The Lin Clan's imperial scion.
Many heard Wang Bo's words and turned their gazes toward Lin Fan nearby. They had naturally heard of the grudge between the Lin Clan and the Wang Clan. It seemed the Wang Clan intended to commit murder in public.
"He's screwed!"
"The Lin Clan's imperial scion is only in the Pill Condensation Realm, and the cloud stairway suppresses people with gravity! Sigh..."
Many guessed the outcome. Without a doubt, with Wang Bo's physique having made another breakthrough, how could Lin Fan possibly match Wang Bo, whose physical body rivaled the peak Heavenly Dipper Realm?
Golden radiance shimmered over Wang Bo's body, as though he had been plated in gold. His bearing was solemn and majestic, sacred and extraordinary. He took great strides and plunged toward Lin Fan farther down the cloud stairway.
He was like an eagle diving swiftly from high above.
He spread his hands to seize his prey, one clenched into a fist and the other shaped into a claw.
Some female cultivators could not help closing their eyes, as though they could already see Lin Fan being punched into a meat patty.
The corners of Wang Bo's mouth curled upward, an easy smile spreading across his face. Inwardly, however, he did not dare let his guard down. Lin Fan had once killed Wang Song in an instant, so he knew Lin Fan was no simple opponent and feared following in Wang Song's footsteps.
Seeing Lin Fan merely raise a fist and punch out lightly, Wang Bo sneered. Even someone at the peak Heavenly Dipper Realm would have to take his punch seriously, let alone a mere Pill Condensation Realm cultivator like Lin Fan.
"Fool!"
As though he could already see Lin Fan being blasted away by his punch, he revealed a smug smile.
Yet no matter how cautious he was, faced with Lin Fan's absolute strength, he remained unable to withstand a single blow.
Their fists collided. The terrifying strength of Lin Fan's physical body erupted like a primordial savage beast awakening. Wang Bo's smug smile turned to horror as he felt a colossal force, like a star, slam into him.
Wang Bo flew backward, several times faster than he had plunged forward.
Bang!
He crashed heavily onto the hundredth step above, collapsing there like a dead dog. Blood spilled endlessly from his mouth as he stared in disbelief at the approaching Lin Fan.
"No... no! Impossible! My physical body rivals the peak Heavenly Dipper Realm! Lin Fan, you're just a lowly Pill Condensation Realm cultivator. How could you possess such terrifying physical strength?"
Lin Fan shook his hand, his expression as indifferent as ever, as though he had not used his full strength. He said mildly, "Trash that can't withstand a single blow. You really thought the master of the Drunken Immortal Pavilion saved me? In truth, he saved you lot!"
Wang Bo's pupils contracted.
He had thought the master of the Drunken Immortal Pavilion had saved Lin Fan, but the scene before him told him that the pavilion master had saved him instead. Otherwise, he should have died alongside the other Wang Clan man.
"Unfortunately, no one can save you this time."
Lin Fan strode upward. On the cloud stairway, whose pressure terrified everyone else, he climbed several steps in a single stride, as though he could not feel the gravity.
Wang Bo watched Lin Fan slowly approach. Severely injured, with all his bones broken, he was using the last of his strength to resist the cloud stairway's gravity. Unable to move at all, he revealed a look of terror.
"Lin Fan, don't... don't kill me! If you kill me, Brother Kunlong and the others won't let you off!"
"Fucking idiot!"
Lin Fan activated the devouring power of the Chaos Gods and Devils Body and absorbed the origin of Wang Bo's Gilded Sacred Body. Then he twisted Wang Bo's neck, as easily as wringing a chick's neck, and casually tossed him aside without even glancing at his corpse.
His pace never faltered as he continued up the cloud stairway, as though Wang Bo were merely an ant Lin Fan had casually crushed underfoot on his ascent.
Gasps rang out!
It had all happened too quickly. Before any of the cultivators could react, Wang Bo was already dead.
Many cultivators sucked in a breath of cold air. Was he still fucking human? A Pill Condensation Realm cultivator had instantly killed a late Heavenly Dipper Realm prodigy, crossing nearly two major realms to kill him in a single blow.
Only now did people understand Lin Fan's true worth. He truly was a freak who could rival monsters like Wang Teng.
