His gaze continued upward, piercing through the hazy radiance of the Dao laws before settling on the few figures at the very front of the Heavenly Stairway, who had already climbed beyond the 9,500th step.
His eyes involuntarily paused for a moment on the cold, graceful figure among them.
Ling Xi.
Beyond the Imperial Mausoleum, the might of that single finger and the profound guidance contained in every word she had spoken remained branded deep within his soul.
It had been the most thorough defeat of his cultivation journey, yet it had also given him the opportunity to rebuild himself from the ruins and comprehend the Dao of Inclusiveness.
Now that he saw her again, he found that even beneath such terrifying pressure, her steps remained steady. Her strength was unfathomable, and the battle intent in his heart rose like a prairie fire.
Then his gaze swept toward the figure not far from Ling Xi—a red-haired silhouette whose entire body was drenched in blood, each step as heavy as a mountain.
His pupils contracted almost imperceptibly.
Mo Yu.
His former defeated opponent—the pureblood qilin whom he had once beaten until his qilin manifestation shattered and his Dao-heart nearly collapsed—had actually reached this stage as well?
He could stand shoulder to shoulder with figures like Xiao Ruobai and Ling Xi, advancing through a realm of pressure that even Wang Zhan found unnerving?
An extremely complicated mixture of emotions swept through Wang Zhan’s heart: surprise, scrutiny, and assessment.
But more than anything else, he felt the intense stimulation of being chased closely by those who had come after him—of seeing them already keeping pace with him in certain aspects.
“The Golden Age truly is extraordinary.”
Wang Zhan muttered inwardly. Then he suppressed every distracting thought, leaving behind only the purest will to climb.
He straightened, his aura perfectly harmonized and restrained. His vital energy and the Dao rhythm of inclusiveness fused flawlessly together.
He took another step and continued upward.
This time, he was not fast. In fact, he could even be said to be moving very slowly.
Yet every step was incomparably steady, as firm and unshakable as a mountain.
The figures advancing steadily at a higher point, including Xiao Ruobai, sensed something and turned to look down.
It was Wang Zhan. He had reached them as well.
“Hey!”
Fatty Wang’s eyes suddenly lit up. He lightly nudged Mo Yu beside him with his elbow.
“Old Mo! Look down there! Wang Zhan is here!”
“Tsk, tsk. This guy looks even more ferocious than before, huh?”
Mo Yu looked toward Wang Zhan. An immense battle intent instantly surged within him, but he quickly restrained it and looked away.
He wanted to fight Wang Zhan—but not now.
Xiao Ruobai caught that fleeting battle intent in Mo Yu’s eyes.
He merely said, “After this is over, you may fight him to your heart’s content.”
With that, he took the lead and continued upward.
At that moment, Wang Zhan was advancing step by step along the center of the Heavenly Stairway, moving upward with unwavering determination.
The distance between him and the four figures ahead—Chu Daolin, Qin Wuye, and the others, whose movements had slowed to a crawl—gradually shrank.
Before long, Jiang Ruofeng watched in disbelief as Wang Zhan’s figure slowly drew level with him, then surpassed him.
“How is this possible...?”
Such endurance, such seemingly bottomless reserves—it left him feeling utterly powerless.
Wang Zhan did not look at them. His gaze remained fixed on the heights above, on the figures that had already dwindled into tiny specks.
Only when he passed Chu Daolin did their eyes briefly meet.
An extreme gravity flashed through Chu Daolin’s cold eyes.
This man was a terrifying opponent.
At that moment, the entire section of the Heavenly Stairway above the 9,000th step formed a dynamic tableau.
At the very top, Xiao Ruobai, Fang Hanyu, and Ling Xi had already approached the 9,800th step!
Slightly below them, Fatty Wang and Mo Yu followed close behind. However, their speed had clearly slowed. Their figures swayed faintly in the storm, evidently bearing immense pressure.
Farther below was Wang Zhan, who had just surpassed Chu Daolin and the others and was now advancing steadily upward.
