Saint Sovereign of Nine Heavens

The sound of the bell spread across the entire Outer Sect very quickly.    

On the plaza below the mountain, there was a gathering of people. The moment the bell rang, people rushed out and headed for the mountain peak.    

Not long after, the wave like Outer Sect disciples arrived at an open area halfway up the mountain.    

Everyone looked up at the same time, only to see a white jade stairs that led straight to the peak. On the surface of the white jade steps, mysterious runes were glowing faintly, like a spider web that covered the entire long flight of steps. Upon closer inspection, one would notice that the entire long flight was covered by an invisible domain, giving off a sense of isolation.    

Many Outer Sect disciples revealed looks of anticipation and excitement.    

More than ten white-clothed Law Enforcement Disciples stood at the bottom of the stairs. One of them actually stepped onto the stairs, and as soon as he took a few steps, his entire body was enveloped by an invisible force, causing his figure to become a bit heavier.    

This person was none other than Meng Xuan.    

"The Sky Stairway has been opened, go straight to the Clear Sky Peak!" "Before sunset, those who have a firm footing on the top one hundred steps of the Heaven Stairway. Those who are not chased down by the other disciples, can be promoted to inner disciples. Now, let's begin to climb the Heaven Stairway! "    

"Climb the Sky Stairway!" The other law enforcement disciples shouted in unison.    

Meng Xuan stepped aside.    

Cheers erupted from the Outer Sect disciples as the crowd rushed forward like water.    

Watching the movements of the Outer Sect disciples, the corners of Meng Xuan's mouth curled up into a faint smile.    

"Ah, what is this?" Suddenly, a Outer Sect disciple exclaimed. Just as he stepped onto the Heaven Stairway, he felt himself enveloped by an invisible force, as his body suddenly grew heavy.    

"New disciples? You don't even know this, but this is the core magnetic element formation on the Heaven Stairway, causing the gravity to continuously increase. The closer one is to the peak, the greater the amount of gravity that can be bore.    

"He wants to climb the Heaven Stairway with the strength of the fifth level of the Heavenly Astral Stage, does he really think that it will be so easy?"    

"Hurry up, you can either go down or up. Don't block the way!"    

"…"    

Amidst the chaos and noise, the crowd surged as thousands of Outer Sect disciples headed higher.    

However, on the ground below the Heaven Stairway, there was still a considerable amount of people who had not moved. These people were the seniors amongst the Outer Sect disciples, people who had rich experience in the annual competition for the Heaven Stairway.    

He knew that it wasn't easy to reach the Sky Stairway, and under the huge gravity that enveloped the entire Sky Stairway, it would be very difficult for warriors in the middle stage of Heavenly Astral Stage to reach the last one hundred steps, and it would be even more difficult to fight for the last one hundred places.    

In the midst of the clamor, in less than an hour, the crowd had already been pulled apart. The weaker martial artists either stopped to rest, or they could only choose to go back and leave this long white jade staircase.    

Only after another two hours had passed did the experienced old Outer Sect disciples all start to move, and calmly headed towards the peak of the mountain.    

However, those meticulous people had noticed that most of the outstanding people from the Outer Sect had still not appeared. This was not strange since a long day had passed, and those who were confident in themselves naturally did not wish to come too early to wait on the last step of the hundredth step.    

As time passed, the tide of people rushed up the Heaven Stairway, but the higher they went, the greater the gravity brought about by the formation, causing their speed to decrease significantly. The difference in strength between all the Outer Sect disciples that went up the Heaven Stairway and those that went past one-third of the total number of cultivators was also starting to become obvious.    

"This is the Sky Stairway!" On the empty ground, Su Guan raised his head and looked at the Outer Sect disciples on the stairs, a trace of yearning and expectation appearing on his face, and similarly, a trace of regret.    

Becoming an inner disciple was every Outer Sect disciple's dream, and Su Guan was no exception. It's just that he only had the strength of the fifth floor of the Heavenly Astral Stage, so he had no possibility of reaching the peak of Heaven Rank.    

"With our strength, we can only try it out when there are fewer people. If Chen Yu and Young Master Chen were here, they might be able to get a spot!" Beside Su Guan, Luo Lieh chimed in.    

Beside Luo Lieh were a few of his tribesmen.    

In terms of strength, Luo Lieh was actually stronger than Su Guan, but it was still far from enough to fill the entire inner disciple spot.    

"Chen Yu!" Jun Che, who was on the other side of Su Guan, revealed a trace of sadness when Chen Yu was mentioned.    

"Speaking of which, Young Master Chen is not far from the one year limit of the Punishment Tower. I wonder if he is still well?" Luo Lieh revealed a look of concern as he spoke.    

Su Guan glanced at Jun Che and said, "I believe he is still alive and well, just like when he was imprisoned in the fifth floor of the Punishment Tower!"    

Jun Che was speechless.    

"Hope huh? Such a strong aura, who is it?" Halfway through Luo Lieh's words, he suddenly turned his head.    

Seven or eight martial practitioners rushed over from below the Heaven Climbing Peak. The leader had a deep aura and a solemn expression; he had a kind of Ling Yun's arrogance that no one could overlook.    

"Du Jueqing!" Luo Lieh exclaimed in a low voice.    

The Outer Sect disciples who were still observing from the sidelines all looked at Du Jueqing, and all of them subconsciously held their breaths, not daring to make a ruckus anymore.    

Du Jueqing's gaze swept across the empty ground. When it passed by Su Guan, Luo Lieh and the others, he paused for a moment and a hint of coldness flashed through his eyes. But in the end, he didn't say anything and calmly walked towards the Heaven Stairway.    

