296: Chapter 296 Breaking the Eternal Record, Trial Begins

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

Deafening footsteps boomed wildly on the Seven-Colored Glazed Stairs!

Dressed in white, Su Xuanchen was enveloped in the intertwined black and white of the Immortal-Demon Aurora. He wasn't just climbing; he was surging forward at breakneck speed on this Immortal King Treasure!

Six thousand steps! Seven thousand steps! Eight thousand steps!

The terrifying pressure, enough to instantly crush a Great Emperor Realm expert into meat paste, was like paper before the Myriad Tribulations Indestructible Primordial Demon Body, crumbling at the slightest touch!

With every step Su Xuanchen took, a brilliant Chaos Immortal Lotus bloomed beneath his feet. The roar of the Dao echoed throughout the Ancient Heavenly Palace, as if even the world itself was trembling at his monstrous Physical Body.

"Is this little pressure all you have to show for yourself?"

Su Xuanchen sneered with extreme disdain, his legs suddenly exerting force as he transformed into a bolt of lightning that tore through the Void Realm, leaping up with sheer brute force!

"Boom!"

With a world-shaking boom, Su Xuanchen's feet landed firmly on the nine-thousandth seven-colored step!

The wild wind whipped his white robes, yet he hadn't broken a single drop of sweat, his breathing as steady as if he had just taken a stroll.

At the very top of the staircase.

Chang Xiyue gripped the white jade railing before her so tightly that her fair knuckles had turned completely white from the exertion.

Her cold and beautiful face was now filled with extreme shock and disbelief, her icy blue eyes trembling violently.

"Less than five minutes... how is this possible!"

Chang Xiyue's voice trembled violently, and she stood frozen in place as if struck by lightning.

She knew exactly what those nine thousand steps meant!

During the Peak of the Ancient Heavenly Court, countless brilliant peerless prodigies gathered here. Even those hailed as once-in-an-eternity prodigies could only reach the five-thousandth step at most.

And back then, the peerless Ancient Empress Yun Lingxiao, who suppressed All Heavens and Myriad Realms, took half a day to climb these nine thousand steps!

As for Chang Xiyue herself, she had spent a day and a night struggling on the brink of life and death just to barely reach this position!

But now!

From the moment Su Xuanchen stepped on the first stair to standing on the nine-thousandth, he hadn't even taken five minutes!

And he did it by running!

"Insane... this has completely shattered the eternal laws of the Heavenly Court!" Chang Xiyue gasped for air, her full chest heaving violently. "With such Heaven-Defying potential, if he had been born in the Ancient Era, even the Empress herself would likely have been completely overshadowed by him!"

Just as Chang Xiyue was so shocked she began to question her life...

...Su Xuanchen, standing on the nine-thousandth step, stretched lazily.

"Climbing some stairs is making me sleepy. This Heavenly Court test is far too unchallenging."

Su Xuanchen yawned and casually lifted his right foot, stepping onto the nine-thousand-and-first stair without hesitation.

"Buzz—!!!"

At the absolute moment his foot landed!

The entire Ancient Heavenly Staircase suddenly erupted with a blindingly intense light!

This intense light was like an exploding primordial sun, instantly swallowing Su Xuanchen's stalwart figure completely.

The light was blinding, and space underwent violent twisting and tearing.

When Su Xuanchen opened his eyes again, the scene before him had changed drastically.

He was no longer on the Seven-Colored Glazed Stairs.

Beneath his feet was a massive Bluestone Plaza that stretched as far as the eye could see.

The plaza was extremely ancient and weathered, its floor covered in dense, bottomless gashes from blades and axes. In every crack, a scalp-numbing, earth-shattering killing intent lingered; it was clear that countless brutal life-and-death battles had taken place here.

"Spatial teleportation? Is this the Trial Grounds for the final thousand steps of the staircase?"

Su Xuanchen raised an eyebrow, his gaze sweeping across the surroundings with extreme sharpness.

Around the perimeter of the giant plaza stood dozens of massive stone statues, each a hundred zhang tall, arranged in a precise pattern!

These statues were lifelike, each in a different pose. Some held long spears and glared forward, while others performed hand seals with solemn expressions.

What surprised Su Xuanchen even more was that these statues, clearly made of stone, emitted astonishing fluctuations of spiritual power! The pressure from each statue was no less than that of those living True Immortal Realm old monsters in the outside world!

"Quite the grand display."

Su Xuanchen crossed his arms and couldn't help but click his tongue.

"Using dozens of True Immortal-level combatants as decorative statues... the Ancient Heavenly Court really was obscenely wealthy back then. They certainly knew how to put on a show."

He strolled casually, observing the statues as he went.

Suddenly...

...Su Xuanchen's gaze suddenly sharpened, landing precisely on the tallest and most eye-catching statue in the center of the plaza.

It was a statue of an exquisitely beautiful woman.

