Swallowing the Stars: The Rise of Emperor Wei

Chapter 157 The Bridge to Heaven

Virtual universe, a special dimensional space.

This dimension is a boundless ocean, on which lies a beautiful island. Along the edge of this beautiful island are 52 ports, each from which an endless bridge extends, stretching all the way to the ends of the earth…

Above the ocean waves, there was a faint mist, making it impossible to see what was in the ocean. The mist clung to the long bridge, completely concealing its depths.

Gao Sheng appeared directly in the square in the very center of the island.

In the square, there were more than a dozen people standing in front of a port. When Gao Sheng appeared, some ignored him completely, while others glanced at him and then paid him no further attention.

"Hmm?" Gao Sheng observed the square.

In the center of the square, a bespectacled man dressed in black walked toward Gao Sheng.

"Welcome, promotion. I am Baffin, the guardian of the Skybridge dimension, though I prefer to be called the guardian."

"Hello, Guardian."

"Let me introduce it to you," the guardian Baffin nodded. "This Sky Bridge plane was created specifically for the 52 Chaos Steles in Chaos City."

"Our human race in the universe has produced countless powerful individuals over billions of years by comprehending the 52 Chaos Steles. As a result, 52 schools of thought have formed within Chaos City," Guardian Baffin remarked. "For example, if you comprehend the 'Mother Ancestor Chaos Stele,' you naturally belong to the Mother Ancestor school. However, even among those who comprehend the Chaos Steles, there are varying levels of understanding. Only those with higher strength will be granted another opportunity to comprehend the Chaos Stele by Chaos City."

"Understood." Gao Sheng nodded.

"How do you prove someone's strength? It's not just about words," Guardian Baffin smiled. "That's why we built the Skybridge dimension in the virtual universe. The further you cross the Skybridge, the stronger you are!"

"There are 52 bridges to heaven here, each corresponding to one of the 52 Chaos Steles. You are here to comprehend the Mother Ancestor Chaos Stele, so you will be challenging the 'Mother Ancestor Bridge to Heaven.' The 'Mother Ancestor Bridge to Heaven' has 21 levels! Each time you successfully pass the first level, you will receive one opportunity to comprehend it." The guardian, Baffin, smiled as he looked at Luo Feng.

"21st floor?" Gao Sheng was taken aback.

"Yes," Baffin nodded, "The Mother Ancestor's Sky Bridge has 21 levels, making it one of the thirteen bridges with the fewest levels out of the 52 Sky Bridges."

"Don't think it's easy just because there are fewer levels!" Guardian Baffin said solemnly. "Many immortals only manage to pass the 10th or 11th level. If you can pass the 20th level, you can be considered invincible among immortals. If you can pass the 21st level, you'll be enough to become a cosmic venerable!"

"Don't aim too high! Keep striving!" Guardian Baffin smiled. "This is a path to the pinnacle. Countless humans in the universe follow these 52 paths, and once you pass the 18th level, you will directly obtain permanent residency in Chaos City, without needing any other additional conditions!"

"You can choose no more than five weapons of any kind, and then go and explore!" Guardian Baffin looked at Gao Sheng expectantly.

"yes!"

Gao Sheng directly chose the four-piece set of Fire Disc, Azure Flame Sword, Serpent Fire Realm, and Ember God Weapon. As for the battle suit, he automatically obtained the Tier 3 Force Battle Suit when he entered the Tongtian Bridge plane.

Moreover, Gao Sheng is also cultivating the third level of the Soul-Soothing Cage within this virtual body.

In fact, ever since Gao Sheng mastered the Soul-Soothing Cage in his virtual body while venturing into the 'Path of Glory,' he has automatically possessed it whenever he enters Lucky Island or the Killing Space. Clearly, this secret technique does not require cultivation during every virtual battle unless one's level is raised again.

Whoosh!

Gao Sheng flew directly towards a bridge to heaven in the distance. From afar, he could see the words "Mother Ancestor" engraved on the stone tablet in front of the bridge.

"21 floors? I didn't expect the Mother Ancestor's Sky Bridge to have so few floors."

