Everyone watching was on edge as they knew that Shui Guanzhi’s enmity with Long Chen was deep. Back in the Xuantian Sea, he had lost to him.

Now Long Chen had just reached the 998th stair. If Shui Guanzhi wanted to attack, Long Chen would most likely suffer.

But after this long, everyone had realized Long Chen’s temperament. He was someone who dared to do anything.

If Shui Guanzhi really did attack, Long Chen would definitely explode and counterattack with his full strength. And this time would not be the same as last time. It would definitely be a battle to the death.

The Xuantian Dao Sect’s higher-ups were all worried except for Zhou Tianyi. The person who worried the most was naturally Shui Yuncong.

Of course he hoped for Shui Guanzhi to suppress Long Chen. But if Shui Guanzhi really attacked now, it would no longer be an ordinary competition.

Furthermore, it was impossible for the ones outside to interfere with what was happening on the Netherworld Heaven Staircase. Let alone interfering, they couldn’t even say anything to them.

In truth, Long Chen was also a bit uneasy. This Netherworld Heaven Staircase put him at too great of a disadvantage. If Shui Guanzhi attacked now, he wouldn’t be able to defeat him.

But he coldly smiled at Shui Guanzhi. “I’ve already told you, if you want to die, come at me any time! You don’t need to worry so much about the timing or location!”

Shui Guanzhi was silent for a moment as he sized up Long Chen. “You must be too afraid. All I did was stand up and stretch. This Netherworld Heaven Staircase must restrict your magical art. Are you unable to summon your ring here?”

Shui Guanzhi stared closely at Long Chen’s eyes. He had clearly seen through some clues and wanted to find the proof.

“Perhaps! You can try it.” Long Chen smiled.

Hearing Shui Guanzhi’s words, the others were startled. Was Long Chen really unable to use his magical art on the Netherworld Heaven Staircase?

If that was true, then Long Chen was the weakest of them all here. They could send him flying with a wave of a hand.

But it was impossible to tell anything from Long Chen’s expression. Despite suspecting him, Shui Guanzhi didn’t dare to actually attack him.

If he was right, then it would be acceptable. But if he was wrong, and Long Chen was just stubborn and refused to summon his divine ring, he would be screwed.

First ignoring the question of whether or not he could even defeat Long Chen, just being entangled with him would put himself at a disadvantage when fighting to get the 999th stair. Furthermore, with Long Chen’s temperament, it truly might be a bit dangerous.

“Tch, how gutless.”

Long Chen smiled, and just like that, he began walking toward the suspecting Shui Guanzhi, startling everyone. Shui Guanzhi immediately tensed.

“You really don’t want to try me? Don’t blame me for not giving you an opportunity!” Long Chen stopped when he was around thirty meters from Shui Guanzhi.

This distance was the absolute limit. If he took another step, the two would definitely begin to fight, unless one of them retreated.

Shui Guanzhi’s eyes were cold. He was eighty percent sure he was right, and Long Chen was just bluffing. But he also didn’t dare to take the risk.

That was because Long Chen was too mysterious. All kinds of strange things might happen around him.

If his deduction was wrong and Long Chen was just baiting him, he would have to endure a tempest of attacks from him.

He wasn’t afraid of a battle, but he didn’t want to waste his energy here. That would just be helping out the other three.

“You’re too useless.” Long Chen shook his head and walked away.

“You…!”

Shui Guanzhi was just about to say something when he suddenly found out that Long Chen was walking straight toward the 999th stair without even resting.

Everyone was shocked, even the monastery heads. What was he doing?

Was this scoundrel trying to constantly test out their startled expressions? Shui Wuhen was extremely nervous. Long Chen never did things normally. During these trials, he had used up all the shocked expressions these people would get in their lifetimes.

He was clearly already on the verge of collapse, but he still wanted to charge directly to the 999th stair. Was he crazy?

Shui Guanzhi and the others were first startled, but then they smiled coldly. Currently, Long Chen had no divine ring, and furthermore, there were no spiritual yuan fluctuations coming from his body. Going to the 999th stair was purely suicidal.

“Is he really trying to commit suicide?” cried a monastery head.

