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At the sixtieth step, the Void Refining Stage aura's weight pressed even Lan An with a trace of gravity.
His four wives bit their rosy lips, sweat streaming, faces pale, steps trembling.
"Husband, go ahead! We'll catch up…" Mu Zi Yin gasped.
She knew Lan An's endurance could propel him far beyond, yet he slowed to stay with them.
"Yes, we can manage go first!" Li Zhu Luan forced a smile, her expression more akin to tears.
Liu Shi Qin and Bai Su Mei nodded vigorously, endorsing their sisters' plea.
"Foolish talk! We, husband and wives, advance together…" Lan An scolded, his heart warmed, cherishing his beloved wives more deeply.
"But…" The four bit their lips, suppressing bodily strain, trudging forward.
"No buts! At step sixty-nine, I'll heed you!" Lan An nodded firmly.
The wives exchanged glances, knowing their man's stubborn resolve, and ceased arguing. Hand-in-hand, they ascended each step.
Huff… huff… huff…
Gasps echoed across the mountain, sweat drenching its cliffs. Some, reaching the sixtieth step, couldn't withstand the Void Refining aura—viscera churning, they collapsed unconscious.
Higher they climbed, more fell.
Tuyen Nhi reached the sixtieth step, her body buckling slightly under the pressure.
Yet her starry eyes blazed with unyielding will, yearning for the mountain's peak.
Her dainty feet inched forward, resolute.
Her sweat-soaked veil clung uncomfortably to her face.
Gritting her teeth, Tuyen Nhi's pale hand tore it away.
"Stunning!"
In that fleeting moment, the crowd gasped.
Ebony hair danced in the breeze, her forehead smooth as jade, eyes radiant as night stars, a delicate nose, an oval face with dimpled cheeks, and plump, rosy lips like a blooming flower, tempting a taste.
A refined beauty, like a cultured maiden, yet her eyes held a warrior's steadfast resolve, captivating countless gazes.
In allure, she rivaled Li Zhu Luan and Bai Su Mei, though her layered robes, unlike their elegant attire, dimmed her radiance slightly.
Tuyen Nhi ignored the stares, her lips pursed, forging ahead with determination.
From the sixtieth to the sixty-ninth step, the journey stretched like a decade under mounting pressure.
"The second incense stick is gone third begins!" Liu Qi announced.
His words fell.
"Hmph!"
Four exhausted, melodious grunts sounded. Step sixty-nine bore Late Void Refining Stage pressure.
Lan An and his wives reached it, qualifying for the second trial's passage.
Behind, two thousand persisted, some bloodied but driven by Academy dreams.
Tuyen Nhi shadowed Lan An's group, matching their pace.
Trailing her were youths with eighty percent Spiritual Purity.
The world teemed with talents, not merely those backed by great powers.
Lan An's legs ached under the pressure, forcing him to channel body cultivation to resist. Unfazed, he glanced tenderly at his wives, asking, "Are you alright? Shall we continue?"
"Hehe… you go, husband. We'll cheer you on!" Bai Su Mei panted.
"Exactly, we've qualified why tire further?" Li Zhu Luan teased, cheeks flushed.
"Fight on, our man!" Mu Zi Yin smiled brightly.
"Don't overexert your safety first!" Liu Shi Qin cautioned.
Lan An grinned, understanding their hearts.
Reaching step sixty-nine, they were weary but not at their limits. He believed they could hit step eighty or beyond.
Yet, with time dwindling, they refused to hinder him, silently sacrificing to stop here, securing Academy entry.
Lan An turned, surveying the climbers aiming for step sixty-nine, most abandoning dreams of step ninety-nine few dared vie for a Tribulation Stage legacy.
"I'll obey my ladies sit here and watch me shine!" Lan An thumped his chest confidently, easing them onto step sixty-nine.
"Go…" His wives smiled.
Lan An nodded, stepping onto the seventieth step.
"Pressure akin to Peak Void Refining?" he mused, lips curling.
"Oh? Someone's outpaced me?"
Lan An's heart stirred. Before him stood a resolute silhouette, ebony hair fluttering.
Tuyen Nhi.
While he conversed with his wives, she surged ahead.
At step seventy-five, Lan An's competitive spirit flared, quickening his pursuit.
"Hey, I'm Lan An. Your name?" Catching up, he greeted her.
Her fragrance, mingled with sweat, wafted to him, and he inhaled deeply.
Tuyen Nhi glanced coolly, ignoring him, pressing forward.
Seeing her sweat-drenched face, Lan An rubbed his nose sheepishly—she was too focused to mind him.
Determined not to lose, he suppressed rising pressure, advancing.
Behind, many reached step sixty-nine, their numbers swelling.
The trial, though grueling, wasn't insurmountable with will and perseverance, success was attainable.
Some laughed skyward, tears of joy streaming.
Others, exhausted, collapsed at step sixty-nine, sleeping despite the pressure.
Those lagging redoubled efforts to catch up.
