Instead of forcing himself to leap forward right away, Wang Chen chose to hold his ground. He deliberately planted his feet firmly, allowing his muscles, bones, and blood vessels to adapt and forge themselves under the extreme pressure of the 30th step. Every time the gravitational force tried to crush his bones, the foundation of his Earth-realm Soul acted as an anchor, locking his physical density into place with increasing solidity.At the same time, sensing that Wang Chen had broken free from the illusion, the Gravity Staircase Formation reacted frantically. A continuous wave of soul attacks in the form of transparent mystical needles erupted from within the ancient formation array, bombarding his consciousness without pause.Thud! Thud! Thud!Those successive impacts sounded like mystical stakes trying to pierce straight through his dantian.However, before the soul attacks could even touch the outermost layer of his Earth-realm Soul, tongues of golden Dragon Flame burst out from

Wild tongues of golden Dragon Flame slithered and coiled around the giant body of the Primordial Dragon. From afar, the lightning dragon's form looked as though it were burning in the fires of a heavenly blaze. Yet the piercing roar escaping the dragon's jaws was not a shriek of scorching pain, but a scream of terror as its soul essence was forcibly ripped away.Groaaaaarh?!Wang Chen's Heavenly Fire was not destroying the dragon's form; rather, it was greedily purifying and filtering out the entire density of that Emperor-stage soul energy.Crashhhh!The purple-blue lightning energy, which had previously been so ferocious, suddenly unraveled into millions of strands of pure light. Those threads of energy surged heavily through Wang Chen's right arm, pierced his meridians, and rushed rapidly to flood the ocean of consciousness within his body.Feeling the turbulent soul energy from the outside enter his body in a wildly frenzied manner... Wang Chen closed his eyes tightly as the pure

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!An extremely dense surge of soul energy erupted from within Wang Chen's body, radiating a majestic wave of golden light that soared high, piercing through the rolling clouds in the sky.Within his space of consciousness, the dark visions of the past, the insults of the clan elders, and the torture of his loyal servant instantly shattered into pieces like a cracked mirror struck by a sledgehammer. The golden Dragon Flame burned away every last remnant of the Heart-Reversing Illusion until not a single speck of toxic soul ash remained!"Illusions like this are mere trash in my eyes... STOP TRYING TO BLOCK MY PATH!" Wang Chen snapped with absolute dominance.CRACK! CRACK! BOOM!The solid rock of the 41st step shattered and scattered beneath his footsteps. The hundreds-fold gravitational pressure that had previously forced his physique to its knees could no longer bend his sturdy spine. Wang Chen stood completely upright and straight, expanding his chest amid the storm

"Arrogant!" snapped the Senior Great Elder, his eyes blazing with fury and a panic that was spiraling out of control. "Sweet words will not save you from the laws of the Sky Sword Sect! Anyone who threatens the safety of our genius is the mortal enemy of this sect!"The fear of the potential danger lurking around Wang Chen overrode their common sense. Without a hint of hesitation, the three Great Elders and a dozen Core Elders crossed their arms in the air, forming ancient hand seals simultaneously."ALL ELDERS, OPEN THE HEAVEN-DESTROYING ARROW FORMATION!" shouted the Senior Great Elder in a booming voice.BOOOOOOOOOOOOM!All the Qi within the Dantians of the dozens of elders erupted violently and simultaneously. Multi-colored light soared high into the air, shaking the structural integrity of space above the trial arena. The energy waves locked onto one another, intertwining to form a giant matrix circle hundreds of meters in diameter across the night sky!From the center of the matr

Upon hearing Feng Xian's decision and Wang Chen's inner lament, the Senior Grand Elder waved his hand horizontally, giving strict instructions to Elder Gu, who was still frozen at the side of the arena."Elder Gu! Handle the admission of the examination participants!" the Senior Grand Elder commanded with a resounding tone. "Let those who successfully stepped on the stairs within the minimum limit enter as outer or inner disciples of the Sky Sword Sect! Do not let anyone be left out!""Ri-right, Grand Elder!" Elder Gu replied hastily, bowing deeply and immediately beginning to organize the thousands of test-takers who were still stunned by the spectacular event that had just occurred.Without wasting any more time, the three Grand Elders turned around with full respectful gestures, leading the way for Feng Xian."Senior Feng, allow this humble one to escort you to the most sacred and deepest seclusion grounds in our sect," the Senior Grand Elder said while bowing softly.Feng Xian onl