Wang Mo stretched his body a little, a relaxed expression on his face as he stepped onto the elevated platform.
Above him, a beam of golden light fell from the sky, solidifying into a staircase that led toward the towering Heavenly Gate.
Three layers guarded the gate, each representing a trial he had to conquer to ascend.
Taking a deep breath, Wang Mo moved like a phantom, reaching the first golden gate in the blink of an eye.
He pulled back his fist and struck out powerfully.
Boom!
Above him, the illusion of his God Domain materialized—countless beings from the Jade Green Divine Land raised their voices together, roaring in unison.
The pressure was immense.
Yet the Heavenly Gate didn't budge.
Barely a hairline crack appeared. If you weren't looking closely, you wouldn't even notice it.
Wang Mo's face flushed red, the recoil of the strike almost knocking him off the stairs.
This gate... it was much sturdier than he anticipated!
Steadying his breath, he shifted tactics, hammering it with calm, measured punches instead of wild bursts of strength.
Time dragged on.
In the end, it took Wang Mo a grueling three and a half hours to punch through all three layers of the Heavenly Gate and ascend to the next realm.
At least it wasn't a formal competition—otherwise Lucian Carter would have fallen asleep from boredom waiting.
When it was finally time for the next challenger, the gatekeeper called his number.
Lucian Carter tucked his number into his hand and moved forward, only to be blocked by a man who rushed from the crowd.
"What do you think you're doing?" Lucian asked coldly.
"Show me your number," the man sneered, reaching out. "You look like a greenhorn—must've just graduated. Instead of wasting everyone's time, let me go first."
Before his fingers could even graze Lucian's number, the world shifted.
Lucian's fist blurred forward, powered by thousands of fragments of divine law.
A deafening crack echoed out.
The arrogant man shot backward like a meteor, blood scattering through the air.
He slammed against the divine light barrier at the arena's edge with a dull thud before crumpling lifelessly to the ground.
Silence fell over the crowd.
Hundreds of eyes widened in disbelief.
Someone had just sent a Lower God flying with one punch. Effortlessly.
"...Am I dreaming?" someone muttered. "That kid—he just graduated, didn't he? How can he have that kind of strength?"
"No way, right?" another whispered. "Maybe he's from a super family? Used some secret method to expand his God's Domain?"
"Wait—I know that guy!" someone cried. "My brother said he was in the same graduating class... His name's Lucian Carter!"
Shock rippled through the gathering.
He hadn't even been out of school for half a month—and he was already this strong?!
The golden-armored gatekeeper shook off his surprise and barked out, "Finish your business and step forward. Don't waste time. Others are waiting behind you."
"Understood, sir," Lucian replied calmly.
Without so much as a change in his expression, he inserted his data card into the Heavenly Platform's slot.
The platform scanned him—and then, all at once, the gatekeeper's face changed dramatically.
His voice trembled as he announced,
"[Challenger: Lucian Carter. Current strength: First God Level. God Domain Size: 10 million kilometers!]"
The audience gasped.
A normal newly-graduated god had around 500,000 kilometers of domain.
Lower Gods capped around five million.
But Lucian Carter—
Ten million kilometers.
He wasn't just strong. He was a monster.
"You..." the gatekeeper stammered, lowering his voice, "How did you even stay hidden in the nursery world this long? If something happens, neither you nor I will survive it!"
The protection barrier of this heavenly platform was only meant to handle mid-tier gods at best.
Lucian offered a polite smile. "Apologies, sir. I was busy handling a few matters and lost track of time."
The gatekeeper studied him a moment longer, then sighed.
"You're a monster, kid. If you don't have a divine system yet, consider joining ours." He tossed over a jade token, engraved with a sacred insignia. "That'll give you some protection."
"Thank you, sir," Lucian said, pocketing the token.
With a calm pace, he walked up the steps toward the Heavenly Gate.
At that moment, countless eyes followed him—from the gods in line, to the powerful divine officials watching from above.
Among them, the golden-armored gatekeeper secretly activated his communicator.
"Chihuang Liuyan's division, listen up," he said urgently. "We have a monstrous prodigy about to ascend. Don't let other divine clans steal him!"
"Old Zhang, you serious?" a lazy voice replied.
"Serious as life," the gatekeeper growled. "This kind of talent—hasn't been seen in ten thousand years!"
On the other end, hurried shouts could already be heard—mobilizing their forces.
Meanwhile, Lucian had already reached the first Heavenly Gate.
Above him, his God's Domain manifested—
an endless expanse covering the sky itself, shrunk down countless times just to fit.
Golden dao patterns shimmered across the heavens.
"Open."
Lucian clenched his fist, divine law surging into his hand.
One punch.
BOOM.
The entire first Heavenly Gate shattered into powder.
The crowd roared in disbelief.
Before the dust even settled, Lucian was already standing before the second gate.
He didn't even hesitate.
Another punch.
BOOM!
The second Heavenly Gate disintegrated under the force.
Shockwaves rippled outward.
The upper divine observers leaned forward, frowning, muttering among themselves.
"Too fast..."
"Who is he?"
They had never seen anyone move so effortlessly through the trials.
Lucian Carter moved on to the final gate—the strongest and most difficult one.
His eyes gleamed with fierce determination.
"From this moment forward..." he whispered, voice low but full of thunder,
"I walk the path of invincibility.
My name, Lucian Carter—
will echo through eternity!!"
With that, he unleashed one final punch.
The last Heavenly Gate, strongest of all, exploded into a dazzling spray of divine fragments.