Chapter 112: The Battle for Supremacy, A Soul Transformed

The fifty-fifth step corresponds to the power of will at the seventh realm.

The seventh realm?

In the martial path, that is the Heavenly Human Realm; in the soul path, it is the Soul Heart stage; and in body tempering, it reaches the level of changing size at will.

It is terrifying.

Most of them possess the strength of the fifth realm, yet no one could have imagined they would possess such a formidable will.

It is inconceivable!

The audience watching the live stream was particularly stunned, with over ten billion people left wide-eyed upon learning the profound mysteries contained within the Sky Ladder.

"The fifty-fifth step is equivalent to the will of the Heavenly Human Realm? And so many have made it up there? Tell me, are they still students? Are they really students? I doubt even the principals of our city's martial arts universities have such strength!"

"This is defying the heavens!"

"Unfathomable! Incredible!"

"Are students these days really this strong? If it were just one or two, it might be understandable, but there are so many of them now? Could it be that the essence of heaven and earth is surging? A massive explosion of cosmic energy?"

"Look, Jiang Ming, the one from that small town who took first place in the preliminary auditions, is also preparing to step onto the fifty-fifth step!"

"Can he do it?"

"I hope he can!"

"Yes, we all hope he can."

"Go, Jiang Ming! Stomp them all beneath your feet!"

On the Sky Ladder.

Jiang Ming’s blood was boiling. After steadying himself on the fifty-fourth step, he took a step upward. In an instant, he felt a terrifying force surge deep into his soul. A myriad of hallucinations bloomed before his eyes, revealing countless horrific sights.

Gods falling, heaven and earth being destroyed, space and time collapsing—all of it filled his mind with dread, his will teetering on the edge of darkness.

Even scenes from his past life appeared, making it impossible to distinguish reality from a dream.

"So terrifying!"

With a shift of his intent and a vibration of his soul, Jiang Ming quickly suppressed the discomfort.

At this moment, Shi Lei with the Supreme Bone, Ye Bai with the Sacred Body, Fang Qinghan with the Devouring Body, and others all looked toward him.

They had already ascended, so they naturally knew how terrifying this step was. It was more than ten times stronger than the fifty-fourth—a chasm of difference. Had they not possessed incredible foundations, they would never have made it up.

Seeing Jiang Ming recover after only a brief moment of confusion, their pupils constricted and their hearts trembled: This was a formidable rival, an unprecedented rival. He was truly worthy of being the top seed from the preliminaries.

Only now did they truly regard Jiang Ming with seriousness.

Jiang Ming shifted slightly, his other foot landing on the fifty-fifth step. The force shaking his spirit and will, coming from beneath his feet and from all directions, surged like a tidal wave.

The longer one stayed, the more terrifying the cumulative force became.

It was impossible to remain on any single step for long.

Within his mind, his Yin Spirit oscillated, transforming into a Yin-Yang Dharma Form. As it rotated, it formed a formidable defensive posture, blocking the successive waves of impact while simultaneously dissecting the essence of this power.

Deep within the Dharma Form, his soul origin underwent an inexplicable, albeit subtle, change.

"Everyone!" Shi Lei of the Supreme Bone suddenly spoke, his voice resonant. "The outside world says this generation of geniuses is numerous, far exceeding those of the past. Witnessing the Sky Ladder today, it is indeed so. We are all favored sons of heaven, each possessing the ambition to suppress an entire generation and the peerless spirit of an invincible foundation. We are called the Golden Generation."

"As the saying goes, there is no second place in martial arts!"

"We are all proud talents, but we must compete."

"Even if this is only the first stage of the grand exam."

"Starting from this stage, let us all stop hiding and give it our all. How about we fight for that first place?"

"First place in the first stage!"

"Regardless of the second and third stages!"

"If we take first place in the fourth stage as well, we can forge an invincible spirit, sublimate our will, and transform our minds."

"The pride of prides, the first among firsts!"

"You should understand what this means."

"Everyone, do you dare to compete?"

Shi Lei’s voice rang out with a metallic clang, each word turning into a sound of slaughter, like swords colliding, erupting with astonishing power.

His presence surged like waves in an ocean, one rising higher than the last. He seemed to transform into an invincible Great Emperor.

"To be first always is to be truly first; only then can one forge an invincible momentum!" Ye Bai immediately picked up the thread. "I compete!"

"Within the same generation, to suppress all others—that is true invincibility. Now that we are gathered, forming a glorious age rarely seen in history, the moment we stepped onto the Sky Ladder, our battle was fated." Luo Feng’s voice was like a blade, each word carving through everything ahead.

His edge was fully revealed.

"We are of the same generation and should have the camaraderie of peers, but within this generation, we must fight for the top spot." Jun Qiye also stepped up. He waved his sleeve with style, though his ghostly aura gave off a sense of immense terror, as if he were a ghost god crawled out of hell.

"Then let us fight!" Fang Qinghan opened his mouth, and the surrounding essence surged into a vortex, swallowed by him in one breath. This scene was even more shocking.

