Three days passed in the blink of an eye.

With the commencement of the Ascension Battle, Martial Emperor City was instantly flooded with a large number of Jianghu martial artists. Saying that Condensing Qi practitioners were as common as dogs and Profound Realm experts were everywhere might be an exaggeration.

However, such martial artists were indeed ubiquitous.

This was the cream of the crop gathered from the entire East Sea and even the surrounding provinces and overseas barbarians. Otherwise, it would have been impossible for so many martial artists to gather in one place.

Even quite a few Dan Realm grandmasters had come.

All wanted to see just how terrifying this Ascension Battle, touted as the most formidable in nearly a century, truly was.

They wanted to see which of the Four Extremes of the Hidden Dragons was the weakest and to witness who would truly emerge victorious between the Two Heroes of the Hidden Dragons!

On this day, early in the morning, the martial artists of the entire Martial Emperor City began to converge toward the foot of the Immortal Mountain within the city. That place, since the first Ascension Battle, had been the designated main arena.

At the same time, it was also the arena where the martial artists within Martial Emperor City resolved their disputes.

As the crowd surged, teams of Martial Emperor City guards clad in black armor swiftly began to secure the surroundings. A portion of the guards, mounted on exotic beasts and wielding long spears, stood solemnly by.

These were the unique exotic beasts of Martial Emperor City, equivalent to mounts for martial artists, similar to fine steeds. However, these creatures were hybrids, far surpassing ordinary horses in terms of both endurance and strength.

Of course, their appearance was also vastly different. They were covered in a thick layer of black leather armor, had large hooves, and bore two horns on their heads, with a red glow in their eyes. Even from afar, one could feel immense pressure emanating from them.

More and more martial artists gathered, and in just half an hour, the area was packed tightly. It was undoubtedly a grand event, with a rough estimate of tens of thousands of people.

In fact, if the area at the foot of the Immortal Mountain weren't spacious, the sheer volume of people would have caused chaos.

A portion of these people quickly focused their attention on a stone staircase standing in front of them, dozens of feet tall. Upon closer inspection, it had exactly eighty-one steps, corresponding to the number of Nine-Nine Returns to One.

"Fellow Daoists, what do you make of this staircase? It seems it wasn't here yesterday. How was it suddenly transported here overnight?"

"This…"

"In my opinion, if there are no surprises, it must be related to the Ascension Battle!"

"I share that view. Today is the day the Ascension Battle begins, and such a celestial ladder has suddenly appeared. Apart from being related to the Ascension Battle,

I'm afraid there's no other connection."

"Truly exciting! Demon Blade Chen Yuan and Zuo Cheng-zong of Wudang Mountain are both peerless geniuses. Today's clash will likely be talked about for decades."

"Brother, don't overlook Wei Wuque of Wei Clan. I heard his strength is also extraordinary."

"And Wei Wuque, the Heir Apparent of the Northern Liang Prince, whose talent is said to be rare in the world."

"And Gu He of the Gu Family. I heard…"

The person who mentioned Gu He was interrupted by those around him, who snorted as if in disdain:

"You must be from the Gu Family, right? Gu He's strength is not bad, but how can he be compared to the previous few? You should know that Gu He can't even defeat Bai Changqing."

"That's right. It's already commendable if Gu He can secure a place in the top ten."

This area even showed signs of commotion, which only subsided when the Martial Emperor City guards arrived.

The crowd was bustling and restless.

Inside the Ascension Tower, figures descended from the sky, walking in the void, and slowly landed in the open spaces prepared by the Ascension Tower. The watching martial artists immediately exclaimed when they saw the Hidden Dragon List elites descending from the sky:

"That's Shangguan Yu of the Shangguan Clan."

"And Fairy Yu of the Goddess Palace."

"That's… Xuan Ming, Xuan Ming of the Spirit Mountain."

"Gu He, Gu He is here."

"Everyone, look! Chen Yuan and Zuo Cheng-zong have arrived together!"

This exclamation immediately attracted the attention of many. In the void, Zuo Cheng-zong, dressed in a Taoist robe, and Chen Yuan, in black martial arts attire, landed slowly at the same time.

Each stood at the forefront of the Hidden Dragon List elites.

This was the prestige of being ranked first on the Hidden Dragon List.

The seemingly chaotic arrangement of the people revealed, upon closer inspection, that the descending Hidden Dragon List elites were basically arranged according to their rankings on the Hidden Dragon List.

