A little over ten minutes was, in reality, a very short time, but for Li Yang, it felt incredibly long.
"Li Yang, the Eternal Ancestor's disciple is about to arrive."
At that moment, the Blade Slaughter Sect Master said, "Actually, I'm sure you know him."
"I know him?"
Hearing the Blade Slaughter Sect Master's words, Li Yang was stunned for a moment. He couldn't help but ask, "Teacher, which expert is it?"
'The expert coming to take me to see the Eternal Ancestor is one of the Ancestor's own disciples. When did I ever meet someone like that?'
"You'll find out in a moment," the Blade Slaughter Sect Master said with a smile.
WHOOSH!
Just as he spoke, the void around them rippled, and a figure appeared out of thin air.
It was a middle-aged man who looked somewhat similar to an Earthling, except for the purple scales on his face...
His face was incredibly familiar to Li Yang.
'The figure from the Staircase Space?' Li Yang was dumbfounded as he stared at the middle-aged man.
Previously, when he had passed the fortieth step of the staircase, the challenge hadn't been a beast but a conscious human being.
And this human was actually a disciple of the Eternal Ancestor.
However, inside the Staircase Space, the middle-aged man had only possessed the strength of an ordinary Deity.
But now, while the middle-aged man wasn't emitting much of an aura, the subtle pressure he exuded far surpassed that of a Deity, seeming to have reached an unbelievable level!
"Greetings, Emperor Zilin," the Blade Slaughter Sect Master said respectfully as he looked at the man.
"Li Yang, this is one of our Human Race's top-tier Emperors, Emperor Zilin," the Blade Slaughter Sect Master added, introducing him to Li Yang.
'A top-tier Emperor?'
Li Yang thought to himself. 'To be called that, he must be only a single step away from the Dominator realm. The true strength of Emperor Zilin before me is probably no less than that of Zun Lie Venerable.'
With this in mind, Li Yang also hurriedly said with respect, "Greetings, Emperor Zilin."
"There's no need for such formality."
Emperor Zilin looked at Li Yang and said with a smile, "Li Yang, the Master wishes to take you as his disciple. Are you willing?"
"I am!" Li Yang said immediately.
"Mm." Emperor Zilin nodded and said, "Blade Slaughter, I'll take Li Yang to see the Master now."
"Yes." The Blade Slaughter Sect Master nodded quickly.
He looked at Li Yang and added a word of caution, "Li Yang, you should go. When you face the Eternal Ancestor, you must be sure to remain respectful."
Li Yang nodded.
Beside them, Emperor Zilin waved his right hand, and both he and Li Yang vanished without a trace.
...
Li Yang felt himself shuttling rapidly through a Space Teleportation Array. Streams of chaotic energy flowed before his eyes, close enough to touch, yet completely blocked by a thin membrane.
This time, they weren't in a flying vessel.
"Li Yang, this is a specially created Chaos Space. It can drastically shorten the distance between two points. We should reach the Master's location in a little over ten minutes," Emperor Zilin explained with a smile.
The Human Race's Eternal Saint Hall was incomparably vast, even comparable in size to an entire Star Continent.
No matter how powerful one was, traveling from one part of it to another still required a considerable amount of time.
Previously, it had taken the Black Inference Dominator and his group over twenty days to travel to the Solar System.
Therefore, creating dedicated Chaos Space channels was essential.
"I see," Li Yang nodded.
Seemingly sensing Li Yang's tension, Emperor Zilin smiled. "Li Yang, there's no need to be so stiff. After all, you could say we're already acquainted."
With a smile, Emperor Zilin said, "I am the sixth disciple my Master accepted. You can call me Sixth Senior Brother."
"Sixth Senior Brother," Li Yang called out respectfully.
Although Emperor Zilin told him not to stand on ceremony, this was a top-tier Emperor, a man who could rival Zun Lie Venerable and was only one step away from the Dominator realm. There was no way Li Yang could not feel a sense of awe toward such an expert.
"Speaking of which, even I was amazed by your progress this time, Junior Brother Li Yang."
Emperor Zilin sighed with emotion. "At your age, Junior Brother, I certainly didn't possess such strength."
A large part of the reason he was being so polite to Li Yang was the boy's potential!
Back then, even he could not compare to the Li Yang of today.
Li Yang's strength was still low, but every expert had walked the path from weakness to power. Therefore, he never looked down on anyone with potential, no matter how weak they currently were.
Li Yang said respectfully, "I've just been lucky, Senior Brother, and have encountered many fortunate opportunities."
"Haha, luck is a form of strength in itself."
Emperor Zilin chuckled. "When you tested your Talent at the Star Moon Race's Star Moon Stele, you lit up the purple light and ultimately received their three-year inheritance. That wasn't just luck, Junior Brother."
Clearly, Emperor Zilin was very well-informed about some of the things that had happened to Li Yang.
As the two spoke, a bright light appeared ahead in the Chaos Space, and a gateway faintly materialized within it.
WHOOSH!
The moment he saw the gateway, Li Yang's figure vanished and reappeared in a new location.
'What is this?'
Li Yang stared. A massive river had appeared before him, flowing slowly onward.
Within the river, countless points of starlight twinkled densely, and every so often, a meteor would streak past.
'The Majestic Star River!'
Li Yang stared. This was the Human Race's Supreme Saint Artifact!
And within the flow of the Majestic Star River, a series of palaces stood tall!
One of the palaces stood in the very center. The seemingly endless Majestic Star River vanished within this palace, as if it had reached its final destination.
'Does the Majestic Star River originate from here?' Li Yang wondered.
Every treasure, no matter how large, has two ends. Back in the Lianyun Mountain Range, what Li Yang had seen was clearly the middle section of the Majestic Star River. This place, then, had to be one of its ends.
"Junior Brother Li Yang, these palaces are where the Dominator-level experts of our Human Race reside. As for the one in the very center, that is the Master's residence."
Emperor Zilin smiled, leading Li Yang to the front of that very palace.
'The place where Dominators reside?' Li Yang was slightly shocked.
At a glance, he could see over a dozen palaces. 'Does the Human Race's Eternal Saint Hall have more than ten Dominators?'
However, Li Yang didn't dare to stare. After a single glance, he immediately averted his gaze and obediently followed behind Emperor Zilin.
Before him was an incomparably ancient palace, its surface etched with countless complex, mystical patterns. With a single glance, Li Yang felt as if he could sense a faint stirring from them.
In front of the palace, two people were standing guard.
Li Yang could now defeat an ordinary Deity, so he could make a rough judgment of the two guards' strength.
'These two guards are at least at the level of Four-Element Deities,' Li Yang thought to himself.
'Experts at the level of Four-Element Deities are guarding the gate?'
"Shi Mo, Kan Le, I have brought Li Yang. I am taking him inside to see the Master," said Emperor Zilin.
"Mm. The Eternal Ancestor has given the order. Emperor Zilin, you and Li Yang may enter." The Deity, Shi Mo, glanced at Li Yang and nodded.
He was clearly also aware of Li Yang's situation.
Following behind Emperor Zilin, Li Yang walked into the palace. He grew increasingly nervous, the feeling similar to being called on in class by a teacher to recite a text from memory.
"Hm?"
Before he knew it, Li Yang had arrived at a new area, and his gaze suddenly shot forward.