439: Nine thousand steps!

Xing Tianao's gaze shifted back to the distance, landing upon the Heavenly Ladder and the young figures currently ascending it.

He paused for a fraction of a second on Xiao Ruobai, Ling Xi, Fang Hanyu, and the others.

Then, he withdrew his gaze and spoke two words:

"There are."

He added silently in his heart, "Which of the Sovereign's Disciples does not possess the potential to become an Emperor?"

Qing Xuzi's spirits lifted, and the stone hanging in his heart felt as if it had halfway fallen. There really were!

But immediately, even greater curiosity and speculation surged in his heart.

Was it those few Ancient Freaks who had long been famous throughout the world?

They had the deepest foundations and were indeed the most likely candidates.

Or was it the Divine King Body favored by the Luck of the current era, or that extraordinarily gifted lightning youth?

Or perhaps it was Battle Asura and his group? Their performance could be described as stunning.

Name after name flashed through his mind, attempting to verify them against the words "Emperor Potential."

Xing Tianao withdrew his gaze from the Heavenly Ladder, and the slight ripple in his eyes slowly subsided, returning once more to tranquility.

"A dragon hidden in the abyss will surely soar to the Nine Heavens. The true contest has only just begun."

Upon hearing this, Qing Xuzi's heart shuddered, knowing that his Revered Master's words held a deeper meaning.

He focused his senses and indeed discovered that the fluctuations of Luck on the Heavenly Ladder, far from subsiding because a large number of prodigies had stopped, were instead brewing an even more startling eruption at several key nodes!

Eight thousand three hundred steps.

Shi Potian let out a low growl; beneath his bronze-colored skin, every inch of muscle was groaning under an unbearable burden.

"Cough... Have I reached my limit?"

He knelt on one knee, breathing heavily, his eyes filled with unwillingness, but even more so with a sense of powerlessness when facing an absolute chasm.

Not far away, Ji Xuanye leaned on his sword, his face ashen. He struggled upward for another dozen steps until he reached eight thousand three hundred and fifteen.

He knew that his path, for the time being, ended here.

Xing Lan stopped at eight thousand five hundred steps and sat down cross-legged, allowing the Dao Rhyme to wash over his body as he remained there.

The Golden Lion, the former Saint of Yao Guang, the successor of Ling Xiao... these top prodigies of the second tier.

One after another, at different heights between eight thousand three hundred and eight thousand five hundred steps, they reached their respective limits and were forced to stop.

They either sat or lay down, seizing the Dao Rhyme here—which far exceeded that of the lower levels—to repair their bodies, looking upward with complex gazes.

From this moment on, the true stage belonged to those above.

Above eight thousand five hundred steps.

The scene here was starkly different from below.

Chu Daolin walked at the very front, already nearing nine thousand steps. His speed had long since slowed to a crawl, but his pace remained steady.

Qin Wuye and Jiang Ruofeng followed closely behind, each step they took causing the stairs to let out a dull boom.

Lei Dong had almost transformed into a human-shaped lightning storm, the extremely Yang and rigid power of lightning cleansing all evil.

His own aura fluctuated during this confrontation, but it remained consistently high.

Xuan Ming's ice Domain was compressed to its limit here, only able to protect the three feet around his body.

Meanwhile, Mo Xingyun and Fairy Han Yue, the two prodigies from the starry sky, were now over a hundred steps behind the few in front.

They stopped at a relatively level area around eight thousand six hundred steps, currently focusing all their strength on adjusting their breathing.

Just then, from below, came steady and clear footsteps.

Mo Xingyun and Fairy Han Yue's hearts tightened almost simultaneously, and they abruptly turned their heads to look back!

They saw five figures below, stepping steadily upward.

The leader was none other than Battle Asura, with Fang Hanyu and several others behind him.

What made Mo Xingyun's pupils shrink was that these five were not finding it easy!

They were also bearing a mountain-like pressure of Dao rules that matched their respective Realms, yet their steps remained steady.

They watched as these five people walked unhurriedly to their side, and then, without stopping, passed by them.

