"Alright then."
The massive shadow of the Beast God rumbled as it struck the ground.
In an instant, both it and Malrick vanished from the fortress's top floor.
The world around them twisted.
They reappeared at the base of a colossal staircase suspended in the void.
The staircase stood solitary in space, rising from all four sides toward a central platform at its peak—shaped like a giant, inverted pyramid. Each step shimmered with a sheen of flawless white jade.
Malrick frowned, instinctively estimating that even at full strength, he couldn't put a scratch on it.
"The Beast God Inheritance Staircase," the shadow rumbled. "Ten thousand steps. Climb eight hundred, and you qualify to inherit the legacy."
"This place was once built for the inheritance of a God General," it continued. "But before his death, 'Zhou' altered it to house his own inheritance."
"After the first hundred steps, the staircase helps temper your Divine Body and Soul Amplitudes."
"And for every thousand steps climbed, you'll earn a treasure left by Zhou himself."
"Other screenings have already tested your race, talent, and mental state."
"These steps will challenge only your willpower."
"When you're ready, begin. I'll wait here."
The giant shadow sprawled on the ground, limbs outstretched, watching Malrick as if settling in for a good movie.
"A thousand steps? Doesn't sound too bad," Malrick muttered, stepping forward.
The first step held no resistance.
But just as he reached for the second, a brilliant white beam shot down from the platform above, piercing into his forehead.
He flinched—but the pain never came. Instead, a rush of knowledge flooded his mind.
It was identical to the force control manual the Beast God had previously granted.
"These first hundred steps are to support your force control technique training," the shadow called out. "Originally, I was going to wait until you hit a bottleneck… but I guess you don't need that anymore."
Malrick smirked. "You said if I couldn't master it within a month, I'd be disqualified. You really would've helped?"
The shadow grunted, "Did I say that? I don't recall..." Then it began to snore—loudly—pretending to be asleep.
Malrick sighed and climbed to the second step.
Still no pressure.
He picked up the pace, striding forward. Nothing changed—until the 101st step.
A heavy force slammed into him—not physically, but directly into his soul.
Two more white beams erupted from above. One shot into his mind, the other formed into a floating jade box.
Inside his mind appeared knowledge of "Zhou's Divine Body," a cultivation method split into ten layers—one per thousand steps.
With each successful layer, his force amplification would increase, ultimately reaching ten thousand times.
He shook off the info and opened the jade box.
Inside was a suit of jet-black armor. Sleek. Seamless. Alive.
Even at rest, it radiated a mountain-like pressure.
Malrick winced. His eyes stung just looking at it. That alone spoke volumes about its power.
"That," the Beast God Shadow spoke again, looming beside him, "is a supreme treasure. Even Law Masters covet them."
"This armor will completely block anything below a Venerable-level attack. Against Overlord-levels, it reduces damage to one ten-thousandth."
"But it has one flaw," the shadow added, scratching its head.
Malrick raised a brow. "And what's that?"
"To bind it, you need the willpower of a peak King. To activate it, you need energy equivalent to ten thousand times the output of a peak World Master."
Malrick closed the box slowly. "So, it's useless to me... for now."
The Beast God nodded sheepishly. "This place was never meant for someone at your level. Zhou never imagined a Cosmic-level being would end up here."
"Most of the treasures here—including the first hundred steps—were more for show. Decoration."
"But there are dozens of heavy-class treasures still inside. If you complete the inheritance, you might get to try them."
Heavy treasures, Malrick knew, were one tier below supreme—used by elite Immortals and low-ranking Venerables.
"Even heavy treasures are decorations?" Malrick muttered. "Law Master-level indeed."
He slipped the jade box into his world ring. "Still, since this armor is an 'encouragement prize,' I get to keep it even if I fail, right?"
The Beast God gave him a strange look. "You haven't even started, and you're planning for failure?"
Malrick shrugged. "I mean, I won't fail—but hey, might as well be clear."
With that, he stepped onto the 102nd step.
The giant shadow retreated, lying back down to watch.
103. 104. 105…
As Malrick climbed, the pressure gradually mounted—but between steps 100 and 600, he didn't slow.
His face calm. Movements smooth.
Only at the 601st step did his expression turn serious.
The Beast God Shadow muttered under its breath, "Past 600, the pressure's at Domain Lord-level. Eight hundred? That's the limit of a Domain Lord… but he's just Cosmic Level 9. It's too much…"
In this universe, willpower typically scaled with one's cultivation realm.
But Malrick wasn't ordinary.
His Clear Mind and Insight traits, plus his hundredfold genetic factor amplification, gave him willpower already comparable to mid-to-high Domain Lords.
Step by step, sweat formed on his brow—not from exertion, but from the intense mental strain crashing against his consciousness.
701. 702…
Each step was a sledgehammer to the mind. Malrick clenched his jaw and pressed on.
"751! Not bad!" the shadow cheered behind him.
But Malrick's vision was beginning to fade.
Cold sweat dripped into his eyes.
Yet the blur wasn't from the sweat—it was the sheer mental fatigue. His mind was stretched to its absolute limit.
It felt like his soul was being torn apart, second by second.
Still, he pushed.
789… 790…
By now, he was crawling.
His body still worked, but his soul screamed in agony.
He wasn't moving muscles—he was moving will.
Pain was irrelevant.
Desire was everything.
He could see the 800th step.
That was all that mattered.
Blood streamed from his mouth. He bit into his own cheek to stay conscious, using physical pain to battle the mental torment.
One more step.
Just one.
"Alas," the Beast God Shadow murmured sadly, "I suppose it was too much. He's at his limit… Maybe I'll go back to sleep for a few hundred million epochs."
The voice echoed in Malrick's mind.
"Don't push any further," it said. "The ring and the armor are yours. You've proven yourself."
But Malrick didn't hear it.
Not truly.
Somewhere in the darkness, he shouted in his soul:
"NO! I won't stop!"
"I must succeed!"
He hadn't died and reincarnated just to give up here.
His life before sixteen had been filled with fear, weakness.
That would never happen again.
He would become strong.
He had to.
His conviction coiled inside him like a steel rope, resisting the weight of the world.
Then—something cracked.
In that very moment, somewhere deep in his genes,
a golden light erupted.
It spread through him like fire.
His genetic factor surged—101x… 150x… 200x!
His willpower exploded in strength, leaping into World Master territory.
The agony that had moments ago threatened to shatter him vanished like smoke.
He stood.
And took that final step.
800.
With a heavy exhale, he looked down at his hands in disbelief.
Behind him, the Beast God Shadow roared, "What!? Genetic amplification doubled?! Willpower at World Master level?!"
Malrick blinked, dazed.
"Was that... Superman's latent ability? How…?"
---
I be seeing other fanfics with over 400 Powerstones, and we be getting less than 50 lol. Makes me a little sad, honestly 🙂.