The staircase that seemed to made for giants stretched from the ground to the Heaven, piercing the clouds along the way.
The size of this staircase awed everybody there, especially those who have never seen anything so mythical before.
Meng Xiang's eyes widened in shock. How can something so magical exist in this world?
"There are 100,001 steps on this staircase." The Divine Serpent Sect's Sect Master's voice echoed in every direction. "For every 10,000 steps, you will go up by a level with a total of 10 levels. For the 100,001st step… Well, nobody has ever been able to take that final step since the ancient times, so I will not bother with it."
"As for the rewards of this competition, it will be announced tomorrow before the start of the competition."
After saying what they needed, the Sect Masters sat in the air in the lotus position and closed their eyes, no longer caring about the masses and looking as though they are going to sleep.
The Sect Masters were, of course, not going to sleep, but talking to each other using Divine Sense.
Divine Sense is the power of one's soul, an ability only those above the Immortal Realm can use.
Divine Sense can be used in many different ways. Some ways to use Divine Sense is to speak to another individual without actually opening their mouth, see places further than one's eyes can actually see, even things they cannot physically see. And once an individual reaches a certain cultivation base, they can even use Divine Sense as a mean to attack another soul directly, dealing devastating damages!
When Cultivators cultivate, they temper their physique and their Spirit Qi, strengthening their entire body. However, no matter how strong their physique or Spirit Qi gets, their soul will remain the same— weak and fragile.
To cultivate one's soul, they must cultivate Soul Tempering Techniques, one of the rarest Cultivation Technique in this Universe. And not only are they hard to acquire, they are also very hard to train in, usually experiencing extreme pain during cultivation.
The soul is something very hard to train and temper, hence why most Cultivators have a fragile soul, making that area the most vulnerable spot and their biggest weakness.
Tian Yi silently watched the three Sect Masters communicate with each other using Divine Sense while fanning himself.
"This Long Chen, he had offended someone he cannot afford to offend, hence his death. What an old fool," said the Sect Master of the Azure Phoenix Sect.
"My Ancestor always tells me how there are Heavens beyond the Heavens; this situation is exactly what those words mean. Even if we are Sovereign Realm experts, there will always be someone above us— someone bigger, scarier, and stronger," said the Sect Master of the Divine Serpent Sect.
"Aiya… this mysterious senior… I'm afraid only someone from the Qing Dynasty can handle him," sighed the Sect Master of the Heavenly Tiger Sect.
The conversation between the three Sect Master was as clear as day in the ears of Tian Yi whose soul was so frighteningly powerful that he could intercept another's Divine Sense at will!
In front of Tian Yi and Divine Sense, they might as well be naked because there was nothing that could be hidden from him if he really wanted to know!
After listening to their conversation for a few moments, Tian Yi retrieved his Divine Sense from the Sect Masters. If they had no evil intentions, there was no reason for him to continue to eavesdrop.
Tian Yi was a humble and respectful individual, and he would not stick his nose in others' business if there was no reason for him to. However, the things that he has experienced during these past few days have been putting some weight on his shoulders, and he could not help but be wary of his surroundings and others.
'I ran away from home to relax and have fun, but why does it feel like I have been doing more work now than when I was back at home?' he could not help but wonder.
"Meng Xiang, how about we go and get some food before the competition starts?" He suddenly said to her, and she nodded vigorously.
Despite not needing food anymore or feeling any hunger, she still loved to eat.
Meng Xiang was the type of people who would turn from poor to rich in one day and would still pick up every penny on the floor the next day.
Tian Yi nodded, and he brought Meng Xiang out of the crowd.
His actions were simple and quick, but when done in a crowd that was barely moving due to the atmosphere, they stuck out like a whale in a school of small fishes.
One of the three Sect Masters in the air suddenly opened his eyes, and deep within shone with excitement mixed with shock.
'A Spirit Ascension Stage Cultivator at such a young age?!' The Divine Serpent Sect's Sect Master cried inwardly after seeing Meng Xiang.
For such a young girl to have such a high cultivation base, her talent was monstrous enough to rebuke heaven and earth!
The other two Sect Master quickly took notice of his sudden change in expression and also looked at Meng Xiang, their eyes nearly popping out from shock as well.
The three of them suddenly stood up at the same time—
"This young lady— I must have her in my Sect!" They all said to themselves and disappeared from the air, appearing in front of Tian Yi and Meng Xiang to block off their path.
Shocked at their sudden appearance, Meng Xiang jumped back like a scared cat, and Tian Yi frowned.
Appearing here so suddenly, what did these three individuals want from them?