C63

"In these three matches, the Soul Condensation Realm is the most important. In order to be fair, the Mysterious Sky Sect took control of the Sumeru Realm and used it as a training ground. They built a stone staircase at the end of it. This stone staircase has a total of two hundred steps, and every step is filled with pressure. If you can withstand the pressure, you will be able to stand stably. "

"The higher you climb, the greater the pressure you have to endure. The stone stairs have been built up to this point for more than five hundred years, yet no Soul Condensation cultivator has ever reached the top. The strongest cultivator has only climbed up to the one hundred fiftieth step … The ranking for the Solidified Soul Stage competition is based on the number of steps taken to climb it. "

"Climbing the stone stairs, besides obtaining a ranking, there are other benefits."

"After the 100th step, every time you climb the 10th step, you will have a chance to exchange for a secret technique manual of the Mysterious Sky Sect. After you break through to the Spirit Realm, you will be able to learn more. "There are all sorts of high-middle and low-rank spells. A powerhouse who has climbed up to rank 150 has obtained a high-rank Earth rank spell …"

"If I can eventually climb the stone stairs, I'll be able to obtain a top-grade magic manual that surpasses superior quality. That would be a supreme treasure!"

As she spoke up to here, Su Leng was ceaselessly speechless, and her beautiful eyes shone with an extraordinary brilliance.

Zhou Qing was also intrigued.

The power of this top-grade magic technique was earth-shattering. If it was properly used, it wouldn't be too difficult for even a Spirit Realm cultivator to deal with it.

However, Heaven-defying techniques like this were incredibly rare, even ones he had never mastered before.

The Divine Corpse Ancestor had left behind two top-grade magic techniques, but they were all demonic cultivation techniques and could not be used as common magic techniques.

As such, he was rather envious of this top-grade magic technique.

As he spoke till here, Su Leng was slightly envious, and he paused for a long time before continuing, "The Soul Condensation Realm competition will last for eight days. After it begins, the participants from the Hundred Immortal Sects will simultaneously set off, rushing to the stone staircase at the end of the Sumeru Realm. "Those who arrive early are qualified to climb ahead!"

"When the participants arrive at the stone stairs, just how many days are left before the opening of the Sumeru Realm and they will be able to climb these steps. Thus, everyone will think of all sorts of ways to reach their destination as soon as possible."

On the way back, you can obstruct others, but you can't take their lives. These are the rules set by the Hundred Immortal Sects. After all, the participants are the Chosen of the various Sects.

As he spoke up to this point, Su Leng looked at Zhou Qing.

Her beautiful eyes slightly narrowed as a malicious smile suddenly appeared on her charming face.

"Since you're so strong, why don't you give those guys a good beating when the time comes? It's best if you can break their legs and prevent them from reaching their destination …" This way, even if you only climb up to the first step, you can easily take first place! "

The more Su Leng said, the more excited he became, and even his beautiful eyes emitted a green light.

Could this girl be a fool?

Zhou Qing was somewhat helpless as he could not help but glare at her.

Those who were able to take part in the competition in place of the various immortal gates were all Heaven's Pride level characters. If someone as strong as Luo Xuan were to enter, they wouldn't be able to stand a chance.

How could it be so easy to talk about?

Su Leng noticed Zhou Qing's gaze and curled his lips as he lightly snorted.

Isn't he just a little stronger than me? What is there to be proud of?

She had already completed the mission on this trip. As for what Su Mu said about interacting more with Song Changqing, Su Leng directly forgot about it and quickly left the small courtyard.

Not long after Su Leng left, Zhou Qing left for the Martial Arts Practice Field as well.

He had just obtained the Destruction Monument, so if he wanted to use it as much as he could, he needed to train diligently.

Fifth day, the day of the ranking tournament.

As the sky brightened, Su Mu brought Zhou Qing and another fifteen to sixteen year old boy out of the entrance of the ancient monument.

An expert at the peak of the Mage Realm flew at an extremely high speed. Even so, the three of them had still traveled for nearly four hours.

At noon, the outline of an enormous city that spanned between heaven and earth appeared in his line of sight and gradually became clearer.

Northern Frosty Region, Stealing North City!

This city was located in the extreme north of Profound Heaven Continent. It was near the Chaotic Demon Sea to the north and Green Mountain to the east.

