Upon hearing this, Chongwen pondered for a mont before answering.
"I failed at the one hundredth step relying solely on my physical strength."
"However, it seems that my disciple has found so kind of trick that allows him to undergo the cleansing marrow and ridian trial without affecting his speed."
"So at this mont, I can't say for sure; if his trick is effective, he might just make it past the one hundredth step."
It was clear that Lu An's thod of climbing the mountain was different from Chongwen's.
Otherwise, with Lu An's physical strength, he wouldn't be able to move so quickly.
The Qi Emperor nodded, approving his thoughts.
"Then let's see how far your disciple can go."
On Lu An's side, he had reached the ninety-ninth level in one breath.
Before him stood the one hundredth step, but he stopped.
The pressure at every hundred steps would double, and he didn't dare to let his guard down, so he could only approach it carefully.
After resting for a mont to recover his strength, he finally moved toward the one hundredth step.
As soon as his front leg stepped in, an imnse pressure crashed down, almost crushing his entire leg.
He quickly circulated his extre true intent to stabilize his stance.
"It seems that this one hundredth step really isn't so easy to ascend, but if you want to stop , you're still a bit lacking!"
With a loud shout, he summoned all his extre true intent and forcefully stepped onto the one hundredth step.
"Boom!"
A loud sound echoed, as the overwhelming pressure pressed down on him like a small mountain, forcing him to the ground.
He struggled a couple of tis but couldn't get up, shaking his head in frustration.
"It seems that my extre true intent is still not enough."
Calming his emotions, he was about to circulate the Carefree Extre Intent Technique when suddenly, a beam of light shot down from the sky, enveloping him.
His internal energy surged rapidly, and in an instant, he reached the peak of the initial foundation establishnt stage.
"Cultivation reinforcent!"
Even for soone as composed as Lu An, joy was hard to conceal at this mont.
His dantian and ridians were far broader than those of his peers, allowing his true energy to be extraordinarily rich and giving him an advantage in combat.
However, this also ant that such a vast dantian and ridians made it more difficult for him to break through his cultivation.
Earlier, he had continuously used pills, talismans, and Qi-gathering formations to aid his cultivation, yet he had never managed to push his cultivation to the peak of the early Foundation Establishnt stage. Now, having climbed to the one-hundredth step, the cultivation reinforcent propelled him directly to this level, so it was no wonder he was so pleased.
It seed that if he could climb to the two-hundredth step, the reinforcent might enable him to break through to the mid-Foundation Establishnt stage. At that point, with his strength, he would not even fear those in the late Foundation Establishnt stage.
Thinking of this, Lu An's gaze beca resolute. He was determined to climb as high as possible on this mountain; such an opportunity to rapidly improve his cultivation could not be missed. When he returned to Guyang County, he would also have greater power to protect himself.
However, recalling his current predicant, he couldn't help but chuckle.
The increase in cultivation did nothing to mitigate the pressure on the steps. He was still lying flat on the ground, unable to move an inch. Without further delay, Lu An imdiately began circulating the Carefree Extre Intent Technique, enhancing the extre true intent within his body.
The audience's reaction was naturally divided into two groups. A small portion saw him get pressed to the ground as soon as he stepped onto the one-hundredth step and laughed mockingly. But most did not continue to ridicule him. Lu An's performance earlier had been extrely strange, especially his later speed, which was sothing no ordinary person could achieve. Now that his speed had stalled again upon reaching the one-hundredth step, who knew if he would again start ascending as if walking on flat ground?
The Qi Emperor's eyes flashed when he saw Lu An successfully reach the one-hundredth step, and he appeared quite pleased.
"Not bad. This junior of yours has already surpassed your achievents back in the day."
Chongwen was also in a great mood, shaking his whisk and smiling.
"Xiao Wu's judgnt isn't bad; it seems our lineage has successors."
Upon hearing this, the Qi Emperor's expression faltered slightly as he said, "I hope he has inherited your talents but hasn't picked up the bad habits of your Clear Wind lineage."
Speaking of the lineage of the National Master, since the ti of his master, the Clear Wind Hermit, it was notorious for being unreasonable. Though nad 'Clear Wind,' it did not signify upright conduct, but rather a wind of plunder. As the top cultivator of Great Qi at the ti, the Clear Wind Hermit did all sorts of things—extortion, bribery, and causing trouble—no less proficiently than his cultivation, much to the chagrin of the Great Qi royal family.
There was even a saying among the people: "When the Clear Wind blows, nothing soft remains," referring to the Clear Wind Hermit. Protective of his own, he infamously shielded his disciples even when they caused great trouble, like when they destroyed the Great Qi's national treasure, the Five-Color Disk. His punishnt for his disciple was minimal—rely bedridden for a few weeks. In the end, the hermit even kept the Five-Color Disk for himself, never returning it to the royal family, leaving them exasperated.
Though the Clear Wind Hermit had long since passed away, his two disciples had inherited his "fine traditions" thoroughly. Since Chongwen beca the National Master, he had restrained himself considerably.
But back in the day, the Talisman Sage Yue Wu, now known as the Old Beggar, nearly instigated a civil war between the Great Qi royal family and the leading sect of Great Qi, the Tianshui Sect. After failing to pursue the Path of Extres, Yue Wu's body suffered severe imbalance. Hearing that the Tianshui Sect possessed a "Nine-Turn Soul Lock Chain" that could bind a Nascent Soul and prevent his injuries from worsening, he set his sights on it. He sought the treasure with his senior brother, and when refused, the two even fought over it.
Two mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivators battled one mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivator and three early-stage Nascent Soul cultivators from the Tianshui Sect—a battle on the scale of sect warfare. The conflict was only resolved when the Qi Emperor intervened and secured the Nine-Turn Soul Lock Chain for Yue Wu. Yue Wu used the chain to bind his Nascent Soul and save his life, but his cultivation continued to decline, and he eventually disappeared, becoming the Old Beggar he was today. The Tianshui Sect, under pressure, handed over their sect treasure but beca hostile to the Qi royal family, severing all ties.
This knack for causing trouble was truly a legacy from the Clear Wind Hermit.
Hearing the Qi Emperor's comnt, the National Master awkwardly chuckled, deflecting the conversation.
"The first place on the Green Mountain List is held by a Zhao Kingdom cultivator. What does Your Majesty think of him?"
The Qi Emperor, seeing the topic change, didn't expose it but instead pondered for a mont before shaking his head.
"I cannot see through him."
He wasn't referring to cultivation but identity. This person was representing Zhao Kingdom but was not a mber of the Zhao royal family, and there were no major families in Zhao with the surna Wu.
He seed like an ordinary rogue cultivator, but anyone with keen eyes could see that this possibility was very low. Chongwen, feeling sowhat worried, spoke up:
"In recent days, I have scoured ancient records passed down about the great war with the Demon Race. I found so clues."
The Qi Emperor raised an eyebrow, showing a look of interest.
"Oh? Go on."
Chongwen's expression turned serious, and he spoke in a cold tone:
"One of the three major races of the Demon Race back then was called the Black Fiend Demon Clan, known for attacking enemies with fiendish energy."
"Their clan's surna was Wu!"
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