Yuan’s Ascension

"Come with me," said Astral Monarch Gu Lai, leading Wu Yuan swiftly past numerous courtyards and towering pavilions.

They arrived at a vast plaza over ten li in diameter. In the center stood an enormous stele, its surface alive with flowing, cryptic patterns that shimmered in the light.

Around the plaza's perimeter, over a thousand immortal cultivators were seated in lotus position, deep in meditation.

These cultivators were as diverse in appearance as they were in origin. Some wore white robes, others black; some appeared youthful, while others were elderly. There were even a few with the unmistakable features of demonic beasts. But within the Immortal Belvedere, everyone's vital aura and Yuan Soul were suppressed.

Wu Yuan could not discern their exact cultivation levels, only sensing vaguely that most were immortals.

"Junior Nephew, do you know why our Immortal Belvedere dares to claim the title of the macrocosm's top sanctuary for comprehending the Law of Space?" Astral Monarch Gu Lai asked with a smile.

Wu Yuan shook his head.

"It's because of that stele, known as the Qiankun Divine Stele," Astral Monarch Gu Lai explained. "The Immortal Sovereign created it with his supreme divine abilities. This stele provides guidance to those who contemplate it. The stronger one's grasp of the Law of Space, the greater its effect, making progress far swifter than cultivating independently.

Training here for a few thousand years allows most immortal cultivators to make the equivalent of tens of thousands of years of progress if they had contemplated the Law of Space elsewhere."

"Senior Uncle, doesn't that mean many Archimmortals and Astral Lords can quickly comprehend the Space Dao and become Astral Monarchs of Space?" Wu Yuan couldn't resist asking.

"What are you thinking?" Astral Monarch Gu Lai chuckled and shook his head. "While the Qiankun Divine Stele is extraordinary, it's not that absurdly powerful.

It has two major limitations. First, the longer one spends contemplating it, the weaker its guiding effect becomes. You’ll see the best results in the first few thousand years.

Second, it can only guide you in comprehending the fundamentals of the Law of Space. For the integration of Laws, you must rely on yourself.

To fully grasp an Intermediate Law, let alone comprehend a complete Greater Law, one must break through bottlenecks on their own. External aids offer little help," Astral Monarch Gu Lai sighed.

Wu Yuan nodded, understanding.

By mastering an Intermediate Law, one could become an Astral Monarch. If it were that easy, the Silvermist Immortal Nation wouldn't have only thirteen Astral Monarchs after countless ages.

The same applied to comprehending Greater Laws. Whether it was Master Kua Chi or Ancestral Master Bei You, each had taken on numerous peerless geniuses as disciples, yet none had become a Sovereign to this day.

"Junior Nephew, approach the Qiankun Divine Stele and leave your aura imprint," Astral Monarch Gu Lai instructed. "This will allow the stele to guide your comprehension based on your current understanding of the Law of Space. The guidance differs for each individual."

"Understood," Wu Yuan nodded.

Whoosh! Wu Yuan flew swiftly along the path between rows of jade platforms where the immortal cultivators meditated, rapidly approaching the Qiankun Divine Stele.

As he neared the stele, many of the meditating cultivators opened their eyes to observe him.

"Who is he?"

"I've never seen him before. Today isn't an open recruitment day, is it? Could he be specially admitted for his extraordinary talent?"

"He was personally escorted by Astral Monarch Gu Lai. His background must be significant."

"What do you think his comprehension level will be?"

"Hard to say, but to be brought here by an Astral Monarch, it must be at least level seven or eight, right?" The cultivators whispered among themselves.

Most of them were from the Bei You lineage and also made efforts to socialize, so they were quite familiar with one another.

Many of them paid close attention to Wu Yuan.

Of course, due to the invisible suppression within the Immortal Belvedere, these cultivators couldn't determine Wu Yuan's exact cultivation level.

Whoosh! As he approached, Wu Yuan sensed an invisible force, causing him to halt involuntarily.

The divine stele stood about ten meters tall. He stopped about sixty meters away from it, having passed the jade platforms closest to the stele.

Leave a mental imprint? Wu Yuan gently closed his eyes.

His Soul Force surged out, swiftly reaching the Qiankun Divine Stele. The moment it made contact, an invisible force instantly pulled Wu Yuan's consciousness into a mysterious realm.

