"That little brat has endless tricks up his sleeve."
"And although the passage he constructed is incomplete, its quality is indeed above mine."
"I keep feeling that he might be plotting some scheme again."
Jie Tianran voiced his concerns.
"Your grandson is not only cunning but full of malicious schemes — he certainly must be guarded against."
"However, since you can't see any signs right now, worrying is useless. Better to focus on the task at hand."
The one inside Jie Tianran's body spoke.
Jie Tianran was worried, but how could the other not be worried as well?
They were both people who had suffered losses at Chu Feng's hands.
Rumble—
But just at that moment, a colossal boom swept across the entire Martial World.
Where Jie Tianran stood, it was especially deafening — he could even feel strong tremors rippling through the passage.
But when he looked more carefully, wild joy surged in Jie Tianran's previously uneasy eyes.
It was the stairs and passage Chu Feng had constructed that were collapsing.
"Big Brother, he…"
On the Chu Alliance's side, Zi Ling, Xiao Yu'er, and the others couldn't believe their eyes.
"Holy crap."
Fei was also stunned, the goose meat in his mouth suddenly losing all its flavor.
They had been worried before, sure.
But in truth, no one had truly believed Chu Feng would fail.
This outcome was beyond all their expectations.
…
In the Nine Soul Heavenly River, rare disbelief surfaced in Song Changsheng's eyes.
"Why is this happening?"
"Could it be that young friend Chu Feng was too eager for quick results?"
"But that shouldn't be — that's not like him."
Song Changsheng pondered but couldn't make sense of it.
Yet when he looked at Jie Tianran, who was still climbing, he came to his own judgment.
"Truly worthy of being the legendary Age of the Gods."
"Even young friend Chu Feng has failed — it seems no one can succeed."
Song Changsheng didn't believe Jie Tianran would succeed, either.
The reason was simple.
The Age of the Gods was a power that even the great figures of ancient times could not obtain.
In his view, only the current generation of juniors had a chance.
Among the juniors, Chu Feng was the most likely.
If even Chu Feng couldn't do it, he couldn't think of anyone else who might succeed.
…
In the Bloodline Heavenly River, within the dark palace beyond the anomaly, Chen Hui was still soaking in the pool.
However, at this moment, Chen Hui was no longer wailing. His physical body was intact, though his face was as pale as paper.
But it didn't look like injury or weakness — it was more as if his body itself had undergone some kind of change.
His body felt hollow, as if it needed something to fill it.
Dongfang Hansong continued observing the Age of the Gods, and when he saw that the passage Chu Feng had built had already collapsed—
A schadenfreude-like smile spread across his face.
"Chu Feng, so you're nothing more than this."
Dongfang Hansong was ecstatic inside.
…
At this moment, Chu Feng still stood upon that expanse of void.
But his heart was filled with mixed emotions.
In competitions against others, he had rarely lost — yet in this most critical contest, he had actually lost.
"Could it be that I chose wrong?"
As Chu Feng spoke, he drew out the Key Sword once more.
He had an idea — if he chose the third door like Jie Tianran, perhaps there would still be a chance to catch up.
However, at this moment, the glow on the Key Sword had dimmed slightly.
Being here, Chu Feng could no longer enter the Age of the Gods.
To enter the Age of the Gods, Chu Feng needed to be closer to it.
How close exactly, he wasn't sure.
Perhaps he needed to be closer than the distance Jie Tianran had reached.
But just then, from the great gate beneath Jie Tianran's feet, a surge of power was released, merging into Jie Tianran's body.