Almost no one dared to overstep.

After all fifty Hidden Dragon List elites had arrived, an old man in white robes descended step by step from the heavens, radiating a powerful aura.

Transformation Yang!

The magnificent aura enveloped everyone. The white-robed old man smiled, his gaze calm, and he said loudly:

"I am the master of the Ascension Tower, Fang Hongtai."

"Greetings, Senior Fang!"

"Greetings, Senior Fang!"

All fifty people cupped their fists and bowed.

Fang Hongtai stroked his beard and continued:

"The rules of this Ascension Battle are somewhat different from before. This item is a rare treasure refined by City Lord Ye, called the Celestial Ladder. It has a total of eighty-one steps,

Only those who reach the top within the time it takes for an incense stick to burn can proceed to the next battle. Those who fail to reach the top will be eliminated. My Ascension Tower will re-rank you based on our assessment."

"Senior Fang, what are the mysteries of this ladder?"

Wei Wuque, the Heir Apparent of the Northern Liang Prince, asked loudly.

"The Celestial Ladder has its own mysteries. It contains a formation that releases pressure based on the strength of the martial artist, ensuring impartiality. My Ascension Tower establishes the Hidden Dragon List to assess the most promising geniuses in the world. The City Lord spent a century refining this rare treasure. In future Ascension Battles, ascending the Celestial Ladder will be the first step."

Fang Hongtai said calmly.

"Thank you for your explanation, Senior."

"Esteemed talents, please."

Fang Hongtai flicked his sleeve, and a three-foot-long divine incense stick appeared at the top of the Celestial Ladder. Then, a spark ignited it, and fragrant smoke began to dissipate.

Watching the divine incense being lit, the Hidden Dragon List elites felt a bit anxious, understanding that the Ascension Tower did not want to conduct any meaningless ranking battles this time.

This time, ascending the Celestial Ladder would eliminate a large number of people, and they certainly did not want that to happen.

Even if they could not get a higher ranking, they had all tried their best. If they were eliminated by this Celestial Ladder, they would truly feel ashamed in the future.

However, Chen Yuan and Zuo Cheng-zong, who were at the front, did not move, and no one else dared to act rashly.

Finally, after ten breaths, when no one had moved, an elite ranked seventeenth on the Hidden Dragon List snorted softly and said:

"Wang will come and give it a try."

After the words fell, he came before the Celestial Ladder, looking calm, and stepped onto the first step. But as soon as he stepped on it, he felt a powerful pressure surging towards him.

He took a deep breath. Although this pressure was strong, he could still withstand it, and immediately continued to move forward.

The pressure of the first nine steps increased progressively, but the elite was still able to bear it. But when he stepped onto the first step of the second level, some cold sweat immediately broke out on his body.

His hair stood on end, and he continued to grit his teeth and persevere, continuing to move forward.

Although he could still walk slowly, his speed decreased by nearly half.

Others followed suit, and people behind him also began to move, one after another stepping onto the Celestial Ladder. A terrifying pressure swept over them, and the figures began to crawl like turtles.

The person walking the highest was still the elite who had taken the lead before. At this moment, he had already stepped into the third level of steps, each step was extremely difficult, his body was trembling, and his face was extremely solemn.

It was as if a giant mountain was pressing directly on his head.

Gu He chuckled and glanced at Chen Yuan in front of him, saying lightly:

"Gu will try this Celestial Ladder!"

He was indeed worthy of being a direct descendant of the Gu family, with amazing strength and potential. He crossed the first twenty steps as easily as plucking something from his pocket.

When stepping into the third level of steps, he gently clenched his fists, his face still calm.

Yu Qingyan walked to Chen Yuan's side, nodded slightly as a greeting, and then stepped onto the Celestial Ladder.

Shangguan Yu, Zhang Xuan, and others did not hesitate too much, and followed the figures in front of them, gradually climbing up.

The only six people who remained in place were Chen Yuan, Zuo Cheng-zong, Wei Wuya, Xuan Ming, Dao Xuansheng, and Bai Changqing. They watched the others ascending the Celestial Ladder with calm eyes.

The person currently climbing the highest was Gu He, who had already stepped into the seventh level of steps, but his speed had been reduced by more than half. Each step he took required him to pause for ten breaths.

The Jianghu martial artists watching were horrified and amazed.

