand, revealing the scene within to the crowd.

"Li Yang!"

Somewhere in the crowd, Celestial Net, who had been eliminated long ago, watched Li Yang constantly dodging within the combat space. His expression was calm, but inwardly he was overjoyed.

Many of the geniuses around him were muttering in discussion, clearly displeased with Li Yang.

"That’s Li Yang, ranked third in the Yangyuan Star Continent!"

"What is that Li Yang doing? He isn’t fighting at all. Is he just playing games with those virtual figures?"

"He’s really good at dragging things out."

"He doesn’t think that by being the last one standing, he’ll be ranked number one, does he?"

Hearing the crowd’s comments, Celestial Net felt even more delighted.

’Haha, Li Yang, just keep stalling. Once you’re the last one out and still fail to enter the Human Race’s Eternal Saint Hall, you’ll probably become a laughingstock. And when that happens, the Emperor... will surely be displeased.’

Before the selection for the Human Race’s Eternal Saint Hall even began, the Yangyuan Emperor had started his own talent search, recruiting a hundred thousand geniuses. This showed just how much importance the Yangyuan Emperor placed on this selection.

’Since he cares so much, isn’t Li Yang’s performance just a slap in the Yangyuan Emperor’s face?’

Right now, the results for the Yangyuan Empire’s top two, Jin Xu and Lamoche, were both beyond the five-thousandth rank. Li Yang was ranked even lower than them, so there was no way he could enter the Human Race’s Eternal Saint Hall.

’Stall. Keep stalling. I’ll just wait and see how this ends for you.’ For once, Celestial Net’s perpetually gloomy heart felt a little lighter.

The fact that he had eliminated Li Yang back then had been a constant source of worry for him.

’After all, he had broken the rules to eliminate Li Yang. If Li Yang had achieved an outstanding result and the Yangyuan Emperor decided to pursue the matter, what kind of punishment would he face?’

’But from the looks of it now, Li Yang has no chance of entering the Human Race’s Eternal Saint Hall. Furthermore, his current actions will only earn the Yangyuan Emperor’s disapproval. Even if my transgression comes to light, the punishment I’d receive will be much lighter.’

All the geniuses and powerful experts were watching. Li Yang had unexpectedly become the center of attention.

...

Inside the combat space, Li Yang had no idea about the situation outside.

’This is the seventh combat space.’

He had now arrived at the seventh space.

Some of the other geniuses had similar ideas to Li Yang. Perhaps they wanted to use the time to become stronger, or maybe they simply wanted to be eliminated later.

However, among them, Li Yang was the strongest. Thus, while everyone else had been eliminated, he had managed to last until the very end.

The virtual figures inside the space now had the strength of the Late Longevity Realm.

One hundred Late Longevity Realm cultivators. Their combined strength was equivalent to a single expert at the Peak of Longevity Realm!

Of course, someone with strength approaching the Peak of Longevity Realm and superior speed could slowly wear down and defeat these virtual figures.

After all, the gap in strength between the Peak of Longevity Realm and the Late Longevity Realm was a factor of ten. What an immense difference!

’It’s close. I feel like my breakthrough is getting closer and closer.’

Li Yang’s figure weaved continuously among the virtual figures.

SWISH! SWISH! SWISH!

His body was actually producing afterimages—more than sixty of them.

After nurturing his Sky-Fierce Flood Dragon clone, Li Yang had been practicing the Illusion Body Skill. He had now nearly mastered its third form, with just a final sliver of insight remaining.

He continued to weave through the enemies, stalling for time while comprehending the Space Law and Thunder Law, in no rush to fight.

"This Li Yang, he’s still just dodging."

"I’m speechless. Does he know how to do anything besides dodge?"

"Sigh, looks like we still have to wait ten more minutes."

"That’s right. Even if he keeps dodging, in another ten minutes, the virtual figures’ strength will surge again. Li Yang is ranked third on the Yangyuan Star Continent, with strength close to the Peak of Longevity Realm. At his level, he can stall through this seventh round at best. By the time the eighth round starts, the total strength of the virtual figures will definitely surpass the Peak of Longevity Realm. He won’t stand a chance then."

...

On the Kui Lang Star Continent, the genius Mute watched the ongoing battle, his lips curled in a look of utter disdain.

"What a waste of time."

’In his opinion, a battle should be swift and decisive. What was the point of dodging like this?’

Many geniuses were displeased. The prodigies from the Yangyuan Star Continent could feel the strange looks from the geniuses of other Star Continents, and they all began to feel uneasy.

Almost all of them had already been eliminated. Now, their only remaining genius was just stalling for time.

Under all sorts of gazes, the strength of the virtual figures surged once more. Their power was now equivalent to that of the eighth round, surpassing the Peak of Longevity Realm!

SWISH! SWISH! SWISH!

Sensing the immense power of the virtual figures in the combat space, Li Yang immediately conjured a series of afterimages—a full seventy of them.

BOOM! BOOM!

The virtual figures all surged toward Li Yang. Under their assault, he was clearly beginning to struggle.

"Li Yang is about to be eliminated."

"He’s unleashed his full strength now."

"Phew, finally we don’t have to wait anymore."

Seeing this, many of the top-ranked geniuses let out a sigh of relief.

They had already advanced directly and were just waiting to enter the upcoming free-for-all.

WHOOSH!

Inside the combat space, Li Yang was almost struck by one of the virtual figure’s attacks, dodging it by a hair’s breadth.

’These virtual figures are getting stronger and stronger.’ Li Yang took a deep breath.

Without hesitation, his figure flickered, and the number of phantoms he projected suddenly increased by another ten.

With the increase in phantoms, the power he displayed rose by another notch!

He had been holding back his power the entire time, searching for that sliver of opportunity. His true strength could have ranked him first on the Yangyuan Star Continent, and he likely even had a chance of being selected for the Human Race’s Eternal Saint Hall. He was far more powerful than anyone believed.

Seeing Li Yang’s strength suddenly spike, allowing him to handle the seventh round with ease, many of the geniuses looked on in stunned surprise.

"Huh? Isn’t Li Yang ranked third on the Yangyuan Star Continent? How does he seem even stronger than Jin Xu right now?"