When a person is exhausted to the extreme yet can still manage a dumbstruck expression, it means they’ve witnessed something truly shocking to the soul!

The martial cultivator who first fell behind now had exactly that dumbstruck look, his gaze filled with disbelief.

What did he see?

He saw a group of brightly dressed martial cultivators ascending the stairs in neat formation, keeping step in unison under the lead of a white-robed young man shouting cadence calls.

Who?

Jun Changxiao and the disciples of Tiegu Sect!

Their movements synchronized, their expressions unchanged, looking utterly relaxed.

If they had just started climbing the stairs, that would be normal enough, but the key point was—they were now at the halfway point up the mountain!

For martial cultivators who could climb this far, every single step upward was already extremely taxing.

Yet Jun Changxiao was leading his disciples while chanting cadence calls, ascending step by step—the scene was absolutely shocking, absolutely inconceivable!

The martial cultivator collapsed on the ground struggled to blink his eyes, confirming he wasn’t seeing things, then his mouth twitched as he said: “Who… who are these divine beings?!”

“Four-two-three-four.”

Just then, Jun Changxiao led his disciples stepping past him, and at close range, he even discovered they still had smiles on their faces!

They… could still smile?

Or perhaps, they simply ignored the obstructive force created by the formation?

Shock, astonishment!

It deeply disturbed that martial cultivator who had fallen behind first.

This, this was just the beginning.

After ascending merely a hundred or so steps, Jun Changxiao and his disciples had overtaken thirty to fifty martial cultivators slumped on the ground.

“My… my heavens!”

“Who are they? How can they… ascend the mountain with such swift steps!”

“Am I too tired… and hallucinating?”

The overtaken martial cultivators all stared wide-eyed.

The martial cultivators struggling to climb ahead heard sounds and footsteps from behind, and couldn’t help but look back.

When they saw Sect Leader Jun leading his disciples, ascending with complete composure and ease, they nearly lost their footing and tumbled headfirst down.

What the hell!

These are… monsters!

…

Jun Changxiao had originally planned to proceed at normal climbing speed, but seeing the martial cultivators at the very front already quite close to the summit, he led his disciples to quicken their pace.

The result?

This left disciples from various major sects completely dumbfounded with shock.

“One-two-three-four.”

“Two-two-three-four.”

“…”

The cadence calls kept repeating, the disciples rhythmically stepping upward again and again, quickly overtaking nearly sixty percent of the martial cultivators who had started climbing first.

What’s more outrageous is that climbing to this height, Jun Changxiao and his disciples only felt a bit warm—they were still far from being drenched in sweat or gasping for breath.

For them, accustomed to ten times gravity, ascending stairs with only five times gravity truly could be described as walking on level ground.

At this moment, if Jun Changxiao gave the order that whoever reached the summit first would receive Natural Spirit Stones as reward, our Lord Night Emperor would definitely throw his arms wide and sprint wildly upward!

More and more martial cultivators heard the commotion and looked back to see the Tiegu Sect group.

Originally they could have endured a bit longer, but being shocked into mental disorder, they all collapsed on the ground, unable to stand up again.

Jun Changxiao led his disciples, passing by everyone on either side, quickly overtaking eighty percent of the disciples, now separated from Shangqian Sect by merely four to five hundred steps.

“Hm?”

Li’er, walking at the front, also heard the sound. Finding it somewhat familiar, she turned back with difficulty, and the expression on her face instantly froze!

It’s him!

It’s… it’s Jun Changxiao!

“Sect Leader.”

Li Qingyang said: “The people from Miaohua Palace are ahead.”

Jun Changxiao saw them too, so he called out loudly: “All disciples, hear my command—accelerate forward!”

“Yes!”

“Stomp! Stomp! Stomp! Stomp!”

Li Qingyang and the others increased their speed considerably, their legs alternating rapidly, climbing forty to fifty steps in short order.

The martial cultivators collapsed behind watched this group of martial cultivators actually accelerate, actually climb so fast with ‘swoosh swoosh swoosh’ sounds, their hearts and minds deeply shocked once again!

“Li’er!”

Xi Jingxuan exclaimed delightedly: “That sounds like Sect Leader Jun’s voice!”

Li’er said nothing.

She was already in a daze, shocked by Jun Changxiao leading his disciples ascending in this manner.