"How could I be left out!" Wang Qiutong of the Innate Dao Body already stood firmly on the fifty-fifth step.

The three hundred and sixty-five acupuncture points on her body bloomed with divine light, each one resembling a star, nurturing a deity within. She was incredibly sacred, accompanied by thousands of Dao rhymes. In her eyes, in particular, flowed an indescribable divine light.

"Geniuses gathered in an age of great contention—of course, we must compete!" Three-Eyed Yang Jian also stepped up. At this moment, his third eye had opened, shedding a terrifying light of destruction that annihilated the incoming attacks from all directions, layer by layer.

Outside his body, spatial fluctuations appeared. He was also a terrifying individual.

"I shall be the first of this age!" Li Ping’an’s body shook, his upper garment exploding into pieces to reveal a physique of immense strength. His muscles were knotted, containing explosive power. The terrifying fluctuations of his blood energy were no less than those of Ye Bai’s Sacred Body.

Even more incredible, the force attacking him was actually distorting, with much of it sliding away around him.

"Gravity? Attraction?"

Seeing this, Jiang Ming’s pupils shrank. Li Ping’an, with the Great Wilderness Tyrant Body, had actually realized such strange power. He was another formidable rival.

Several others were now displaying powers that made Jiang Ming’s heart race; it was all truly inconceivable.

"Life and death, truth and illusion, light and dark—are they not reincarnation? Only above the extreme can one see the deepest abyss. Of course, I will compete." Chen Bei also walked up. A strange power bloomed in his abdomen, as if a world were gestating within. It radiated an immense horror that swallowed, drowned, and buried everything—no less than Fang Qinghan. This was the Reincarnation Body.

"Who stands at the peak of the Sky Ladder? With the Immortal Spirit ahead, all paths are empty!" Luo Qingchen was incredibly arrogant. Above her head, an immortal gate seemed to open, raining down strands of immortal spirit energy that kept her in a state of peak performance.

"Who stands at the peak of the Sky Ladder? With the Frost ahead, the Immortal Spirit is empty!" White Ice emitted extreme cold. Snowflakes drifted around her, each one comparable to a sharp weapon. Above her head floated a mist that seemed to contain terrifying power.

"Yin Dharma Form!" Jiang Ming immediately saw through her. White Ice was not only of the Frost Body with peerless martial cultivation, but also cultivated the divine path, having reached the sixth stage.

"Who stands at the peak? I am the Sword Dao Supreme!" Ji Yunning stepped forward, sword intent ringing above her head. Yet, her brow furrowed as she looked at Jiang Ming, for she felt an even more terrifying sword intent from within him—something she had not noticed before.

"If it weren't for the need to suppress the Sky Ladder's attacks here, I might never have discovered it. This guy is hiding so deeply. Old dog!"

Only now did Ji Yunning truly feel Jiang Ming’s terror.

"Who stands at the end of the Sky Ladder?" Jiang Ming laughed loudly. "Then let us see who stands at the peak!"

As the words fell, he took another step, becoming the first to set foot on the fifty-sixth step.

*Hum...*

The Sky Ladder’s power surged like a tidal wave to annihilate him. His body swayed slightly, but the blood energy hidden within him like a mountain and sea could no longer be contained, erupting instantly.

The smoke of his blood energy turned into a red glow, rising straight to the stars, forming an invisible yet substantive wall of energy around him.

The violent aura made the other experts’ pupils shrink.

"Such a strong physique, it’s not much weaker than mine!" the Great Wilderness Tyrant Body, Li Ping’an, was astonished. "Such a thick aura and tyrannical power—he has gone very far on the path of body tempering. No, wait, he doesn't seem to have a Tyrant Body, Sacred Body, Divine Body, or any special constitution."

"An ordinary mortal body!" Divine light bloomed in Wang Qiutong’s eyes, showing shock. "Only a five-turn physique, yet he has pushed the potential of his flesh to the limit. Incredible, truly incredible. The limit of limits, the limit of imprisonment—how did he do it?"

"A five-turn mortal body with such terrifying blood energy?" Li Ping’an was shocked again. "If he had a Tyrant Body, then..." His expression was extremely complicated.

"A mortal body at the extreme?" Ye Bai of the Sacred Body also looked conflicted. "No wonder his blood energy feels so pure to me. To temper a five-turn physique to a level not much weaker than mine—I admire him, truly."

"I actually feel ashamed!" Shi Lei looked down at his chest and smiled bitterly. "I am arrogant and proud, but most of that comes from my Supreme Bone, yet Brother Jiang... I admire him!"

It wasn't just them; even White Ice and the others had complicated expressions.

Long Aotian, who was below, felt Jiang Ming’s true blood energy and couldn't help but grin: "If he had erupted with this power back then, combined with his Inch Punch, he might have blown me up in one hit. This kid is really awesome. This big brother is worth acknowledging!"

"Go on! Stomp them all beneath your feet!"

He waved his arms, but the terrifying power coming from all directions made his expression change, and he hurriedly steadied his mind.

"Everyone, your talent is your constitution; my talent is my brain. There’s no difference!" Jiang Ming smiled and closed his eyes to carefully experience the attack on his soul and will.

