249: The elders were stunned! This was such treatment; they were treating him like a living ancestor?

The clouds and mist dispersed.

That massive golden Dragon Claw, capable of crushing mountains and rivers, landed steadily on the 1000th step of the White Jade Platform with a heart-palpitating weight.

Boom—!

The crushing pressure of the rules, which he had imagined would grind his Soul into dust, did not descend.

On the contrary, the moment Lu Sheng's feet were firmly planted, the violent astral winds and thick pressure around him dissipated instantly like a receding tide.

In its place was a refreshing aura that gladdened the heart, followed by a deathly silence.

"Is it over?"

A hint of surprise flashed in Lu Sheng's massive golden vertical pupils.

It was like carrying a gas tank up thirty floors in one breath, prepared for a life-and-death battle with the final boss, only to open the door and find that not only was the boss absent, but he had also left behind a steaming-hot imperial feast.

It felt a bit anticlimactic.

With a thought from Lu Sheng.

The brilliant golden light filling the sky began to rapidly retract. The terrifying dragon body, hundreds of feet long and coiled in the heavens, shrank and restructured like molten gold.

Crack, crack, crack—

After a series of dense sounds of bones resetting.

That majestic True Dragon vanished.

The slender and upright young man, wearing black casual clothes, reappeared on the empty White Jade Platform.

He simply stretched his neck, feeling the spirit source and blood qi within his body, which were undergoing a transformation by frantically devouring the surrounding Spiritual Qi after being squeezed to their limits.

With just this one climb to the summit, his Physical Body strength had increased by at least ten percent!

"Phew... Not bad, this trip wasn't in vain."

Lu Sheng looked forward with a calm gaze.

And at this moment.

Within that ancient and magnificent Bronze Hall at the peak of Dengxian Island, the atmosphere had reached a boiling point!

"He reached the top!!!"

Elder Xing Tian, clad in crimson battle armor—a brute who was usually decisive in slaughter and would strike at the slightest disagreement—was now like a little fanboy who had seen his idol. His face was flushed with excitement as he paced back and forth in the hall.

"The 1000th step! Someone actually went up! And with a ninth level body!!"

"True Dragon! Is this the true value of a True Dragon?!"

Elder Xing Tian suddenly turned his head, his copper-bell-like eyes staring fixedly at Elder Li in the main seat, spittle flying everywhere:

"Old Li! Stop hesitating! If we don't give resources to a seed like this, I'll be the first to disagree! I'm telling you now, if you're stingy, I'll empty my own private vault to raise him!"

From the main seat.

That Elder Li, who had white hair and a youthful face and was usually the most particular about his poise, also stood up abruptly.

The light bursting from his originally cloudy old eyes was even more piercing than the midday sun.

He stared fixedly at the young figure in the Water Mirror, his breathing rapid and his chest heaving violently.

After a long time, he slammed the table hard.

"Bang!"

That table, crafted from Ten-Thousand-Year Profound Ice Iron, instantly turned into powder!

"Give it!!"

Elder Li's voice was hoarse, yet it carried an unquestionable madness and determination:

"Dengxian Island can go all out to cultivate this little fellow."

"Furthermore, notify the Human Race Alliance headquarters and report the 'Above-Sequence Talent Cultivation Plan'!"

"Whether it's dragon blood body tempering fluid, Enlightenment Divine Stone, or Abyss Crystals... as long as this kid wants it, and as long as it's in the vault, cram it into him!!"

"No matter how much he wants, no matter how expensive!"

Elder Li waved his hand grandly, possessing the heroic spirit of someone willing to go bankrupt to promote a top star:

"In short—as long as Dengxian Island is not destroyed, the resources will not stop!"

"I want the whole world to know that my Dengxian Island has produced another True Dragon!!"

Hiss—!

In the hall, although the other Elders were somewhat mentally prepared, they still couldn't help but gasp upon hearing Elder Li's nearly "prodigal" promise.

"What kind of specification was this?"

"How was this cultivating a Genius?"

"They were clearly treating Lu Sheng as the future 'Living Ancestor' of the Human Race!"

"This kind of treatment, even if one searched through the annals of Human Race history, had only been enjoyed by the First Emperor Immortal Emperor, who founded Immortal Qin and swept across the six directions ten thousand years ago!"

"Elder Li is wise!"

A strange light shimmered in the beautiful eyes of the Beautiful Woman in Palace Attire. As she looked at the calm young man in the Water Mirror, a trace of inexplicable awe actually arose in her heart.

"But..."

She changed the subject, her gaze shifting to the seemingly ordinary ancient mirror in front of Lu Sheng, her voice becoming somewhat complex and tense:

"Resources are one thing, but this 'heart-questioning mirror'..."

"Legend has it that this mirror is a supreme treasure left by an ancient civilization, capable of reflecting a person's Soul essence, and even... a corner of the future."

"When the First Emperor Immortal Emperor reached the summit, the heart-questioning mirror once reflected the magnificent vision of 'one person, one sword, severing the Abyss for ten thousand years.' Later, it indeed came true; he became the guardian deity of the Human Race."

The woman's fingers tightly twisted her handkerchief, her voice trembling slightly:

"This child is a True Dragon Reincarnation, with a heavy killing intent and unparalleled dominance... I wonder what kind of scene this heart-questioning mirror will reflect?"

As soon as these words were spoken, the originally feverish atmosphere in the hall cooled down by several degrees.

The eyes of all the Elders were locked onto the Water Mirror.

"Both expectant and apprehensive."

"They wanted to know whether this True Dragon, who had appeared out of nowhere, brought to the Human Race the hope of protection or... another kind of unknown fear?"

"...At the end of the Ascension Road."

"Lu Sheng did not know that he had already become a 'hot commodity' in the eyes of those old men and women."

"He was standing in the center of the platform, examining an object standing before him."

"It was a mirror."

"The mirror was three zhang high, carved entirely from an unknown blue-gray rock. The mirror surface was not glass or metal, but a strange substance that flowed constantly, like mercury."

"It stood there quietly, without emitting any powerful aura, even appearing somewhat simple."

"This is the reward for the finish line?"

Lu Sheng's brow twitched slightly, feeling somewhat disappointed. "It doesn't look like any kind of Divine Artifact. Can I take it away?"

He walked up to the mirror.

In the flowing mercury mirror surface, his sharp-featured, somewhat arrogant, and handsome face was clearly reflected.

Other than that, there was nothing else.

"Nothing special about it."

Lu Sheng muttered to himself, subconsciously wanting to reach out and tap the mirror to see if it was hollow.

But the moment he raised his hand, his cautious instinct made him stop.

In this bizarre place, touching things randomly could easily lead to trouble.

"Dragon Eyes, open."

With a thought from Lu Sheng, the dark golden vertical pupils in his eyes instantly contracted into needlepoints.

Buzz—!

A stream of data that only he could see instantly exploded across his retina!

[Target: Ancient Heart-Questioning Mirror]

[Grade: ??? (Beyond current cognition)]

[Attribute: Karma / Time]

[Description: One of the highest creations left by an ancient civilization, containing a extremely faint trace of the "Time Law." By touching the mirror surface and inquiring with the Soul, one can reflect a certain "possibility" of the future in the toucher's subconscious.]

[Note: Do not try to deceive it; it knows you better than you know yourself.]