Chapter 381: Breaking Records

Yuan Yao, after leaving the mission building, let out a sudden sigh of relief.

She must now train with every second counting and cannot waste any more time.

She took a deep breath, mustering all her strength.

On the way back to Heavenly Martial Peak, Yuan Yao suddenly thought of someone.

It was Shiziwen.

Since yesterday, she has not seen him.

A hint of caution arose in her heart, and she immediately messaged Senior Sister Yao Linglong to ask about Shiziwen's whereabouts.

Yao Linglong replied, "Master Qi took them out to carry out a mission."

Yuan Yao felt relieved after hearing that.

After replying to Senior Sister Yao, she returned to Heavenly Martial Peak.

In the days that followed, she and Third Senior Brother, under the Sect Master's guidance, separately practiced swordsmanship and spear technique.

The Sect Master was extremely strict with them, demanding perfection.

He wanted them to react swiftly in combat and show no flaws.

The Thousand Mountains Ten Thousand Methods Sword has a total of eleven sword forms.

She has now cultivated up to the sixth form.

The first form is: Sword Suppresses All!

The second form is: Yellow Spring Breaks the Waves!

The third form is: Wind Frost Tai Sui!

The fourth form is: Misty Rain Drifts!

The fifth form is: Three Purities Red Sun!

The sixth form is: Seven Stars Heavenly Phoenix!

Eldest Senior Brother, Fourth Senior Brother, and Youngest Senior Brother have already mastered all eleven sword forms of the Thousand Mountains Ten Thousand Methods Sword!

Yuan Yao is already very proficient with the first sword form, while she has scarcely used the other five forms.

What she didn't expect was that as soon as she employed these sword forms, she faced her own Sect Master.

The Sect Master suppressed his own cultivation and clashed with her on equal footing, yet she was defeated miserably each time!

Originally the Sect Master wanted her to don a protective robe to avoid injury, but she stubbornly refused to wear it.

Only the pain that cuts the flesh can bring the most genuine insight.

During the sparring with the Sect Master, Yuan Yao did not use spiritual power to attack him; instead, she chose to compare swordsmanship with him.

After continuous day‑and‑night training, her swordsmanship achieved a qualitative leap.

At the same time, Cang Li practiced spear technique daily; when he sparred on Qianjue Mountain, he was always badly beaten.

Whenever Cang Li felt a lazy thought arise, he would see his junior sister nearby earnestly practicing sword technique, sweat beading on her forehead, her gaze unusually resolute.

Her right palm had developed a thin callus from the relentless sword practice.

At first Cang Li didn't understand why his junior sister could be so lazy that everyone knew, yet when she trained seriously, she also became widely known.

Now he understands.

To Yuan Yao, matters in this world fall into only two categories: either to do, or not to do.

She either doesn't do it, or does it to the extreme.

Cang Li felt many emotions; after that brief distraction, he clenched his teeth and continued to grip his spear, practicing the spear technique.

After a month of intense training, Yuan Yao and Cang Li were granted a day of rest.

Early that morning, Yuan Yao went to wake Cang Li and dragged him to climb the Heavenly Ladder.

Cang Li whined, "Yuan Yao, you're perverse."

The two raced up the Heavenly Ladder, reaching five hundred levels in one go.

The ensuing massive gravity pressure pressed them down so hard they could barely straighten their backs.

Yuan Yao kept climbing; with each step, she felt her flesh and bones being wildly compressed.

Her expression grew solemn, but she did not cease climbing.

She let out a long sigh, relaxed her whole body, and wholeheartedly faced the pressure!

Cang Li, seeing that she had reached the six‑hundredth level of the Heavenly Ladder, was shocked.

One should know that the Heavenly Ladder has a thousand levels: a Qi Refining Realm practitioner can climb at most a hundred, a Foundation Establishment Realm practitioner at most three hundred, a Golden Core Realm practitioner at most five hundred, a Nascent Soul Realm practitioner at most eight hundred, and a Spirit Transformation Realm practitioner can ascend all thousand levels to the summit.

And now Yuan Yao, with only mid‑stage Golden Core Realm cultivation, has reached the six‑hundredth level!

This made Cang Li realize once more that his junior sister is a monster!

In just a single year, her growth speed is astonishingly rapid!

Cang Li steadied his mind and kept climbing.

Time passed bit by bit.

Below the Heavenly Ladder, an open area gradually gathered many young disciples; when they saw Yuan Yao and Cang Li had climbed so many levels, they were deeply shocked.

"Our junior sister has now climbed to the six‑hundred‑seventy‑third level of the Heavenly Ladder!" a young disciple exclaimed, "Has she broken through to the Nascent Soul Realm?!"

"Impossible!"

At that moment, the lanky young man, as thin as a bamboo pole, looked up, his eyes complex, and slowly said, "Our junior sister's cultivation is at mid‑stage Golden Core Realm! Cang Li's cultivation is at the peak of late‑stage Golden Core Realm!"

Normally, the two of them could only climb a little over five hundred levels.

But now they have already climbed past six hundred levels!

This already broke the record previously set by the junior brothers.

One disciple said, "During this past month, Immortal Jun has been conducting special training on the back mountain. I went during the day and saw them training; I returned at night and still saw them training! Junior sister and Senior Brother Cang have hardly rested!"

Isn't Senior Brother Cang an alchemist?

They're too competitive!

I told you, Little Junior Sister is a genius! Otherwise, the Celestial Lord wouldn't have taken her as a disciple eleven years ago.

Little Junior Sister is only sixteen!

Being sixteen isn't the point; the point is that Little Junior Sister only formally started cultivating a year ago.

Opinions were varied.

Meanwhile, on the open ground beneath the Heavenly Ladder, a boy wearing a black eye mask raised his head and gazed up at the white-clad girl striving to climb the Heavenly Ladder.

The boy pressed his lips together.

He stepped toward the Heavenly Ladder and began to climb it.

Seeing this, the other young disciples exchanged glances.

Let's go climb the Heavenly Ladder too!

In an instant, dozens of young disciples scrambled to climb the Heavenly Ladder.

Me too!" Ao Su laughed loudly, he swiftly leapt up, steadied his footing on the thirtieth level of the Heavenly Ladder, then quickly continued climbing upward.

As he climbed, Ao Su noticed someone quickly catching up to him.

He glanced downward.

That person was precisely Shiziwen, wearing an eye mask.

Ao Su invited with a smile: "Shiziwen Junior Brother, care to compete?"

Shiziwen froze, his lips murmuring slightly.

"If you don't speak, I'll take it as your agreement." Ao Su extended his bony fist and tapped it against Shiziwen's.

Immediately afterward, Ao Su swiftly continued climbing upward.

Seeing this, Shiziwen also gave chase.

Shiziwen's cultivation had already broken through to the Initial Golden Core.

At first, they were one ahead of the other, but as they approached the four-hundredth level of the Heavenly Ladder, their speed began to slow.

Meanwhile, Yuan Yao had already climbed to the seven-hundredth level of the Heavenly Ladder.

Her face turned pale, and she felt her limbs beginning to tremble.

She gritted her teeth and persisted in climbing upward.

Behind her, Cang Li had also reached the six-hundred-and-fiftieth level of the Heavenly Ladder, he was panting exhausted, feeling as if his eyes might roll back and he could tumble down the Heavenly Ladder.