"Tread!"
With a heavy stomp of his foot, Xiao Yan's figure shot upwards, and in the blink of an eye, he had already landed on the first stone platform.
As Xiao Yan stepped onto the stone platform, an invisible pressure suddenly descended from above. At the same time, the chain connecting the second stone platform was enveloped by a soft, milky-white light, which rapidly spread upwards.
However, before the oppressive aura above Xiao Yan could subside, Xiao Yan exerted force with his legs once more, and his figure burst forth, quickly ascending to the second and third stone platforms, rushing towards the highest point of the platforms without stopping.
After catching her breath, Shui Miao followed closely behind, not to be outdone. The two of them were neck and neck, and in just a short while, they had already climbed the first thirty stone platforms, while Xiao Yan was always three platforms ahead of Shui Miao.
In contrast, the latter was not worried. Speed alone was useless for climbing the hundred-step stone platform. Even if Xiao Yan had strong physical strength, the higher the stone platform went, the more terrifying the pressure became. Physical strength alone was not enough to last until the end. Back then, he only managed to reach the fifty-fourth floor by relying on his extraordinary perseverance.
Even now, Shui Miao isn't entirely confident she can reach the 90th floor, let alone the 100th.
Although Xiao Yan's combat strength is extraordinary and his power should not be underestimated, in the previous battle, if it weren't for the latter's ghostly speed and his little tricks, Shui Miao admitted that he wouldn't have been able to defeat him so easily.
On this stone platform, you can't reach the top just by scheming; everything depends on your strength!
The two walked one after the other until after the fiftieth stone platform, when their speeds gradually began to differ.
By the time he reached the fiftieth floor, Shui Miao could clearly feel some pressure. The pressure he faced varied with the height, and he could no longer be as calm and composed as before.
In contrast, Xiao Yan's speed did not slow down at all after reaching the fiftieth floor. When Shui Miao arrived, Xiao Yan was only approaching the stone platform on the sixtieth floor. Knowing the consequences on the sixty-seventh floor, Xiao Yan finally let out a slightly labored breath.
Seeing this scene, Shui Miao was extremely surprised. She never imagined that the gap between herself and Xiao Yan had become so obvious.
At the same time, Shui Miao felt a sense of unwillingness in her heart, so she could only exert all her strength. After taking a deep breath, she suddenly shot out again, chasing after Xiao Yan without stopping.
The gap between the two also rapidly narrowed. By the seventieth floor, the distance between Xiao Yan and Shui Miao was only a stone platform.
"Seventy-two..."
"Seventy-three..."
"Seventy... four!"
However, as Shui Miao watched Xiao Yan ascend the stone platform on the seventy-seventh floor, she herself felt powerless. Her whole body was soaked in sweat, her long hair tied back was disheveled, her breathing was long and heavy, and perhaps due to the consumption of the previous battle, her internal fighting Dou Qi was also somewhat unable to keep up.
"Damn it! I can't stop here, absolutely not!"
With a curse swearing in her heart, Shui Miao slowly straightened up, gathering all her strength, and stomped heavily on the edge of the stone platform, exerting all her strength to charge forward once more.
Unfortunately, just as Shui Miao had exhausted all his strength to reach the 80th floor and was about to ascend to the 81st floor, his body finally lost all its strength. His center of gravity immediately became uncontrollable, and he lost all strength in mid-air on his way to the 81st floor, causing his body to fall uncontrollably downwards.
This scene caused the expressions of the students in the square below to change drastically. Several instructors around them also quickly moved to the foot of the statue to catch Shui Miao as she fell.
But at that moment, Shui Miao, who was falling, was suddenly grabbed by the arm and lifted up. Then, under the force of this power, she quickly rushed up to the eighty-third floor.
Upon closer inspection, he realized that it was Xiao Yan who had brought him here.
Why did you...?
"I can't just watch you fall, can I? Didn't you say you wanted to defeat me? Well, let's get up to these hundred stone platforms first."
Before Shui Miao could finish speaking, Xiao Yan interrupted her with a smile.
Shui Miao looked up in surprise and saw Xiao Yan's face covered in sweat. She knew that Xiao Yan probably didn't have much strength left at this moment.
"You're not planning to take me up with you, are you? You don't have much energy left."
"Heh heh, you wish! Even if I could take you along, you probably wouldn't be happy."
With a playful smile, Xiao Yan casually tossed Shui Miao a jade bottle containing several fourth-grade pills.
"Let's use this to restore our Dou Qi first. As for me, I'll go up first."
After saying that, ignoring Shui Miao, Xiao Yan's thoughts stirred, and a vast Spiritual Strength surged outward from between his brows. At the same time, the remaining Dou Qi in his body was also gathered without hesitation. Then, to Shui Miao's astonishment, with a bang, he shot high into the air once again.
"Fourth... Fourth-Tier Soul Power, could he be...?"
Upon realizing a certain possibility, Shui Miao's expression once again became blank as he sat there. He simply couldn't imagine that Xiao Yan would have that other identity. If that were the case, then he feared he would be utterly defeated in this battle!
At the same time, Xiao Yan's figure surged upwards once more, heading straight for the top of the statue.
With the support of his Spiritual Strength, the previous consumption was temporarily made up for. In addition, with the full burst of his remaining Dou Qi and physical strength, Xiao Yan was like a mad beast, wildly rushing straight to the clouds!
Soon, Xiao Yan arrived at the stone platform on the 90th floor, only ten steps away from the top of the statue.
Seeing the clouds not far above his head, a fierce glint appeared in Xiao Yan's eyes. He concentrated all his strength in his legs and charged upwards even more frantically, without holding back any effort.
At a pace of almost one step at a time, Xiao Yan only took one step at a time on each stone platform. In just a few breaths, he appeared on the ninety-ninth stone platform, and at this moment, Xiao Yan could see the pavilion at the top of the statue.
There, two figures stood side by side, one of whom was Hai Mochen. This pavilion was also the last stone platform.
"Tread!"