Chapter 1157: Stairway to Heaven |
The pride of once being the First Emperor gave her strength to carry Tang San and Mei Gongzi upward, even as she bore the crushing impact herself.
Under the baptism of those thousands of meters climbed in such a short span, both Tang San and Mei Gongzi's bodies underwent a complete transformation. Every part of them changed, imperceptibly yet definitively; their mortal shell took one more step toward immortality, stepping into a higher realm.
Tang San had long studied this plane's Emperors—their power, their physical endurance, their divine consciousness. Though Planet Falan was not a divine realm and lacked divine seats, an Emperor who passed this tribulation could rival a Second-Class God of the divine world. Peak Emperors even brushed the threshold of First-Class Gods. Of course, if they happened to reach an actual divine realm and be nourished by immortal energy, their bodies would be restructured once more, and their cultivation would drop one tier of cultivation. But even so, they were faring far better than beings of the eleventh order. Great Demon Kings and Great Nymph Kings were far from the divine standard, not because of combat power, but because of personhood.
In other words, the Emperor Tribulation was not merely a trial of strength. It was the ascension of life itself. And indeed, as they progressed, Tang San and Mei Gongzi's bodies turned faintly translucent, slowly refined under the baptism of crushing pressure.
For Tang San, the feeling was clearest. His Sea God divine seat was beginning to fuse fully with his body, and it was no longer only a brand in his divine consciousness. His body's evolution matched the divine seat's demands, and thus, he was not just becoming an Emperor of this world; he was stepping back onto the path of godhood, returning to his Sea God throne.
At last, the Crystal Dragon faltered around six thousand meters. Its crystalline body trembled violently, each step forward becoming a struggle. And above, the pressure only grew stronger. The shattered space seemed to be held tightly within the vise-like grip of the cosmos itself, and in front of such forces, even the Crystal Dragon's radiance dimmed.
"Little Mei, prepare. It's your turn." Tang San's voice reached her ears.
Mei Gongzi nodded firmly. Her own body had been transforming too. In that process, she felt the Asura Sword's intent fusing more deeply with her; it was no longer a sword, but part of her very being.
While Crystalline still held on for a last moment, Mei Gongzi took a deep breath and then let go of Tang San's hand. She lifted her hands above her head as if holding the hilt of a sword, and a beam of blood-red light shot upward.
Immense pressure instantly slammed down on them once more. But Mei Gongzi's Asura Sword had already struck toward the heavens.
Hummmmmmmmmm……
The sky trembled.
The already shattered space split apart, and a clean cut opened up in the sky.
After months of cultivating and nurturing the Asura Sword, this one strike carried Mei Gongzi's physique, bloodline power, and divine consciousness at their absolute peak. Her skin flushed crimson. Sword and wielder became one, soaring upward as a blazing red beam.
Blood-red stairs unfurled skyward, and with Mei Gongzi cutting open the path, Tang San followed swiftly. By now, they were past six thousand meters and still going strong.
The closer the Asura Sword was to her, the stronger her sword intent grew. At this moment, unleashing it felt like pure exhilaration. Nothing could stand in her way; her unstoppable blade would cut everything down.
Their figures shot up the crimson stairway. Each attempt of the plane to close its grip around them shattered before her sword's brilliance.
Seven thousand, eight thousand… nearly nine thousand meters before her sword's momentum waned.
Yet before space could collapse again, Tang San's chest flared with light. A white vortex of chaos energy swirled ahead of him to envelop Mei Gongzi.
Her sword intent erupted again, doubling in ferocity, propelling them another thousand meters. A red staircase stretched skyward, straight and unbroken.
Now they were near ten thousand meters.
Then… everything froze. Tang San and Mei Gongzi suddenly stopped in place.
Before them, a golden stairway had appeared of its own accord—ten steps of radiant gold, clearly visible even from the ground despite the ten-thousand-meter distance.
Every Emperor who saw it felt a strange relief.
The Stairway to Heaven, the last part of the Gauntlet of Ascension. The last ten steps to the realm of Emperors. It should have appeared at three thousand meters, but only now was it revealing itself.
Tang San and Mei Gongzi paused. Tang San's white halo spread around them, shielding them from the raging space. No matter how violently it twisted, it could not breach the barrier.
From so far below and with space around the two challengers so distorted, even the Emperors could not see clearly what powers they were using. All they could see was the faint outlines of two figures standing proudly against the heavens.
Without any Emperor opening a path for them, they had climbed all the way there through their own strength. Even the Emperors watching felt their hearts tremble with awe.
Tang San grasped Mei Gongzi's hand. Together, they stepped onto the first golden stair.
Space shook violently, as if there had been a massive explosion. Crushing pressure washed over them once more.
But under the protection of chaos energy, they did not falter. Instead, they just accepted the baptism; their bodies and souls were refined, purified. The world before their eyes grew luminous, and the Laws they pursued seemed close enough to grasp.
They raised their feet again and stepped up once more.
Heaven and earth reversed. In their perception, the cosmos itself tilted against them.
Mei Gongzi blazed with sword intent, cutting everything in her path. Tang San's chaotic qi shielded them both.
They did not stop. Focused wholly on the golden stairs beneath them, they took the third step.
After reversal came collapse. Heaven caved, earth fell, their bodies and souls shuddered under the turmoil.
The Spacetime Ring lit once more, wrapping them in white glow. Time slowed around them. Hand in hand, they pressed forward.
No matter what fury heaven unleashed, it could not block their advance. Step by step they climbed, like fish swimming up a waterfall in hope of becoming dragons. Their bodies shone with dazzling light.
Mei Gongzi glowed with scarlet brilliance. Tang San radiated multicolored light, a seven-hued halo forming behind his head.
The light of the Law Homunculus in his dantian seemed to pass through his flesh, suffusing him in divine radiance. This was the power he had forged in this lifetime. Everything he had acquired had fused together and was merging with his body, helping him fight against the plane.
The Laws he touched were the plane's origin itself—the Grand Law of Chaos and the Grand Law of Yin and Yang. All of creation in any plane began with chaos energy. And now, no matter how the plane struck down at them, his chaos energy smoothed it away.
At last, they stood on the ninth golden step. Only the final step remained.
the poing team's Thoughts
penguin: letsgoooooo Led Zeppelin concert🤘