"Impossible! This is absolutely impossible!" Just as the crowd stood stunned, a voice cried out from below.

Everyone looked over and saw Liu Tian standing below, his hair disheveled and his eyes bloodshot. He was staring up at the Saint Institute’s battlefield, roaring like a madman.

"I won’t lose to you!" Liu Tian roared, shooting into the sky once more.

"This battle is concluded. Lin Hao is the victor. From this day forward, he is an official disciple of the Saint Institute." Duan Wushuang’s voice rang out, and she casually flicked her sleeve.

As he shot toward the sky, Liu Tian met an invisible force and was forced back to the ground. The floating boulders also descended, returning to their original positions.

Lin Hao landed on the Upper Courtyard plaza and saw a tall Holy Stele at the edge of the plaza begin to glow. A moment later, his name appeared upon it.

’That must be the Saint Institute’s Holy Stele.’

Lin Hao gave it only a casual glance before looking away, not even bothering to see who was in the top spots.

’Challenging the other disciples on the Holy Stele right now would be unrealistic.’

Liu Tian was only ranked tenth on the Holy Stele, and that fight had already been such a struggle. The disciples ranked higher would only be more terrifying.

’The priority now is to return to the Heaven-Stepping Sect and find the Soul Gathering Realm Cultivation Technique left behind by Emperor Hongtian.’

"Lin Hao, you got lucky this time, but if you can’t become an Upper Courtyard disciple, it’s all for nothing. I recall you need to defeat three Holy Stele disciples to become one." Yin Duwen, refusing to be shaken off, appeared before Lin Hao once more.

He couldn’t believe Lin Hao had actually gotten his name on the Holy Stele. The fact left a bad taste in his mouth, like he’d swallowed a fly. However, he cheered up when he remembered the condition Lin Hao had agreed to for entering the Upper Courtyard.

’Liu Tian was barely in the top ten of the Holy Stele. Defeating him didn’t mean much.’

’The tenth spot on the Holy Stele is always changing, after all. Liu Tian had only held it for a few days.’

’The real challenge is breaking into the top nine.’

Since the Saint Institute was founded, only three people had ever managed to fight their way into the top nine from below.

’The candidates for the Heaven-Breaking Pavilion this time will be chosen exclusively from the Upper Courtyard.’

Of course, those disciples from major sects who weren’t present at the Saint Institute—such as those from the Misty Palace or the Proud Moon Divine Sect—were already disciples of the Saint Institute’s Upper Courtyard, even though they had never appeared here.

’Right now, even though Lin Hao has defeated Liu Tian, his position isn’t stable. Defeating three disciples in a row is out of the question.’

Yin Duwen had already made up his mind. He would immediately arrange for disciples to challenge Lin Hao, giving him no chance to improve his cultivation.

’This way, Lin Hao’s ambition to enter the Upper Courtyard would be nothing but a pipe dream.’

"Lin Hao, I’m going to make you watch helplessly as the chance to enter the Heaven-Breaking Pavilion slips away," he said to Lin Hao via voice transmission.

Lin Hao showed no reaction. He simply bowed to Duan Wushuang and the other seniors, then turned and left.

Yin Duwen’s expression turned utterly foul.

’Lin Hao is just too arrogant!’

’But now that Lin Hao is an official disciple of the Saint Institute, there’s nothing I can do to him for the moment.’

This was a classic case of lifting a rock only to drop it on his own foot.

His expression shifted several times before he hurried away. He was going to arrange for disciples to challenge Lin Hao immediately.

However, half an hour later, just as Yin Duwen had finished making all the arrangements, he received news that Lin Hao had left the Saint Institute.

Word has it that when Yin Duwen heard this news, he was stunned for a moment before everything in the room was reduced to dust!

While Yin Duwen was fuming in his room, Lin Hao had already left Imperial City.

He traveled with Marquis Mo and Yunxi by his side, riding the incredibly fast Turtle Egg.

