Soon, laughter erupted in the area.
“Hehe, haha…”
Some young disciples from the academy chuckled, their expressions peculiar and rich with meaning. Some even gave Shi Hao a thumbs-up.
“Junior brother, we’re waiting for you to join us. Then you can tell us all about the most stunning beauties on the Celestial Beauty Ranking. Just imagining it is exhilarating—the divine maidens emerging from their bath must be breathtakingly gorgeous!”
Clearly, there were kindred spirits here who harbored no hostility or disdain toward him. Instead, they laughed warmly, winking and nudging at Shi Hao.
“Lecher! Scoundrel! Disgrace!” Chen Lin’s delicate brows furrowed in anger as she gritted her teeth, her face filled with deep contempt and disgust for Shi Hao and those like him.
Wu Feng, righteous and stern, declared, “What kind of behavior is this? How can someone like this even think of entering our academy? Drive him away—what a disgrace!” His eyes flashed coldly.
Naturally, a large group of self-proclaimed protectors of virtue gathered nearby, their emotions running high as they berated Shi Hao. Many female disciples also joined in, scolding the students who had laughed suggestively earlier.
The place descended into chaos.
Shi Hao wore an innocent expression. “What are you all talking about? I was just saying that if I cross the Celestial Stairway, I can enter the Immortal Pool and receive the baptism of the Divine Lotus of Tribulation. That… would be truly wonderful!”
“Come on, we’re all men here. No need to be so sanctimonious. Just admit you want to bathe with those beauties in the divine pool—what’s the harm in that?” someone joked.
Of course, this also drew condemnation from others, especially Wu Feng and his ilk, who sneered coldly.
“Seriously, why do you all think like that?” Shi Hao looked at Chen Lin, Wu Feng, and the others. “I didn’t say anything improper. Why must you twist my words? You’re the ones with impure thoughts.”
His deadpan expression and counter-accusation made Chen Lin’s face darken. Clearly, she took his words to heart. “You lecherous scoundrel! You’ll never enter this academy. We’ll beat you out when the time comes!”
“Don’t even think about it. Do you really believe he can ascend the Celestial Stairway? He’s destined to be a laughingstock. Someone like him isn’t worthy!” Wu Feng mocked, shaking his head.
“Of course I can. Just keep your beady eyes wide open and watch closely!” Shi Hao retorted.
“What did you say?!” Chen Lin’s phoenix-like eyes narrowed, her beautiful face frosty. Wu Feng and the others also darkened their expressions, glaring at him with hostility.
“Let me ask again—are the rewards you mentioned earlier real?” Shi Hao ignored them and turned to the others nearby, pressing for confirmation. He didn’t want to be fooled.
“Of course!”
“Good. Honestly, bathing with a few stunning beauties doesn’t sound bad either,” Shi Hao said with a bright smile, crossing his arms.
“Lecher! Pervert! He’s finally showing his true colors!”
“Bastard! Where did this guy come from?!”
Unsurprisingly, the crowd erupted in outrage, mostly from the female disciples, though many self-proclaimed protectors joined in. The few who had initially supported Shi Hao quickly slipped away, fearing the mob’s wrath.
The commotion drew attention from afar—not just from academy members but also from cultivators in the marketplace. Their expressions shifted with intrigue.
“Someone is attempting the Celestial Stairway? That hasn’t happened in years. It’s nearly impossible to pass.”
Soon, the news spread like wildfire, capturing the interest of many.
Shi Hao remained unfazed. He intended to pass the trial openly and then undergo the baptism in the pool where the Divine Lotus of Tribulation grew. If any supreme experts noticed and exposed his true identity, he would simply use a Void-Breaking Talisman to escape. For him, this was an opportunity too tempting to refuse.
Only with the sap of the Divine Lotus of Tribulation could he safely consume the Golden Bodhi Fruit.
“No way! The sealed Celestial Stairway is being opened? Someone actually dares to challenge it?!”
“I remember—that stairway is insurmountable. Under normal circumstances, failure is guaranteed. Has anyone succeeded in all these years?”
