"Look, Qin An has reached the fifty-second step!"
Suddenly, someone shouted.
Everyone's gaze immediately shot towards the arena, specifically the crystal mirror surface beside the Heaven Ascension Ladder that represented the fifty-second step.
Sure enough, Qin An's figure appeared within that crystal mirror.
It indicated Qin An had reached the fifty-second step.
"Qin An is moving again."
"The fifty-third step!"
...
In the square, everyone's attention refocused on Qin An.
They watched as Qin An ascended step by step, reaching the fifty-fifth stone step in moments.
Ye Yunfei's sudden and outstanding performance had put some pressure on Qin An.
Therefore, he began to exert himself in climbing the ladder, secretly vowing to use his final score to slap Ye Yunfei's face—figuratively.
Especially since Ye Yunfei's bet with Elder Ding moments ago had reminded Qin An of the past incident in Yuanyue City, where he had been forced to kneel and apologize to Ye Yunfei.
"Ye Yunfei, this time, you will be the one kneeling and kowtowing!"
Qin An gritted his teeth, channeling a surge of determination, and began climbing the ladder with single-minded focus, ignoring everything else!
However, upon reaching the fifty-fifth step, Qin An also began to feel a certain pressure.
His climbing speed started to noticeably slow down.
The ease and casual grace he had displayed earlier was gone.
"Look!
Ye Yunfei has reached the fiftieth step!"
At that moment, someone yelled out.
Thus, everyone's attention shifted back to Ye Yunfei.
Indeed, by this time, Ye Yunfei was already standing on the fiftieth stone step.
Long Yingying was also on this same step.
By now, Long Yingying was drenched in sweat, utterly exhausted.
"What?
Ye Yunfei, you actually caught up to me!
You really have hidden depths to him!"
Suddenly noticing Ye Yunfei right beside her, Long Yingying couldn't help but feel shocked.
"For the Battle Clan, the most crucial thing is fighting spirit.
As long as that fighting spirit in your heart doesn't wane.
Then, it can support you, allowing you to continue climbing upwards.
Climbing another twenty or thirty steps won't be a problem."
Ye Yunfei glanced at the utterly fatigued Long Yingying and spoke abruptly.
"Fighting spirit?"
Long Yingying was taken aback.
"But, I'm already completely exhausted, deadly tired.
How could I possibly climb another twenty or thirty steps?"
Long Yingying shook her head.
She felt Ye Yunfei was talking nonsense.
"If you give up this easily,
then you aren't worthy of being a Battle Clan member at all.
Forget the fatigue of your physical body.
Summon forth the fighting spirit in your heart.
Then, you will regain your strength."
Ye Yunfei smiled faintly.
Then, Ye Yunfei lifted his foot and walked upwards.
"Summon forth the fighting spirit in my heart, and I will regain strength..."
Upon hearing Ye Yunfei's words, something seemed to stir within Long Yingying's heart.
The next moment.
"Quick, look!
Ye Yunfei has reached the fifty-first step!"
A roar erupted in the square.
Everyone's eyes instantly snapped towards the crystal mirror surface beside the Heaven Ascension Ladder on the arena, the one representing the fifty-first step.
Ye Yunfei's figure appeared within the mirror!
And then.
Before the crowd could even process it.
Whoosh!
Ye Yunfei's figure disappeared from that crystal mirror.
Then, he appeared in the mirror representing the fifty-second step.
However, after merely flickering there for an instant, he vanished again.
Next.
The fifty-third step, the fifty-fourth step...
Ye Yunfei's figure flickered briefly in each crystal mirror surface, disappearing almost immediately.
It was as if he was mere flickering light and fleeting shadow!
Frighteningly fast!
"Look!
Ye Yunfei has reached the fifty-ninth step, catching up to Qin An!"
A great shout rang out across the square, and the entire plaza began to seethe with excitement.
For within the crystal mirror representing the fifty-ninth step, the figures of both Ye Yunfei and Qin An appeared simultaneously.
"Impossible!"
The Master of Xiaoyao Pavilion and Elder Ding simultaneously stood up, their faces filled with utter disbelief.
"Ye Yunfei, well done!"
Elder Du trembled all over with excitement.
"Haha, this lad truly doesn't show himself often, but when he does, it's earth-shattering!"
The Hidden Elder of the Tianyuan Sect couldn't help but laugh heartily.
"Elder Du, you have unearthed a truly remarkable genius for our Tianyuan Sect!
Ye Yunfei's ladder-climbing score has actually caught up to Qin An's!"
Shi Zongyang was also incredibly agitated, his voice trembling slightly as he spoke.
At this moment.
On the fifty-ninth stone step.
"Now, do you still think you're a divine dragon in the sky?"
Ye Yunfei looked at Qin An with a mocking gaze.
"Impossible!
I don't believe it!"
Qin An's face was full of incredulity, his eyes brimming with unwillingness.
He clenched his fists so tightly that his fingernails dug deep into his flesh, yet he remained oblivious to the pain.
"Ye Yunfei, I will not lose to you!
Because I am a Heavenly Spirit Body!
I am one favored by Heaven!"
Qin An glared at Ye Yunfei for several moments, then turned around, intending to continue his ascent.
"In your mind, a Heavenly Spirit Body is one favored by Heaven.
But in my eyes, it's hardly worth mentioning."
Ye Yunfei shook his head slightly, speaking softly.
The moment his words fell.
Whoosh!
Ye Yunfei's figure abruptly accelerated, leaving behind an afterimage as he shot upwards along the Heaven Ascension Ladder like a streak of lightning.
Whoosh! Whoosh...
One afterimage after another appeared, fast beyond belief.
In the crystal mirrors lining both sides of the Heaven Ascension Ladder on the arena, the crowd could only see a blurry afterimage flickering rapidly across different mirror surfaces.
Everyone.
Everyone was dumbstruck, suspecting they were hallucinating.
Merely two seconds later.
Ye Yunfei's figure came to a stop.
He appeared within the crystal mirror surface representing the one hundredth step.
This signified that Ye Yunfei had ascended to the one hundredth step!
The summit!
The entire square plunged into dead silence.
Not a sound could be heard.
The atmosphere became oppressively heavy.
As if the place had transformed into a sinister graveyard!
Everyone felt as if their heads had been filled with cement, frozen stiff, completely bereft of thought.
This heavy, deathly silent atmosphere persisted for a while.
Then, everyone finally began to regain their senses.
"Ah!
Ye Yunfei has climbed onto the hundredth stone step!
He's climbed to the summit of the Heaven Ascension Ladder!"
"He didn't climb up! He ran up! No, he sprinted up!"
"It took less than two seconds!
Is he even human?!"
...
The entire square erupted into an uproar.
Shouts of shock and exclamations rose continuously.
On the fifty-ninth stone step, Qin An's face was ashen, standing rooted to the spot as if his soul had been ripped away.
"Impossible, I don't believe it, this can't be real, this must be an illusion..."
His eyes held a profound sense of despair.
Ever since awakening his Heavenly Spirit Body, Qin An had achieved success at a young age, his fame spreading across the entire Great Qin Empire. He rose from the status of a young master of a minor family in a small city to become the personal disciple of the Master of Xiaoyao Pavilion overnight.
What immeasurable pride he felt!
But now, he felt as if he had been struck down back to his original form in an instant.
He realized that the Heavenly Spirit Body he was so proud of was utterly crushed before Ye Yunfei.