Sects Scrambling

With a wave of the woman's sleeve, the surrounding illusion instantly melted away.

Ye Ling stood on the nine-thousandth step, her body completely normal. It was as if the time spent talking in the illusion had stood completely still, never having passed at all.

She thought for a moment, but unable to comprehend the mystery of it, she stopped dwelling on it. She lifted her other foot and stood fully on the nine-thousandth step.

In an instant, cheers erupted from the bottom of the mountain, rising one after another and shaking the entire plaza.

On the high platform, the various sect elders had different expressions. Shock, disbelief, pleasant surprise, and anxiety were all intertwined.

They were delighted that another person had reached the nine-thousandth step after three hundred years, but anxious that such a peerless genius would be snatched away by other sects.

The elder of the Qinglan Sword Sect had already sent an urgent message the moment Ye Ling's first foot stepped onto the nine-thousandth step, repeatedly urging her sect master, who was currently rushing over.

She glanced sideways at the elders of the other three sects beside her, who were full of amazement and envy, and sneered inwardly.

Laugh, laugh all you want. Once our sect master arrives in person, you won't be able to laugh anymore.

The nine-thousandth step was already the end of the spiritual stairs; there were no more steps going up.

Ye Ling turned around and slowly walked down the steps, her gaze sweeping over the massive plaza below.

The plaza was bustling with noise. Countless people raised their arms high and waved them continuously, their cheers rising wave after wave.

Yet her ears were filled with silence; not a single sound reached her. She could only see everyone's fanatical expressions as they continuously waved toward the spiritual stairs.

Ye Ling was secretly puzzled. Could these people actually be waving at her?

She looked down at the spiritual stairs. Su Qinghan, who was previously in third place, had voluntarily stepped down at some point. Currently, only she and Ye Chen remained on the entire stairs.

Looking at it this way, the answer was all too clear.

At this thought, her footsteps paused slightly. She subconsciously straightened her back, and her stride became more stable and upright.

As she walked down to the 8,980th step, she came face-to-face with Ye Chen, who was struggling to climb.

At this moment, Ye Chen was in quite a disheveled state. His clothes were soaked in sweat, and traces of blood seeped from his skin.

Yet his eyes were clear and bright, and his aura had stabilized at the Houtian Ninth Layer.

Evidently, he had also used the unique environment of the spiritual stairs to break through his cultivation.

Ye Ling understood and nodded slightly to him.

She thought to herself that Ye Chen was much better at speaking than she was, so that senior item spirit would probably find him to her liking. She then raised her hand to give him an encouraging gesture before continuing down.

Although Ye Chen was currently in a disheveled state and exhausted of strength, his mind was exceptionally clear. He had not reached his limit yet, and he was determined to reach the nine-thousandth step.

He knew that Ye Ling had already reached the nine-thousandth step, and his heart was filled with shock, but he was also secretly puzzled.

She clearly had abundant aura and plenty of energy left, with no signs of exhaustion at all. Why didn't she continue to climb to the top, but instead turned back to head down?

But right now, his entire mind was focused on climbing, leaving him no time to ponder further.

Seeing Ye Ling nod to him, he immediately focused his mind and responded.

But when he saw that unusually cheerful gesture, Ye Chen was suddenly taken aback, and a strange feeling welled up in his heart.

The usually cold, quiet, and aloof Ye Ling was actually taking the initiative to encourage him?

Did she consider him a friend? His eyes flickered slightly as he suppressed his chaotic thoughts, grit his teeth, and struggled upward once more.

Climbing up was incredibly difficult, but walking down was easy and smooth.

Half an hour later, Ye Ling had reached the step around the one-hundredth mark. Looking down, she couldn't help but be startled.

The entrance of the spiritual stairs was completely surrounded. The elders of the four major sects and the Heishui Commandery Lord were all present. The martial artists in the plaza and the rest of the participating disciples were packed tightly together, forming layer after layer with no space left at all.

Ye Ling was secretly puzzled. Although she had stepped onto the nine-thousandth step, she hadn't actually reached the absolute top. Why would it attract such a massive commotion?