The statue wore a Flowing Cloud Immortal Dress and held a simple, ancient longsword, her head slightly bowed as she looked down upon the entire plaza.

Though it was an inanimate object, the statue emitted a terrifying, supreme pressure that transcended All Heavens and Myriad Realms! That Aura of extreme arrogance, coldness, and viewing all things as mere straw dogs made even someone as proud as Su Xuanchen feel a hint of trepidation when meeting those stone-carved eyes.

"What an overbearing woman."

Su Xuanchen narrowed his eyes and gave a certain sneer.

"To strike such a 'sole supreme' pose in the heart of the Ancient Heavenly Court, there's absolutely no one else it could be besides that crazy woman Yun Lingxiao, who kept Old Ancestor Blood Saber on a leash like a dog!"

Su Xuanchen looked the Empress's statue up and down with extreme impudence, a wicked smirk playing on his lips.

"Her looks are certainly enough to ruin nations, but I bet her temper is absolutely foul."

Just as Su Xuanchen was critiquing the Empress's statue...

Buzz!

...the Origin of the Myriad Tribulations Indestructible Primordial Demon Body within him suddenly sent out a faint but very real warning of danger!

The smile on Su Xuanchen's face vanished instantly, and his gaze turned cold.

He whipped his head around, his sharp gaze piercing toward the far end of the plaza!

There, a layer of dense Chaos Mist lingered, which even his Immortal-Demon Eyes could not fully see through.

And in the deepest part of that mist, Su Xuanchen clearly sensed a terrifying and massive mysterious figure lurking!

The figure emitted no spiritual fluctuations, but even the slightest hint of its Aura was enough to make Su Xuanchen's Physical Body, which had broken the taboos of the Dao, feel a tangible fatal threat!

"What kind of monster is hidden in that mist?"

Su Xuanchen's brow furrowed, and the immortal and demonic qi within him surged, ready to unleash a thunderous strike at any moment.

"If even I can feel threatened, then this Heavenly Court trial finally seems like it'll be worth watching."

Just at the critical moment when Su Xuanchen stepped forward to investigate the mist!

"Crack! Crack! Crack!"

A series of ear-piercing cracking sounds suddenly exploded across the empty, silent plaza!

Su Xuanchen stopped abruptly and turned to look.

On the far right of the plaza, the hundred-zhang-tall statue holding a longsword began to show countless dense cracks on its surface!

Large chunks of stone skin fell off like scales, hitting the bluestone floor with heavy thuds.

Then!

"Boom!"

A violent and sharp Sword Intent soared into the sky!

The statue completely shattered!

Amidst the flying debris, a figure in white, with an exquisitely embroidered White Flood Dragon on the hem of his robes, lunged out from the dust like a bolt of lightning tearing through the Void Realm!

"Bang!"

The white-robed figure landed heavily dozens of zhang in front of Su Xuanchen, crushing a large area of the bluestone floor.

The man had a cold face and hollow, lifeless eyes. He gripped an immortal sword that emitted an Aura of extreme cold, and his entire body exuded a pure Death Qi born solely for slaughter!

At the same time!

A hollow, emotionless mechanical voice boomed over the entire plaza like thunder from the Nine Heavens!

"Trialist: Bone age confirmed, cultivation level compliant."

"The nine-thousand-and-first step trial officially begins!"

"Opponent: Ancient Heavenly Court Inner Sect Disciple! White Flood Dragon Token holder! Cultivation: Fifth-level True Immortal Realm!"

The emotionless announcement echoed repeatedly across the plaza.

Hearing this, a flash of extreme surprise crossed Su Xuanchen's deep eyes.

"Fifth-level True Immortal Realm?!"

Su Xuanchen cursed inwardly in shock.

"Is this Ancient Heavenly Court insane? A terrifying combatant at the fifth level of the True Immortal Realm would be an ancestor-level figure capable of founding a sect and dominating an entire Star Domain in the outside world! Here, he's just a damn Inner Sect Disciple?!"

Looking at the extraordinary white-robed Sword Cultivator before him, who was ready to kill at any moment, Su Xuanchen gained a very direct understanding of the Ancient Heavenly Court's strict Rank system.

"If even Inner Sect Disciples are divided by things like White Flood Dragon Tokens, what kind of monsters are the Core Disciples? Peak True Immortals? Or half-step Immortal Kings?"

After the brief moment of surprise...

...Su Xuanchen didn't panic at all. Instead, he cracked his neck excitedly, the bones popping loudly.

He casually loosened his wrists as he looked at the fifth-level True Immortal Inner Sect Disciple before him, who radiated earth-shattering killing intent. A fanatical, bloodthirsty smile filled with absolute violence slowly curled on his handsome face.

"Good! Very good!"

The immortal and demonic blood within Su Xuanchen began to boil wildly.

He knew very well that the boring game of climbing stairs was completely over.

The true trial had begun!