As time passed, fewer and fewer people remained on the Golden Heavenly Ladder. Ahead of Ye Ling and Bai Xiao, there were less than ten individuals.
The Ascension Assembly had reached its midpoint. The spectators in Tianyi City could no longer see what was happening on the Heavenly Ladder, and the surrounding Winged Gods had all vanished, their whereabouts unknown.
"Wang, Brother Wang... I can't hold on much longer."
Bai Xiao was now completely sprawled on the ladder. The golden light beneath his body had become so thin that he was on the verge of falling.
"Ahhhhhh!"
At this moment, someone ahead of Bai Xiao missed a step and plummeted from the Golden Heavenly Ladder, disappearing into the clouds.
Ye Ling watched the person fall into the clouds, his eyes narrowing slightly.
After that person fell, they were not, as before, rescued by the Winged Gods. Instead, they were instantly decomposed by an incredibly powerful energy mid-air and absorbed by the Golden Heavenly Ladder.
Unaware of the fate of the person who had fallen, Bai Xiao said to Ye Ling, "Brother Wang, I really can't hold on anymore. I'll probably have to give up now."
Ye Ling looked at the extremely weak Bai Xiao and chuckled, "With your talent, you should have fallen off a third of the way up. To have held on to two-thirds of the way through sheer talent shows that, apart from a slight lack of composure, your willpower is unexpectedly strong."
"Haha... I don't know if you're praising me or scolding me, Brother Wang..." Bai Xiao laughed awkwardly. "I can't hold on anymore, I have to give up..."
As he spoke, the Heavenly Ladder beneath Bai Xiao began to fade, and he was about to fall.
"Wang Li Ren!"
At this moment, Nuo Ying suddenly appeared beside Ye Ling. Bai Xiao was startled, and the fading Heavenly Ladder beneath him instantly solidified.
Seeing Nuo Ying appear, Ye Ling knew she had witnessed the fate of the person who had fallen from the Heavenly Ladder. He asked, "What are your thoughts on this?"
Nuo Ying frowned. "The Winged Gods are the hope of the Tianyi Universe. They wouldn't do something like this... Something must have gone wrong with the Winged Gods during the time I was away."
As Nuo Ying finished speaking, a person behind them could no longer hold on and fell from the Golden Heavenly Ladder, disappearing into the clouds before being swallowed by the ladder.
Seeing the second person also being absorbed by the Golden Heavenly Ladder, Ye Ling immediately activated his Ink Domain barrier, covering everyone still on the ladder, and began analyzing their physical conditions.
After Ye Ling had examined the souls and bodies of everyone on the Golden Heavenly Ladder, he discovered that, apart from himself and Nuo Ying, the bodies and souls of everyone else had undergone subtle changes.
Between the brows of their souls, a golden seed that had not yet sprouted had appeared.
The power of these golden seeds varied, but without exception, the hosts were unaware of their existence.
"Did you discover anything?" Nuo Ying asked Ye Ling, seeing him activate his domain.
"The situation is rather peculiar," Ye Ling said solemnly, then shared everything he had seen with Nuo Ying.
"Golden Seed?"
Seeing the golden seeds between everyone's souls, Nuo Ying exclaimed in surprise, "The sacred artifact of the Supreme God Tianyi, how could it have grown within these people's souls?"
In the sacred land of the Winged Gods stood a massive Golden Sacred Tree, a divine object that had grown from the Golden Seed personally created by the Supreme God Tianyi.
To the Winged Gods, the Golden Sacred Tree was their clan's totem, and since ancient times, there had only ever been one Golden Seed!
Seeing Nuo Ying's considerable shock, Ye Ling realized this was an opportunity and continued, "These Golden Seeds have a subtle connection with the Golden Heavenly Ladder... The two people who fell earlier, their power was clearly absorbed by the Golden Heavenly Ladder."
"It seems these Golden Seeds were quietly planted into their souls by the Golden Heavenly Ladder."
As Ye Ling said this, Nuo Ying seemed to recall something and said to Ye Ling, "I have something to confirm, I need to leave for a moment!"
With that, Nuo Ying's eight wings unfurled, stirring up a gust of wind as she soared into the sky.
"Eight, eight wings?"
Bai Xiao, who had been listening in utter confusion, was completely stunned to see Nuo Ying suddenly unfurl her pure white eight wings.
For the Winged Gods, the more wings they had, the stronger they were.
An ordinary Winged God had only one pair of wings, and the strongest Winged Gods currently active on the Dragon Wing Continent only had six wings...
Bai Xiao had never even seen a powerful being like Nuo Ying, who possessed eight wings.
"I've analyzed this Golden Heavenly Ladder enough. When the time is right, I should stir up some trouble..."
Seeing Nuo Ying depart, a smile flickered in Ye Ling's eyes. Preparing to cause a major disturbance, he stomped down on the Golden Heavenly Ladder below!
Crack!
Cracks began to appear on the surface of the vast Golden Heavenly Ladder, and these cracks spread at an astonishing speed.
"Brother, Brother Wang... what are you doing?"
Bai Xiao, still in a state of shock, was utterly dumbfounded as Ye Ling suddenly shattered the Golden Heavenly Ladder, his mind going blank!
What was he trying to do?
Being weak, he could no longer comprehend what was happening.
Ye Ling looked at the stunned Bai Xiao and chuckled, "The Heavenly Ladder is about to collapse, and the Winged Gods won't come to save you. If you want to live, you'll have to do your best to reach the top yourself."
Hearing Ye Ling's words, a clear look of panic appeared on Bai Xiao's face. He no longer dared to hesitate and madly sprinted towards the summit of the Golden Heavenly Ladder.
Seeing the Heavenly Ladder begin to shatter, the others on it could no longer hold back and sped up, rushing forward.
At the same time, the spectators in Tianyi City erupted in uproar upon seeing the sudden shattering of the Golden Heavenly Ladder, the entire city buzzing with excitement.
"What is going on?"
The Winged God referee presiding over the Ascension Assembly stood up abruptly from his seat, exclaiming in shock at the shattering of the Heavenly Ladder.
"I saw someone directly attack the Heavenly Ladder, causing it to lose contact with the Golden Sacred Tree!" a Winged God hurriedly flew over and reported to the referee.
"Someone attacked the Heavenly Ladder?"
The Winged God referee was stunned for a moment before roaring, "How audacious! Bring people to capture the one who attacked the Heavenly Ladder!"
"Yes!"
The Winged God quickly took the order and led a group of Winged Gods towards the sky.
Simultaneously, the Winged God referee began ordering the expulsion of the spectators around the plaza, plunging the entire area into chaos.
Ye Ling, on the Golden Heavenly Ladder, saw everything happening in Tianyi City and chuckled, "This isn't enough chaos yet. Let me add some more fuel to the fire..."
As Ye Ling finished speaking, he instantly appeared at the top of the Golden Heavenly Ladder, grabbed a golden sapling from the top, and pulled it out by the roots.
Rumble...
The moment Ye Ling pulled out the golden sapling, the entire Tianyi City began to shake violently, and the massive Golden Tree in the sacred land of the Winged Gods now emitted a dazzling light.