After hundreds and thousands of years, the size of Zhenbei City had also grown larger and larger.

The outer city wall alone stretched for a full two hundred miles, just like a mountain range dominating the northern part of the continent.

So far, the population of the Northern City had exceeded ten million, and it had become the absolute center of the Northern Frosty Region. It was also one of the nine great cities of the Profound Sky Continent that was fully deserving of its title.

"I'm back."

Looking at the northern part of the town, Zhou Qing murmured to himself. The scenes of the past appeared in his mind.

When he had first entered the Spirit Realm, he had once killed a middle stage Spirit Realm demon by the Chaotic Demon Sea, causing the entire northern part of the city to tremble.

Peak of the Spirit Realm, the day when the Five-Revolving Golden Body was forged. He fought for half a day outside the city with the commander of the northern Imperial Guard, a veteran Mage. He won and his name spread across the entire Profound Sky Continent.

Bai Su, Yuwen Jie, and the few other good friends they had met in the northern part of the city.

This city was the bearer of Zhou Qing's unparalleled glory, as well as many of his memories …

However, after revisiting the same place, things had changed.

While deep in thought, Su Mu had already brought the two of them to land outside the city gates. After passing through the Heaven's Eye Formation, they entered the city.

The northern city had air bans, and even the strongest mages were not allowed to fly within the city.

Because of the ranking tournament, there were more cultivators gathering at the northern city than ever before. It was bustling with noise and excitement.

Within the crowd, disciples of various immortal sects could be seen everywhere. They all had excited expressions on their faces as they walked towards the center of the city.

As a result, the ranking tournament that was held once every five years was not only a competition between the hundreds of immortal sects, but also a battle between the strong and weak.

With a hundred heaven's pride level experts fighting, this was a rare opportunity to witness a battle!

In the center of Northern City, a huge arena stood there.

This arena was shaped like a bowl and was entirely made of black iron. It flickered with a cold, metallic luster, and it was nearly five times bigger than White Ridge City's Thousand An Trading Company's auction house. It could accommodate hundreds of thousands of people at the same time.

"Yi Jin, no need to be nervous. Just relax your mind."

Sensing the nervousness of the disciples participating in the Opening Spirit Realm competition, Su Mu said with a smile.

"Yes Sovereign!"

Yi Jin took a deep breath. His face was slightly flushed, but with the Sect Leader's encouragement, his fluctuating emotions quickly calmed down.

A hint of satisfaction appeared in Su Mu's eyes. When he glanced at Zhou Qing from the corner of his eyes, he discovered that the latter had a calm expression without the slightest trace of nervousness.

Su Mu had long since gotten used to Zhou Qing's indifference. Thus, he didn't say anything more and led the two into the arena.

Boom.

A wave of heat spread out the moment it entered his body.

The large arena was currently packed with hundreds of thousands of people. Moreover, they were all cultivators, so the scene was very spectacular.

In the center of the arena, there were two large empty areas. Each of them had about a hundred people standing on them. The two empty areas were surrounded by a circle of seats, and all of them were occupied by the powerful mages from different sects who had come to participate in the competition.

Over a hundred peak Spirit Realm experts had gathered together. Even if they did not release any of their pressure, the oppressive feeling they created was still extremely terrifying. Their blood and energy soared to the heavens.

This frightening pressure spread over the entire martial arena. Hence, none among the hundreds of thousands of spectators present dared to make a ruckus. All of them softly discussed this.

"Go. The central region is where the Spirit Opening and Spirit Condensation competitors gather."

After leading the two into the hall, Su Mu gave a few words of advice before walking back to his seat.

Zhou Qing's expression was calm as he walked to the right, where the Soul Condensation Realm cultivators were.

There were already sixty to seventy people standing on the ground. They were all wearing the uniforms of various immortal gates with the aura of peak level Soul Condensation cultivators. At this moment, all of them were looking at Zhou Qing.

This time, Zhou Qing was representing the Ancient Stele Clan. As such, he had also changed into a long black robe. His left chest was embroidered with ancient stele inscriptions, making it very easy to discern his identity.

"Which small immortal sect is this?" How dare a late stage Soul Condensation cultivator participate in the battle, is there no one in the sect? "

"It's the people from the ancient monument sect!"