…

Wu Yuan felt his vision blur as this sliver of consciousness found itself in a dark, tunnel-like world. There was nothing here, only a passage about a hundred li wide stretching into the distance.

What? Wu Yuan was bewildered. Wasn't he supposed to be leaving a mental imprint on the stele? Where was this place?

"Control a battle avatar with a strand of consciousness and slay the enemy. Here, you can only utilize the Law of Space," a cold voice echoed in Wu Yuan's ears.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Wisps of mist appeared in the distant passage, swiftly coalescing into towering figures. Each wielded a different weapon, roaring with murderous intent.

Is this... a test? Similar to the Overlord Hall? Wu Yuan instantly realized what sort of place this was.

The difference was that the Overlord Hall involved real-world battle and did not restrict one’s application of any Dao. Here, it was a virtual battle of consciousness, and he was limited to employing only the profundities of Space.

The power of this body is equivalent to the first-stage Golden Core phase? Wu Yuan mused inwardly, but didn’t hesitate to give a mental command.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Dozens of flying swords materialized nearby, circling around Wu Yuan.

He could only control about fifty ordinary flying swords.

Even my Yuan Soul’s power is restricted? Wu Yuan shook his head slightly.

This place purely tested one's grasp of the Law of Space.

"Kill!" Wu Yuan controlled the fifty-odd flying swords, but with his shallow comprehension of the Law of Space, he couldn't even form a sword array. He could only crudely send them charging forward.

He met the first misty warrior head-on. The figure roared, swinging its warhammer.

Boom! Boom! With just two strikes, many of Wu Yuan's flying swords were sent veering off course.

Slash! A flying sword suddenly sliced across the warrior's neck but only cut halfway through.

Wu Yuan's eyes widened in surprise. It got stuck?

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! More towering warriors charged forward, their speed astonishing, their movement techniques exquisite.

It was as if they were traversing along traces of the Dao in space, almost instantly surrounding Wu Yuan.

A blade ray flashed, viciously cleaving through Wu Yuan's form. With that single strike, Wu Yuan's avatar instantly disintegrated.

…

Wu Yuan opened his eyes on the plaza before the Qiankun Divine Stele, shaking his head with a wry smile.

It wasn't that these towering warriors were too strong, but rather that he was far too weak in the Space Dao. To be honest, he had barely stepped across the threshold of the Spatial Dimension Dao.

"What?"

"Only the first level?"

"So weak? His mastery of the Space Dao is barely beyond the threshold."

"How could someone with such rudimentary Dao comprehension be allowed to train at the Immortal Belvedere?"

"Was he truly brought here by Astral Monarch Gu Lai himself?"

"Could he be the Astral Monarch’s secret..."

Murmurs filled the air as the cultivators in the plaza, previously deep in meditation, stirred with curiosity and skepticism.

Their eyes were fixed on the information displayed beside the divine stele.

It was common knowledge that only those who had achieved significant progress in the Law of Space and demonstrated exceptional aptitude were granted entry to this place. Without such qualifications, one had no right to be here.

Even within the Bei You lineage, earning a spot to cultivate at the Immortal Belvedere was extremely prestigious. Ordinary Archimmortals and Astral Lords would struggle to secure even a single position for their disciples.

"Silence!" The commanding voice of Astral Monarch Gu Lai cut through the air like a blade.

In a blur of motion, he appeared beside Wu Yuan, his gaze sweeping across the crowd of cultivators.

How frightening was an Astral Monarch's gaze? The assembled cultivators fell silent immediately.

"Listen carefully," the Astral Monarch's voice rang out coldly. "This individual is named Ming Jian, a third-generation disciple who has already earned the recognition of the Immortal Sovereign.

If his name and deeds are unknown to you, I suggest you educate yourselves promptly.

He has reached the Amethyst Cradle phase in less than a century of cultivation," Astral Monarch Gu Lai continued. "If any among you believe your talent surpasses Ming Jian's, you are welcome to speak with me."

A profound silence settled over the plaza.

Amethyst Cradle phase? Less than a century of cultivation? These two simple statements sent shockwaves of astonishment through the gathered cultivators.

Even those who had never heard of Ming Jian before now looked at Wu Yuan with newfound awe and respect.

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