Inside the Sacred Spirit Realm.
Mountains surrounded the area on all sides, filled with the songs of birds and the fragrance of flowers, painting a picturesque landscape.
At the center of the Sacred Spirit Realm stood a magnificent altar. Wide steps ascended around it, leading up to a spacious platform at the top. Many people sat on these steps, cultivating, but none had managed to reach the altar's summit.
"Cultivators at the Earth Fate and Heaven Fate realms can gain tremendous benefits from cultivating at the Spirit Eye,"
Each step symbolized the vastness of the Heavenly Dao and the difficulty of progress.
At that moment, the students cultivating on the steps noticed Xiao Yu and his two companions.
"Isn't that Xiao Yu, the one with the seventh-grade Heavenly Spirit Root?"
"I heard he couldn't even make it up to the fifth step. Is that true?"
"Yeah, he really couldn't even get past the fifth step!"
A few students let out low, mocking laughter.
Hearing their discussion, Xiao Yu was unfazed. He was long accustomed to others' ridicule. For him, all that mattered was being himself.
"
When he reached the fifth step, a flicker of surprise crossed his eyes. Before, reaching the fifth step would bring a heavy force that made even a single step incredibly difficult. Now, as he stood on the fifth, he still felt light and effortless.
He took another step, then the sixth, and the seventh...
"How can this be? Xiao Yu actually made it to the sixth step?"
The few students watched Xiao Yu in astonishment. In the past, Xiao Yu could only cultivate on the fifth step at most. But now, he had ascended to the sixth with apparent ease. Their eyes widened in disbelief.
They watched as Xiao Yu continued walking upward, step by step, reaching heights that had once been impossible for him. Now, it looked so effortless.
Those students were sitting on the steps around the thirtieth level. Seeing Xiao Yu approach step by step, they grew restless and uneasy. How had Xiao Yu's ability to commune with heaven and earth improved so drastically? They were deeply shaken.
Xiao Yu glanced at the students as he walked past them, continuing his ascent.
The students could only stare blankly at his retreating figure, growing smaller and smaller. Recalling their earlier mockery, their faces burned with shame. In others' eyes, they were nothing but clowns making a fool of themselves! Xiao Yu didn't even think them worth a second glance!
Nie Li and Lu Piao also began to ascend the steps.
The moment he stepped onto the staircase, Nie Li felt a powerful force surge toward him. His Soul Sea churned wildly. The Spirit Eye was truly extraordinary, just as he had expected.
Nie Li walked upward, gradually harmonizing with and absorbing that force. As he climbed, his own power felt like a mere drop of water in a vast ocean within the Spirit Eye's domain.
Two figures climbed the steps one by one, ascending steadily.
Outside the Sacred Spirit Realm.
On the Sacred Spirit Rankings, at the two-hundredth position, a name suddenly appeared, instantly causing an uproar.
"It's Xiao Yu! Xiao Yu actually broke into the top two hundred!"
The various factions were shocked beyond belief when they heard this news.
This was the first time Xiao Yu had entered the top two hundred. No matter how many times he had tried before, his name had never appeared on the Sacred Spirit Rankings.
"How is this possible!"
Hua Ling and his group stared fixedly at the rankings.
"That useless Xiao Yu actually made it into the top two hundred of the Sacred Spirit Rankings? What's going on?"
Yan Hao's brow furrowed deeply. He sensed something unusual. In the past, Xiao Yu could barely even linger on the lowest steps of the altar in the Sacred Spirit Realm. Yet reaching the top two hundred required at least reaching the fiftieth step. The difference was staggering.
Could it be...
Had Xiao Yu broken through to the Heaven Fate realm?
While these people were still reeling from the shock of Xiao Yu's entry into the top two hundred, his name on the rankings began to climb further. From two hundredth to one hundred and ninety-ninth, it continued to rise slowly.
Every pair of eyes was locked on the rankings as Xiao Yu's position kept changing.
"How can this be? Xiao Yu's rank has already climbed past one hundred and sixty!"