Chapter 788

“Sage, what did you just see?”

Fantian Lord immediately noticed the shift in the Sage’s demeanor and questioned him.

From his own vantage, even looking to the end of his vision, he couldn’t see Lin Yuan’s silhouette.

The other legendary lords who had endured three hundred million tribulations also turned to the Sage.

As the first to step onto the unified white jade staircase, he must have sensed something unusual.

“So... what we fought so hard for—the honor of being the first to step onto the unified staircase... was long gone.”

The Sage gave a self-deprecating chuckle.

Given his temperament, a slight gap wouldn’t shake him. If another legendary lord had slightly pulled ahead, or if he’d failed in his duel against Haotian or Fantian Lord, it would’ve only fueled his fighting spirit.

But Lin Yuan?

Even though the Sage stood on the unified white jade staircase now, Lin Yuan was already hundreds, maybe thousands of steps ahead—an unbridgeable chasm.

No matter how strong one’s will or competitiveness, such a gap could grind it to dust.

“Long gone?”

“Sage, what do you mean?”

“Wait—are you saying someone else already stepped onto the unified white jade staircase before you?”

Wanxiang Lord, Haotian Lord, and the others instantly grasped the implications of his words.

But the reality was hard to accept.

The Sage wasn’t the first to step onto the unified staircase?

Then who was?

From their current position, they could see a good stretch of the staircase. There was no sign of any other climber.

“Have you all not noticed? There’s one person who still hasn’t shown up.”

The Sage sighed inwardly and spoke.

“You mean… Milky Way?”

Wanxiang Lord’s eyes flickered.

Not just the Sage, but all of them had kept an eye out for Lin Yuan.

After all, among Wanxiang, Haotian, Fantian, and the others, there had been a plan to team up against the Milky Way Lord.

Yet even after the Sage had stepped onto the unified staircase, Lin Yuan had never appeared.

“Yes.”

“Milky Way Lord… he climbed up a long time ago.”

The Sage admitted.

There was no need to keep it secret.

“He already climbed it?”

“What kind of power does he possess...?”

Haotian, Fantian, and the others fell silent, astonishment flickering in their eyes.

They didn’t doubt the Sage.

Because this was the only explanation that made sense.

Otherwise, given the Milky Way Lord’s power—far beyond theirs—why hadn’t he appeared here?

The only answer: he’d already gone ahead.

“So when he destroyed Zhuohe Lord, he was still holding back?”

“No doubt about it.”

“Sage, why can’t we see where the Milky Way Lord is on the staircase?”

“Yes, I can’t see him either. Do you have to be on the unified staircase to see him?”

The seven legendary lords speculated. Perhaps it was a rule of the staircase: only those who stepped on it could perceive what lay above.

“That’s normal.”

The Sage glanced at the legendary lords around him, his tone strangely emotional. “The Milky Way Lord is far, far above—so high that I can barely see him.”

As Lin Yuan continued his ascent, he casually glanced downward.

Haotian, Fantian, and the other eight legendary lords vying to be first on the unified staircase—all of it entered his gaze.

“Only just getting there?” Lin Yuan shook his head slightly. It had been over ten thousand years since he first stepped onto the unified staircase.

He only gave them a glance before shifting his focus again.

After all, they were far too behind to be worth much attention now.

“The difficulty of this unified staircase…”

Lin Yuan’s thoughts churned, and a smile appeared on his face.

Although the difficulty had increased dramatically, the gains were immense.

In just over ten thousand years of climbing, Lin Yuan had successively comprehended the Chaotic Origin Tai Yi Dao, Tai Chu Dao, and Tai Shi Dao from the Innate Five Tai.

Together with the Tai Chi Dao he already had—

He was now only missing the Chaotic Origin Tai Su Dao.

“Once I master all five Chaotic Origin Daos, that will be a complete qualitative transformation—no less than the leap from non-time lifeform to time lifeform.”

Lin Yuan felt a shift in his heart.

“But… even if I comprehend the Chaotic Origin Tai Su Dao, and complete the ‘Innate Five Tai,’ why do I still feel like the level of a Supreme Rule Dao is so far out of reach?”

He was slightly puzzled.

The higher he climbed, the more he realized how distant true transcendence still was.

“One step at a time. Let’s finish comprehending the Tai Su Dao first.”

Lin Yuan calmed his thoughts. The road to transcendence was now laid out clearly before him—all he had to do was keep walking.

On the unified white jade staircase—

Following the Sage, Haotian, Fantian, and the others also entered the second phase of the staircase, one after another.

Although the Milky Way Lord was far ahead, the legendary lords still had hope.

So what if Lin Yuan was ahead?

At most, he’d claim one transcendence slot.

Who knew how many the white jade staircase could offer in the end?

What if there were two or three?

Even if there was only one—

Climbing it still helped them perfect their Chaotic Origin Daos, which was immensely valuable.

Look at the Sage—his surge in strength was entirely thanks to the staircase.

Haotian, Fantian, and the others had also grown stronger before reaching the unified section, even if not as drastically. Still, their gains were comparable to enduring one or two hundred tribulations.

At their level, each tribulation was a matter of life and death. One or two hundred was no small leap.

The stronger one became, the greater the chance of surviving future tribulations.

Out of the billions of tribulations in Endless Tribulation, most relied on raw strength.

