The towering Martial Platform commanded the view, surrounded by countless figures roaring and cheering from all directions.

"Dong..." A deep, lingering bell tolled, signaling the imminent start of the battle.

"Cycle of Time and Space!"

Almost the instant the bell sounded, a fierce radiance erupted from Ye Chen's eyes, like twin beams of divine light, imprinting an invisible force upon the mind of the expert before him, who stood at the Seventh Heaven of the Demigod realm.

Ye Shi held his breath, feeling an unprecedented tension; if the method failed, they would be swept away by the tide...

Boom~~

The Seventh Heaven Demigod man's body shuddered slightly. Immediately, the consciousness in his eyes grew hazy, losing all focus. Simultaneously, Ye Chen felt his own consciousness transported into a vast, boundless ocean—this was the ocean of the Seventh Heaven Demigod's mind.

"Gate of Reincarnation!" Ye Chen stood above the mental ocean and tapped a finger. A massive, imposing stone gate slowly opened, emitting a powerful suction that enveloped the entire sea.

Upon this sea, waves churned violently, as if struggling madly. Layers of spray surged, and before long, a shadowy figure slowly rushed out from the depths of the ocean, resembling a lost youth, his eyes vacant, being involuntarily drawn toward the Gate of Reincarnation.

Rumble~~

Great waves rose and crashed down upon the figure, knocking it back. Yet, not long after, the figure burst out from the seawater again, hurtling toward the Gate of Reincarnation. After being knocked down more than a dozen times in succession, it was finally drawn into the Gate of Reincarnation.

"Reincarnation!" Ye Chen raised his palm, and the entire Gate of Reincarnation shrank, settling into his hand. Behind his head, a halo of wisdom, radiant with profound enlightenment, materialized, exuding a sacred and boundless aura.

Ye Chen was like a Holy Master commanding the cycle of reincarnation, his eyes blazing with sharp light, his consciousness penetrating the Gate of Reincarnation, directing everything within.

"Reincarnation!"

"Reincarnation!" Streams of Reincarnation Power were bestowed upon the figure trapped within the gate.

Soon, this figure began its first cycle. In the first life, he was born into a noble family as an invalid, suffering torment, scorn, and sidelong glances from childhood, facing exclusion even from his own clan. Eventually, even the woman he loved most left him, uttering the single word, "Wastrel."

Halfway through this tragic existence, at the age of sixteen, he finally could bear no more and hanged himself.

In the second life, he was reincarnated into a modern world, born into a humble family. His parents died when he was young, leaving him an orphan. He was adopted by a wealthy madam but was framed by others—provided by Da AiTingTing from the Baidu Dark Civilization Bar—falsely accused of theft, and consequently driven out. He wandered until he encountered a profoundly kind young woman who took him in.

However, this young woman was captured by villains, and in front of him, she was stripped bare...

The tragic second life concluded.

In the third cycle, he was reborn as a beast, whipped, scorned, and ultimately flayed and tortured to death by a few mischievous children...

Tragedies unfolded one after another, performed upon this man's soul-body. Every story was woven by Ye Chen; in this illusory world, he was the emperor!

Upon reaching the eighty-second cycle, the man's soul finally collapsed, utterly unable to endure the torment, and extinguished itself.

On the Martial Platform.

Thud~

The body of the Seventh Heaven Demigod man crashed to the ground. His eyes were dim, devoid of any conscious fluctuation; his soul had withered and ceased to exist.

"Success!" The system voice chimed. "Continue?"

"Continue!" Ye Chen agreed without hesitation. He stared at the figure gradually fading on the ground, his eyes shining with delighted realization. Indeed, just as he had surmised, the mental fortitude of the figures here was not strong.

This battle concluded in less than a single second from its start. Although the Seventh Heaven Demigod man endured eighty-two cycles, in the real world, it was merely the span of a thought.

With this experience, the subsequent battles became much simpler. The experts at the Eighth and Ninth Heavens of the Demigod realm, when confronted by Ye Chen, were tortured to death shortly after engaging him.

Experiencing the successive cycles in the reincarnation world, where various tragedies occurred, sorrow consumed the Soul Fire. When sorrow overwhelmed, the soul would dry up and perish. Thus, a good mood meant a stronger Soul Fire, leading to greater longevity.

"Final assessment, proceed?" The system prompt sounded.

Ye Chen nodded. "Yes." Swish!

A figure materialized out of thin air—broad-shouldered, with powerfully muscled arms, staring coldly at Ye Chen. Between his brows was a brown speck of light, unmistakably belonging to the Starry Sky Civilization.

"Lesser Pseudo-God!" Ye Chen’s gaze sharpened. He retracted his psychic influence; with his peak Sixth Stage Sage-level spiritual power, applying it against this Lesser Pseudo-God would have little effect. Dong~~

The battle commenced!

Whoosh!

The Lesser Pseudo-God’s figure moved like the wind, surging forward abruptly, its speed far surpassing Ye Chen’s, as its physique was at least Tier 1,000,000.