Chu Daolin and the other three had become the third echelon, every step an arduous struggle.
Below the Heavenly Stairway, there was already complete silence—so quiet that one could hear a pin drop.
Everyone held their breath and gazed upward at the towering stairway that pierced the clouds and blazed with countless rays of light, staring at those figures who seemed to have stepped out of myth.
“Ten! There are ten people who have climbed beyond the 9,000th step!”
An elder from one of the holy lands spoke in a trembling voice, tears streaming down his aged face.
“To reach the 9,000th step means possessing the qualifications to touch that supreme realm—the potential to become a Great Emperor!
“These are ten monstrous geniuses with the potential to become Great Emperors! This Golden Age... this is what a true Golden Age looks like!”
“The Dao Repository Academy’s reopening has actually drawn out so many true dragons!”
“Who do you think can reach the summit? Battle Asura is certain to do so. Sword in White and Cyan Rakshasa should be able to as well!”
“That fatty and the Qilinzi seem to be struggling. Wang Zhan has slowed down too. I’m afraid they won’t make it.”
“Chu Daolin, Qin Wuye, and the others are already nearing their limits!”
The discussions rose and fell like waves, and everyone’s heart had risen into their throats.
Deep within the Dao Repository Academy, inside the Hall of Enlightened Mind, Perfected Xuanji and the other elders were also staring intently at the scene through a water mirror. Their hearts were shaken beyond words.
Ten people with the potential to become Great Emperors had appeared at the same time. Such a grand sight surpassed anything recorded in the ancient texts.
In the deepest part of the academy, the old dean, Master Qingxu, was so moved that tears streamed down his face.
A full day passed quietly amid this atmosphere of intense anticipation and tension.
When the dawn of the second day tore through the darkness and bathed Dao Origin Mountain in light, the situation on the Heavenly Stairway had become clear.
At the very top!
Xiao Ruobai, Fang Hanyu, and Ling Xi had already stepped onto the 9,998th step!
They were only one final step away from the legendary pinnacle!
The manifestations of the Great Dao surrounding their bodies had reached their utmost intensity, as though they themselves had become the Dao.
Behind Xiao Ruobai, the phantom of a War God towered into the heavens.
Fang Hanyu had become one with his sword, transforming into a sharp radiance capable of cleaving open the sky.
Around Ling Xi, black holes rose and fell, devouring all light.
And not far below them...
Fatty Wang and Mo Yu had reached the 9,970th step!
Here, the pressure had solidified into barriers of primordial chaos. Advancing even an inch was like pushing against the weight of entire stars.
Fatty Wang’s round face was deathly pale, and the runic script covering his body flickered erratically. Although his pace was slow, he continued advancing steadily.
Most of Mo Yu’s qilin battle armor had shattered. His entire body was drenched in blood, yet he continued gritting his teeth and followed closely behind Fatty Wang.
Farther below, Qin Wuye and Lei Dong had stopped at the 9,500th step. Their bodies were covered in wounds, and they sat cross-legged, completely unable to climb any farther.
Chu Daolin and Jiang Ruofeng had halted around the 9,400th step. Their faces were pale, and their eyes were filled with unwillingness, yet they could only gaze toward the summit and sigh.
And Wang Zhan!
He had risen from behind to reach the 9,800th step!
At this point, even his speed had slowed to that of a crawling snail.
The Dao Domain around him had been compressed tightly against his body. His azure vitality burned fiercely as it clashed against the barriers of primordial chaos, producing thunderous booms.
Blood continuously spilled from the corners of his mouth, but his eyes shone with startling brilliance. He continued inching upward, one step at a time!
At that moment, everyone’s gaze was fixed upon the very top of the Heavenly Stairway, upon those three figures that resembled deities—Xiao Ruobai, Fang Hanyu, and Ling Xi!
They had already reached the 9,998th step!
