Chapter 272

Chapter 272: Victory and Defeat

You Lan focused with all her might, her face unusually serious.

In this stage, the Blackiron Warhammer kept speeding up as time passed.

It was already near the end of the second day.

Feeling she was at her limit in every way, You Lan could not help the faint bitter smile that crossed her face.

Last time, she had only held on until noon of the second day before falling from the golden altar.

This time, she had lasted to the very end.

But the feeling of powerlessness grew heavier, and a cold clarity rose in her heart: [This time… I still might not clear it.]

Then… what about Li?

[Does she have a chance?] Ever since the Thousand Mechanisms Hammer Array opened, You Lan had given all her focus to the Formation, without even a breath to look at Li Shuang.

Only now, as her confidence crumbled, did You Lan finally glance at Li Shuang.

It felt as if, so long as Li Shuang also lost, she would not be so embarrassed.

Moonlight still poured down.

But the light of the Sun Star was already brewing below the horizon.

Around Li Shuang, the radiance of the Lunar Deity flickered, making her seem not of this world.

You Lan could not help thinking: [Under the Lunar Star, Li gets a boost. But the Lunar Star is about to fade. Is she… also about to fail?]

Gathering her last bit of strength, You Lan waited for the Lunar Star to retreat and the Sun Star to rise.

She looked at Li Shuang with hope: [And now? Can Li still handle it?]

Li Shuang did not know You Lan was watching her. Around her soul, a layer of hard ice suddenly formed.

It was shaped by the ice element, yet it held more than just the ice element’s traits.

The mid grade Five Elements Crystal had been fully absorbed.

All of this round’s insights condensed into that frosty shield.

The force of the heavy hammers was cut by more than half as it struck the shield.

Li Shuang’s soul still shook, but this much force she could bear.

A dazed look flashed over You Lan’s face. [Li… held on?]

In that brief distraction, the next hammer fell.

You Lan could no longer dodge.

As the third day arrived, the top ranked fighter on the Genius Ranking, You Lan, fell from the golden altar.

In the vast space, only one golden altar remained, hanging there all alone.

Li was still enduring.

After a great wave of weightlessness, You Lan dropped into an empty, sealed chamber.

The geniuses who had fallen earlier were all waiting there.

On the Water Screen in the chamber, Li’s attempt to pass the trial played out.

Everyone looked at You Lan, but no one spoke.

Even Cang Yin, who never got along with You Lan, did not rush to mock her.

You Lan had lost.

And the rest of them? Had they not lost too?

When this golden altar ended, the Ranking Champion on the Genius Ranking would likely change.

You Lan’s lips trembled as she stared at the Water Screen.

She wanted to know how far Li could go.

Since Li had already surpassed her, then let her go even farther.

The sixth layer, the seventh layer! If Li cleared it, then You Lan’s defeat would not be shameful.

Someone could not hold back and said: “She was taught by the City Lord herself.”

Another agreed, saying: “Right. You know what kind of person the City Lord is. With her personal guidance for so long, it is normal for Li to be this strong.”

A third said: “If we had her chance and the City Lord guiding us since childhood, we could reach this step too.”

Another voice added: “Yes. She is just lucky. Nothing we can do about that.”

Over the rising noise, You Lan’s cold voice cut through: “Is losing really so hard to accept?”

The room fell quiet.

Heads lowered. No one dared to speak.

Calmly, You Lan said: “No matter how unwilling you feel, a loss is a loss. At worst, think of a way and win it back next time.”

She kept her eyes on the Water Screen.

Now she wanted only one thing: to see how far Li could go.

Would she become the second person in history to clear all seven layers?

She looked forward to it.

Cang Yin smiled and said: “True. The path of cultivation has only just begun. The wins and losses of the future are still unknown.”

In the Immortal Realm, late bloomers were not rare.

Even the City Lord was said to have average talent early on, only soaring in strength around four or five hundred years of age.

The cultivation world had too many chances and too many adventures.

Losing once did not mean losing forever.

Yan Lie asked: “Do you think she can clear the seventh?”

Everyone’s eyes shifted.

They all admitted Li Shuang’s genius.

But clearing the seventh layer? That still sounded too wild.

They wanted to say no.

Yet none of them dared to speak.

After all, Li had slapped their faces too many times already.

What if she really did clear all seven?

Feng Yu murmured: “Let’s watch. The result is coming soon.”

Cang Yin glanced at Mo Li and said: “Mo Li, you are best at prophecy. Tell us, does Li have a chance to clear the seventh?”

Mo Li did not refuse. He took out a compass, and in the air, countless thin threads appeared.

Closing his eyes, he seemed to search along them.

A long time passed.

He opened his eyes.

Everyone watched him with expectation.

With a calm face, Mo Li said: “My Heavenly Derivation Art is not fully mastered yet, so its accuracy is limited. But based on the current state, the compass gives the chance of clearing as… one percent.”

One percent.

Pupils tightened.

That chance was not small.

Given the difficulty, it was shockingly high.

Li… truly had a chance?

They fell silent and turned to the Water Screen, waiting.

They watched the lone golden altar hang in the air, the girl standing still upon it.

She looked thin, but standing there, she was like an ancient, unmoving ice mountain.

She alone felt like an entire world.

When the dawn light of the fourth day appeared, all the heavy hammers vanished at once.

Everyone seemed dazed.

Then, in the next moment, the golden altar under Li Shuang slowly rose.

A voice rang out: “Congratulations, Trialist Li, for clearing the fifth layer of the Thousand Mechanisms Hammer Array.”

The voice followed with: “Congratulations, Trialist Li, for stepping onto the sixth layer!”

The crowd finally snapped back to their senses.

Li had truly cleared the fifth layer.

She had officially surpassed You Lan’s record and became the person with the most layers cleared on the Genius Ranking.

The voice added: “Before the next trial, there will be three days for meditation.”

Then it fell silent again.

Without hesitation, Li Shuang sat cross legged.

Three days was not long.

But she might still climb higher.

After absorbing the low grade and mid grade crystals, her Five Elements understanding had pushed forward a lot.

The hard ice shield just now was the simplest application.

The sword move See All Beings was another.

Perhaps she could still think of more ways to apply her insights.

Li Shuang sat and adjusted her breath, caring for nothing else.

It should have been a boring scene.

Yet in front of the Water Screen in Myriad Arts City, more and more people gathered.

The Golden Soul Altar came once every seven years, and many people had long stopped paying attention.

Everyone was busy with their own cultivation.

But this time, when word spread that someone had stepped onto the sixth layer, no matter where they were, people grew curious and came to Myriad Arts City.

It would be a pity to miss this spectacle.