Chapter 740: Chapter 740

While Li Pin was challenging the Supreme Ladder, radiant streams of light shot over from all directions and landed outside it.

The arrival of several prominent figures triggered suppressed gasps from many Astral Gods.

At that moment, four particularly brilliant light beams pierced through the air and descended together.

The arrival of these four beams quickly stirred unrest among the crowd.

"It's the Humanity Sanctum's Hall Masters."

"These are all Cosmic Tyrant-level figures. Among them, the strongest, Shi Xingzun, reached the eighty-sixth step of the Supreme Ladder. This is an outstanding feat even among Tyrants."

"Even the hall masters were alarmed by Li Pin's performance on the Supreme Ladder."

"I wonder if a Sacred Monarch will show up? The last time I saw one in person was 480,000 years ago."

The Astral Gods began to discuss fervently.

They looked toward the Humanity Sanctum's vice hall masters—Yuan Guang, Zhen Ming, Wan Gujie, and Shi Xingzun—with deep reverence.

"The Vice Hall Masters truly cared about Sacred Child Li. To think that they came to observe his attempt at the Supreme Ladder."

Yun Lai glanced toward the hall masters with a hint of delight in his eyes. "With their status, they could've stayed in their palaces and waited for reports from their followers and subordinates. The fact that they came in person proves how much they value Sacred Child Li."

Liang Qiu added, "Sacred Child Li was, after all, named by that top-tier existence. Even though rumors have been spreading from the Heaven Ordainment Sect, true powerhouses only believe what they witness. These rumors might even help him attract more attention. If he performs well, he could seize the chance for a brighter future."

The others nodded as well. The rumors from the Heaven Ordainment Sect were not in Li Pin’s favor, but having both the good and bad information would bring about more attention. Only then could Li Pin catch the eyes of more influential figures.

Previously, he might have only drawn the attention of a Sacred Monarch. But with the interference of the Heaven Ordainment Sect's Dharma King, he might even catch the eye of the Heavenly Emperor.

At that moment, two more light beams arrived together.

"It's Hao Yan and Wan Wu'ze!"

"Wan Wu'ze is ranked seventh on the World Glory List, just one step below our Humanity Sanctum's Dao Child. He reached the sixty-ninth step of the Supreme Ladder without using a Cosmic Radiance Divine Weapon. If he had one, his power might even break into the Cosmic Radiance Realm.

"As for Hao Yan, although he is lagging slightly behind, he is ranked third on the Wildfire List. It's said he only took two hundred and eighty years to go from becoming an Astral God to reaching the peak of Solar Flare! That might seem inferior to Li Pin, but he has almost no Eternal Oblivion Force on him!"

"The steps of the Supreme Ladders are roughly equivalent to the power levels of Cosmic Tyrants. If Wan Wu'ze had a powerful Cosmic Radiance Divine Weapon and no Eternal Oblivion Force in the environment, he might even be able to face Cosmic Radiance head-on."

Their arrival sparked another wave of discussion.

One of the vice hall masters, Wan Gujie, even beckoned the two new arrivals over to give them guidance. This fully demonstrated how much he valued both of them.

Yu Xuexian watched this scene and said softly, "It seems that after this Supreme Ladder ends, the Hall Master Li Pin's weight in the hearts of the hall masters will soon surpass theirs."

Yun Lai nodded. "After all, Hall Master Li Pin is someone who could make it onto the Foreign Race Black List. Across the entire Humanity Sanctum, only thirteen people have ever received such recognition. Whilst Hao Yan and Wan Wu'ze are both excellent, they did not make it into the list."

"Exactly, Li Pin has cultivated the Primordial Supreme Technique and also possesses a Cosmic Radiance Divine Weapon on top of that. If all goes as expected, he should at least reach a level not inferior to Wan Wu'ze or even surpass him, reaching the sixty-seventh, sixty-eighth, or even sixty-ninth step," said Wang Fuyun, seeming rather confident in Li Pin.

However, Yu Li couldn't help but ask, "Can't he reach the seventieth step?"

As soon as she asked this question, the expressions of both Wang Fuyun and Liang Qiu froze slightly.

Yu Li also realized something and quickly added, "I forgot. The seventieth step represents the domain of the Cosmic Radiance... Although it's just one step above the sixty-ninth, the difference in combat power is tremendous."

Wang Fuyun nodded. "Exactly. Until today, only four have ever made it past the Supreme Ladder's seventieth step—Gu Yuan, Sheng Xu, Luo Shenxi, and Lin Tianhuang. In contrast, there are sixteen stuck at the sixty-ninth step. Among them, several claimed they only needed a powerful Cosmic Radiance Divine Weapon to break through to the seventieth... but did they break through? No. They simply couldn't make it.

He bluntly stated, "Four versus sixteen. Just from that alone, the difference between them is obvious. Let's just wait patiently."

On the surface, Wang Fuyun appeared confident, but after carefully analyzing the time Li Pin took to pass the fiftieth step, he truly began to worry.

It took Li Pin half a month to clear the fiftieth step.

Due to the Eternal Oblivion Force, it was normal for many Astral Gods to fight life-and-death battles for decades or even centuries, wearing down their opponents bit by bit like scraping a bruise.

However, ancient relics like the Supreme Ladder from the Primeval Astral World didn't contain the power of Eternal Oblivion.

Despite that, it had taken Li Pin half a month to clear the fiftieth step. There were only two explanations for this. Either Li Pin had encountered an opponent that perfectly countered his cultivation path, or he was nearing his limit.

