Authentic Teaching

It wasn’t just him.

On the platform, Shi Potian, Ji Xuanye, Xinglan, and the others—who had only just managed to steady their breathing—followed the Golden Lion’s stunned gaze and saw the five figures already walking ahead of them, the distance between them slowly widening.

When had those five surpassed them?

He hadn’t sensed a thing!

Ji Xuanye’s expression shifted unpredictably, and the hand gripping his sword hilt slowly turned pale.

He stared fixedly at those retreating figures, especially at Xiao Ruobai’s calm, abyss-like presence.

Being surpassed without a sound was more unsettling than any deliberate provocation.

The entire eight-thousandth-step platform fell into an eerie silence.

Everyone’s eyes were focused on those five figures as they gradually moved away, their faces filled with utter shock and disbelief.

So while they had been fighting desperately to reach the eight-thousandth step, those five had already surpassed them without anyone noticing—and had even embarked on an even higher journey!

That silent disparity was more devastating than any words could be.

Xiao Ruobai seemed completely unaware of the astonished gazes from below.

He continued to walk steadily, leading the other four step by step, firmly advancing deeper into the Heavenly Ladder.

The silence on the platform lasted for several breaths.

Only when the invisible pressure brought by the five figures gradually receded like a withdrawing tide did the stagnant air on the platform seem to begin flowing again.

“Cough…”

A stifled cough broke the silence. Ji Xuanye could no longer hold it in and spat out another small mouthful of blood.

That cough seemed to serve as a signal, forcibly dragging everyone’s minds back from the extreme shock and disbelief.

Shi Potian drew a deep, heavy breath. The muscles on his rugged face twitched several times before finally contorting into an extremely complicated mutter.

“Damn it…”

He no longer looked upward. Instead, he abruptly closed his eyes and began using the dense Dao resonance on the platform to repair the dozens of terrifying wounds that ran deep enough to expose bone.

With every trace of healing, the furrows in his brow eased a little. Yet the turmoil in his heart was anything but calm.

The other prodigies who had successfully reached the top—Yaoguang’s former Holy Son, Lingxiao’s Successor, Xinglan, and the rest—also gradually recovered from their shock.

No one spoke. Only the soft rustling of hurried movements and the faint glow of dissolving pills could be heard.

They all understood perfectly that shock, unwillingness, and even fear were meaningless.

The only thing they could do now was seize the precious Dao resonance and healing environment provided by the eight-thousandth-step platform—an environment far superior to that below—and restore their strength as quickly as possible while consolidating the improvement to their Dao foundations brought by obtaining True Disciple status.

Then they would continue upward.

Everyone closed their eyes and focused on regulating their breathing.

Time passed slowly amid the heavy silence.

Buzz! Buzz! Buzz! Buzz! Buzz! Buzz! Buzz!

Seven dazzling pillars of radiance suddenly blazed to life at seven different positions along the edge of the eight-thousandth-step platform, without the slightest warning!

The radiance shot into the heavens, and the Dao resonance thundered in response!

The light continued for several breaths before slowly converging and fading away.

When it finally disappeared, figures were revealed within.

Seven people.

“More people have reached the top?!”

“Those seven unfamiliar prodigies?!”

“They all made it up here? And so quickly?!”

On the Heavenly Ladder, every prodigy was startled by the new disturbance. They all turned sharply to look.

As the radiance gradually faded, seven figures appeared clearly at the edge of the platform. Though they bore obvious traces of wind, frost, and injury, their spines remained straight as pine trees.

They were none other than Li Xuanfeng, Shen Jinghong, Mu Chenyu, and the other four.

Their faces were pale, and their auras fluctuated violently. Clearly, the final stretch of the heavenly chasm had put them through a fierce battle and cost them dearly.

Yet not one of them fell, and not one groaned.

Almost the instant they stepped onto the platform, the seven swiftly found open spaces, sat down cross-legged, and began regulating their breathing with all their might.

Their condition was clearly far better than that of the prodigies from the second group when they had first reached the top.

Everyone on the platform stared blankly at the seven newcomers who had appeared out of nowhere.

Shi Potian instinctively compared them with himself. When he had reached the top, half his body had nearly been shattered, and he had collapsed to the ground, barely conscious.

Yet these seven had suffered only minor injuries. He opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but found his throat inexplicably dry.

Ji Xuanye’s expression became extraordinarily colorful—shock, confusion, wariness, and even a trace of anger at being overtaken by those who had come from behind flashed rapidly through his eyes.

He recognized more than one of them. They were all figures with some renown in the Eastern Region—people who absolutely should not have appeared here, much less arrived in such a state.

Xinglan’s gaze swept rapidly across the seven, lingering for an instant in particular on Li Xuanfeng.

The assessment in his mind had been completely overturned. The foundations of these seven, as well as the condition they were displaying now, far exceeded all his previous calculations!

After the brief shock and silence came an even heavier pressure, spreading soundlessly through everyone’s heart.

Ahead lay the five great mountains that had long since vanished from sight, along with the powerful figures of the first group who had taken the lead.

And now, seven more competitors had appeared out of thin air beside them, their conditions and depths impossible to determine.

This astonishing scene was also captured by all the cultivators still climbing below the Heavenly Ladder, as well as by the countless gazes watching closely from Dao Origin Mountain’s plaza.

After a brief deathly silence came a tidal wave of sound that swept away everything!

“They made it up! They all made it up!”

“Seven of them! All seven strangers have become True Disciples!”

“Counting those who went ahead, nearly thirty people from this generation have reached the eight-thousandth step! Nearly thirty!”

“A golden age! This is the true golden age! Prodigies are as plentiful as rain, and True Disciples are as common as grass!”

Countless cultivators flushed with excitement and shouted themselves hoarse.

The representatives of the various factions stared dumbfoundedly, their intelligence jade slips creaking in their hands.

Dao Repository Academy, Brightheart Hall.

This was the main observation platform for the competition.

At this moment, however, the hall was in a state of near-chaotic uproar.

The elders and officials of the various halls, usually dignified and composed, had mostly lost their customary calm.

Dozens of enormous water mirrors floated before them, reflecting scenes from every section of the Heavenly Ladder—especially the eight-thousandth-step platform, where the radiance had just faded and figures now stood everywhere.

“Twenty-eight! A full twenty-eight people have reached the eight-thousandth step!”

An elderly white-bearded man in charge of recording spoke with a trembling voice. The jade brush in his hand shook with excitement, leaving a crooked mark across the record scroll.

He counted again and again, unable to believe his own eyes.

Another red-faced elder waved his arms excitedly, his spittle nearly spraying onto the colleague beside him.

“The last time the Heavenly Ladder opened, only nine people reached it!”

The old woman responsible for monitoring fluctuations in the Dao resonance had a piercing light in her eyes. Pointing at several of the water mirrors, she furrowed her brows.

“Yet the seven who arrived later have no records or information whatsoever, as if they appeared from thin air.

“Furthermore, the foundational radiance surrounding each of them is as solid as iron, while their vital origins are vigorous as dragons. With such aptitude, I wonder whether they all come from the same sect, or whether each possesses a separate inheritance?”