Chapter 271 - 165: Saint Venerable Shocked, All Saints Descend, A White-Clad Figure Reigning Like a Young Sovereign

Chapter 271: Chapter 165: Saint Venerable Shocked, All Saints Descend, A White-Clad Figure Reigning Like a Young Sovereign

Inside the Cyan Mist Saint Hall.

As Evergreen Saint Venerable slowly gazed toward the Celestial Ladder, a majestic, beautiful silhouette also materialized not far beside him. The figure gently opened her beautiful eyes, and a terrifying, heaven-shaking holy aura swept across the nine heavens. Shockingly, the pressure exuding from her was actually a fraction stronger than that of Evergreen Saint Venerable.

This person was none other than one of the Cyan Mist Sect’s two supreme Saint Venerables—Saint Venerable Changkong!

"Evergreen, your thoughts are somewhat turbulent. Are you worried that youth will pose a threat to Wanli?" the majestic silhouette spoke softly, her face slowly revealing itself from within the holy aura. She was a breathtakingly beautiful woman with an aloof, unreachable elegance. Her peerless features radiated a world-suppressing dominance.

Hearing this, the man immediately let out a cold sneer and said indifferently, "He’s merely a genius. I wouldn’t go so far as to take him seriously. This cycle’s Three Flowers Gathering at the Top will belong to our Wanli, and it can only be hers.

"As for that youth? He’s just a leaping clown, a flash in the pan. How could he possibly be worthy of comparison with our daughter?"

Having spoken, the two slowly closed their eyes, paying no further attention to the matter.

Meanwhile, atop the Holy Ladder Altar.

BOOM!!!

As Jiang Hao stepped onto the second holy step, an even more terrifying restrictive force crashed down upon him, nearly making him stumble. However, once he gradually familiarized himself with and adapted to the gravitational suppression and the sweeping mystic energy, the youth’s unsteady footing slowly stabilized.

His long hair danced wildly; his white robes were as pristine as snow. Looking up at the Holy Ladder, the youth walked with a steady gait, ascending the holy steps one by one. For a time, the hundreds of thousands of Cultivators from various sects kept their eyes glued to him.

The third step. The fourth step... The tenth... The twentieth.

No one experienced any drastic emotional fluctuations over the first sixty-five steps. However, when the youth reached the sixty-sixth step, everyone’s breathing suddenly grew heavy.

"Can he make it up there?"

"The sixty-sixth step is the true dividing line between a snake and a dragon; it represents a massive chasm. The first sixty-five steps mean absolutely nothing. Only a genius who truly sets foot on the sixty-sixth step is qualified to become the Eldest Senior Brother of a Holy Sect."

As countless Cultivators watched with rapt attention, Jiang Hao also looked at the sixty-sixth holy step before him. Letting out a deep breath, he slowly raised his foot and finally stepped toward it.

RUMBLE!!!

WHOOSH!

The moment half of the youth’s foot landed on the sixty-sixth step, the entire Holy Ladder trembled madly, erupting with boundless, world-shocking Holy Light. The Holy Light shot into the sky, illuminating the youth’s features with a pristine white glow.

At the same time, Jiang Hao instantly felt a gravitational force and mystic energy more than ten times greater than that of the sixty-fifth step suppressing him, nearly shoving him right off the holy steps. Only then did he understand that the true Heaven-Ascending Road began after the sixty-fifth step. The preceding steps were merely a test to prevent those ascending from being caught off guard and crushed into bloody mist. If climbers realized they lacked the qualifications, they could still stop everything before reaching the sixty-sixth step.

With the mounting layers of restrictions, even Jiang Hao was forced to mobilize all his Power of Transcendence, frantically resisting the suppression.

He realized, "No, the Power of Transcendence alone isn’t nearly enough to reach the sixty-sixth step. Does this also restrict Soul Power?"

Through a brief moment of exploration, Jiang Hao was surprised to discover that Thousand Sects Island’s Holy Ladder was not as simple as he had imagined. That restrictive force—or rather, a disguised testing force—not only required one to endure it with their cultivation base, but also demanded terrifying Soul Power to counteract the mystic energy.

With this in mind, Jiang Hao didn’t hesitate. He immediately mobilized his Wang Yang Soul Power to grind away that trace of resistance. As his True Dragon Soul Power surged forth, Jiang Hao instantly felt much lighter. Without delay, he lifted his leg and ascended.

BOOM!!!

The moment the youth fully stood upon the sixty-sixth step, dense mist blanketed the sky above Thousand Sects Island, and radiant Holy Light showered down from the heavens. Not only that, but the moment the heavenly phenomena appeared, the chime of a Spirit Bell—seeming to originate from beyond the nine heavens—resounded throughout the Thousand Sect Island Realm, echoing across every island.

As the Holy Light and the bell chime manifested simultaneously, countless mighty figures from the Holy Sects raised their eyes.

"It seems the Beardless Sect has truly found a peerless genius. To think he actually reached the sixty-sixth holy step."

"With the potential of the sixty-sixth tier, he is indeed qualified to be the Eldest Senior Brother of a Holy Sect."

Countless peerless Venerables, worldly Venerables, generational Divine Kings, and Saint Realm Powerhouses—remarking from across the endless island territories—spoke with profound indifference, their tones exceptionally calm. Evidently, to them, a genius picked up by a group of declining sects and participating in a low-level investiture ceremony was not worth their excessive attention.

Back at the Holy Ladder Altar.

The moment the youth ascended the sixty-sixth Celestial Tier, cheers rang out.

"Great job, Eldest Senior Brother!"

Some Beardless Sect disciples couldn’t help but shout in excitement. Their breathing grew particularly ragged when they saw the ladder-ascending reward descending in front of the white-robed figure. Reaching the sixty-sixth holy step had at least won back some pride for the Beardless Sect. Their Eldest Senior Brother now had the qualifications to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the Eldest Senior Brothers and Great World Sequences of the top-tier, upper-third-class sects.

However, looking at the supposedly formidable reward materializing before him, Jiang Hao frowned slightly. It was a potent Spirit Pill exuding endless medicinal fragrance—a Tribulation Crossing Pill!

"Why is it a Tribulation Crossing Pill?" he wondered.

Jiang Hao subconsciously turned his head, looking down at Master Beardless, who was currently stroking his beard. His gaze seemed to ask, "Where is the terrifying martial art you mentioned? Wasn’t it supposed to be an incredibly, extraordinarily terrifying martial art? Why is it a Tribulation Crossing Pill?"

Of course, it wasn’t that the Tribulation Crossing Pill wasn’t world-shocking. Even the current Jiang Hao was incapable of refining such a pill. However, it was far from what he had expected, inevitably leaving him somewhat puzzled.