The vice sect master’s eyes seemed to glow. He thought of something, but then that thought slipped away. It was like something was trying to surface in his mind, but he wasn’t able to grab it.

As Long Chen advanced, a flying sword shot out, piercing his leg. He stumbled, but he didn’t stop. He continued climbing.

Furthermore, his expression was still completely calm. It was impossible to tell what he was thinking, but they all thought he was trying to get himself killed.

The instant his foot stepped onto the 999th stair, countless flying sword suddenly shot out like a tide.

But Long Chen still didn’t attempt to block or dodge them. He allowed them to pierce through his body. Each of them left behind a bloody hole.

It was shocking how sharp those flying swords were. After all, everyone was aware of just how powerful Long Chen’s physical body was.

It would take incredible power to injure him. But these flying swords pierced through him so easily. That wasn’t because of their shooting power, but because of how incisive they were.

The Four Heavenly Geniuses’ expressions changed. Previously, they hadn’t had a chance to clearly see those flying swords. Now they saw just how terrifying they were as they brought a rain of Long Chen’s blood.

BOOM!

When Long Chen’s second foot touched the 999th stair, the entire Netherworld Heaven Staircase shook intensely. Endless pressure descended.

Millions of flying swords gathered together, forming one huge sword.

Once that sword formed, a huge vortex appeared around it as pressure began to condense.

“What?!”

Even before this sword shot out, the aura it released was apocalyptic. There was no way a human could block it.

“So that’s what it was.” The vice sect master finally came to a sudden comprehension upon seeing that huge sword.

BOOM!

The huge sword pierced forward, instantly enveloping Long Chen.

“Long Chen!” Meng Qi and Tang Wan-er were pale. Their hands covered their mouths, as they were filled with absolute shock.

“WHAT?!” When the light of the swords faded, people finally saw Long Chen again. He was on the 999th stair in the same state as before the final sword had struck him.

Long Chen smiled. As expected, his gamble had been right. As the light faded, the pressure around him weakened. Furthermore, his injuries began to heal. He felt endless life energy nourishing him.

“This is good stuff.” He rapidly circulated the primal chaos space, absorbing this life energy. Previously, he had almost died from trying to refine the green dragon essence blood. To recover, he had used up all the life energy in the primal chaos space.

Endless life energy surged into the primal chaos space. Those withered trees and medicinal ingredients rapidly regained their vitality.

Furthermore, Long Chen’s injuries were rapidly healing. Long Chen was definitely taking more than his share.

While he rapidly absorbed this energy, everyone just stood there, stunned. They were unable to understand how he had done this.

That final attack had released a blinding light that had made it so none of them had seen how he had survived. It had even isolated him from spiritual probing. They had no idea what technique he had used to block that final attack.

“I remember.” The vice sect master’s words brought the monastery heads out of their shock and back to reality.

“What did you remember?” they hastily asked.

“I remember how that previous disciple managed to charge onto the 999th stair.” A complicated expression appeared on the vice sect master’s face. “My memories are sealed, but in this special situation, they can be partially released. Just now, I remembered. It is impossible to charge onto the 999th stair. To put it more specifically, it is impossible to charge onto it through brute force. No matter how strong you are, you won’t be able to resist the formation. Even I would be exterminated.”

“What?!” All of them turned pale. If that was true, how had Long Chen passed?

The vice sect master sighed. “I really can’t tell if Long Chen is suicidal or not. He actually managed to find out the only way to reach the 999th stair!”

“The only way?”

“The 999th stair doesn’t test a person’s physical strength, Spiritual Strength, or will. Instead, it tests a person’s courage. It tests whether or not a person dares to risk their life to reach the peak of the martial path!”

“You mean, the final step is just to frighten others?!”

“You can put it that way. The Netherworld Heaven Staircase won’t take the lives of disciples. This is something I’ve already told them. But the final formation’s killing intent will influence a cultivator’s instincts. The stronger a person is, the more they will trust those instincts. So, the final test is just to see who dares to fight with their life on the line!”

PFFT!

Suddenly, a translucent flying sword shot down from the sky, turning one monastery head into a bloody mist.