Translator: Seventh Peril Editor: Anuvrat
As the nine golden rays descended, the Nine Stairs to Heaven opened up. The originally noisy square actually did not turn into a riot, but instead, it became strangely quiet. Almost everyone’s eyes turned a little red because they all knew that only by ascending the Nine Stairs to Heaven, one would be qualified to enter the Innate Gate and obtain the inheritance of the Innate Temple!
It was supposed to be the biggest secret, and it was unknown when it started but now it was known by everyone around.
At this moment, it wasn’t like that these people weren’t interested in the nine spots of the Stairs to Heaven, but that they knew that without the Innate Command Token, they wouldn’t be able to ascend the Nine Stairs to Heaven.
Staring at the Nine Stairs to Heaven, Ye Zhong smiled, his gaze slowly moving over to Ning Yu, Song Shaochen, and Ye Yihao. Since he was going to fight for a spot, then he would naturally choose the pushover.
Su Yu clearly noticed Ye Zhong’s instantly changing eyes, she seemed to have thought of something, but in the end, she smiled meekly and didn’t say much.
The atmosphere in the square remained absolutely silent, as time passed minute by minute, it was as if everyone had frozen in place. However, after the time it took for an incense stick to burn, Mo Fanlong from the Mo Clan suddenly slowly walked out. With a flip of his hand, a translucent jade token appeared in his palm. And then, the command token flew out and automatically stopped at the place in front of one of the Stairs to Heaven.
Under the baffling gazes of countless people, Mo Fanlong slowly walked over and then ascended onto the stairs. As soon as he stepped onto the stairs, a golden light enveloped his entire body. Apparently, the Nine Stairs to Heaven had already acknowledged his qualification.
As Mo Fanlong walked out, the expressions of countless powerhouses on the scene changed, but they all ended up holding back, and didn’t make any move. Because Mo Fanlong had the strength at the Sixth Layer of Body Tempering, it was enough to shock many powerhouses! They didn’t dare to provoke such a character.
However, as Mo Fanlong was the first to step onto it, the eyes of the powerhouses on the scene lit up even more brightly. There were only nine paths on the Stairs to Heaven. If one person ascended, there would be one less spot left. To these people who were pursuing the Innate Temple’s inheritance, missing out on this once was equivalent to missing out on their whole life.
After a few moments of silence, Song Shaochen suddenly laughed lightly, and with a flip of his hand, an Innate Command Token appeared in his palm. With the token in his hand, he slowly walked towards the stairs with an indescribable expression on his face.
“Hmph, Song Shaochen, with your strength, I am afraid it would be inappropriate for you to ascend the Nine Heavens Stairway, right?” Looking at Song Shaochen’s actions, the eyes of many people changed rapidly. This was because Song Shaochen was only at the Fourth Layer of Body Tempering, so this level of strength could not intimidate others.
However, upon hearing this, Song Shaochen slowly turned around, his indifferent eyes swept across the crowd, and then he coldly said: “If anyone wants to snatch the Innate Command Token out of my hand, then make your move now, just don’t blame me if you die!”
As his voice faded, the powerhouses from the Song Clan slowly walked out one by one with sneers on their faces. After all, Song Shaochen was the Young Master of the Song Clan, which was one of the Five Great Clans. At the same time, he was also an Inner Disciple of the Xingxiang Sect, so no ordinary ones dared to do anything to him.
Under the strange gazes, Song Shaochen walked out slowly, threw out his Innate Command Token, and stepped onto a flight of the stairs.
After Song Shaochen, Rong Tian, and Lei Ruoxu slowly stepped forward. However, the two of them were extremely powerful. Although many people’s hearts were slightly moved, they did not dare to do anything to them.
As four figures stepped onto the Nine Stairs to Heaven, the originally nine spots were suddenly decreased by half, causing the powerhouses present to breathe rapidly.
“Heh—”
Ning Yu slowly walked out, faint laughter emanating from the crowd, “Since the rest of you don’t wish to make a move, then I’ll take my spot first.”
While speaking, Ning Yu had already walked out. With a flip of his hand, an Innate Command Token appeared.
Upon seeing Ning Yu step out, this time, an expert couldn’t hold it in any longer. With a sneer, he instantly dashed out, “Ning Yu, you’re only a member of the Chiyun Martial House, do you really think you have the qualifications to ascend the Nine Stairs to Heaven?!”
“*Puff—*”
Before he finished his sentence, Ning Yu, who had been standing still, casually waved his hand. His palm landed on the chest of the charging figure. After he directly killed him, he lightly smiled and said, “This is my qualification.”
With that, Ning Yu stepped onto the stairs after the shocked gazes of the surrounding people.
Looking at this scene, Ye Zhong’s gaze flickered slightly with a profound light and landed on the area where the Ye and Su Clans powerhouses were. If what he guessed was correct, with their background, these two Clans should know some inside information and have each obtained an Innate Command Token, right? If that was the case, then it seemed that he only needed to focus on these two Clans if he wanted to obtain the Innate Command Token. However, Ye Zhong did not feel the slightest guilt about robbing the Ye and Su Clans.
