The Primordial Spirit manifestation trembled violently, and the surrounding runes of Law dimmed for an instant.
His sea of consciousness felt as if it had been cast into an eternal ice prison, his thoughts nearly frozen solid.
’What powerful corrosive force!’ Li Wen’s heart went cold. Fine beads of sweat broke out on his forehead, rolling down his tense cheeks.
He desperately clung to the last shred of clarity in his mind, circulating his Primordial Spirit’s power with all his might to arduously resist this force.
With every step, the stair beneath his feet felt as if it had turned into a viscous quagmire, pulling his will down into the abyss.
However, compared to the figures ahead of him who were inching along, his speed was still a sliver faster.
It was this seemingly insignificant difference that allowed his rank to continue climbing, steadily and slowly, against the general trend of deceleration.
From the twenties, to the teens... His target was the top ten!
...
An unknown amount of time passed.
Only three points of light remained on the staircase.
The first-ranked Ling Xuzi, the seventh-ranked Li Wen, and another youth ranked ninth.
The one ranked ninth was a slender youth whose face bore a weathered sort of determination.
He was dressed plainly, a stark contrast to the magnificent battle robes of Ling Xuzi and the others.
He was born in a low-level empire long forgotten on the cosmic frontier, on a mining planet scarce in resources and rife with war.
Having lost his parents at a young age, he struggled to survive in the mines and by scavenging, awakening his talent only after countless near-death experiences.
Joining the Source Net as an outer member was the turning point of his destiny. He had fought bloody battles, endured hardships, and seized every minuscule opportunity to finally stand here.
His gaze held a flame of defiance against fate, one forged through trials and tribulations.
At this moment, that flame was flickering violently in the desolate, cold wind.
He was stopped at the 119,499th step, his body trembling violently as if under the weight of a mountain.
Using the last ounce of his consciousness, he arduously raised his head, looking up at the high and mighty Ling Xuzi, then over at Li Wen, who was also struggling forward not far away.
His gaze held a longing for the summit and a helplessness at his own limits.
In the end, it all transformed into a flicker of unwillingness. He was, after all, still one step away from the true peak.
A flash of light. The ninth-ranked youth’s figure vanished, eliminated.
From that point on, the entire desolate staircase fell silent.
Only two sources of light remained near the top.
Ling Xuzi! Li Wen!
The gazes of trillions of spectators across the universe, no matter which empire or Star Domain they were from, were now locked onto these two.
The Virtual Cosmos’s live broadcast channel was instantly flooded by a tsunami of comments.
All discussion revolved around a single, suspenseful question: Who would reach the summit?
Who would be the last one standing in this contest of wills?
The spectator area for the Alka Empire erupted, their cheers nearly blowing the roof off the virtual stands.
The top fifty was a surprise, the top twenty was ecstasy, and the top ten was an unbelievable honor!
And now, their Li Wen was actually challenging this tournament’s strongest contender, Ling Xuzi, for the highest glory of the desolate staircase!
The hearts of the Celestial Vault Divine Country’s spectators, which had just settled, leaped back into their throats.
To their horror, they discovered that Li Wen’s climbing speed was clearly much faster than the struggling Ling Xuzi’s!
That young man from a remote empire was like a tireless monster.
He was steadily closing the distance with the pride of their Divine Country, one step at a time.
Catching up, perhaps even surpassing him... This terrifying thought made countless spectators from the Celestial Vault break out in a cold sweat.
Perhaps because the pressing presence behind him was too intense, Ling Xuzi stopped for the first time.
He slowly turned, his lowered gaze piercing through the countless layers of stairs to lock precisely onto the figure below.
Coincidentally, at the exact moment Ling Xuzi looked back,
Li Wen had just managed to endure the impact of solitude from a new step and, panting slightly, raised his head.
High up on the staircase, amidst the pervasive, formless power of solitude, their gazes suddenly met.
There were no words, no provocations—only the purest clash and assessment of wills.
Ling Xuzi’s eyes held scrutiny and a hint of imperceptible gravity.