They were only one final step away from the pinnacle!
nd fell into a coma while saving his younger sister from an out-of-control car. He became a vegetable. No one knew that his consciousness had crossed into a world of cultivation. Over the course of sixty years, he began as the lowest kind of mine slave, struggling to survive amid mountains of corpses and seas of blood. By sheer chance, he eventually obtained the complete memories of a fallen Immortal King. Alchemy, medicine, formations, feng shui, physiognomy, artifact forging… Every great inheritance of the cultivation world was now his. But when he opened his eyes again, he discovered that ten full years had passed in the modern world. To pay for his treatment, his father had sold the family’s shop and house, leaving himself covered in lasting injuries and illness. His mother had cared for him day and night, and more than half of her hair had already turned white. His younger sister, who had been only fifteen back then, was now twenty-five. To help repay the family’s debts, she had been forced to lower her head and put on a smiling face in places of glittering lights and endless revelry. Only then did Chen Xuan understand that what he had lost was not merely ten years. He had lost the life his entire family was meant to have. The good news was that he had brought back the memories of an Immortal King’s entire lifetime. The bad news was that his soul had returned alone—his cultivation had not come with him. Spiritual energy was scarce, resources were depleted, and the modern world still had firearms, surveillance, capital, and laws. If he wanted to protect his family, break free from everyone’s control, and become truly invincible beneath the heavens, he would have to start all over again.
he colors of other people’s emotions. Light red meant anxiety. Gray meant exhaustion. Orange meant excitement. Yellow... meant repression. At the same time, he could gain unlimited control over one of those colors. Pale cyan: relaxation. Using this ability, he started offering “two-yuan hugs,” spending an afternoon exchanging emotional-color experiences with others. Then came his final female customer of the day— a girl whose emotional color was pure black... —— A week later, Xu Chuan had become skilled at using pale cyan—Relaxation—treating it like a bottle of menthol balm whenever he needed it. That was when he discovered he had unlocked another unlimited emotional color: Purple, the color of fear. So these emotional colors refresh every week? Fine, I take it back—I’ll never call you useless again... —— Much later, after Xu Chuan had accumulated countless emotional abilities, one night, he suddenly found himself inside someone else’s dream. There, he could use the emotional colors he possessed to paint. And in her dream, he painted her a shower of pink shooting stars, spreading across the depths of the night sky...
s + Rent Collection Wealth】 At the start, he inherited a rundown house in the urban village from his grandfather. The house had no tenants, but the moment he was diagnosed with a terminal illness, a self-proclaimed empress from the Tianxuan Continent arrived as his first tenant. Ye Chuan soon discovered that with every new tenant moving in, not only did he receive massive daily payments, but he also obtained unique items related to their backgrounds. 【Acquired Bai Qianshuang’s related item: Tiger Strength Pill—dramatically enhances physical power!】 【Acquired Bai Qianshuang’s related item: Deer Blood Pill—significantly boosts vitality!】 …… From that day on, all sorts of bizarre tenants began appearing in the house: the empress from Tianxuan Continent, an apocalyptic sorceress from the Magic Realm, a mysterious scientific girl who fell through a spacetime rift… Every single day, he received strange, powerful items and endless money. Then one day, he suddenly realized—he had become invincible. Enough, enough! Stop giving me more!
pression Bureau] Transported to a fantasy world overrun by demons and monsters, Gu Qingfeng becomes a jailer in the Demon Suppression Prison of the Great Yan Dynasty's Demon Suppression Bureau. From this point on, bizarre cases frequently occur in the Demon Suppression Prison, once known as hell on earth and infamous for its gloomy, terrifying atmosphere! Why do the demons and monsters in the prison wail miserably every night? Why has the corpse demon, capable of transforming into various beauties, donned black stockings and switched careers to become a foot massage therapist? Why has the eye demon, expert in soul-snatching and illusions, turned into a VR headset? Why is the fox spirit performing otaku dances? Are all these occurrences a twisted expression of demonic nature, or a descent into moral depravity? After peeling away layer upon layer of mystery, all clues ultimately point to a jailer named Gu Qingfeng. Gu Qingfeng: "Hehehe... My dear demons and monsters, whose card shall we flip today?"
