Chapter 98 Breaking through the cloud-piercing steps as if it were nothing, cleaving through the ninefold barriers with surging waves (Part 1)

["Buzz—"]

[As the pillar of light for clearing the second stage soared into the sky, your figure was teleported once again.]

[Amidst the shifting light and shadows, you didn't pause for a moment, stepping directly into the Secret Realm of the third stage of the Heavenly Ladder.]

[In the time that followed, you began a nearly frenzied sweeping journey.]

[After you adapted to the tempering of abilities here...]

[...you returned to your familiar overachiever rhythm.]

[Relying on your foundation of five Awakening-level abilities...]

[...this thrilling climb up the Heavenly Ladder seemed to become not so difficult after all.]

[Third Stage: Heavy Water Abyss.]

[The gravity here is ten times that of the outside world, and Water Spirit Giant Hammers like meteors constantly smash down from the sky.]

[Ordinary ability users find it difficult even to stand here.]

[But you not only have the Profound Water Spirit Body, you also possess a martial Dao Physical Body tempered a thousand times over!]

[Enduring the ten-fold pressure, while dodging the giant hammers...]

[...you quickly comprehended the "Profound Water Secret Technique: Abyss Shield" from the central stone tablet.]

[As the last Heavy Water Giant Beast pounced, you deployed the deep blue Abyss Shield to tank the hit, then swung your saber to shatter it.]

[Third Stage, cleared!]

[Fourth Stage: Bone-Corroding Poison Pool.]

[The entire space is filled with a sickly green poisonous mist, and below is a corrosive body of water that constantly bubbles.]

[As soon as you stepped in, you felt the Profound Water Shield on your body's surface make a "hissing" sound as it was corroded.]

[A trace of poisonous gas seeped through your pores, causing a surge of bone-piercing burning pain, making your figure sway slightly.]

"What overbearing poison!"

[Just as you were about to mobilize your Martial Dao Yuan Qi to forcibly resist the poisonous mist that could rapidly rot the Physical Body...]

[...the heavenly river water lotus Origin deep within your Dantian suddenly began to rotate violently on its own.]

[An extremely pure and sacred deep blue light bloomed from within your body.]

[The moment the poisonous gas that had entered your body touched this light, it dissolved as quickly as snow meeting a scorching sun!]

[It was even reversely purified into pure water-elemental Spiritual Qi, nourishing your entire body.]

"So that's how it is..."

[After getting past the initial awkwardness, a flash of pleasant surprise crossed your eyes.]

[The heavenly river water lotus was originally one of the purest water-elemental treasures in the world.]

[It was only now that you discovered it actually hid the excellent characteristic of being impervious to all evil and purifying all poisons!]

[With this confidence, you simply withdrew your shield and let the poisonous mist enter your body, only to be instantly purified by the heavenly river water lotus.]

[You strolled leisurely through the poison pool.]

[Then, through the central stone tablet, you comprehended this floor's Legacy: "Profound Water Secret Technique: Clear Stream."]

[Fourth Stage, cleared!]

[Fifth Stage: Misty Illusion Sea.]

[In the thick fog where you couldn't see your hand in front of your face, invisible "Water Shadow Assassins" were hidden in the void.]

[However, they picked the wrong opponent.]

[When it comes to playing with fog and illusions, you are an expert.]

[You directly activated the characteristics of the Water Moon Mirror Ripples Saber Technique you practiced, making the surrounding water mist even denser.]

[Through the complex refraction of light between the water mist and water mirrors, you created over a dozen blurry phantom shapes out of thin air.]

[Those Water Shadow Assassins were completely fooled by your illusions, exposing their positions one after another.]

[You drew your long saber and cut them down one by one like mowing grass, extracting the "Mist Concealment - Formless" Legacy from the stone tablet.]

[Fifth Stage, cleared!]

[Sixth Stage: Extreme Deep Cold.]

[The environment changed abruptly; all the water elements here were frozen into hard Profound Ice.]

