Chapter 92 Gathering Sweet Dew, Ascending the Heavenly Ladder!

[Everyone gathered in the open space in front of the camp.]

[Before long, everyone suddenly felt something, and the rain of sweet dew descended from the sky right on time.]

[There were ninety-eight drops in total, corresponding to the ninety-eight people who had submitted to your command at this moment.]

[Many immediately looked up with burning gazes, opening their hands to catch the drop that belonged to them.]

["Nobody move!"]

[You shouted coldly, your voice calm yet carrying an unquestionable authority.]

[You knew very well that for most of the people present, using this "sweet dew" would be a complete waste of a heavenly gift.]

[To an ordinary Qi and Blood Realm Martial Artist, their body was like a leaky sieve.]

["When sweet dew enters the body of a Qi and Blood Realm Martial Artist, besides instantly eliminating hunger..."]

["...and allowing them to faintly perceive the 'True Intent of Profound Water' in the few seconds before the energy dissipates..."]

["...they can't retain any substantial benefits at all."]

[Even someone like Chen Chen in the Origin Opening Realm, without a special Physique or Ability, could at most lock in seventy percent of the energy.]

[Only you.]

[With your multiple-times-enhanced Profound Water Spirit Body, could you achieve one hundred percent lossless storage and absorption!]

[In the next moment, your brow twitched slightly.]

[Your invisible Divine Thought spread out, coordinating with the Origin fluctuations of the Profound Water Spirit Body within you.]

[The ninety-eight drops of sweet dew falling from the sky seemed to be pulled by an invisible force.]

[They paused and turned eerily in mid-air, automatically avoiding the crowd below.]

[Like a hundred rivers returning to the sea, they converged frantically toward your palm.]

[One drop, two drops, ten drops... ninety-eight drops.]

[They spun and compressed rapidly above your palm, eventually condensing into a dazzling golden sphere of light.]

[The Martial Artists present were all stunned, their eyes filled with awe.]

["Is this... Divine Thought manipulation? Or an Ability?"]

["He can even directly pull the sweet dew?"]

["No wonder he said before that the sweet dew would be distributed solely by him..."]

[Ignoring the crowd's shock, you pulled out a specially made canteen.]

[You placed the "sweet dew," wrapped in Profound Water Power, inside it.]

[Then, your gaze swept over the crowd, landing on the members who had signed up for the "Heavenly Ladder Vanguard."]

["Step forward."]

[You flicked your fingers.]

["Swish! Swish! Swish!"]

["This is your share for today, two drops each."]

[As for the others?]

[Not a single drop.]

[Though there was a commotion in the crowd, no one dared to speak up.]

[Because the rule was one everyone agreed upon: those who do not climb the Heavenly Ladder have no right to consume strategic resources.]

[Furthermore, you had already used your Ability to catch enough fish to feed them, along with other assorted foods.]

[This wasn't just about filling their stomachs; they were actually eating quite well.]

[They knew full well that being able to eat one's fill in this hellhole was a massive blessing.]

[Those unwilling to risk climbing the Heavenly Ladder had no right to waste the sweet dew.]

[Besides, they had also consumed sweet dew on the first day and felt it was just okay.]

[Of the remaining sweet dew, you kept ten drops as reserve supplies, and naturally took the rest for yourself.]

[These were the rules of the Mutual Aid Society.]

[...]

[After two days of careful construction, a simple but fully functional camp was set up.]

[To facilitate management, you restructured your subordinates.]

[Dividing them into two large groups: the "Male Martial Artist Group" and the "Female Martial Artist Group."]

[You had each group elect a representative from the Mutual Aid Society who was at the Ninth Stage of Qi and Blood and held high prestige.]

[Of course, they had no actual power.]

[They were only responsible for collecting suggestions, tallying the daily food harvest, and reporting to you.]

[When you were away, they would report to Zhao Li.]

[The male representative was named "Zhou Hua."]

[He was a middle-aged man with glasses and a scholarly air.]

[He was originally a consultant for the expedition team, very approachable, and skilled at mediating disputes.]

[The female representative was named "Li Li."]

[She was a capable and brisk woman with short hair and healthy, wheat-colored skin.]

[She came from a background as a professional explorer and had rich experience in the wilderness.]

[Although they both took pride in their own strength, after witnessing your thunderous methods and survival skills...]

[...they were both completely won over by you.]

[Whether it was your strength or your seasoned methods...]

[...they were both extremely powerful capabilities in this hellhole.]

[They unanimously believed that the hope of returning home rested on you.]

[Once the camp was on the right track, you didn't stay idle.]

