The entrance to the Sky Ladder.
For a time, the endless sea of spectators fixed their gaze on the front of the Sky Ladder. As figures appeared, waves of envious glances were cast their way.
Not for any other reason.
Simply because these were the cream of the crop from the first trial. Were they joking?
From billions of competitors, only over 180,000 were selected, a testament to the terrifyingly rigorous selection process.
Before the Sky Ladder, the weakest were peak Third Order Great Emperors, and over ninety percent were Fourth Order Great Emperors or peak Fourth Order Great Emperors. As for Fifth Order Great Emperors, they were few and far between.
The Ice River Beast clone and the Elf race clone were among them. The two creatures' gazes immediately fell upon their main body, followed by awkward smiles as they sheepishly looked away.
Then, a telepathic message entered the minds of the two clones. Upon hearing it, the Ice River Beast clone's eyes lit up. As for the Elf race clone, after hearing its main body's words, it pursed its lips. "Damn it, is my main body trying to push me to my death?"
The top 50. That would expose me completely to that old bastard Futu. Is my main body really that capable to deal with that old bastard Futu? But that's an Eighth Order Great Emperor. Is my main body already that awesome?
"All contestants, attention!"
"Ascend the Sky Ladder, begin!!"
A majestic voice descended, and the next moment, at least a thousand strong individuals took flight. Without exception, they were all Fifth Order Great Emperors, including Night Shadow, who was at the peak of the Fifth Order Great Emperor realm. Ye Xuan, however, did not make a move. Instead, he approached the Elf race clone.
"Main body, you're here!"
The Elf race clone was immensely excited. His main body was now a Seventh Order Great Emperor and possessed many formidable abilities. If he could help me rank in the top 50, that would be an extremely substantial amount of top-grade Emperor Crystals.
"Mm."
After a brief acknowledgment, Ye Xuan didn't waste words. He flipped his right hand, producing a [Ability Storage Card], which he then crushed and affixed to the clone. A surge of spatial ability erupted from the Elf race clone.
"This ability will significantly weaken the suppression of the Sky Ladder. With your speed, reaching the top 50 should not be difficult."
As he spoke, Ye Xuan looked up at the Sky Ladder, which had thousands of steps. He saw the Ice River entity charging ahead, already reaching the hundredth step, leaving the second-place contestant a full ten steps behind. Such a feat was simply monstrous.
"Damn it!"
Night Shadow watched the figure ahead, more than ten steps in the lead, his face contorted with anger. Especially seeing the ice surrounding the entity, which resisted the suppression, Night Shadow immediately guessed its identity. Of course, there was also the unique appearance of the Elf race, the Elf genius Binghe.
That bastard who took first place in the first trial!
It wasn't just Night Shadow; several other peak Fifth Order Great Emperors stepped forward, ascending step by step.
Soon, only one figure remained before the Sky Ladder. This figure was none other than Ye Xuan's main body.
Through the perceptions of his two clones regarding the Sky Ladder, Ye Xuan savored its profound mysteries. To outsiders, however, he appeared to be frozen in fear.
"Heh, Ilif, that's your Atlantean star, right? Tsk tsk~"
"Aren't you scared, hahaha!!"
Sarcastic voices rang out. Ilif's eyes flashed with anger. The Slaughter King beside him curved his lips. "Lord of the Slaughter Heavens, you may not know, but this person is one of the eight generals of our Atlantean star, and his combat power is sufficient to withstand two hundred moves from me without defeat."
"Lord of the Slaughter Heavens, do you perhaps think that someone who can fight me for two hundred moves would be afraid of this mere Sky Ladder?"
The Lord of the Slaughter Heavens faltered. He looked at the figure before the Sky Ladder, a hint of unease stirring in his heart.
"Hmph~"
Impossible. Even if that brat is one of Ilif's eight generals, how could he defeat Lai Yuejing? Lai Yuejing has already reached the sixtieth step.
"Look quickly, General Ye is making a move!"
Just then, Tumon's voice carried over. The next moment, with a swift whoosh, everyone's gaze, including Ilif's, fell upon Ye Xuan. Even the Lord of the Slaughter Heavens, as well as King Yan Yue and others.
Of course, and countless people in the arena!!
That brat... Holy cow, is he insane!
While everyone was contemplating, they discovered that Ye Xuan, at the entrance of the Sky Ladder, had completely retracted all his aura. To suppress one's aura at the Sky Ladder was practically equivalent to seeking death.
He took a step down...
What!!
Ye Xuan stood on the first step of the Sky Ladder, yet the surrounding crowd was aghast to discover he was completely unharmed. Without hesitation, Ye Xuan then stepped onto the second, third...
Then, the fourth, fifth...
In an instant, he had passed more than ten steps. Yet, Ye Xuan's aura remained entirely unreleased, meaning he was resisting the pressure of over ten steps of the Sky Ladder with pure physical strength. The peak Third Order Great Emperor opponents, who were currently at the tenth step, were all stunned into silence.
They were all exerting their full power to resist. There was no comparison without contrast. Immediately, with a soft plop, the peak Third Order Great Emperor opponents simultaneously spat out blood.
Such powerful physique!!
As expected, this was the unanimous thought of everyone present. Ilif's pupils constricted. Indeed... General Ye has not disappointed me.
"How is this possible!!"
King Yan Yue was utterly dumbfounded. "Resisting over ten steps of the Sky Ladder's pressure with his physique, this is impossible!!"
"That brat... has been hiding his strength quite deeply."
The Lord of the Slaughter Heavens' expression was extremely grave. Clearly, he had underestimated that fellow all along. It seemed that in the first trial, this brat had held back considerably.
"He's already at the 30th step!!"
Tumon swallowed hard, gasped for air, and stared at Ye Xuan on the Sky Ladder. Such a powerful physique. If he were to unleash his full aura, he would have likely broken the 100-step mark long ago.
Then, the 40th, 50th, 60th step...
Soon, he reached the 100th step. At this point, Lai Yuejing of the Twisted Dragon Planet had also reached the 100th step. Seeing that Ye Xuan had not used even a sliver of his aura, he nearly spat out a mouthful of blood.
His eyes widened, staring fixedly at Ye Xuan, as if he had seen a ghost in broad daylight.
"How is this possible!!!"
However, upon reaching the 100th step, Ye Xuan began to release his aura to counter the Sky Ladder's pressure, leisurely ascending step by step.
"Damn it!"
Lai Yuejing's face turned incredibly grim. "That bastard, how can he be so strong? But... why didn't he even make it into the top 10,000 in the first trial?"
Just as Lai Yuejing and the others were in shock, another scream rang out.
"Look quickly, that Elf genius Xinghe... he's reached the 300th step, my god!"
"He's reached the 300th step in less than ten minutes, too strong~~"
The front of the Sky Ladder instantly erupted in an uproar. The guest elder Futu's pupils narrowed with even greater fury. He felt his face burning as if he had been slapped several times. His eyes, filled with cold light, fixed on Binghe. "That Elf ant who doesn't know his place, seeking death!!"