"The Ancient Tablet Sect is the number one sect among the Four Great Clans, why would they send late stage Spirit Condensation disciples to participate in the ranking competition?"

"…"

As the sound of the discussion reached his ears, Zhou Qing's expression remained unperturbed as he lifted his eyes to look around.

The ones that spoke were the disciples of the smaller sects, such as the Jin Mountain Temple, the Immortal Sword Castle, and other top ten sects' participants. They all had serious expressions and didn't say a word.

There were also dozens of Mysterious Sky Sect disciples who had come to participate in the competition in place of the Celestial Sect of Wonders. They closed their eyes and adjusted their breathing, ignoring these people.

The ancient monolith gate was not an ordinary immortal gate. This competition this time around, they even had the ambition to replace the Lan Clan. They would definitely not send anyone to participate.

To be able to obtain a spot in the competition with his cultivation at the late stage of the Soul Condensation realm, this meant that this person was definitely extraordinary. He was definitely a strong opponent, how could he be underestimated?

Zhou Qing couldn't be bothered to guess what these people were thinking. After finding an empty space, he stood still and began to survey the area.

Those who had already arrived were all participants from the hundred immortal gates, and the people from the four great clans had yet to enter the stage.

After taking a clear look at the situation, Zhou Qing took a deep breath and slowly calmed himself down.

He and the Lan family were enemies, and the Lan family knew that he was the one who had stolen Xue Puti twice.

This was a big problem. The key to resolve this problem was Su Mu, or in other words, the Ancient Tablet Gate.

Although the Lan family was getting weaker, they were still one of the four noble families. They could not be easily provoked.

What step would the ancient monument be able to reach for him? Would he completely fall out with the Lan family?

While he was deep in thought, the arena suddenly became restless. Hundreds of thousands of gazes all turned towards the entrance.

Zhou Qing's heart skipped a beat as he looked towards the source of the sound.

Dozens of figures approached from the entrance. They were members of the Four Great Clans!

The old man had a head full of white hair and was thin. However, his eyes were flashing with a bright light. It was none other than the Li Family's Patriarch, a peak Spirit Realm expert, Li Mo.

Behind Li Mo, there were two youths. Their cultivations were at the peak of the Spirit Opening Realm and the peak of the Spirit Condensation Realm. They were both from the younger generation of the Li family, and their brows were filled with arrogance.

After the Li Clan was the Yuwen Clan.

The long-bearded man who was as tall and sturdy as a mountain approached with a smile on his face. He was the head of the Yuwen Clan, Yuwen Huan. Behind him were two other clan disciples.

Zhou Qing did not know the person at the peak of the Spirit Opening Realm, but when he saw the other person, he could not help but smile.

Yuwen Jie!

The two of them had not met ever since they parted ways in the Ten Thousand Devil Cave.

At this moment, Yuwen Jie's spirit was in full swing. His aura was much stronger than in the Ten Thousand Devil Cave. He was only a step away from breaking through to the Spirit Realm.

After them were the Zhou and Lan families.

The leader of the Zhou family, Zhou Wanchun, had been in closed-door seclusion the entire time. The representative of the Zhou family for the ranking competition was Zhou TianAo, a middle-aged man with a handsome and feminine appearance.

When Zhou Qing saw this person, the smile on his face disappeared, and a cold light appeared in his eyes.

Zhou Tian Ao was Zhou Xuan Lang's father!

Zhou Qing also didn't have a good impression of this person. In fact, he even had some suspicions about him.

However, of the two disciples from the Zhou family that came to participate in the competition at the Spirit Opening and Spirit Condensation stages, Zhou Qing was acquainted with them. They were Zhou Haoran and Zhou Haotian. They were both Zhou family's direct descendants.

When they were at the Zhou Mansion, Zhou Qing had taught them how to cultivate. Their relationship was pretty good.

After his gaze swept across the Zhou family members, Zhou Qing turned to look at the last Lan family member.

When Zhou Qing saw the stooped silver-haired old man with a sinister expression, his pupils immediately constricted.

The head of the Lan family, Lan Yuan!

As if sensing something, when Zhou Qing's gaze focused on him, Lan Yuan suddenly lifted his head and looked over.