[Besides your Mutual Aid Society, there were also many loners or small groups trying to climb the Heavenly Ladder.]

[You had observed them in secret.]

[Even though some had warned them and told them about the previous tragedies, they still refused to believe it.]

[Especially those who possessed Abilities.]

["I'm a Water-elemental Ability user, and this is the Xuan Shui Cave Heaven; I must be the chosen one!"]

["Haven't you heard that Heaven never leaves a person without a way out! I'm taking this Legacy!"]

[With such thoughts, ignoring the kind warnings of others, they stepped onto the stairs.]

[Although some of them lasted a bit longer...]

[...the outcome was still without suspense.]

[Blue light flashed, and corpses fell.]

[Their deaths were exactly like that of the first young man: their bodies turned blue and purple, having died from drowning.]

[These bloody lessons made you even more cautious.]

[You needed more information.]

[But these were just small interludes.]

[Over the past few days, you still discovered some problems encountered in the camp construction.]

[You were busy—busy practicing martial arts and busy refining your mastery over the strengthened Profound Water Spirit Body.]

[Many things couldn't be done personally; you needed more professionals to help build the camp.]

[You went to find Chen Chen.]

["Chairman Chen, I'd like to borrow a few people."]

[You got straight to the point, "Although I have many people, there are too few talents with experience in wilderness camp construction."]

["You have a few 'technicians' over there; can you second them to me?"]

[At first, Chen Chen was somewhat reluctant.]

[He sat in his camp, spinning two iron balls in his hand, his eyes flickering.]

["Brother Xu, borrowing people is fine."]

["But you know, the brothers all need to eat, and technicians are treasures..."]

[He wanted to make demands of you.]

[However, you gave him a condition he couldn't refuse.]

["The daily fish supply for your group will be doubled, and I will lead the charge when climbing the Heavenly Ladder."]

[You looked at Chen Chen, your tone calm.]

["Also, Chairman Chen, let's not beat around the bush."]

["You should know very well in your heart."]

["If we really want to leave this hellhole, my assistance is absolutely indispensable."]

[Though these words were arrogant, they struck Chen Chen's weakness directly.]

[He had indeed faced your terrifying foundation firsthand.]

[Chen Chen took a deep breath, forced to admit you were right.]

["Fine! It's a deal!"]

[To your surprise, Chen Chen's attitude softened very quickly, even more cooperative than you imagined.]

[After all, no matter how you looked at it, this mighty expert's Legacy should be more suited for a young Genius like you to claim.]

[Although he was also in the Origin Opening Realm, he was old, and his potential was exhausted.]

[Whereas "Grandmaster Xu Liang's" martial path had only just begun.]

[This might also be because of recent chaos on his side.]

[To maintain his Origin Opening Realm combat power, he had forcibly requisitioned a large amount of "sweet dew" from his subordinates.]

[Even some who were determined to obtain the Legacy couldn't get a share.]

[This led to dissatisfaction among some subordinates, and some even couldn't help but want to try climbing the Heavenly Ladder.]

[Mainly those who were desperate to go home.]

[And others who were self-important, dreaming of reaching the top in one step.]

[Chen Chen didn't stop them.]

[The result was obvious.]

[Total failure.]

[Miserable deaths.]

[Once this happened, the restless hearts of everyone, which had grown as life stabilized...]

[...were doused and extinguished by this bucket of cold water.]

[Those who had originally thought of reaching the summit now all became shrinking turtles.]

["Just being alive is fine; even if I have to be a dog for Chairman Chen or Chairman Xu, at least I can stay alive."]

[This became the thought of the majority.]

[You returned to your camp.]

[You summoned the seven Ninth Stage Martial Artists who considered themselves strong and were dissatisfied with the status quo.]

["I know you want to take a gamble."]

[You looked at them and set a deadline.]

["Seven days."]

["During these seven days, I will give each of you five drops of sweet dew daily."]

["You don't need to work; just adjust your state to the maximum extent and push your essence, Qi, and spirit to their Peak."]

["After seven days, you must begin climbing the Heavenly Ladder."]

["If you take the goods, you have to do the work!"]

["Of course, if you get scared and want to give up by then..."]

["That's fine."]

["However, the sweet dew consumed previously must be repaid twofold in other ways!"]

[This condition was very harsh.]

[After seeing the failure of Chen Chen's impulsive subordinates, many chose to give up.]

["There's no Origin Qi here; even if we consume more drops of sweet dew, we can't truly advance to the Origin Opening Realm."]

["And having used this 'sweet dew' for a few days, it feels like it's not that useful."]

