440: Are Zhang and his team really going to reach the summit?

However, at the very instant that the deep blue cold light transformed from Xuan Ming's form almost touched the edge of the nine-thousandth step platform!

"Crack—!"

A slight crisp sound, as if ice crystals were shattering, emanated from within his body.

That extreme chill and will, which had condensed everything and should have been invincible, actually showed an irreparable crack at the final moment!

Immediately after, an irresistible pressure and repulsive force surged from the steps beneath his feet, pushing him backward.

Ancient Freak, Xuan Ming.

Stopped at the eight thousand nine hundred and ninety-ninth step.

This cruel and abrupt scene caused the hearts and minds of the four people, including Chu Daolin, who had just stepped onto the platform and hadn't even had time to feel joy, to shake violently.

The struggle on the emperors path is just this cruel.

Even someone as strong as an Ancient Freak would fall before the threshold, serving as a warning to those who follow.

As for the four of them, although they had reached the nine-thousandth step, their bodies swayed after stepping onto the platform, nearly exhausted; they immediately sat cross-legged, doing their best to absorb the dense Dao Rhyme of this place to repair themselves.

Meanwhile, on the Heavenly Ladder below, several astonishing Auras were continuing to approach upward at an unwavering speed.

Chu Daolin suddenly opened his eyes, a trace of disbelief flashing through them.

The Battle Intent around Qin Wuye that hadn't yet completely settled suddenly froze.

Jiang Ruofeng and Lei Dong also looked up abruptly, their gazes like lightning, shooting toward the churning Chaos mist below.

They saw five figures standing side by side before the eight thousand nine hundred and ninety-ninth step.

They were Xiao Ruobai, Fang Hanyu, Ling Xi, Wang Xiaopang, and Qilin Son Mo Yu.

They had actually reached here too?!

And all five of them arrived together?! So fast?

At this moment, the hearts of Chu Daolin's group of four seemed to be gripped by an invisible hand.

Can these five get across?

As if in response to the stormy waves in their hearts.

Xiao Ruobai moved; he didn't erupt with any light, but simply moved his right foot forward and took a heavy step.

A Battle Intent so pure it seemed to originate from the very Origin of life rose boisterously from his body.

That Great Dao Barrier was forcibly stepped through by him with the purest will of battle.

"Buzz—!"

A clear sword hum that pierced straight through the Primordial Spirit suddenly rang out!

It was Fang Hanyu!

The pressure barrier in front, like thin silk being sliced by the sharpest paper cutter, silently developed a perfectly smooth slit.

As for Ling Xi, the destructive Dao Laws and mental erosion attacking her seemed as if they had never existed, as she easily stepped onto the nine-thousandth step.

Inside Wang Xiaopang, countless ancient golden runes surged out frantically as if stimulated.

Qilin Son Mo Yu gave a low growl, and behind him, a kirin dharma body condensed, standing tall between heaven and earth, treading on auspicious clouds and looking around with majesty!

The kirin dharma body let out a roar that shook the universe, and the auspicious light condensed to the extreme, turning into a solid pillar of reddish-gold light that boldly broke through the suppression ahead!

Five footsteps of varying weights, yet equally firm, clearly stepped onto the nine-thousandth step platform almost simultaneously.

Xiao Ruobai, Fang Hanyu, Ling Xi, Wang Xiaopang, Mo Yu.

They had come up.

In their own Heaven-Defying ways, all five of them successfully set foot on the nine-thousandth step!

Chu Daolin, Qin Wuye, Jiang Ruofeng, and Lei Dong froze in place, their pupils shrinking to the limit, their faces filled with unparalleled horror and disbelief.

All five ascending the nine-thousandth step together?

After they had just experienced and deeply recognized its terror?

How is this possible?!

However, those five figures, though their Auras were fluctuating, were truly and undeniably standing before them.

The lingering aftermath of the intense confrontation between different Great Daos in the air was coldly stating this fact.

Lei Dong shook his head violently, staring at Wang Xiaopang over and over; wasn't this the fatty who had triggered the lightning riot in the Wind and Thunder Valley?!

At that time, he only thought it was a fellow with some luck and strange methods, and hadn't even truly taken him to heart.

But now this fatty was actually standing on this nine-thousandth step platform just like him, Lei Dong?!

