247: He's gone mad! Even as the dragon scales crumble, he continues; he actually wants to challenge the limits of mythology!

Inside the Ancient Bronze Palace, the atmosphere shifted from original astonishment to a solemnity that was almost like a pilgrimage.

Within the massive water mirror, that five-meter-tall Dark Gold Demon God raised a dragon foot capable of crushing mountains and landed it steadily on the 950th step.

“Thud—!”

A dull, heavy sound transmitted through the water mirror, as if striking the heart of every Elder.

There was no swaying, no trembling, and certainly no bending of the spine under the pressure of the laws as everyone had anticipated.

Lu Sheng stood there like an eternal monument; though the astral winds howled around him, he remained motionless.

“Phew...”

The red-haired Elder Xing Tian exhaled a heavy breath of turbid air. His clenched fists slowly relaxed, and a look of heartfelt ecstasy and relief appeared on his face.

“Good kid! He actually stood firm!”

Elder Xing Tian punched the air fiercely, his loud voice making the hall hum. “The 950th step! That is a true watershed! Even that sensational tenth level Qingyang Dao Child from the previous session stopped right here! This kid is only ninth level... Hahaha! This isn't just a True Dragon; he's simply a monster!”

Sitting in the main seat, the face of Elder Li, covered in the wrinkles of time, also smoothed out, his eyes filled with admiration.

“He is indeed a fine sprout.”

Elder Li nodded slightly, his gaze piercing through the water mirror as if examining a rare treasure. “Since he has proven his potential, our Human Race naturally cannot be stingy. Pass down my order: once this boy enters Dengxian Island, the 'Heaven-Grade' resource vault shall be open to him for three days. Additionally, take out that bottle of dragon blood body tempering fluid that has been sealed for three thousand years; consider it a meeting gift from this old man.”

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone in the hall was shocked, then they all nodded in succession.

This level of treatment meant they were already cultivating Lu Sheng as a future pillar of the Human Race.

“The boy should be satisfied now.” The Beautiful Woman in Palace Attire chuckled, covering her mouth. “At the 950th step, the pressure of each subsequent step increases geometrically. He should stop to regulate his breathing and stabilize himself.”

Everyone believed that this one-man show ended here.

Lu Sheng had already proven himself. Next, as long as he made a dignified exit, what awaited him were flowers, applause, and a mountain of resources.

However.

The scene within the water mirror did not freeze as they wished.

Standing on the 950th step, Lu Sheng did not sit down to regulate his breathing, nor did he even lift his head.

He only slightly adjusted his neck. Within those vertical pupils burning with golden flames, a flash of heart-palpitating greed and fanaticism flickered.

“So this is the 950th step?”

Lu Sheng felt the terrifying pressure around him, which was as thick as liquid metal. Instead of retreating, the corners of his mouth curled into a ferocious arc. “Since I've come this far, wouldn't it be a lack of ability if I didn't reach the end?”

The next second.

Under the watch of the Elders, whose hearts had just settled only to leap back into their throats...

Lu Sheng's right foot, covered in dark gold dragon scales, lifted once more.

Then, without the slightest hesitation and carrying a resolve that looked back at nothing, he stepped heavily onto the 951st step!

“What?!”

“He’s still going?!”

Elder Xing Tian's eyes nearly popped out as he roared in shock, “Is this kid crazy? After the 950th step, every pace is like a different world; that is the ultimate suppression of the laws! He hasn't even regulated his breathing—is he not afraid his Divine Soul will shatter?!”

It was like someone who had just finished a marathon and, after crossing the finish line, didn't stop but instead started a hundred-meter sprint!

He was gambling with his life!

In the water mirror, as Lu Sheng's foot landed, the entire White Jade Heavenly Staircase trembled violently.

“Crack— Crack—”

A series of tooth-aching sounds of bone compression clearly reached everyone's ears.

The moment Lu Sheng's five-meter-tall demon god body stepped onto the 951st step, it suddenly sank downward!

