"The people of the War Clan truly are extraordinary." Even Ye Yunfei nodded in acknowledgment.
In the blink of an eye, Long Yingying had raced up to beyond the twentieth stone step, and only then did her speed begin to slow slightly. However, she still continued her ascent in large strides.
By now, quite a few of the talented disciples had already climbed above the twentieth step.
As the competition had progressed, everyone had finally begun to figure out the difficulty of climbing the Heaven Ascension Ladder.
Generally speaking, the ordinary disciples of the five peaks could reach at most the fifteenth step, which was pretty much their limit.
The Core Disciples of the five peaks could usually climb to the twentieth step.
However, the twenty-fifth step was a critical point.
Only those genius-level disciples among the five peaks could ascend past the twenty-fifth step.
At this moment.
Zhou Tong had climbed onto the thirtieth stone step.
Yet, it was here that he began to feel immense pressure. Standing on the thirtieth step, his face flushed red from exertion. No matter how hard he tried, he could climb no further.
Meanwhile, Li Chaofan had, at this time, climbed to the thirty-fifth step.
Then, he too began to feel tremendous pressure.
Most of the other talented disciples from the five peaks had climbed to around the thirtieth step, where their movements began to turn laborious.
However, no one was willing to give up easily. One after another, they gave it their all, straining to climb further.
At this stage.
The only ones remaining on the Heaven Ascension Ladder were all genius disciples of the five peaks.
All the other ordinary and Core Disciples had finished their attempts and retreated.
"Sigh, the strength of our Tianyuan Sect's disciples truly is deteriorating; each generation is weaker than the last," the Sect Master of Tianyuan Sect couldn't help but shake his head with a sigh from the high platform on the east side of the plaza, looking rather disappointed. "I remember, in our generation, there was a talented disciple who ascended to the fifty-first step. That time, everyone had to rely on the crystal mirror surfaces beside the ladder to see his figure clearly. Yet in this generation, even a talent like Li Chaofan has only reached the thirty-fifth step. There was absolutely no need to utilize those crystal mirrors."
On both sides of the Heaven Ascension Ladder, a total of fifty crystal mirror surfaces were arrayed. Below the fiftieth step, one could see clearly with the naked eye. It was only above the fifty-first step that one needed the aid of those crystal surfaces.
So far in this competition, not a single disciple had managed to ascend past the fiftieth step. Therefore, the crystal mirror surfaces flanking the ladder were completely unused.
"Hmph! As poor as Li Chaofan is, he is far, far better than Ye Yunfei," Luo Fengyang's gaze shifted to Elder Du, his expression brimming with mockery. "Elder Du, surely you have nothing left to say now! It's laughable. That Ye Yunfei is still standing stock-still on the very first step. After all this huffing and puffing, he can't even climb to the second!"
"It seems the outcome of this climbing competition is nearing its conclusion. The five slots for entry into the Tianying Small World are also basically settled," Su Deqing said with a cold laugh. "Ye Yunfei is eliminated!"
"How could it be like this?" Elder Du stared at Ye Yunfei, confused and unconvinced. Even now, he still refused to believe this was Ye Yunfei's true level.
"Look! That Ye Yunfei is still trying his hardest to climb to the second step. I'm truly impressed by his persistence!"
"What does it matter if he manages to climb to the second step? He'd still be trash all the same."
"Maybe he just can't accept it. Sigh, what a pitiful fellow. For a period before this, he kicked up such a storm, making such a grand scene and thinking himself so impressive. Who would have thought today's competition would reveal his true colors!"
...
At this moment, waves of mocking commentary directed at Ye Yunfei continuously arose within the plaza.
Because Ye Yunfei's performance was simply too conspicuous. Right up until now, he remained standing motionless on the first stone step.
Faced with the constant stream of jeers, Ye Yunfei paid them no heed whatsoever.
His Soul Power had deeply permeated the Heaven Ascension Ladder, constantly searching for that critical control hub.
Suddenly.
"Found it! So it's located at the very center of the staircase!"
Finally, within the interior of the ladder, at its central point, Ye Yunfei's Soul Power located a unique sigil.
This special sigil was a marker. It signified that this location was the key control hub of the artifact.
As long as he could etch his spiritual imprint onto this spot, he could seize control of the artifact.
"The second step is even more difficult. This Heaven Ascension Ladder is imbued with potent Five Elements energy. To completely control it, one must have a deep understanding of the laws of the Five Elements. Luckily, I did study the Five Elements once before. I estimate just a bit more time is needed. Sigh, it's all because my current Soul Power is too weak. Otherwise, why would it be so troublesome? A single second would be enough to refine this ladder."
Ye Yunfei shook his head slightly, thinking to himself. Having once been a Heavenly Emperor, refining a mere magical artifact was naturally no difficult task for Ye Yunfei. He knew his greatest shortcoming now was his low cultivation realm and weak Soul Power. Many of his powerful divine abilities and secret techniques were currently beyond his ability to employ.
"Alright, time for the second step."
Ye Yunfei took a deep breath and began the second step: etching a spiritual imprint upon the ladder's control hub.
At this time, some of the talented disciples on the ladder also began to give up and descend.
"Haha, Ye Yunfei, you trash! Isn't this disgusting? You can't even climb the second step, yet you still have the nerve to linger here. Is it useful? It only serves to highlight your incompetence all the more! Ye Yunfei, now, you have utterly, completely become a joke!"
Zhou Tong walked down from the ladder, shouting loudly at Ye Yunfei in a venomous tone. His voice was intentionally loud, as if afraid others might not hear. His aim was to ruthlessly humiliate Ye Yunfei, to make him lose all face.
At that moment.
Xiao Xiaoling also descended.
She had managed to climb to the thirty-second stone step, but could ascend no further.
"Zhou Tong, enough already," Xiao Xiaoling felt somewhat disgusted by Zhou Tong's behavior and spoke out. "Say what you will, but you were once defeated by him. What do you have to be so smug about?"
"Xiao Xiaoling, what do you mean by that!" Zhou Tong flared up in anger. "Are you defending him like this because you fancy this piece of trash?"
"Zhou Tong, if you dare utter another word, don't blame me for being impolite!" Xiao Xiaoling's willow-leaf eyebrows arched as she barked in anger.
"Begone!"
Right at this moment, Ye Yunfei suddenly glanced at Zhou Tong and spat out a single word.
Simultaneously.
He unleashed a Soul-Severing Needle, attacking into Zhou Tong's mind.