After a silence, the cultivators below gazed in awe at the white-robed figure advancing inexorably up the cloud stairway and began discussing among themselves.
"Do you think he can reach the top?"
"It'll be difficult. It seems no one has even climbed beyond the nine-hundredth step in years, let alone reached the thousandth step at the summit, where no one has ever set foot!"
"Exactly. Look at Xiang Yunjie, who's said to possess the Firmament Divine Body, a match for the Archaic Sacred Body! He's still struggling in the eight hundreds. Obtaining the Archaic Sacred Body's inheritance is as difficult as ascending to heaven!"
Lin Fan knew nothing of the discussions among the cultivators below.
He strode forward as though nothing could stop him, soon reaching the five-hundredth step.
The pressure doubled with every step.
And every hundred steps marked a dividing line, where it would increase at least fivefold.
For Lin Fan, only upon reaching the five-hundredth step did he feel a trace of pressure. Terrifying gravity surged toward him like a tide, pressing against every inch of his skin.
Boom!
His physical presence radiated outward, his blood and vitality like a dragon, like a vast ocean, easily bearing the pressure.
Many cultivators sat cross-legged on the cloud stairway, cultivating with their eyes closed. They used its gravity to temper their bodies, their foreheads and backs drenched in sweat as they endured the tremendous pressure.
Some struggling Heavenly Dipper Realm and Spirit Sea Realm cultivators could not help widening their eyes when they saw Lin Fan, a mere peak Core Formation Realm cultivator, climb so effortlessly.
Pfft!
Whether they were angered by Lin Fan or the stairway's pressure was simply too fierce, many cultivators could not endure it and were blasted down from the cloud stairway, their fates unknown.
Lin Fan continued upward. There were few people in the six and seven hundreds, and he soon climbed past the seven-hundredth step.
Here, the pressure finally amounted to something. Lin Fan felt faint traces of oppression and had to circulate his blood and vitality to counteract it.
Boom!
Lin Fan stepped onto the eight-hundredth step. With a boom, terrifying gravity assailed him, as though it would crush his spine. The pressure was dozens of times stronger than at the seven-hundredth step.
"You're the first Pill Condensation Realm cultivator I've ever seen make it here!"
"Boy, stop here. The eight-hundredth step isn't somewhere ordinary people can tread!"
A voice reached Lin Fan's ears. Following it, he saw a burly man sitting cross-legged on the eight-hundred-and-seventy-fifth step. He could sense the man's surging presence, like that of an ancient savage beast.
Anyone who could reach this place was undoubtedly a monstrous body-refining talent!
It seemed he had seen Lin Fan's earlier struggle and offered a well-meaning warning.
Yet he made no effort to conceal the arrogance between his brows or the contempt at the corners of his mouth.
Sensing the man's hostility, Lin Fan merely nodded in acknowledgment without saying anything more. He had his own plans.
Ignoring Xiang Yunjie's advice, he stepped forward.
Xiang Yunjie was not surprised. Just moments ago, he had seen one or two people refuse to heed the warning, only to be blasted toward the cloud stairway in the end.
In his eyes, Lin Fan's fate would be no different from theirs.
Yet hazy black-and-white Chaos Qi surrounded Lin Fan's body, his blood and vitality surging within him. He easily withstood the first wave of pressure at the eight-hundredth step and continued toward the nine-hundredth.
Xiang Yunjie frowned and thought, Interesting. But what kind of physique is that? Why would I, the possessor of the mighty Firmament Divine Body, feel a sense of oppression from him?
While he was pondering this, Lin Fan approached effortlessly, as though he could not feel the pressure. As he passed Xiang Yunjie, he nodded slightly in acknowledgment, then continued toward the nine-hundredth step.
"Has he gone mad?"
"Does he intend to reach the summit?"
Xiang Yunjie's pupils contracted. Watching Lin Fan's movements, how could he fail to see his intentions? This fellow had actually set foot somewhere he himself could not reach.
He possessed the Firmament Divine Body! In the absence of the Archaic Sacred Body, his physical body was invincible, yet he could not compare to this man.
He could not believe that a mere Pill Condensation Realm cultivator could be stronger than him!
Suddenly, a cold smile appeared on his lips, as though something had occurred to him. He watched Lin Fan's figure as if waiting for a good show.