The indestructible dark gold dragon scales on his body actually cracked into fine fissures under this terrifying crushing force of the laws. Strands of golden dragon blood seeped out, instantly staining his scales red.

“Nonsense! This is absolute nonsense!”

The Beautiful Woman in Palace Attire's expression changed drastically. She looked urgently at Elder Li. “Elder Li! Stop him quickly! He is overdrawing his potential! If his Divine Soul Foundation is damaged, this peerless sprout will be ruined!”

“Yes, Elder Li! Intervene forcefully!” Elder Xing Tian was also anxious, even beginning to mobilize his spirit source, prepared to tear through space to save him.

“Wait.”

A low but unquestionable voice stopped everyone's movements.

Elder Li stared fixedly at the water mirror.

His gaze did not linger on the cracking wounds on Lu Sheng's body, nor on his swaying frame.

What he was looking at were Lu Sheng's eyes.

Within those dark gold vertical pupils, though they were bloodshot and enduring a pain that would drive an ordinary tenth level expert insane in an instant, the burning golden flame never went out.

Not only did it not go out, it burned even brighter!

That was ambition.

That was arrogance.

It was the most naked contempt for the so-called 'limits.'

“Don't move.” Elder Li took a deep breath, his voice hoarse. “The light in his eyes hasn't faded. His will... is stronger and more terrifying than we imagined.”

“Don't forget, ten thousand years ago, the First Emperor Immortal Emperor was the same. Step by step, he turned a path everyone thought impossible into a Great Dao that reached the heavens.”

“Perhaps...”

Elder Li's fingers trembled slightly. “He truly can give us a surprise that transcends myth.”

Inside the hall, there was a deathly silence.

Everyone held their breath, their hearts pounding wildly with Lu Sheng's difficult yet determined steps.

Ascension Road, 960th step.

“Bang!”

Another step landed.

Every muscle in Lu Sheng's body was spasming. Large patches of dark gold dragon scales shattered and reformed.

That feeling was as if countless invisible blunt knives were slowly sawing through his bones and tearing his Soul apart.

“Exhilarating!”

Lu Sheng squeezed a low growl from deep within his throat.

When pain reached the extreme, it actually produced a perverted sense of pleasure.

Under this extreme pressure, the Dragon God Sequence within his body was operating at an unprecedented speed. Every cell was cheering, transforming, and greedily devouring the pure power of the laws from his surroundings.

Just like that, dragging a body as heavy as a mountain, he climbed toward the higher reaches, step by step.

965... 970... 975... And behind him, far away at the 900th step.

“Chirp—!!!”

A clear but somewhat annoyed phoenix cry rang out.

Crimson divine fire soared into the sky, turning into flaming feathers dancing across the air.

Luo Tianfei's red dress had already transformed into the magnificent divine phoenix heavenly garment. The massive pair of flaming phoenix wings behind her were fully unfurled, making her look like a goddess bathing in lava.

She had just stepped onto the 900th step.

The terrifying pressure that descended in that instant nearly forced her to her knees.

That was a qualitative shift in pressure, the most brutal interrogation of the Soul.

“Damn it...”

Luo Tianfei gritted her teeth. Her stunningly beautiful face was covered in sweat, and several strands of hair stuck to her cheeks, making her look somewhat disheveled.

She exerted all her strength and finally stabilized her form.

She thought that by reaching this step, she should have closed the distance between herself and that bastard.

But when she painstakingly lifted her head to look forward, those proud phoenix eyes instantly dimmed.

At the edge of her vision...

That dark gold back she viewed as her target had now become a blurry small black dot. High up at the 970th-plus step, it was still stubbornly moving upward.

The gap had not narrowed; instead, it had widened to a level that inspired despair.

“That bastard... does he not know fatigue?”

A deep sense of powerlessness welled up in Luo Tianfei's heart, followed immediately by humiliated rage. “This big worm is absolutely a pervert! Absolutely!”

She glanced down at her trembling legs, then glared defiantly at that distant back. Gritting her teeth, she forced herself against the astral winds and took another step forward.

She could lose to anyone, but she couldn't lose to him!