One should know that being able to be ranked among the top fifty elites on the Hidden Dragon List was already a top-notch figure in the world, but these people were now climbing a step with extreme slowness.

Some were even forced to bleed from all seven orifices by the pressure, and could only stop in place, or even roll off the Celestial Ladder, and were helped aside by the disciples of the Ascension Tower below.

Some gritted their teeth and persevered, some retreated in their hearts, and some took a deep breath and paused for a while with each step, fully exposing everyone's strength and potential.

And the first to be unable to hold on were not the martial artists at the bottom of the Hidden Dragon List, but the elites ranked around thirtieth to fortieth on the Hidden Dragon List. These people had relied on their cultivation to reach the top ranks of the Hidden Dragon List.

But if talent alone was considered, it was hard to say who was better.

One-fifth of the incense had already been burned, and no one on the Celestial Ladder had reached the top yet. The highest were only Gu He and Yu Qingyan.

They were now located on the eighth level of the Celestial Ladder, but at this point, it was extremely difficult to take another step. Even Gu He's body was trembling uncontrollably.

The second batch was Shangguan Yu, Zhang Xuan, Wei Wuque, and a few other experts from the top fifteen of the Hidden Dragon List, who had now climbed onto the sixth level of the Celestial Ladder.

However, they had already shown signs of difficulty. The most relaxed among them, Chen Yuan thought, was probably Wei Wuque. Although his climbing speed was not fast, it was very steady.

Neither outstanding nor lagging behind…

The Celestial Ladder had exposed everyone's potential and true strength. Although no one was staying below the second level of steps, most people had gathered from the third to the sixth level.

Sweat dripped from their foreheads as they gritted their teeth and persevered. Some even bit their lips until they bled, and their legs were shaking uncontrollably…

"Benefactors, shall we also move?"

When two-fifths of the incense had been burned, Xuan Ming could no longer sit still. He stepped forward, put his palms together, and said in a deep voice. This was the first time Chen Yuan had seen him since Mengze Mountain.

Neither side showed any malice, and the other even smiled at Chen Yuan, with no hostility in his eyes, as if he had changed his soul.

"May."

Bai Changqing then stepped out.

"There's nothing wrong with that." The most unfamiliar Dao Xuansheng smiled in response.

Then, the three stepped onto the Celestial Ladder together. The first few levels were like strolling in a garden, without any hindrance. In just a few dozen breaths, they surpassed more than half of the people.

It was not necessarily advantageous to ascend first. Their respective strengths had almost reached the peak of their realm. Even though the pressure of the Celestial Ladder gradually increased, they could easily withstand it.

They went straight up, surpassing most people in just a hundred breaths, and were located on the ninth step of the seventh level, about to catch up with Gu He and Shangguan Yu.

But when they stepped into the eighth level of steps, even Xuan Ming, who was as strong as they were, had a slight change in expression, with a look of solemnity flashing in his eyes.

The pressure now was far more than ten times greater!

It was as if it had suddenly increased, and it was really difficult for ordinary people to adapt.

On the eighth level, the speed of the few began to slow down, but compared to other martial artists, they were still very fast. Gu He, on the ninth step of the eighth level, looked back.

When he saw Chen Yuan, Zuo Cheng-zong, and Wei Wuya still standing in place, a sneer flashed across his lips. These people's arrogance would just allow him to be the first to reach the top.

It would definitely be spread around Jianghu for many years.

He had personally experienced the terror of this Celestial Ladder, and even if Chen Yuan and the others had terrifying talents, they could never catch up with him so quickly!

He sneered, feeling that they were relying on their talent to be too arrogant, and they would be defeated by him sooner or later. With these thoughts in mind,

Gu He took a step and entered the ninth level of steps.

"Boom!!!"

An overwhelming pressure directly descended on Gu He, pressing down on his bones until they could not support him, and he staggered and was about to kneel on the ground.

However, he supported himself with his hands and stood up with difficulty, and a trace of blood was directly pressed out of the corner of his mouth by the powerful pressure.

When the incense had burned halfway, Chen Yuan and Zuo Cheng-zong finally showed signs of moving. Chen Yuan did not know what Zuo Cheng-zong was planning, but he was really not trying to show off.

Instead, it was to observe the reality of this Celestial Ladder. When he saw that Gu He almost could not help but kneel down, they finally had some confidence.

"Brother Chen, Brother Wei, shall we go together?"

Zuo Cheng-zong asked.

"Good." Wei Wuya was concise.