Not long after Lin Hao charged out of Imperial City, a group of Martial Artists had already gathered outside.

It wasn’t hard to guess their origins. As soon as they heard Lin Hao was leaving the city, they immediately gave chase. Unfortunately, Turtle Egg was simply too fast; they lost Lin Hao’s trail almost as soon as they started.

Back outside Imperial City, the numerous Martial Artists could only stare at each other in dismay.

Meanwhile, Turtle Egg carried the three of them, speeding towards the Heaven-Stepping Sect.

Turtle Egg’s speed had become unimaginable ever since it drank a peerless divine brew in the Celestial Monarch’s Mansion in Flame Heaven City of the Mo Yun Kingdom. The brew had caused mysterious patterns to appear on its body, granting it this incredible swiftness.

「Three days and four nights later」

Lin Hao arrived before the gates of the Heaven-Stepping Sect.

"Eld... Eldest Brother." The disciples guarding the gate were stunned to see Lin Hao, but they quickly bowed in respect.

Yunxi stared, stunned, at the two disciples guarding the gate.

She knew the major powers of the Cangnan Empire like the back of her hand, so she naturally knew of the Heaven-Stepping Sect’s precarious position.

’I originally thought the Heaven-Stepping Sect’s disciples would have very low cultivation levels, but seeing these two, I realize I must have been wrong.’

’These two disciples guarding the gate are both at the Elemental Realm First Layer!’

’She had once visited one of the five great divine sects of the Cangnan Empire, and even their gate-keeping disciples were only at the Elemental Realm Second Layer.’

’For the gatekeepers of a declining sect to have such cultivation... it’s surreal.’

Yunxi wanted to observe them more closely, but Turtle Egg gave her no such chance.

"Heh heh, Heaven-Stepping Sect, this divine turtle has returned!" Turtle Egg cackled, transforming into a gust of wind and barging into the sect. Countless disciples were sent tumbling in its wake.

It wasn’t that the disciples’ cultivation was lacking; Turtle Egg was simply on another level now, its speed was just too great.

The disciples at the front were able to see Lin Hao, so it was fine, but those further back only saw a gust of wind. Suddenly, the Heaven-Stepping Sect’s alarms began to blare.

Then, Yunxi witnessed the true power of the Heaven-Stepping Sect once again.

Not long after they barged in, the once-quiet Heaven-Stepping Sect immediately came to life.

ROAR!

The roar of a Devil Beast rang out.

The roar shook the very mountains.

As someone with a Royal Beast-Taming Physique, Yunxi could sense the creature’s incredible power through its roar, even though her own body was restrained.

’This Devil Beast is at least at the peak of Tier Three, maybe even stronger.’

The next moment, Yunxi saw a towering Demon Ape appear before them. It gripped a massive iron club and was about to bring it smashing down on them.

The Demon Ape seemed to touch the sky, and its single strike looked powerful enough to shatter the heavens and split the earth!

Yunxi was dumbfounded. ’This Demon Ape is definitely at the Tier Four Early Stage! In other words, it could fight a Martial Artist who’s just entered the Spirit Transformation Realm!’

’A third-rate sect possessing a Demon Ape like this... No one would believe it if they heard.’

But for some reason, the Demon Ape suddenly froze mid-swing.

Seizing that momentary pause, Turtle Egg shot straight past it with them in tow.

The next moment, Yunxi realized Turtle Egg was charging toward a grand hall.

When her vision cleared, she beheld a miraculous sight, a true work of divine craftsmanship.

A massive, conical mountain peak hung suspended in mid-air, with no visible means of support! Its top was perfectly flat and smooth, like a gigantic training ground.

Heaven-Stepping Sect, the God-Proving Platform!

Turtle Egg crossed the several-hundred-meter gap in a single, silent leap.

The moment it landed on the God-Proving Platform, Turtle Egg gave a little shake, depositing Lin Hao and his two companions. Then, it vanished in a flash.