Laozi had personally forged this Heavenly Ladder, so he naturally shared a certain affinity with it.
He could clearly sense that Golden Spirit Mother and the other six had not reached their limits. They might even have been able to reach Taoist Randeng's height.
Thus, Laozi understood that Golden Spirit Mother and the other seven had chosen to give up entirely because of Hong Ze's words.
This also meant that Hong Ze had other arrangements. First and foremost, he did not want others to know the true foundation of the Jie Sect disciples.
As for whether there were even deeper plans, not even Laozi could see through them now.
Thus, Laozi looked scrutinizingly at Hong Ze, who stood beside Master Tongtian.
He directly said, "Nephew Hong Ze, your junior brothers and sisters have all climbed the Heavenly Ladder. Shouldn't it be your turn now?"
Hong Ze had originally wanted his junior brothers and sisters to put in more effort and crush the Heavenly Ladder beneath their weight. That way, he would not have to go up and make a fool of himself.
After all, Hong Ze did not think his foundation was particularly good. Otherwise, he would not still be a True Immortal even now.
As for the Nine Saints of the Great Dao that the Great Dao System had helped him achieve, Hong Ze had always regarded them as auxiliary abilities.
Other than cultivating his character and temperament, they had truly brought him no help or improvement.
But now that Laozi had set his sights on him, he likely could not back out even if he wanted to.
Moreover, Master Tongtian's gaze had also fallen upon Hong Ze. Even Master Tongtian wanted to know how far Hong Ze could go.
Among the Jie Sect disciples, some naturally wanted to