Yet, an unspoken consensus held no one ventured beyond step sixty-nine.
Reaching step ninety-nine seemed a distant fantasy.
Thus, a surreal scene unfolded: from step seventy upward, only two figures climbed silently.
Countless eyes fixed on them.
Some cheered, others mocked their overreach, and many envied.
Some, unable to attain, wished their failure.
Lan An and Tuyen Nhi ignored the noise. At step eighty, under Fusion Stage aura, Lan An's body buckled.
The terrifying pressure quaked space itself.
His bones creaked, discomfort surging.
Sweat soaked his robes.
Tuyen Nhi fared worse her layered robes shredded, rosy lips paled, her delicate frame trembling violently.
Yet her eyes burned with unyielding desire, undaunted.
She wouldn't yield.
Nor would Lan An.
Both pressed on, their steps laborious.
Each higher step seared Lan An's muscles. For a body cultivator to suffer so, how could Tuyen Nhi, a mere girl, endure?
He glanced at her, pupils shrinking.
Tuyen Nhi was drenched, clad only in a white gauze robe…
No crimson.
Blood.
Her pores, overwhelmed by crushing gravity, split, skin cracking, blood streaming.
"This girl…?" The seven enforcers exchanged stunned looks. They'd noted Lan An's body cultivation advantage.
But this girl, with an ordinary physique, matched him through sheer will.
"Two gems of our Academy may one claim the legacy!" The Chief Elder's eyes gleamed.
Splurt…
At step ninety, both Lan An and Tuyen Nhi spat blood.
Peak Fusion Stage aura.
Yet, undeterred, they stepped onto the ninety-first.
Tribulation Stage aura descended.
Boom…
A cataclysmic force, like overturning seas, crushed them. Lan An's skin erupted, his body a mass of blood.
His Fourth-Turn body cultivation seemed frail.
Tuyen Nhi was worse her lithe form ravaged, bones shattered, crawling prone.
Her starry eyes dimmed, yet her will blazed steadfast.
Witnessing this carnage, the crowd surged to their feet.
Silence blanketed the scene.
"Husband… why so reckless?" Ruo Xue bit her lip, tears streaming.
Her heart ached, believing Lan An risked all for a Tribulation Stage legacy to grow strong enough to avenge the Luo Clan.
Su Mei and Hua Yu Feng admired the bloodied duo, regretting not joining the trial.
The Yan Clan's princesses shared Ruo Xue's thoughts, their hatred for the Luo Clan deepening.
"If he falls, I'll raze the Luo Clan myself!" A frenzied vow burned in their minds.
"Such recklessness…" Nangong Wan Rong's lips trembled, a sense of inferiority rising.
Compared to their will, she needed greater effort.
"Master, don't perish, or I'm doomed!" Nangong Yu and Han Shen's hearts raced—Lan An held their soul essences; his death meant theirs.
"Hmph, overreaching fools!" Unlike the worried women, men like Yan Ri and Le Kang sneered, reveling in their struggle.
Atop Heavenly Weight Mountain, silence reigned.
Mu Zi Yin and her sisters bit their lips, hearts wracked with pain.
To them, Lan An was their world Tuyen Nhi's worse state went unnoticed.
Their man was paramount.
On step ninety-one, Lan An's heart pounded, his blazing eyes fixed on the tattered girl beside him.
"She must be mine…" His sole thought.
A frail yet indomitable woman, beautiful yet peerlessly resolute.
She was a fatal poison, ensnaring his heart.
His harem collected only the elite she was the elite of elites.
Though Jin Ni issued no quest…
How could he let such a woman slip away?
"Tuyen Nhi, stop! I don't need a new body hear me? Sob!" Her master wailed within her.
Seeing her disciple risk all for her, she loathed her own helplessness.
In her prime, a Tribulation Stage master, she could've shattered Heavenly Weight Mountain with a palm, trivializing this trial.
Tuyen Nhi, hearing her master's sobs, felt her will surge. Her lips bled from biting, and she moved.
"Master, fear not I'm fine. I must win!"
Before countless shocked eyes…
Tuyen Nhi lifted her trembling limbs, crawling.
She inched forward, dragging her broken body across steps.
Unable to stand, she crawled, slithered, determined to claim the Tribulation Stage legacy.
With it, plus her master's legacy, she'd inherit two Tribulation Stage teachings her future limitless.
Nine steps remained, each crawl spanning two.
But the cost was dire her body disintegrated.
Each step brought explosive agony, flesh rupturing, chilling hearts.
Her bloodied limbs propped her broken frame.
Blood loss blurred her mind, her eyes hazy.
Recalling her past clan vengeance, endured humiliations Tuyen Nhi's resolve hardened.
She, Xiao Qing Tuyen, would never yield… never.
Lan An, beside her, endured his flesh's eruptions, his gaze never leaving this magnetic woman.
His heart was hers.
Her unyielding will sparked a decision in Lan An…
The truest choice of his life…