After a chuckle, Ye Zhong said softly, “Senior Sister Su Yu and also Qu Xuan, if the two of you want to ascend the Nine Stairs to Heaven, it will be easier for you now. However, when there are only two spots left, I’m afraid it won’t be that simple anymore.”
Hearing his words, Su Yu casually nodded her head, while Qu Xuan’s face instantly turned extremely unsightly. It was obvious that she understood now that if one didn’t have a certain level of strength and background, then taking the Innate Command Token forward at this moment, the consequence would be equivalent to giving a token to someone else.
“I don’t believe that by relying on the reputation of our Xingxiang Sect, these guys would dare to act rashly!” Xiang Qiyu sneered while a look of fear also appeared on her small face.
However, upon hearing these words, Qu Xuan’s face turned even paler. Obviously, she knew that at this moment, the name of the Xingxiang Sect wouldn’t be of much use.
Seeing Qu Xuan like this, Ye Zhong sighed and shook his head, “Qu Xuan, I can help you one more time. I can guarantee you that you can ascend the Nine Stairs to Heaven, but after that, you’ll have to rely on yourself. Moreover, after entering the Innate Gate, the competition for the inheritance will be extremely intense, whether you want to ascend or not, you have to think it over yourself.”
At this moment, Qu Xuan’s expression turned increasingly pale, but her secluded orchid-like aura seemed to be even more stunning. After a moment of silence, she finally lifted her head and looked deeply at Ye Zhong, “If I gave you the Innate Token, what would be the probability of you receiving the inheritance of the Innate Temple?”
Upon hearing her words, Ye Zhong gave Qu Xuan a strange look before shaking his head. “I don’t know either. Moreover, even if I did enter, it wouldn’t be for the inheritance of the Innate Temple. My goal would be something else.”
Su Yu looked at Ye Zhong in surprise. She did not expect Ye Zhong to know that there was something else inside and looking at his appearance, it was likely that he knew what it was.
“But what if you can obtain the inheritance of the Innate Temple?” Qu Xuan continued asking.
“If I can obtain it, so how about we study it together?” Ye Zhong smiled, “But you don’t need to give me your Innate Command Token, I will naturally find it myself if I want to get my hands on it.”
As he spoke, Ye Zhong’s smiling gaze fell on Ye Yihao and the others on the opposite side as if he would pluck feathers from a passing goose [1], this kind of look made them feel very uncomfortable.
Qu Xuan looked conflicted. After a while, she finally flipped her hand and shoved the Innate Command Token into Ye Zhong’s hand, saying softly, “Senior Brother Ye Zhong, if you can obtain the inheritance, I hope you can let us have a look at it when the time comes.”
Ye Zhong glanced at Qu Xuan, and after a while, he smiled faintly. If these three little tail-waggers had retreated when Mo Fanlong attacked him just now, he would not have bothered with them. However, after what happened previously, Ye Zhong nodded and said, “Alright, I was originally not too interested in the inheritance of the Innate Temple. But for the sake of the three of you, I will try my best and strive to obtain it. Senior Sister Su Yu, when the time comes, I might as well need your hand?”
Upon hearing that, Su Yu stared at Ye Zhong silently for a moment, then said lightly, “If you’re capable of ascending, we can talk about it. There won’t be much of a problem if I ascend, but you…”
After saying that, Su Yu smiled sweetly. She ignored Ye Zhong’s expression, clapped her hands, and walked out with big strides. Under the watchful gaze of the other powerhouses, she directly ascended one of the stairs.
It was obvious that many of them knew who Su Yu was. Although her strength was insufficient to make these people afraid, no one dared to make a move. Apparently, the people present were all extremely smart, they had a tacit understanding, if they were to make a move on Su Yu at the moment, it would offend a group of her admirers. At that time, what should they do?
“Heh—”
Seeing Su Yu ascend the Nine Stairs to Heaven without any hindrance, Ye Zhong laughed lightly. His gaze fell upon Ye Yihao and the others as he spoke, “Ye Yihao, you have the Innate Command Token, right? What? You don’t want to ascend there now, are you afraid I’ll rob you? “
“Ye Zhong, don’t go too far!” Ye Yihao’s eyes turned cold as he solemnly said.
“Originally, I wanted to snatch the token from your hands, but my luck is quite good…”
Ye Zhong smiled, shrugged his shoulders, and casually tossed away the Innate Command Token in his hands. He took a step forward, and at the same time, a terrifying aura emanated from his body.
“I, Ye Zhong, want a spot today. I bet no one here has any objections, right?”
“If anyone has any objections, feel free to mention it. I will humbly accept it!”
TL note(s):
[1] “pluck feathers from a passing goose” implying “to seize any opportunity”.