Chapter 274

Chapter 274: Cloud and Water Secret Realm, the gap between geniuses

Hearing Lu Qing’s words, everyone looked up the ladder.

Bai Bufan and the others, standing there, had completely changed.

Their previous calm and effortless demeanor had vanished completely.

Each one of them, flushed, panting, and sweating profusely, stood on their hands and knees.

It was clear they had all reached their limits.

However, a gap had finally appeared between the steps they were standing on.

Bai Bufan and Situ Jin were at the highest point.

The others lagged behind them, but the gap wasn’t too far, only three or four steps.

Qin Yunting of the Xuanxin Sect fell far behind.

As Lin Zhirui had predicted, Qin Yunting, renowned for his agile martial arts, was at a disadvantage climbing the ladder.

“Bai Bufan and Situ Jin are now at step 165!”

Wei Zian counted quickly and exclaimed.

“It looks like they’ve reached their limits. As expected, their potential doesn’t compare to yours, Lord Zhirui,”

Ma Gu marveled.

This method of measuring potential by climbing the ladder seemed quite reliable.

“

Brother Bai, do you still have the strength to climb?”

Situ Jin, his face beaded with sweat, asked Bai Bufan from atop the ladder.

His muscles trembled, a sign that his Vajra Body Kung Fu had reached its limit.

“That depends on whether you still have some strength left, Brother Situ.”

Bai Bufan’s expression was equally uneasy. His once-elegant complexion was now flushed, even his eyes were bloodshot.

It was clear that his endurance had reached its limit.

But despite this, he refused to show any weakness in the face of Situ Jin’s words.

“I do have a little strength left. If I force my way up, I can reach another step or two.”

Situ Jin’s words caused Bai Bufan’s expression to change slightly.

He had truly reached his limit, with no more strength left to climb.

But then, Situ Jin’s words surprised him greatly.

“What if we draw in this competition?”

“You actually agree to a draw?”

Bai Bufan was stunned, staring at Situ Jin in disbelief.

For years, Situ Jin had challenged him at every turn, confronting him head-on.

Now, with everyone watching, a golden opportunity to defeat him was right before his eyes, yet he was willing to give it up?

“Yes, I could indeed activate my Vajra Body Kung Fu and force my way up another step or two.

But if I did, I would undoubtedly be backfired by the pressure of the Heavenly Ladder, damaging my physical foundation and further delaying my breakthrough to the Innate Realm.

We’re already behind those two, and I don’t want to let them widen the gap just because of a momentary feud.”

Bai Bufan fell silent.

He naturally knew who the two Situ Jin was referring to.

To be honest, he hadn’t thought much of those two among the Ten Outstanding Ones. After all,

one came from the Tianji Sect and excelled in divination, so his own strength was probably inferior to theirs.

The other was even worse, a descendant of a small, declining sect with limited resources, and his cultivation speed was inevitably slower than theirs.

Therefore, his focus had always been on Situ Jin and his companions, whose backgrounds were similar to his own.

Who would have thought that after all their competition, the first to break through would be the two most insignificant ones?

Thinking of this, Bai Bufan suddenly felt bored.

“You’re right. It’s not worth sacrificing our martial arts career for such a petty dispute.

Our focus should be on breaking through to the Xiantian realm as soon as possible, not these petty squabbles.

Brother Situ, you win this competition,”

Bai Bufan said seriously.

Situ Jin was stunned. Just as Bai Bufan was about to admit defeat,

a light laugh echoed from the sky.

“Are these the so-called Ten Heroes of Zhongzhou?

Even climbing the Heavenly Ladder can make them look this weak. As expected, Master was right. Martial artists in this outside world generally have weak foundations, all show and no substance.”

The voice was not loud, but it carried for miles, clearly heard by everyone nearby.

The sarcasm and ridicule in it immediately caused a commotion.

“Who is so arrogant?”

“How dare you mock the Ten Heroes of Zhongzhou to their faces? Who are you?”

“Another excitement to watch?”

People turned in the direction of the voice.

And the next moment, everyone’s mouths widened.

Because they saw seven or eight giant birds floating in the sky, with people standing on their backs.

The wings of the giant birds spread out, more than ten meters long, and with every flap of their wings, a loud wind could be heard.

Bai Bufan and the others had already been furious at the sarcastic tone of the previous voice.

But when they saw this scene, they were also stunned and stood there, their anger was no longer vented.

As for Lu Qing and the others, it was even more terrible.

