I Have A Qi Fortune Altar.
Chapter 541: 396: Reaching the Top of the Heavenly Ladder, Strolling Leisurely! (No dilly-dallying, everyone catch up!)

Chapter 541: Chapter 396: Reaching the Top of the Heavenly Ladder, Strolling Leisurely! (No dilly-dallying, everyone catch up!)

Three days had passed in the blink of an eye.

With the start of the Ascension Battle, Martial Emperor City was instantly flooded with a large number of martial artists from Jianghu. Saying that those at the Gang Condensation stage were as common as dogs and those at the Reach Profound stage were everywhere might be an exaggeration.

However, such martial artists were indeed seen everywhere.

This was the essence gathered from the entire East Sea and even from several surrounding state governments and overseas barbarians; otherwise, it would not have been possible for so many martial artists to gather together.

Even many masters from the Core Realm had arrived.

All wanted to witness the Ascension Battle that was touted as the most formidable in nearly a century.

They wanted to see which of the Hidden Dragon Four Extremes was the weakest, and who among the Hidden Dragon Twin Heroes would truly dominate!

That day, early in the morning, the martial artists throughout Martial Emperor City began to gather at the foot of the mountain in Martial Emperor City, a venue that had been designated since the first Ascension Battle.

At the same time, it was also the arena where martial artists within Martial Emperor City settled their disputes.

As the stream of people surged, squads of guards dressed in black armor swiftly secured the area, some even mounted on exotic beasts, holding long spears, their expressions stern as they stood to one side.

These were unique exotic beasts of Martial Emperor City, equivalent to the mounts of martial artists, similar to treasured horses, but these creatures were hybrids, whose endurance and strength far surpassed that of ordinary horses.

Of course, their appearances were significantly different, covered in a thick layer of black armor, with massive hooves and twin horns on their heads, emitting a red glow. Even from a distance, one could feel a tremendous sense of oppression.

The convergence of martial artists continued to grow, and within just half an hour, the area was densely packed, roughly estimated to be tens of thousands strong, certainly a grand spectacle.

Indeed, if not for the spacious area at the foot of the mountain, the mere crowd would have caused chaos there.

Among them, a section quickly focused their attention on a stone staircase standing in front of them, towering dozens of meters high and meticulously constructed, with exactly eighty-one steps, resonating perfectly with the number “nine-to-one.”

“Fellow Daoists, what do you make of this staircase? It seems it was not here yesterday; how could it have appeared overnight?”

“This….”

“As I see it, if nothing unexpected, it must be related to the Ascension Battle!”

“I hold the same view. Today is the start of the Ascension Battle, and suddenly such a heavenly ladder appears; apart from being related to the Ascension Battle,

there seems to be no other connection.”

“Truly exciting! Demon Sword Chen Yuan, Wudang’s Zuo Chengzong are both peerless geniuses. Today’s clash will probably be remembered for decades.”

“Brother, do not overlook Wei Wuya; I’ve heard his strength is also very extraordinary.”

“And the prince of Beiliang, Wei Wuque, I’ve heard his talent is also rarely seen.”

“And Gu He from the Gu Family, I’ve heard…”

The person who started talking about Gu He was immediately interrupted by those around him with a snort, seemingly disdainful:

“You must be from the Gu Family, right? Although Gu He’s strength is decent, how could he compare to those earlier? You should know, Gu He is no match for Bai Changqing.”

“Indeed, for Gu He to keep a top ten position, is already quite difficult.”

This area even showed signs of unrest, which only subsided when the guards of Martial Emperor City arrived.

The crowd bustled continuously, never ceasing the disturbance.

Meanwhile, inside the Ascending Immortal Tower, figures descended from the sky, walking in the void and slowly landing on the prearranged open spaces, the observing martial artists gasped continuously upon seeing these dignitaries from the Hidden Dragon List descending from the heavens:

“That’s Shangguan Yu from the Shangguan Clan.”

“And Fairy Yu from the Goddess Palace.”

“That’s Xuanming from Spirit Mountain.”

“Gu He, Gu He has arrived.”

“Look everyone, Chen Yuan and Zuo Chengzong have actually arrived side by side!”

This exclamation immediately drew the attention of many people, in the void, Zuo Chengzong in a Daoist robe and Chen Yuan in a black martial arts uniform descended gently.

They each stood at the forefront of the arrivals from the Hidden Dragon List.

This was the face of number one on the Hidden Dragon List.

Though they appeared to stand haphazardly, if one observed carefully, the descending dignitaries from the Hidden Dragon List were essentially there according to the rankings of the list.

Almost no one exceeded their placement.

By the time the fifty dignitaries from the Hidden Dragon List had all arrived, an elder dressed in a white robe descended step by step from above the Nine Heavens, his presence emitting a powerful aura.

Yang Transformation!

The grand aura enshrouded everyone, and the elder, with a smile at the corners of his mouth and a serene look in his eyes, spoke aloud:

“I am Fang Hongtai, the master of the Ascending Immortal Tower.”

“We’ve seen elder Fang!”

“We’ve seen elder Fang!”

Fifty people saluted with fists and bows simultaneously.

Fang Hongtai gently stroked his beard and continued:

“The rules of this Ascension Battle have changed somewhat from before. This object is an exotic treasure forged by City Lord Ye, named Heavenly Ladder, consisting of eighty-one steps in total,

one must reach the top within the time it takes an incense stick to burn to qualify for the next battle. If one cannot reach the top, they will be considered eliminated, and we at Ascending Immortal Tower will reevaluate and re-rank everyone accordingly.”

“Elder Fang, may I ask what is so special about these steps?”

Prince Wei Wuque of Beiliang asked loudly.

“The Heavenly Ladder has its secrets; it contains a formation within that releases pressure according to the martial artist’s strength, showing no favoritism. Our Ascending Immortal Tower draws up the Hidden Dragon List precisely to evaluate the potential of outstanding talents. The city lord spent a hundred years perfecting this exotic treasure; in future Ascension Battles, one must first climb the Heavenly Ladder.”