As the palm-sized item reached him, Yuan caught it.
It was a golden medallion—one side engraved with a dragon, the other bearing the word 'Heaven'.
"This is…" Yuan's eyes widened with surprise when he realized what he was holding.
"T-That's!" Xiao Hua also expressed great shock after seeing the medallion.
"What is that medallion?" Feng Yuxiang asked, her face full of curiosity.
"The Crest of Heaven!" Xiao Hua explained, revealing its significance. "It's proof of the Celestial Emperor's identity! If anyone not approved by the heavens so much as touches it, their soul will be obliterated! Basically, whoever possesses it is the Celestial Emperor!" Lan Yingying raised her eyebrows and remarked, "But Yuan is holding it just fine. Does that mean he's the Celestial Emperor now?"
"No." Xiao Hua shook her head. "Yuan is probably fine because we're inside the Stairway to Heaven, where that very Heaven cannot reach or influence. Things might be very different once we leave this place, though."
"If it only serves to identify the Celestial Emperor, isn't it basically a useless artifact?" Feng Yuxiang asked. Xiao Hua's expression turned solemn as she responded, "It's more than just an identifier. The Crest of Heaven… can be used to create Heavenly Laws, something only the Celestial Emperor is capable of."
"What?!" Feng Yuxiang exclaimed in shock at her words.
"Heavenly Laws… aren't those the rules every living being in the Nine Heavens must obey? And anyone who defies them is punished by Heavenly Judgment, right?" Lan Yingying asked for clarification.
"Yes, but not every Heavenly Law has the same function," Xiao Hua nodded. "Let's say the Celestial Emperor creates a Heavenly Law that prohibits everyone from eating meat. Anyone who defies this law will be punished accordingly. Then there are the ones that change nature itself, such as the one that made everyone in the lower heavens ignore the existence of 'Players'."
"Can the Celestial Emperor create Heavenly Laws without restriction?" Feng Yuxiang asked.
"No. Even the Celestial Emperor's authority has limits. If a Heavenly Law disrupts the world's balance too much or goes too far against the natural order, it will be rejected. For instance, a law that forbids cultivators from refining spiritual energy wouldn't be permitted. Another example would be a law that prohibits cultivators from killing one another."
"Does that mean the Young Master can create Heavenly Laws as long as he's within the Stairway to Heaven?" Feng Yuxiang then inquired.
Xiao Hua shook her head.
"The creation of Heavenly Laws can only be done at the Heavenly Jade Tablet, which is located in the Celestial Palace."
"In the end, it's still a useless piece of junk." Feng Yuxiang shrugged.
Meanwhile, Yuan tried to recall when or how he had obtained the Crest of Heaven. Since he died shortly after defeating the first Celestial Emperor, he never had the chance to take it from the emperor's corpse.
"It's no use. I can't remember." He sighed in a defeated tone as he stowed the item away. It was likely obtained by one of his other reincarnations, but he had no way of knowing until he regained all of his memories.
Afterward, Yuan rested for a bit to recover his Soul Strength before starting the next trial.
<You have started your third trial in the Stairway to Heaven!>
The scenery changed once again, but not by much, as he was transported to the Starry Sky.
<Survive>
A single word appeared as a notification before Yuan.
The next moment, Yuan sensed multiple powerful presences appearing out of thin air, surrounding him. Yuan calmly surveyed the figures surrounding him. Five in total—each one a towering silhouette shrouded in a black veil. Their features were hidden, but Yuan didn't need to see their appearance to know exactly what he was facing.
"So this is the insect who dared to defy us, huh? He's even more insignificant than I imagined," one of them remarked with open disdain.
"A mere mortal who has only recently learned to use Eternal Essence… Do you really think you have the power to defy us?"
"How should we destroy him? It'd be too boring to kill him normally."
"Killing him would be far too lenient. We should make an example of him—for anyone who might dare defy us in the future."
"I agree. Let's cripple him and torture him until the end of time."
"That's a great idea."
"Are you bastards done yapping?" Yuan suddenly said aloud. "Don't be so quick to decide my fate."
"..."
The Eternals fell silent, as though in disbelief that such an audacious mortal could exist.
After a brief moment of silence, the five Eternals erupted with Eternal Essence and launched their attacks at Yuan simultaneously.
Yuan was taken aback for a split second, but the moment he sensed the strength of their Eternal Essence, he immediately counterattacked.
Even with all five of them striking together, their combined might was only comparable to Saaruk at ten percent of his power, if not slightly higher. "Impossible! He actually blocked our attacks!"
The Eternals expressed shock when Yuan's Eternal Essence perfectly canceled out theirs.
"If this is all you've got, then forget crippling me—I'll be the one crippling all of you!" Yuan shouted as he charged at the nearest Eternal.
In response, the Eternal created a blade entirely of Eternal Essence before swinging it at Yuan.
The blade, massive enough to cleave several planets with a single motion, descended upon Yuan, who immediately activated God of War's Astral Arts and created his own sword using Eternal Essence.
When their weapons clashed, the space around the impact point shattered, revealing a deeper, darker void beneath—one that seemed to devour the surrounding space.
However, the hole in the void quickly repaired itself. Meanwhile, their weapons strained against each other for a few seconds, until Yuan's strength overwhelmed it and the Eternal's blade shattered.
Then, with another swift swing, Yuan cleaved the Eternal's silhouette cleanly in half.
After the Eternal fell, its Eternal Essence was immediately absorbed by the remaining four, causing their strength to surge.