"His brain? Heaven-defying comprehension, a mutated soul?"

With a thought, Ye Bai and the others stopped overthinking and began to climb further.

But just taking one step felt like being struck by lightning. After half a step, White Ice’s face went pale, cold sweat appeared, and she dared not move again.

"It gets difficult from here!" Three-Eyed Yang Jian’s expression was ugly. "A seventh-realm will attack—each level is a world unto itself. Everyone, we’re in big trouble!"

"Not trouble!" Fang Qinghan whispered, stepping onto the fifty-sixth step, though his body shook violently. His body seemed to have turned into a true black hole, swallowing, plundering, grinding, and erasing everything.

Three-Eyed Yang Jian’s expression was grim. Luo Qingchen’s expression was also grim, as she had only taken half a step.

"I am an Immortal Spirit Body! How can I lose to a mortal body!" She roared in her heart and took the other step, but it felt like being struck by lightning. Under the violent tremors, she couldn't help but drop to one knee. Nosebleed sprayed out.

"Open for me!" The sword intent above Luo Feng’s head turned into substance, fusing with astonishing mental power. He slashed through the pressure ahead and stepped onto the fifty-sixth step with great force. Comparatively, he stood quite steadily.

Only the sword intent was more powerful and more terrifying.

"Sacred blood paves the way; it shall suppress all ominousness!" As Ye Bai’s voice fell, his surging blood energy transformed into substance, paving the way to the step ahead. He stepped up, but his face suddenly went white—whiter than white.

"I am the Supreme; all paths submit!" Shi Lei also fully erupted. He leaped lightly, jumping onto the step above.

To jump at this level?

Ye Bai and the others were all shocked. Even Jiang Ming was shocked. The over ten billion people watching the live stream were also shocked.

"You’re awesome!" Chen Bei gave a thumbs-up. A strange aura suddenly appeared around his body, actually absorbing the Sky Ladder’s attack into his body. With one turn, it erupted, lifting him onto the fifty-sixth step.

"You’re even more awesome!" Seeing this, Shi Lei couldn't help but grin.

What the hell. What kind of ghosts were these?

Jiang Ming had the urge to curse. On the fifty-fifth step, they had all been miserable; yet, after deciding to compete, they had all become relaxed. Of course, there were those who struggled, like White Ice and Three-Eyed Yang Jian.

"If you're really awesome, then keep going!" Jiang Ming suppressed his thoughts, smiled suddenly, and continued up the stairs.

This time, he was also incredibly relaxed.

Truly relaxed.

How many of the ten major artistic conceptions had he realized? Space, Yin-Yang, Life and Death, Light and Dark, Boundless, Soul, World—a full seven. As for others? If not a hundred, at least several dozen.

Every time he realized one, the Dao rhyme would temper and baptize his soul and will, bringing a terrifying increase in strength. He was also a sixth-stage divine cultivator; his soul was already powerful. Martial cultivation and body tempering also strengthened the will. All of this combined was inhuman.

The key was that Jiang Ming also possessed the Soul Master talent. As he climbed higher, the strange aura of the Sky Ladder stimulated his soul and will, which also underwent inexplicable changes.

Streams of origin power seemed to wake from their slumber, making his soul purer and stronger, and his resistance to the will attacks from the Sky Ladder was constantly increasing.

"Is this the passive improvement of the Soul Master talent?" Jiang Ming guessed.

However, his relaxed ascent to the fifty-seventh step left Ye Bai and the others dumbfounded. We have hidden strengths, but even erupting now, we are almost at our absolute limit! You old dog, why are you getting more relaxed?

"Everyone, keep going!" Jiang Ming said, stepping up another step.

The terrifying will power coming from all directions transformed into a 'Ruyi Heavenly Blade,' slashing fiercely at his sea of consciousness. It easily cleaved through the 'domain' barrier he had activated with his Dharma Form, but when it landed on his soul, it was easily dissipated.

He activated his soul domain for defense again. This time, Jiang Ming clearly felt that his soul domain was even stronger.

*Clang...*

The Ruyi Heavenly Blade struck again, but this time it was blocked by the defensive light of the domain evolved in his sea of consciousness.

"Stimulating my Soul Master talent and forcing my soul to transform—this is comparable to a heaven-defying fortune!" Jiang Ming was overjoyed.

But Shi Lei and the others all had ugly expressions. Truly ugly.

"How can you be so strong?" Luo Qingchen had stood firm, but seeing Jiang Ming, she showed incomprehensible resentment. She forced herself to climb again, but was defeated by the invisible force, and her reaction caused her to be blown away, falling off the Sky Ladder.

"You can't do it?" Jiang Ming was surprised. "It’s not hard, everyone. It’s really not hard. Don't believe me? Let me show you again?"

He stepped onto the fifty-ninth step, his body swaying suddenly, but he stabilized quickly. Turning around to look at Shi Lei and the others, he smiled: "You see, it’s very simple."

Ye Bai and the others’ expressions were all as if they were constipated. It was worse than anything imaginable.