Earlier she had said that when Tiegu Sect arrived, they would fall behind early, but instead they not only didn’t fall behind, they were actually catching up from behind despite arriving a step late!

What is this?

That’s right—showing off first, then getting face-slapped.

Honestly, Sect Leader Jun definitely wasn’t deliberately trying to show off and slap faces, he just hadn’t expected there would be a formation on the ascent to Mount Hua’s summit.

This kind of gravity pressure—my Tiegu Sect disciples use this as daily cultivation training. If they couldn’t ascend, if they fell behind others, that truly would make no sense.

Therefore.

Invisible showing off is the most lethal!

“Palace Master Xi!”

Jun Changxiao quickly came alongside Xi Jingxuan, shifting to normal climbing rhythm, and said: “There was traffic on the road, arrived a step late.”

“Traffic?”

Xi Jingxuan looked completely confused.

Jun Changxiao was just speaking casually and naturally wouldn’t explain. Instead he smiled and said: “There’s a formation on the stairs with obstructive force. Palace Master Xi, climbing to this height, are you tired?”

Li’er’s mouth twitched slightly.

Yes.

There’s a formation, there’s obstructive force!

But you and your disciples look like you’re strolling leisurely—do you have to be so frightening!

Xi Jingxuan said bashfully: “Not… not too tired.”

Noticing her breathing remained even while speaking, Jun Changxiao thought to himself: “This woman is no simple matter.”

“Since you’re not tired, why don’t you and I ascend first and enjoy the view from the summit?”

“I’m not tired, but Li’er and the others are very tired.”

Because she suffered from an eye condition, Xi Jingxuan would be somewhat inconvenienced. Without disciples to support her, the difficulty of reaching the summit would be quite great.

“Miss Li’er.”

Jun Changxiao said: “I see your complexion looks poor. You must be nearly at your limit. Why not let me support Palace Master Xi and ascend to Mount Hua’s summit?”

“No… no way!” Li’er firmly objected.

However, because she exerted herself speaking, combined with the earlier mental shock, her legs immediately gave out, and she collapsed on the stairs.

Without Li’er’s support, Xi Jingxuan, who had just stepped upward, immediately swayed.

“Swoosh!”

Sect Leader Jun acted with quick reflexes, hurrying to fill the gap, very gentlemanly placing his arm against her back for support.

“Palace Master Xi.”

“If you don’t mind, shall I help you ascend to the summit?”

“This…”

Xi Jingxuan’s face flushed red, and she said softly: “Alright…”

“Palace… Palace Master…”

Li’er barely managed to speak when Sect Leader Jun was already supporting Xi Jingxuan, ascending the stairs above. In moments they had opened up distance from her.

That detestable fellow!

Daring to take advantage of the Palace Master!

Though Li’er was furious beyond measure, because her whole body was powerless, she could only watch helplessly as Jun Changxiao ‘abducted’ her own Palace Master.

…

At the foremost end of the stairs leading to the summit.

The Shangqian Sect’s Sect Master and disciples were still struggling to climb upward.

Although they led ahead of other factions, enduring even greater gravity suppression, they were now drenched in sweat with weakening legs.

“Almost there, almost there.”

“Our Shangqian Sect can finally be first to reach the summit!”

“What belongs to us is ours—no one can take it away!”

The Shangqian Sect disciples gritted their teeth and persevered, climbing upward with difficulty.

For them, that summit they could clearly see represented supreme honor.

The Shangqian Sect Master was also somewhat excited beyond restraint.

In the past, they had always trailed behind, watching third-rate sects reach the summit first. Now fortune turns—finally their turn had come!

“Ahhh—”

On the verge of reaching the summit, the Shangqian Sect Master finally couldn’t restrain himself and shouted aloud, releasing the grievance of being relegated to second place these past several gatherings!

“Pardon me.”

Suddenly, a voice interrupted his venting: “Please step aside.”

Gah!

The Shangqian Sect Master’s expression froze, his eyeballs turning to look diagonally.

Within his field of vision, an elegant white-robed young man was supporting the devastatingly beautiful Miaohua Palace Master, walking past him upward.

That’s right.

Walking upward.

And with… complete composure and ease!

The Shangqian Sect Master was instantly dumbfounded, ten billion grass-mud horses stampeding across the prairie in his heart.

Can someone tell me.

What the hell is going on here?!