Chapter 546 - 540: Failed Ascent
Chapter 546: Chapter 540: Failed Ascent
"That is..."
All the Kings stood still, staring intently at the anomaly at the top of the Celestial Ladder.
When the light faded, revealing what lay within, their eyes suddenly widened.
Divine Format!
Appearing at the top of the Celestial Ladder was actually a complete Divine Format!
Who would have thought the final reward at the top of the Celestial Ladder would be something of this level!
In an instant.
All the Kings’ breaths became rapid.
Some of the old Kings actually had the ability to ascend to Tier Eleven, but they remained at Tier Ten, unwilling to ascend and become "fodder" for those top-tier Tier Eleven’s.
After all, a Lord with only one Divine Format is absolutely a coveted morsel for powerful Lords, always attracting attention.
If by chance there’s a Tier Eleven Lord with eight or nine complete Divine Formats who just needs this one’s Divine Format, he’s virtually sentenced to death.
So they prefer to stay at Tier Ten as a local emperor rather than ascend to become livestock.
This is the hidden malice under the rules of this world, a murderous intent targeting all Lords.
But if they could obtain this complete Divine Format, ascending to Tier Eleven would immediately grant them two Divine Formats, greatly enhancing self-preservation, making a world of difference.
They must get this Divine Format!
This is the one thought of all old Kings at this moment.
Who wouldn’t want to ascend safely to Tier Eleven, instead of continuing to eke out a living at Tier Ten?
Even others.
Even the slightly younger Kings displayed greedy expressions.
This complete Divine Format, even if not used for fusion, its mere value could be exchanged with Tier Eleven Lords in their Realm for Rule Fragments, or even a vast array of unimaginable resources.
Getting it means almost instant rise, suddenly joining the ranks of the most elite Tier Ten in the entire Ten Thousand Realms!
"Let’s go, try it first."
Immediately, unable to resist the temptation, several stepped forward, heading to the next level to start climbing.
And at this moment, an anomaly occurred.
The black-eyed youth previously suppressed on the platform suddenly let out a roar, and actually stood up slowly, covered in blood.
Immediately.
A giant shadow of a heart appeared behind him, emitting a striking black light.
"Thump, thump, thump, thump..."
The heavy heartbeat constantly echoed in everyone’s ears.
Each beat felt like a heavy hammer striking their chest, turning their faces pale and making them retreat in horror.
Even Lin You, who was recovering, was extremely surprised.
Who would’ve thought before he could relay the message, the other party would use the heart’s power, in such a public display no less.
In an instant.
All Great Emperors on the Celestial Ladder were drawn to it, faces all changing.
"It’s that heart!"
"In the Tier Ten site over there!"
"How could it appear in such a place!?"
Since the Realm War began, Great Emperors from both camps have been searching for the heart’s whereabouts, trying to either kill it in the cradle or acquire its power.
But the heart’s stealth and escape abilities were incredibly resilient, even they couldn’t track it.
But now.
That heart appeared so brazenly in front of them, how could they not be shocked.
Immediately, several Great Emperors attempted to break through barriers to kill the heart in the Tier Ten site, but were bounced back by the invisible force on the Celestial Ladder.
"No way, the rule level here is too high, impossible to break!"
The Great Emperor who retreated said solemnly.
This trial Celestial Ladder leading to the Life Realm was formed by the highest rules of Ten Thousand Realms, containing power of transcendence.
Despite their formidable strength, they had no way to interfere.
"Looks like he’s calculated precisely on this point, thus dared to expose himself like this."
"Anyway, get someone to guard below, this time he must not escape again."
"Others speed up to reach the top, enter the Life Realm to kill him!"
The Great Emperors of the Anti-Alliance immediately made a decision, planning to attack from both sides.
While the Great Emperors of the Realm Alliance exchanged glances, nodded to each other, and gradually accelerated their pace, heading towards the top of the Celestial Ladder.
The Celestial Ladder above began to change, atmosphere grew different from before.
And at this time.
Behind the Realm Alliance’s main camp, in a thickly evil qi-infested abyss.
The enormous floating skull suddenly flickered with ghostly fire, also sensed the heart’s presence.
"Finally appeared, my heart vessel."
An extremely chilly voice echoed continuously in the abyss.
Then came another burst of laughter, causing the abyss’s evil qi to surge furiously.
But strangely, the skull didn’t leave the abyss to seek the heart.
Instead, after the laughter, it became silent again, as if nothing had ever happened.
Moving farther away beyond the abyss, one could still see the ground full of bones, and various horrifying pools of blood.
There were Demon’s, and human’s, stretching out for miles.
...
On top of the Celestial Ladder.
No matter how the crowd reacted, the young man with black eyes continued to channel the power of his heart.
Then, as if obtaining some sort of divine power, he started ascending again.