It wasn't until the backs of Xiao Ruobai and the other four crossed them and stepped firmly into the turbulent zone of Dao rules ahead, still maintaining that steady pace as they ascended.

Only then did Mo Xingyun slowly withdraw his gaze, exchanging a look with Fairy Han Yue, whose expression was equally complex.

Both saw the same shock in each other's eyes, along with a trace of bitterness.

"The Central Continent..."

Mo Xingyun's voice was somewhat dry as he gazed in the direction where Xiao Ruobai and the others had disappeared, murmuring.

"As expected of the center of the Xuanhuang Great World. My Tianshu Star Domain swept through a generation without meeting an opponent; I thought... Heh."

He shook his head and did not continue.

He had thought that Chu Daolin and the others in front had already provided enough pressure to let them know there is always someone better.

However, he hadn't expected there to be more, and these five looked as if they were far from their limits.

Fairy Han Yue remained silent for a moment before saying coldly, "Catch up to them."

Though her tone was cold, it carried an unprecedented resolve.

However, reality is often cruel.

Just as they entered the turbulent zone ahead, the pressure from above suddenly intensified several times over!

A terrifying wave of turbulence swept past!

Mo Xingyun's face changed drastically as his Galaxy Domain instantly contracted to its limit, while Fairy Han Yue's moonlight flashed wildly.

"Puff!" "Puff!"

Both let out a muffled groan almost simultaneously, blood overflowing from the corners of their mouths. Their protective divine light flickered violently, and they were actually shaken by this sudden attack—far exceeding what had come before—causing them to retreat several steps in succession!

They looked up in horror toward the even deeper and more terrifying Chaos higher up.

They already understood in their hearts that the ease with which those five had passed did not mean this stretch of the path was truly easy.

Rather, those five had already become strong to a degree they could not comprehend!

The path ahead was no longer something they could force their way through in their current state.

"Hateful!"

Mo Xingyun growled low, his eyes full of unwillingness.

But he knew that if he continued to charge forward by force, it wouldn't be as simple as being injured; his dao foundation might even be damaged.

Eight thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine steps!

Chu Daolin, Qin Wuye, Jiang Ruofeng, Lei Dong, and Xuan Ming, the five of them arrived here one after another.

Ahead was the nine thousandth step. Stepping onto it meant that, barring any accidents, they would certainly attain the Quasi-Emperor Realm in the future and even touch the threshold of a Great Emperor.

However, as the five stood before this final chasm, they all fell silent.

Not a single person stepped forward immediately.

An invisible pressure firmly locked down their bodies and Divine Souls.

A sense of weakness and exhaustion originating from the depths of their Souls frantically gnawed at their final strength and will.

But it was also under this extreme pressure that their Dao Hearts were polished to an unprecedented brilliance!

"My Dao is for battle; why fear the end!"

Qin Wuye was the first to let out a low growl. His shattered Battle Intent and remaining blood-qi erupted, transforming into a blood-colored rainbow that surged upward as he boldly took that final step!

"The Divine King descends upon the world, and the myriad Daos shall make way!"

Jiang Ruofeng let out a long cry as the sound of ancient sacrifices echoed from within his body. His pale-gold divine blood burned, and a blurry phantom of a God King appeared behind him, protecting him as he ascended with power!

"Time is as I am, eternal and unchanging."

Chu Daolin's eyes returned to absolute tranquility. The disordered power around him was forcibly unified, transforming into a river that carried him as he stepped upward.

"Thunder Emperor's Decree, open!"

Lei Dong gave a hoarse low shout, invoking a trace of the lightning Origin from the void, which erupted into a bright light that crashed forward.

"Boom!" "Boom!" "Boom!" "Boom!"

Four majestic and vast phenomena, far exceeding those from before, erupted violently upon the platform of the nine thousandth step!

The Dao sounds of heaven and earth roared, as if crowning them!

They succeeded!

Chu Daolin, Qin Wuye, Jiang Ruofeng, and Lei Dong—the four of them successfully set foot upon the nine thousandth step!