Chapter 113: The Ultimate Sword, Shaking the Entire Federation

The Supreme Bone, the Sacred Body, the Tyrant Body, the Samsara Body, the Innate Dao Body, the Immortal Spirit Body, the Sword Bone—all had manifested peerless innate talent.

The power they unleashed toward the end reached superhuman levels, far exceeding the limits of their respective realms. It was truly incredible.

Yet, despite all this, Jiang Ming—who had remained unassuming and displayed no special abilities throughout—had moved at a steady, unhurried pace. He never fell behind, and as the end drew near, he grew increasingly relaxed, ultimately leaping ahead to surpass all the other prodigies.

The Supreme Bone was dumbfounded. The Sacred Body was in disarray. This completely defied common sense.

In the courtyard, Elder Tang and Instructor Yu were equally bewildered.

"This is impossible!" Instructor Yu suddenly stood up, his face filled with shock. "It would be one thing if he hadn't fallen behind, but now—now that the Supreme Bone and the others have unleashed their limit-breaking power, he has actually surpassed them? And the gap is only widening? Elder Tang, am I seeing things?"

"I'm seeing things too!" Elder Tang blinked, grimaced, scratched his head, and finally laughed. "I told you, he is no weaker than anyone else; he has never been weak. Haha, look, he’s in first place again, and so effortlessly. What Supreme Bone, what Sacred Body, what Tyrant Body, what Immortal Spirit Body, what Samsara Body—none of it matters. He is crushing them all, trampling them all underfoot. Well done, young Jiang! You truly are gifted at creating miracles, turning the impossible into the possible. Spectacular!"

He couldn't help but give a thumbs up.

"Spectacular!" Instructor Yu was even more excited. "With results like these, our Tianzhong Province—haha—is going to soar to the heavens. The investment was worth it, truly worth it. When he returns from this round of the grand examination, we will provide him with everything he needs. Open all the treasuries and let him achieve the greatest improvement in the shortest time. Let us pool the power of the entire province to forge our own ace."

"That’s exactly right!" Elder Tang slapped his thigh, then grew solemn. "Which of these prodigies doesn't have an incredibly powerful family or deep background behind them? Having been suppressed like this in the first round of the grand examination, they certainly won't be reconciled. They will fight with their lives to raise their strength in the shortest time possible."

"True!" Instructor Yu nodded solemnly. "Take the Innate Dao Body, for example—with all meridians cleared and all orifices opened, if they focus on consolidation, they can fill those orifices rapidly with enough great elixirs and then charge toward the Sixth Realm. If the Supreme Bone and the others reach the Sixth Realm, then..."

His eyelids twitched violently.

"They could fight across levels and suppress even the Seventh Realm; they will definitely be formidable enemies." Elder Tang took over the conversation. "When young Jiang comes out, ask him what he needs. Let him have an explosive growth spurt as well. As for the items in the treasury? If we don't use them now, when will we?"

"Using them on him is using them on the cutting edge!" Instructor Yu immediately began making arrangements, and they reached a consensus in record time: this time, they would truly spare no effort in his cultivation.

No background? Tianzhong Province is the background! No foundation? The power of an entire province is the foundation!

Across the one hundred and eight provinces, within numerous hidden families, inside opened blessed lands, and even on various inhabited planets, people were watching the live broadcast.

They were all shocked.

The Supreme Bone and the Samsara Body being suppressed? This was absolute madness!

After the shock came the revelry. The ordinary people, in particular, were truly ecstatic.

"So what if you have a mortal body? Didn't he still suppress you all!"

The morale of countless ordinary people soared.

The happiest place of all was Pingyang City. At this moment, the entire city was erupting in cheers, causing the high-rise buildings to vibrate with the sound. Even if it was only the first round of the grand examination, it signified a great deal.

"Student Jiang from our city is second to none!"

Cheers, celebrations, firecrackers, and fireworks made the entire city boil over.

The most fervent place was the Second High School.

"Jiang Ming is amazing! Jiang Ming is mighty! Jiang Ming is domineering! Well done, my little Ming!" In the classroom, Fatty Wang stood on top of his desk, shouting.

Not just him, everyone else was incredibly excited. If it had been any other year, perhaps it would be different. But look at what kind of monsters were in this year's batch? And yet, they had been surpassed by Jiang Ming.

Teacher Chen in the classroom was also flushed with excitement, his body trembling.