With that thought in mind, Wang Fuyun waited patiently.

The speed of Li Pin's progress through the assessments gradually confirmed Wang Fuyun's suspicions.

He spent twenty days at the fifty-first step. At the fifty-second step, the duration was extended to a month. He even took two months at the fifty-third step.

Although he had now successfully passed the fifty-fourth step, it had already taken him three full months. Such a result inevitably stirred waves of shock among the crowd.

"What's going on? Why does Sacred Child Li seem like he's hitting a wall?"

"Sure, there have been cases of spending years on a single step, but on average, most pass a step in ten days to half a month. When the time keeps increasing ... it usually means they're close to their limit."

"Is his limit the fifty-fourth step? Or the fifty-fifth? This isn't like those deadly battles outside, where the Eternal Oblivion Force exists. Here, you must have perfect control of your strength. He should be able to use all of his means in the Supreme Ladder. With his cultivation in the Primordial Supreme Technique... even if his inner spirit isn't the sharpest, he should at least make it to the sixtieth step, right?" New ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄhapters are published on novel{f}ire.net

All sorts of discussions began to spread.

Even Yun Lai, Yu Xuexian, and Yu Li, who had once been full of confidence in Li Pin, had gone quiet. Their gazes were affixed on the area of the fifty-fifth step as if they were waiting for Li Pin to appear again and stride forward without hesitation to the fifty-sixth step.

In another corner, Vice Hall Master Zhen Ming shifted his gaze away from the Supreme Ladder and couldn't help but laugh as he said, "Looks like the Heaven Ordainment Sect's King Great Luo of Wisdom was right about Li Pin. He is all show and no substance.

"I finally understand why he carried so much Eternal Oblivion Force. It must be because he was trying to push his cultivation to the peak of the Solar Radiance level over a few decades to prove he was worthy of the title. Maybe he even hoped to use his entry-level Primordial Supreme Technique to ride the momentum of the Supreme Ladder and gain some fame?

"Turns out he overestimated himself. The moment he stepped onto the Supreme Ladder, his true form was exposed."

"Hall Master Zhen Ming, it's too early to come to a conclusion on this. Li Pin's Supreme Ladder challenge isn't even over yet, so why the rush?"

Yuan Guang retorted, "Among past Astral Gods, there are also many who had risen steadily after deep accumulation. Their advancement on the Supreme Ladder, but their ultimate achievements were anything but low."

"Deep accumulation?" Tyrant Zhen Ming chuckled lightly and said, "He is but a Solar Flare cultivator who hasn't even trained for two hundred years, and you're telling me he's got deep accumulation? Where would that outburst even come from?"

"You've said it yourself, he's only been cultivating for less than two hundred years. All the more reason we should show more tolerance and allow him more time," Yuan Guang said.

"You give him time if you want. I won't keep waiting. At the rate he's going, how long would it take him to reach the expected sixty-fifth step? Eight years? Ten years? I can't wait that long! Besides, it still remains unknown whether he can even reach the sixty-fifth step. If he doesn't, and we just keep waiting, wouldn't that be a waste of time?"

Tyrant Zhen Ming curved his lips and said, "As the Humanity Sanctum's Vice Hall Masters, do we have that much free time on our hands?"

Yuan Guang had no rebuttal for those words.

The two Vice Hall Masters, Wan Gujie and Shi Xingzun, exchanged a glance and said, "Since Li Pin's results from the Supreme Ladder challenge won't be out for a while, let's head back for now. Have someone keep an eye on it. Once he finishes, they can just report the exact number of steps he reached. Let's do that first. It's pointless to continue to wait here."

Hearing that, Yuan Guang couldn't linger either. He simply said, "Let's just wait for the results then."

Tyrant Zhen Ming only let out a soft chuckle and said nothing more.

Hao Yan and Wan Wu'ze gave slight bows. "Have a safe journey, Vice Hall Masters."

The four Vice Hall Masters immediately turned into streaks of light and vanished outside the Supreme Ladder.

Seeing the four Vice Hall Masters leave, discussions once again stirred among the crowd, and quite a number of Cosmic Radiances also left the scene.

Those who left included some who held important positions in the Sacred Flame Hall and couldn't be away from duty for long, while others were simply disappointed and lost interest in watching further.

Of course, those who left were still the minority of less than twenty percent. The majority stayed for the spectacle.

The atmosphere, however, gradually began to shift. The crowd's expectations for Li Pin also kept adjusting. From sixty-five steps down to sixty-four, then to sixty-three.

After he took even longer to pass the fifty-fifth and fifty-sixth steps, the Astral Gods began to expect that he might not even reach the sixtieth step.

Li Pin remained unaware of the changes on the outside.

At that moment, he had just completed his entry into the fifty-eighth step of the Supreme Ladder.

As the environment around him shifted, he split off a sliver of his mind to glance at several new temporary states that had appeared.

[Perfect Realm 45 Million Form: 0/1]

[Perfect Realm 50 Million Form: 0/1]

[Perfect Realm 55 Million Form: 0/1]

[Perfect Realm 60 Million Form: 0/1]

In the end, he couldn't help but sigh from the bottom of his heart once again.

"The Supreme Ladder truly is a sacred place for leveling up."

At this rate, he could fully rely on the Supreme Ladder to grind his Perfect Realm to the limit of the power he could unleash.