Though his speed was slow to the extreme, like a snail crawling, he still stepped toward the 902nd-floor platform, climbing up with difficulty.
This caused the Lords below to panic.
Afraid that the complete Divine Fragment would be snatched by him, many immediately followed and arrived at the edge of the 901st-floor platform.
Including Lin You.
Although he couldn’t use the complete Divine Fragment right now, if he could obtain it, it would still be highly beneficial to him.
If he couldn’t get it, he wouldn’t force himself, since his life was more important.
With that in mind, he slowly lifted his foot and stepped onto the 901st-floor platform.
"Boom!!"
Suddenly, a vast and boundless pressure descended, as if the entire world was squeezing him, turning him into a speck of dust between heaven and earth.
Even though he was mentally prepared, Lin You was immediately pressured to kneel halfway, veins bulging all over his body.
Beside him came the muffled groans of other Kings, directly spitting blood and flying backward, unable to withstand even one breath.
How terrifying the pressure was!
Lin You was extremely shocked; the pressure of the last 100 floors was beyond what an ordinary person could resist.
Calculating each floor as a doubling, it was more than five hundred times the initial pressure, just a step forward required tremendous stamina.
If it weren’t for his Constitution granted by his Racial Talent, he probably wouldn’t be able to sustain himself.
In just a blink of an eye.
Of the hundreds of Kings who climbed to the 900th floor, less than half remained, struggling to ascend the next step.
What surprised Lin You was.
Ye Lingyin, whom he had met halfway before, was also among them.
She gritted her teeth, her eyes fixed on the top of the stairs, inching forward step by step, not much slower than those old Kings.
Seeing them go further and further, he too settled his mind, trudging forward with heavy footing.
901...905...910...
As the stairs rose continuously, the pressure around him grew stronger, gradually forcing more individuals to retreat hastily.
When Lin You reached the 920th floor, the number of people around him was already less than a hundred, it took ages to move even a step forward.
Even the black-eyed youth relying on heart power was stuck on the 925th floor, unable to move.
Despite being only five floors away, even if Lin You unleashed a burst of Barbaric Roar, he might not be able to catch up.
The power of that heart was simply too terrifying.
To catch up with that guy, a different method would be necessary.
Furthermore, at this pace, no one would likely succeed in climbing to the top today, the 950th floor might be the limit.
Even he was feeling extraordinarily strained, with wounds everywhere on his body split by the pressure, his legs shook as if filled with lead, each step brought stinging pain, making it incredibly hard to progress.
"Retreat!"
The other Kings clearly noticed this too, with no hesitation, they gave up climbing and retreated.
Planning to go back and be well-prepared before attempting those last dozens of barriers again.
Lin You didn’t force himself either.
He knew his Basic Attributes were lower than those of the old Kings; if even they couldn’t continue, then neither could he.
After hesitating for a moment, he promptly retreated, following them back.
Under the counteraction of the pressure, he quickly retreated back to the bottom of the Celestial Ladder, only feeling a sense of relief, an unprecedented feeling of ease flooding his heart.
"It seems I need to be more prepared."
Lin You raised his head, looked at the highest levels of each rank, basically reaching only up to around the 920th floor, unable to advance any further.
It seemed he had ample time to prepare.
It wouldn’t be too late to launch an assault on the Celestial Ladder after accumulating sufficient power.
And the Celestial Ladder Trial seemed to recognize that no one could climb to the top so quickly, refreshing corresponding treasures at each level periodically, causing countless Lords to remain and fight for them madly.
The only regret was.
After the appearance of the Rule Fragment on the 500th floor, the treasures became Rule Fragments, with Lin You’s idea of acquiring one or two more Divine Fragments vanishing instantly.
Seeing the dwindling rule power within him, he didn’t linger any longer, ready to teleport back to his Territory to rest before continuing.
Unexpectedly.
Just as he turned around, he saw Situ Jian supporting a severely wounded Yan Lie down the stairs, rushing to the prairie outside.
"How did he get hurt like this?" Lin You flashed to the two of them.
Without the rules binding on the prairie, space manipulation was unrestrained, hence Instant Teleportation wasn’t restricted.
"Lin You, you’re just in time!"
Seeing Lin You appear, Situ Jian’s spirit lifted, eagerly seeking help from him.
"Quick, quickly help heal Yan Lie, this guy recklessly charged up to the 900th floor and was damaged by the pressure there."
"Damaged by pressure?"
Without hesitation, Lin You raised his hand and enveloped Yan Lie with Healing Light.
The power of the Tier Ten Healing Skill used to heal a Tier Nine Lord was indeed powerful, quickly and visibly restoring his injuries.
But Yan Lie, upon awakening, struggled to rise.
"Don’t stop me! I have to pass the trial today, Xiao Rou is still waiting for me there!"
With a roar, he recklessly tried to rush toward the Celestial Ladder again.
Yan Rou, was indeed his sister’s name.