The news reached the depths of the academy, shocking many students. It seemed unbelievable.
These were elites, handpicked from countless geniuses, yet none of them dared challenge the Celestial Stairway.
“Big news! Explosive news! The new Celestial Beauty Ranking is out, with fresh faces among the top ten. Someone has boldly declared they’ll spend a night with all ten beauties and is issuing a challenge!”
Like a thunderclap, someone seized the moment to stir chaos, adding this bombshell to the academy’s beauty ranking. Predictably, it caused an uproar.
“Who dares to speak so arrogantly?”
“Who is this freak? How dare he flirt with the top ten beauties? Does he have a death wish? Once Feng Wu appears, who can stand against her? She’ll crush him!”
The news sent tremors through the academy, even rousing low-key, reclusive young cultivators who usually focused solely on training. They were stunned.
“Everyone, who among you can tread the Celestial Stairway? I hear there’s a kid at the entrance challenging the limits.”
“Let’s go see who this so-called prodigy is.”
Even small groups of geniuses began discussing the matter.
In a short time, the news spread like wildfire, causing a massive stir.
Of course, the academy was vast, and many dismissed it as a joke, paying no attention.
The peerless beauties on the ranking, in particular, ignored it entirely, uninterested in what they saw as a cheap ploy for attention. How could anyone possibly pass the Celestial Stairway?
The academy’s most formidable talents also smirked coldly, continuing their secluded cultivation or enlightenment, unwilling to bother.
“Ah, what a miscalculation. Not a single one of the top ten beauties was riled up. They couldn’t care less. All that effort wasted,” some sighed in disappointment.
Many had hoped to stir up enough drama to lure the top beauties out, but their efforts fell flat.
Though the anticipated figures didn’t appear, the academy’s entrance remained lively as crowds gathered to see who dared attempt the Celestial Stairway.
Still, in reality, less than a tenth of the academy’s students showed up.
The so-called Celestial Stairway lay just beyond the grand entrance—a vast, towering platform, usually ignored and covered in dust. Now, someone had cleared it with magic, revealing ancient stone carvings etched with intricate, mysterious patterns.
Shi Hao stepped forward, preparing to ascend.
“Wait!” Wu Feng blocked his path, sneering. “Our Celestial Immortal Academy is one of the supreme orthodoxies of the Three Thousand Realms. We don’t tolerate just any stray dog causing trouble. You want to tread the Celestial Stairway? Get past me first, or you’ll just be seen as a clown seeking attention.” His words were merciless, spoken openly before the crowd.
Behind him, the area was packed—cultivators from the marketplace, academy students—all watching intently.
“As you wish!” Even a clay figurine has a temper. Shi Hao had ignored Wu Feng earlier, but now that he was determined to proceed, he held nothing back.
“Boom!” His body erupted with light, his hair billowing. Though his face was youthful, his aura blazed like a divine flame, terrifyingly vast, as if he were a god-king enveloped in radiance.
“Begone!”
Shi Hao’s roar was like a divine thunderclap, instantly causing Wu Feng to vomit blood, his runes dimming before he was sent flying.
Silence.
The clamor ceased instantly as shock rippled through the crowd.
Chen Lin stared in disbelief. The youth before her resembled a demon god, wreathed in blazing light, his presence making her tremble.
“Heavens! This guy is terrifying—like a young deity walking among mortals!” some girls shrieked.
Those who had scorned Shi Hao moments ago now found him awe-inspiring, his aura overwhelming them.
The silence was deafening. Everyone sensed that something extraordinary was about to unfold.
In the distance, Wu Feng struggled to rise, his body trembling as he coughed up more blood. His face was deathly pale as he stared fearfully at Shi Hao’s back.
With a flash, Shi Hao soared like a true dragon, landing atop the platform.
Instantly, the scene transformed—the platform morphed into an arena!
At its center lay a massive boulder. Observers estimated it weighed at least 150,000 to 160,000 jin. The challenge? Lift it.
“Isn’t this too easy? The Celestial Stairway is just this? Even we could do it without breaking a sweat,” someone muttered in disbelief.