Gao Sheng was not disappointed.

He originally thought that since the Mother Ancestor Chaos Stele contained both spatial laws and the five fundamental laws, its guidance on these laws might not be as detailed as that of the Nine Universes Chaos Stele. After all, the Chaos Stele's ability to help people comprehend these laws was certainly limited.

It seems that the worries were unnecessary. Since the level of the Mother Ancestor Chaos Stele is relatively low, its guidance of the laws should not be worse than those Chaos Steles with a single or two laws, and may even be better!

These 52 Chaos Stele are clearly of great help in comprehending the laws, so why are those secret chambers empty most of the time?

Why is the opportunity to gain enlightenment limited to seven days at a time, and why is it so rare?

Everything comes at a price! Clearly, the human race will have to pay a price for allowing people to comprehend the Chaos Monument, and that price will certainly be extremely high!

Auctioning off spots for Realm Lord-level Enlightenment cultivators? Tens of thousands of Chaos Units?

The cost of allowing a realm lord to comprehend the Chaos Stele is likely far more than this.

As for only having 21 floors?

Those who can truly comprehend the 21st level have become Cosmic Venerables, and most Cosmic Venerables have probably already embarked on their own paths.

Even if one wants to continue comprehending the Chaos Stele, as a cosmic venerable one, one is already a backbone of the entire human race. It wouldn't be difficult for one to change the Chaos Stele.

Just as Xiao Ai stepped onto the Heavenly Bridge of the Mother Ancestor, she exclaimed in her ascending consciousness, "I have an email! The Heavenly Bridge points reward rules! So that's how it works."

"Oh? Tell me about it."

"There are many ways to earn points, and right now in Chaos City, there's one way: break through the Sky Bridge!" Xiao Ai said.

"Passing the first level rewards you with 100 points."

"Pass the second level and you'll receive an additional 200 points."

"Pass the third level and you will be awarded another 400 points."

"And so on, the scores then become 800, 1600, 3200..."

"The email also said that there is a special reward rule for the first time entering Chaos City at the cosmic level: as long as you pass through the Sky Bridge in Chaos City within 30 years, the points reward will be five times. That is to say, passing through the first level will reward you with 500 points."

"Five times?" Gao Sheng was taken aback. "I thought it was ten times."

Upon reflection, Gao Sheng realized it made sense. The cosmic level was completely different from the eternal star level recruited by the genius competition.

Although Gao Sheng had not yet crossed the Bridge to Heaven and could not make an accurate comparison, he speculated that the difficulty of the first stage of the "Road to Glory" was less than that of the first level of the Bridge to Heaven, and the second stage should be barely the difficulty of the second level of the Bridge to Heaven.

Therefore, the cosmic-level geniuses who are recruited normally can pass through the second level of the bridge to heaven as soon as they arrive. After thirty years, there should be quite a few who can pass through the third level, and the fourth and fifth levels are also possible.

It should be noted that when Luo Feng's group of geniuses first arrived, almost none of them could pass the first level. Even after cultivating in Chaos City for thirty years, most of them only passed the first or second level, and very few passed the third level.

Therefore, a tenfold reward is impossible.

Five times the reward is pretty good.

Xiao Ai said excitedly, "What else? The email also said that all new core members are at the 'Brave' level, but member levels are not permanent. There are many ways to upgrade your level, and you have an opportunity now."

"What opportunity?"

Xiao Ai said, "The core members of the universe level are all brave when they first join. If they can pass through the fourth level of the Bridge to Heaven before the end of their 30-year training period in Chaos City, they will be promoted to heroic level."

"Oh? The fourth floor?" Gao Sheng smiled.

"It looks difficult, Gao Sheng. To buy those three secret techniques, you have to pass through the third level. Are you capable?" Xiao Ai sometimes doesn't call him master anymore, and Gao Sheng doesn't correct her. Instead, he feels a bit affectionate towards her.

"Tch, how can a man say no? Just you wait and see."

As they were talking, Gao Sheng had already flown to the end of the first level of the Mother Ancestor's Heavenly Bridge.