After a brief dead silence, a tsunami of sound waves came from below, as if to wash away everything!

"My god! Five people! Another five people have reached the nine-thousandth step!"

"Battle Asura! Sword White Robe! Azure Rakshasa! My goodness, they really did it!"

"Too strong! That was the final step where even the Ancient Freak Xuan Ming fell! They actually just came up like that?!"

"Battle Asura and the others are indeed well-deserved of their reputations! That Battle Intent is simply going to tear the sky apart!"

Exclamations, praises, and roars of disbelief were deafening.

However, sharper and more doubt-filled voices soon rang out, drowning out the admiration for Xiao Ruobai's trio.

"Wait! Did you see clearly?! That fatty actually went up too!"

"And that Kirin Son! How can he also reach the nine-thousandth step?!"

Everyone's gaze instantly shifted from Xiao Ruobai's trio and focused on Wang Xiaopang and Qilin Son Mo Yu!

Compared to the forceful ascent of the Battle Asura trio, the success of these two brought a shock that overturned their perceptions even more!

Because their previous ordinariness formed an unimaginable contrast with the earth-shattering fact of them reaching the nine-thousandth step now!

The looks they gave Wang Xiaopang and Mo Yu were filled with extreme gravity and scrutiny.

It turned out that the true monsters weren't just those three radiant fellows.

This seemingly honest fatty also possessed unparalleled and powerful talent; at this moment, no one looked down on Wang Xiaopang anymore.

What kind of Prodigies had gathered in this session's Dao Zang Academy?!

What made Chu Daolin's group of four feel even more suffocated was that after Xiao Ruobai's group of five stepped onto the platform, although their Auras fluctuated slightly, they quickly stabilized.

They didn't immediately sit cross-legged in exhaustion like the four of them, but instead remained standing tall!

Their gazes all turned toward the end of the platform, toward the depths of the Heavenly Ladder that led higher, where the Aura was even more terrifying and daunting!

Could it be that they weren't going to stop and rest, but continue directly upward?!"

This thought was like a thunderclap, exploding in the hearts of Chu Daolin's group of four!

Seeing Xiao Ruobai's group of five walking straight toward the steps leading higher without stopping, Lei Dong gritted his teeth and roared low, "We can't fall too far behind! Hurry and adjust your breathing!"

Hearing this, the spirits of Chu Daolin, Qin Wuye, and Jiang Ruofeng all shuddered; they immediately suppressed the stormy waves in their hearts, fully operated their Cultivation Techniques, and frantically absorbed the dense Dao Rhyme and Law fragments around them.

The energy on the platform converged toward the four of them at a visible rate, repairing their Physical Bodies and Divine Souls that were on the verge of exhaustion.

However, the speed of their recovery seemed far unable to keep up with the footsteps of those five.

Braving the heaven-toppling pressure, although their speed wasn't as fast as when they were below, the five still maintained a steady upward momentum.

"Monsters..." Qin Wuye looked at their backs and couldn't help but squeeze out two words from between his teeth.

He considered his Battle Intent to be peerless, but facing this level of pressure, it was absolutely impossible for him to be so relaxed!

"Chase them!"

Jiang Ruofeng suddenly stood up, the Battle Intent in his eyes having been completely ignited.

"Even if we can't catch up, we must see the scenery at that higher place with our own eyes!"

Hearing this, the eyes of the other three also flashed with determination.

Reaching their level, their Dao Hearts were resilient, and the brief sense of frustration quickly turned into a more powerful motivation.

They no longer held back at all, stimulating secret methods at any cost to accelerate their recovery, their gazes locked onto the upper area, preparing to follow immediately once their states stabilized slightly.

Below, seeing Xiao Ruobai's group of five stepping to higher ground without pause through the Water Mirror, the entire Dao Yuan Mountain square fell into a deathly silence once again.

Everyone understood what that meant.

To those five, the nine-thousandth step was not the end at all; it might not even count as the starting point.

"Are they really going to reach the top?"

A trembling voice asked the ultimate question in everyone's hearts.

Just then, an azure stream of light, like a meteor tearing through the sky, suddenly descended to the bottom of the Heavenly Ladder with an unstoppable momentum!

The light dissipated, revealing a figure as upright as a mountain.

It was exactly Wang Zhan of the Eastern Region!