Li Wen’s eyes, however, were calm and resilient, like bedrock at the bottom of a deep pool, showing no sign of retreat.
Their eyes met for only a brief moment.
As if reaching some silent understanding, they both averted their gazes at almost the same time.
Ling Xuzi refocused his entire mind on the final step before him, a chasm-like barrier.
Li Wen also took a deep breath, the gold and silver light in his eyes flaring as he once again lifted his foot and stepped higher.
The final sprint, their individual battles, had only just begun!
...
An hour passed as trillions of spectators held their breath.
Ling Xuzi, the peerless prodigy of the Celestial Vault Divine Country, finally stopped at the 119,999th step.
He was just one step away from the 120,000th step, which symbolized ultimate completion!
But this final step seemed to separate two different worlds.
Ling Xuzi poured his entire mind, will, and even his soul into his right foot, attempting to take that step.
His body tensed to the absolute limit, veins popping on his temples, his white robes fluttering without any wind.
However, just as the tip of his right foot was about to touch the edge of the 120,000th step—
An ultimate sense of solitude, far surpassing that of all previous levels, descended with a BOOM!
Under the impact of this force, the last glimmer of clarity in Ling Xuzi’s eyes flickered violently like a candle in the wind, and then... was completely extinguished!
White light instantly enveloped his upright figure, a figure filled with endless regret.
The recognized king of this Cosmic Peak Genius Battle, the frontrunner of the desolate staircase trial, was teleported out!
Upon the desolate staircase, only one person remained—Li Wen!
His current step: 119,500.
Rank: Fifth.
He was still 499 steps short of Ling Xuzi’s final height.
’Looks like I won’t be getting first place this time,’ he sighed to himself. ’If I keep going, even with the Eternal Heart as my trump card, it’ll be hard to keep up the act.
’To control the Eternal Heart at will, I need to maintain at least a sliver of clarity.
’If these stairs push me until my consciousness blurs completely, the Eternal Heart will activate on its own. I might get exposed then.’
He looked up at the seemingly endless top of the staircase, his thoughts racing:
’I’ll give it another shot. If it really doesn’t work out... I’ll just take second place this time. There’s no way I can beat that monster in the overall rankings anyway.’
Having made up his mind, Li Wen no longer hesitated.
He took a deep breath, lifted his foot again, and stepped onto the 119,501st step.
The sense of solitude arrived as expected. His brows furrowed, and he continued to channel the power of his Primordial Spirit to resist, his pace slow but steady as he climbed upward.
...
Outside, with Ling Xuzi’s elimination, the focus of the entire universe converged completely on Li Wen.
The spectator area for the Alka Empire had descended into utter madness.
Screams, shouts.
Their hero, Li Wen, had actually become the last climber on the desolate staircase.
This was a peak moment the Alka Empire had never before experienced in the history of the Cosmic Peak Genius Battle!
"Li Wen! Li Wen! Li Wen!"
"Reach the top! Reach the top! Reach the top!"
The deafening waves of cheers shot to the heavens.
Meanwhile, the spectators from high-level empires like the Celestial Vault Divine Country, the Mimeng Dynasty, and the Holy Land of Time fell into a deathly silence and disbelieving shock.
They watched the youth from Alka ascend step by step, each one feeling like it was stomping on their hearts.
’Can he really do it?
’Can he surpass Ling Xuzi, and maybe even... reach the legendary 120,000th step?’
Inside the central dark-gold building, the gazes of countless immortal beings also focused here with surprise.
Flame Ashes and Bing Po showed surprise on their faces, while Chen’s eyes twinkled with unconcealable excitement and relief.
...
On the staircase, Li Wen took each step with extreme slowness.
His body trembled slightly, sweat had long since soaked his inner shirt, and his pale face revealed a stubborn will.
Every time he stepped onto a new stair, the hearts of the spectators outside would leap into their throats, thinking he would be eliminated by the white light in the next second.
Yet, every single time, he would precariously stabilize himself right on the verge of his will collapsing completely.
Then, under the watchful eyes of the masses, he would slowly but firmly take the next step.