A massive cloud of mist blocked their path, from which a voice emanated: "Choose any opponent—you can choose a martial artist, a psychic master, or a psychic illusionist. Defeat your opponent to pass the first level of the Heavenly Bridge."

"I choose the controller."

Whoosh! A cloud of black liquid flew out from the mist, condensing in mid-air to form a mysterious figure wearing a black mask. This figure stood on the fire plate, wore black shoulder armor resembling serpent-fire armor on its arms, and carried a long silver belt on its back. Beneath the black mask, a pair of cold, eerie eyes stared at Gao Sheng: "Let the battle begin!"

Two psychic weapons, too? Gao Sheng wondered to himself, "Does he just use whatever I use?"

Gao Sheng leaped into the air on the Fire Disc, and a long string of short needles flew out from his right shoulder, instantly forming eight giant pythons.

"Hmm?" The masked man's eyes lit up, and a string of short needles flew out, forming three fire pythons.

"Kill!" The mysterious masked man stepped onto the fire disc and charged directly towards Gao Sheng. Three fire pythons hovered and approached, faintly connected by threads. Boom! They swept directly towards Gao Sheng.

Bang!Bang!Bang!

The three fire pythons that were faintly merging into one were engaged in a fierce battle with the eight fire pythons that were rising!

"Impressive!" Gao Sheng easily parried his opponent's attacks while carefully observing the situation.

"His three fire pythons are subtly connected through the laws of space and fire, moving as one and possessing immense power."

He was praised for his promotion.

Telekinetic weapons aren't something you can just assemble and throw. Gao Sheng has been working hard to integrate his own understanding of the laws into them, not only the laws of space, but also a trace of the laws of wood.

But compared to this opponent, they are far inferior.

In the ten days since he began studying the Chaos Stele, Gao Sheng has made great progress in this area, and has temporarily abandoned the Law of Wood to focus on the Laws of Space and Fire.

He realized that his understanding of the laws was still too low, and incorporating too many laws was not a good thing.

Now, these eight fire pythons, which have been promoted, are merely activating the laws of space and fire. Their advances and retreats are all well-organized. In terms of their perfect unity and the skillful use of the laws, they are no less than this virtual opponent.

As Gao Sheng observed, his insights from studying the Chaos Stele were confirmed one by one in his mind.

"You're very capable, then try this move of mine," the mysterious man shouted sternly.

With a whoosh, the three fire pythons he controlled approached again, intertwining with each other, and a faint phantom of a dragon appeared.

"go!"

Whoosh! The three intertwined fire pythons, carrying the phantom of a dragon, charged directly into the flame domain formed by the nine fire pythons of Gao Sheng.

Bang!

"So powerful?" Gao Sheng exclaimed in surprise.

"With just three fire pythons, his mental strength and understanding of the laws are not high. Relying on his low understanding of the laws, he was able to launch such an attack with a pure fire-type mental weapon."

"How come I didn't think of that method?"

Gao Sheng still relied on the eight fire pythons to completely block the opponent's attacks.

After observing for a while longer, Gao Sheng fully understood.

"Let's end this!"

Gao Sheng directly enhanced his psychic power output, causing the power of the eight fire pythons to increase dramatically!

Simply crush them with sheer force!

Bang! The opponent's fire python was smashed apart, and then the fire python charged forward, burning the person to ashes.

First level passed!

The clouds and mist that had enveloped the end of the Tongtian Bridge dissipated, revealing the bridge surface ahead.

Whoosh!

After soaring at high speed, we soon arrived at the end of the second level of the Sky Bridge, shrouded in mist.

"Choose any opponent. You can choose one of the following: a martial artist, a mentalist controller, or a mentalist illusionist. Defeat your opponent to pass through the first level of the Sky Bridge."

"I choose the controller."

Whoosh! A cloud of black liquid flew out from the clouds, condensed in mid-air, and the mysterious figure wearing a black mask reappeared.

"Newcomer, you're quite good, but you're not good enough to pass the second level."

