The Summit of Taihua
More than a year had passed since Chen Chang'an's departure.
At the foot of the Summit of Taihua, the crowd had not diminished—in fact, it had grown considerably.
Among them were many who had entered the barrier but were ultimately eliminated.
Though they had been disqualified, they still wanted to witness the final outcome of the Earth Ranking.
"It's been over a year, and yet no one has reached the summit of Taihua. How terrifying!"
"I initially thought the battle for the Earth Ranking would conclude quickly, but it seems to be taking just as long as the Human Ranking."
"Not to mention, everyone was given three years to prepare in advance. If the Earth Ranking had started immediately after the Human Ranking ended, the situation would have been entirely different."
"By the way, before you were eliminated, did you encounter Chen Yunxuan and the others? How are they faring?"
"Me? There's no way I could have met them. They were far ahead—I couldn’t even catch a glimpse of their shadows."
"Still, cultivating under the pressure within the barrier has been incredibly effective."
"When I first entered, my cultivation was only at the seventh level of the Void Comprehension Realm."
"But in just over a year, I’ve advanced to the first level of the Supreme Realm—something I never dared to imagine before."
"Ah, what a shame I was eliminated."
Hearing this, the surrounding crowd was puzzled. If cultivating inside the barrier was so beneficial, why had he left?
"Why are you all looking at me like that? You think I wanted to leave?"
"The pressure further in is just too overwhelming. A single misstep, and you’re forcibly ejected."
"Sigh, I should’ve been more cautious instead of rushing ahead."
Other eliminated contestants nodded in agreement. Most of them had underestimated the intensity of the pressure, charging forward recklessly only to be flung out by the overwhelming force.
Once expelled from the barrier, the mark left on their foreheads from the trial would vanish, stripping them of any chance to re-enter.
Meanwhile, inside the barrier, Chen Yunxuan and Ye Zhiqiu were now just a hundred steps away from the Summit of Taihua.
Yet those hundred steps had trapped them for a long time.
"It’s terrifying."
"Every ten steps, the pressure doubles."
"At our current strength, charging straight to the summit seems impossible," Chen Yunxuan said with a frown.
"Immortal Realm."
"Only by breaking through to the Immortal Realm might we have a chance to reach the top," Ye Zhiqiu said solemnly.
Though only a little over a year had passed, both had made staggering progress in their cultivation.
Chen Yunxuan had reached the eighth level of the Supreme Realm, and Ye Zhiqiu had done the same.
Even Li Qiye and the other two had advanced to the seventh level of the Supreme Realm, trailing behind by only a few dozen steps.
Chen Yunxuan glanced back at Li Qiye and the others, who were deep in cultivation, before turning to Ye Zhiqiu.
"How about we push forward and break through to the Immortal Realm?"
"Agreed. I’ve been thinking the same. The pressure here is intense—it might help us reach the Immortal Realm within three months."
"It’s already been over a year. I wonder if our ancestors below are growing impatient."
"Right. We can’t keep our master waiting any longer. We must… strive harder."
"Agreed."
Unbeknownst to Chen Yunxuan and the others, Chen Chang'an had long since left the Summit of Taihua. He had no patience to wait idly here day after day.
As time passed, more and more were eliminated. Now, fewer than three hundred remained.
Even prodigies like Nie Haotian had been disqualified a month prior.
Though their experiences in the Earth Ranking had been immensely rewarding, failing to secure a ranking left them disheartened.
"Reaching the first level of the Supreme Realm in such a short time is already a remarkable achievement."
"Even if you didn’t earn a spot on the Earth Ranking, it doesn’t matter."
"This time, the competition was simply beyond your current strength."
"With so many geniuses under a hundred years old, others had decades more cultivation experience than you."
Nie Pengju and Ye Liuyun tried to console their young prodigies, but Nie Haotian and Ye Beiming could only smile bitterly.
While their words held truth, they couldn’t ignore the fact that within the barrier, age wasn’t the sole factor.
Chen Yunxuan and the others were even younger, yet they had surpassed everyone, leading the pack and now standing just steps away from the summit.
"Hm?"
"What’s happening?"
"Look—above the barrier… is that…?"
"Heavenly Tribulation?"
"Someone has broken through to the Immortal Realm?"
"Breaking through to the Immortal Realm triggers a heavenly tribulation—who could it be? Who has reached the Immortal Realm?"
"Could it be… Chen Yunxuan?"
"Chen Yunxuan? That… doesn’t seem likely, does it?"
"When Chen Yunxuan entered the barrier, his cultivation was only at the fourth level of the Supreme Realm. It’s been barely over a year, less than two years, and he’s already broken through to the Immortal Realm? Isn’t that too exaggerated?"
"I agree, it does sound exaggerated. After all, there are so many Supreme Realm cultivators inside the barrier—it probably isn’t Chen Yunxuan."
"Honestly, it’s strange. Why haven’t those at the ninth level of the Supreme Realm triggered a heavenly tribulation?"
"Right! After the Earth Rankings opened, there were quite a few at the peak of the ninth level of the Supreme Realm, even those at the very threshold. They don’t seem to have been eliminated—could it be that none of them have broken through even a single level in all this time?"
"But have you considered one thing? This barrier is incredibly powerful. Even if a heavenly tribulation descends, wouldn’t the barrier block it?"
"Holy shit, does that mean breaking through inside the barrier carries no danger? No risk of dying under the heavenly tribulation?"
"It’s too early to say. Now that the heavenly tribulation has appeared, things probably aren’t that simple."
Before this, no heavenly tribulation had appeared, yet many refused to believe that no one had truly broken through to the Immortal Realm.
There must have been breakthroughs—so why didn’t they trigger the tribulation?
And now that the heavenly tribulation has descended, what could be the reason behind it?
"It seems I’ve returned just in time."
"Chen Yunxuan has already reached the top!"
Suddenly, a familiar voice rang out, sending a shock through the hearts of everyone present.
The crowd quickly turned to look, and the moment they saw Chen Chang'an, their expressions changed completely.
So terrifying!
He had only been gone for a year or two—how had he become even more fearsome in such a short time?
A feeling—just a feeling!
Chen Chang'an wasn’t deliberately releasing his aura, yet the moment everyone laid eyes on him, an instinctive dread surged from deep within their souls.