["It's better to just hang around and survive."]

["Why go to one's death?"]

[So, of the original seven, only four remained.]

[Those who stayed were young people at the Seventh or Eighth Stage of Qi and Blood, with unextinguished ambition in their eyes.]

[Or perhaps they had other reasons.]

["Very good, quite spirited!"]

[You nodded.]

[Although you were suddenly giving away 20 drops of sweet dew a day, you didn't care.]

[Because you held the distribution rights for the sweet dew in your branch of the Mutual Aid Society.]

[Of the 98 drops of sweet dew daily, 20 were given to these four, leaving 78 drops.]

[Excluding the very small portion kept daily as emergency reserves, most of it fell into your pocket.]

[At first, they had some complaints about you taking the vast majority of the sweet dew.]

[But after today, you demonstrated the means to preserve "sweet dew" and collect it at any time when it "fell from the sky."]

[Moreover, you could use your Water-elemental Ability every day to easily catch hundreds of pounds of large fish from the lake.]

[After helping everyone solve the food crisis...]

[...everyone was silenced.]

["Vice-Chairman Xu is capable and can lead everyone to eat their fill; it's only right he takes more."]

["Besides, he's in the Origin Opening Realm; his consumption is naturally higher."]

["No matter how you look at it, he's the one more likely to obtain the Legacy."]

["It's already good enough that he's willing to give those four people a chance."]

[People are like that; they fear power but do not respect virtue.]

[When you show absolute value and power, you are the one who makes the rules.]

[Soon, seven days passed in a flash.]

[During these days, your life was extremely fulfilling.]

[You absorbed sweet dew frantically.]

[Although most of the energy was used to nourish the heavenly river water lotus Origin and strengthen the Profound Water Spirit Body's Ability...]

[...the overflowing portion still allowed your Origin Power to make significant progress.]

[Your cultivation was rapidly advancing toward opening all 36 main orifices of the Origin Opening Realm.]

[This day, early morning.]

[The entrance to the Heavenly Ladder.]

[You arrived here early, standing before the entrance to slowly regulate your breathing, adjusting your physical state to its best.]

[Behind you, the Martial Artists in the camp woke up one after another.]

[Orderly surrounding the four vanguard members in the middle to see them off.]

[Chen Chen also came with his troop.]

[The number of people in their vanguard was also small, only three.]

[And because Chen Chen's cut was too heavy, these people didn't look very healthy.]

[You glanced at them and didn't think much of them.]

[However, one person caught your attention.]

[It was a boy standing behind Chen Chen, looking about sixteen or seventeen, not much different in age from you.]

[Although he kept his head down and remained silent, he emitted a faint fluctuation of the water element.]

["The aura of a dimensional secret treasure?"]

[Your heart stirred.]

[You had absorbed many dimensional secret treasures.]

[Relying on your sensitivity to dimensional secret treasures, you instantly judged...]

[...that this was likely a lucky person who had managed to collect one of the purple light pillars.]

["But the quality definitely can't compare to my heavenly river water lotus."]

[From his aura, you could sense that while it was pure, it wasn't vast enough and was relatively weak.]

["Is he Chen Chen's confidant..."]

[You had heard of this person; his name was Chen Liang, Chen Chen's nephew.]

[It seemed their camp relied on him to collect the sweet dew.]

[This person should be Chen Chen's true trump card, the main force for "climbing the Heavenly Ladder."]

[You and Chen Chen stepped forward, nodding to each other.]

["Everyone!"]

[Chen Chen said loudly, his voice booming.]

["Today is the day the 'Vanguard' officially climbs the Heavenly Ladder!"]

["Let us wish them—prosperous martial fortune!"]

["Prosperous martial fortune!!!"]

[All the Martial Artists below shouted simultaneously, the sound waves shaking the sky.]

["Good!"]

[Chen Chen turned to look at you, a hint of expectation flashing in his eyes.]

["Today, let Vice-Chairman Xu lead the way! Let him secure this first victory!"]

[This was the condition you agreed to when obtaining many conveniences from Chen Chen earlier.]

[After all, so many people seemingly died of drowning, and as a recognized powerful Water-elemental Ability user...]

[...your probability of success should be greater.]

[Moreover, this was also an opportunity to boost morale.]

[In this desperate cage, everyone now desperately needed a success to determine the direction of the road home.]

["I shall not decline."]

[You smiled slightly and straightened your clothes.]

[Under the hopeful gazes of the Martial Artists, you strode toward the white jade Heavenly Ladder that led to the clouds.]

[Your back was straight as a ramrod, as if heading to a battlefield.]