Then, she suddenly remembered what the senior item spirit had said earlier: in three hundred years, only one young girl had set foot on the nine-thousandth step.

Now everything clicked. It turned out that over the past few centuries, only she and that genius had ever reached this height.

Without stopping, she quickly walked down the remaining steps and stepped off the Heavenly Spirit Stairs.

The Heishui Commandery Lord's face was piled with smiles. He had just taken a half-step forward and was about to speak.

However, several loud voices suddenly erupted at the same time, completely drowning out his voice.

The four elders, who usually ruled over their respective regions with dignity and composure, completely cast aside their restraint and decorum. They scrambled forward in unison, forcibly pushing the Commandery Lord to the outer edge of the crowd.

The Commandery Lord could only give up helplessly, standing to the side with a bitter smile.

The most impatient elder, from the Burning Heaven Martial Academy, was the first to rush forward. His voice was like a booming bell, and his face was full of eagerness.

“Little Friend Ye Ling, a peerless genius like you is a once-in-a-century find. Join our Burning Heaven Martial Academy! Our academy focuses on combat and body tempering. High-grade combat techniques and body-tempering resources will be supplied to you without limit.”

“Despite your young age, your combat strength, comprehension, and mental fortitude far surpass those of your peers. If you join our martial academy, I will directly report to the headmaster to name you our chief core disciple and spare no effort in nurturing you.”

As soon as his voice fell, the elegant elder of Xuanling Valley immediately squeezed him aside, her tone gentle yet filled with sincerity.

“The martial academy only knows brute force and slaughter. It is far too crude and would only waste your natural talent. Little Friend, join our Xuanling Valley. Our valley has gentle spiritual veins and countless secret realms, which are perfect for polishing your Dao foundation and nurturing your sword intent.”

“The valley's secret techniques and natural treasures will be fully unlocked for you, and you will be personally taught by the Supreme Elder.”

The gentle elder of Jingshui Yaotai stepped forward softly, her voice clear and beautiful as she also offered heavyweight benefits.

“What the two of you said is far too one-sided. Our Jingshui Yaotai excels in calming the mind to comprehend the Dao and stabilizing true meaning, which is the perfect match for sword cultivators. Little Friend's peerless talent is exactly the rare gem our Yaotai seeks.”

“As long as you are willing to join our sect, you will be exceptionally made a personal disciple of Yaotai, enjoying exclusive cultivation resources from our spiritual pool, allowing you to cultivate without any worries.”

Finally, the elder of the Qinglan Sword Sect, who had long been unable to hold back, took a step forward. Her eyes shone brightly, and possessing the greatest confidence, she spoke with absolute certainty.

“There is no need for everyone to fight over her. Little Friend Ye Ling loves cultivating the sword path, and in the Qingyun Kingdom, the sword path is ruled by our Qinglan Sword Sect. Tens of thousands of sword manuals, sword path secret realms, and ancient sword embryos within the sect will all be open to you.”

“Only by joining our Qinglan can you unleash your sword path talent to its absolute limit and reach the peak of the sword path.”

Her ears were filled with the recruitment offers of the various elders, one after another. Countless top-tier cultivation resources and exceptional treatment terms were thrown out, making everyone in the audience burn with envy.

Ye Ling stood quietly in place, her expression calm, but she silently recalled the words her cousin, Ye Yan, had specifically warned her about earlier.

Now seeing with her own eyes the heavy benefits the elders of the four major sects were scrambling to offer, Ye Ling understood instantly, completely validating her cousin's advice.

Her eyes were clear and bright as she watched the elders before her argue without any haste, quietly waiting for what would happen next.

The three elders of the Burning Heaven Martial Academy, Xuanling Valley, and Jingshui Yaotai refused to yield an inch. Every sentence offered massive benefits as they bickered, mocked, and frequently interrupted one another.

Everyone wanted to be the first to move Ye Ling and recruit this peerless genius who had reached the nine-thousandth step into their sect.