But as Shi Hao took his first step, many fell silent. They watched in shock as his body shrank, reverting to the form of a child—no older than seven or eight.
Simultaneously, ripples spread from the arena, affecting the onlookers. Many felt as if they, too, had regressed to childhood, back to the Blood-Moving Realm.
“What’s happening? Why do I feel like a toddler again?”
“This is the arena’s terrifying power!”
They realized—this was a test of one’s physical strength at the Blood-Moving Realm’s pinnacle during childhood.
Typically, even the offspring of Heaven-Step vicious beasts could only lift 100,000 jin at their peak as children. Yet here, the boulder weighed 150,000 jin.
What did that imply? Surpassing the limits of the strongest known races by a significant margin!
The ripples intensified. Many felt as if the boulder was pressing down on their childhood selves, suffocating them with its sheer weight. The illusion was terrifyingly real.
Shi Hao remained calm. As a child, he had carried boulders weighing over 100,000 jin beneath waterfalls and lifted stones exceeding 200,000 jin.
Approaching the boulder, he lifted it effortlessly overhead.
“Ah—!”
Many near the platform screamed, their faces pale. They felt as if they, too, were straining under the boulder’s weight, their childhood bodies on the verge of collapse.
“This… is horrifying!”
Sweat drenched many as they stumbled back, no longer daring to approach the ripples.
This person could lift 150,000 jin as a child? That defied the heavens! Everyone’s hearts trembled.
But the real shock came next. Shi Hao set the boulder down, then swung his leg—kicking it high into the sky, where it exploded.
“This… is godlike strength!”
“Divine might! Did he drink true dragon’s blood as a child?!”
Gasps of disbelief filled the air. Chen Lin’s beautiful eyes widened, her hand covering her lips to stifle a scream.
Wu Feng and his companions, meanwhile, turned ashen, their scalps tingling with dread. They realized—this was a monster!
“Dong!”
A bell tolled, resonating through the Celestial Immortal Academy and shaking the marketplace beyond. Shi Hao had passed the first trial.
“Huh? This guy isn’t ordinary. He’s made it past the first step of the Celestial Stairway.”
“Not just a clown after all?”
Deep within the academy, some of the ranked beauties and prodigies showed surprise—though none yet emerged.
The arena shifted again. Ten suns descended, pressing toward the youth within.
“Gasp!”
The crowd inhaled sharply. These were ten supreme Divine Treasures—pinnacle manifestations of the human limit—meant to suppress the challenger.
“This trial is brutal. A draw would be impressive, let alone surpassing it. Only certain special races could exceed these limits,” someone commented.
Yet, to everyone’s shock, Shi Hao stood unmoved as the ten treasures bore down. His body glowed faintly—then shattered them all.
“Dong!”
The second bell tolled, echoing through the academy. He had passed.
“So fast? He cleared the second trial already?”
“Is this a monster?”
Deep within the academy, some of the ranked beauties gasped, unable to hide their astonishment. A few even rose from their seats.
Meanwhile, the entrance was abuzz with excitement and chatter.
“Dong!”
The third bell sounded swiftly, its chime carrying far.
“No way… the third trial too? That’s impossibly fast. Is this even real?”
Some of the academy’s top talents could no longer remain composed.
“Dong!”
The fourth bell boomed like thunder, its echoes unending.
“Heavens! The fourth trial is cleared! I must see who this person is!” A peerless beauty emerged from seclusion, hurrying toward the entrance.
“This has piqued my curiosity. Who is he?” Others among the top beauties also stood, abandoning their earlier disdain to witness the spectacle.
“Let’s see what kind of figure this is!” Even the academy’s self-proclaimed prodigies began moving.
“Dong!”
Yet, as they set out, the fifth bell rang—a resonant, majestic peal that shook the heavens.
The prodigies and beauties froze. This speed was unprecedented. They quickened their pace, fearing they might miss the event.
“This… has never happened before. Is this a new record?” someone murmured in awe.
As for the academy’s entrance? It had already erupted in chaos!
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