Ji Yuanlong and Nan Yunting’s mouths twitched incessantly as they witnessed this.
Was this brat toying with them?!
The two exchanged a glare before simultaneously rushing towards the summit of the celestial ladder.
Ji Yuanlong and Nan Yunting’s faces turned ashen. They were, after all, the top two prodigies on the East Continent’s Prodigy Ranking.
To be so toyed with by an unknown youngster!
With simultaneous roars, they unleashed powerful auras.
They charged at Mu Qingqing from both sides, intending to flank her.
“Insolent fool! Get down here!”
As the words left their mouths, a terrifying pressure surged towards them.
Ji Yuanlong and Nan Yunting’s expressions drastically changed, their bodies trembling, nearly falling from the celestial ladder.
Their faces contorted in shock. This pressure was too immense.
Both circulated their spiritual energy to resist, barely holding on.
They had not expected the pressure of the final nine steps to be so formidable.
Even they found it difficult to withstand.
Yet, Nan Yunting and Ji Yuanlong couldn’t comprehend why Mu Qingqing ahead of them seemed completely unfazed.
Disregarding their astonished gazes, Mu Qingqing continued her ascent.
In mere seconds, she reached the summit of the celestial ladder, arriving at the end of the Ascension Road.
Witnessing this, the crowd’s hearts were thrown into turmoil.
They could never have imagined that the first to reach the summit of the celestial ladder would be such an unremarkable youth.
They stared at Mu Qingqing, dumbfounded and incredulous, all speculating who this Mu Qingqing could be.
Ji Yuanlong and Nan Yunting were equally dumbfounded.
Their faces were grim, and they gnashed their teeth in resentment.
Ji Yuanlong grew even more furious, cursing inwardly, *Damn it, who is this kid?!*
To be surpassed on the celestial ladder, losing so much face, he absolutely could not swallow this humiliation!
Two hours later, Ji Yuanlong and Nan Yunting also ascended the celestial ladder.
Their expressions were extremely grim. The pressure of the final nine steps had intensified severalfold.
It took them a full two hours to reach the summit.
Upon reaching the top, they swept their gazes around, only to find it empty, with only Mu Qingqing there.
Mu Qingqing was sitting on the ground, eyes closed, appearing to be asleep.
Ji Yuanlong and Nan Yunting’s faces were ashen, their hearts filled with frustration.
With no spiritual energy or strength left to discipline her, they could only sit down to recuperate.
Ji Yuanlong finally got a clear look at Mu Qingqing’s face and suddenly realized, “Isn’t this the kid who lit up ninety-eight crystals in the Star Gazing Pavilion? So it was him!”
Upon this realization, Ji Yuanlong’s expression darkened.
Mu Qingqing, however, paid no mind to the two. She was joyfully examining her gains.
The Myriad Phenomena Star Wheel Scripture, after absorbing the energy from over nine thousand steps, had successfully broken through to the late sixth layer. After transforming her body, she could exert the strength of a Five-Star Heavenly Venerate.
This way, as long as her main personality, Xin Ci, didn't encounter enemies above the Saint Emperor realm, she could protect his life.
Another half day passed, and Wan Shuwen, Xue Qianwu, Tie Lie Feng, the white-haired bandaged woman, and others also arrived on the celestial ladder, reaching its summit.
Liu Mu Ming and the others also performed commendably, ranking within the top twenty.
Five days later, many more successfully reached the summit.
Everyone sat down cross-legged to rest, awaiting the end of the celestial ladder assessment.
Finally, on the tenth day, a rumbling sound echoed from the celestial ladder.
A dazzling golden light flashed, and a golden barrier appeared on the ninety-ninth step.
Those who had not yet reached the summit were blocked, unable to proceed.
“Wait a moment, I’m only one step away!”
“Give us another chance!”
“Just a little bit more!”
Those who had already set foot on the ninety-ninth step cried out for help.
However, the golden barrier remained unmoved, unresponsive to their shouts.
Then, a figure slowly materialized in the sky above the celestial ladder.
He wore a purple robe and landed on the topmost level of the celestial ladder with an indifferent expression.
“Five-Star King Realm?!”
Upon seeing the man’s cultivation, everyone looked on in disbelief.
The purple-robed man ignored the crowd outside the golden barrier and scanned the more than one thousand youths and maidens on the summit, his expression cold.
“The celestial ladder assessment concludes here. The number of participants who passed is one thousand six hundred and thirty-three.”
The purple-robed man stated coldly.
Hearing his words, everyone was overjoyed.
However, before they could even cheer, the purple-robed man continued, “Now, the East Continent Grand Competition officially begins!”
“What, it’s just beginning now?”
“Does the preceding celestial ladder not count?”
“Right, there’s also the Ascension Platform. Could this be the true East Continent Grand Competition?”
Upon hearing this, the crowd began to discuss in astonishment.
“Yes.”
The purple-robed man nodded and then his gaze swept across everyone before pointing to a tiny, indistinguishable black vortex in the sky.
Within the vortex, a colossal stone gate slowly emerged.
The gate was a dark blue, appearing ancient and weathered.
Mysterious patterns covered its surface, emanating strange spatial fluctuations.
The purple-robed man stated calmly, “Inside the stone gate above is the Star Realm created by the former City Lord of Haoxing City, Senior Star Emperor.”
“You must use the Ascension Platform to reach the Star Gate left by His Majesty Star Emperor in the sky. The Star Gate will bestow treasures upon you.”
“The sooner one reaches the Star Gate, the rarer the treasures obtained. The first person to reach the Star Gate will be the first place winner of this East Continent Grand Competition.”
Everyone’s eyes lit up at this.
The Star Realm!
That was a pocket dimension left behind by a Saint Emperor-level powerhouse, containing infinite treasures!
It was known that Saint Emperors were exceedingly rare in the East Continent, perhaps countable on one hand.
This meant that a Saint Emperor’s pocket dimension was practically a treasure of the entire East Continent!
However, if one could not reach the Star Gate quickly,
they would only receive the lowest-tier treasures, forever missing out on the highest-grade ones.
The audience from the Star Gazing Pavilion also erupted upon hearing this astonishing news, discussing it amongst themselves.
“The Star Realm left by Star Emperor, is this true? Did I hear correctly?”
“The East Continent Grand Competition is actually using the Star Emperor’s pocket dimension, this is insane!”
“This makes me want to participate in the East Continent Grand Competition too!”
“Me too, but how could I possibly qualify? I don’t have the right to compete yet.”
The audience discussed excitedly, occasionally looking up at the sky, their eyes fixed on the Star Gate above.
The youths and maidens standing on the celestial ladder also displayed expressions of longing.
Suddenly, their surroundings began to change. The ground beneath their feet transformed into individual rectangular Ascension Platforms suitable for combat.
Everyone was forced apart, and upon closer inspection…