Amidst Qin An's jeering laughter.
Suddenly.
Ye Yunfei moved.
One step, and he stepped onto the second stone step!
"Look!
Ye Yunfei has finally stepped onto the second step!"
Someone immediately shouted.
After all, before this, Ye Yunfei had been standing on the first stone step the whole time.
Everyone had thought Ye Yunfei was struggling to climb upward.
"Hahaha… How laughable. So what if he climbed onto the second step!
After all that effort and spending so much time, he only managed the second step. That must be his limit!
If he can climb to the third step, I'll eat shit for him to see!
Ye Yunfei, you trash, might as well get off the ladder right now!"
From the ranks of the Jin Peak disciples, Zhou Tong shouted at the top of his lungs.
Then, the next moment.
The expression on Zhou Tong's face froze.
Swoosh!
On the Heaven Ascension Ladder, Ye Yunfei stepped up lightly and ascended to the third step.
Beside Zhou Tong, many Jin Peak disciples turned their heads, looking at him with barely suppressed laughter in their eyes.
Because everyone had heard his previous words loud and clear.
Zhou Tong flushed red, not daring to speak again.
On the Heaven Ascension Ladder.
Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh…
With his hands clasped behind his back, Ye Yunfei moved, step by step—neither fast nor slow, ascending steadily.
The tenth step, the eleventh, the twelfth…
In the blink of an eye, Ye Yunfei had reached the teens.
His expression was relaxed, his movements crisp, his bearing graceful. His robes danced vigorously in the wind, radiating an indescribable air of carefree elegance.
What was going on?
The entire square, everyone present, was stunned in an instant.
"How can this be?!
Impossible! I don't believe it. I must be seeing things!"
Zhou Tong's face twisted hideously, filled with unwillingness.
The more outstanding Ye Yunfei performed, the more displeased he felt.
"Hmph!"
Even up on the fifty-first step, Qin An's face also began to darken.
"Look!
Ye Yunfei has climbed to the twentieth step!"
Someone yelled.
In the square, everyone's gaze closely followed Ye Yunfei's figure.
Twentieth step, twenty-first, twenty-second…
Finally, Ye Yunfei ascended to the twenty-fifth step.
Then.
Ye Yunfei stopped and turned back, looking downward.
Ye Yunfei's gaze fell upon Elder Du.
"Elder Du, rest assured. I, Ye Yunfei, will not bring shame upon you.
Very soon, I will make all those who mocked you earlier realize what a wise and correct decision it was for you to bring me back to the Tianyuan Sect."
Ye Yunfei looked at Elder Du and smiled faintly.
"Hmph!
What a petty man who finds success goes to his head.
What's so great about climbing merely to the twenty-fifth step!"
Luo Fengyang sneered upon hearing Ye Yunfei's words.
"The twenty-fifth step? Such performers are a dime a dozen within our Tianyuan Sect!"
Su Deqing also wore an expression of disdain.
"Regardless, compared to Qin An, this Ye Yunfei is destined to be a joke."
Elder Ding of the Xiaoyao Pavilion also shook her head with a cold laugh.
On the Heaven Ascension Ladder.
Extending his Soul Power senses, Ye Yunfei heard every word spoken by these people.
"Elder Ding, are you so certain that I am inferior to Qin An?"
Ye Yunfei's gaze suddenly shifted to Elder Ding of the Xiaoyao Pavilion as he spoke clearly.
Amplified by his spiritual power, Ye Yunfei's voice resonated throughout the entire square.
"Of course, I'm certain!
Qin An possesses the Heavenly Spirit Body! Ye Yunfei, you will never compare to Qin An!"
Elder Ding replied with a cold sneer.
"Very well, then I propose a wager with you now.
If I win this climbing competition, you will have Qin An kneel and kowtow to me.
If Qin An wins, I will kneel and kowtow to him.
Do you dare?"
Ye Yunfei said calmly.
"Ye Yunfei, you go too far!
Qin An is the Pavilion Master's personal disciple, his status is noble and respected.
He is not someone a piece of trash like you can profane!"
Upon hearing this, Elder Ding's eyes widened in fury as she reprimanded him loudly.
"Spare me the useless talk.
I ask only: dare, or dare not?
If you dare not bet with me, then from now on, please shut your foul mouth and stop irritating me with your words."
