Chapter 272 - 165: Saint Venerable Shocked, All Saints Descend, A White-Robed Figure Reigning Like a Young Sovereign

Chapter 272: Chapter 165: Saint Venerable Shocked, All Saints Descend, A White-Robed Figure Reigning Like a Young Sovereign

Seeming to notice the young man’s doubts, Master Beardless immediately sent a voice transmission, "Junior Brother Qin, the rewards increase in value with every step. If you truly desire a martial arts legacy, you can just climb a few more steps.

"However, Junior Brother, please remember: every genius of the Ascension Ladder can only claim a reward once. If you take this Tribulation Crossing Pill, no more rewards will descend for the rest of your climb."

Hearing Master Beardless’s transmission, Jiang Hao finally gave a slight nod.

A Tribulation Crossing Pill was indeed a massive temptation for a cultivator about to begin Founding Dao Foundation.

Forget Founding Dao Foundation; even experts who had reached the Dao Entrance Realm would probably fight tooth and nail for it. After all, a Divine Pill capable of resisting Thunder Tribulation was far too vital for those crossing tribulations after entering the Dao.

However, for Jiang Hao at this moment, the Tribulation Crossing Pill was completely useless. Besides, he was an Alchemy Master himself, meaning its value to him fell far short of a heaven-defying martial art.

For martial arts, it wasn’t just the grade that determined their power. What made them truly terrifying were their attributes. For instance, the Heaven-Piercing Strike that Gu Qingyan had taught him was a rare, heaven-defying martial art.

Such techniques could be deduced and evolved endlessly. It meant that even after Jiang Hao stepped into the Dao Entrance Realm in the future, he could still continue using it.

Weighing his options, Jiang Hao decisively abandoned the Tribulation Crossing Pill and continued on the Heaven-Ascending Road.

The sixty-seventh step.

The sixty-eighth.

The sixty-ninth.

...

The seventy-first.

...

The eightieth step.

As the young man climbed higher, step by step—

BOOM!

DONG!

The chimes of a Spirit Bell continuously rang out across the entirety of Thousand Sects Island. The Holy Light illuminated the heavens, entirely enveloping the Celestial Universe of the Thousand Sect Island Realm.

Furthermore, as the young man walked the Heaven-Ascending Road, a reward would descend from the Holy Light at the Peak of the Firmament with every holy step he conquered.

These rewards included Divine Pills, Sacred Artifacts, Imperial Weapons, martial arts, and even some long-lost Secret Techniques.

Throughout his climb, Jiang Hao was utterly shocked beyond measure.

Just as Master Beardless had said, every single one of those occasional martial arts rewards was mind-boggling. Jiang Hao had almost given into the urge to snatch them up on countless occasions.

Ultimately, however, he held back. He had noticed that the higher he climbed, the more frequently martial arts appeared—and the more terrifyingly powerful they became.

Yet, completely fixated on the martial arts, the young man failed to notice that his progress on the Heaven-Ascending Road had thrown the entirety of Thousand Sects Island into an absolute uproar.

Especially around the Holy Ladder, the eyes of the hundreds of thousands of cultivators gradually changed as they watched his figure continue to ascend the holy steps.

That was, until Jiang Hao stepped onto the ninetieth holy step.

BONG—

BONG—

...

Nine deafening chimes echoed out. The entire Holy Ladder trembled violently, erupting with a world-shocking divine light.

The radiance washed over the crowd, illuminating faces that were gradually twisting into expressions of absolute horror.

At this moment, even the hundreds of thousands of disciples from the Beardless Sect were completely stunned.

In truth, the world had already been thrown into a frenzy the moment Jiang Hao reached the eightieth holy step. But now, it was dead silent. Everyone remained as quiet as winter cicadas until, suddenly, voices broke the silence.

"The... the ninetieth step?"

"Heavens! He... he actually reached the ninetieth?"

"Anything from ninety and above is born in accordance with the Great Dao. How... how could he possibly reach the ninetieth step?"

For a time, countless cultivators were dumbfounded. Even the Saint Realm Powerhouses invited to witness the ceremony had their pupils shrink sharply, their aged eyes filling with endless astonishment.

"Saint Realm aptitude?"

Suddenly, the gazes of everyone present underwent an earth-shattering shift.

"Saint Realm aptitude! Throughout history, any genius who reached the ninetieth step—provided they didn’t die prematurely—almost always went on to become a Saint Realm Powerhouse, a supreme existence!"

"What did you say? That young man has the aptitude of a Saint Realm?"

"Impossible! How could this be? How could a complete nobody possess the aptitude of a Saint Realm? How could he climb up to the ninetieth holy step?"

"Didn’t you guys say this person was garbage discarded by the Cyan Mist Sect? A ’genius’ picked up off the streets by the Beardless Sect? So how did he reach the ninetieth holy step?"

RUMBLE!!!

The explosive ringing of the nine chimes seemed to snap everyone back to reality. Their eyes were brimming with shock, swirling with turbulent, tempestuous waves of disbelief.

In the boundless void, Mu Wanli and Mu Wan Ning both shuddered, staring blankly at the figure. Endless waves of emotion surged in their beautiful eyes.

Jiang Hao, entirely absorbed in his ascent up the Celestial Road, had absolutely no idea just how much shock his climb had inflicted upon the cultivators of this world.

Upon the altar of the Celestial Ladder, Master Beardless was equally stunned, but endless urgency also flooded his aged eyes as he frantically sent voice transmissions to the young man’s figure.

"Junior Brother Qin, that’s enough! Enough! Do not climb any further!"

Yet at this moment, Jiang Hao acted as though he hadn’t heard a thing, slowly lifting his foot once more.

"Don’t!"

This time, Master Beardless didn’t use a voice transmission. He simply screamed at the top of his lungs.

Unfortunately, once the Holy Ladder was activated, not even a Saint Realm Powerhouse could interfere. Otherwise, he would have rushed up and kicked that boy off a long time ago.

This kid hadn’t taken his warnings to heart at all.

Although Master Beardless understood Jiang Hao’s intentions—after all, they were in the midst of a battle for supremacy among geniuses, and if the boy didn’t even have this shred of courage, Master Beardless would have secretly looked down on him a little.

But once he stepped onto the ninety-first step, the entire situation would change completely!

However, it was all too late.

Jiang Hao’s eyes were resolute. His mind made up, his raised foot had already descended.