Seeing the Lesser Pseudo-God expert close the distance in an instant, although the opponent possessed only 10 to 100 points of Pseudo-God Power, defending against it using Demigod Power would require over ten million units.

Ye Chen narrowed his eyes, abruptly raising a hand and tapping out. Dense golden light shot forth along his finger.

Boom!

The golden light pierced everything, instantly boring through the man’s brow. His entire charging body froze rigidly, then he slid to the ground.

"Success!"

Swish!

Ye Chen felt the world around him warp. The virtual connector linked to his brain automatically shut down, and his vision returned to the pure white space.

"Assessment complete..." a mechanical electronic voice announced.

Ye Chen’s lips curved into a slight arc. Without a backward glance, he turned and walked away. Not far behind him, the great door had opened for him at some unknown moment.

Leaving that space, Ye Chen reappeared in the square, facing a thick stone door. The low voice was as consistent as ever: "Congratulations, you have passed the second assessment. Next is the final assessment!"

"The final one?" Ye Chen’s eyes brightened.

The profound markings on the massive stone door slowly contracted and merged back into the stone. Then, the majestic door slowly swung open, revealing a passage blazing with light before Ye Chen. Inside, it was paved with white metal, vast and boundless, culminating in a towering, nine-tiered pyramidal stone platform.

"Enter. Your assessment lies upon that Inheritance Platform," the deep voice from the stone door stated slowly. Ye Chen slightly cupped his hands, then stepped forward, entering the stone door. Before long, he stood before the nine-tiered, pyramid-like stone platform.

He looked up.

The platform was limitless in scope, towering like a mountain. At the base of the first level's steps stood a metallic man resembling a stone sculpture. As Ye Chen approached, the eyes of this two-zhang tall metal man slowly rotated, shooting twin beams of light from its crystal-like pupils, fixing upon Ye Chen.

"Target locked!"

"Scanning! Strength: Peak Demigod. Armor: Void God Grade (between Peak Demigod and Pseudo-God). Total combat power: One Star!" Data about Ye Chen, including his skeleton, genes, and blood type, was scanned into the chip inside the head of this statue-like metal man.

Ye Chen noticed the metal man’s activity and paused, adopting a wary posture.

"Greetings," the metal man spoke.

Ye Chen frowned slightly. "Are you the assessor?"

The metal man's voice was hoarse. "No. I am a guard under the Master. The other guards all exploded during the great war; only I survived."

Ye Chen’s gaze sharpened. "Where is the final assessment?"

The metal man pointed toward the nine-tiered stone mountain. "It is this Heavenly Dao Mountain!"

"Heavenly Dao Mountain?" Ye Chen turned to look at the imposing stone mountain. He felt that with his naked eye, he could not even see the peak, illustrating its sheer height and grandeur.

"The preceding assessments honed your temperament. This final one is the same. To obtain the Master's inheritance, one must possess an unyielding will, unafraid of being scorned by thousands or cursed by millions."

"Therefore, this final assessment is effectively conquering this Heavenly Dao Mountain! This mountain was the Master's former palace—majestic and unyielding, its pressure making it difficult for the living to approach. On each level, there is one inheritance, totaling nine levels of inheritance. Only obtaining the ninth level is true completeness."

"With your current strength, how many levels you can reach depends on your affinity," the metal man said gruffly.

Ye Chen paused for a moment, then turned back to gaze at the towering Heavenly Dao Mountain. After a moment of silence, he strode forward with a sense of grim resolve, ascending the seemingly endless stone steps.

Stepping onto the first level of stairs.

Bang!

Ye Chen's body trembled slightly. He felt an immensely powerful, terrifying pressure enveloping his entire being, stifling even his thoughts, as if a massive mountain rested on his shoulders, shaking his spirit. His skin contracted, and beads of sweat were squeezed out from within.

Ye Chen was greatly alarmed. He hadn't expected the very first step to be this formidable; he suspected that anyone whose spiritual power had not reached the Sage Realm would instantly collapse and die the moment they stepped on it.

He gritted his teeth, enduring the immense pressure, and strode forward across the steps.

Level by level.

Step by step.

Ye Chen’s entire body trembled violently, his skin constricting. After reaching the hundredth step continuously, he felt as if the bones within his body were being crushed.

The pressure on the Heavenly Dao Mountain seemed tangible; it not only tempered the will but also the physical body. Ye Chen felt successive impacts like tidal waves washing over his mind, as if countless savage beasts were roaring directly before him, their hot breaths seeming to brush his face.

He gritted his teeth, facing these ferocious beasts and the profound mental pressure, and took another step!

The pressure intensified suddenly!

Ye Chen's bones let out a faint creaking sound. Blobs of blood the size of beans seeped out from his pores, staining his armor crimson. He looked like a man of blood; his only thought was: Forward, forward, forward!

Just a little further...

And he could touch...

Bang!

At the 165th step, his entire body was crushed and blasted backward by the pressure, falling heavily onto the hard ground, his body seemingly falling apart. Yet, the pain in his heart was even harder to bear.