[Ice Sculpture Puppets covering the sky and earth charged at you, waving ice blades.]

[You didn't blindly fight head-on; instead, you used this special environment to sense the stone tablet in the center of the Secret Realm.]

[Deepening your understanding of the "Profound Water Secret Technique."]

[Amidst dodging and sensing, a flash of inspiration struck your mind.]

[You finally broke through your previous stereotypical understanding of the "mutual generation and restriction" between Water-elemental Abilities and Ice-elemental Abilities.]

[Before this, you always thought ice and water shared the same source, but ice countered water in form.]

[But at this moment, you truly understood.]

[There is no such thing as absolute attribute restriction; the so-called restriction is just that your understanding of "techniques" is not deep enough.]

[The extreme cold of water is frost and ice!]

[Having figured this out, you successfully comprehended another application of Profound Water—"Mystic Water Myriad Forms - Condensing Frost."]

[You struck the ground with your palm, and deep blue frost energy exploded outward with you as the center.]

[Freezing all the charging Ice Sculpture Puppets in place, then kicking them all into ice shards on the ground.]

[Sixth Stage, cleared!]

[Seventh Stage: Raging Sea and Surging Waves.]

[You found yourself in a violent black ocean, with tsunamis hundreds of feet high crashing down on you from all directions.]

[This kind of natural power, enough to tear steel apart, became the best training ground for honing your movement techniques.]

[You moved freely through the Surging Waves, like a sea god strolling upon the billows.]

[Then you comprehended the "Profound Water Movement Technique: Riding the Wind and Breaking the Waves" on the central stone tablet.]

[Seventh Stage, cleared!]

[Eighth Stage: Mirror Image Water Prison.]

[In the enclosed water prison, the ladder condensed a "Perfect Replica" for you, possessing all of your Water-elemental Abilities.]

[Facing this dead end that would drive ordinary people to despair, your eyes lit up.]

"I just happened to be lacking a well-matched sparring partner!"

[You weren't in a hurry to end the battle, but excitedly began clashing with it using all the various Profound Water Secret Techniques you had just learned.]

[Wave-Piercing Blade, Abyss Shield, Clear Stream, Condensing Frost...]

[In the high-intensity clash of ability secret techniques, you rapidly increased the proficiency of these newly acquired techniques.]

[Until half an hour later, when you felt you had completely squeezed out the "teaching value" of this replica.]

[The replica did indeed perfectly copy your abilities, but it did not copy your martial Dao Realm tempered a thousand times over.]

[You closed in directly, relying on pure Physical Body strength and the overbearing Yuan Qi of the Origin Opening Realm.]

[With just a few punches and kicks, you blew the replica apart.]

[Eighth Stage, cleared!]

[...]

[Time lost its meaning in this high-intensity trial.]

[Like an untiring machine, you frantically swept through the Profound Water Legacies within this Heavenly Ladder.]

[Defense, purification, concealment, extreme cold, area attacks...]

[The originally lacking foundation of your Water-elemental Ability secret techniques...]

[...was being rapidly filled and perfected at a jaw-dropping speed.]

[Finally, amidst a violent spatial fluctuation, you stepped onto the stone platform of the ninth stage.]

["Rumble—"]

[The scene before you made you stop in your tracks involuntarily.]

[Here was no longer a monotonous, gray void.]

[Instead, it was an ancient, water-blue palace.]

[The great hall was woven from crystal-clear Profound Ice and flowing heavy water, appearing solemn and majestic.]

[On the ground, a massive formation diagram was inscribed.]

[In the center of the formation diagram sat a three-zhang-tall "Profound Water Strongman."]

[He was clad in heavy Water-Covered Chainmail, with both hands leaning on a massive Surging Waves Halberd.]

[Although it was only an energy projection, the pressure it emitted made your breathing hitch slightly.]

[This has definitely reached the destructive power of the Origin Opening Realm!]

"The final test of the first phase, beginning."

[That grand voice, for the first time, carried a sense of killing intent.]