Very quickly stepping onto the Sky Stairway, Du Jueqing walked slowly, looking very relaxed. The bottom of the Heaven Stairway was where the gravity was the weakest, so the effect it had on him was negligible.    

"Du Jueqing will definitely become an inner disciple!" Su Guan muttered.    

"There is no doubt about it!" Liu Tie said, "It just depends on whether he can reach the top, becoming the person at the top of the Heaven Stairway. One year ago, after he suffered a loss at the hands of Young Master Chen, Du Jueqing was said to have devoted himself to cultivation, and his strength advanced another step, to the point where he had half a foot into the threshold of Spirit Accumulation Stage. On the other hand, since Young Master Chen was sent to the Punishment Tower for a year, he would definitely miss the chance to climb the Heaven Stairway.    

"That's right!" Su Guan smiled bitterly.    

The moment he finished, Su Guan suddenly turned around.    

A tall figure with a long sword on his back was approaching rapidly. His aura was like a rainbow, and the white halo surrounding him was like a violent storm. The sound of thunder could be heard from the shadows.    

An invisible pressure pervaded the air and all the Outer Sect disciples who were spectating subconsciously slowed their breathing.    

"Lih Xie is here!"    

Heavenly Astral Stage Ninth Floor, one of the top people at the Outer Sect, Lih Xie!    

Lih Xie strode straight up the white jade stairs.    

After the time it took to boil a cup of tea, another graceful woman with a green dress flashed into view. She had a charming smile on her face as she looked around with a captivating beauty.    

Wenn Siling, the peak expert of Outer Sect.    

Behind Wenn Siling, four females at the ninth level of Heavenly Astral Stage followed him and dashed up the Heaven Stairway. As the five of them climbed, they talked and laughed like silver bells.    

After Wenn Siling left far away, discussions started again on the empty ground.    

"Senior sister Wen, you're so pretty. If you can get your senior sister Wen, then you will have no regrets even in death!"    

"If you don't take a piss and look at yourself, how bad must Senior Wen's eyes be to like you?"    

"Not to mention Senior Wen, even her Senior Chen, Senior Yun, and the others are not people that we can easily reach!"    

"…"    

Su Guan stared at the Heaven Stairway with a distant expression.    

"Wu Hongyuan is here!" Not long after, another profound energy disciple with an extraordinary demeanor walked over with large strides and stepped onto the Heaven Stairway.    

"Zhao Wuji is here!"    

"Gu Yuan, this time, he should be able to get a spot!"    

"Guan Peng, he's determined to win this time!"    

"…"    

From time to time, people would come up from below the Heaven Climbing Peak and step onto this Heaven Stairway, which was called the Greencloud Road.    

Each and every one of the Outer Sect disciples who had descended had pale faces and faltering auras, but they could not bear the Inhibition Formations on the Heaven Stairway. They had no choice but to give up their plans of climbing to the top of the Heaven Stairway and chose to give up.    

When they couldn't even make it up the last one hundred steps, it would be a joke to fight for the seat of inner disciple.    

Suddenly, Su Guan's eyes focused.    

A few figures walked over with large strides.    

Su Guan's expression suddenly changed.    

It was Chen Daolin, Feng Xuan, Feng Xiao and Situ Lan.    

Situ Lan and Chen Daolin didn't even look at him. They didn't pay attention to Su Guan and Jun Che. On the other hand, Liu Tie's gaze was fixed on Su Guan and the others with a trace of coldness in his eyes.    

A year's time was enough for people to understand a lot of information, such as the relationship between Su Guan, Jun Che, and Chen Yu. If not for the fact that Outer Sect was a solemn place and the first seat Ling Jianxu was strict with his management of Outer Sect, Su Guan and the rest would have been repeatedly looking for trouble.    

As they continued to watch, more and more people walked up the Sky Stairway, and among them, quite a few newly advanced Outer Sect disciples started to arrive.    

Then, Su Guan saw Ye Qing and Gongsun Hao come over.    

After a few pleasantries, Ye Qing, Gongsun Hao and the rest also started to climb the Heaven Stairway. Naturally, they were not strong enough to reach the top, but this did not stop them from giving it a try.    

After an hour, the sun had set and there was only about two hours left before dusk. Su Guan sighed and said to Luo Lieh and Liu Tie, "Let's go up. Since we're here, we should get familiar with this Heaven Stairway."    

Jun Che couldn't hide the trace of disappointment in his eyes. He turned around and looked at the mountain path that came up.    

Suddenly, Jun Che opened his mouth and revealed an expression of disbelief.    

Su Guan was stunned for a moment. He followed Jun Che's gaze and looked over. Then, he too was stunned and found it hard to believe.    

From a distance, a figure could be seen speeding up the mountain. A pair of scarlet wings were flapping in the air, bringing with it a blazing aura akin to volcanic lava.    

"It's Young Master Chen Yu, he actually came out from the Punishment Tower?" Luo Lieh muttered, pleasantly surprised.    

"Who is this? What a blazing astral energy! What a powerful aura!"    

"This imposing manner is not inferior to Du Jueqing's group, who has such powerful strength, could it be that another top genius has appeared on the Outer Sect?"    

"This is God! I must have seen wrongly! It's Chen Yu! He's still alive!"    

"Who is Chen Yu?"    

"How is that possible? Wasn't the punishment given by the Seventh Layer of the Punishment Tower said that no one could endure it? How could Chen be safe and sound, and with such a strong aura? "    

The group of Outer Sect disciples below the Heaven Stairway were all equally shocked by the approaching aura. Looking at Chen Yu, who was quickly approaching, at the beginning, they did not recognize Chen Yu, but in the blink of an eye, he was already a few hundred meters away.    

Hence, various cries of shock and even fear rose one after another.    

Chen Yu is here!