"Is that so?" Gao Sheng took off on the Fire Disc, and a string of silver light quickly flew out from the long silver ridge behind him, forming nine solid-looking throwing knives in front of him. Each throwing knife exuded an astonishingly hot aura. Heaven-Piercing Blade!

"Hmph! You think you can get through the second level with this? Dream on!" The mysterious man also took to the air, with the same nine flying knives hovering in the air. Then, red threads burst forth and connected, forming a spherical space with a radius of 500 meters centered on the mysterious man.

Whoosh! A large amount of domain power gathered on one of the throwing knives, making the entire knife grow larger. Then, it transformed into a streak of red light and soared into the sky, with even more scorching power following behind the enlarged throwing knife.

Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!

All nine of Gao Sheng's throwing knives were knocked away by the opponent's throwing knives.

"Hmm?" Gao Sheng took advantage of the opponent's throwing knife being blocked and slowed down, and retreated rapidly.

"If you want to defeat me, go back and cultivate for another hundred years! Hahahaha..." The mysterious man laughed wildly, and the oversized throwing knife turned a corner and chased after Gao Sheng.

"The third level of the Ember God Weapon, the initial stage of the third level, is almost the same as the second stage of the Path of Glory, the Spiritual Master." Gao Sheng smiled.

With a wave of his hand, the nine flying knives that had been knocked away flew back rapidly, aligning themselves in front of Gao Sheng to form a spherical space with a radius of 500 meters.

Three of the throwing knives instantly approached, and the power of the domain rapidly compressed, transforming them into a single, large throwing knife!

Heavenly Blade Style: Three Blades Combined into One!

In fact, Gao Sheng can now use the Ember Divine Weapon to combine six swords into one.

It's not that it can't go higher; if the advantage of over 600 psychic amplitude is fully utilized, Gao Sheng can forcefully combine the nine swords into one!

However, this Heavenly Bridge tests one's understanding of laws and combat techniques, so Gao Sheng would certainly not do it lightly.

The opponent was only at the initial level of the Heavenly Blade style; the three blades combined were enough.

"go!"

when!when!when!

The two throwing knives collided repeatedly, and for a time they were evenly matched.

"In terms of power, my three swords combined are clearly stronger than his, but his throwing knives utilize the laws very cleverly."

Gao Sheng carefully observed how his opponent used the Heavenly Blade.

The smaller version of the Heavenly Blade is as swift as the wind and as fast as lightning! Just like an assassin in the dark!

The Heavenly Blade, though larger than the Heavenly Blade, resembled a valiant warrior. Though its movements were somewhat clumsy, it possessed immense strength, sending its opponents flying with each impact.

"It seems that without using the advantage of my consciousness or the advantage of my domain, I should be able to pass this level with the help of the Ember God Weapon."

Each collision consumes more of the opponent's psychic energy, eventually exhausting them to death.

Gao Sheng nodded secretly.

That's pretty good. You have to know that just three years ago, Gao Sheng couldn't pass the second stage of the 'Path of Glory' with the Ember Divine Weapon; he had to use the Serpent Fire Realm.

when!when!when!

The two throwing knives continued to collide.

The mysterious man, unable to break through after a prolonged attack, was expending a great deal of mental energy and gradually became impatient. Suddenly, a resolute light flashed in his cold eyes.

"Die!" The Heavenly Blade, which had just been knocked away, drew an arc far away, bypassing Gao Sheng's Heavenly Blade and stabbing straight at Gao Sheng!

"Hmm?" Gao Sheng's Heavenly Blade accelerated and stabbed directly at the man in black. The man in black had madness in his eyes and retreated rapidly, leaving behind dozens of illusory bodies!

It's useless! Gao Sheng's understanding of spatial laws is not much worse than the opponent's, and how can a human being compare speed with a telekinetic weapon?

With a whoosh, the illusion vanished, and the mysterious man's head flew up. At this moment, his flying knife was still hundreds of meters away from Gao Sheng when it fell and disintegrated.

Second level, passed!

"You actually want to die together with me? Don't you underestimate me?" Gao Sheng shook his head.

Whoosh!

Gao Sheng went directly to the third level of the Sky Bridge and flew towards the end.