"Well done, truly well done. The student I taught is actually trampling many prodigies underfoot. Does this mean... does this mean I will leave my name in history too?" Thinking this, he couldn't help but shiver.

"Look, look! Jiang Ming is still climbing! My god, he's at the sixtieth step! This is unbelievably amazing!"

While cheering, they all kept their eyes glued to the screen.

On the Heavenly Ladder, Jiang Ming had indeed stepped onto the sixtieth step. Standing there, he swayed three times, teetered three times, and finally stood firm.

A terrifying attack swept over him like a tsunami, destroying his spirit and annihilating his will; it was truly terrifying. For a split second just now, he felt as if he couldn't hold on. But having withstood the first wave, it was no longer difficult for him.

His soul was still transforming, still surging, and his resistance was constantly strengthening. Vaguely, a light even bloomed within his mind, ensuring he would never fall into darkness.

"Can I use the power of the Heavenly Ladder to truly split my mind and will? One part to reside within the Yin Spirit Dharma Form, capable of leaving the body to attack; the other to control the physical body, allowing it to fight autonomously even if the Yin Spirit is absent?"

This was an idea he had long ago, but he had never found a way.

When the Yin Spirit leaves the body and merges with the heavens and earth, it can unleash the most terrifying power; when the Yin Spirit is in the body, its power is halved, whether it be techniques or various mystical arts. This was the true drawback of the path of the soul—it was strong, but the physical body was fragile.

He closed his eyes for a long time, contemplating and evolving the idea, but it still didn't work.

"The soul is the root, the essence, the source, the master of the body; the mind... I suppose it also belongs to the soul."

In the end, Jiang Ming shook his head. Since it couldn't be achieved, he set it aside for now. After all, this situation seemed unprecedented; if he wanted to pioneer it, it would certainly not be a task for a single day.

He turned to look down.

There were far fewer people on the ladder now. Only about half remained. Many were teetering, clearly unable to hold on much longer.

In the lead was Shi Lei of the Supreme Bone, who had reached the fifty-eighth step, though he too was swaying, even as terrifying visions bloomed from his chest. The moon rising over the sea, golden lotuses blooming in fire, the Immortal King opening the heavens, the True Dragon soaring through the nine heavens—none could withstand the terrifying attack.

"The attack of the Heavenly Ladder strikes directly at the mind; other supernatural powers have little effect," Jiang Ming understood the underlying truth. The number of steps did not represent ultimate combat power. Otherwise, this round alone would suffice.

Shi Lei finally steadied himself.

"How is it?" Jiang Ming asked with a smile.

"How is it? It's not good!" Shi Lei looked up and gave a wry smile. "Who would have thought you were hiding so deep? No, I should say, other than the preliminary selection, the provincial examination never forced you to show your true strength. Seeing it now, it is truly unfathomable. Brother Jiang, first place is yours; no need to wait for us. You waiting ahead only adds pressure to us, and I still want to temper myself here a bit more."

"Brother Jiang, please!" He pointed his hand toward the higher levels.

"Although I don't want to admit it, you have already won this round, please!" Ye Bai also said. "In the fourth round, I will certainly have a proper match with you."

"Brother Jiang, please!" Li Ping'an, Wang Qiutong, and the others also spoke up. It was clear that, by this point, Jiang Ming had made them lose the desire to catch up.

"Alright then," Jiang Ming said helplessly. "I wanted to advance alongside you all, but alas..."

*You guys are just too weak.*

Though he didn't say it out loud, anyone could hear it. Immediately, there was a chorus of teeth-grinding.

"He's really asking for a beating!" Wang Qiutong whispered. The others agreed.

"Everyone, then break through your own limits and see just how far you can go." Jiang Ming turned around again. "I also want to see my limits, to see if I can step onto the final step."

As his voice fell, he climbed up the steps again.

This time, Shi Lei and the others didn't move; they just looked up. They also wanted to see just how far Jiang Ming's will had reached.

His blood and energy roared like the sea. His true energy surged like a tidal wave. His soul power was extremely vast. Moreover, all kinds of artistic conceptions surrounded him. Various terrifying visions appeared around Jiang Ming, but they flowed like clouds, impossible to see clearly.

He lingered for a long time on each step before continuing to climb.

Taking another step, Jiang Ming reached the seventy-third step. This represented the strength of will at the peak of the Seventh Realm.

*Boom...*

In an instant, Jiang Ming's vision darkened as he saw a planet fall from the endless void, crashing directly into his sea of mind.

