Chapter 4341: The Divine Ascension Ladder
As Lin Moyu paused for just a moment, already two figures fell from the Divine Ascension Ladder.
Those who plummeted down could not control their bodies. About ten meters before hitting the ground, an array caught them.
But this array was not meant to protect them. It merely prevented the land below from damage.
The array bristled with spikes so instead of gently landing, the fallen were skewered. Their bodies became riddled with holes, pierced like a beehive.
This did not touch their souls, so the wounds were not fatal. In truth, to most cultivators, bodily wounds were minor matters.
But the pain, that could not be avoided. Looking at their twisted faces and clenched teeth, one could guess how excruciating it was.
Pain itself was the punishment for failing the Ascension Ladder.
Laughter rang out from the bystanders. Finally, some atmosphere stirred in this tense place. Watching another's misfortune was always entertaining.
"Seems like gossip is the same among all races," Lin Moyu murmured, then straightened himself and began his climb in earnest.
Step after step
The pressure grew steadily. But for Lin Moyu, this was child's play. He walked briskly, his steps light and stable, faster than most by far.
His speed soon attracted attention.
Such a steady stride, no falters, no change it was obvious.
The Divine Ladder reminded him of a long ago experience in the small world, when he ascended a trial stairway to obtain Divine Power.
The two ladders differed in form, but their essence was much the same.
Back then, he had been weak. Now? He smiled faintly at the memory as he accelerated upward.
In the blink of an eye, he had already passed one third of the climb.
The pressure had doubled from the first step to the present but still, it was nothing.
His pace increased further. Before him, on this particular staircase, four climbers were visible.
Of them, the fastest had reached past two thirds. Another slightly above half. The third just below the midway point.
Now Lin Moyu's pace closed quickly upon the third, ready to surpass.
At his sudden surge, many onlookers noticed.
"So fast!"
"He's only Chaos Lesser Completion. To climb so easily the man's battle strength must be terrifying."
Someone shook their head. "The Divine Ladder isn't mysterious. It doesn't test cultivation it tests resistance to pressure at your stage. Every so often, someone emerges who can endure far more than their peers. It isn't strange."
"Even if he finishes the Ladder, it doesn't mean he'll be admitted to the God Alliance."
"Yes. The Alliance already has plenty of members. Word is, admission standards grow harsher every year."
"Fast now doesn't mean fast later. He might tire, slow, or fail."
Onlookers came from many races yet for this moment, gossip united them.
Seeing another fail was amusing. Seeing one too strong provoked envy. Such was the contradiction of all sentient being smock the weak, envy the strong.
Lin Moyu paid them no mind.
He simply pressed into greater speed.
The third ranked climber glanced back as Lin Moyu overtook him, and his face twisted with humiliation.
For him, every step was agony, a mountain's weight upon flesh and soul.
But Lin Moyu walked as though on level ground.
And they were both Chaos Lesser Completion. Shame bit deep.
Watching Lin Moyu's figure soar ever higher, his humiliation turned into powerless despair.
One rule governed the ladder: never obstruct others. Any who tried would be crushed by the Central Domain God Alliance.
So he could only glare upward in silence.
Lin Moyu soon surpassed the second man as well, and then looked ahead toward the palace atop the Ladder.
It was then he felt it: a will, vast and domineering, gazing down from the God Alliance's palace.
The will was strong surely that of a Full Completion cultivator.
"So my speed drew their attention?"
He grinned lightly.
"In that case let's make it even more obvious."
Lin Moyu needed more than to simply finish the ladder. He wanted entry to the God Alliance. This test was only a gate. If a Full Completion was already watching him, then he would make them remember him.
Sometimes, modesty was wise. Sometimes, eminence was required.
His steps quickened again.
The second man was left behind in a blur, and Lin Moyu charged upward.
The pressure of the Ladder meaningless to him.
Voices below gasped.
"He can still accelerate? Does he feel no weight?"
"Impossible! Look at the others they struggle for each step. And he walks like nothing?"
"Could it be his battle strength is already this monstrous?"
"He's only Chaos Lesser Completion! However strong, there should be a limit! The Ladder is no casual stroll!"
They weren't wrong. But Lin Moyu was different.
His body and soul had undergone ten refinements no ordinary Lesser Completion could compare.
His Chaos reconstruction with the Chaos Pearl elevated him above the very foundation of his peers.
Beyond that, the Ladder's pressure could be partially distributed to his undead servants and to his domain.
Three layers of reinforcement.
Together, they made the Ladder irrelevant.
At two thirds, the Ladder's oppressive weight jumped again several times stronger than before. This was the true test.
The one in first place trembled with each single step, forced to rest between strides.
But Lin Moyu brushed past, his pace untouched.
The former leader's eyes bulged as Lin Moyu overtook him.
"It's… impossible!"
He rubbed his eyes as though disbelief could erase the sight.
His own strength in his realm was considered dominan the crushed his peers within his clan. He had believed in eighty percent certainty of finishing the Ladder.
Speed had never mattered. Finishing was itself a feat enough.
But Lin Moyu's effortless transcendence shattered his pride.
He realized starkly: he was far from the peak of his realm.
Lin Moyu reached the top.
Five minutes.
Where others would labor half a day or longer, he had crossed in mere moments.
In truth, he could have done it in under a single minute.
But he chose restraint. Enough to shock but not enough to appear a monster.
At the summit lay an open square. Beyond it, a broad lake.
The palace of the Central Domain God Alliance sat at its heart.
Across the water lay a single bridge a floating bridge to the palace.
Lin Moyu muttered,
"So the second trial is to cross the lake. If I am right… the bridge will not be so simple. Likely, a battle awaits."
With his Undead Eye, he peered beneath the lake.
There, countless soul flames writhed.
Some weak, half step Chaos. Others strong, Great Completion.
Every level, every flame waiting.
The second test had begun.
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