“So much pressure…”

“And the illusions—I have to devote at least sixty percent of my focus to resisting them.”

Haotian and Fantian stood on the unified staircase, their expressions shifting.

Compared to the previous phase, the pressure now was overwhelming.

“I feel like it’ll take me at least ten thousand years to adapt to this one step—maybe even a hundred thousand.”

Wanxiang Lord quietly thought.

Just the first step of the unified staircase was this intense—how much worse would the next ones be?

“Sage, didn’t you say you could see the Milky Way Lord? Where is he now?”

Haotian couldn’t help but ask.

They now stood on the same level as the Sage, but looking up, all they saw was mist—no sign of Lin Yuan.

“He stepped onto the next stair before you got here—at this level, you won’t be able to see him anymore,” the Sage said truthfully.

In fact, they all realized now that being first didn’t mean much.

Everyone would be stuck on this first step for a long time anyway.

“How powerful is the Milky Way Lord really?”

Fantian pondered aloud, awe in his tone.

Standing here, feeling the crushing pressure of the first step—

They began to grasp just how terrifying the Milky Way Lord must be to have surpassed even their distant vision.

The end of the unified staircase was on a completely different scale than the prior phase.

“Whatever he is, we’re clearly no match.”

Wanxiang Lord said, “Maybe only those who reach the very end of a transcendence path can be on the same level as the Milky Way Lord.”

The end of a transcendence path?

On the Endless Tribulation path, that would be a lord who had endured the final thirty-two thousand tribulations of the third phase.

Haotian, Fantian, and the others—lords who had endured 300 million tribulations—were only beginning to glimpse the end of such a path.

“To think our era actually birthed such a being…”

Jiulong Lord couldn’t help but say.

Since the beginning of the endless dimensions, many terrifying legendary lords had risen.

When the Sage became a lord, the mighty Wuyou Lord still loomed over the dimensions.

But these lords had all perished along the way—

Whether failing to become perfect time lifeforms, dying during a tribulation, or vanishing into ancient forbidden timelines.

Lin Yuan stood alone on a step, deep in thought. “So that’s how it is.”

The next moment—

He took a step and reached the next stair.

Suddenly—

Buzz—an eerie, mysterious ripple spread out.

“Hmm?”

Lin Yuan opened his eyes and looked down.

Behind him, a section of the white jade staircase was silently dissolving.

From that midpoint, the staircase began to melt both upward and downward. From afar, it looked as though the endless staircase had broken in the middle, and the gap was widening in both directions.

“This…”

Lin Yuan’s expression grew serious.

Though the dissolving speed was far slower than his climbing pace and posed no threat to him—

The Time Lords below the break were in trouble. Their path was severed. Not only could they no longer climb—they might even be forced to retreat as the dissolution spread.

“Is the staircase dissolving because of timing… or because I stepped on this point?”

Lin Yuan steadied himself and chose not to dwell on it—he pressed onward.

Even if it posed no threat now, he had to prepare for the worst.

What if the dissolution sped up? Or started above him?

So—

Climbing as fast as possible was the only way to guarantee he’d gain the most from the staircase.

Lin Yuan wasn’t the only one who noticed the change—the other legendary lords did too.

“It’s dissolving… A section of the staircase above is vanishing!”

“What’s going on? Is the transcendence path collapsing?”

The legendary lords were shaken.

They had barely grasped this rare opportunity. Even if they couldn’t transcend, they had hoped to perfect their Daos.

But now, the path itself was falling apart.

“The section dissolving is below the Milky Way Lord.”

The Sage confirmed from afar—it was easy to tell, as Lin Yuan wasn’t anywhere near that dissolving section.

“So only the Milky Way Lord still has a chance at transcendence?”

Fantian Lord sighed. Even though he had mentally prepared for this, facing it still left a bitter taste.

Rumble—

The change in the staircase was like a stone cast into water, sending ripples everywhere.

A wave of Supreme Rule Dao aura descended—but was blocked by the endless white jade staircase.

In an instant, the Supreme Rule Dao pierced through every part of the endless dimensional layers—

Not just the present time, but past and future alike.

At the same moment—

As Fantian, Haotian, and the other lords were still reeling—

A mysterious and ancient message suddenly emerged in their minds:

“Stop ‘Milky Way’ from continuing to climb the white jade staircase. Success counts as surviving a thousand tribulations. Failure has no penalty.”

Fantian, Haotian, and the others felt their pupils contract violently.

Disbelief flashed across their faces.

Just by stopping Lin Yuan from climbing, they could gain credit for a thousand tribulations?

And even if they failed—there was no punishment?

This… Was this a tribulation personally issued by the Supreme Rule Dao?

In the chaos of the void—

Lin Yuan climbed in silence, his mind focused entirely on the staircase.

Suddenly—

A message came from the Purple Light Legendary Lord: “Milky Way, something’s wrong!”

“What happened?” Lin Yuan opened his eyes.

“Just now, the Supreme Rule Dao issued the same tribulation to all legendary lords who’ve endured a hundred million tribulations: stop you from climbing the white jade staircase.”

“If they succeed, they get credit for a thousand tribulations. If they fail, there’s no punishment—no erasure from the Dao.”

Purple Light’s voice was tinged with urgency.

“The Supreme Rule Dao… has made me the tribulation target of the legendary lords?”

Lin Yuan’s expression subtly changed.

...

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