At the center of the high platform, Elder Meng's voice rang out once more, drawing everyone's attention back.
"For this Law Conference, the Great Dao will assess each of you based on your past performance, grading you into four levels: Heaven-Grade, Earth-Grade, Xuan-Grade, and Huang-Grade."
He paused, took out a primitive bronze mirror from his sleeve, and held it in his palm.
The mirror's surface was dark gold, with densely packed Dao patterns engraved along the edges. A faint spiritual light circulated, exuding an ancient and profound aura.
"There are sixteen Heaven-Grade seeds in total, who will enter the top sixty-four directly. There are forty-eight Earth-Grade seeds in total, who will enter the top one hundred twenty-eight directly. The remaining Xuan-Grade and Huang-Grade contestants will be selected through the Ying-Tian Mirror."
Elder Meng tossed the bronze mirror high into the air, mirror-side down, where it hovered in mid-air at the center of the training arena.
A beam of light shot out from the mirror, transforming into a massive light screen above the training arena, displaying various names and numbers.
"The Ying-Tian Mirror contains its own world. Once you enter the mirror world, the Ying-Tian Mirror will automatically match you with an opponent. For every victory, you gain a ray of Mirror Spiritual Light. The loser is eliminated. In the end, the top sixty-four will advance to join the Heaven-Grade and Earth-Grade seeds in the top one hundred twenty-eight."
Elder Meng's voice was unhurried but carried an unquestionable majesty.
"Xuan-Grade and Huang-Grade contestants, prepare yourselves."
As soon as these words were spoken, the spectator stands immediately erupted in commotion.
Those Cultivators rated as Xuan-Grade or Huang-Grade began to stir—some rubbed their hands in anticipation, some looked nervous, and others closed their eyes to adjust their state of mind.
"I heard that the Ying-Tian Mirror's matchmaking is completely random, with no human interference whatsoever."
Someone whispered.
"Then it's all down to luck. Those with good luck will encounter weaklings all the way and cruise to advancement. Those with bad luck will be sent straight home."
"It's not entirely about luck; those on winning streaks will encounter stronger opponents."
"Regardless, those who can make it to the end must have real ability."
Amidst the discussions, figures stood up and walked toward the center of the training arena.
They walked beneath the Ying-Tian Mirror, touched the mirror's surface, and their figures vanished into the light.
On the light screens surrounding the training arena, the battles within the mirror world began to be displayed in real-time.
The numbers behind the winners' names increased, while the names of the losers dimmed.
Hun Jiuge and Li Tiantong stood up and left; they were also participants.
Wang Ping patted both of their shoulders: "Go on, don't embarrass the Hun Family."
The two walked to the Ying-Tian Mirror and touched its surface. With a flash of light, their figures disappeared inside.
Wang Ping watched as Hun Jiuge's name lit up on the light screen, muttering to himself: "His first opponent is… thank goodness, not anyone major. That kid Jiuge has pretty good luck."
In the center of the training arena, the light of the Ying-Tian Mirror flickered continuously as figures entered and beams of light lit up.
In the spectator stands, the discussions intertwined, pushing the atmosphere of the entire city to a climax. Yet, Han Xuanji still had not appeared.
…
On the other side.
On the Creation Platform, the sea of clouds surged, sometimes swallowing the mountain peaks, and sometimes suddenly dispersing.
For thirty years, Han Xuanji had not taken a single step away from the Creation Platform, pouring all his focus into Cultivate.
At this moment, he sat cross-legged in the center of the high platform. His green robes fluttered without wind, and his body was shrouded in a faint halo, as if he had merged with the entire Creation Platform.
He had already Cultivate the "Source Scripture of Destruction" to the Perfection level of the Eternal Dao Lord Realm.
This core Legacy from the Hall of Finality, along with the "Dao Derivation Scripture of Creation," represented destruction and life, serving as the exterior and interior of one another.
He would Cultivate both simultaneously, verifying them against each other, and the speed of his progress far exceeded his expectations.
The final barrier was finally broken a few days ago. The Law of Destruction was successfully condensed.
This was his tenth Law, and also his final Law.
The moment it was successfully condensed, the entire Creation Platform trembled.
Pale golden light of creation and grey-black light of destruction intertwined and coiled, swirling and dancing above the high platform, before finally transforming into a stream of light that entered the center of his brows.
That was a wisp of Divine Thought left behind by the Saint of Qiankun. Sensing that someone had Cultivate both creation and destruction to Major Achievement, it manifested automatically, serving as recognition and a gift to a junior.
Han Xuanji had no time to digest the content within that wisp of Dao thought, because immediately after, an even more violent change occurred.
With all ten Laws complete, the nine other Laws revolved around the newly born Law of Destruction, forming a perfect closed loop.
"It is time for a Breakthrough."
Han Xuanji felt the spiritual power within his body becoming extremely active, and the Bottleneck that had previously blocked him vanished into thin air.
With a wave of his hand, thousands of high-grade eternal crystals surged out from the system space, piling up into a small mountain around him.
The pure spiritual power within these crystals was frantically absorbed by him, turning into the source of power to impact the Bottleneck.
The crystals dimmed at a speed visible to the naked eye, turning into powder one by one.
If there were outsiders present, they would likely be dumbfounded to see this scene.
Normally, only a few hundred Intermediate eternal crystals would be enough for an Eternal Dao Lord to achieve a Breakthrough in a minor Realm.
Yet, the resources Han Xuanji consumed for this minor Realm Breakthrough were more than a thousand times that of an ordinary Cultivator.
This was all because his dao foundation was too massive; the ten Laws were like ten giant Dragons, requiring far more nutrients than an ordinary person.
However, Han Xuanji was not lacking in this regard now. With a net worth of nearly ten million, he didn't care about this bit of consumption at all.
Boom—a low rumble echoed from within Han Xuanji's body, and the Bottleneck finally shattered.
"Success!" Han Xuanji was in a great mood.
His cultivation base stepped from the ninth level of the Eternal Dao Lord Realm into the tenth level. His aura climbed like the tide, wave after wave, until it touched the chasm leading to the Eternal True Lord, only then slowly stopping. He did not attempt to cross that chasm. After all, having just condensed the tenth Law, even with his deep foundation and strong Comprehension Ability, there was only a fifty percent chance of success if he tried to break through directly.
If he were to break through, it would naturally have to be with a one hundred percent success rate.
Han Xuanji opened his eyes, countless lights flashing and fading in the depths of his pupils, as he felt the majestic power within his body. The quality of his eternal spiritual power had improved by another level. After the Breakthrough, the same Move performed with his current spiritual power was at least twice as powerful as before.
And this was not his strongest point. His strength now lay in the aspect of Laws.
Ordinary Cultivators of the Way of Laws generally chose to focus on cultivating one superior Law, while cultivating other branches as supplements. Those who could possess two superior Laws were already quite good.
A Genius of Centurion Zhou Lie's level, who grasped two top-tier superior Laws supplemented by several Intermediate Laws, possessed a dao foundation that could be said to look down upon the masses, incomparable to ordinary people.
Even in Jiuxuan City, he had simply encountered those stronger than him; it didn't mean he was truly unworthy of mention.
As for Han Xuanji's ten Laws, every single one was a superior Law, and all had been mastered to the Perfection level of the Eternal Dao Lord Realm.
More importantly, the ten Laws each had their own characteristics and focuses; the power of them superimposed together was not as simple as one plus one equals two.