Chen Yuan's eyes were calm, and he nodded slightly, saying:

"Good."

Although none of the three said it out loud, everyone understood that they were climbing the Celestial Ladder together to compare and assess the strength of the other two.

Stepping onto the first step, the three looked normal.

The pressure was about the same as one level comparable to Chen Yuan, and could be easily accepted.

On the second level of steps, the pressure was doubled.

The three still did not change at all.

The third, fourth, and fifth levels, the pressure brought to the three by the Celestial Ladder increased exponentially, but no matter who it was, they did not even frown, and looked calm and breezy.

They easily surpassed most people.

In the process of climbing the Celestial Ladder, it was as if they were strolling in a garden.

When he reached the seventh level, Chen Yuan had caught up with Zhang Xuan, Shangguan Yu, and the others who had gone up before, nodded slightly, and then Chen Yuan and the others almost simultaneously stepped onto the eighth level of steps.

Wei Wuya's brow furrowed almost imperceptibly, but seeing that Chen Yuan and Zuo Cheng-zong were not at all different, he took a light breath and did not show any discomfort.

The previous Xuan Ming and others had already reached the ninth level of steps, and Gu He had taken another difficult step, reaching the second step of the ninth level.

The pressure brought to Chen Yuan by the eighth level of steps was actually not small, but he could still bear it. This pressure was not as great as when he faced a Grandmaster at the beginning.

Zuo Cheng-zong was the same.

The few walked past the nine steps of the eighth level, their flesh bodies bearing a strong sense of oppression.

Looking at the last level of steps, Chen Yuan's eyes narrowed, and he exchanged glances with Zuo Cheng-zong. Wei Wuya and the others stepped onto the last level of steps at the same time.

"Boom!!!"

The pressure brought by this time was many times greater than before. The pressure of the Celestial Ladder changed with the martial artist. Chen Yuan and Zuo Cheng-zong were indeed strong,

But the pressure they endured was actually basically the same as other martial artists.

As expected, the pressure that almost crushed Gu He before directly acted on the three, and suddenly it was like a mountain was pressing down. Wei Wuya frowned.

The leg that was stepped out bent slightly.

Zuo Cheng-zong's body flashed with lightning, and he forcibly resisted it. Chen Yuan took a deep breath, and his muscles made a rumbling sound, no different from the sounds of tigers, leopards, and thunder.

"Bang!!!"

Wei Wuya fell behind by half a step. Chen Yuan and Zuo Cheng-zong stepped onto the second step at the same time, catching up with Gu He. Although the few were walking side by side, their conditions were very different.

Blood was overflowing from the corner of Gu He's mouth, and some of his body was already soaked with blood, while Chen Yuan frowned, but there was not much change in his expression.

The third, fourth, and fifth steps.

Although Chen Yuan and Zuo Cheng-zong were the last to climb the Celestial Ladder, they had surpassed all the Hidden Dragon List elites present, and were tied for first place.

They were almost stepping out at the same time.

The faces of the two gradually changed towards solemn, and the pace also began to slow down as they climbed the steps, but even so, in the eyes of many people below,

The two were still strolling in a garden.

Wei Wuya fell behind by half a step. Although he had tried his best to catch up, this half-step gap was like an insurmountable gap. It seemed very close, but in fact, it had already revealed their respective gaps.

Sixth, seventh, eighth…

When their legs were standing on the eighth step, the legs of Chen Yuan and Zuo Cheng-zong were already shaking uncontrollably at this moment, like a sky-shattering force was pressing down.

Even when facing a Dan Realm Grandmaster, the two had not been so embarrassed.

With a dragon roar, Chen Yuan's blood was surging, and he took the lead to take a step.

Zuo Cheng-zong was surrounded by lightning, and followed closely behind.

As if neither of them would admit defeat.

Settled on the ninth step, the two wanted to continue to step forward, but at this moment, even raising their legs was an extremely difficult thing.

Clenching his silver teeth tightly, a hint of ruthlessness flashed in Chen Yuan's eyes.

If you don't go crazy, you won't survive.

This force filled Chen Yuan's heart. He suddenly raised his right leg, and his left leg suddenly bent. Then, he stepped out regardless, one step ahead of Zuo Cheng-zong!

————

Thanks to the support from fellow Daoist Fangcun Yanhuo!

The Ascension Battle will definitely not be delayed, everyone can rest assured to follow the updates, it will be over in a day or two!