Coming from a remote place, they had never seen such a scene

before. Their eyes widened, and their faces were filled with surprise.

“It’s them!”

Lin Zhirui’s face also changed drastically, and he exclaimed in surprise.

“Sir Zhirui, do you know them?” Lu Qing asked curiously.

“I don’t know them, but I recognize their origins.”

Lin Zhirui stared at the sky and spoke slowly.

“They wear robes with cloud and water patterns and can fly on divine birds. They are from one of the Four Great Secret Lands, the Cloud and Water Secret Realm!”

“Four Great Secret Lands?”

Lu Qing’s heart stirred. He remembered that when he had fought with Yan Canghai’s direct disciple, the other party had briefly believed that he was a disciple from the secret land who had come out to train.

Later, he had also paid attention to information about this matter.

The result was that the Four Great Secret Lands were four extremely mysterious places, and no one knew their location.

But every time a descendant of a secret land appeared and traveled the world, it was bound to cause countless waves.

It was said that even the establishment of the Holy Mountain was recognized by all the major sects with the tacit support of the Four Great Secret Lands.

In short, these were four extremely mysterious and powerful forces.

Unexpectedly, they suddenly appeared here.

Curious, Lu Qing immediately activated his supernatural powers and gazed towards the sky.

“Such a scene, and such attire, are they from the Cloud and Water Secret Realm?!”

The powerful figures high above the Holy City were horrified at the sight.

“That cloud and water pattern is undoubtedly the symbol of the Cloud and Water Secret Realm.”

“With the transformations of heaven and earth, and the resurgence of spiritual energy, has even the Four Great Secret Realms finally been unable to contain themselves?”

“The people from the Yunshui Secret Realm have arrived, and the people from the other three secret realms are probably not far behind.”

“What do you mean, should we go up to greet them?”

“Don’t rush, let’s see what happens first. Besides, even if we do, it’s not our turn yet.”

…

As these powerful figures were conferring, a young man in brocade clothes, riding on the back of a flying bird,

suddenly addressed Bai Bufan and the others on the ladder, “Why, you look like you’re still dissatisfied with my earlier assessment?”

Everyone could tell that it was this voice that had spoken sarcastically.

“Your Excellency, you’re joking. We have no objection.”

Although Bai Bufan and the others couldn’t recognize the person’s identity,

they knew that the ability to tame so many magical birds must be some formidable force.

Combined with what they had heard from the elders in the sect, they could probably guess.

These people were probably from the legendary secret land.

How could they dare to get angry?

“Is that so? But I saw in your eyes just now that you were quite dissatisfied.” The brocade-robed youth chuckled. “Well, if I don’t show you a lesson, you won’t know what it means to be superior to others.”

With that, he tugged at the reins. The enormous bird beneath his feet suddenly let out a long cry and flapped its wings, stirring up a gust of wind as it swooped down the mountain.

Its ferocious momentum frightened the warriors gathered at the foot of the mountain, who screamed and retreated to either side,

fearing the bird’s wings would rip their bones and shatter their tendons.

Fortunately, the brocade-robed youth had no intention of harming anyone. As the bird neared the ground, he leaped and landed on the ladder.

The bird, in turn, flapped its wings, whipping up the air and soaring sharply back into the sky.

As for the youth, as he landed on the ladder, he didn’t even pause.

With a single step, he soared into the air, shooting upward like an arrow from a bow.

When he landed on the white jade steps again, the crowd below couldn’t help but gasp in surprise.

With this single leap, he had leaped over twenty steps, a full seven or eight zhang (150-160 m) in a single bound. This

was nearly double Bai Bufan’s initial leap!

Furthermore, after landing on the white jade steps, the young man in brocade clothes didn’t even pause. With a simple tap of his foot,

he launched himself upwards again, as if the pressure from the staircase had completely vanished.

This second leap, while not as high as the first, still reached a similar height of six or seven zhang (150-160 m).

Then, landing on the white jade steps again, he stepped on them, rising sharply again.

Like a nimble ape on a cliff, the young man in brocade clothes continuously and swiftly climbed the staircase.

Soon, he reached Bai Bufan and the others.

Without stopping, he simply flashed a contemptuous smile, brushed past them, and continued his upward leap.

But Bai Bufan and the others were too busy being angry to care. They simply stared in amazement as the brocade-dressed young man effortlessly passed them and ascended.

The crowd at the foot of the mountain was also in complete silence.