Ye Yunfei stared directly at Elder Ding as he asked.
"You…"
Elder Ding trembled with rage.
As a high-ranking elder of the Xiaoyao Pavilion, revered wherever she went throughout the entire Great Qin Empire, those youths Ye Yunfei's age normally wouldn't even dare breathe heavily in her presence.
Yet Ye Yunfei actually dared to be so openly disrespectful to her!
"Elder Ding, there's no harm in taking his bet.
The one destined to lose will certainly be him.
If he wants to kneel, then let him kneel."
The Master of the Xiaoyao Pavilion suddenly spoke up.
"Fine!
Ye Yunfei, I'll take your bet!
I'll be waiting to see you kneel and kowtow to Qin An!"
Elder Ding glared at Ye Yunfei and said each word slowly.
"I'm afraid not.
You will never have the chance to see me kowtow to Qin An."
Ye Yunfei smiled faintly.
Then.
Ye Yunfei lifted his foot and continued his ascent.
Unhurriedly, step by step, he moved upward along the steps.
Having refined and successfully taken control of the Heaven Ascension Ladder,
now, as Ye Yunfei walked upon it, he felt not the slightest pressure!
It was no different from taking a stroll on level ground!
In the blink of an eye.
Ye Yunfei ascended to the thirty-fifth step!
"Impossible!
How can this trash reach the thirty-fifth step!"
From among the Jin Peak disciples, Ling Tianyu's face contorted with anger, his fists clenched tightly, showing extreme unwillingness.
Because his own climbing achievement had been the thirty-fifth step.
Now, Ye Yunfei's result was already the same as his!
As for Zhou Tong, he had long been ashen-faced and dumbstruck, gazing up at Ye Yunfei's back, not daring to utter a single word.
His own achievement had been only the thirtieth step.
Ye Yunfei had already surpassed him!
"Senior Brother Ye Yunfei is incredible!
Who dares call Senior Brother Ye Yunfei trash now!"
A'Niu shouted excitedly, puffing out his chest proudly.
"We were right about Senior Brother Ye Yunfei after all!
Senior Brother Ye Yunfei deserves our loyalty!"
"Senior Brother Ye Yunfei, keep it up!"
The few hundred Water Peak disciples who had followed Ye Yunfei to the square earlier finally began to feel a sense of vindication, each of them yelling and cheering.
"Damnit!"
Among the Water Peak disciples, Li Chaofan's expression was extremely ugly, his venomous gaze fixed firmly on Ye Yunfei.
"Haha…
Ye Yunfei, you truly haven't let me down!"
On the high platform on the east side of the square, Elder Du finally breathed a sigh of relief in his heart, laughing with gratification.
Before, while Ye Yunfei remained on the first step and suffered everyone's mockery, the person under the greatest pressure in the entire square had been Elder Du.
Because Ye Yunfei was the one he had brought back.
Furthermore, in the previous period, in order to help Ye Yunfei secure a spot to enter the Tianying Small World, Elder Du had offended many people within the Tianyuan Sect.
Now, Ye Yunfei's performance finally allowed Elder Du to feel a sense of restored pride.
"Look!
Ye Yunfei is starting to climb again!"
Someone in the square shouted.
On the Heaven Ascension Ladder, Ye Yunfei continued his ascent, taking large strides upward.
In the blink of an eye.
Ye Yunfei ascended to the forty-fifth step!
"Hahaha…
Well done, Ye Yunfei!"
Elder Du roared with laughter, his joy unrestrained.
"Li Chaofan's achievement was only the thirty-seventh step.
Yet Ye Yunfei has now ascended to the forty-fifth!
Luo Fengyang, Su Deqing, do you two still oppose Ye Yunfei taking a spot to enter the Tianying Small World?!"
At this moment, Elder Du felt doubly vindicated, straightening his back and speaking loudly.
Luo Fengyang and Su Deqing wore expressions as gloomy as could be.
However, they had no retort.
Because right before everyone's eyes, the facts were undeniable.
"Hehe, I was right after all. This lad is no simple person."
The Tianyuan Sect's hidden Elder couldn't help but nod and laugh.
"Quite outstanding.
Who would have thought our Tianyuan Sect would gain another talented disciple!"
Shi Zongyang was also extremely pleased.