"Essence, energy, and spirit, condense!"

Within his sea of consciousness, in the realm of illusion, he used soul power as the foundation to condense true energy, merge blood essence, and integrate the power of his artistic conceptions, ultimately evolving an extremely brilliant sword light that slashed the planet in two in mid-air before shattering it.

Thousands of fragments turned into meteors, smashing his mind until it was riddled with holes, in total disarray.

Fortunately, he had blocked it.

Jiang Ming's soul underwent another transformation. It was enhanced and strengthened from the very root. To say nothing else, soul attacks between peers could no longer affect him in the slightest; even the most bizarre and unpredictable curses would have no effect on him.

After Jiang Ming steadied himself, everyone—whether in front of the screens or on the Heavenly Ladder—was stunned.

"He actually stood firm on the sixty-third step!" Shi Lei of the Supreme Bone couldn't believe it. "That represents the strength of will of the peak of the Seventh Realm. I know that each step here has a huge difference. Even within the Seventh Realm, the difference in strength is vast; the strong can kill the weak in an instant."

"He is truly going to defy the heavens!" Wang Qiutong was shocked. "The students in the Holy Academy are geniuses among geniuses, with stunning innate talents; they usually possess special abilities and even temper themselves on the Heavenly Ladder frequently. Yet even so, many Seventh Realm students cannot climb the sixty-third step, but he did it. How incredible is that?"

"He definitely possesses a terrifying soul talent!" Fang Qinghan gave his assessment. "Otherwise, he could never reach this point."

The others nodded. They still didn't move. However, Bai Bing was swaying again, clearly unable to hold on much longer, yet he kept his eyes fixed on the front.

Not just him. At least ten billion people watching in front of the screens were also watching.

After a long time, Jiang Ming moved again.

"The sixty-fourth step, representing the strength of mind and will of the Eighth Realm—can I make it?"

Jiang Ming had no confidence at all.

He stepped up anyway. Instantly, a terrifying power surged from below, pulling his entire mind into a realm of delusion. His sea of mind bloomed with light, yet it stirred up massive ripples. Beneath the sea of mind, darkness appeared, then expanded into a hellish abyss, from which came the wails of billions of resentful spirits, endless curses, and shrill cries.

Thousands of skeletons and endless death energy permeated the space, threatening to drown his mind.

"Soul world, merge light and darkness!"

Jiang Ming was tense to the extreme, making judgments based on the corresponding forces. Various powers evolved and turned into a suppressing force. The wailing and curses began to weaken, eventually fading into inaudibility, but beneath the sea of mind, a pitch-black abyss remained, threatening to swallow his mind at any moment.

Fortunately, he held firm.

Jiang Ming exhaled a breath of stale air and lifted his other foot onto the sixty-fourth step.

The next moment, a sudden change occurred.

Above the firmament, the sun that illuminated billions of lives suddenly fell, causing the sky to twist and space to shatter. Great fires ignited on the earth, causing billions of lives to cry out in despair.

These scenes were striking his mind crazily. It was what his "eyes" saw. It was incredibly real. Yet Jiang Ming knew very well that it was an illusion. The alternation between reality and illusion made it difficult for him to distinguish.

His sea of mind rippled again, and the dark abyss below stirred, giving him a terrifying pressure of death.

"Heavenly Sword, emerge!"

"Worldly conception, become the framework, merge!"

"Yin and Yang fill it, life and death cycle, light and darkness combine, the infinite is the weight, space is the boundary, soul is the bone!"

"Slaughter, death, destruction, decay, withering, thunder, five elements... become the branches and leaves."

"Blood energy merges, penetrating from top to bottom!"

"Open for me!"

Under the extreme pressure, Jiang Ming completely erupted. All his thoughts and countless conjectures were turned into action, converging into a final strike.

The soaring sword intent tore through the vastness, pierced through the sea of stars, and slashed down onto the falling sun.

*Boom...*

With an explosive sound, the heavens and earth shook.

The sun was forcibly slashed in half. In an instant, flowing fire scattered, and the firmament, the cosmos, and the earth all turned into a sea of fire. Even Jiang Ming's sea of mind was ignited. The abyss below opened its gluttonous mouth again, swallowing his whole mind.

"I failed after all!"

"But this strike of mine was a success!"

Jiang Ming fell into darkness.

After a flash of light, he found himself back at the foot of the Heavenly Ladder.