508: Chapter 508 I'll do it!

Below, the prodigies one after another sat down.

Those still on the Heavenly Ladder, those who had already fallen off, and those waiting in the square—as long as they were Disciples who had passed the 500th floor, a golden throne appeared behind them.

Only the size and style of the thrones varied.

Immediately, countless golden seats flew through the air, arranging themselves.

The seats seemed to have lives of their own, moving slowly through the air and automatically aligning according to certain rules.

Above the entire square, the golden thrones flickered like a sea of stars, shining brilliantly under the sunlight.

In just a few breaths, a massive change occurred above the square.

Golden thrones were arranged from top to bottom in a pyramid shape, forming a colossal golden tower structure.

At the very top were seven golden thrones, with seven figures seated upon them, representing the seven people who had cleared the Heavenly Ladder.

Those seven thrones were the tallest and most magnificent, situated at the apex of the pyramid, looking down upon everyone below.

Directly below them was the section representing the prodigies who had cleared the 950th floor and above.

Dozens of thrones were arranged there, forming the second tier.

Although not as dazzling as the seven at the very top, they still emitted a radiant light.

A representative contestant among them was Huang Jiuli!

She sat at the highest point of the second tier, her fiery red robes particularly striking against the backdrop of the golden throne.

However, her expression didn't seem very pleasant.

Thinking about it, it made sense; no matter who it was, being stuck flat on the ladder for so long would put anyone in a bad mood.

Further down were the prodigies from the 900th to 950th floors.

The number of people in this tier was significantly larger, with hundreds of thrones densely packed together.

Further down, the numbers continued to decrease by floor.

850 to 900, 800 to 850, 700 to 800, 600 to 700—each level had its corresponding thrones, each representing a different foundation of the prodigies.

The bottom-most level represented the prodigies who had just passed the 500th floor and were eligible to participate in the challenge matches.

This level had the most thrones, densely packed in massive numbers.

As for those who hadn't even passed the 500th floor, they had no thrones.

They could only stand on the ground, looking up at the golden pyramid in the sky, their eyes filled with envy and resentment.

Qin Yan looked down and quickly spotted Lin Qingyue in the cluster of thrones directly below him.

She sat in the tier for those above the 950th floor, surrounded by swirling water, her light blue dress particularly conspicuous among the golden thrones.

Her face was calm, showing no emotion, but her light blue eyes looked up from time to time toward the seven thrones at the very top, specifically at Qin Yan on one of them.

Regarding Lin Qingyue's ability to climb above the 950th floor, Qin Yan could only say it was both unexpected and yet perfectly logical.

The unexpected part was that she could actually climb so high;

The logical part was that with her talent and perseverance, she truly possessed that level of strength.

An Innate Divine Abnormality is, after all, extraordinary.

In that same cluster of thrones, he also spotted the man who had accompanied Lin Ruoxi that night.

The man sat not far from Huang Jiuli, dressed in white with a cold expression, his entire being radiating a sharp Sword Intent.

Clearly, he had also climbed above the 950th floor; his strength was not to be underestimated.

Qin Yan didn't dwell on it and continued looking further down.

In the 850th to 900th floor range, he saw Shen Wanqian.

The little fatty was sitting on his throne, his round face full of smiles as he looked around, occasionally waving toward Qin Yan.

Qin Yan gave him a slight nod.

Then, he looked even further down.

Soon, he had completed a rough observation.

He found that there were roughly 6,000 prodigies seated upon the thrones.

This number seemed like a lot, but in reality, it was very few!

One had to remember that their batch of new East Courtyard Disciples totaled 30,000 people!

Out of 30,000 people, only 6,000 had passed the 500th floor and were eligible for the second stage's challenge matches.

6,000 people—that was only a one-fifth ratio!

In their batch of Disciples, there were 5,000 Second Grade Disciples, 3,665 First Grade Disciples, and 113 Special Grade Disciples.

Reasonably, just these Disciples combined should have been nearly 9,000 people.

But now there were only 6,000, which meant that the vast majority of Second Grade Disciples couldn't pass the 500th floor and couldn't enter the next stage's challenge matches.

This caused the hopes of those who originally planned to rely on a high cultivation Realm despite having poor talent—hoping to gain a higher Rank by challenging high-level Disciples—to inevitably fall through!

In this challenge match, third-grade and Unranked Disciples couldn't even touch the threshold to challenge!

They couldn't even pass the 500th floor and didn't even have the qualifications to sit here, let alone challenge high-level Disciples.

This challenge match was a collision between prodigies and monsters!

It was a contest between those with true strength and talent.

Those who were strong in power but mediocre in talent didn't even have the right to participate.

Of course, this didn't mean that those third-grade and Unranked Disciples would have no opportunities in the future.

They could completely take on more missions to earn taixuan points, and then utilize the massive resources of the Taixuan Holy Land to strengthen their own foundations.

Cultivation Techniques, Martial Skills, Medicinal Pills, spirit weapons, Concept Legacies—as long as they were willing to work hard and pay the price, there would always be ways to improve themselves.

That way, in future end-of-month assessments, they might still be able to participate.

The path of martial arts was never achieved overnight.

Temporary failure did not mean permanent failure.

As long as one didn't give up, there would always be a day to turn things around.

Qin Yan withdrew his gaze and sat quietly on his throne, waiting for the second stage to begin.

"Silence!"

Yun Nishang's figure did not appear, but her cold and majestic voice echoed through the square, suppressing all the noise and discussion.

"I will now announce the details of the challenges."

"First: If you wish to challenge someone, condense their name with True Qi and strike that name onto the throne behind them to initiate the battle."

"Second: The challenges will continue until 6:00 PM!"

"Third: Each Prodigy has only one chance to challenge, and each person being challenged can only be challenged three times."

"Now—the challenges begin!"

As her voice fell, the entire square suddenly fell into silence.

With only one challenge opportunity, no Disciple wanted to waste it!

Everyone was observing and waiting.

They were waiting to see other prodigies move first, to see exactly how these challenges worked before making their own plans.

No one wanted to be the first.

However—

There are always those who cannot hold back.

"I'll go!"

In the cluster of thrones below, a voice suddenly rang out!