They all stared in shock at the brocade-dressed young man, who, though much slower than at the beginning, was still incredibly fast, climbing up.

One hundred and seventy, one hundred and eighty, one hundred and ninety…

Even though he had surpassed Bai Bufan and the others, the brocade-dressed young man was still able to cross several steps with each step.

Everyone watched him, step by step, approach the legendary location.

Finally, when the brocade-dressed young man landed steadily on the 200th step, his posture still unwavering, his expression calm,

the crowd below suddenly erupted in excitement.

“Two hundred levels, he actually reached the two hundredth level!”

“Isn’t it rumored that a martial artist in the acquired realm can only reach the one hundred and ninety-ninth level at most? Above that is the realm of the innate realm. Could it be that this person is a strong martial artist in the innate realm?”

“Impossible, I didn’t feel the unique meaning of the innate realm from him.”

“The record of a martial artist in the acquired realm climbing the ladder to heaven was set by ‘Emperor Yu’ more than a thousand years ago. I didn’t expect it to be broken today!”

“What is the origin of this person? He is even more talented than the ‘Emperor Yu’ a thousand years ago?”

…

Somewhere high in the holy city, those powerful figures were also shocked at this moment.

“He’s actually reached level 200. Is that young man still at the Postnatal Realm?”

“Of course he is. Otherwise, he’d be so arrogant, mocking Bai Bufan and the others. If he were at the Innate Realm, wouldn’t that be bullying the weak and a slap in the face?”

“As expected of a secret land descendant, the pressure of the 200th level wouldn’t even be something a freshly broken Innate Realm cultivator could withstand, yet this young man managed to climb without batting an eyelid.

He looks like he can still climb quite a bit higher.

Could it be that he can battle an Innate Realm cultivator with a Postnatal Realm physique?”

“A postnatal realm cultivator battling an Innate Realm cultivator is nothing new. Those who emerged from the four great secret lands have done it before.”

“The secret land inheritance is indeed very different from ours. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have been able to secretly control the world for so long.”

“In the past, even if someone from the secret land emerged to train, it was always only one or two people at most. This time, so many people have come out from the Yunshui Secret Land, and with such a high profile. It seems the world is truly changing.”

…

“It’s so easy to reach level 200.”

On the other side, Lin Zhirui was also looking at the figure on the ladder in a daze.

As someone who had climbed the Heavenly Ladder more than once, he naturally knew just how intense the pressure was.

Especially after step 150, the pressure reached a point almost reaching the limit for even a martial arts master.

Even he had initially struggled, climbing incrementally, only to finally reach step 171.

He had never imagined that a post-natal martial artist could ascend the Heavenly Ladder so effortlessly, reaching step 200 in one fell swoop.

Indeed, although from such a distance, Li Zhirui couldn’t sense the aura of the young man in brocade clothes,

he was certain he was a post-natal martial artist.

The practitioners of the Yunshui Secret Realm were notoriously arrogant.

They would never scorn to bully the weak.

But precisely because of this knowledge, Li Zhirui’s shock was even greater.

“Sir Zhirui, it seems your information was incorrect. Post-natal martial artists can still reach step 200.

This is truly a legendary secret realm; even a single individual is so formidable,”

Lu Qing exclaimed in admiration.

“Young friend Lu Qing, why are you so calm?”

Lin Zhirui suddenly asked, seeing the admiration on Lu Qing’s face.

“Hmm?” Lu Qing looked over, puzzled.

“Seeing such a huge gap, don’t you feel a sense of despair?” Lin Zhirui asked.

“Such a huge gap? Are you referring to this master from the Yunshui Secret Realm?”

Lu Qing saw the confusion on Lin Zhirui’s face, suddenly understood what he meant, and smiled softly.

“Sir Zhirui, everyone’s talents and circumstances differ. Naturally, some are better, some worse, some faster, some slower, on the path of cultivation. Once

we embark on this path, we can’t just give up cultivation because our talents are inferior to others, right?

If that’s the case, then why bother comparing ourselves to others?

Those of us who cultivate only need to compare ourselves to ourselves.

As long as we are stronger today than we were yesterday, our cultivation has not been in vain.

With perseverance, even if we can’t catch up to those peerless geniuses, I believe that one day in the future, we will surely encounter our own destiny.

As the saying goes, Heaven moves with vigor, and a gentleman should constantly strive for self-improvement. Does Sir Zhirui find this sensible?”

After hearing Lu Qing’s words, Lin Zhirui was suddenly shaken.

(End of Chapter)